Stellar Blade hasn't even been out for a month now, but already, developer Shift Up is telling its fans to "get ready" for something coming next week. A teaser shared this week has Stellar Blade players wondering what that something might be with players already compiling their wishlists full of things like a photo mode, a boss rush mode, or something else based on the assumption that the announcement will be related to an update. It could very well be something else entirely, but Stellar Blade players won't know for sure until next week.

The image below was shared by the Stellar Blade X (formerly Twitter) account this week and was deemed important enough that developer Shift Up pinned it to the Stellar Blade account for all to see. The image appears to depict one of the Naytiba creatures that players fight throughout the game as Eve, though the image lacks context outside of Shift Up telling players to keep an eye on next week for news.

"Get ready for NEXT WEEK," the image teased.

Stellar Blade Update Coming Soon?

So, what's the Stellar Blade community hoping for from this announcement? Unsurprisingly, seeing Eve get more outfits is high up on the wishlists for next week's reveal if it is indeed an update. It's true that Stellar Blade does have quite the array of costumes for Eve to choose from already with some more coveted than others, but given how much of a focus the game puts on Eve's appearance and how much it's leaned into the costume feature, it's expected that Stellar Blade players would hope for more outfits ASAP.

Cosmetics aside, a boss rush mode is similarly high up on lists. Stellar Blade has some pretty impressive bosses both in terms of their designs and how their fights play out, so being able to burn through them one after another in a boss rush mode has been a common request since the game released. In line with the focus on Eve's outfits, players have also been asking for a photo mode with those requests renewed once more now.

However, it's worth pointing out that this announcement might not be an update after all. The image shared via the Stellar Blade account does look like it's depicting a Naytiba, but it also appears to be a figure or a statue of some sort. Stellar Blade does not yet have any official merch, so if this is indeed a figure of some sort, next week's announcement may be tied to collectibles or something similar.

PlayStation Plus subscribers are scratching their heads wondering why PlayStation's subscription service is booting out another first-party game soon. The former PlayStation exclusive in question that's leaving PlayStation Plus soon is none other than Horizon Zero Dawn, the 2017 game from Guerrilla Games that kicked off PlayStation's ever-growing Horizon series. PlayStation Plus subscribers first caught wind of the game leaving the service within the past few weeks when a notice within the PlayStation Store hinted that the game's departure would happen in May, and now, PlayStation has confirmed as much.

PlayStation said in no uncertain terms within the latest announcement about the new PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium games for May that Horizon Zero Dawn would be taken out of PlayStation Plus. Towards the bottom of the rundown of new PlayStation Plus games, PlayStation said you have until May 21st to play Horizon Zero Dawn.

"A note for our PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members: as part of our normal content refresh, a selection of titles, such as Horizon Zero Dawn, will leave Game Catalog later this month. Members with Game Catalog benefits can still play these games until May 21."

When people first noticed that the PlayStation Plus game would be leaving the service prior to PlayStation outright confirming it, the first thought was that it might be getting removed to make way for a potential remaster or remake in the future. PlayStation does seem to like putting out new versions of its first-party games in quick succession with Director's Cut editions for Ghost of Tsushima and Death Stranding being two examples as well as Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, and considering how successful the Horizon series has been thus far, it wouldn't be surprising to see the original Horizon Zero Dawn be brought back in some form or fashion.

That may be the case, and we may find out about it sooner rather than later with rumors about a looming PlayStation Showcase intensifying ahead of the summer gaming events, but that doesn't mean that PlayStation Plus subscribers are happy about this removal. People within the comments of the latest PlayStation Plus announcement lamented not only the perceived quality of the new PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium games but also the fact that more games were being pulled without equivalent games to replace them.

"The main issue with this month's update for me is that May 21 is the worst month so far in terms of the quality of the games leaving the service. We're losing every Final Fantasy game, every Darksiders game, Horizon, and plenty of indie gens such as The Messenger and The Artful Escape," one user said. "What we get in return doesn't make up for the huge drop in the overall quality of the catalog."

Horizon Zero Dawn will exit PlayStation Plus on May 21st, so get in one last weekend with it while you can if you've never played.

Andrew Lincoln who is most known for his portrayal of Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead universe has lined up his next project -- an audio fiction series from the creator of Rockstar Games, A Better Paradise Volume One: An Aftermath. The 12-episode series is produced by Absurd Ventures in partnership with QCODE Media.

Lincoln returned to his roots as the iconic Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live alongside his screen partner Danai Gurira. It was the first time the two were on-screen with one another since Grimes' disappearance in season 9. Lincoln would depart the series in an effort to be closer to his family. In a promotional interview for The Ones Who Live, He spoke to Comicbook about returning to the show and how it took "years" of planning to lock down.

"We wrote it, so we knew that we wanted...We've been working for a couple of years and meeting in conference rooms in hotels, spitballing these ideas," Lincoln told Comicbook. "And we said, well, how, what is the most insane reunion? Can we imagine? What about this? What about that? And we just thought, well, this, we landed on this and it felt also the structure as you know, is quite unique with the time frames that we've got these two people that have left the show in different time frames. We need to work that out. But also we just thought it would be the most thrilling, insane, emotional reunion. And we're glad that it was a shock."

What is A Better Paradise About?

"Set in the near future, A Better Paradise tells the story of the ill-fated development of an ambitious but addictive digital game-world project led by inventor and psychologist, Dr. Mark Tyburn," an official description reads. "As the advanced software they developed began delivering unexpected and disturbing results, the team fell apart under strange circumstances and the project was abandoned. The game world and the super-intelligence within were discarded, left dormant and undiscovered. Until now."

Lincoln will be joined by Shamier Anderson (John Wick: Chapter 4), Paterson Joseph (Wonka) and Rain Spencer (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Good Girl Jane) among others. Dan Houser departed Rockstar Games in 2020 where he then founded Absurd Ventures in 2021.

A Better Paradise marks the first release from Absurd Ventures, and casting Lincoln is certainly a great way to kickstart things. "I have always loved the intimate experience of audiobooks, radio and podcast dramas," Houser said in a press release. "Audio fiction feels like a really compelling way to tell the story of the A BETTER PARADISE universe and the characters within it."

Added QCODE CEO Rob Herting, "We are incredibly excited to be a production partner to Dan and the Absurd Ventures team, who bring a completely unique voice to the audio fiction medium. Their record in storytelling is legendary, and they have created a universe and a series that lives up to that high standard."

A Better Paradise premieres on all audio platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music June 10.

Last year, Nintendo announced that the long-rumored live-action film adaptation of The Legend of Zelda was finally in the works with Sony Pictures. The movie is being helmed by Wes Ball, the director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which is currently doing well at the box office. Deadline recently spoke with the Chairperson of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Tom Rothman, and they brought up how Ball managed to revive the Apes franchise after the previous trilogy's success. They mentioned how Ball brought a "freshness" to the franchise, and asked about applying that same viewpoint to Zelda.

"Because the movie is being developed and made in the closest possible collaboration with [Nintendo video game designer] Shigeru Miyamoto," Rothman explained. "He's a true genius in that world, and it's really his strong vision that is motivating it. He created it and understands it thoroughly. You only to look at the results of Super Mario Brothers to see. The larger point I'm making is that I think a healthy slate going forward is not going to be one side of the divide or the other."

"It's going to have a balance of big IP solid sequels," he continued. "Let me tell you when the last of the Spider-Verse movies comes with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, it's going to be a significant event, as will the next Tom Holland Spider-Man film. And when all the Karate Kid storylines come together with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan and a new young karate kid. For those fans, that's going to be a significant moment. We have those. The third and last Venom is going to be huge."

Wes Ball Teases "Awesome Idea" For Zelda Movie:

"I have this awesome idea," Ball shared with Total Film. "I've been thinking about it for a long freakin' time, of how cool a Zelda movie would be... I want to fulfill people's greatest desires. I know it's important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape."

"I want to live in that world," he added. "That's the thing I want to try to create - it's got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical."

"I've always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that," Ball said in an interview late last year. "It's going to be awesome. My whole life has led up to this moment. I grew up on Zelda and it is the most important property, I think, that's untapped IP, if you will. So we very much are working hard to do something. We're not just trying to do it because we can. We want to make something really special."

"I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films," Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto said in a statement when the project was announced. "I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it."

Stay tuned for more updates about the live-action The Legend of Zelda movie.

Nintendo Switch owners who have a copy of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door preordered might want to check on their orders to make sure that's the case after more people have come forward to say that their preorders were cancelled. Walmart is the latest retailer to cancel preorders for the game seemingly at the request of Nintendo with multiple users getting messages from the company suggesting that they come into brick-and-mortar Walmart locations to get the game on release if they still want it. This only applies to physical preorders, of course, with digital preorders safe ahead of the game's May 23rd release date.

News of the cancelled Walmart preorders for the Nintendo Switch remake/remaster of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door were shared by X (formerly Twitter, now officially X.com) user Wario64 after other users notified them of the cancellations. The correspondence from Walmart indicated that Nintendo only wants copies of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch to be sold in-stores, at least as far as Walmart is concerned.

"We know you were looking forward to purchasing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) online," Walmart's message began. "At this time, Nintendo will only be offering this item in stores.

"While your pre-order was canceled, we expect to have this item in store on its release day, May 23, 2024. We hope you can stop in!"

What's strange about this cancellation is that it's happening elsewhere at some retailers, but others are moving forward with shipping out physical preorders of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door without issue. The same thing happened with Amazon where the game topped charts with people saying that they'd been notified their copies of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door had been cancelled with other Nintendo Switch games affected as well.

But then you have other people like this user here who preordered Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door through Target and has just been notified that their copy of the game has shipped without issue, so this problem doesn't seem to be affecting all preorders of the game.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door releases for the Nintendo Switch on May 23rd. You can check out our preview of the game here alongside an overview of some of the new features present in the remake.

The second roster update for MLB The Show 24 is out now and it features seven new Diamond players. Several high-rated players have also dropped down to Gold, making for a relatively volatile roster shake-up. If you were able to predict it correctly, there were a ton of Stubs to be made. Even if you didn't plan ahead of time, this update is important to look through, as it'll affect some of the best players to use in various modes. The seven new Diamonds in MLB The Show 24 are mostly pitchers, so you might want to change your rotation.

Leading the way is Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease. He's been one of the best pitchers in the league to start the season, so it's no surprise to see him jump to 86 OVR in this update. If you want to make your opponent look silly with nasty off-speed pitchers, Cease is your guy. Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger is one of two outfield players and his exceptional clutch stat makes him a solid addition to your bench.

Athletics closer Mason Miller is currently supercharged to 99 OVR, but once that settles back at 85, you'll still be able to use his deadly fastball to good effect. Meanwhile, Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez brings similar velocity but also has a solid breaking ball. Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been one of the best in the business to start the year and that remains true in The Show 24. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray is another pitcher with great off-speed stuff, while Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson rounds things out with his loaded power swing.

Below, you'll find the full list of new Diamond and Gold players. To see the full list of changes that have been pushed in the update, head to the official site. MLB The Show 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox platforms.

New Diamond Tier Players

• Dylan Cease - Padres
• Cody Bellinger - Cubs
• Mason Miller - Athletics
• Pablo Lopez - Twins
• Emmanuel Clase - Guardians
• Sonny Gray - Cardinals
• Gunnar Henderson - Orioles

New Gold Tier Players

• Austin Riley - Braves
• Julio Rodriguez - Mariners
• Francisco Lindor - Mets
• Manny Machado - Padres
• Bryce Miller - Mariners
• Matt Olson - Braves
• Tanner Houck - Red Sox
• Nick Sandin - Guardians
• Brenton Doyle - Rockies
• Jared Jones - Pirates
• Nick Lodolo - Reds
• Max Kepler - Twins
• Corbin Carroll - Diamondbacks
• Jose Trevino - Yankees
• Garrett Crochet - White Sox
• Seth Lugo - Royals
• Ryan Jeffers - Twins
• Rhys Hoskins - Brewers
• Jordan Westburg - Orioles
• Danny Coulombe - Orioles
• Jeff Hoffman - Phillies

While many MLB The Show 24 players are still working to wrap up the yearly Egg Hunt, developer Sony San Diego is ready to move on to the next big thing. Every year, SDS drops the Season Awards program in Diamond Dynasty, giving players a chance to earn tons of rewards celebrating the real-world performance of MLB stars. The Show 24 kicked off its version of the program with the Season Awards Drop 1 - Opening Day release, giving players the opening kick-off for the Season Awards program. The rewards and challenges will grow over the coming weeks, but below, we've collected all of the steps you need to complete if you want to earn all of the Season 1 Awards cards in MLB The Show 24.

How to Complete the Season 1 Awards Program in MLB The Show 24

The Season 1 Awards Program has only kicked off as of this writing. It will likely grow over the next several weeks as Sony San Diego drops more content. To that end, we will list the steps needed in stages, so you can stay up to date with all of the challenges and rewards. Here is everything you need to do in Stage 1:

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 1

• Complete all 4 Moments - 12 points total
• 250 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 6 points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 5 home runs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 15 hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 15 RBIs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 25 total bases with Center Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 10 hits with Shortstops - 4 points
• Tally 3 home runs with Left Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 5 extra-base hits with Designated Hitters - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with White Sox players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 2

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 250 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 6 points
• 300 PXP with Season Awards Garrett Crochet (Drop 1 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 6 strikeouts with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 extra-base hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 15 RBIs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 3 stolen bases with Center Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 10 hits with Left Fielders- 4 points
• Tally 3 home runs with Third Basemen - 4 points
• Tally 25 total bases with Right Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Giants players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 3

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 300 PXP with Season Awards Michael Conforto (Drop 2 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 7 home runs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 20 hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 3 stolen bases with Left Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 25 total bases with Catchers- 4 points
• Tally 15 hits with Second Basemen - 4 points
• Tally 3 home runs with Shortstops - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Guardians players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 4

• Complete all 6 Missions - 18 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 300 PXP with Season Awards Ronel Blanco (Drop 3 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 15 RBIs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Ks with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 12 hits with Catchers - 4 points
• Tally 3 home runs with Left Fielders- 4 points
• Tally 6 Extra-Base Hits with Shortstops - 4 points
• Tally 2 saves with Closing Pitchers - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Reds players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 5

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 200 PXP with Season Awards Spencer Steer (Drop 4 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Extra Base Hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Ks with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 hits with 3rd Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 5 home runs with Shortstops- 4 points
• Tally 2 Holds with Relief Pitchers - 4 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with Catchers- 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Red Sox players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 6

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 300 PXP with Season Awards Tanner Houck (Drop 5 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Home Runs with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Ks with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with 3rd Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with 1st Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 7 Extra-Base Hits with Catchers - 4 points
• Tally 1 Complete Game (min 8 IP) with a Starting Pitcher - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Yankees players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 7

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 200 PXP with Season Awards Anthony Rizzo (Drop 6 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 15 Extra-Base Hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Ks with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 7 Extra-Base Hits with 3rd Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 7 Extra-Base Hits with 1st Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with Right Fielders- 4 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with Left Fielders - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Padres players - 4 points

MLB The Show 24 Season 1 Awards Drop 8

• Complete all 5 Missions - 15 points total
• 500 PXP with Season Awards Series cards - 5 points
• 200 PXP with Season Awards Jurickson Profar (Drop 7 Reward) - 5 Points
• 500 PXP with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 20 Hits with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 10 Ks with Topps Now Series cards - 5 points
• Tally 7 Extra-Base Hits with 2nd Basemen- 4 points
• Tally 7 RBIs with Left Fielders- 4 points
• Tally 5 Home Runs with Shortstops- 4 points
• Tally 2 Saves with Closing Pitcher - 4 points
• Tally 250 PXP with Orioles players - 4 points

Season 1 Awards Program Rewards

As mentioned, this list of rewards will grow over time, but here are the drops currently available:

Drop 1

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Mike Trout
• 15 Points -The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Colt Keith
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Shohei Ohtani
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - Headliners Pack 4
• 45 Points - The Show Pack
• 50 Points - 91 OVR Season Awards Garrett Crochet and 4,000 XP

Drop 2

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Jackson Chourio
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Graham Pauley
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Jared Jones
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 88 OVR Topps Now Jung Hoo Lee
• 45 Points - The Show Pack
• 50 Points - 91 OVR Season Awards Michael Conforto and 4,000 XP

Drop 3

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Jordan Westburg
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Blaze Alexander
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Travis D'Arnaud
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Justin Foscue
• 45 Points - The Show Pack
• 50 Points - 93 OVR Season Awards Ronel Blanco and 4,000 XP

Drop 4

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Yariel Rodriguez
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Lawerence Butler
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Tyler Jay
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 90 OVR Topps Now Colton Cowser
• 45 Points - The Show Pack
• 50 Points - 93 OVR Season Awards Spencer Steer and 4,000 XP

Drop 5

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Jack Leiter and 4,000 XP
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Cam Booser and 4,000 XP
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Andy Pages and 4,000 XP
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Alec Bohm and 4,000 XP
• 45 Points - The Show Pack
• 50 Points - 95 OVR Season Awards Tanner Houck and 4,000 XP

Drop 6

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Anthony Maldonado and 4,000 XP
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Pavin Smith and 4,000 XP
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Mark Vientos and 4,000 XP
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 92 OVR Topps Now Pete Crow-Armstrong and 4,000 XP
• 45 Points - Season 1 Awards Choice Pack
• 50 Points - 96 OVR Season Awards Anthony Rizzo and 4,000 XP

Drop 7

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 95 OVR Topps Now Tyler Black and 4,000 XP
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 95 OVR Topps Now Brett Harris and 4,000 XP
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 95 OVR Topps Now Christian Scott and 4,000 XP
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 95 OVR Topps Now Joey Loperfido and 4,000 XP
• 45 Points - Season 1 Awards Choice Pack
• 50 Points - 99 OVR Season Awards Jackson Profar and 4,000 XP

Drop 8

• 5 Points - The Show Pack
• 10 Points - 96 OVR Topps Now Robert Gasser and 4,000 XP
• 15 Points - The Show Pack
• 20 Points - 96 OVR Topps Now Stuart Fairchild and 4,000 XP
• 25 Points - The Show Pack
• 30 Points - 96 OVR Topps Now Luis Arraez and 4,000 XP
• 35 Points - The Show Pack
• 40 Points - 96 OVR Topps Now Kyle Manzardo and 4,000 XP
• 45 Points - Season 1 Awards Choice Pack
• 50 Points - 99 OVR Season Awards Gunnar Henderson and 4,000 XP

Lightning Players

Finally, it's worth noting that you need to earn every Season Awards player throughout the season to earn the Lightning Players after Drop 4 and Drop 8. These players will have a huge boost, so you'll want to do everything you can to grab all of them. Here are the Lightning Players available in the Season Awards Program:

• 95 OVR Bobby Witt Jr.
• 99 OVR Mookie Betts

This program does not expire. MLB The Show 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox platforms.

After over a decade of waiting, EA Sports College Football 25 has finally received its grand reveal trailer. While this new trailer didn't show off any gameplay, it gave players a fantastic look at many of the top colleges coming to EA Sports College Football 25. However, there are hundreds of universities in the United States and the trailer only featured around twenty of them, so you might be wondering which schools are included in EA Sports College Football 25. Below, we'll break it down, giving you an exact idea of whether your school will be included.

Which Schools Are In EA Sports College Football 25?

For its first season back, EA Sports College Football 25 is keeping it simple. This year, the game will include all 134 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). That's a huge chunk of the country and represents the bulk of teams the general public cares about. While not a comprehensive list of teams, here are the conferences that are fully represented in EA Sports College Football 25:

• American Athletic Conference (The America)
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
• Big 12 Conference
• Big 10 Conference
• D1 FBS Independents (Notre Dame, UConn, and UMass)
• Mid-American Conference (MAC)
• Mountain West Conference
• Pac-12 Conference
• Southeastern Conference (SEC)
• Sun Belt Conference

If your favorite team's conference is listed above, they'll be in College Football 25. However, do note that it's only the players this year. Coach likenesses will not be included during year one, though they could be added in future editions. As for everyone else? That's where the bad news comes in.

What About FCS Teams?

Unfortunately, developer Electronic Arts has decided to skip out on adding Football Championship Subdivision teams to the mix. That means national powerhouse teams like North Dakota State, James Madison, and South Dakota State won't be included in College Football 25. That's a shame for teams of those schools, especially considering the dominance of those programs, but EA did leave the door open for them to be added in future games.

Thankfully, the big reveal press release did say that College Football 25 is bringing back the Team Builder feature, so fans of smaller FCS schools will probably be able to recreate their favorite team. We just won't be seeing someone like Mark Gronowski or Terrell Allen showing up in College Football 25's Ultimate Team mode.

EA Sports College Football 25 is set to launch on July 19th for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. If you purchase the deluxe or MVP editions, you'll get three days of early access.

On May 16th, the Epic Games Store kicked off its year Mega Sale. This month-long sale features deep discounts on tons of great games like Alan Wake 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Cyberpunk 2077. The EGS also runs a 5% back program for Rewards during the event, making it a great time to pick up several new games. On top of all that, Epic loves to bring out the big guns for its weekly free mystery games during the Mega Sale. The first one in the rotation is Dragon Age: Inquisition - Game of the Year Edition. Today, a prominent started to tease what's coming next week and fans might've already cracked it.

Next Mystery Game From Epic Games Store

This teaser leak comes from billbil-kun on Twitter who has correctly leaked previous mystery games (including Dragon Age). They've also successfully leaked several other games for the French website Dealabs. That said, you should still take this with a grain of salt. No leaker has a perfect track record and Epic Games can always move plans around for various reasons.

Either way, the new teaser features what looks like a screenshot from the mystery game at the very top. Fans have been putting forward different guesses based on that and the other hints, but the consensus seems to be that Insurmountable will be the next free mystery game. Of course, those guesses could be incorrect. Regardless, the leaker should confirm it one way or the other in the next few days.

What is Insurmountable?

If Insurmountable is indeed the next free game, you'll want to know what the game is, if you don't already. The game description on the Epic Games Store says, "Insurmountable is an adventure roguelike with permadeath, in which the player has to overcome huge mountains. Thanks to the procedurally created environment, no two climbs are the same. Make sure that your climber stays alive by always making sure that your vital values don't get into the critical range.

This task is made more difficult by a dynamic weather system, day/night changes, and a multitude of randomly generated events, where you never know in advance how they will end. Your decisions matter....every single one. Because anyone could be your last."

Whether or not Insurmountable is the next free game or not, the second mystery game of the sale is set to unlock on May 23rd. That's also when Dragon Age: Inquisition will rotate out, so be sure to pick it up before it goes away for good. And remember the Mega Sale runs through June 13th, giving you plenty of time to browse the sale and pick out your favorites.

Fortnite gets new crossovers all the time, as developer Epic Games loves collaborating with the biggest media properties in the world. Recently, Fallout has staked its claim on that mantle after the massive success of the new TV series and the continued improvement of Fallout 76. Thus, it made sense when rumors started to swirl that Fortnite's developers were working to bring Fallout content to the battle royale in one form or another. Today, Epic Games has officially confirmed those rumors in a new Twitter post featuring the good old Brotherhood of Steel.

Fortnite x Fallout Is Happening Soon

Fortnite's new post on Twitter is fairly simple. It features a character in Power Armor looking off-screen. The caption the team posted with the picture is only the winking emoji and the thumb's up emoji. Other than that, the team didn't give any hints about what this crossover is going to feature. We will almost certainly see a skin featuring a character in Power Armor, but otherwise, your guess is as good as the next person.

That said, it would be strange to feature Fallout in Fortnite so soon after the successful launch of the Fallout TV series. Hopefully, Epic will bring in characters from that show to capitalize on the hype around it. That could mean we see skins for characters like Lucy and The Ghoul, or Epic might decide to incorporate them as NPCs if the crossover event is a bit more ambitious than a simple skin launch. Either way, it would be a big surprise if characters from in and around Vault 33 don't make their way into Fortnite as a part of this.

Another thing that's being left up to the imagination is the release date for the Fallout content. Epic isn't giving anything away, but it's most likely coming alongside Chapter 5 Season 3, which starts on May 24th. That's what prominent leakers like Hypex are saying on Twitter. While you'll still want to take that info with a grain of salt, it's the move that makes the most sense. After all, Epic will want to continue drumming up hype for the launch of Season 3, and teasing popular properties is one of the best ways to do that.

In fact, Fortnite isn't the first property they've been teasing ahead of Season 3. The official account recently tweeted about a potential Loki crossover, while also teasing new Points of Interest that players will uncover on the Season 3 map. With about a week until it officially launches, expect several more teases and leaks popping up.

Fortnite is available now on PlayStation, Switch, mobile, Xbox, and PC platforms.

One of the last holdouts of the old Twitter has now been removed with Twitter.com officially rebranded as X.com overnight. This marks the latest -- and presumably one of the last -- efforts to fully move the social media platform over to Elon Musk's preferred "X" branding following the erasure of other remnants of Twitter such as tweets themselves. Musk confirmed the change himself this week while referencing the old logo of previous efforts to make X.com a thing before it finally came to fruition after the Twitter takeover.

Musk tweeted about the conversion over on what's now formally known as X.com by saying "All core systems are now on X.com." What he means by this is that if you follow the link here and see his tweet, you'll notice that your URL for the post should start with "x.com" now. This differs from the previous URL which has always started with "twitter.com" even after Musk took over, though you could sometimes see the "x.com" link when using the "share" button to send the tweets elsewhere.

The functionality of these URLs and the X platform remain the same regardless of the change, however, so this is really just more of a continued effort to finalize the X rebranding than anything that'd have an actual effect on users. While some changes made during the switch from Twitter to X have come off as abrasive or unnecessary to many users, ones like this URL change won't really matter much in regards to how you use X since old Twitter links including "twitter.com" itself now just default to the same page but with an "x.com" domain instead. Other changes made in a similar fashion prior to this one include rebranding "tweets" as simply "posts."

The old logo in Musk's tweet above harkens back to the early days of PayPal whenever "X" was a proposed name for that company as well, though it was met with opposition which eventually overcame the suggestion. Musk's spacefaring company SpaceX showed that he still had visions for "X" in some form or another, and the Twitter rebranding finally achieved at least that goal by converting the social platform over to X.

Still, there will be those who will continue to call X "Twitter" whether out of habit or defiance to Musk's sometimes abrasive decisions. Considering the branding Twitter previously had with its blue bird icon and the fact that it made "tweet" so prolific that it transcended from noun to verb, "tweet" is just easier and more ingrained for most users who aren't making the change simply out of loyalty to Musk's initiatives.

Last week, EA Sports FC 24 dropped the Ligue 1 version of the Team of the Season. Now, it's La Liga's turn at the table, which means boosted cards for players from fan-favorite teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Especially with the former, you're looking at some of soccer's biggest stars, meaning the excitement with the EA Sports FC 24 community is at a fever pitch. Thankfully, leakers have already uncovered many of the players coming with the promo. Below, you'll find a list of every leaked player for the Ligue 1 Team of the Season squad and a breakdown of when the promo will launch.

EAFC La Liga TOTS Leaked Players

These leaks come from FUT Sheriff and FifaTradingRomania on Twitter. The two accounts have built up a solid reputation in the EA Sports FC 24 community during the last few years. Of course, you'll still want to take these leaks with a hefty grain of salt. Sheriff, in particular, is generally solid but has had a few mishaps over the years, so don't assume anything. Here are the currently leaked players:

Leaked La Liga TOTS and TOTS Moments Players

• Sergio Ramos (Moments) - Sevilla
• Savio - Girona
• Aretem Dovbyk - Girona
• Isco - Real Betix
• Jules Kounde (SBC) - Barcelona
• Joao Felix (Moments) - Barcelona
• Dani Carvajal - Real Madrid
• Rodrygo (Moments) - Real Madrid
• Federico Valverde - Real Madrid
• Robert Lewandowski - Barcelona
• Ilkay Gundogan - Barcelona
• Joao Cancelo (Moments) -Barcelona
• Ronald Araujo - Barcelona
• Eduardo Camavinga (Moments) - Real Madrid
• Antonio Rudiger - Real Madrid
• Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
• Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid

Leaked Liga F TOTS and TOTS Moments Players

• Alexia Putellas (Moments) - Barcelona
• Caroline Hansen - Barcelona
• Aitana Bonmati - Barcelona
• Olga Carmona - Real Madrid
• Salma Paralluelo - Barcelona

The list above will grow as players from the men's and women's Spanish leagues are added. It's also worth noting that EA will release some of them as Objectives and Squad Building Challenges, so don't expect to see every in packs. Plus, EA will likely drop a Mixed League squad on May 19th, adding even more players to the mix. It's safe to say that several more players will be added over the coming days and many of them probably won't leak before they drop in EA Sports FC 24.

EA Sports FC 24 La Liga TOTS Start Date

The La Liga TOTS promo will presumably start on May 17th at 1 p.m. ET. That's when the Ligue 1 TOTS promo ends and generally when EA starts new promos in Ultimate Team. As it does most weeks, Electronic Arts will likely drop a new loading screen in the coming days letting us know when to expect the promo and a hint of who might be coming. Some of the cards listed above might drop later in the week, depending on how EA decides to break things up.

EA Sports FC 24 is available now on PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms.

There's supposedly another new Star Wars game in development, though it's a Star Wars game that's probably far from what anyone would've ever expected. The latest Star Wars rumor suggests that Sega's Creative Assembly developer is working on a Star Wars-themed Total War game which would be a big departure for the series which usually roots itself in historical military forces and cultures. Creative Assembly naturally hasn't announced anything of the sort yet, though the same suite of rumors about this game suggest that it's one of three different Total War games Creative Assembly is working on now.

Insider Gaming and DualShockers both reported this week on the supposed Total War Star Wars game that Creative Assembly might be working on now. The latter's report is more recent and cited unnamed sources with the info while the Insider Gaming report from Tom Henderson said talks of a futuristic Total War game were heard about for years now. Given the recent DualShockers report combined with these separate insights into a Star Wars Total War game, the prospect of it actually happening is now seeming much more likely.

Creative Assembly's current lineup of Total War games clearly favors historical battles as opposed to contemporary or futuristic experiences with the most recent game being Total War: Pharoah and Total War: Rome Remastered prior to that. Total War has dabbled in the fantasy realm to a degree in the past with Total War: Warhammer and two sequels released, but that's about as far as it's gone.

Star Wars then would easily be the furthest the series has gone beyond its roots and may entice others who might not have played Total War games to try it out. The Total War series consists of turn-based, real-time strategy games which move a bit slower compared to the usual Star Wars games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Star Wars Battlefront 2.

Creative Assembly and Sega being able to work on this kind of game at all, assuming it's real, is made possible by the fact that Electronic Arts lost the exclusive rights to making Star Wars games years ago which is why we're getting a Star Wars Outlaws game from Ubisoft. While again different from the usual Total War games, this Star Wars Total War game and the other two supposedly in the works would be a return to form for Creative Assembly after the studio's last project, Hyenas, never came to fruition. Sega canceled the game last year and suggested that Creative Assembly would return to working on what it was best known for in the Total War series.

Hasbro / Avalon Hill have officially launched the 5th edition of Talisman, the iconic fantasy-theme board game that debuted in 1983. The new edition will feature upgraded artwork, redesigned figures, and a streamlined gameplay experience that's designed to make it easier for both veterans and newcomers to jump into a game.

Inside the box you'll find 12 character figures with matching cards, 100 Adventure cards, 24 Spell cards, 18 Purchase cards, 4 Talisman cards, 1 Toad card, 6 Toad tokens, 114 counters, 38 Fate tokens, 12 Alignment tokens, 30 coins, 3 six-sided dice, and a rulebook. You can order one here on Amazon now priced at $59.99. At the time of writing the game is in backorder, so reserve one while you can. If you miss out, restocks will happen, so be patient.

From the official description: "Welcome, champions, to the magical land of Talisman! The otherworldly artefacts known as Talismans have once more descended onto the mortal plane, signaling the dawn of a new era-and the need for a new ruler! In the Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, 5th Edition, set forth on an epic adventure, racing to be the first to obtain a Talisman, reach the Crown of Command in the center of the board, and defeat the elder dragon to win. With a diverse range of characters to choose from and a vast world of possible scenarios, this strategy game for teens and adults offers limitless adventures!"

The original Talisman was released in 1983 as a fantasy-themed game that sees players progress through Outer, Middle, and Inner Regions, each of which have different difficulty levels. Players make checks using 6-sided dice and add their stat score to determine whether a check is successful or a failure. Players boost their stats using items and followers, but they can only reach the the final area known as the Crown of Command by collecting a Talisman. The objective is to be the first to reach the Crown of Command and use its power to eliminate all other players. Numerous special editions of Talisman have been released over the years with themes like Harry Potter, Batman, and Kingdom Hearts.

On May 16th, developer Electronic Arts finally revealed the cover for the highly anticipated EA Sports College Football 25. Seeing some of the sport's best and brightest on an official cover is undoubtedly exciting, but the real meat is in the gameplay and mode details. Thankfully, fans didn't have to wait very long to see EA Sports College Football 25 in action. Today, Electronic Arts dropped a substantial new trailer, showing off College Football 25's on-field gameplay and giving fans a teaser of what to expect from its various modes.

EA Sports College Football 25 Gameplay Reveal

We've known for a while now that EA Sports College Football 25 was going to use the same gameplay engine as the Madden franchise, but EA is doing what it can to differentiate the games in key ways. The most notable example seems to be what EA is calling CampusIQ, which is said to mimic "the explosiveness of college football game days." Of course, it's hard to know exactly how well that will work in practice, so we'll have to wait until we can get hands-on College Football 25 to make a final judgment.

College Football 25 is also hyping up its Wear & Tear System, which seeks to replicate how players' bodies wear down while giving and receiving hits on the gridiron. Because these players aren't at the pro level, you're going to need to be a little more strategic with how you sub in and out to make sure your best players are ready for the biggest moments. The team is also implementing something called Pre-Snap Recognition, which puts more emphasis on reading your team and the opponent before the ball is even snapped. Your untested freshman might struggle in the bright lights and it's up to you as a coach to see that and adjust accordingly.

EA is also trying to replicate the game-day atmosphere of a college campus. That means teams will have home-field advantages you'll need to overcome, which should be familiar to anyone who has played the last few Maddens. College Football 25 will also add all kinds of collegiate pageantry and traditions to bring the stadium to your home. Whether that's fight songs or mascots, it should all be in the game.

EA Sports College Football 25 Modes

Previously, EA Sports College Football 25 promised that Dynasty mode would be returning as the marquee way to play. So far, it looks like EA is sticking to that, which is great news for players. They've also confirmed the Team Builder is coming back, so Dynasty fans should be very happy. Below, you can read through EA's full rundown on the four major modes in College Football 25:

• Dynasty: Create a coach and take control of your own college football program. Establish your coaching staff, then work to recruit the best talent either straight from high school or direct from the transfer portal. Coaching archetypes and skill trees empower you to run your program your own way as you vie for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff, or create your own college football program with customization tools on the Team Builder website.
• Road to Glory: Live the life of a student-athlete with your created player and take home the Heisman as you build an unforgettable college football legacy. Manage your weekly schedule, GPA, and your image, earn Coach Trust to get more playing time, or use the transfer portal to get the time and the glory you deserve.
• Road to the College Football Playoff: Experience a new way to play competitively across consoles in the Road to the College Football Playoff. Will you represent your university, or take a power school to climb the polls? Earn rank by upsetting the toughest opponents and securing the votes you need to progress and level up divisions. Play your way into the playoffs and battle for the National Championship.
• College Football Ultimate Team: Build your dream team of college football stars and legends. Play Solo Challenges or H2H Seasons to upgrade your squad and take on the toughest contests. Test your skills across consoles in more competitive formats like College Football Ultimate Team(TM) Champs and Champs Gauntlet.

EA Sports College Football 25 launches on July 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, if you order the deluxe edition or MVP bundle, you'll get three days of early access.

Call of Duty fans worried about whether or not the newest release will come to Xbox Game Pass may not have to worry after all if the latest report about the matter is accurate. This next Call of Duty Game is supposedly going to be another Black Ops game -- Black Ops 6 if you'd like to subscribe to more precise rumors -- and recently, there were concerns that it might not come to Xbox Game Pass despite Xbox's assurance that first-party titles big and small would be available in the service day-and-date every time one releases.

Xbox president Sarah Bond suggested recently that the next Call of Duty game would be among the day-one Xbox Game Pass releases, but Bond for whatever reason would not outright confirm that Call of Duty, specifically, would be included in Activision's slate of Xbox Game Pass games which currently only consists of Diablo 4. Now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the new Call of Duty game releasing later this year will indeed be put on Xbox Game Pass right away when it launches.

Call of Duty Coming to Xbox Game Pass?

Given Xbox's commitment to putting its games including Activision Blizzard releases right onto Xbox Game Pass, it follows that this report will turn out to be true. If it doesn't it's not a stretch to imagine that Xbox Game Pass subscribers would feel a bit cheated with Call of Duty getting a special exception to bypass the service due to how well it sells every year.

If Call of Duty were to come straight to Xbox Game Pass this year, one would expect a pretty significant spike in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions from people who want to get it at a far cheaper price than the $70 it'll go for upon release. Given that Call of Duty games are supported for at least a year before the new one comes out, however, the hope from Microsoft would be that those new subscribers stay subscribed if they want to keep playing the newest Call of Duty content as it releases be that the multiplayer component, new Call of Duty: Warzone content, or the Zombies.

However, another concern from Xbox Game Pass subscribers is that the price of Xbox Game Pass might start going up to offset the risk of putting on Xbox Game Pass what would be the biggest game that the subscription service has ever gotten. Xbox Game Pass Core costs $9.99 and would most definitely not be where Call of Duty goes with the game more likely being locked behind the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier that costs $16.99 (there's also a PC Game Pass option for $9.99 which would probably get Call of Duty, too). Xbox's Phil Spencer said recently that price increases for Xbox Game Pass were "inevitable," and if another were to happen, the addition of Call of Duty seems as appropriate a time as any for that to transpire.

Activision's new Call of Duty game has not yet been formally announced.

Apple changed the App Store guidelines last month, allowing game emulators to be listed on the platform for the first time and as such, emulators have begun to pop up in the iOS App Store. Earlier this week ComicBook reported on a new PlayStation 1 emulator, Gamma, which available in the App Store now, but the new emulators haven't stopped there. Another new addition to the App Store includes PPSSPP, an emulator for PSP games...as you may have guessed based on the name alone. Considering the app has been around for a while to utilize on jailbroken devices, developer Henrik Rydg?rd was notably excited to make the announcement that his app can now be used in official capacity.

"After nearly 12 years, PPSSPP has finally been approved for the iOS App Store! Thanks to Apple for relaxing their policies, allowing retro games console emulators on the store." The new app's description includes the following points:

• Play your PSP games on your iOS device, in HD! PPSSPP is the original and only PSP emulator for mobile devices.
  
• No games are included with this download.
  
• Play PSP games on your iOS device, in high definition with extra features!
  
• PPSSPP is the original and only PSP emulator for mobile devices. It can run nearly all PSP games with great performance on iOS.
  
• No games are included with this download. Use your own real PSP games and turn them into .ISO or .CSO files (see the homepage for instructions), or simply play free homemade games, which are available in the built-in "Homebrew Store".
  

Rydg?rd's announcement also mentions the limitations releasing the app in the App Store has created, noting:

• Vulkan support through MoltenVK is not yet enabled
  
• Magic Keyboard (iPad Keyboard) is not supported
  
• The JIT recompiler is not supported
  
• RetroAchievements is temporarily disabled
  

"In future updates, MoltenVK will be re-enabled (and I might even write a native Metal backend), and the Magic Keyboard will be supported through another method (the old method was using an undocumented API, so not usable in the App Store). RetroAchievements will be back as well, with a better login UI," the announcement further clarifies on the limitations. "However, the JIT compiler cannot be restored without a change in Apple's rules. The loss of the JIT is unfortunate since without it, our CPU emulation performance is reduced. Fortunately, iOS devices are generally fast enough to run nearly all PSP games at full speed anyway, as the PSP CPU is not that expensive to emulate, thanks to our efficient IR-based caching interpreter, which also has further room for improvement."

Activision has announced the creation of a new studio, Elsewhere Entertainment, which is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland and supported by additional resources in the United States. Per the announcement on the Activision blog, the new studio "is exclusively focused on creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise." Elsewhere Entertainment is an internal studio created and owned by Activision, which is part of Activision Blizzard, which is itself part of Microsoft Xbox.

"Built from the ground up, Elsewhere Entertainment is a premier and standalone studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas," Activision's blog post stated. "The team's underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games."

The announcement also mentions some of the credits across the team members that make up Elsewhere Entertainment include The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, Tom Clancy's The Division, and Far Cry, further indicating the types of games the newly formed studio will create, particularly with their all-new IP, a AAA franchise.

"The new studio has full access to Activision's resources and tools as it continues to increase production and development," the announcement further notes. "Elsewhere is opening its search for best-in-class talent from across the industry and around the world to help create a state-of-the-art and next generation gaming experience."

Based on the information provided about Elsewhere Entertainment, it seems by the repeated mentions of the studio's projects being narrative focused and resonating "far beyond games," it's possible we'll see whatever new franchise the studio is creating spread across multiple media formats, not just video games.

The announcement that Activision has created a new studio to work on their new AAA IP comes very shortly after Microsoft closed two critically acclaimed studios with Tango Dreamworks and Arkane Austin, as well as consolidating other ZeniMax Studios based in the United States. While the gaming industry has been devastated by studio closures and layoffs over the last several months, it's nice to see a new studio be formed to offer up employment opportunities for some well-deserving individuals in the industry waiting for their next role. While there is that glimmer of hope, it is unfortunate that we see smaller, independent studios face extinction in the face of AAA studio focus.

Last year, Lies of P publisher Neowiz announced that the team is working on both DLC for the game and a full sequel. That latter reveal isn't too surprising for anyone who has finished the main game, but it's good to hear for fans of the puppet-filled Soulslike. However, the last we heard about either project was in October 2023. After several months of waiting, Neowiz has finally given fans a rough idea of when to expect new DLC in Lies of P. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be waiting at least a few more months.

Lies of P Release Window Announced

Earlier this week, Neowiz revealed its Q1 2024 Earnings Report, which gave fans an inside look at the company's upcoming schedule of releases. While only Pro Soccer: Legend Eleven has a firm release date (May 8th, for those interested), several other games are on the list. That includes the Lies of P DLC, which is scheduled for "2nd Half 2024." That's obviously pretty vague, but it does give us a rough idea of when to expect the new DLC.

Again, that window is wide open. The second half of this year puts it out sometime between July and December. Remember Lies of P originally launched in September, so the team could be looking at the first anniversary for the release date but doesn't want to slap a date on until they're confident the DLC is locked in. That seems like the most likely scenario, but development is always messy and plans can easily change.

What'll be most interesting about the release date is what that means for Lies of P 2. It would have been foolish to expect the team to turn things around quickly and get a second game out this year, but the ending of the game showed the developers were already thinking about the future. With that in mind, we might see the sequel by 2025, especially if the DLC is met with the same critical and commercial success as the main game.

Either way, it's a good year for DLC for hit Soulslike games. Lies of P's DLC is dropping at some point later this year, but that's far from the only DLC for fans of the genre. Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is coming later this summer, bringing another massive drop of content to FromSoftware's gigantic world. It'll be out on June 21st for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms.

This year has unfortunately been filled with video game developer studios closing and/or laying off the talented people who build games that so many people love, and as the first half of this year reaches its curtain call and companies are planning their financials for the next fiscal year ahead there are difficult decisions to make. Unfortunately, the latest studio to announce the impacts of the current economic environment is Phoenix Labs, the studio behind Dauntless and Fae Farm.

Per the announcement made by Phoenix Labs, the studio is restructuring in order to "pave a path for a strong future," which includes canceling in-development titles and laying off members of the teams working on those games. Specifically, the announcement states that Phoenix Labs' restructuring and focusing on the above two mentioned titles and supporting their corresponding communities "unfortunately means canceling work on all other projects at the studio, which will impact many of our colleagues immediately. We are giving notices to everyone whose roles are affected. This restructure has not come easily, and truly has been the last resort to ensure Phoenix Labs can survive, and thrive in the long term. It's impossible to put into words how deeply we value every talented individual who has contributed their hard work and passion to every project at our studio."

The announcement continues, "We are doing all we can to help our departing team members in this interim period and encourage any studios looking for incredible talent to speak with the one-of-a-kind people that have been a part of Phoenix Labs' journey."

The layoffs have reportedly impacted about 140 former Phoenix Labs employees per Polygon's Nicole Carpenter, who also indicated that one of the canceled games was due to be announced soon. This was confirmed by one of the developers who was impacted by the layoffs, Former UX lead Noah Watkins, who wrote on LinkedIn, "The most frustrating part is how close we were to announcing our new game that many have spent 5+ years on."

Phoenix Labs principal engineer Kris Morness also posted on LinkedIn to touch on the decisions at Phoenix Labs, indicating the studio's purchase from last year as an issue: "Forte just cancelled all projects in development including the game we were announcing in one month." Forte purchased Phoenix Labs in 2023, and the studio has now had three rounds of layoffs between 2023 and now.

Deepest apologies and best of luck to those impacted by the layoffs at Phoenix.

Developer Steel City Interactive launched its boxing game into early access on PC more than a year ago, allowing fans to hop in and try out various aspects of Undisputed during development. Today, the team finally announced the game's release date with a brand-new trailer featuring several big-name boxers. On top of the release date reveal, Steel City Interactive revealed two editions for players to choose from and announced some of its post-launch plans. Whether you've been playing Undisputed since day one or this will be your first time hopping in, it's an exciting time to be a video game boxing fan.

Disputed Boxing Release Date Announced

Technically, if you want to play Undisputed right now, you can do so on PC. That said, the 1.0 release is set for October 11th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Players can pick between the standard and WBC deluxe editions, though both versions will unlock Roy Jones Jr. from 1993 as a preorder bonus.

The WBC edition includes three different packs. The Fighters Pack gives players Jaime Munguia, Regis Prograis, Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, Dmitry Bivol, Caleb Plant, and Julio Cesar Chavez, along with alternative ring gear for each fighter. The Apparel Pack has alternative ring gear for Claressa Shields, Canelo Alvarez, Oleksandr Usyk, Katie Taylor, Tyson Furty, and Amir Khan. Finally, The Eras Pack gives players access to younger versions of three star fighters: 2009 Tyson Fury, 2011 Canelo Alvarez, and 1964 Muhammad Ali. You'll also get three days of early access.

Steel City Interactive also noted that players should expect "a calendar of exciting paid and free post-launch content including new fighters, apparel, and venues awaits Undisputed's champions and will keep new fights coming post-launch."

That extra post-launch content should be fun, but Undisputed will be full of stuff to do at launch. The game will have over 70 boxers at launch and players can create their own fighter with Undisputed's character creator. They can then take those fighters into Career Mode, which should be even more fleshed out by the time the game is ready for primetime. That's also true for the gameplay, which has been a strong point throughout most of early access but could use some tweaking, especially online.

Luckily, Undisputed still has several months to iron out any bugs and get the game ready for consoles. Undisputed launches on October 11th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. If you buy the WBC edition, you'll be able to hop in on October 8th.

New details have been leaked about Valve's next hero shooter game, which is also now reportedly titled Deadlock. Thanks to a known Valve news source and leaker Gabe Follower, a content creator that heavily follows the ongoings of Valve and Valve boss Gabe Newell (per the username...), we have some potential additional details on the upcoming game. Of course, all of this information from Gabe Follower should be taken with a grain of salt, as they're ultimately leaks and therefore could prove to be incorrect whenever Valve shares more information on the game in an official capacity, but it's still nice to have some details to consider.

According to Gabe Follower, Valve's Deadlock is a "Competitive third person hero-based shooter. 6 vs 6 battling on huge map with 4 lanes. Usable abilities and items. Tower defense mechanics. Fantasy setting mixed with steampunk. Magicians, weird creatures and robots. Fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite."

Gabe follower continued the topic in another thread to draw some additional comparisons, stating "Basically, fast-paced interesting ADHD gameplay. Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die. Hero design pretty much inspired by Dota universe. Main map references modern steampunk European city (little bit like Half-Life). Initially game had sci-fi elements inspired by Half-Life and Portal, but after bad feedback dev team decided to focus on fantasy."

While Valve primarily focuses on Steam nowadays, the company pioneered the hero shooter genre with the release of Team Fortress 2 in 2007. As for hero shooters as a whole, they've made quite a name for themselves in gaming space over the last several years with games like Blizzard's Overwatch, EA's Apex Legends, and Riot's Valorant dominating the genre. While these three massive titles still have a consistently active fanbase and content creators, there's plenty of room for additional releases into the genre, something NetEase is taking advantage of with their upcoming title Marvel Rivals. It's only natural the studio that paved the way for the genre would want to circle back to it, as Valve is doing with Deadlock.

And while according to these reports from Gabe Follower Deadlock will have aspects that make it a combination of these popular titles and more, there are some notable differences that would bring something fresh to the genre such as tower defense elements, floating rails, and most of all that it's from the third-person perspective rather than first-person like most of the other titles.

At its latest earnings report, 2K Games revealed an updated release window for Grand Theft Auto 6, sending fans into a tizzy for the highly anticipated game. However, the report also revealed a few more tantalizing details about the company's other projects. One of the more notable announcements is that the team is planning to reveal another new game at this year's Summer Game Fest show. 2K says this reveal will show off one of its "most beloved" franchises, which has fans wondering if 2K is about to show the next Mafia or Bioshock game early next month.

2K Games Teases Next Game Reveal for Summer Game Fest

When fans think about beloved game franchises from 2K Games, the two most likely culprits (outside of Rockstar games) are Bioshock and Mafia. The former has been mostly dormant since Bioshock Infinite launched in 2013, while Mafia launched a remaster for the first game in 2020. The most recent new mainline Mafia game was in 2016, meaning both series have both gone around a decade since getting a new release.

The tease doesn't provide any hints about which game this reveal might be for, but both franchises have games in active development. On the Bioshock front, a rumor from last year claims that the next Bioshock won't launch until 2028. If that rumor is to be believed, we probably won't get a Bioshock reveal at SGF. However, that rumor started from a post on a concept artist's ArtStation, so you'll want to take it with a massive grain of salt.

Mafia, on the other hand, was rumored to be making "preparations for [an] announcement regarding the Mafia series' as recently as last month. That rumor lines up much better with the Summer Game Fest timeline, but you'll still want to keep up a wall of skepticism until 2K makes the official reveal. It's also worth noting the source for the Mafia 4 rumor doesn't have a very long track record for leaks. They've proven trustworthy with the leaks they've posted, they just haven't been in the game for very long.

Either way, fans won't have to wait much longer to see what game this mysterious tease is about. Summer Game Fest's main event kicks off on June 7th at 5pm ET. The reveal will be a part of the main show, so you'll be able to catch it during the stream along with a ton of other games.

Earlier today, the Jason Universe was announced by Horror, Inc. The initiative will see a major expansion of content based on the Friday the 13th franchise, including new movies, merchandise, and video games. While details are pretty slim at the moment, it seems part of this initiative will see Jason Vorhees content in multiple video games. At this time, we don't have any concrete details, but an official Jason Universe Twitter account is now live, and it's following just a few users on the platform, including the accounts for Fortnite and Call of Duty. That seems to be a pretty big hint about the future!

When Will Jason Come to Fortnite and Call of Duty?

It's possible Epic Games and Activision will hold off on any kind of official announcement, and we have no idea when it might actually happen. However it's worth noting that the next 13th that falls on a Friday happens in September. It's very possible that's when we could see Jason show up in some places, and it will be interesting to see how the villain gets used. Call of Duty has had content based on horror films like Scream, so it makes sense that Jason could show up in a similar fashion. Fortnite could also offer multiple skin options. The most likely skin would be the classic "goalie mask" design that first appeared in Friday the 13th Part III. However, we could also see the "burlap sack mask" from Part II, or the futuristic design from Jason X.

How Jason shows up in games will likely depend on exactly what Horror, Inc. has obtained the rights to. Even though the company seems to have secured the rights to make things related to Jason, horror rights can be complicated and extremely specific; for example, the developers of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre can only reference the first film. It's possible there could be similar hoops to jump through with new Friday the 13th content.

Friday the 13th Video Games

The legal rights to the Friday the 13th franchise have been causing headaches for fans over the last several years. Friday the 13th: The Game was beloved by franchise fans, but new content had to be put on hold, and the game was subsequently delisted. Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle was similarly pulled from digital storefronts as a result of these rights issues, and that was another game well-regarded by fans. Last year, series composer Harry Manfredini was interviewed by Rely on Horror, and he mentioned that a new Friday the 13th video game is in the works. However, no details have been revealed since.

Now that it seems like the legal issues surrounding Jason Vorhees have been squared away, it's just a matter of time before the iconic villain starts popping up in different places. Fortnite and Call of Duty are both no-brainers, and that could lead to a lot more. For fans that have been clamoring to see Jason's return, it seems the floodgates are about to open!

Would you be happy to see Jason Vorhees in Fortnite? What about in Call of Duty? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Wario64]

Despite circulating speculations and rumors over the last couple of months that Rockstar Games' highly anticipated upcoming title Grand Theft Auto 6 is facing potential delays from its Calendar 2025 release, particularly since Take-Two just faced a round of layoffs internally, Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games are confident in '25 being the year for GTA6. As such, during the Take-Two Interactive Software's earnings report from the company's fourth quarter and 2024 Fiscal Year have narrowed that timeline to Fall of Calendar 2025. This would put the expected release window between September 1st and November 30th.

Per the latest earnings report, Take-Two notes that they expect their earnings to grow in the next fiscal year as they enter it with "positive momentum." This momentum and expectation is attributed to Rockstar Games' upcoming Grand Theft Auto entry, with Take-Two stating, "Our outlook reflects a narrowing of Rockstar Games' previously established window of Calendar 2025 to Fall of Calendar 2025 for Grand Theft Auto VI. We are highly confident that Rockstar Games will deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience, and our expectations for the commercial impact of the title continue to increase."

Currently, the only description on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6 page reads: "Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet." The trailer released for the game in December of last year offered a great look at Leonida, as well as one of the upcoming game's protagonists Lucia. Since the trailer release, which shattered a YouTube record for 24-hour debut on a non-music video, Rockstar hasn't had much more to provide about the game, though this could change in the coming months as there is the Xbox Games Showcase and Summer Games Fest right around the corner. As for more unofficial news, it's reported that GTA6's story is shorter than another popular Rockstar title, Red Dead Redemption 2, amongst plenty more to keep fans speculating in the time until Fall of Calendar 2025.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch in Fall of Calendar 2025 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A PC release for GTA6 has yet to be even implied by Rockstar or Take-Two, so it's likely if the game makes its way to the platform it'll be well after the console release, a pattern previous Grand Theft Auto games have followed.

Universal Pictures revealed multiple release dates for a few of its highly anticipated Blumhouse titles as well as new dates for sequels M3GAN 2.0 and The Black Phone 2. M3GAN shattered box-office predictions in early 2023 earning over $181 million worldwide on a $12 million budget. The film, which earned high praise for bridging the gap between campy and horror, takes a deeper look into artificial intelligence through a life-like doll that's programmed to be a child's greatest companion, M3GAN. After Gemma, a roboticist, gifts her niece a prototype of M3GAN, it produces deadly consequences. The sequel is shifting from May 16, 2025 to a little over a month later at June 27, 2025. It was previously moved from January to May of 2025.

As for The Black Phone 2, the sequel will release four years after the original film. In the first film, which released in the summer of 2021, Finley, a 13-year-old boy, was kidnapped by a masked killer and locked in the basement. A phone that's on the wall begins ringing and when Finley picks up, he comes to realize the voices on the other end are from the killer's previous victims who will stop at nothing to make sure what happened to them doesn't happen to Finley too. The sequel was originally slated to debut in theaters three days after the four-year anniversary of the original. It will now move from June 27, 2025 to October 17, 2025.

The other three films on the slate -- Five Nights at Freddy's 2, The Woman in the Yard, and Drop -- are also set to debut in 2025. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 follows the first film, adapted from the highly popularized video game series. Starring Josh Hutcherson as Mike, fans will have to wait until the holiday season next year to return to the iconic Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria where Mike works as night security to support himself and his sister. Five Nights at Freddy's landed in theaters and on Peacock last October where it became Blumhouse's highest-grossing film of all time, earning $291 million worldwide. The sequel hits theaters December 5, 2025.

As for The Woman in the Yard and Drop, the plots of both films are being kept under wraps at the moment. The Woman in the Yard comes from Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra from a script by Sam Stefanak. Danielle Deadwyler who stars in the film as well as acts as an EP, will be joined by Russell Horsby, Okwui Okpokwasili, Peyton Jackson, and Estella Kahiha. Jason Blum produced alongside Stephanie Allain. Collet-Serra, Gabrielle Ebron, Scott Greenberg, and James Moran also serve as EPs. The Woman in the Yard is tentatively set to release on March 28, 2025.

Drop, from Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, stars Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus, The Bold Type), Violett Beane (Hulu's Death and Other Details) and Jacob Robinson. It will release in theaters April 11, 2025.

Hades 2 finally launched into early access last week and was an instant success for developer Supergiant. Of course, that's not a big surprise given how beloved the first game is. That said, seeing it pass 100,000 concurrent players on day one was undoubtedly impressive. Despite that success, Hades 2 is still in active development, which means Supergiant is dropping regular updates for the game. Earlier this week, the team teased what was coming in the first patch, and today that patch was released. The main focus of Update 1 is improving in-game movement by slightly buffing both Sprint and Dash.

When you load into the new Hades 2 patch, you'll immediately note that Sprint is slightly faster and that you can turn more easily. Meanwhile, the Dash has been updated to make it more reliable. Supergiant has also improved The Swift Runner ability from the Altar of Ashes to bring it in line with these changes. Players will be happy to learn that the update has improved resource gathering. Now, if you've unlocked the corresponding Gathering Tool, you can collect the resource even if you don't bring the correct tool. Plus, you can prioritize a resource in the Training Grounds to make more of them spawn during your runs.

Below, you'll find the full patch notes for update 1. Hades 2 is available now on PC.

Hades 2 Early Access Update 1 Patch Notes

Here's our first patch in

Early Access!! We're very grateful for all the feedback so far, which inspired this first set of targeted improvements and fixes. Next, we'll be working on a patch with balance changes and additional improvements based on what we've observed. Thank you for playing!

Note: Bold indicates a change inspired by community feedback! (Almost everything in this case...!)

General Gameplay

• Your Sprint is innately faster and turning is more responsive; re-scaled abilities that boost this
• You now can Dash out of many attack recovery animations more reliably
• You now can gather from any resource point once you have unlocked the corresponding Gathering Tool; you now can Prioritize any available Tool in the Training Grounds to make its resources appear as often as before, while resources for Tools you do not Prioritize will appear far less often

Altar of Ashes

• The Swift Runner: now also makes your Dash immediate (note the faster speed means you are invulnerable for very slightly less time); re-scaled Sprint speed bonus since Sprint is innately faster now

Level Design & Environments

• It is easier to Dash across chasms in Oceanus
• Driftwood resources are more common in the Rift of Thessaly

Menus & UI

• Using a Well of Charon displays your current Gold without the need to check your Boon Info
• The Grasp Upgrade Tutorial in the Altar of Ashes will repeat if ignored
• Added Patch Notes option to the Main Menu (where you can read this!)

Miscellaneous

• Early encounters with Eris are less likely to occur; she also drops something of value...
• Related, if this already occurred, look for a one-time bonus in the Crossroads while Eris is present
• Entries in the Book of Shadows are generally easier to reveal
• You can gift Echo without having to wait around as long after conversing
• Adjusted Animal Familiar upgrades invalidated by the Gathering Tool changes above
• In the Hades Flashback, a hint will eventually play for players who don't realize they are in control
• Improved mouse selection in various cases
• Improved support for some additional controllers
• Abilities that boost Sprint speed display more-accurate numbers (generally lower than before)
• Updates and fixes to translations in some languages

Bug Fixes

• Fixed several issues with Dark Side (Selene)
• Fixed Sun Worshiper (Apollo) sometimes preventing new foes from spawning
• Fixed Fire Extinguisher (Hestia) not dealing damage as expected
• Fixed Sister Blades Omega Attack not hitting Chronos reliably from certain angles
• Fixed Satyr Hoplites retaining the ability to block while afflicted with Twilight Curse (Selene)
• Fixed various cases of foes sometimes spawning out of bounds
• Fixed camera zoom-in getting stuck vs. Polyphemus in certain situations
• Fixed cases where you could Dash out of bounds in the Crossroads
• Fixed Fishing Pier events in the Crossroads not passing Whiles like other similar events
• Fixed autolock not clearing as expected while using mouse controls
• Fixed keyboard inputs sometimes getting stuck unexpectedly
• Fixed several input issues switching from gamepad to mouse-and-keyboard controls
• Fixed several issues playing in ultrawide resolutions
• Fixed some visual effects vs. Chronos lingering between phases or after the fight
• Fixed a Melino? voice line repeating unexpectedly around the City of Ephyra Bat Cages
• Fixed various rare crashes
• Fixed several text errors
• Other minor fixes

Quote of the Patch

'...now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness--all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night.'

~The Orphic Hymns, 71: To Melino? (Anonymous; A. Athanassakis translation)[/]

Today, developer Electronic Arts has officially unveiled the covers for the much-anticipated EA Sports College Football 25. Fans have been waiting for over a decade to play this game, so the hype is understandably at a fever pitch. While the team is holding the full reveal trailer back for May 17th, EA did reveal several important pre-release details for EA Sports College Football 25. Below, you'll find everything you need to know about preorder bonuses, the different editions, and how to get early access to College Football 25 before it launches on July 19th.

EA Sports College Football 25 Preorder Bonuses and Special Editions

The standard edition of EA Sports College Football 25 will cost $69.99 and includes the base version of the game. If you preorder before July 18th, you'll also grab a few extra goodies for College Football 25's Ultimate Team mode. That includes an Alma Mater Choice Pack, a Cover Athlete Choice Pack, and the Bring Glory Home uniform. The Alma Mater pack is a choice between 134 different player cards, so it should be a good way to start a theme team, while the Cover Athlete pack will presumably be a choice between Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, and Colorado weapon Travis Hunter.

The deluxe edition comes from with everything listed above and several additional rewards for $99.99. The most notable bonus is the three days of early access, starting on July 16th. Outside of that, players will get 4,600 College Football Points to use on in-game packs. If you preorder the deluxe edition before June 27th, you will also get the Heisman Hopeful Choice Pack. EA hasn't given any hints as to which player cards you'll be choosing from in that pack, so hopefully, they release those details soon.

Finally, EA has announced an MVP bundle which includes the deluxe editions of EA Sports College Football 25 and Madden NFL 25 for $149.99. Obviously, that includes everything listed above, but you'll also get Madden's extra content, which includes three days of early access, 4,600 Madden Points, a Cover Athlete Elite Player Item, an Elite Player Item, and more.

Remember, this is only the start of EA Sports College Football 25's pre-release schedule. On May 17th, the team is posting a full reveal for the game, presumably showing off gameplay and all the modes. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for further info, and get those preorders in if you want the extra goodies that come along with it.

EA Sports College Football 25 launches on July 19th for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Not one, but two Steam games have been randomly made free, and both are fairly popular. The first of these two games is Endless Legend from Amplitude Studios and Sega. Released in 2014, the 4x strategy game has a "Very Positive" Steam User Review rating, thanks to 84 percent of 17,349 user reviews being positive. This about lines up with the game's 82 on Metacritic. Meanwhile, the strategy game is listed as "Playable" on Steam Deck as opposed to "Verified." This means it may require "extra effort" by Steam Deck users to interact with and configure. As for how long the game -- which normally runs at $29.99 -- is going to be free for, it's a while. More specifically, it is free to download until May 23.

The second free game is described as an online digital board game. It is also quite old at this point, having released in 2013 via developer Orange_Juice and publisher Fruitbat Factory. If you haven't connected the dots yet, the game in question is 100% Orange Juice, which normally costs $6.99. According to 25,547 user reviews, it is pretty good, because 92 percent of these user reviews are positive, giving the game a "Very Positive" rating itself. Unlike, Endless Legend, it doesn't have any Metacritic date to contrast this with. Also unlike Endless Legend, the game is "Verified" on Steam Deck.

Below, you can read more about each game, courtesy of an official elevator pitch of each, and check out a trailer for the pair of free games as well:

Endless Legend

About: "Endless Legend is a 4X turn-based fantasy strategy game by the creators of Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless. Control every aspect of your civilization as you struggle to save your homeworld Auriga. Create your own Legend!"

100% Orange Juice

About: "100% Orange Juice is a digital multiplayer board game populated by developer Orange Juice's all-star cast. Characters from Flying Red Barrel, QP Shooting, Suguri and Sora come together with all-new characters to duke it out... with dice."

For more Steam coverage -- including all of the latest Steam rumors, all of the latest Steam leaks and deals, and all of the latest Steam deals -- click here.

Friday the 13th is becoming an entire franchise universe. The "Jason Universe" has been announced by Horror, Inc. There will reportedly be "new activations" for Friday the 13th content, which will span multiple platforms including entertainment (TV/movies), games, "immersive experiences," merchandise offerings, and more. Announcements about these various activations are teased to be happening "throughout 2024."

You can also throw a bookmark up on the official Jason Universe website. Right now, the site is just a landing page requesting sign-up info, with the promise of news updates and more reveals to come.

"For decades, Jason shocked and thrilled audiences who kept coming back for more. We're excited to work with Victor Miller and Marc Toberoff on new projects we'll announce in the coming months," said Robert Barsamian, President of Horror, Inc., in a statement provided exclusively to IGN.

Robbie Barsamian, VP of Horror, Inc. added that, "We're focused on honoring the legacy while elevating the fan experience and appealing to today's horror audiences as we develop new ways to watch, interact. and engage with the Jason Universe."

"With the unique ability to remain at the forefront of pop culture for 44 years, Jason continues to top charts as one of the scariest villains of all time with strong global awareness across multiple generations thanks to billions of TikTok views plus millions and millions of gamers and movie fans," Sheri Conn, Global GM of Horror, Inc. said in her own statement, "We can't wait to introduce new Jason Universe activations to these amazing fans."

What New Friday the 13th Movies & TV Shows Are Coming?

A Friday the 13th prequel TV series called Crystal Lake is getting a joint production from Peacock and A24. Hannibal TV series creator Bryan Fuller was attached as showrunner, writer, director, and executive producer at one point - but he's now no longer attached. As of right now, the project is still on the A24 production slate, although it doesn't seem to be making any forward progress.

Scream movies veteran Kevin Williamson was also attached to Crystal Lake, and shared a pretty awesome example of what we could be in for.

"So sorry I won't be a part of what would have been an epic Bryan Fuller show. Your pilot was so beautifully realized," Williamson shared on Twitter. "A gorgeous [portrait] of a mother unraveling in her grief. Not to mention bloody horrific! I was so looking forward to our hour-long chase episode!"

In 2022, Fuller had the following tease for fans about Crystal Lake:

"We're going to have roughly five times the per-episode budget that we had on Hannibal..." Fuller explained. "It will absolutely be recognizable for the hardcore Friday the 13th fans, but will also have an appeal to people who are simply interested in top-shelf TV storytelling."

Blumhouse studio head Jason Blum has made it clear that he's interested in getting more Jason movies into theaters. However, the rights to the character were tied up in litigation (between original director Sean S. Cunningham and original writer Victor Miller), making the pathway to get there very murky.

"Friday the 13th is what I would do," Blum shared with Collider when asked about the next horror property he wants to revive. "It's not a Blumhouse project, but I'm trying to will it into being one. It's just a piece of IP I've always loved."

Suddenly, all of the murkiness seems to be clearing away. The Jason Universe site touts the tagline being "a new era from the original owners of the Friday the 13th franchise," suggesting the legalities may finally be settled.

We'll keep you updated on official announcements from the Jason Universe.

Big things are coming to Splatoon 3 on June 1st, with the start of Sizzle Season 2024. The new season should have a lot for players to get excited about, including a new stage known as Lemuria Hub, as well as a pair of new weapons. The Wellstring V is a new Stringer weapon, while the Mint Decavitator is a new Splatana. There have been a lot of unique Splatoon weapons over the years, but the Mint Decavitator might be one of the weirdest, as it's basically a tube of toothpaste that's wielded like a sword!

In addition, the new season will see the start of Big Big Run. The Salmon Run mode will see the attack of the Triumvirate, which is made up of all three King Salmonids: Cohozuna, Horrorboros, and Megalodontia. Nintendo is calling Big Big Run "chaotic," and players are already expressing their excitement and nervousness about the massive task ahead of them! A new trailer for Sizzle Season 2024 can be found below.

The End of Splatoon 3

At the end of the trailer, a Jellyfish can be seen walking in the desert with a bag that has the logos for all three idol groups spanning the Splatoon franchise: the Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, and Deep Cut. This has led to speculation among fans that there will be a Splatfest competition forcing players to choose between the three groups. At this time, that hasn't been confirmed, but many are wondering if this could be the Final Fest for Splatoon 3. There have been indications that Nintendo is planning to wrap up new content for the game, and shift its resources towards making a Splatoon game for the company's next console.

Nothing has been confirmed, but with June rapidly approaching, we should have more details in the coming weeks. Final Fests in each Splatoon have had a way of setting up the story and theme for the following game. For example, Splatoon 2's Final Fest: Splatocalypse had players choosing between Chaos and Order. Team Chaos won, and the Splatlands location in Splatoon 3 showed players a world of chaos (the game's Side Order DLC showed a more orderly alternative). A Final Fest pitting the three idol groups against each other would be a big note to end Splatoon 3 on, but it's unclear if that would be a Final Fest setting up Splatoon 4, or just another Splatfest theme.

June Nintendo Direct

If Sizzle Season really is going to be the last big content update for Splatoon 3, we might get some more info during next month's Nintendo Direct. That will take place after Sizzle Season has already started, but it would be the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to address whether things are starting to wind down, and confirm the next Splatfest theme following this month's competition.

Are you excited for the new season of Splatoon 3? Do you think content in the game is starting to wrap up? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

According to many rumors, teases from Bethesda, and most speculation, The Elder Scrolls 6 is going to take players to Hammerfell, home of the Redguards, and a land that borders Skyrim, the setting of the previous game. The game's map may go beyond this, but Hammerfell looks poised to be the primary setting. That said, not a great deal is known about Hammerfell compared to some other regions that have been fleshed out with more games or via Elder Scrolls Online. To this end, we have comprised a quick summary of what you should know about the region of Tamriel.

Background Information:

Hammerfell, sometimes referred to as Volenfell, is a province in west Tamriel that is bordered by High Rock in the north, Skyrim to the northeast, and Cyrodiil to both the east and southeast. It is notably home of the Redguards, a race of men who come from from the lost continent of Yokuda and a race of men known for their prowess in combat.

Traditionally, Hammerfell is ruled by either a High King or High Queen after splitting from the Empire of Tamriel in the Great War, achieving sovereignty 4E 175 upon rejecting the White-Gold Concordat. Before the Redguards arrived, the land was home to the likes of Dwemer, Neds, Keptu, Giant Goblins, as well as the Orsimer.

Geography:

For a video game, Hammerfell is great because it has multiple types of biomes, though most of its population lives on the various coasts, making it an urban and maritime population. Generally, it is considered a tropical-arid land with a range of biomes that include jungles, deserts, mountains, and grasslands. There aren't many forests though. The ones that do exist are on the coast and along the border of Hammerfell and Skyrim and Hammerfell and High Rock. There are also the famous and rugged Dragontail Mountains along the same border with Skyrim. Meanwhile, the Colovian Highlands make up the southern border with Cyrodiil. The southeastern region continue the grasslands. There is also a rocky region, Dak'fron, in the northwestern parts of Hammerfell that runs up to the most promnent geographical feature of Hammerfell: the Alik'r Desert. This desert makes up all of western Hammerfell.

The Alik'r Desert is widely considered to be the most inhospitable region in all of Tamriel, so it will be interesting to see how players will traverse it. In fact, for most of history, only monsters and beasts, including perhaps most famously giant scorpions, inhabited the region. The fauna, combined with the lack of water, sandstorms, and intense heat make it a very challenging place to pass through, let alone live. There is a human population now though, but scarcely. These few and hardened people are known as the Dune Dweller Redguards, who move around the desert and over the remnants of ancient civilizations buried in the sand.

Settlements:

• Abah's Landing
  
• Belkarth (home of the Star-Gazers)
  
• Bergama
  
• Dragonstar (home of Dragonstar Caravan Company.)
  
• Dragontail
  
• Elinhir (home of Blackcaster Mages Guild)
  
• Gilane
  
• Hallin's Stand
  
• Hegathe
  
• Kozanset
  
• Lainlyn
  
• Myrkwasa
  
• Orsinium (Orcish city-state)
  
• Port Hunding
  
• Rihad
  
• Santaki
  
• Satakalaam
  
• Sentinel (capital of Forebears)
  
• Ska'vyn
  
• Taneth (home of the Forebears)
• Verkarth
  

Dungeons & Dragons has revealed the hobby store-exclusive alt-art cover for their upcoming 2024 Player's Handbook. Today, Polygon revealed the alt-art cover for the 2024 Player's Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons, which is set for release in September. The cover, by Wylie Beckert, features a classic D&D adventuring party (consisting of a fighter, wizard, cleric, and rogue) enjoying some tea alongside a gold dragon. You can check out the cover, which will be exclusively be sold at hobby stores, down below. The regular cover for the new Player's Hadnbook was revealed earlier this week.

Wizards of the Coast has released alternate art treatments for rulebooks for several years, with Beckert (a well-known Magic: The Gathering artist) having previously been tapped for the alternate art cover for Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, the last major "expansion" for Dungeons & Dragons.

Per Polygon, the cover will also feature a special gold filigree border designed by Simen Meyer, who designed the alternate art covers for Candlekeep Mysteries and Keys from the Golden Vault.

The 2024 Player's Handbook will mark the beginning of a new era for Dungeons & Dragons, with the rulebook featuring revamped character-building rules and rebalances for many classes. The Player's Handbook and other rulebooks will also feature new subsystems, including a weapon mastery system that adds secondary features to most martial weapons beyond simple damage. Perhaps more importantly, The 2024 Player's Handbook will feature tons of new artwork with an aim of defining the game and illustrating its many spells, species, and characters for the first time. While the Player's Handbook will feature revamped rules, Wizards of the Coast is insistent the rules do not constitute a new edition.

The 2024 Player's Handbook will be released on September 17th. Pre-orders should be available here on Amazon soon. New versions of the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual will be released in November 2024 and February 2025 respectively.

The Star Wars franchise has gotten a massive number of video games over the years, and many of them have been re-released on modern platforms. There are still some notable exceptions, but it seems a 2002 Star Wars game will be coming back soon on PS4 and PS5. A now removed PlayStation Store listing for Star Wars: The Clone Wars was recently uncovered by the website PS Deals, and will apparently be arriving on June 11th. According to the listing, the game will feature some modern improvements, including rewind, quick save, up-rendering, and custom video filters.

A New PlayStation Plus Option?

Gematsu is speculating that The Clone Wars will be offered as part of the Classic Catalog for PlayStation Plus, but nothing has been confirmed at this time. For those unfamiliar with The Clone Wars, it was one of multiple games released following the theatrical debut of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. That same year also saw Star Wars: Bounty Hunter released, which is a game featuring Jango Fett. Bounty Hunter has been available on the PlayStation Store for a while now, but this would mark the first time that Star Wars: The Clone Wars has ever been made available for a second time.

As the game's name implies, Star Wars: The Clone Wars acts as something of a sequel to Attack of the Clones. The war between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists is now in full swing, and the missions mostly take place through vehicular combat. However, the game also features some third-person action, putting players in the role of three different Jedi heroes: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Mace Windu.

Bringing Back the Prequel Era

Unfortunately, it seems that the PS4 and PS5 versions of The Clone Wars will only support two-player local multiplayer, as opposed to the four-player that was offered through the multi-tap for the original PS2 version. That's bound to be a bit of a bummer, as the game offers multiplayer modes such as deathmatch, king-of-the-hill, and more.

For fans of the Star Wars prequel era, this should be a fun addition to the PlayStation library! The game was mostly well-received when it first came out, and while it remains to be seen how well it actually holds up, it can be fun to revisit some of these older Star Wars games. The prequel era also hasn't gotten much focus in recent games, with titles like Jedi: Survivor and Star Wars Outlaws focusing on the original trilogy instead. For fans of that era in particular, Star Wars: The Clone Wars might be worth checking out when (or if) it does arrive on PlayStation!

Did you play this Star Wars game on PS2? Do you plan on checking it out next month? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

After over a decade of waiting, fans of college football are finally getting a new game in developer Electronic Arts' long-running series later this year. While the developers have changed the name from NCAA Football to College Football 25, the aim remains the same: create the most realistic virtual football game possible. Last week, the deluxe edition cover for EA Sports College Football 25 leaked via the PlayStation Store, bumping fan excitement to a fever pitch. Today, the team has officially unveiled the standard and deluxe edition covers, giving fans a look at the cover stars who will usher in a new era with EA Sports College Football 25, while also announcing the game's release date.

EA Sports College Football 25 Release Date

For several weeks, rumors have been circulating that EA Sports College Football 25 would be launching on July 19th. Today's announcement has revealed that those rumors were right on the money. College Football 25 will indeed launch on July 19th. Curiously, the press release only mentions that College Football 25 is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, meaning the game may be a next-gen exclusive. That would certainly be an interesting choice from Electronic Arts, though the team should clarify its plans soon.

EA Sports College Football 25 Covers Revealed

As mentioned, the deluxe edition cover for EA Sports College Football 25 was leaked last week. We learned that several players are gracing this edition of the cover, including Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado weapon Travis Hunter, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins. The official reveal has confirmed this is the cover, while also dropping the standard edition cover.

Somewhat surprisingly, the stand cover for EA Sports College Football 25 doesn't include any new athletes. Instead, the team has chosen to focus on Edwards, Ewers, and Hunter in a close-up shot. Many assumed one of the covers might feature a former college star to play on that nostalgia from the NCAA Football series, but the team is sticking with modern-day college athletes this season.

EA Sports College Football 25 launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on July 19th. EA will release further details later this summer.

This week's free Epic Games Store game is 2014 Game of the Year winner, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Not are only Epic Games Store users getting the BioWare game for free, but all of its DLC, because the version that has been made free is the Game of the Year edition that comes with all said DLC. As always, this offer is available for one week. Come May 23, it will be replaced with a new free game. Between now and then though, you can claim the game for free, and once claimed, it is yours to keep.

"When the sky opens up and rains down chaos, the world needs heroes," reads an official blurb about the game for those unfamiliar. "Become the savior of Thedas in Dragon Age: Inquisition - Game of the Year Edition. You are the Inquisitor, tasked with saving the world from itself. But the road ahead is paved with difficult decisions. Thedas is a land of strife. Factions constantly war with each other even as a larger demonic invasion has begun. And you? You and your band of champions are the only ones who can hold it together. It's your job to lead them...or fall."

The game's official description adds: "You're not just deciding who to send into which battle in Inquisition; you're making important decisions that shape the future of Thedas. Each choice carries weight, and your actions can lead to a variety of outcomes. Inquisition is a highly personalized journey, where one wrong move could set in motion a series of events that alters the physical aspects of the world itself, making your Thedas - and your heroes - feel truly unique."

If you decide to check out the Game of the Year edition of Dragon Age: Inquisition now that it is free with Epic Games Store, expect to be playing it for a long time. At bare minimum, it will take you 50 hours to just mainline the game. If you throw in side content, you're looking at 100 hours. Meanwhile, completionists will need to add another 50 hours to this.

Details about Return to Silent Hill have been pretty scarce since the movie was first announced, but that changed today, as we've now gotten our first look at the film. We don't have a trailer just yet, but Variety has shared an image from the movie, which features Pyramid Head. The character looks pretty close to his appearance in Silent Hill 2, and Pyramid Head can also be seen wielding the Great Knife, his iconic weapon from the series. While the image doesn't give us much else to go on, the colors are notable, as they do a great job evoking the video games.

The image of Pyramid Head in Return to Silent Hill can be found below.

What is Return to Silent Hill?

Return to Silent Hill is the next movie in the Silent Hill film series. The film will see the return of director Christophe Gans, who directed the first Silent Hill movie back in 2006. However, it seems viewers won't need any familiarity with the original, or the 2012 sequel Silent Hill: Revelation. Instead, this movie seems to be largely focused on adapting the 2001 video game Silent Hill 2, which was also self-contained. Like its video game inspiration, Return to Silent Hill will follow the story of James Sunderland as he searches Silent Hill for his wife, Mary. The two characters will be played by Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson, respectively,

It's rare to see a video game adaptation directly covering the events of a single game; typically, the writers and directors pick and choose elements from various titles and blend them together. However, Silent Hill 2 is widely regarded as the high point in the franchise, and its narrative has been acclaimed for more than two decades. In that regard, it makes a lot of sense to use as the focal point for a soft reboot of the movies.

Silent Hill 2 on PS5

Over the last few years, Konami has been putting a lot of effort into rebuilding the Silent Hill franchise. Return to Silent Hill is just one part of the equation, and there are several new video games currently in the works. The most notable of these also happens to be a remake of Silent Hill 2, which is coming to PlayStation 5 from the developer Bloober Team. At this time, a release date has not been announced, but rumors suggest it will be arriving this year. If it does, fans could get a chance to experience two different retellings of Silent Hill 2 in 2024: one on PS5, and the other on the big screen! Unfortunately, neither project has a set release date just yet.

What do you think of this image from Return to Silent Hill? Are you looking forward to the movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

Assassin's Creed Shadows made itself known to the world this week with the first trailer that showed off the game's dual protagonists, but once the pre-order information started surfacing, Assassin's Creed players were quick to pick up on an Internet connection requirement. Apparently, the game would require an Internet connection in order to install Assassin's Creed Shadows even if you bought the physical versions of the game. Stemming off that were concerns that the game would require a constant Internet connection at all times just to play Assassin's Creed Shadows, but Ubisoft cleared up those worries on Thursday by confirming that's not the case.

You will need an Internet connection to download the game regardless of what form it's played in, but you won't need an Internet connection afterwards to keep playing, Ubisoft said.

"We wanted to share some early information on the upcoming launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, following some questions we've noticed in the community," Ubisoft said. "Assassin's Creed Shadows will not require a mandatory connection at all times. An online connection will be needed to install the game, but you will be able to play the entire journey offline, and explore Japan without any online connection. We are super excited to bring Assassin's Creed to Feudal Japan on November 15 when the game releases, and cannot wait to show you more along the way!"

As Ubisoft teased, you'll finally be able to explore Japan in this new Assassin's Creed game, and we already have an idea of how much exploring you'll do thanks to a comparison to past Assassin's Creed games. According to Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed Shadows is most comparable to Assassin's Creed Odyssey in terms of its size.

You'll also be playing as two different protagonists in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but not in the way we've seen in past games where you got to pick a male or female character. Instead, you play as two distinct characters, Naoe and Yasuke, in Assassin's Creed Shadows which you can swap between at any time save for whatever moments are exclusive to those characters' stories.

"Live the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful African samurai of historical legend," Ubisoft teased. "Against the backdrop of the turbulent late Sengoku period, this remarkable duo will discover their common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan."

Assassin's Creed Shadows releases on November 15th.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A was announced back in February by The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and Nintendo. Since then, there's been no updates on it, at least from official sources. This hasn't changed, but we do have some new intel from an unofficial source. The source in question has proven reliable in the past though. More specifically, the intel comes from Riddler Khu, a very prominent Pokemon leaker with a long track record of leaks.

Unfortunately, the leaker doesn't have much to say about the upcoming Pokemon game. What they do have is bad news for any hoping to play it soon. According to the leaker, not only is a 2024 release not on the table, but Nintendo fans shouldn't count on playing it in early 2025 either. The leaker doesn't rule out a release sometime later in 2025, but if it does release in 2025, it will be during a different window than its predecessor, which came out in January.

If the game isn't going to release until much deeper into 2025, or possibly even later, then it is quite possible this will turn into a Nintendo Switch 2 game, or at least a cross-gen release. There is no official word when the next Nintendo console will release, but the expectation is it will be out in 2025.

All of that said, right now all we have are rumors and speculation. In other words, remember to take everything here with a grain of salt. Further, even if everything here is accurate, it doesn't mean it will remain accurate over time. Everything is always subject to change, and plans in game development change all the time.

At the moment of publishing, none of the implicated parties have commented on any of this. If this changes, we will be sure to update the story accordingly.

For more Pokemon coverage -- including all of the latest Pokemon news, all of the latest Pokemon rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Pokemon deals -- click here. Meanwhile, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think.

The Pokemon Trading Card Game will release a new special set featuring Pecharunt and the Loyal Three. Today, The Pokemon Company announced Shrouded Fable, a brand new "special" expansion for the Pokemon Trading Card Game that will be released in August. The set will debut Pecharunt, the Mythical Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and will also featuring the Loyal Three, which are tied to Pecharunt within the lore of the game. The set will also feature a new parallel foil pattern of some kind, along with special illustration cards (sold in boxed sets) featuring special illustration rare cards in a Ukiyo-e (woodblock) art style. The set will also feature the Illustration Rare cards of the Loyal Three Pokemon, which were kept out of the Twilight Masquerade set due for release later this month.

As a "special" set, Shrouded Fable won't be sold in individual booster packs. Instead, booster packs will only be available in boxed products like Elite Trainer Boxes, Special Collections, and Booster Bundles.

Notably, the set will also include the following new cards:

• Three ACE SPEC rare Trainer cards
• Five Pok?mon ex and one Tera Pok?mon ex
• 15 illustration rare Pok?mon
• 10 ultra rare Pok?mon ex, Tera Pok?mon ex and Supporter cards
• Five special illustration rare Pok?mon and Supporter cards
• Five hyper rare gold etched cards

This marks the second special set released for the Pokemon Trading Card Game this year, following the special Paldean Fates set that featured shiny variants of existing cards. It's rumored that a third special set could come out later this year featuring Dragon-type Pokemon, although it's possible that the cards from that special Japanese set will instead be incorporated into standard releases later this year.

New details have started to emerge about a game currently in development at Nintendo. Last week, the reliable leaker Midori mentioned a game codenamed "Banquet," but offered little in the way of additional details. Midori has now elaborated a bit, revealing the developers: NDCube and SmileBoom. For those unfamiliar with NDCube, the developer has largely focused on the Mario Party franchise since 2012, as well as other party games like Everybody 1-2 Switch and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. They're also responsible for the mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. It's not too surprising that the Nintendo owned studio is working on a new game, but this could be our first big hint at some of the company's plans for the rest of 2024.

Who is SmileBoom?

Naturally, Nintendo fans are already assuming that this is a new Mario Party; as many people on Twitter and Reddit have pointed out, Super Mario Party had the codename "Buffet," so the naming convention would fit. For those unfamiliar with SmileBoom, the Japanese studio has previously worked on titles like Smile Game Builder and RPG Developer Baskin. SmileBoom is likely there as a support studio, as the developer has previously chipped in on games like Mario Party Superstars.

While a new Mario Party seems to be the most likely scenario, it's also possible that this could be something more unusual, like NDCube's Clubhouse Games. Switch already has two Mario Party games on the system, and Nintendo does try to avoid oversaturating its systems with similar Mario games. Whatever it ends up being, a new game from NDCube would seem to fit in well with Nintendo's plans this year. Thus far, Nintendo has been largely leaning on smaller games to fill the void ahead of the launch of the company's new system in 2025. That means things like remasters and spin-off games, as opposed to major titles like a new 3D Mario, or Zelda.

Can This Rumor be Trusted?

Midori has a really strong track record, most recently leaking the existence of Sonic Rumble months before Sega's official announcement. While readers should always take leaks with a grain of salt, this is a leaker with a lot of credibility. With a new Nintendo Direct set to take place next month, it's possible we could get an official reveal for this game sometime in June. For now, Switch fans are just going to have to wait patiently to see what gets unveiled.

Do you think this is a new Mario Party game? Or do you think this is something else entirely? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Reddit]

A cancelled PS4 console exclusive has been revived and is returning with a new release on both the PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The game in question hails from 2014, a year that gave us Dragon Age: Inquisition, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, Hearthstone, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Shovel Knight, Bayonetta 2, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Dark Souls 2, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Divinity Original Sin, and Titanfall. It was a pretty light year. In fact, it was one of the lightest and slowest years in the modern era of gaming. In 2014, a survival-horror game called DreadOut also released on PC. It was also scheduled to come to PS4, where it would have been a console exclusive, but it was canned.

Fast-forward to 2024, ten years later, and the game in question is getting a remaster via the PS5 and Nintendo Switch. More specifically, Soft Source Publishing out of Singapore and developer Digital Happiness have announced DreadOut Remastered Collection for the aforementioned platforms. It includes not only a remaster of the original 2014 game, but a new standalone game dubbed DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark.

No specific release date has been provided, but the pair have confirmed the collection will release sometime this year. The release will be digital only outside of Asia, which will get a physical edition that could be imported for all those who don't mind jumping through those hoops to do so.

"DreadOut is a third-person supernatural horror game where you play as Linda, a high school student trapped in an old abandoned town. Equipped with her trusty smart-phone and an SLR camera, she will battle against terrifying encounters and solve mysterious puzzles which will ultimately determine her fate. Help her overcome the challenges that will stand before her. Survive the Dread," reads an official description of the new release.

The collection's official description continues: "When a group of high school students went astray from a field trip, they came across something totally unexpected. A town long forgotten trapped in a peaceful state of slumber. What they did not realize was what lurks within. And what seemed like an innocent stroll turns into disaster as the secluded town reveals its dark and terrible secrets. The presence of sinister forces from beyond their realm of existence. It all comes down to Linda. She will experience stirrings of unfamiliar powers, emerging from within her. These new found abilities might just be the only way she can save her own life and those of her friends."

For more PlayStation 4 coverage and more PlayStation coverage in general -- including all of the latest PS4 news, all of the latest PS4 rumors and leaks, and all of the latest PS4 deals -- click here.

Hogwarts Legacy is its lowest price ever right now for a very limited time. At the moment of publishing, the Harry Potter RPG is on sale on Steam, the Nintendo Switch eShop, and the Xbox Store. For whatever reason though, it is not on sale over on the PlayStation Store, which means PS4 and PS5 users are set to miss out on savings. More than this, depending on the platform, it is a different price.

The cheapest price is the Steam version, though the deal does not come from Steam directly, but third party Steam code seller, Fanatical. Previously, the cheapest the Steam version has ever been is $29.99. Right now though, via Fanatical, a Steam code can be had for $26.99. This is if you are buying the "Standard" version of the game. The Digital Deluxe version is also on sale for a few dollars more, priced at $30.44. The only catch is this deal is set to expire in a few hours.

Meanwhile, over on the Xbox Store, the Standard edition on Xbox One is $29.99, while the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions are on sale for $34.99. Lastly, there is the Nintendo Switch discount, which is only for the Digital Deluxe edition. Normally this version costs $69.99, but is on sale for $41.99. It is unclear how long the Nintendo Switch deal is available for, but the Xbox deals last until May 27.

For those unfamiliar with Hogwarts Legacy, it was 2023's best-selling game: "Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world," reads an official pitch of the game. "Experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Make allies, battle Dark wizards, and ultimately decide the fate of the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it. Live the Unwritten."

If you decide to check out Hogwarts Legacy, courtesy of one of these deals, be prepared to sink roughly 30 hours into the game just to mainline it. Meanwhile, add in the main side content and you are looking at about 45 hours. Lastly, completionists should be prepared to sink about 70 hours into the game.

"While it doesn't do everything perfectly, Hogwarts Legacy stimulates the imagination with a rich world to explore and gameplay that empowers and thrills the player," reads a snippet from our official review of the game. "The Harry Potter films had the tough task of taking words on a page and creating a visual language for them. Hogwarts Legacy had the even tougher task of taking that visual language and making it interactive, ultimately expanding it all into something that is fun to play and immerse yourself in. Although there's still a long year ahead of us and tons of great looking games on the horizon, Hogwarts Legacy is already one of the best games of 2023."

Our first look at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia has been revealed, courtesy of a leak from the production set of the show's fourth season. We have known since October of 2022 that the show's star Henry Cavill was stepping away from the role and being replaced Hemsworth. While we still don't have many official details on how or why this happened, we do finally have our first look at how Hemsworth will look as the monster slayer. And it's pretty similar to Henry Cavill. There is once again an outfit change for the new season, but it appears to be the same white wig Cavill used to adorn for the role.

The leak comes the way of Metro and SplashNews photo agency, and features a few shots of Liam as the character, including a few action shots, though it is not 100 percent clear if the latter is Liam or his stunt double. Whatever the case, there are shots of Liam in more casual Witcher attire and in full armor. There are also some shots of Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg in there. Unfortunately, for fans, Liam is not in these shots, but Chalotra can be spotted wearing a mysterious hood.

Metro adds that Hemsworth was described as looking comfortable and casual on set, something the photos also reveal. Considering the anticipation and scrutiny the role swap is under, this may surprise some. As for the images, they can be seen here.

The show and Hemsworth haven't addressed the change a whole lot since it was announced. At the time it was announced, Hemsworth revealed himself as a fan of the series, which in turn meant he was excited to step into the role.

"As a Witcher fan I'm over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I'm honored that he's handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf's blades for the next chapter of his adventure," said Hemsworth. "Henry, I've been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I'm truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world."

The Witcher Season 4 just beginning production this spring, there is still no word of a release date. That said, the current expectation is it will release sometime next year.

Some Nintendo Switch Online subscribers across Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED are getting an extra free game for the month of May. This week, Nintendo announced the following three Game Boy games had been added: Super Mario Land, Baseball, and Alleyway. Everyone is getting these three games, but some subscribers in some parts of the world are getting a fourth free game. The bad news for many is this game is exclusive to Japan. The good news is it's still pretty easy to get even if you aren't in Japan.

As you may know, you can make a Japanese Nintendo Switch Online account for free. From here, you have a few options. You could change the country of your account to Japan. That said, you only need a Japanese account for the initial download of the Japanese Nintendo Switch Online app. After this, any account in any country can launch the game.

If you run into a problem, it is probably because you have the auto-renew feature turned on, which doesn't allow you to change your account's region. If this is the case, you can turn it off, do what you need to do, and then turn it back on.

As for the game in question, it is Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, which was only released in Japan. Translated, the game's title is The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls, which is a play on Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. Released in 1992 as both a Japanese exclusive and a Game Boy exclusive, The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls was developed by Intelligent Systems, the studio best known for the Fire Emblem series. Similarly to the Fire Emblem series, The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls is an action-RPG game. How well it holds up in 2024, we don't know. To this end, many in the west have no idea how it played in 1992 either.

For more Nintendo Switch Online coverage -- including not just all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online news, but all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online rumors, leaks, and deals as well -- click here. Meanwhile, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. Which of the four May Game Boy games is your favorite?

Toys for Bob has updated their website from its normal look to instead showcase a primarily black screen with a single purple tiki mask in the center, and as such the internet is full of gamers trying to figure out what this cryptic update could mean. Just earlier this year Toys for Bob announced they'd be splitting from Activision. At the time, Toys for Bob noted that "while we're in the early days of developing our next new game and a ways away from making any announcements, our team is excited to develop new stories, new characters, and new gameplay experiences," but "a ways away" may be coming to an end if the website update means an announcement is on the horizon.

But what could the website update mean?

Toys for Bob has used a tropical aesthetic for quite some time now, and while the tiki mask logo is not completely new, the purple color scheme featured is. While the tiki mask naturally makes Crash Bandicoot fans wonder if a new game is coming, considering the tiki logo has been used previously, a more likely clue could lie in the color change itself for the mask. The purple shades in the tiki mask logo (which you can see below) match the purples of Spyro the Dragon that have been showcased over the years, so there are plenty of gamers questioning if Toys for Bob's new project could be a new Spyro game instead.

Of course, it's also entirely possible that Toys for Bob is simply updating their website as part of the separation from Activision, and that whatever they're working on for their next new game is entirely separate from this website update. While Toys for Bob separated from Activision, the company did also note they were looking to create a new partnership with Microsoft, which could mean an announcement from Toys for Bob is only weeks away as the Xbox Games Showcase set to take place June 9th would be the natural setting to unveil their new title. If it's not featured at the Xbox Games Showcase, Summer Games Fest is set for just days before on June 7th, so this could be a possibility as well if Toys for Bob has anything ready to share.

Whatever it is, Toys for Bob is definitely working on something. Are you hoping for a new Crash Bandicoot, a new Spyro, or hoping to see something entirely new from Toys for Bob?

While recently in the gaming space many players have started to express frustration toward studios announcing games years in advance only to face setbacks and challenges that delay the game's launch, there's no game release that's been quite as much a lesson in patience to its fanbase than Beyond Good and Evil 2, as this particular sequel was announced 16 years ago by Ubisoft. Since its announcement in 2008 Beyond Good and Evil 2 has obviously faced quite a few setbacks, which has naturally made fans worry about the fate of the game long-term, especially recently due to a lack of official updates on the game.

Tom Henderson, a consistently reliable and trusted industry insider and leaker, has provided a small update on social media regarding Beyond Good and Evil 2...which yes, is still in-development. The conversation surrounding the game's fate came to Henderson's attention after it was announced that Ubisoft had canceled Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland, when a X user @aidenppearce responded to Forbes game writer Paul Tassi to ask a question on a lot of people's minds:

"And when will they cancel Beyond Good & Evil 2?"

Tassi then quoted the question, posing his own in response and casting doubt as to whether or not the game still existed. Henderson stepped in to reply "It does but it's very complicated," including a laughing emoji at the end of the post. While this cryptic reply may be a bit concerning given the laughing attached to it and the statement of "very complicated," it does at least hopefully confirm that players will still get to experience Beyond Good and Evil 2...eventually.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 received a Cinematic Trailer back in 2018 that invites its audience to "Embark on this epic space adventure with us and journey to System 3, for the prequel to one of Ubisoft's most beloved games! In Beyond Good & Evil 2, you are your own space pirate captain who is free to choose your own path in this vast open universe."

The game's description per that trailer reads:

"Journey to System 3, for the prequel to one of Ubisoft's most beloved games! Fight alongside unforgettable characters in a stunning new solar system, as you struggle for freedom and the right to determine your own fate among the stars. Play the adventure by yourself or with friends in a vast and seamless online playground. Beyond Good and Evil 2 is the spiritual successor to the cult classic, a prequel that will transport players into a profoundly multicultural world, capturing the spirit of the original with grandiose decors and intense dramas that play out across a vast universe. Through the Space Monkey Program, Ubisoft Montpellier will be developing the game alongside its community of fans.

System 3 has become the center of interstellar trade and colonization in the Milky Way of the 24th century, thanks to the creation of Hybrid slaves. While private enterprises fight over resources and power, the first colonists weave together the rich and diverse spiritual and cultural heritages of Old Earth to give meaning to their existence. In this new era of piracy, we will rise from lowly pirate to legendary captain at the helm of massive star-faring vessels, adventuring alongside crews of colorful characters to fight for freedom and the right to determine our own fate among the stars!"

Are you still looking forward to this Ubisoft title, or have you given up hope on ever seeing it?

Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser left the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises pretty unexpectedly in 2020, shifting his career focus to quietly work on establishing a new studio - Absurd Ventures. Not only is Houser's new studio seeking to span across several media types including live action and animated movies, books, graphic novels, scripted podcasts, and more...plus video games, of course. While Absurd has previously announced its debut projects with a new graphic novel known as American Caper and a narrative-driven audio series known as A Better Paradise, we now know a bit more about the studio's video game plans for the future.

Thanks to job listings on the Absurd Ventures website we know Houser's new studio is working on "an open world action-adventure game," which is currently seeking a Lead Gameplay Designer. While the open-world action-adventure specification is reserved solely for this position, the Santa Monica-based studio is also looking to fill the roles of Art Director, Lead Designer, Senior Art Director, Senior Producer, Senior Technical Director, and Technical Director in their Game Development area.

The Lead Gameplay Designer listing notes the individual selected will "Become the primary vision holder and hands-on contributor for character, controls, and camera design in an open world action-adventure game. The person in this role will lead a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to deliver best-in-class combat and third person action across multiple game modes." The listing may also indicate some additional basic details for Absurd's action-adventure game, as it specifies they're looking for a candidate with experience developing both melee and shooting mechanics, and that "multiplayer combat design experience is a plus."

Absurd Venture's career page also notes that they "will be staffing more roles for our Game Development teams in the future," and as such are accepting general applications as well.

When Absurd Ventures was announced, the studio stated that they intend to create "weird shit from desperate people," a vibe that is consistently seen throughout its previously announced projects' descriptions and its overall online presence, with their website and social media full of delightful weirdness. For instance, the Feed page on their website includes a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau just below a trippy graphic claiming "the robots are depressed."

Are you looking forward to whatever Houser's new studio is cooking up? Chat with me about it on socials @amazingspidrhan!

Assassin's Creed Shadows has been officially unveiled by Ubisoft earlier today, with the world premiere trailer showcasing a long-awaited, beautiful setting that's a first for the game franchise: feudal Japan. Shadows will feature a dual protagonist system with Naoe and Yasuka, which Ubisoft notes is "to fulfill two iconic player fantasies - shinobi and samurai - and ensure that its late-Sengoku period setting, known for its political tumult, warfare, and dramatic social reformation, serves as an authentic backdrop for the pair. This means both protagonists offer vastly different gameplay experiences, and overlapping perspectives on a transformative moment in Japanese history."

Naturally, there are still plenty more player questions regarding the dual protagonists, which is why Xbox Wire has conducted an interview with Shadows' game director, Charles Benoit, who has been working with Ubisoft for nearly twenty years across multiple Assassin's Creed titles, Watch Dogs, Immortals Fenyx Rising, and For Honor. When asked about the story set-up, Benoit noted he is avoiding spoilers, but that in Shadows they're "introducing our two protagonists one by one, to help you know where they are coming from narratively, what their story is and what leads them to collaborate. Once they become allies, the players can pursue multiple stories, some personal to Yasuke or Naoe, and some around their common goals. The world and the story's structure are open, to let you pick the character you prefer and explore the world how you want."

Xbox Wire followed by asking what inspired the choice behind the dual protagonists for the first time since Assassin's Creed Syndicate, to which Benoit shared, "It came very naturally when looking at feudal Japan setting and what we wanted to accomplish in terms of gameplay. We wanted to have the Shinobi fantasy for sure, since it's the best fit for an Assassin's Creed. The Shinobis were the representation of stealth by spying and assassination, so it was a great natural fit. But at the same time, the Samurai is the Feudal Japan iconic fantasy and we wanted to be able to have it as an experience for players. Having only one character wouldn't [allow us to] accurately fulfill the Samurai and the Shinobi fantasies, since they are coming from very different places in terms of the way to live, social classes and role in the Japanese society."

Following this information, Benoit also answered one of the most burning questions from Assassin's Creed fans today: "Yes, you can switch between Yasuke and Naoe at any moment in the open world, once they are united. Of course, it won't be accessible in the middle of a fight or an infiltration, but we're giving the control to the players to choose their experience. There are a few moments where we're forcing one character, like during their introduction, their personal quests, and a few special missions where both are present at the same time, but I would say most of the game is totally free to choose."

You can read the full interview with Benoit on Xbox Wire to get some additional great early insights into the game. Assassin's Creed Shadows is set for a PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X release on November 15th, 2024.