It's been almost a year since Sony and Microsoft released their ninth-generation gaming consoles the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Yet, buying either of the three new consoles has been difficult due to an ongoing chip shortage. If you are still looking to get your hands on one of the latest gaming consoles, Best Buy has announced that select locations will sell both PS5s and Xbox Series X consoles tomorrow.

Heading to Best Buy's website, the retail chain announced that select locations will have limited quantities available of the Xbox Series X in addition to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. More than 300 Best Buy locations across the United States (plus one location each in DC and Puerto Rico) will carry a limited number of ninth-generation consoles.

To make sure as many people as possible can purchase a console, Best Buy confirmed that each of the eligible retail stores would be enforcing a one-console-per-customer rule, with employees to begin handing out tickets at 7:30 am local time. Acquiring a ticket guarantees you the opportunity to purchase either a PS5 or Xbox Series X inside the store.

This is the first time Best Buy is selling these highly desirable gaming consoles since both were released last November, which the retailer pledged ahead of both console's release dates that it would not sell either in-stores until 2021.

Prior to this announcement, if you wanted to buy either console from Best Buy, you had to do so through its website or mobile app. Best Buy previously did in-store restocks at select locations. With the retail giant selling limited quantities of RTX 30 graphics cards at select locations in both June and July.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

The creator of The Wire, David Simon, has revealed that he won't shoot his new Texas-based HBO miniseries in Texas as a result of the state's recent controversial abortion law.

Simon, who is behind hit HBO shows like The Wire and The Deuce, announced the news on Twitter today. He also asked followers for places that look similar to the Dallas and Fort Worth areas of Texas.

Simon said this news is "not a matter of political efficacy," but rather that he's "responsible for the employees on our projects."

If an employer, this is beyond politics. I’m turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can’t and won’t ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth? https://t.co/q6Py6XikYh

— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 20, 2021

As you can see in Simon's tweet above, The Wire creator says he can't and won't ask female cast members and crew to forego civil liberties — their right to abortion — to film there.

Texas' new law bans abortions as soon as cardiac activity is detectable, or about six weeks. Furthermore, private citizens can sue abortion providers, and more drastically, anyone who even helps a woman get an abortion.

According to IndieWire, the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office, formerly known as the Dallas Film Commission, wrote the following in response to Simon: "Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big 'D') only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay and vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living."

"You misunderstand completely," Simon said to the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office, according to IndieWire. "My response is NOT rooted in any debate about political efficacy or the utility of any boycott. My singular responsibility is securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production...even if one of our employees requires full control of her own body and choices — and if a law denies this or further criminalizes our attempt to help her exercise that control, we should have filmed elsewhere."

Simon's comments join other public responses from people and companies alike against Texas' anti-abortion law. Former Tripwire Interactive president, John Gibson, tweeted in favor of the law and two developers associated with Tripwire, Shipwright Studios, and Torn Banner Studios, spoke out against Gibson. Gibson stepped down from Tripwire shortly after.

(Header photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Titanfall's community coordinator Jason Garza says Respawn is unlikely to make Titanfall 3 or new content for Titanfall 2 as the studio is working on "too many other games" at the moment.

As reported by Dextero, Garza revealed in a livestream that there was nothing in the works for the Titanfall series, saying, "There’s nothing there. We’ve got too many other games in the works right now.”

Garza did clarify that Respawn is still investigating major hacking vulnerabilities in Titanfall 2, which has been plagued by security concerns and hackers.

Titanfall is Respawn's first major franchise combining the first-person shooter genre with large mechs. Titanfall 2 was considered one of the best games of the year when it was released and has amassed a devoted following. But Respawn has since moved on to focus primarily on the battle royale game Apex Legends.

In addition to continual updates for Apex Legends, Respawn also developed the single-player action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. After the success of Jedi: Fallen Order, EA confirmed it was the start of a new franchise.

The news about Titanfall lines up with last year's report that no new Titanfall games were in development, suggesting a previously teased game was canceled. Titanfall 3 recently popped up in the GeForce Now leak, but it almost certainly falls into the category of games that were pure speculation.

For more, check out our recent report about EA abandoning Titanfall 2, and what happened next.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is officially titled The Secrets of Dumbledore, and it's coming to theaters much sooner than expected.

Warner Bros. confirmed the film's title and announced that its release date had been moved up by three months, with the third entry in the fantastical franchise now scheduled to open in theaters on April 15, 2022, as opposed to July 15. The studio plans to have its biggest movies be theatrical exclusives again in 2022, after debuting its 2021 slate in theaters and HBO Max.

#FantasticBeasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in theaters April 15, 2022. pic.twitter.com/l27HbuwW9f

— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) September 22, 2021

The first plot details for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have also been shared by way of an official logline, which reads as follows: "Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?"

The third film brings back the majority of the cast from the last two entries, including Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller as Credence (aka Aurelius Dumbledore), Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, and Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein.

This time, however, Mads Mikkelsen will be taking over the role of Gellert Grindelwald, replacing Johnny Depp, who departed the role last year. He is, technically speaking, the third actor to play Grindelwald. Colin Farrell first took on the role, albeit as 'Percival Graves,' an alter-ego achieved through transfiguration magic, before Depp portrayed the 'real' version.

It was previously announced that Fantastic Beasts is also now going to be a 5-part series of films after it was extended from its original three-film run, with director David Yates confirming that each film will also take place in a different city: the first installment unravelled in New York City, while The Crimes of Grindelwald largely centered around Paris.

The third film is set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so get ready to step out of your suitcase and into the world of Fantastic Beasts when The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theaters next year.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

A Marvel Cinematic Universe Special is coming to Disney Plus on November 12. It's part of Disney's wider plans to make November 12, the anniversary of Disney Plus' launch, a big day for the streaming service moving forward.

Disney Plus will feature several new releases on that day to celebrate the occasion among them, "a special celebrating the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+ with an exciting look towards the future."

On the same day, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, Jungle Cruise, Home Sweet Home Alone, and more are coming to the service. There will also be a special Boba Fett-themed Star Wars special.

We don't know exactly what the MCU special will look like yet, besides that it will be looking ahead to what's next. Already on the slate, Eternals is coming out a week before Disney Plus Day on November 5, and Spider-Man: No Way Home is launching on December 17.

Next year, MCU fans can look forward to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Marvels. There are also several television series coming soon, including Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel.

For more, check out our review of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which we called great. Or, read our picks for the most shocking moments so far in Marvel's What If...?

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Microsoft's latest Surface Event was arguably its biggest yet with three new two-and-one tablets, a new convertible laptop, an adaptive kit that helps you seamlessly navigate Surface devices, and an updated dual-screen foldable phone. In case you missed the livestream, here's everything Microsoft announced during this year's Surface hardware event.

Surface Studio Laptop

Instead of the next iteration of the Surface Book, Microsoft announced a "fresh take on [its] powerhouse laptop" in the form of the Surface Laptop Studio. This laptop's form factor looks similar to the HP Elite Folio or Acer Concept D Ezel as all three devices include a flexible hinge, allowing you to switch between a typical laptop shape and more into a table-like device akin to the Surface Pro or Go products; offering three modes: laptop, stage, and studio; each turning the Surface Studio into a clamshell laptop, a portable entertainment station to stream movies and shows, or an electronic canvas.

The Surface Studio features a 14.4-inch touchscreen display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, an 11th-gen Intel Core H35 i5 or i7 CPU, and features two GPU configurations: one equipped with an RTX 3050 Ti with 4GB of HDDR6 memory, while the commercial-only model includes an RTX A2000; both GPUs have 4Gb of GDDR6 memory. The laptop also features a 1080p AI-powered smart camera, which Microsoft says will optimize exposure and lighting in addition to quad omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos.

The Surface Studio Laptop is available for pre-order at select retailers with a starting price of $1,599.99.

Surface Pro X

Microsoft has also launched a model refresh to the Surface Pro X. Despite no significant changes to the overall design of the Surface Pro X. The 2021 model refresh introduces a Gigabyte LTE model and a Wi-Fi-only option with a new entry price of $899.

The Surface Pro X includes a few configurations with either an SQ 1 or SQ 2 CPU, an SQ 1 Adreno 685 GPU, or SQ 2 Adreno 690, either an 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM, and three removable SSD options: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Microsoft also notes that the upcoming OS Windows 11 and built-in 64-bit emulation will allow the ARM-based device to run apps better, including Microsft Teams and Office and third-party apps like Adobe Photoshop.

Microsoft says this year's Surface Pro X includes all-day battery life, a 2280 x 1920 13-inch PixelSense touchscreen, and the signature kickstand that has become a noteworthy feature in the Surface Pro line. This year's model also includes a 5.0-megapixel 1080p webcam on the wrong with the webcam designed to automatically adjust the lighting conditions to reflect natural skin tones, according to Microsoft accurately. Surface Pro X also includes an Eye Contact feature powered by machine learning and an onboard neural engine to allow you to adjust your gaze on video calls to appear like you're always looking at the camera.

The Surface Pro X is available for pre-order starting today.

Surface Pro 8

The Surface Pro has remained one of the flagship hardware products created by Microsoft. Succeeding the Surface Pro 7+, the Pro 8 includes an HD camera with support for 4K video, a slightly bigger and brighter 13-inch 2880 x 1920 screen, a 120Hz refresh rate display (though its default is 60Hz). Microsoft claims battery life will last you up to 16 hours, and you can charge 80% of your device in just "over an hour."

Depending on the configurations you pick, you have a few to choose from, with consumer configurations offering either an i5 or i7 11th-gen quad-core Intel processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics. Memory configurations come in three options: 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB (all LPDDR4x). Whether you buy a Wi-Fi or LTE model, you can grab either a 128GB or 256GB SSD option. But the Wi-Fi-only models also include two additional SSD configurations: 512Gb and 1TB, all of which are removable.

The Surface Pro 8 performs over two times faster than the Surface Pro 7, with a 40% higher sustained CPU performance and a 74% faster graphics sustained performance. Microsoft aims to make this a multidimensional device that is good for productivity or a workstation with a multiple 4K monitor setup. Yet, the tech giant also notes that the Surface Pro 8 can also be an ideal portable gaming station if you use an external GPU.

The Surface Pro 8 starts at $1,099.99, with preorders beginning today.

Surface Go 3

Alongside the other Surface lineup, Microsoft also announced the Surface Go 3. There are some noticeable changes, such as 128GB and 256GB SSD options, though there is a slower eMMC 64GB option if you decide to go with a base model.

As a more entry-level Surface device, the Go 3 includes an Intel UHD Graphics 615 and a choice between either a dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y or a quad-core 10th-gen Intel Core i3 CPU. Memory is maxed out at 8GB or 4Gb if you are getting a base model.

The Surface Go 3 weighs in at 1.2lbs and offers a 1080p camera along with an attractive starting price of $399.99 with preorders starting today. Though only if you want the Wi-Fi models as the LTE models are slated to come out "in the coming months."

Surface Duo 2

Laptops and tablets were not the only hardware device Microsoft announced today. Its next Surface phone, the Duo 2, was also unveiled.

The Surface Duo's successor keeps a lot of what made the Android-powered smartphone a unique foldable, such as the ability to run two Android apps concurrently. The Surface Duo 2 features a larger screen measuring 8.3-inches powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 5G support and an NFC reader; the last two features were key features missing in its predecessor.

The phone will ship with Google's upcoming Android 11 operating system, which includes three storage configurations: 128GB, 256Gb, and 512GB, along with 8GB of DRAM LPDDR5 memory. Surface Duo 2 also consists of a new triple camera setup on the rear: a 16MP, f/2.2 Ultra Wide lens, a 12MP, f/1.7, OIS wide lens, and a 12MP, f/2.4, OIS Telephoto lens.

Another interesting feature is that the Surface Duo 2 will include a preinstalled Xbox Game Pass App. A few months back, Microsoft made some changes to the Surface Duo to optimize the foldable for its video game streaming service by adding touch controls, which added a virtual gamepad to the second screen of the device, turning it into a Nintendo 3DS-like handheld.

Like the other products mentioned above, preorders for the Surface Duo 2 begin today with a starting price of $1,499.99.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

In the early stages of creating Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Hideo Kojima and producer Rika Muranaka initially wanted to hire Hans Zimmer to compose the music for the game.

In an article with Game Developer, Muranaka discussed her time working on the game's largely synthetic soundtrack and how a larger budget for the sequel meant that they could strive further with the game's audio design.

"We went to Media Ventures (now known as Remote Control Productions), which is Hans Zimmer's studio," says Muranaka. "We originally wanted to get Hans Zimmer, but he was like 'No, I can't do it for that kind of money' - he's so expensive, it's ridiculous."

With Zimmer no longer a feasible option at this point, it was then that Kojima asked Muranaka to reach out to English composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who was working for Zimmer in the studio at that time. "He was still an upcoming composer," says Muranaka. "But he had done Enemy of the State, so a lot of people had started to notice him."

Gregson-Williams, whose career working with video games also includes work on a number of Call of Duty titles, accepted the position to work alongside Kojima on Metal Gear Solid 2 - a choice which the composer didn't know at the time would begin a longstanding relationship between the pair, spanning multiple future Metal Gear titles. Prior to working together on Sons of Liberty, however, Gregson-Williams admits that he hadn't really thought about venturing into the world of video games.

"I hadn't considered doing video games at all," Gregson-Williams tells Game Developer. "I don't think at that time, many filmmakers had, so I didn't really have a precedent for it. I wouldn't have had a desire for it necessarily, had Hideo not himself approached me. [...] At the time, I was under the care of Hans Zimmer. He wasn't dismissive about it - but he did say, 'Watch out, you're here to try and build a path to being a film composer.'"

For Gregson-Williams, the move across to composing music for games would present itself with some new challenges. For one, he wouldn't be able to rely on using already shot footage to direct the music he was creating.

"I would start the week with an email from him saying, 'Do you think you could send me 30 seconds of 'sneaky?'" says Gregson-Williams. "And I would send back - and this had to be done through a translator - 'Sneaky? What kind of sneaky?'

"He'd say, 'In this instance, imagine you're being watched, but you don't know that.' So I'd say, 'So very down-tempo and tense and spare' and he'd be like 'Yep.' We'd build a picture ourselves of what I was doing. He obviously knew how he was going to deploy this music in the game. But I didn't."

The music for Metal Gear Solid 2 came as a joint effort between Gregson-Williams, Muranaka, and Konami's in-house sound team (most notably composer Norihiko Hibino). While certainly far from a solo effort, it's interesting to consider how different the game's tone might have been had Zimmer been at the helm.

In other Hans Zimmer news, the composer recently created a soundtrack for Dune's upcoming companion book. Named the Art and Soul of Dune, the accompanying art book for Denis Villeneuve's upcoming sci-fi blockbuster is apparently so immense that Zimmer actually recorded an entirely new soundtrack for it. Launching with two different variations, fans can pick up the regular edition of The Art and Soul of Dune for $50 MSRP or the significantly more expensive deluxe edition for $595.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Apple has released the official trailer for its ambitious new sci-fi series, Invasion, starring Jurassic Park's Sam Neill.

The three-episode premiere of Invasion will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on Friday, October 22, 2021. Invasion comes from the minds of X-Men and Deadpool producer Simon Kinberg, as well as The Twilight Zone's David Weil. The series follows the events of an Alien invasion through the lens of several characters spread across multiple continents.

IGN can exclusively reveal the thrilling trailer for Invasion in the video below or at the top of the page:

We spoke to Kinberg to learn more about the origins of Invasion's story, where he shared how Alejandro Iñárritu's Oscar-winning 2006 film Babel, and H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds were both inspirations.

"Well, initially I had a thought of doing a very modern global Babel, like the movie Babel meets War of the Worlds," Kinberg told IGN. "And I met [co-creator David Weil], because I wanted a partner in creating and writing it, and we really connected. And the more we talked about it, the further and further it got away from anything resembling War of the Worlds other than it being an alien invasion. And so it became its own original thing. And what was, from the beginning, the biggest draw to me and the thing that got me the most excited, was playing the reality of what it would feel like to be invaded. I think there are a lot of nations, unfortunately, around the world that know what that feels like, but there's a whole lot of nations that don't, and America is one of them."

Kinberg went on to explain that his love of science-fiction movies and TV shows comes from their ability to act as powerful metaphors for so many things in our world. Some of his favorites growing up were Alien, The Terminator, and Star Wars.

"So in the case of the X-Men movies that I spent a lot of my life working on, the mutants were a metaphor for any persecuted or oppressed people," Kinberg said. "And in the case of Invasion, it's really about two things for me, metaphorically. One is the fact that we're all aliens, that there is a sense of alienation that I think all people carry with them in some form, whether they're alienated from their families, alienated from their communities, alienated from their jobs, there is a sense of disconnect. And I think I was really trying to find storylines in our show that would explore that feeling of alienation and really sort of explode it under the intensity of the magnifying glass of an actual alien invasion."

Joining Neill is an expansive ensemble, including Shamier Anderson (Goliath), Golshifteh Farahani (Gen: Lock), Firas Nassar (Sirens), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool 2), and more.

What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out Invasion when it debuts on Apple TV+ on Friday, October 22, 2021.

David Griffin is the TV Streaming Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Ahead of today's Pokémon Unite launch for mobile devices, the Pokémon Company updated the game to include a range of new features as well as cross-play.

Pokémon Unite has already added a number of playable Pokémon since its release for Nintendo Switch in July. However, as the MOBA makes its long-awaited debut on mobile devices, The Pokémon Company announced features of the new update on its website while also taking to Twitter to show off new gameplay clips for upcoming debutants, Mamoswine and Sylveon.

Get ready, Trainers! Tomorrow, the battle continues as #PokemonUNITE arrives on mobile devices!

A new battle pass, new adventures, and a new way to play! pic.twitter.com/XvK7OrHqgo

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) September 21, 2021

As of today, Unite fans can battle it out across multiple platforms, as the MOBA's move to mobile also introduces cross-play. Budding trainers will be able to link their accounts across devices meaning that when you inevitably burn through the battery power on your Switch, there's always your trusty smartphone to keep your progress moving forward.

Pokémon Unite will also now feature a number of new in-game events, during which fans will get the chance to obtain Super Item Enhancers. Similar to standard Item Enhancers but far rarer, these will allow players to upgrade a held item straight to level 30 - a prospect that could take the edge off some of the game's microtransaction-driven grind.

With concerns over a pay-to-win nature of the game being brought into question since its release, the publisher has also said that it is developing a new mode of play "designed to level the playing field for all Trainers, regardless of their held items’ grades."

Pokémon Unite's new season also includes a brand new space-themed battle pass called Galactic Ghost 094, and the addition of Unite Squads. The Pokémon company says that through Unite Squads, players can use tags based upon their own preferences in playstyle to team up with other like-minded individuals who want to approach the game in a similar way. Whether you're destined for greatness or want to take the game at a casual pace, joining up with players of a similar mindset should now be pretty easy within the game.

Because over five million trainers preregistered for the mobile version of the game (three cheers for an arbitrary milestone), every user who has played the mobile version of Pokémon Unite before October 31 will receive the Unite license for Pikachu (which lets you play as the character in-game) along with a special Holowear for everyone's favorite little yellow companion and 1,000 Aeos tickets, which can be exchanged for in-game items. Mobile users will also be able to unlock the license for Zeroara as a launch bonus by winning a total of 32 battles in the game.

For more on Pokémon Unite, make sure to check out our review of the game where we gave it a 6/10 calling it "an entertaining MOBA constrained by its overcommitment to simplicity".

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A Nintendo Direct is coming tomorrow, September 23, promising to show off around 40 minutes of upcoming Switch games.

Announced on Twitter, the presentation will air at 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern / 11pm UK (that's September 24 at 8am AEST). It will be "focused mainly on Nintendo Switch games launching this winter."

Tune in 9/23 at 3 p.m. PT for a #NintendoDirect livestream featuring roughly 40 minutes of information focused mainly on #NintendoSwitch games launching this winter. pic.twitter.com/feHBEKfHPG

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 22, 2021

Amid smaller showcases, this marks the third full Nintendo Direct of the year. In February, a Direct revealed Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, Splatoon 3, Mario Golf: Super Rush and more. At E3, Nintendo finally showed more from Breath of the Wild 2, announced Metroid Dread, and revealed Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.

As for what could be shown at this event, there've been recent rumours about Game Boy and Game Boy Color games coming to Nintendo Switch Online. Many will also be hoping that we discover the identity of the final character coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after Tekken's Kazuya was added in June. Is it too much to hope we'll see more Breath of the Wild 2 ahead of its February release? Judging by how quiet Nintendo's been about the game so far, quite possibly.

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.