Dell has relaunched its biggest Ultrabook after 10 years, the Dell XPS 17. For starters, Dell says it’s offering a 17-inch screen experience in a 15-inch form factor that’s smaller than 48% of 15-inch laptops available today. We’ll believe it when we see it, but the Dell XPS 17 certainly sounds small on paper when it measures just 14.74 x 9.76 x 0.77 inches and weighs 4.65 pounds. This 17-inch laptop's small size comes largely thanks to the tiny bezels on four sides of its 17-inch display. The screen itself is a beauty with a 4K UHD+ resolution of 3,840 x 2,400 pixels. This panel also hits a peak brightness 500-nits, making it Dolby Vision and HDR 400 certified. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-xps-17-2020&captions=true"] You can also expect some mind-blowing audio out of the Dell XPS 17 as it features quad up-firing speakers with Waves NX 3D audio tuned by Jack Joseph Puig. What’s more, you can pack a ton of power into this thing with up to a 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H processor and Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q graphics. You can also load up to 64GB of memory and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage onto your configuration. Lastly, users can choose between a 56WHr or 97WHr battery, though, Dell has yet to share any battery life figures. The Dell XPS 17 will be available later this summer for a starting price of $1,499. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-xps-15-2020&captions=true"]

Dell XPS 15

While the Dell XPS 17's return will certainly make the bigger splash, let’s not forget about the Dell XPS 15 seeing its first big redesign in five years. The Dell XPS 15 has adopted the 16:10 screen aspect ratio that was introduced with last year’s XPS 13, so you get a little bit more vertical screen real estate. Better yet, this model’s 15-inch screen delivers the same 4K UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) resolution and HDR 400 certification as seen on the bigger 17-inch Dell XPS. The XPS 15 also features quad up-firing speakers with Waves NX 3D audio. A maxed-out Dell XPS 15 also looks very similar with up to a 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H processor, 64GB of memory, and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. The only difference here is your best graphics option is limited to an Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti, but at least that's a step up from the GTX 1650 you could max out with last year’s model. According to Dell, you can expect a maximum of 25 hours of battery life out of its latest 15-inch machine but that’s likely only when you option on the 86WHr battery over its standard 55WHr battery. The Dell XPS 15 starts at $1,299 and it will be available beginning on May 13. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

When Intel and Nvidia made a joint announcement for new gaming laptop processors and graphics, new hardware from Alienware and Dell was conspicuously absent from the deluge of news. Well, now we’re getting a fresh batch of updates on all of the company’s PC gaming hardware. First up is a refresh of the Alienware m15 R3 and m17 R3, which now feature Intel 10th Generation processors and the latest RTX Super graphics options from Nvidia's Turing-line. All updated R3 revisions start with an Intel Core i5-10300H CPU that can be upgraded to an 8-core Intel Core i9-10980HK. On the graphics-side, these machines start with a Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti and can be configured with up to an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. Additionally, for the first time Alienware is offering users an AMD GPU option in the form of an AMD Radeon RX 5500M. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=alienware-m15-r3&captions=true"] To take advantage of all that added processing and graphical power, Alienware has also added a new 300Hz Full HD panel to its display options along with the usual 144Hz Full HD and 60Hz 4K OLED screen options. Beyond the core specs updates, Alienware m15 and m17s with a 1660 Ti and up will come equipped with 12-phase GPU voltage regulation, which will allow users to overclock their graphics card even further. These machines introduce more copper into the company’s CryoTech cooling system along with larger fans and vapor-chamber cooling for high-end configurations. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=alienware-m17-r3&captions=true"] In terms of RAM, users can now configure their system with up to 64GB of 2933MHz memory or 32GB of dual channel memory that operates at 3,200MHz. Storage-wise, solid-state drive capacity starts at 256GB and goes up to a 4TB RAID 0 configuration. Eagle-eyed readers may have also spotted the new SD card reader. One other external change to the new models is added clear coat that should help reduce stains. The Alienware m15 R3 and Alienware m17 R3 will both be available starting May 21st with starting prices of $1,499 and $1,549, respectively. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=alienware-area-51m-r2&captions=true"]

The big kahuna

Alienware hasn’t forgotten to update its even bigger 17-inch gaming laptop, the Alienware Area-51m R2. This machine features desktop processors and users will have a wide variety of choices from the starting Intel Core i7-10700 and all the way to the new 10-core Intel Core i9-10900K. The graphics options on this model are also a step up thanks to a full-fat Nvidia RTX 2080 Super or the AMD Radeon RX 5700M. Power users will be glad to hear the Area-51m has also received the new 300Hz Full HD screen option, SD Card reader, and the same cooling improvements as its smaller siblings. The Alienware Area-51m R2 will be available a little later starting on June 9th and it comes at a much higher $3,049 starting price. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-g3-15-2020&captions=true"]

Penny pinchers

If you’re looking to game on a budget you’ll be glad to know Dell Gaming has the much more affordable $779 Dell G3 15 and $829 Dell G5 15 gaming laptops on tap. Both machines are 15-inch laptops that come equipped with an 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10300H quad-core processor and Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics, plus 8GB (2,933MHz) RAM and a 128GB SSD. A fully upgraded Dell G3 gaming laptop can come with a 144Hz Full HD screen, 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H hexa-core processor, Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Fully upgrading the Dell G5 gaming laptop steps you up to a 300Hz Full HD display paired with Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-g5-15-2020&captions=true"] This year, Dell has also introduced a new Dell G5 Special Edition gaming laptop that features all AMD parts. Processor options include the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H, Ryzen 7 4800H, and Ryzen 9 4900H. Meanwhile, for graphics the only available option is an AMD Radeon RX 5600M, but you can pair it with up to 16GB of DDR4 3,200MHz memory and an 1TB SDD. Dell hasn’t announced any pricing or release date information for the Dell G5 SE yet, but all AMD-powered gaming laptops have a track record of being more affordable than their Intel/Nvidia counterparts. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that, while things are looking good for games this year, we will see the impact of COVID-19 on the industry in early 2021. This is due to important areas of game production having stopped work entirely during quarantine. In specific, Spencer refers to motion capture and audio recording work, which require staff to go into recording studios. Talking to Business Insider, Spencer said “Mocap is just something that's basically stopped. We're not going into mocap studios.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/01/phil-spencer-no-delay-expected-for-xbox-series-x-but-game-production-is-bigger-unknown-ign-news"] “If you had all your animation captured and you're doing touch up in more individual art production and in areas like textures and other things, you're in a better position,” he explained. “If you're waiting for a lot of either large audio work — when it's with symphonies and other things — or mocap, you're held up right now and you're making progress in areas that you are.” For many games set for release this year, motion capture and audio work will have been carried out before the pandemic. However, for games set for release in early 2021 or beyond, quarantine has meant work on these elements has simply had to be indefinitely postponed. Spencer points to sports games like Madden and FIFA as to where we could see disruption. As these games are released annually, months of lockdown in 2020 could have a big impact on their 2021 release schedules. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=9-new-xbox-series-x-images&captions=true"] There is more hope for games that have already completed mo-cap and audio work, though, which includes many games set to be released this year. “Through the summer, early fall? I feel pretty good about those games,” said Spencer. “Games that were targeting a year from now or beyond? There'll be some impact, but they'll be able to react." While the status of games releasing beyond this year is an unknown quantity right now, Spencer is confident that the Xbox Series X will not be delayed, and will release Holiday 2020 as planned. Sony also has similar confidence in its own console, stating that the PS5 is still on track for a Holiday 2020 release. Here's how to help and stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

The Japanese Ju-On franchise, also known as The Grudge, is getting its first-ever drama series on Netflix on July 3. Netflix has unleashed the first official trailer for the Japanese-language series, titled Ju-On: Origins, which appears to explore the backstory of the curse that was created in the notorious haunted house from the iconic franchise.

The first ever drama series adapted from the iconic Japanese horror franchise is coming to Netflix worldwide on July 3.

Prepare yourself for “Ju-On: Origins” pic.twitter.com/M3h5l8Ymoq — See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) May 12, 2020

"The legendary Japanese horror franchise that has become a smash hit worldwide gets its first drama adaptation," reads the official synopsis for the original series. "The J-Horror classic franchise Ju-On was actually based on real events that occurred over four decades – and the truth is even more terrifying. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?" The new Ju-On adaptation stars Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, and Ririka. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-15-best-horror-tv-shows-of-the-last-10-years&captions=true"] Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On franchise began in 1998 with the release of two short films. The stories from these films were further extended in Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-on: The Curse 2, released two years later. While the Ju-On series continued to spawn sequels, the franchise made its stateside debut in 2004 with The Grudge, which marked the start of the long-running American horror film series. The latest instalment of the franchise was widely panned by audiences upon its release earlier this year. In our review of The Grudge (2020), we noted that there was "nothing fresh, exciting, or particularly unique" about Nicolas Pesce's reboot, even though it had "an incredible cast of heralded actors and a bona fide horror icon" we suggested that it's "sometimes best to let dead things stay dead." Originally reported by IndieWire. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

DC Comics' Sweet Tooth is set to be adapted for Netflix by Robert Downey Jr.'s production company. Netflix has ordered eight, one-hour episodes of Sweet Tooth, a live-action drama based on characters created for DC Vertigo by Jeff Lemire, which is to be produced by Team Downey's Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey, the streaming service announced Tuesday.

The sweetest things are worth waiting for…Susan and I are producing a @Netflix original series, Sweet Tooth, based on the comic by @JeffLemire. Can’t wait to share it with you all. @NXonNetflix pic.twitter.com/Mx2xzNOHjs

— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) May 12, 2020

According to the official synopsis, the new series will "follow the storybook adventures of Gus — part deer, part boy — who leaves his home in the forest to find the outside world ravaged by a cataclysmic event. He joins a ragtag family of humans and animal-children hybrids like himself in search of answers about this new world and the mystery behind his hybrid origins." Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar and Will Forte will star in the family-friendly series, with James Brolin attached to serve as the show's narrator. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=14-comics-that-defined-dcs-vertigo-imprint&captions=true"] Hap and Leonard co-creator Jim Mickle and Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz will both serve as showrunners, executive producers, and writers on the new series. Mickel will also be acting as director. Amanda Burrell of Team Downey and Linda Moran also will executive produce alongside the Downeys. The company's Evan Moore will produce the series, which hails from Warner Bros. Television. Arriving at the tail-end of Vertigo's golden age, Sweet Tooth serves as an early showcase for Jeff Lemire who has since become an industry superstar. Lemire wrote and largely drew the 40-issue epic that is often billed as a combination of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Disney movies like Bambi, so it will be interesting to see it on the small screen alongside several other DC Vertigo adaptations, including CW's iZombie, AMC's Preacher and Netflix's Lucifer. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Creative Director has shared a first look at what players can expect from their in-game settlement - which, extremely excitingly, may include a cat. "Here's your home in England," begins Ashraf Ismail's tweet, which is accompanied by a lush visual of a Viking settlement, carved out in the middle of a lake in England.

Here’s your home in England.

Spend a lazy Sunday fishing at the docks, consult with your war chief, or check on your people. Home is where the heart is #AssassinsCreedValhalla pic.twitter.com/id0pIKU7fW — Ashraf Ismail (@AshrafAIsmail) May 12, 2020

"Spend a lazy Sunday fishing at the docks, consult with your war chief, or check on your people," Ismail continues. "Home is where the heart is." It sounds like there'll at least be some downtime in Valhalla beyond Eivor's raiding and pillaging. It's also worth noting that there's a cat in this picture, seen chilling near the fish rack in the bottom left of the picture. Does this suggest we'll be able to have settlement pets in Valhalla? Only time will tell. We already knew that the game would involve hero Eivor setting up a new Viking settlement in England, which will include buildings to upgrade, like a blacksmith, barracks, tattoo parlor, and more. “The settlement is a key feature of the game," Ashraf Ismail previously told IGN. "It's quite grand in what we're trying to achieve with it. We want you to feel that this is your home, that you're building, that a lot of what you're doing in the game world is, at the end of the day, going to feed into the settlement so that it can grow, it can flourish. We have a ton of buildings that people can build. Each building comes with its own gameplay purpose." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/assassins-creed-valhalla-director-gives-gameplay-details"] In other Valhalla news, we learned yesterday that Ubisoft is targeting 30 FPS as a minimum frame rate for the game on Xbox Series X. For more information about the game, check out our article which offers 37 details about Valhalla's gameplay, story and world. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN, who wishes England was this idyllic in reality. Follow him on Twitter.

Sony has said PlayStation 5 remains on track for its Holiday 2020 release, and game development has seen "no major issues" due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of its financial results briefing, Sony Global reiterated that its new hardware is "on track for launch this holiday season". A statement on the impact of the pandemic reads: "Although factors such as employees working from home and restrictions on international travel have presented some challenges in regards to part of the testing process and the qualification of production lines, development is progressing." Xbox boss Phil Spencer has previously said that while Series X hardware development is relatively unaffected by the effects of the outbreak, game development remains the bigger unknown. Sony does not appear to have the same fears about its upcoming software right now: "At this point in time major problems have not arisen in the game software development pipeline for Sony’s own first-party studios or its partners’ studios." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] While things seem to be progressing somewhat on track for Sony's games division, the problems caused by COVID-19 has been serious enough for the company to suspend any forecasts about its future performance, meaning we're unable to see how the company expects PS5 to perform after launch. As for its current products, Sony reports that PS4 hardware production has taken a hit due to "issues in the component supply chain." However, sales of existing hardware are "trending well", and digital game sales and subscriber numbers for PS Plus and PS Now have "significantly increased". Yesterday, Sony announced that it had grouped all of its first-party studios' output under a new brand, PlayStation Studios (and revealed a Marvel-like intro animation to go with it). For more on PS5 check out its full specs, how they compare to Xbox Series X, take a look at its new controller, the DualSense, and the games we know are coming to the system. For a full round-up, here's everything we know about PS5 so far. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/17/ps5-and-xbox-launch-game-candidates-next-gen-console-watch"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

F1 series game director Lee Mather has explained balancing F1 2020’s new My Team mode has been a significant challenge, although finalising the game in the middle of the global COVID-19 crisis has been largely seamless. F1 2020’s My Team mode will cast players as a modern-day Jack Brabham – not just a team owner and manager, but key driver as well. Mather believes the nature of driving for your own team, plus seeing a teammate out on track that you hired personally, adds a brand new dynamic to F1 2020’s racing. You’re not fighting for glory for Austrian energy drink companies or Canadian investment consortiums; you’re doing it for your own team. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/12/f1-2020-first-gameplay-trailer] My Team will let players become the 11th team on the grid and build a brand new organisation from the ground up. For the first time players will be able to create team colours and a unique badge, sign a power unit from the current engine suppliers, find a major sponsor, select and customise a livery, design race suits, and hire a second driver “For us, the sheer challenge of balancing a game mode such as My Team – there’s so many moving pieces,” says Mather. “There’s so many things that the player’s going to manage.” “Obviously, we want to make sure they’re all enjoyable to engage with, but also that the AI do them as well. We can’t just have a player who’s upgrading their team, developing their driver, upgrading their facilities – the team’s have to do that too. “Formula One’s always been a big game and basically My Team is almost a game again; it’s absolutely enormous.” [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Formula%20One%E2%80%99s%20always%20been%20a%20big%20game%20and%20basically%20My%20Team%20is%20almost%20a%20game%20again%3B%20it%E2%80%99s%20absolutely%20enormous."]Mather explains that F1 2020 has a fully-fledged driver market, an in-game economy where drivers have values, team budgets, and several other financial factors to consider. “There’s a lot of moving pieces, a lot of things to balance, [but] with regard to how we’ve worked since the lockdown it’s actually been incredibly seamless,” says Mather. “I think, at the most, we probably lost one or two days while equipment was ferried between studios and to different locations but, aside from that, it’s actually gone really well.” “I think probably the nicest thing is it’s shown – and I know this is an easy thing to say – just how insanely professional the team is and how versed they are in dealing with an annual franchise. I think without that experience, and also the skill of the newer members of the team, we would’ve been in a very different place. Not everybody who’s got games coming out in a similar window to us have maybe been able to mobilise quite as effectively.” Cryptically, Mather concedes there was something else “incredibly challenging” about building F1 2020 but won’t reveal it for now. “[U]nfortunately I can’t talk about it just yet; we’re holding it back for a couple of weeks,” he says. “There’s still something that was really interesting for us to work on and that will be discussed in detail very soon.” Check out the video below for an overview of some of the new features for F1 2020, including My Team, casual mode, and local split-screen. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/f1-2020-preview"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

While we wait for the release of Matt Reeves' The Batman in October 2021, the film's leading man, Robert Pattinson, says self-isolation during the novel coronavirus pandemic isn't exactly helping with his workout regime. According to a recent interview with GQ Magazine, Pattison informed the outlet that when it comes to his physical fitness preparation for The Batman, "I’m just barely doing anything." In contrast, Pattinson said his co-star Zoë Kravitz is exercising five days a week to prepare for her role as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). Pattinson jokingly went on to tell GQ that back in his Twilight days, "the one time they told me to take my shirt off, I think they told me to put it back on again." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ranking-the-batman-movies&captions=true"] When Pattinson was asked why he wanted to play the role of the Caped Crusader in the first place, the British-born actor explained that even though George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck have their particular takes on the iconic character, Pattinson believes that there is still more ground to cover. "And then I was thinking, it’s fun when more and more ground has been covered," Pattinson told GQ. "Like, where is the gap? You’ve seen this sort of lighter version, you’ve seen a kind of jaded version, a kind of more animalistic version. And the puzzle of it becomes quite satisfying, to think: Where’s my opening? And also, do I have anything inside me which would work if I could do it? And then also, it’s a legacy part, right? I like that. There’s so few things in life where people passionately care about it before it’s even happened. You can almost feel that pushback of anticipation, and so it kind of energizes you a little bit. It’s different from when you’re doing a part and there’s a possibility that no one will even see it. Right? In some ways it’s, I don’t know… It makes you a little kind of spicy." For more on Batman, check out Andy Serkis talking about The Batman being darker than previous films in the franchise, why it's time for a new live-action Robin movie, and find out what the reboot can learn from Batman & Robin. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/20/big-changes-for-the-batman-and-other-dc-movies-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

This week in Red Dead Online, create your own Permanent Posse for free, get Moonshiner and Collector bonuses, and more.