Monthly Archives: May 2021

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Will ‘Probably Be the End of Drax,’ Dave Bautista Says

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might be the last time we see Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, the actor told Digital Spy.

Bautista has remained relatively quiet on plot details, but only because he has yet to see what the latest script contains, the actor said.

"I don't know what the script of the third film is, to be honest with you. There was a script years ago that obviously is going to have to change because the whole direction of the Marvel universe has changed," Bautista said.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due out on May 5, 2023, but Bautista says he’s unlikely to appear as Drax in any other form beyond that, including a spin-off movie.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/23/james-gunn-confirms-when-the-guardians-holiday-special-takes-place-in-the-mcu"]

"There were talks for a while about a Drax and Mantis film,” Bautista said, referencing the comedic relationship between the overly blunt Drax and the naive Mantis played by Pom Klementieff. “It was really because it was James Gunn's idea. He really wanted to do a Drax and Mantis film. He laid it out to me. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, but I haven't heard any follow-up from the studio. I don't think they're very interested, or it doesn't fit into the way they have things mapped out. But other than that, no. I mean, as far as my obligations, I've got Guardians 3, and that's probably going to be the end of Drax."

So maybe there’s room for a TV series instead? Unfortunately, Bautista has told JoBlo there’s “not a chance in hell” he’d reprise the role in that format.

 [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/20/no-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-4-for-james-gunn"]

Obviously, nothing is ever too permanent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Bautista’s exit might be one of those things you can’t walk back from. The actor has previously been very critical of Disney after it fired James Gunn for making inappropriate jokes on Twitter years before working on GotG.

Bautista went as far as to say he was considering not working on Guardians Vol. 3 after Disney’s decision, which the company eventually rescinded. Knowing all that, it’s pretty clear that Bautista has no love lost for Disney as a corporation.

Whether Drax simply walks into the sunset or goes out in a more violent manner in Guardians Vol. 3 remains to be seen. In the meantime, we’ve at least got the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special to look forward to, and Bautista is starring in Zack Snyder's zombie heist movie Army of the Dead on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/groot for IGN.

Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 Live Show Details

BEYOND! IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond! turns 700 next week, and we'd like to celebrate with the Beyond! listeners and viewers with a day of livestreamed festivities. So join us on Wednesday, May 12 at 10:30 am PT for a live Podcast Beyond! Episode 700. Join Jonathon Dornbush, Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville for a rundown of the latest PlayStation news and impressions, a chance to send in questions the cast will answer live, and, probably, a Bloodborne reference.

How to Watch Podcast Beyond! Episode 700

You'll be able to watch the episode right here on IGN.com, as well as on two of our YouTube channels: IGN's main YouTube page, as well as the IGN Games page. And speaking of Bloodborne, the show doesn't stop when the episode ends. Stick around after episode 700 because at about 11:25 am PT the Beyond! crew will be filming episode 2 of their Bloodborne let's play series live! Jonathon hasn't played Bloodborne for over a year, so see how he adjusts while returning to Yharnam as Brian, Max, and Lucy guide him through, cheer him on, and bemoan his (most likely) many, many deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]

Podcast Beyond Episode 700 Air Date and Start Time

Can't watch live? Well don't worry, episode 700 will be available on VOD everywhere you can normally expect the show, both in audio and video formats, and the Bloodborne let's play will be available as a VOD following the day as well. The full schedule:
  • 10:30 am PT: Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 begins
  • 11:15 am PT: Episode ends and intermission begins
  • 11:25 am PT: Bloodborne Let's Play begins
For more Podcast Beyond!, be sure to check out our latest episode, covering the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart State of Play and more, or find all the platforms you can watch or listen to Beyond! below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. We hope you'll join us to celebrate episode 700. From the entire cast, this show is a joy to record every week, and a highlight of what we get to do at IGN. We so appreciate all of your support for the show, whether you've been listening since episode 1 (like I was), before any of us were even on the show, or if you just started listening to our antics last week. We're at the start of a brand new generation for PlayStation, and we can't wait to celebrate the show, our love for PlayStation, and, again, Bloodborne, on Wednesday, May 10. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead.

Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 Live Show Details

BEYOND! IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond! turns 700 next week, and we'd like to celebrate with the Beyond! listeners and viewers with a day of livestreamed festivities. So join us on Wednesday, May 12 at 10:30 am PT for a live Podcast Beyond! Episode 700. Join Jonathon Dornbush, Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville for a rundown of the latest PlayStation news and impressions, a chance to send in questions the cast will answer live, and, probably, a Bloodborne reference.

How to Watch Podcast Beyond! Episode 700

You'll be able to watch the episode right here on IGN.com, as well as on two of our YouTube channels: IGN's main YouTube page, as well as the IGN Games page. And speaking of Bloodborne, the show doesn't stop when the episode ends. Stick around after episode 700 because at about 11:25 am PT the Beyond! crew will be filming episode 2 of their Bloodborne let's play series live! Jonathon hasn't played Bloodborne for over a year, so see how he adjusts while returning to Yharnam as Brian, Max, and Lucy guide him through, cheer him on, and bemoan his (most likely) many, many deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]

Podcast Beyond Episode 700 Air Date and Start Time

Can't watch live? Well don't worry, episode 700 will be available on VOD everywhere you can normally expect the show, both in audio and video formats, and the Bloodborne let's play will be available as a VOD following the day as well. The full schedule:
  • 10:30 am PT: Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 begins
  • 11:15 am PT: Episode ends and intermission begins
  • 11:25 am PT: Bloodborne Let's Play begins
For more Podcast Beyond!, be sure to check out our latest episode, covering the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart State of Play and more, or find all the platforms you can watch or listen to Beyond! below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. We hope you'll join us to celebrate episode 700. From the entire cast, this show is a joy to record every week, and a highlight of what we get to do at IGN. We so appreciate all of your support for the show, whether you've been listening since episode 1 (like I was), before any of us were even on the show, or if you just started listening to our antics last week. We're at the start of a brand new generation for PlayStation, and we can't wait to celebrate the show, our love for PlayStation, and, again, Bloodborne, on Wednesday, May 10. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead.

Titanfall 2 Speedrunning Champ Reclaims Their Record One Week After Losing It

A Titanfall 2 speedrunner has reclaimed their throne after having their previous record beaten last week. Cash Mayo managed to speedrun Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, an infamously intricate bit of wallrunning and speed-boosting, in 11.1 seconds, beating Whatevershoe’s record of 11.2 seconds.

Reported first by PC Gamer, Cash Mayo managed the new record this past weekend, narrowly beating Whatevershoe’s recent record. Whatevershoe was originally aiming to beat Cash Mayo’s previous record of 11.7 seconds from 2019, so the room for error has gotten exponentially smaller and smaller as the record was revised.

Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, the Gauntlet, has become an in-universe trophy of sorts for Titanfall and Apex Legends fans. Developer Respawn made it part of the maniac daredevil Octane’s backstory, establishing that Octane set the original record by using a classic grenade jump trick, which explains the prosthetic legs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/26/apex-legends-legacy-gameplay-trailer"]

Titanfall 2 is having something of a second (third?) renaissance this past month. The game had a free weekend on Steam, and that was after experiencing a 500% surge in players thanks to Apex season 9’s Titan-centric theme. Titanfall and Titanfall 2 also recently got the framerate boost treatment on the Xbox Series X and S alongside many other EA games.

If you prefer your Respawn shooters firmly in the battle royale genre, check out all the details on Apex season 9’s new legend, new modes, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/pilot for IGN.

Titanfall 2 Speedrunning Champ Reclaims Their Record One Week After Losing It

A Titanfall 2 speedrunner has reclaimed their throne after having their previous record beaten last week. Cash Mayo managed to speedrun Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, an infamously intricate bit of wallrunning and speed-boosting, in 11.1 seconds, beating Whatevershoe’s record of 11.2 seconds.

Reported first by PC Gamer, Cash Mayo managed the new record this past weekend, narrowly beating Whatevershoe’s recent record. Whatevershoe was originally aiming to beat Cash Mayo’s previous record of 11.7 seconds from 2019, so the room for error has gotten exponentially smaller and smaller as the record was revised.

Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, the Gauntlet, has become an in-universe trophy of sorts for Titanfall and Apex Legends fans. Developer Respawn made it part of the maniac daredevil Octane’s backstory, establishing that Octane set the original record by using a classic grenade jump trick, which explains the prosthetic legs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/26/apex-legends-legacy-gameplay-trailer"]

Titanfall 2 is having something of a second (third?) renaissance this past month. The game had a free weekend on Steam, and that was after experiencing a 500% surge in players thanks to Apex season 9’s Titan-centric theme. Titanfall and Titanfall 2 also recently got the framerate boost treatment on the Xbox Series X and S alongside many other EA games.

If you prefer your Respawn shooters firmly in the battle royale genre, check out all the details on Apex season 9’s new legend, new modes, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/pilot for IGN.

Xbox Reviews The Last of Us Part 2

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing topics like Returnal, Xbox's thoughts on The Last of Us Part 2 and Breath of the Wild 2, the best-selling Star Wars games, Flashback, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. The music in this episode is from Flashback on Sega Genesis. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher   Find previous episodes here!

Xbox Reviews The Last of Us Part 2

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing topics like Returnal, Xbox's thoughts on The Last of Us Part 2 and Breath of the Wild 2, the best-selling Star Wars games, Flashback, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. The music in this episode is from Flashback on Sega Genesis. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher   Find previous episodes here!

Valve Facing New Lawsuit Over Steam Digital Dominance

A game developer and two other people are challenging Valve with a lawsuit over the company's dominance in PC digital games distribution. On a blog run by Wolfire Games, CEO David Rosen revealed that he is leading a class-action antitrust lawsuit representing game developers against Valve Corporation. He asserted that the near dominance of Steam on the PC games market increases the prices of games due to Valve's service taking a 30% commission from the sale of each game. He also stated that any attempts to diverge from that system would result in a game being “removed from Steam”. Rosen said that his motivation for the lawsuit, which was filed on April 28, is that “gamers and game developers are being harmed by Valve's conduct”. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/08/valves-30-cut-is-actually-the-industry-standard"] “While I am taking on significant personal risk, I am not doing this for personal gain," said Rosen. "If there’s any monetary recovery, it will be distributed to all developers and gamers in the class”. Rosen added that he is not the only developer that has run into issues when publishing on Steam: “I believe that other developers who charged lower prices on other stores have been contacted by Valve, telling them that their games will be removed from Steam if they did not raise their prices on competing stores." Rosen claims that this approach breaches antitrust laws, which has led to him filing the lawsuit. Rosen is seeking a resolution where Valve stops “interfering with pricing on other stores, and allow gamers and developers to make their own decisions”. Wolfire Games developed the game Overgrowth, and originally launched it on Steam, only to see new PC store platforms emerging that charged a lower commission. When he asked Valve about putting the game onto one of these other storefronts, the company responded by saying “that they would remove Overgrowth from Steam if I allowed it to be sold at a lower price anywhere, even from my own website without Steam keys and without Steam’s DRM”. According to Law360, two gamers have also joined and are supporting the lawsuit: William Herbert of Florida and Daniel Escobar of New York. Valve is not the only company facing a lawsuit over store practices lately; Sony is also being sued over an monopoly created by making digital games only purchasable from the PlayStation Store. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman

Valve Facing New Lawsuit Over Steam Digital Dominance

A game developer and two other people are challenging Valve with a lawsuit over the company's dominance in PC digital games distribution. On a blog run by Wolfire Games, CEO David Rosen revealed that he is leading a class-action antitrust lawsuit representing game developers against Valve Corporation. He asserted that the near dominance of Steam on the PC games market increases the prices of games due to Valve's service taking a 30% commission from the sale of each game. He also stated that any attempts to diverge from that system would result in a game being “removed from Steam”. Rosen said that his motivation for the lawsuit, which was filed on April 28, is that “gamers and game developers are being harmed by Valve's conduct”. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/08/valves-30-cut-is-actually-the-industry-standard"] “While I am taking on significant personal risk, I am not doing this for personal gain," said Rosen. "If there’s any monetary recovery, it will be distributed to all developers and gamers in the class”. Rosen added that he is not the only developer that has run into issues when publishing on Steam: “I believe that other developers who charged lower prices on other stores have been contacted by Valve, telling them that their games will be removed from Steam if they did not raise their prices on competing stores." Rosen claims that this approach breaches antitrust laws, which has led to him filing the lawsuit. Rosen is seeking a resolution where Valve stops “interfering with pricing on other stores, and allow gamers and developers to make their own decisions”. Wolfire Games developed the game Overgrowth, and originally launched it on Steam, only to see new PC store platforms emerging that charged a lower commission. When he asked Valve about putting the game onto one of these other storefronts, the company responded by saying “that they would remove Overgrowth from Steam if I allowed it to be sold at a lower price anywhere, even from my own website without Steam keys and without Steam’s DRM”. According to Law360, two gamers have also joined and are supporting the lawsuit: William Herbert of Florida and Daniel Escobar of New York. Valve is not the only company facing a lawsuit over store practices lately; Sony is also being sued over an monopoly created by making digital games only purchasable from the PlayStation Store. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Exclusive to PS5 for Six Months Minimum

In a new trailer released today, Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 for at least six months. A graphic at the end of the “Final Trailer” for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade reveals that the game will remain exclusive to Sony’s console for at least the first six months after it releases. The trailer also showcases more of the new expanded story of the game, focusing particularly on the new Yuffie chapter and revealing some new boss fights, such as a new encounters against Scarlett in a combat-ready new Shinra mech suit. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/07/final-fantasy-7-remake-intergrade-final-trailer"] The exclusivity window is not entirely surprising given that the original release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake was exclusive to PS4, and also had a timed exclusivity deal in place. This approach seems to follow the trend of Sony striking exclusivity deals for Square Enix’s big titles, with Final Fantasy XVI and Forspoken also planning to launch first on PS5. It has not yet been revealed whether FF7 Remake Intergrade will be ported to Xbox or PC after the six month exclusivity window. Square Enix does have a history of porting their games to multiple systems following exclusivity deals, however, such as Rise of the Tomb Raider launching exclusively on the Xbox One, and releasing on the PS4 later. If Intergrade does end up releasing on Xbox systems or PC, though, it wouldn't be until the exclusivity period was up, which would be December this year at the earliest. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/31/final-fantasy-7-remake-theme-song-trailer"] Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade launches on the 10th June, but if you're hungry for more Final Fantasy, Square is also planning to expand on the FF7 universe through additional content and games such as The First Soldier and Ever Crisis that aim to build on the lore of the FF7 compilation of games. Final Fantasy 7 Remake was recently part of March's Playstation Plus update on the PS4, and PS4 gamers can get a free upgrade to the next-gen version, but it won't include the Yuffie content without additional purchase. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer at IGN, and likes Final Fantasy waaay too much. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman