Microsoft is reportedly developing a new video game based on the Wu-Tang Clan. That's right, the infamous hip hop group that brought us RZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and more east coast music icons will feature heavily in a new action-RPG, according to Windows Central.

Windows Central's reporting was reinforced by GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb, who said on his video show that he understood the information to be correct.

The game, codenamed "Shaolin," is reportedly in development at Brass Lion Entertainment, a newer studio that focuses on "fictional universes that center on Black, Brown, and other traditionally marginalized characters, cultures, and stories." The studio was founded by Manveer Heir (lead designer on Mass Effect 3), Bryna Dabby Smith (Def Jam Vendetta and Sleeping Dogs), and Rashad Redic (artist on The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Fallout 3). The studio lists collaborators such as the Grammy-winner Just Blaze (hip hop producer for Jay-Z, Drake, Beyonce) and writer Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther, in addition to a long history of video game journalism).

Brass Lion's first game, Corner Wolves, is described as narrative fictional podcast following a young Afro-Latina woman as she adventures through mid-90's Harlem to find her father's killer, touching on subjects including the drug war's impact on black and brown communities.

The game is reportedly a "third-person fantasy RPG" that will feature seasonal content and be an estimated "couple dozen hours" long.

The game will also reportedly be melee combat-focused and that it will support 4-player co-op, Windows Central said. The games-as-a-service aspects don't stop there. Players will be able to collect loot such as weapons and gear by completing procedural endgame dungeons or "tailor-made events."

Actual Wu-Tang Clan fans will also be happy to hear that the group will create the game's soundtrack.

Don't expect to hear too much about the game in the immediate future, though. Heir tweeted last month that the studio was looking for a game designer to work on their unannounced project.

The game's "Shaolin" codename is likely a reference to Wu-Tang Clan's frequent theme of Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang martial arts styles. Original members Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA similarly adopted the group's name from the 1983 martial arts film "Shaolin and Wu Tang," several samples of which made it onto the group's first album 36 Chambers. The group's first video game was also titled Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, which released on PS1 in 1999. Members of the group also appeared as themselves in the Def Jam wrestling games.

The leak in question is tied to the Nvidia GeForce Now leak last month, in which listings for numerous new games and PC ports appeared, but a number of those listings (like a 2022 release date for BioShock 4) appear dubious at best.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Microsoft is reportedly developing a new video game based on the Wu-Tang Clan. That's right, the infamous hip hop group that brought us RZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and more east coast music icons will feature heavily in a new action-RPG, according to Windows Central.

Windows Central's reporting was reinforced by GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb, who said on his video show that he understood the information to be correct.

The game, codenamed "Shaolin," is reportedly in development at Brass Lion Entertainment, a newer studio that focuses on "fictional universes that center on Black, Brown, and other traditionally marginalized characters, cultures, and stories." The studio was founded by Manveer Heir (lead designer on Mass Effect 3), Bryna Dabby Smith (Def Jam Vendetta and Sleeping Dogs), and Rashad Redic (artist on The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Fallout 3). The studio lists collaborators such as the Grammy-winner Just Blaze (hip hop producer for Jay-Z, Drake, Beyonce) and writer Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther, in addition to a long history of video game journalism).

Brass Lion's first game, Corner Wolves, is described as narrative fictional podcast following a young Afro-Latina woman as she adventures through mid-90's Harlem to find her father's killer, touching on subjects including the drug war's impact on black and brown communities.

The game is reportedly a "third-person fantasy RPG" that will feature seasonal content and be an estimated "couple dozen hours" long.

The game will also reportedly be melee combat-focused and that it will support 4-player co-op, Windows Central said. The games-as-a-service aspects don't stop there. Players will be able to collect loot such as weapons and gear by completing procedural endgame dungeons or "tailor-made events."

Actual Wu-Tang Clan fans will also be happy to hear that the group will create the game's soundtrack.

Don't expect to hear too much about the game in the immediate future, though. Heir tweeted last month that the studio was looking for a game designer to work on their unannounced project.

The game's "Shaolin" codename is likely a reference to Wu-Tang Clan's frequent theme of Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang martial arts styles. Original members Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA similarly adopted the group's name from the 1983 martial arts film "Shaolin and Wu Tang," several samples of which made it onto the group's first album 36 Chambers. The group's first video game was also titled Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, which released on PS1 in 1999. Members of the group also appeared as themselves in the Def Jam wrestling games.

The leak in question is tied to the Nvidia GeForce Now leak last month, in which listings for numerous new games and PC ports appeared, but a number of those listings (like a 2022 release date for BioShock 4) appear dubious at best.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

After years of waiting, Payday fans finally have some new info on Payday 3. Publisher Starbreeze Studios and developer Overkill Software revealed some new details during the Payday 10th Anniversary livestream event.

Payday 3 will take place in a "living, enormous representation" of New York City, director Erik Wonnevi said. Payday 2 was primarily set in the boroughs of Washington, DC, while the original Payday was set in a fictional "Newport City" as well as Miami

Payday 3 will also take place several years after the events of Payday 2, bringing back characters like Dallas, Hoxton, Chains, and Wolf as they leave retirement and return to their criminal ways.

Technology has come a long way since Payday 2 released in 2013, and Starbreeze looks to be capitalizing on that fact for gameplay purposes. Software giants, cryptocurrency, mass surveillance, and even the dark web will all play some sort of role for the gang, such as updated gadgetry.

Concept art revealed during the presentation also shows a fictional New York bank named "Gold & Sharke Incorporated" that may serve as a mission location. Payday 3's characters can be seen casing the building with their masks on, as a few police officers patrol in the distance. A second image shows the climax of the group's heist, as armored SWAT swarms the bank's front steps and the gang fires from the top of the steps.

Starbreeze didn't show any actual gameplay or cinematics from Payday 3 during its event, but what we do know is that the game is being developed in Unreal Engine, as opposed to the previous games' Grin engine. Wonnevi emphasized that the new engine will allow players to step into the "living, breathing" fantasy of New York and see it "flip" into chaos and react accordingly to your decisions as a heist crew.

Payday 3 is currently scheduled to release simultaneously on PC and consoles in 2023, "with additional content and functionalities planned for long beyond the original release date," Starbreeze said in March this year.

Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Payday 3 had a release window of 2022 - 2023. Starbreeze Studios stated in March 2021 that Payday 3's release window was now 2023. The story has been updated to reflect this.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/getaway driver for IGN.

After years of waiting, Payday fans finally have some new info on Payday 3. Publisher Starbreeze Studios and developer Overkill Software revealed some new details during the Payday 10th Anniversary livestream event.

Payday 3 will take place in a "living, enormous representation" of New York City, director Erik Wonnevi said. Payday 2 was primarily set in the boroughs of Washington, DC, while the original Payday was set in a fictional "Newport City" as well as Miami

Payday 3 will also take place several years after the events of Payday 2, bringing back characters like Dallas, Hoxton, Chains, and Wolf as they leave retirement and return to their criminal ways.

Technology has come a long way since Payday 2 released in 2013, and Starbreeze looks to be capitalizing on that fact for gameplay purposes. Software giants, cryptocurrency, mass surveillance, and even the dark web will all play some sort of role for the gang, such as updated gadgetry.

Concept art revealed during the presentation also shows a fictional New York bank named "Gold & Sharke Incorporated" that may serve as a mission location. Payday 3's characters can be seen casing the building with their masks on, as a few police officers patrol in the distance. A second image shows the climax of the group's heist, as armored SWAT swarms the bank's front steps and the gang fires from the top of the steps.

Starbreeze didn't show any actual gameplay or cinematics from Payday 3 during its event, but what we do know is that the game is being developed in Unreal Engine, as opposed to the previous games' Grin engine. Wonnevi emphasized that the new engine will allow players to step into the "living, breathing" fantasy of New York and see it "flip" into chaos and react accordingly to your decisions as a heist crew.

Payday 3 is currently scheduled to release simultaneously on PC and consoles in 2023, "with additional content and functionalities planned for long beyond the original release date," Starbreeze said in March this year.

Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Payday 3 had a release window of 2022 - 2023. Starbreeze Studios stated in March 2021 that Payday 3's release window was now 2023. The story has been updated to reflect this.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/getaway driver for IGN.

Marvel Studios originally planned to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU by way of four short films leading into the first proper Guardians movie in 2014.

The studio's alternative plans for the ragtag cosmic crew's debut were revealed in a new Marvel book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, that chronicles the entire production history of The Infinity War Saga's 23 movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 directed by James Gunn.

One excerpt in the 512-page book, transcribed by Screen Rant, details Marvel's early plans to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU through a series of Marvel One-Shots that would have been released before the characters made their big-screen debut. However, MCU boss Kevin Feige said they decided to scrap the idea because it seemed excessive.

"This One-Shot series would have led into the Guardians movie proper - which would have also been directly preceded by a fourth self-contained short film about a mysterious kid who loved fantasy things," Feige said. "Halfway through [Guardians], we would reveal that big space hero is the kid from the short. We thought that would be clever, but it was too much."

Marvel One-Shots are a series of direct-to-video short films produced by Marvel Studios, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are included as special features on Blu-ray and digital releases of MCU movies and are designed to be self-contained stories that provide more backstory for characters or events introduced in Marvel's blockbuster releases.

The studio's last One-Shot short, titled All Hail the King, told the story of Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) following the events of Iron Man 3. It was released on Thor: The Dark World's home release in 2014, the same year that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 hit theaters, with its motley crew of characters teaming up to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions.

The movie's ensemble cast features Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, and Dave Bautista as Drax. They returned for the 2017 sequel but their days might be numbered, as James Gunn has said Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will "probably be the last with the current team."

It remains to be seen whether the franchise's space-faring heroes will part ways in the future, however, there's one more guaranteed group adventure in the pipeline. We don't know much about Guardians Vol. 3 yet, besides that Rocket's backstory will be a big part of the story, and that a What If...? storyline was rejected because it was too similar to the film's plot.

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

Marvel Studios originally planned to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU by way of four short films leading into the first proper Guardians movie in 2014.

The studio's alternative plans for the ragtag cosmic crew's debut were revealed in a new Marvel book, The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, that chronicles the entire production history of The Infinity War Saga's 23 movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 directed by James Gunn.

One excerpt in the 512-page book, transcribed by Screen Rant, details Marvel's early plans to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU through a series of Marvel One-Shots that would have been released before the characters made their big-screen debut. However, MCU boss Kevin Feige said they decided to scrap the idea because it seemed excessive.

"This One-Shot series would have led into the Guardians movie proper - which would have also been directly preceded by a fourth self-contained short film about a mysterious kid who loved fantasy things," Feige said. "Halfway through [Guardians], we would reveal that big space hero is the kid from the short. We thought that would be clever, but it was too much."

Marvel One-Shots are a series of direct-to-video short films produced by Marvel Studios, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are included as special features on Blu-ray and digital releases of MCU movies and are designed to be self-contained stories that provide more backstory for characters or events introduced in Marvel's blockbuster releases.

The studio's last One-Shot short, titled All Hail the King, told the story of Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) following the events of Iron Man 3. It was released on Thor: The Dark World's home release in 2014, the same year that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 hit theaters, with its motley crew of characters teaming up to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions.

The movie's ensemble cast features Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, and Dave Bautista as Drax. They returned for the 2017 sequel but their days might be numbered, as James Gunn has said Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will "probably be the last with the current team."

It remains to be seen whether the franchise's space-faring heroes will part ways in the future, however, there's one more guaranteed group adventure in the pipeline. We don't know much about Guardians Vol. 3 yet, besides that Rocket's backstory will be a big part of the story, and that a What If...? storyline was rejected because it was too similar to the film's plot.

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

As February's release of Horizon: Forbidden West draws nearer, Guerrilla has updated fans on some of the new abilities that players will be able to utilize across combat and exploration in the game, including a grapple and glider, as well as some fun new combat techniques.

In a post focusing on traversal published on the PlayStation Blog, Guerrilla spoke further about some of the new tools that players will have, as well as factors that have influenced Forbidden West's new combat decisions. Lead Systems Designer David McMullen explained that a new high vault mechanic "essentially allows Aloy to hoist herself on top of any object of jumpable height with room to pull up. Combined with the ability to free climb and adding grapples to our environment, the potential for exploration is greatly increased.”

He also explained more about the Pullcaster and Shieldwing, two new tools shown off back in June. The Pullcaster is multi-function, and primarily works much like you'd expect a grapplehook in a game to function. However, it has a second function as a winch, which means "the player can dynamically manipulate, move and destroy the objects in the environments," according to McMullen. "Think about pulling a hidden loot chest from a ledge, or tearing open a vent to create a new climb path,” he adds.

McMullen also explained that the additions to climbing and traversal mechanics can be mixed up with Aloy's new Shieldwing glider. "The Shieldwing combines well with numerous other mechanics both in and out of combat, such as landing on your mount, ziplining, the strike from above skill, and more…”

Elsewhere in the blog post, the studio discussed the changes it's making to combat. Guerrilla has completely redesigned Horizon's skill tree and included workbenches that allow players a greater degree of customization when upgrading weapons.

As well as changing the way that players modify their weapons to suit a given playstyle, the studio is also bringing melee and ranged combat closer together. Guerrilla’s Lead Combat Designer, Dennis Zopfi, offered an example of how the two aspects worth together in Forbidden West's combat system: "A new example of a skill that does this is the Resonator Blast, where you charge up the spear with melee hits and when fully powered up, the energy can be placed on enemies (humans and machines alike) and followed up with a projectile – resulting in a big damaging explosion!’"

In Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy will have a number of her old weapons back to fight off the various enemies and machines that the game throws at her. Zopfi states that Forbidden West will look to give these weapons a "stronger personality" allowing players to players to draw upon their strengths in given situations. New weapons will be added, too, such as the Spike Thrower, which was teased by Zopfi as being a "new, high damage weapon which, when thrown at the right moment, makes it easier to hit larger targets."

For more on Horizon Forbidden West, make sure to check out this article discussing how Aloy's new gear will provide the character with a range of new skills.

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

As February's release of Horizon: Forbidden West draws nearer, Guerrilla has updated fans on some of the new abilities that players will be able to utilize across combat and exploration in the game, including a grapple and glider, as well as some fun new combat techniques.

In a post focusing on traversal published on the PlayStation Blog, Guerrilla spoke further about some of the new tools that players will have, as well as factors that have influenced Forbidden West's new combat decisions. Lead Systems Designer David McMullen explained that a new high vault mechanic "essentially allows Aloy to hoist herself on top of any object of jumpable height with room to pull up. Combined with the ability to free climb and adding grapples to our environment, the potential for exploration is greatly increased.”

He also explained more about the Pullcaster and Shieldwing, two new tools shown off back in June. The Pullcaster is multi-function, and primarily works much like you'd expect a grapplehook in a game to function. However, it has a second function as a winch, which means "the player can dynamically manipulate, move and destroy the objects in the environments," according to McMullen. "Think about pulling a hidden loot chest from a ledge, or tearing open a vent to create a new climb path,” he adds.

McMullen also explained that the additions to climbing and traversal mechanics can be mixed up with Aloy's new Shieldwing glider. "The Shieldwing combines well with numerous other mechanics both in and out of combat, such as landing on your mount, ziplining, the strike from above skill, and more…”

Elsewhere in the blog post, the studio discussed the changes it's making to combat. Guerrilla has completely redesigned Horizon's skill tree and included workbenches that allow players a greater degree of customization when upgrading weapons.

As well as changing the way that players modify their weapons to suit a given playstyle, the studio is also bringing melee and ranged combat closer together. Guerrilla’s Lead Combat Designer, Dennis Zopfi, offered an example of how the two aspects worth together in Forbidden West's combat system: "A new example of a skill that does this is the Resonator Blast, where you charge up the spear with melee hits and when fully powered up, the energy can be placed on enemies (humans and machines alike) and followed up with a projectile – resulting in a big damaging explosion!’"

In Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy will have a number of her old weapons back to fight off the various enemies and machines that the game throws at her. Zopfi states that Forbidden West will look to give these weapons a "stronger personality" allowing players to players to draw upon their strengths in given situations. New weapons will be added, too, such as the Spike Thrower, which was teased by Zopfi as being a "new, high damage weapon which, when thrown at the right moment, makes it easier to hit larger targets."

For more on Horizon Forbidden West, make sure to check out this article discussing how Aloy's new gear will provide the character with a range of new skills.

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

Rockstar has revealed the PC system requirements for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition and, surprise surprise, they're not that demanding. This is a remaster of games from the PS2 era, after all.

Despite their spruce up, with lovely new textures and lighting effects, the new versions of GTA will only require 2-3GB of graphics memory at minimum, with 4GB recommended. It's also looking for a relatively modest CPU, although still asks for the usual 8-16GB of RAM. We also have a file size: 45GB for the whole trilogy. It's currently unclear if the install can be split across the three games.

The full PC system requirements are:

Minimum system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD FX-6300
• Memory: 8GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
• Disk: 45GB

Recommended system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2700K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 16GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB / AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
• Disk: 45GB

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition was announced earlier this month, and is set to launch on November 11. They will replace the original versions, as they have been removed from digital storefronts.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Rockstar has revealed the PC system requirements for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition and, surprise surprise, they're not that demanding. This is a remaster of games from the PS2 era, after all.

Despite their spruce up, with lovely new textures and lighting effects, the new versions of GTA will only require 2-3GB of graphics memory at minimum, with 4GB recommended. It's also looking for a relatively modest CPU, although still asks for the usual 8-16GB of RAM. We also have a file size: 45GB for the whole trilogy. It's currently unclear if the install can be split across the three games.

The full PC system requirements are:

Minimum system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD FX-6300
• Memory: 8GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
• Disk: 45GB

Recommended system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2700K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 16GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB / AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
• Disk: 45GB

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition was announced earlier this month, and is set to launch on November 11. They will replace the original versions, as they have been removed from digital storefronts.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.