When 2K Games announced that NBA 2K21 will be priced at $70 for next-generation consoles, it kicked off speculation that there will finally be another price hike for video game software in the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick defended the price point for NBA 2K21 and said that the price hike reflects “the quality of the experience,” in a new interview. Zelnick also spoke on the price hike during today’s Q1 earnings call with investors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/02/nba-2k21-celebrating-kobe-bryant-in-the-mamba-forever-edition-trailer"] “There hasn’t been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time, despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles,” Zelnick says in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. “And we think with the value we offer consumers… and the kind of experience you can really only have on these next-generation consoles, and the price is justified.” During the Q1 earnings call, Zelnick clarified that it will announce pricing “on a title-by-title basis,” but defended the price point as a great value based on the hours of entertainment games like NBA 2K offers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nba-2k21-current-and-next-gen-cover-art-kobe-bryant-damian-lillard-and-zion-williamson&captions=true"] Other video game developers have been asked about a potential price hike for next-gen video game software. Ubisoft says its next-gen titles being released in holiday 2020 will be $60, though future titles may have different pricing. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Sony announced a new State of Play will be airing later this week. Senior Director Sid Shuman confirmed in a PlayStation blog post that the broadcast will highlight third-party games coming to the PS4 and PS VR with updates on a few of the PS5 games shown at the last showcase. If you’re interested in seeing the show, here’s everything you need to know to make sure you don’t miss it. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/18/the-biggest-ps4-and-ps5-games-of-2020"]

PlayStation State of Play Start Time

The upcoming State of Play takes place on Thursday, August 6, and will start at 1 pm PT, 4 pm ET, 9 pm BST. If you’re tuning in from Australia, that translates to Friday, August 7 at 6 am AEST. It’s expected to be about 40 minutes long.

Where to Watch the PlayStation State of Play (August 2020)

If you’re interested in watching the upcoming State of Play, we’ll be hosting the stream here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the PlayStation State of Play:

• IGN.com (homepage)
• IGN's Facebook Channel
• IGN’s Twitter
• IGN's Twitch Channel
• IGN’s Youtube Channel
• IGN's TikTok
• IGN's iOS App
• IGN's Android App
• IGN's PlayStation 4 App
• IGN's Xbox One App
• Roku
• IGN App for Android TV
• IGN for Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• IGN 1 on Samsung TV Plus
• Pluto TV
• Plex Live TV

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/the-best-ps4-games-summer-2020-update"]

What to Expect at the Upcoming PlayStation State of Play

Shuman specifically details in the PlayStation blog post that this State of Play is about PS4 and PS VR games, so anyone looking to hear more news about the PS5 may want to temper their expectations. There will be updates on a few of the titles shown at the last showcase but there are no plans to reveal major news such as when PS5 pre-orders will go live or an official release date or price for the console. That said, there are a number of PS4 games we might hear about like Marvel’s Avengers, Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Gods and Monsters, Watch Dogs Legion, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Little Nightmares 2, Psychonauts 2, Spiritfarer, Twin Mirror, Windbound, Going Under, Carto, Boundary, and more. There’s also PlayStation VR games such as Vader Immortal, After the Fall, Humanity, The Walking Dead Onslaught, and Star Wars: Squadrons to anticipate as well. Which games are you excited to hear more about? Let us know in the comments! [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Since Marvel’s Avengers’ full unveiling at E3 2019, Square Enix had confirmed some indeterminate exclusive content would be coming for PlayStation players. And now we have a better idea of what — an exclusive hero in the form of Spider-Man. But by announcing a hero exclusively to PS4 and PS5 players, Square Enix and Marvel Games have stirred frustrations for non-PlayStation players, and raised some odd questions about Marvel’s Avengers’ future. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-character-combat-breakdown&captions=true"]

A Great Deal for Sony

Spider-Man — a new take on the hero and not the same version as the Peter Parker we played in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man — will be made exclusive to PlayStation players sometime in 2021. Square Enix has not confirmed if there’s any timed exclusivity window to this or if he’s permanently only available to PS4 and PS5 players. And as of writing, there’s no indication Xbox and PC players will receive platform-exclusive characters to balance things out. So, if you want to play as Marvel’s flagship hero (and the U.S.’s current favorite Marvel hero), you have to buy Avengers on PlayStation. Despite some rocky showings at E3 last year, recent War Table presentations have earned a lot of goodwill for Marvel’s Avengers, and on a more general note, the game is, of course, coming off of the box office record-shattering, blockbuster filmmaking-defining run of MCU movies that culminated in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Avengers as a brand is bigger than ever, and so to have such a beloved hero only available on your systems makes the PlayStation version the clear winner for those who own multiple systems. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/marvels-avengers-beta-gameplay-overview"] It’s, quite simply, a brilliant marketing move on a brand recognition level. This only further solidifies PlayStation’s connection with Spider-Man. Even if it’s not the same Spidey as in the 2018 game, that PS4 exclusive is one of the biggest games of the generation, and the best-selling superhero game ever in the U.S. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is positioned as one of THE reasons to buy a PS5 this holiday. And now, if you want to play the Spider-Man featured in Marvel’s big Avengers game and see him team up with other Marvel heroes, PlayStation is the only place to do just that. And that brand connection is, on the surface, only even more beneficial to the wider Sony corporation. As far as we publicly know, Marvel still holds ultimate rights to Spider-Man, and that’s why we can see the character appear in the multiplatform LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 or a Nintendo Switch-exclusive like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. But Sony has held the movie rights to Spidey for a long time and looks determined to maintain that hold, famously leading to the brief dark times when Spider-Man was going to be yanked out of the MCU, only for Sony and Marvel Studios to come to a renewed agreement to keep him involved… for now. But make no mistake, Sony is doing everything it can to build out a Spider-Man universe that all but features the character. From Venom to Morbius (and its odd inclusion of a Marvel’s Spider-Man trailer Easter egg) to the burgeoning Spider-Verse franchise, many more planned Spider-Man-adjacent character movies, Sony is obviously hoping to use what it can to build out a live-action Spidey-verse either to eventually bring the character into its fold exclusively once more or to at least make the best of both cinematic universes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-spider-man-movie-spin-off-in-development&captions=true"] Spider-Man is the crown jewel of Sony’s film lineup, even if they’re currently sharing custody with Marvel, and so to have the character in any medium possible associated with the brand is a good thing not just for PlayStation but Sony overall.

But for Players…

At the very least, this announcement likely ensures a healthy playerbase for Marvel’s Avengers on PS4 and PS5 going into 2021. Regardless of how the game is received at launch, the story of many games-as-a-service titles is often written in the months and years after. Giving players on PS4 and PS5 a reason to check in on the game next year as big as Spider-Man will surely bring back even some players who may not stick with the game after launch. But it’s sure as hell not fair for players on Xbox or PC, who have no idea at this stage if they’ll ever get to play as Spider-Man in Avengers, if they’ll receive other exclusive characters to balance things out, or if they’ll just never see the webhead swinging around their games. Cross-play between consoles isn’t announced for Avengers yet (only between generations, so PS4 and PS5 players can play together, but not with Xbox or PC players), and system-exclusive characters make the idea of that even less likely at a time when cross-play and cross-progression have become ever more routinely part of gaming. Sure, it’s entirely possible he will eventually be brought to other systems and the terms of this agreement just prevent that from being announced yet, but as of right now, that remains cruelly unclear. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/hawkeye-reveal-trailer-for-marvels-avengers-4k"] It also raises the unfortunate question of how substantial the Spider-Man content will be, and how essential it will feel to the overall game if only a portion of the audience can play it. Marvel has promised all future DLC characters, which will be free to players, will come with their own story-related content. If Spider-Man’s story is only part of some Avengers players’ experiences, will it not be well integrated into the rest of the team or world’s ongoing story? Will it be particularly self-contained, and will character interactions be superficial, since they theoretically can’t drastically affect ongoing narratives? Or does Crystal Dynamics create a multiverse of Marvel’s Avengers stories, one for Xbox and PC players and one for those on PlayStation? The latter sounds too unwieldy, and the former is a valid concern that could dampen potential excitement for Spidey content in Marvel’s Avengers. Personally, the thrill of playing Marvel’s Avengers comes from the interconnectedness between the characters and the ongoing nature of its storytelling.True, comic-book style storytelling can be integrated into an ambitious Marvel gaming world on a level not seen before in consoles and PC games. But if such a major character - it’s Spider-Man! - can only be played by some players, how does that translate to the overall story ambitions of Avengers, and to the Spidey-specific stories they’re planning? [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/marvels-avengers-how-ms-marvel-is-the-games-unexpected-hero-ign-first"] It’s all unclear at this point, but what is clear is that creating a fractured player-base is like dividing kids in a schoolyard but only some of them get all of the equipment while the rest have something half-built. Destiny players were upset about PS4-exclusive weapons and missions, and it makes sense - when a game is meant to be played across different platforms, not one made by or for a platform holder, you roughly expect to get the same experience from one system to the next. And a full, playable, new character and associated content is a much larger pill to swallow than, say, some exclusive costumes or even sidequests. Platform exclusives like this always feel mean, even if they make sense from a business perspective. PlayStation wants to bring players into its systems with likely one of the most requested characters for Avengers’ lineup and there’s already an association of the character with Sony. But for players on other platforms, it feels like a slap in the face, and only fuels the console divide further at a time when playing together, no matter where we play, is becoming more important than ever. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

We love hearing your feedback on Podcast Unlocked via the Loot Box, and now you have the chance to actually let us hear your beautiful voices! At the bottom of this article, you will find an option that lets you share a brief video with us and the IGN community, powered by audio and video commenting tool, Yappa. We want as many Unlocked fans as we can get to send in your Loot Box question to the panel, and we'll play it on the air on this week's show. If this works as well as we hope, we'll make this a regular thing every week.

Here's how you can participate:

• Create a Yappa account or sign in with a Facebook, Google, Disqus, or LinkedIn account.
• Look for the video commenting box at the bottom of our articles on both desktop and mobile web. Note that the feature is currently not available on our mobile apps.
• Hit the green bar with the speech bubble icon, allow access to your mic and camera if your permission settings require that step.
• You can choose between audio and video recording. We’d prefer video to see your face (and only your face, please -- although Master Chief helmets are cool with us), but you can use the audio-only option if you’re having a bad hair day.
• When you can see your face, hit record to start recording your video. Hit stop when you’re done. You can leave a message that's up to 45 seconds long.
• You can rewatch your video and then choose to cancel or post.
• If you'd rather upload a video you recorded separately, you can use the Upload Media function to do so. But please, no copyrighted content.
• You can watch and share videos from fellow commenters by clicking on their icons and you can follow contributors you like as well.

Still have questions? You can learn more details about the new commenting system. And, please remember to follow our guidelines for commenting. We'll (literally) see you on Unlocked!

We love hearing your feedback on Podcast Unlocked via the Loot Box, and now you have the chance to actually let us hear your beautiful voices! At the bottom of this article, you will find an option that lets you share a brief video with us and the IGN community, powered by audio and video commenting tool, Yappa. We want as many Unlocked fans as we can get to send in your Loot Box question to the panel, and we'll play it on the air on this week's show. If this works as well as we hope, we'll make this a regular thing every week.

Here's how you can participate:

• Create a Yappa account or sign in with a Facebook, Google, Disqus, or LinkedIn account.
• Look for the video commenting box at the bottom of our articles on both desktop and mobile web. Note that the feature is currently not available on our mobile apps.
• Hit the green bar with the speech bubble icon, allow access to your mic and camera if your permission settings require that step.
• You can choose between audio and video recording. We’d prefer video to see your face (and only your face, please -- although Master Chief helmets are cool with us), but you can use the audio-only option if you’re having a bad hair day.
• When you can see your face, hit record to start recording your video. Hit stop when you’re done. You can leave a message that's up to 45 seconds long.
• You can rewatch your video and then choose to cancel or post.
• If you'd rather upload a video you recorded separately, you can use the Upload Media function to do so. But please, no copyrighted content.
• You can watch and share videos from fellow commenters by clicking on their icons and you can follow contributors you like as well.

Still have questions? You can learn more details about the new commenting system. And, please remember to follow our guidelines for commenting. We'll (literally) see you on Unlocked!

Spellbreak will support cross-progression across PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch when it launches. Developer Proletariat will allow players to create a Spellbreak account that can be attached to the game on any platform, which brings along progression, customisation and stats wherever you choose to play. It will also players to create cross-platform squads and find friends across all versions of the game. Check out a trailer for the announcement below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/03/spellbreak-cross-progression-trailer"] The free-to-play, magic-focused battle royale already has already promised cross-play across all platforms. The game has already seen betas on PC (vis Epic Games Store) and PS4, with Switch and Xbox One launches coming later this year. Proletariat has described the move as "vitally important" to the future of Spellbreak, giving players as much choice as possible from Day One of the game's full release. The developer adds that it believes this will become an industry standard in time. We spoke to Proletariat as part of IGN's Summer of Gaming, and got the lowdown on how Spellbreak weaves RPG ideas into the battle royale template. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/spellbreak-mastering-the-elements-gameplay-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Spellbreak will support cross-progression across PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch when it launches. Developer Proletariat will allow players to create a Spellbreak account that can be attached to the game on any platform, which brings along progression, customisation and stats wherever you choose to play. It will also players to create cross-platform squads and find friends across all versions of the game. Check out a trailer for the announcement below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/03/spellbreak-cross-progression-trailer"] The free-to-play, magic-focused battle royale already has already promised cross-play across all platforms. The game has already seen betas on PC (vis Epic Games Store) and PS4, with Switch and Xbox One launches coming later this year. Proletariat has described the move as "vitally important" to the future of Spellbreak, giving players as much choice as possible from Day One of the game's full release. The developer adds that it believes this will become an industry standard in time. We spoke to Proletariat as part of IGN's Summer of Gaming, and got the lowdown on how Spellbreak weaves RPG ideas into the battle royale template. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/spellbreak-mastering-the-elements-gameplay-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is now a part owner of the XFL, the alternative football league created by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Johnson, his business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale's investment firm RedBird Capital are now all stakeholders in the league. They spent $15 million combined to buy the XFL. [caption id="attachment_2388010" align="alignnone" width="720"] Photo credit: Hiram Garcia[/caption] Sportico reports the deal with Johnson and his partners went through just hours before the league was supposed to be auctioned off. The $15 million offer was reportedly the only qualified proposal. Jeffrey Pollack, XFL President and COO, said, "This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and it is an exciting new chapter for the league. Dwayne, Dany and Gerry are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward." Johnson added that he's excited to create something special for football fans and players. "The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that's rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans," Johnson said. With the purchase, Garcia will be the first and only female sports league owner independent from a team. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dwayne-the-rock-johnsons-10-best-movies&captions=true"] The Rock and his partners save the football league from bankruptcy, after its return season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, ESPN reported the league laid off nearly all its staff, and that there were no plans to return in 2021. For more, read about the action movie role Dwayne Johnson wanted but didn't get. Or, learn about the upcoming NBC comedy based on the life of the Rock. Story reported by comicbook. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant. Image Credit: Hiram Garcia

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is now a part owner of the XFL, the alternative football league created by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Johnson, his business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale's investment firm RedBird Capital are now all stakeholders in the league. They spent $15 million combined to buy the XFL. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/31/jumanji-the-next-level-dwayne-johnson-and-kevin-hart-trick-or-treat-video"] Sportico reports the deal with Johnson and his partners went through just hours before the league was supposed to be auctioned off. The $15 million offer was reportedly the only qualified proposal. Jeffrey Pollack, XFL President and COO, said, "This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and it is an exciting new chapter for the league. Dwayne, Dany and Gerry are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward." Johnson added that he's excited to create something special for football fans and players. "The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that's rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans," Johnson said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dwayne-the-rock-johnsons-10-best-movies&captions=true"] The Rock and his partners save the football league from bankruptcy, after its return season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, ESPN reported the league laid off nearly all its staff, and that there were no plans to return in 2021. For more, read about the action movie role Dwayne Johnson wanted but didn't get. Or, learn about the upcoming NBC comedy based on the life of the Rock. Story reported by comicbook. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

PlayStation has confirmed that Spider-Man will be coming to Marvel’s Avengers as a free PlayStation exclusive. Spider-Man will be released post-launch, so he won’t be available when Marvel’s Avengers is released on September 4. In a new PlayStation Blog post, Marvel’s Avengers confirmed that Spider-Man will be added to the playable roster in early 2021 “at no additional cost” to anyone who owns the base game. As previously leaked, Spider-Man will be exclusive to PlayStation owners. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/29/hawkeye-reveal-trailer-for-marvels-avengers-4k"] A leaked retail listing previously seemed to indicate that Spider-Man would be an exclusive DLC character for Marvel’s Avengers. The retailer clarified that the listing was erroneous, but that appears to be damage control for a real leak. Marvel’s Avengers previously announced other post-launch DLC characters like Hawkeye, but unlike Spider-Man, Hawkeye will not be exclusive to any one system. For more, check out IGN First for Marvel's Avengers for our full, exclusive coverage. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.