Monthly Archives: November 2021

Loki’s Miss Minutes Makes Her Marvel Comics Debut in Timeless

Marvel's Loki may be notable for introducing major new character like Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie Laufeydottir and Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, but we all know the real breakout star of the series. Now the lovable Miss Minutes is making the jump from the MCU to Marvel's comic book universe.

Miss Minutes will make her comic book debut in December's Timeless. This one-shot special focuses on her master, Kang, as the Conqueror goes on the defensive to prevent his timeline from being replaced. Marvel hasn't revealed what role Miss Minutes herself will play in the story or if the Time Variance Authority is coming into play, but we imagine she's working to further her master's agenda.

Timeless is written by Jed MacKay (Black Cat) and drawn by Kev Walker (Old Man Logan), Greg Land (Symbiote Spider-Man) and Mark Bagley (The Amazing Spider-Man). While it tells a standalone story, Timeless is also intended to set the stage for some major storylines in 2022. It's clear Marvel has big plans for Kang now that the time-traveling villain has made his MCU debut.

“During the course of events in TIMELESS, the timeline undergoes significant trauma and Kang is put in the fascinating position of not knowing what happens next,” MacKay told CBR. “Things that should play out differently, others happen as expected, while yet others are completely new fabrications of a shaken timeline. There will certainly be plenty to speculate upon and some very exciting hints for what is to come over the next couple of years.”

Timeless will be released on December 29.

For more on Marvel's Loki, see why the Season 1 finale marks a major shift for the MCU and check out IGN's theories for what's next.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The Boys Reveals First Look at Laurie Holden’s Crimson Countess

The Boys has shared the first look at Crimson Countess, one of the new heroes joining the series in Season 3.

Actress Laurie Holden shared on social media the first shot of her in costume as the red-clad super. In the original comics, Crimson Countess is a member of Payback, the second most popular superteam behind The Seven.

Payback is led by Soldier Boy, a Boys-take on Captain America who will be played by Jensen Ackles in the upcoming season.

Crimson Countess and Soldier Boy are only two of the new heroes joining The Boys in the new season. Alongside familiar heroes from the comics, the next season of The Boys will also add three original characters named Blue Hawk, Supersonic, and Gunpowder.

Holden is best known for playing Andrea on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Other credits include appearances in The Americans and X-Files.

Amazon has been teasing the upcoming season of The Boys with a series of fictional news shorts hosted by the Vought News Network. These newscasts will fill in the story between seasons 2 and 3, which is already filming.

Check out IGN’s review of The Boys season 2 for our take on the explosive finale and get ready for the upcoming season sometime in the future.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

The Boys Reveals First Look at Laurie Holden’s Crimson Countess

The Boys has shared the first look at Crimson Countess, one of the new heroes joining the series in Season 3.

Actress Laurie Holden shared on social media the first shot of her in costume as the red-clad super. In the original comics, Crimson Countess is a member of Payback, the second most popular superteam behind The Seven.

Payback is led by Soldier Boy, a Boys-take on Captain America who will be played by Jensen Ackles in the upcoming season.

Crimson Countess and Soldier Boy are only two of the new heroes joining The Boys in the new season. Alongside familiar heroes from the comics, the next season of The Boys will also add three original characters named Blue Hawk, Supersonic, and Gunpowder.

Holden is best known for playing Andrea on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Other credits include appearances in The Americans and X-Files.

Amazon has been teasing the upcoming season of The Boys with a series of fictional news shorts hosted by the Vought News Network. These newscasts will fill in the story between seasons 2 and 3, which is already filming.

Check out IGN’s review of The Boys season 2 for our take on the explosive finale and get ready for the upcoming season sometime in the future.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Ubisoft Employee Group Launches New Petition After None of Its Demands Were Met

Current and former staff affiliated with the ABetterUbisoft employee group have launched a new petition asking for support in their campaign to end abuse at the company and across the wider gaming industry.

The petition comes after a lack of response from the studio to the demands made in an open letter written by the group back in August. Signed by over 1,000 Ubisoft employees, the letter pledged support to a walkout taken by Activision Blizzard staff in light of their leadership's response to ongoing harassment allegations while also demanding that Ubisoft management do more to end abuse at its own company.

In a tweet promoting the petition, a statement from the group reads, "You disappoint us, M. Guillemot. 100 days, zero demands met. Surely you can do better than this." The message bears a similar tone to a recent marketing strategy deployed by Ubisoft to taunt players for not sinking enough hours into Far Cry 6.

In a separate tweet, the group set out its key demands for the campaign. In summary, these demands include ending a cycle of "promoting and moving known offenders from studio to studio," and creating a cross-industry collaboration involving both management and non-management staff that will help to lay out a framework for ground rules and processes that studios can use to handle offences in the future.

While the petition is being led by current and former Ubisoft staff, the group says that it is "open to everyone who supports the #ABetterUbisoft campaign." As part of the form, those pledging support can document whether they're adding their signature as a player, fan, or Ubisoft employee. The petition can either be signed by name or anonymously and also includes a section for you to share your reasons for signing.

While Ubisoft's employees demand that the studio does more, Activision Blizzard recently announced that it will be implementing a new "zero-tolerance" harassment policy across its entire company. The announcement featured as part of a letter from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who also outlined several other changes that the company will be implementing going forward.

The company is currently still facing multiple, serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

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

Ubisoft Employee Group Launches New Petition After None of Its Demands Were Met

Current and former staff affiliated with the ABetterUbisoft employee group have launched a new petition asking for support in their campaign to end abuse at the company and across the wider gaming industry.

The petition comes after a lack of response from the studio to the demands made in an open letter written by the group back in August. Signed by over 1,000 Ubisoft employees, the letter pledged support to a walkout taken by Activision Blizzard staff in light of their leadership's response to ongoing harassment allegations while also demanding that Ubisoft management do more to end abuse at its own company.

In a tweet promoting the petition, a statement from the group reads, "You disappoint us, M. Guillemot. 100 days, zero demands met. Surely you can do better than this." The message bears a similar tone to a recent marketing strategy deployed by Ubisoft to taunt players for not sinking enough hours into Far Cry 6.

In a separate tweet, the group set out its key demands for the campaign. In summary, these demands include ending a cycle of "promoting and moving known offenders from studio to studio," and creating a cross-industry collaboration involving both management and non-management staff that will help to lay out a framework for ground rules and processes that studios can use to handle offences in the future.

While the petition is being led by current and former Ubisoft staff, the group says that it is "open to everyone who supports the #ABetterUbisoft campaign." As part of the form, those pledging support can document whether they're adding their signature as a player, fan, or Ubisoft employee. The petition can either be signed by name or anonymously and also includes a section for you to share your reasons for signing.

While Ubisoft's employees demand that the studio does more, Activision Blizzard recently announced that it will be implementing a new "zero-tolerance" harassment policy across its entire company. The announcement featured as part of a letter from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who also outlined several other changes that the company will be implementing going forward.

The company is currently still facing multiple, serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

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

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Pre-Load Now Available for Xbox and Switch

Rockstar Games has announced that those who pre-order Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition through the Microsoft Store or Nintendo eShop can now pre-load the game ahead of its launch on November 11.

For those who wish to play on either PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4, pre-loading will begin on November 6 at 12am in your local time. Unfortunately, PC players will have to wait until GTA: The Trilogy's release date to begin downloading the game. However, those who pre-purchase the game on PC will get "a special $10 off bonus on any product priced at $15 or more."

Regardless of if you pre-order or pre-load, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will be released on all platforms - PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via the Rockstar Games Launcher - on November 11 at 7am PT/10am ET/2pm GMT.

If digital is not your preferred way of purchasing a game, you can purchase a physical copy of the GTA: The Trilogy for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PS4 on December 7.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is a remastered collection of Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas that will cost $59.99. These games have been created for modern platforms in Unreal Engine and will arrive on mobile platforms at a later date.

Each game comes with a "completely rebuilt lighting system; improved shadows, weather, and reflections; upgraded character and vehicle models; along with new higher resolution textures across buildings, weapons, roads, interiors, and more." There will also be greater draw distances, new foilage, and more.

There will also be quality-of-life improvements such as implementing updated controls inspired by GTA 5, "improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more."

If you aren't ready to purchase these games or really only wanted one of the three, it was also announced that San Andreas - The Definitive Edition will launch into Xbox Game Pass on November 11 and Grand Theft Auto 3 will be added to PlayStation Now on December 7.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Pre-Load Now Available for Xbox and Switch

Rockstar Games has announced that those who pre-order Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition through the Microsoft Store or Nintendo eShop can now pre-load the game ahead of its launch on November 11.

For those who wish to play on either PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4, pre-loading will begin on November 6 at 12am in your local time. Unfortunately, PC players will have to wait until GTA: The Trilogy's release date to begin downloading the game. However, those who pre-purchase the game on PC will get "a special $10 off bonus on any product priced at $15 or more."

Regardless of if you pre-order or pre-load, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will be released on all platforms - PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via the Rockstar Games Launcher - on November 11 at 7am PT/10am ET/2pm GMT.

If digital is not your preferred way of purchasing a game, you can purchase a physical copy of the GTA: The Trilogy for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PS4 on December 7.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is a remastered collection of Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas that will cost $59.99. These games have been created for modern platforms in Unreal Engine and will arrive on mobile platforms at a later date.

Each game comes with a "completely rebuilt lighting system; improved shadows, weather, and reflections; upgraded character and vehicle models; along with new higher resolution textures across buildings, weapons, roads, interiors, and more." There will also be greater draw distances, new foilage, and more.

There will also be quality-of-life improvements such as implementing updated controls inspired by GTA 5, "improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more."

If you aren't ready to purchase these games or really only wanted one of the three, it was also announced that San Andreas - The Definitive Edition will launch into Xbox Game Pass on November 11 and Grand Theft Auto 3 will be added to PlayStation Now on December 7.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

These Space Balloons Might Actually Offer a More Affordable Way for People To Go to Space

The space tourism race is intensifying, with more and more companies gearing up to offer commercial flights to space via alternative modes of transport, including balloon capsules.

According to Robb Report, tech company World View has designed a space tourism solution that offers curious travellers the opportunity to explore new perspectives from what CEO Ryan Hartman calls, "the edge of space." It will cost $50,000 for a ticket to ride the 14-million-cubic-foot, helium-filled balloon, with first-class seats, meals and drinks included in the fare.

Once aboard the capsule, passengers will travel to an altitude of roughly 20 miles, with wide viewing ports surrounding each seat providing a clear outlook of space during the six-hour trip at altitude. "You can see everything the others see that go slightly higher," Hartman explained. "You're truly seeing the planet from a vantage point that almost no one has."

World View will offer its very first commercial flights from a spaceport at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, with future voyages slated to depart from several other "world wonder" sites, including the Amazon rainforest, the pyramids of Giza, the Serengeti, the Aurora Borealis, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Great Wall of China.

The company claims that "the World View space tourism experience is the most affordable, longest duration and most accessible space experience on Earth," per CNN. "$50,000 is still a lot of money. But it's our starting point," Hartman told CNN Travel. "And to assist customers in achieving their dream in participating in space tourism, we are offering flexible financing."

While World View wants to make the experience more economic, with tourism duty set to start in 2024, the company hasn't compromised on the quality of its design. For example, they have opted to use helium instead of hydrogen as the balloon's lifting gas, which costs 10 times more than hydrogen but reportedly has a better track record for safety.

Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos both saw their childhood dreams come true this year when they launched themselves to the edge of space. Bezos boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket for its first human spaceflight in July, just nine days after Branson successfully reached the edge of space aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane.

Meanwhile, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight into space last year. Elon Musk has since announced plans to launch a satellite to the moon next year, fully funded by dogecoin, but not before he's raced remote-controlled cars on the lunar surface. There are also plans to return to the moon in 2024, and Musk's company is building the lunar lander for that mission.

Thumbnail image credit: World View

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

These Space Balloons Might Actually Offer a More Affordable Way for People To Go to Space

The space tourism race is intensifying, with more and more companies gearing up to offer commercial flights to space via alternative modes of transport, including balloon capsules.

According to Robb Report, tech company World View has designed a space tourism solution that offers curious travellers the opportunity to explore new perspectives from what CEO Ryan Hartman calls, "the edge of space." It will cost $50,000 for a ticket to ride the 14-million-cubic-foot, helium-filled balloon, with first-class seats, meals and drinks included in the fare.

Once aboard the capsule, passengers will travel to an altitude of roughly 20 miles, with wide viewing ports surrounding each seat providing a clear outlook of space during the six-hour trip at altitude. "You can see everything the others see that go slightly higher," Hartman explained. "You're truly seeing the planet from a vantage point that almost no one has."

World View will offer its very first commercial flights from a spaceport at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, with future voyages slated to depart from several other "world wonder" sites, including the Amazon rainforest, the pyramids of Giza, the Serengeti, the Aurora Borealis, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Great Wall of China.

The company claims that "the World View space tourism experience is the most affordable, longest duration and most accessible space experience on Earth," per CNN. "$50,000 is still a lot of money. But it's our starting point," Hartman told CNN Travel. "And to assist customers in achieving their dream in participating in space tourism, we are offering flexible financing."

While World View wants to make the experience more economic, with tourism duty set to start in 2024, the company hasn't compromised on the quality of its design. For example, they have opted to use helium instead of hydrogen as the balloon's lifting gas, which costs 10 times more than hydrogen but reportedly has a better track record for safety.

Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos both saw their childhood dreams come true this year when they launched themselves to the edge of space. Bezos boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket for its first human spaceflight in July, just nine days after Branson successfully reached the edge of space aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane.

Meanwhile, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight into space last year. Elon Musk has since announced plans to launch a satellite to the moon next year, fully funded by dogecoin, but not before he's raced remote-controlled cars on the lunar surface. There are also plans to return to the moon in 2024, and Musk's company is building the lunar lander for that mission.

Thumbnail image credit: World View

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

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series’ Story Will Be Told Over Multiple Seasons, Stars Dante and Vergil

Adi Shankar, the producer behind Netflix’s acclaimed Castlevania series and the recently announced Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, has revealed some more details about his upcoming anime series based on Capcom’s Devil May Cry franchise.

“The season 1 scripts are done,” Shankar told IGN Japan in a new interview. “They are rad. I could not be more excited.”

The scripts have been written in collaboration with Alex Larsen, who wrote the screenplay for the feature film Bodied (produced by Shankar and Eminem, among others) and who has more recently written on the Netflix anime series Yasuke.

Shankar explained that Season 1 will include “eight episodes”, but that the story will not conclude there: Just as with Castlevania, he is planning a “multi-season arc”, meaning that it will unfold over multiple connected seasons.

While Shankar would not reveal specific story details, he confirmed that several DMC franchise favorite characters will appear. “I can confirm that Vergil is in it, as well as Lady, and of course Dante as well,” he said.

“I can also confirm that Chris Pratt won’t be voicing any of the characters,” Shankar joked. Pratt has recently been cast as the lead in high-profile animated movies based on both Super Mario and Garfield.

Shankar commented that working with Capcom on this project has been “a dream”.

“The entire team both from the management side and the creative side have been so incredibly supportive and gracious,” he said. He has been working directly with Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a veteran producer at Capcom who worked on the original DMC and Resident Evil games, as well as 2007’s DMC Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, produced by Japanese animation studio Madhouse.

“Kobayashi-san has been wonderful,” said Shankar. “It’s seriously a joy to work with Capcom. Their character library is unlike anything assembled.”

“I can also confirm that Chris Pratt won’t be voicing any of the characters."

The DMC anime was first announced by Shankar during an interview with IGN in November 2018. He said then that he had acquired the animation rights for the DMC IP himself, “so that the jabronies in Hollywood can’t f**k this one up too”.

Shankar has maintained a fiercely fan-friendly approach across all of his projects to date, and Castlevania has been acclaimed by many (including IGN) as one of the best videogame adaptations of all time. When asked how he is able to protect the integrity of the games he adapts for TV, Shankar replied that it requires passion and an open mind, explaining, “Just like there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to adapting a book to a movie and just as there is not one right way to make a cover song, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to adapting, translating, or expanding games into another medium.”

In the case of Castlevania, he attributes part of his success to timing, as he feels the market was ripe for authentic adaptations of classic games – and indeed, the success of Castlevania has triggered a landslide in quality game-to-TV adaptations. He sees this as part of a cultural shift in which the public have demanded more faithful treatment of their favorite franchises, just as the cost of producing video content has fallen and the process has been democratized by digital distribution.

“Castlevania had a team of people top to bottom who were fans of the IP and wanted animation to be taken seriously as a medium and not just a genre,” said Shankar. “In 2017, when we launched Season 1, it felt like a fight to be noticed or even acknowledged by the mainstream. The fact that Castlevania has generated not only a spin-off but a has essentially sparked an entire vertical of adult oriented animated content for Netflix is insane. This is a case of right place right time, and I’m honored that I got to be a part of this ride.”

Shankar is also working on an animated series set in the PUBG universe. When asked for an update on the progress of that show’s production, he simply replied, “It’s being fast-tracked, lol”.

Shankar’s own Bootleg Universe has mixed a wide variety of renowned franchises (with and without permission) as his personal sandbox multiverse, and when he first announced his DMC series, he said that it would be a part of “Bootleg multiverse”, but gave no further details. Regarding his PUBG show, Shankar confirmed to IGN Japan that it will not cross over with any other franchises.

Another Shankar series currently in production is Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, which is loosely based within Ubisoft’s synthwave-inspired Blood Dragon universe that originally stemmed from the Far Cry series. Shankar said during the announcement of Captain Laserhawk at Netflix Geeked Week 2021 that the show was partly influenced by 1980s cartoon show Captain N: The Game Master. Long before the MCU, Captain N was Nintendo’s own cinematic universe, featuring characters from NES hits of the day such as the Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Kid Icarus, as well as Konami’s Castlevania and Capcom’s Mega-Man.

“I loved Captain N as a kid,” said Shankar when asked how the classic show has influenced his approach to shared universes in general and on Captain Laserhawk specifically.

“I loved the concept of a kid getting sucked into a videogame world. There were a lot of parallels between Captain N and the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon of the same era. I guess, despite it being critically panned, Captain N was a success because it stuck with me and influenced me to create something with my memories of it.

“To be clear the final product of Captain Laserhawk that is being made by the fantastically creative folks over at Ubisoft and the dragon energy animation studio Bobby Pills will bear little resemblance to Captain N. I simply like to cite inspirations.”

Devil May Cry will reportedly go into production in early 2022, and no release date is yet confirmed.

Daniel Robson is the Chief Editor of IGN Japan. Follow him on Twitter right here.