Monthly Archives: March 2022

The MIX Online Showcase and Black Voices in Gaming: How to Watch and What to Expect

The Media Indie Exchange (MIX) is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, and to honor the milestone of when its first-ever event was held at IGN’s offices in at GDC 2021, it is kicking off a year full of indie game goodness with both the MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming stream.

IGN is carrying both streams and, as usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the shows, including when they start, a list of places you can watch them with us, and what you can expect to see at the shows.

The MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming Stream Start Time

The MIX Online Showcase will take place on Tuesday, March 22, at 10am PT/1pm ET/5pm GMT. If you live in Australia, that translates to Wednesday, March 23, at 4am AEDT.

The Black Voices in Gaming stream will follow The MIX Online Showcase on Tuesday, March 22, at 12pm PT/3pm ET/7pm GMT. If you live in Australia, that translates to Wednesday, March 23, at 6am AEDT.

Where to Watch the MIX Online Showcase and Black Voices in Gaming Stream

If you’re interested in watching the MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming stream, we’ll be hosting the events here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the shows with us:

The MIX Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary in 2022

As previously mentioned, The MIX is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022 and co-founder and director Justin Woodward spoke with IGN about how he and his team have been highlighting incredible indie games for nearly a decade.

“In 10 years we have come a long way with The MIX,” Woodward said. “We went from putting together an intimate showcase with a couple of kegs and a couple of dozen indie games where it was hosted in the IGN lunchroom to sold-out music venues in Seattle and traveling to Kyoto in order to put together a MIX VIP showcase.

“It has been an amazing journey where we have been able to help hundreds of our fellow developers excel in their visibility efforts, cultivating meaningful business connections and lifelong friendships in the process. We look forward to evolving The MIX and creating a larger platform in order to continue to support devs and showcase dope games.”

In 2011, Woodward and his development studio Interabang Entertainment took part in the IGN Indie Open House, which was an accelerator that allowed indie developers to create the games they’ve always wanted to make. It also allowed them to pitch to the press and publishers and get them ready to present at shows like E3.

In 2012, Woodward and the team were more involved in the organization of the program, and the Indie Open House teams asked IGN if they could put together an untitled mixer in the cafeteria. To make a long story short, it was a huge success and a couple hundred people showed up to what would end up officially becoming the Media Indie Exchange.

Since then, The MIX team has organized events all over the world and it shows no signs of stopping in its quest to highlight indie developers and their games. Here at IGN, we couldn’t be happier for their success, and look forward to these showcases and many more.

“I fondly recall the humble beginnings of MIX,” IGN’s Chief Content Officer Peer Schneider said. “We were excited to help out indie developers by donating office space and providing a place for events where small games could be discovered — and, in some cases, become big games.”

What to Expect at The MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming Stream

March 22 is a big day in the world of indie games, and the festivities will kick off with The MIX Online Showcase. During the show, The MIX will help present announcements, trailers, new gameplay, and so much more for over 70 games.

Some of the games included in the show are Serial Cleaners, Princes Farmer, Card Shark, Akurra, Ak-Xolotl, Blacktop Hoops, Coromon, Time on Frog Island, Sopa, Kao the Kangaroo, Souldiers, VoidTrain, Smalland, Have a Nice Death, Restless Soul, Freshly Frosted, and more.

Following The MIX Online Showcase, the Black Voices in Gaming stream will begin. This event is all about highlighting Black voices in the gaming industry and it is “dedicated exclusively to presenting games created by Black developers, titles featuring Black protagonists, and conversations with these creators.”

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

The MIX Online Showcase and Black Voices in Gaming: How to Watch and What to Expect

The Media Indie Exchange (MIX) is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, and to honor the milestone of when its first-ever event was held at IGN’s offices in at GDC 2021, it is kicking off a year full of indie game goodness with both the MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming stream.

IGN is carrying both streams and, as usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the shows, including when they start, a list of places you can watch them with us, and what you can expect to see at the shows.

The MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming Stream Start Time

The MIX Online Showcase will take place on Tuesday, March 22, at 10am PT/1pm ET/5pm GMT. If you live in Australia, that translates to Wednesday, March 23, at 4am AEDT.

The Black Voices in Gaming stream will follow The MIX Online Showcase on Tuesday, March 22, at 12pm PT/3pm ET/7pm GMT. If you live in Australia, that translates to Wednesday, March 23, at 6am AEDT.

Where to Watch the MIX Online Showcase and Black Voices in Gaming Stream

If you’re interested in watching the MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming stream, we’ll be hosting the events here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the shows with us:

The MIX Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary in 2022

As previously mentioned, The MIX is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022 and co-founder and director Justin Woodward spoke with IGN about how he and his team have been highlighting incredible indie games for nearly a decade.

“In 10 years we have come a long way with The MIX,” Woodward said. “We went from putting together an intimate showcase with a couple of kegs and a couple of dozen indie games where it was hosted in the IGN lunchroom to sold-out music venues in Seattle and traveling to Kyoto in order to put together a MIX VIP showcase.

“It has been an amazing journey where we have been able to help hundreds of our fellow developers excel in their visibility efforts, cultivating meaningful business connections and lifelong friendships in the process. We look forward to evolving The MIX and creating a larger platform in order to continue to support devs and showcase dope games.”

In 2011, Woodward and his development studio Interabang Entertainment took part in the IGN Indie Open House, which was an accelerator that allowed indie developers to create the games they’ve always wanted to make. It also allowed them to pitch to the press and publishers and get them ready to present at shows like E3.

In 2012, Woodward and the team were more involved in the organization of the program, and the Indie Open House teams asked IGN if they could put together an untitled mixer in the cafeteria. To make a long story short, it was a huge success and a couple hundred people showed up to what would end up officially becoming the Media Indie Exchange.

Since then, The MIX team has organized events all over the world and it shows no signs of stopping in its quest to highlight indie developers and their games. Here at IGN, we couldn’t be happier for their success, and look forward to these showcases and many more.

“I fondly recall the humble beginnings of MIX,” IGN’s Chief Content Officer Peer Schneider said. “We were excited to help out indie developers by donating office space and providing a place for events where small games could be discovered — and, in some cases, become big games.”

What to Expect at The MIX Online Showcase and the Black Voices in Gaming Stream

March 22 is a big day in the world of indie games, and the festivities will kick off with The MIX Online Showcase. During the show, The MIX will help present announcements, trailers, new gameplay, and so much more for over 70 games.

Some of the games included in the show are Serial Cleaners, Princes Farmer, Card Shark, Akurra, Ak-Xolotl, Blacktop Hoops, Coromon, Time on Frog Island, Sopa, Kao the Kangaroo, Souldiers, VoidTrain, Smalland, Have a Nice Death, Restless Soul, Freshly Frosted, and more.

Following The MIX Online Showcase, the Black Voices in Gaming stream will begin. This event is all about highlighting Black voices in the gaming industry and it is “dedicated exclusively to presenting games created by Black developers, titles featuring Black protagonists, and conversations with these creators.”

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

Disney’s Lightyear Reportedly Restoring Cut Same-Sex Kiss

A same-sex kiss will reportedly be restored after quietly being cut in Disney's Lightyear. Variety reports that the restoration is happening following allegations that Disney's corporate reviews have resulted in the removal of LGBT content from the company's films.

The scene involves Alicia Hawthorne, a Space Ranger who is also a gay woman of color. While her orientation is never in doubt in the film, a kiss that she shares with her partner was reportedly left on the cutting room floor until recently. Lightyear, written by Pete Docter and starring Chris Evans, imagines the Buzz Lightyear origin story that gave rise to the toy.

The kiss was reportedly restored following a lengthy statement alleging that Disney encourages censorship of LGBTQ content from its films.

"We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were," the letter read. "Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it."

Luca, Inside Out, and Soul are some of the films cited, with studio leadership allegedly removing signifiers of queer identity from background shots among other decisions.

Disney has recently been mired in controversy over its monetary support of legislators behind Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which prohibits the teaching of LGBTQ subjects in the classroom. Disney CEO Bob Chapek has since apologized, but Disney employees are planning a walkout while putting forward additional demands.

Lightyear releases June 17. See where it stands in the 58 movies we can't wait to see in 2022.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Disney’s Lightyear Reportedly Restoring Cut Same-Sex Kiss

A same-sex kiss will reportedly be restored after quietly being cut in Disney's Lightyear. Variety reports that the restoration is happening following allegations that Disney's corporate reviews have resulted in the removal of LGBT content from the company's films.

The scene involves Alicia Hawthorne, a Space Ranger who is also a gay woman of color. While her orientation is never in doubt in the film, a kiss that she shares with her partner was reportedly left on the cutting room floor until recently. Lightyear, written by Pete Docter and starring Chris Evans, imagines the Buzz Lightyear origin story that gave rise to the toy.

The kiss was reportedly restored following a lengthy statement alleging that Disney encourages censorship of LGBTQ content from its films.

"We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were," the letter read. "Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it."

Luca, Inside Out, and Soul are some of the films cited, with studio leadership allegedly removing signifiers of queer identity from background shots among other decisions.

Disney has recently been mired in controversy over its monetary support of legislators behind Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which prohibits the teaching of LGBTQ subjects in the classroom. Disney CEO Bob Chapek has since apologized, but Disney employees are planning a walkout while putting forward additional demands.

Lightyear releases June 17. See where it stands in the 58 movies we can't wait to see in 2022.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

The Mandalorian Season 3 Adds Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd

What year is it? Christopher Lloyd will be joining the cast of the upcoming season of The Mandalorian.

The Hollywood Reporter announced Lloyd will be joining the cast of The Mandalorian season 3, which is currently filming in California. No details yet for Lloyd’s character, but THR says it will be a guest star role as opposed to becoming a series regular.

Lloyd is one of the first new names attached to the cast in the upcoming season. Lloyd is best known for his role as Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future movies as the inventor of a time-traveling DeLorean.

The Mandalorian has had plenty of famous faces dropping in for guest roles including Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Amy Sedaris, Bill Burr, and more. Other famous guests who only appeared in a single episode include Michael Biehn from The Terminator.

So Lloyd could just be the tip of the iceberg as far as guests for next season go.

Pedro Pascal will return to star in the newest season of The Mandalorian from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. The Mandalorian kicked off a wave of live-action Star Wars series on Disney+ including The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Ahsoka TV series.

Currently, Disney is getting ready for the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi on May 25 which includes the return of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi Master and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader.

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

The Mandalorian Season 3 Adds Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd

The Mandalorian Season 3 Adds Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd

What year is it? Christopher Lloyd will be joining the cast of the upcoming season of The Mandalorian.

The Hollywood Reporter announced Lloyd will be joining the cast of The Mandalorian season 3, which is currently filming in California. No details yet for Lloyd’s character, but THR says it will be a guest star role as opposed to becoming a series regular.

Lloyd is one of the first new names attached to the cast in the upcoming season. Lloyd is best known for his role as Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future movies as the inventor of a time-traveling DeLorean.

The Mandalorian has had plenty of famous faces dropping in for guest roles including Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Amy Sedaris, Bill Burr, and more. Other famous guests who only appeared in a single episode include Michael Biehn from The Terminator.

So Lloyd could just be the tip of the iceberg as far as guests for next season go.

Pedro Pascal will return to star in the newest season of The Mandalorian from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. The Mandalorian kicked off a wave of live-action Star Wars series on Disney+ including The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Ahsoka TV series.

Currently, Disney is getting ready for the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi on May 25 which includes the return of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi Master and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader.

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

The Mandalorian Season 3 Adds Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy Is Also Coming to Switch

We already knew that Hogwarts Legacy, an open-world action RPG set in the Harry Potter universe, was coming to PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. But if you are a Nintendo Switch owner and bummed the game was not announced for the console, I have some good news: it is indeed coming to the Switch.

The news first appeared when preorders went up for the retailer Best Buy (as spotted by Wario64). At first glance, a product listing for a Nintendo Switch version may seem like a glitch in the system. However, heading over to the FAQ section on the official website for Hogwarts Legacy, Avalanche Software confirmed that its game would be available on Nintendo's hybrid console. And checking the FAQ page via Wayback Machine, the screenshot shows no mention of Hogwarts Legacy coming to Switch.

Although the Nintendo Switch is not a graphical powerhouse, the console has been cable of running other AAA games. However, these games usually come with a few caveats: from lower resolution and FPS to some being cloud versions, such as Control Ultimate Edition, Hitman 3, and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Still, some AAA games have been able to run on the Nintendo Switch and are not cloud versions, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Doom Eternal, and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. Even if those games may not be the best versions to play, the fact they are running on the Switch is impressive.

The surprise announcement comes less than a day after the State of play broadcast focused entirely on Hogwarts Legacy, where we finally saw some gameplay and learned some details about the game's plot.

Hogwarts Legacy will be released this holiday.

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

Courteney Cox Officially Returning For Scream 6

Scream 6 is in the works, and Courteney Cox has already confirmed that she's returning for the sixth entry in the iconic slasher franchise.

In a recent episode of the Just for Variety with Marc Malkin podcast, Cox revealed that she would be returning for Scream 6, having starred as reporter Gale Weathers in every Scream movie to date. The actress shared that she had just received the script for the upcoming film, with production likely to begin in Canada at sometime in June.

"I got the script yesterday. And I haven't read it yet. I just got it, and I'm so used to getting, you know, Shining Vale scripts, which are 26 pages, and I'm, 'Whoah, I've got to read a script.' I'm excited to read it," Cox said before making a joke about plot spoilers. "I don't know if I'm supposed to say anything. Let me tell you the killer!"

The sixth movie was confirmed by Paramount and Spyglass in February. "We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film," the companies said in a joint statement at the time. "We can't wait for audiences to see what Radio Silence, writers Jamie and Guy, and Project X have in store for our Woodsboro family."

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are returning to direct the franchise's next installment, while James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are back on scripting duties. Vanderbilt will also serve as a producer on Scream 6 with Paul Neinstein and William Sherak. Kevin Williamson is executive producing alongside Gary Barber, Peter Oillataguerre, and Chad Villella.

Scream 6 follows the incredibly successful release of 2022's Scream, which is both a direct sequel to the events of Scream 4 and also a jumping-off point for newcomers. Alongside various new faces, the fifth Scream film also brought back Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers/Riley, and David Arquette's Dewey Riley.

IGN's review of the fifth entry into the franchise noted how it expertly blended "reverence for the source material while creating something that feels almost completely new," adding that "all of the performances are pitch-perfect as the new generation of Woodsboro teens step into their futures, the kills are gnarly, and no version of toxic fandom is left unmocked."

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

Gran Turismo 7 Unplayable for Almost a Day as Server Outage Continues

Sony's newly-released Gran Turismo 7 has been essentially unplayable for almost 24 hours as ongoing server maintenance continues to prevent GT7 owners from accessing the game.

The problem has been reportedly pinned to an issue relating to the most recent patch, but there has been no further update from the Gran Turismo team in the past 16 hours and the game remains offline.

Unfortunately, despite its heavy single-player focus, Gran Turismo 7 requires an always-online internet connection to play. With the servers unavailable, players are unable to access their personal saves and garages and cannot race, hot lap, participate in licence events, or even customise their cars. Only two modes are available in GT7 when the game is offline: an arcade mode with a tiny selection of cars, and the eccentric and very limited Music Rally mode.

This extended server outage comes in the wake of heavy player criticism of the latest update for a range of noticeable reductions in the amount of credits rewarded for specific races. Shrunken payouts for a number of single-player events will make being able to afford GT7's most expensive cars more time-consuming than it was previously. GT7's Metacritic user rating is currently in freefall.

These newly reduced payouts also come after heavy criticism of GT7's startlingly aggressive microtransaction model, which was only activated after GT7's reviews were published. While cars in 2017's GT Sport were offered for purchase individually (priced between US$1 and US$5), GT7's cash-for-credits solution means players tempted to accelerate their GT7 car collections by using real money are being asked to shell out up to US$40 for a single car. These cars are available in-game by grinding credits, but the newest update has ensured that will now take longer.

IGN's Gran Turismo 7 review noted its gorgeous graphics, fantastic driving feel, and racing options galore helped make it the best the series has been since its dominant PlayStation 2 era, but stated its always-online single-player mode seems needlessly punitive.

Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.

Daniel Radcliffe ‘Not Interested’ In Returning as Harry Potter Role for Cursed Child

Daniel Radcliffe isn’t looking to become Harry Potter again anytime soon.

Following the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, original director Chris Columbus floated the idea of adapting the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child into a movie with the original trio of actors.

But Radcliffe has addressed the idea by saying he’s not open to returning to the wizarding world just yet. In an interview with The New York Times, Radcliffe responded directly to a question about the Cursed Child idea by saying it’s “not something I’m really interested in doing right now.”

“I’m getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of Potter OK and I’m really happy with where I am now, and to go back would be such a massive change to my life,” Radcliffe says.

The actor has followed up his post-Potter career with a series of left-field roles that Radcliffe seems personally invested in. Whether that’s playing a magical corpse on Swiss Army Man, to playing ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic in the upcoming Weird Al biopic.

Radcliffe added the customary “I’m never going to say never,” but also said that actors like Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, who eventually returned to Star Wars, had 30 years before returning. “For me, it’s only been 10,” Radcliffe says.

Harry Potter isn’t on ice just because Radcliffe isn’t returning to the role. A spinoff film series based on Fantastic Beasts is readying its third movie and PlayStation recently revealed gameplay for the Hogwarts Legacy video game, set in the late 1800s.

Hogwarts Legacy is targeting holiday 2022 for a release date.

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