Monthly Archives: October 2022

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Boxset Reprints Two Essential Lore Guides

Dark Horse's twin-volume Dragon Age: The World of Thedas series is pretty much the perfect resource for anyone who likes to geek out about the lore of this fantasy gaming universe. And while the original hardcover editions are becoming harder to find in print these days, that won't be an issue much longer.

IGN can exclusively reveal the Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Boxset, which features new softcover versions of both books packaged inside an exclusive slipcase adorned in Dragon Age artwork.

The two volumes in this set are act as both art books and lore guides to the Dragon Age franchise, covering the key conflicts in this universe and the important locales. The books cover everything in the series up through 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), with the fourth Dragon Age game still deep in development at BioWare, that means these volumes are as up-to-date now as they were seven years ago.

This boxset is due for release in bookstores on July 11, 2023 and comic shops on July 12, 2023. It's priced at $59.99, making it a more affordable option than buying the two hardcover editions separately.

Even with the Dragon Age games in hibernation mode lately, Dark Horse has continued to dig deeper into the franchise with books like The Art of Dragon Age: Inquisition and collectibles like this eye-catching Iron Bull figurine.

As for the next game, EA finally revealed the official title and logo for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf in June 2022. The sequel won't be arriving in 2022, but EA did promise more info on the game before the end of the year.

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

Batman Arkham Studio Co-Founders Leave Rocksteady

Rocksteady co-founders Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker - who helped create the Batman Arkham series, as well as the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - are leaving the studio for a "new adventure in gaming".

In an open letter, Warner Bros. Interactive president David Haddad said, "With Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League nearly finished, they have both decided to leave Rocksteady at the end of 2022 and will begin a new adventure in gaming." It's not yet clear what that new adventure will be.

It's not just a major change in leadership for the business, but on the creative side, with Hill having directed all of Rocksteady's Arkham games, as well as Suicide Squad. Hill and Walker will be replaced by Nathan Burlow as Studio Director and Darius Sadeghian as Studio Product Director. It's not clear who, if anyone, will take up the reins as director on the upcoming Suicide Squad game.

The pair provided a statement about their departure, which you can read in full below:

The pair leave behind a major legacy. Batman: Arkham Asylum was seen as a turning point for the licensed game, not to mention a huge moment for mainstream action game design, and kicked off a beloved series. We named Batman: Arkham City one of the top 100 games of all time.

Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League will be set in the same universe, and arrives next year, ending what will be a seven-year wait for a new Rocksteady game (following 2016's Batman: Arkham VR).

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.

Oscar Isaac Says There’s ‘No Official Word’ on Moon Knight Season 2

Oscar Isaac has confirmed that Moon Knight Season 2 isn't set in stone yet, but he is hoping Marvel will pick it up for another run.

During a recent interview with Collider, Isaac said he couldn't "definitively" speak out about whether Moon Knight would return for a second season because he hadn't received any "official word" from Marvel yet. He assured fans that he was in the same position as them, just waiting to "see what happens" with his character in the MCU.

"We can't definitively say that," Isaac admitted after being asked to confirm that Moon Knight Season 2 is in the works. "I need my teasing abilities. Can't drain me of those. What a cock tease I am. Always been... No, I hope so. We'll see what happens. But at the moment, there's no official word."

Moon Knight ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, as Jake Lockley arrived on the scene after making his presence felt throughout the season. The final episode also introduced a new Egyptian superhero to the MCU, offering further directions for the story to expand with Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Layla El-Faouly, and the ancient god Khonshu.

Director Mohamed Diab previously said it would be "a waste" for the story to end where it was left, but has no clue if a follow-up would be another season, a film, or a crossover with a different Marvel project. His comments mirror past statements from Ethan Hawke, who told IGN that the show "functions as a limited series" but could be "the origin of a larger thing."

Moon Knight's final episode didn't include the origin of Steven Grant's "laters gators" phrase, but it did leave the door open for more adventures with Marc Spector and his alter-egos. IGN praised "Gods and Monsters" for delivering a "stylish and satisfying" conclusion that played into the "distinctive quirks of the story" to elevate it above "other rushed MCU climaxes."

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

CD Projekt Red Announces a Remake of The Witcher in Unreal Engine 5

CD Projekt Red has announced that it will remake The Witcher in Unreal Engine 5, alongside developer Fool's Theory.

This is one of the five new games the company announced earlier this month, and previously went by the codename Canis Majoris. This will be a true remake, with the the company saying, it will be "rebuilt from the ground up" in Unreal Engine 5, and is early stages of development.

As part of its announcement, the company cautioned: "We want to do this right, so please be patient — it's gonna be a while until we can share more details."

“The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD Projekt Red. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD Projekt Red in an annoucement post.

“Collaborating with Fool’s Theory on the project is just as exciting, as some of the people there have been previously involved in The Witcher games. They know the source material well, they know how much gamers have been looking forward to seeing the remake happen, and they know how to make incredible and ambitious games. And although it will take some time before we’re ready to share more about and from the game, I know it’ll be worth the wait.”

Canis Majoris was one of the more intriguing announcements in CD Projekt's upcoming slate, marking the first time the developer will work with a third-party developer. Fans had been very intrigued to find out which developer that was, but we hadn't seen Fool's Theory as a guess before now.

Set up in 2015 and described as "a collective of AAA veterans", the company is a Polish studio that has previously contributed to Baldur’s Gate III, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and Outriders, among other projects. Fool's Theory is also working on a project codenamed Vitriol, a new IP made in collaboration with 11-Bit Studios (Frostpunk, This War of Mine).

Released in 2007, The Witcher was CD Projekt Red's debut game and, while less refined than its successors, set out a huge amount of the lore, tone, and systems that would define the now-landmark RPG series. At the time, we gave it an 8.5 review, saying it was "definitely a game you’ll remember well over the years." If you're wondering why a remake was announced today, that's because it's the 15th anniversary of the original release.

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.

The Batman’s GCPD Series Spinoff Apparently Isn’t Dead

The Batman's Gotham City Police Department show is apparently still in development as Warner Bros. Discovery has reportedly split it and an Arkham Asylum show into two separate productions.

As reported by Variety, a source familiar with the matter said the original idea for a Jim Gordon-focused GCPD prequel series - which later became became a 'haunted house' story about Arkham Asylum - has now been salvaged.

The shows were previously thought to be the same project, as The Batman director Matt Reeves said himself that the original GCPD idea had become something else, rather than saying that a new show had begun development alongside it.

"The GCDP thing, that story has story has kind of evolved," he said in March. "We’ve actually now [moved] more into the realm of exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham."

Joe Barton, who became the GCPD series' showrunner in January last year but has since also left, also told Variety that his idea had been scrapped. "I think it would have been really great and that’s kind of why I feel gutted about it, just because I know we would have made a great show," he said. Whether the in-development new version of the show will retain any of those original ideas is unknown.

Warner Bros. Discovery is yet to announce anything official, but adding a third The Batman spin-off show to go alongside the Arkham Asylum series and another about Colin Farrell's The Penguin would come at a time of severe cuts at the company where several other films and TV shows are being cancelled.

Batgirl is perhaps the headlining cancellation after it was cut by Warner Bros. Discovery back in August, but it was just the first in a long line of scrapped projects including Strange Adventures and The Wonder Twins. The move was highly controversial, with an anonymous Batgirl actor calling Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav an "imbecile".

The Batman 2 did survive the cuts, however, and the world created by Reeves is a current standout as the director is also reportedly in talks with other directors and writers to create films based on Batman villains including Scarecrow, Clayface, and Professor Pyg.

In our 10/10 review of the original, IGN said: "Matt Reeves’ violent, thrilling, darkly beautiful take on The Batman more than justifies its place in the franchise’s canon."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Gets a March Release Date

Team Ninja has announced that upcoming Soulslike, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be released on March 3, 2023.

The developer also revealed it will receive three DLC packs that add new demons, scenarios, stages, weapon times, and more to the action game set in a darker version of China's Three Kingdom period. These will be available in a Season Pass that comes in the Digital Deluxe version of Wo Long, which also includes a digital artbook and digital mini soundtrack.

A limited edition physical version will also be available at launch, containing the and a steelbook cover, though no Season Pass.

Lots of smaller DLC packs are also available for preordering or purchasing the game in different ways. Buying either version by March 16 grants the Baihu Armour, buying the Season Pass grants the Qinglong Armour, preordering digitally grants the Zhuque Armour, and buying the steelbook version grants the Crown of Zhurong and Crown of Gonggong. It's unclear if these items will be available through other methods.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is promised to be just as challenging as other Souls game and, specifically, Team Ninja's two Nioh games. Producer Fumihiko Yasuda previously told IGN that "Wo Long is more massive in scale compared to our previous games set in Japan, which allowed us to show a more severe and dark world.

"The same can be said for the difficulty. There’s no doubt this will be an extremely challenging and demanding game, but we’ve come up with new ways to approach that difficulty."

In our preview of the game, IGN said: "While Wo Long is for sure a difficult masocore title, you'll find yourself enjoying plenty of exciting, high-speed, Chinese martial arts combat as you try again and again."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

PlayStation is Building a New Studio to Work with Naughty Dog on an Unannounced Game

Sony is building a new development studio to work with Naughty Dog on a major PlayStation game.

As spotted by VGC, a job listing shows the new team is being created in collaboration with PlayStation Studios Visual Arts, a developer that previously assisted with PlayStation's motion capture, cinematics, animation, and more across several franchises including Uncharted and The Last of Us. This new developer will then work with Naughty Dog to create a PlayStation game.

"This high visibility project is being developed in collaboration with Naughty Dog," the job listing reads. "Though currently unannounced, we have a clear vision and plan to release. Using our existing expertise and premier talent, we will guarantee a high visual quality bar for the game and a compelling experience for our players."

"Using our existing expertise and premier talent, we will guarantee a high visual quality bar for the game and a compelling experience for our players."

Though Sony doesn't say explicitly that the new game will be a AAA production, it does request that the candidate is "proficient in all aspects of AAA game production and management" and has published at least two AAA games previously.

Though nothing is confirmed, hints towards PSS Visual Arts becoming a developer of its own projects (instead of supporting others) have appeared throughout the last few years. One job listing from 2020 showed the company was hiring for a 3rd person action/adventure game with melee and ranged combat.

This description would appear to match an Uncharted game, tying in nicely with the Naughty Dog collaboration, and the studio's creative director Shaun Escayg said earlier this year that it's a world "we want to see more of".

Again, nothing is official, so we'll just need to wait for Sony to make an official announcement regarding the new studio and its game.

Uncharted has been dormant since 2017's The Lost Legacy, which was a DLC turned spin-off of the last mainline release, 2016's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, which wrapped up the story of protagonist Nathan Drake.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Microsoft Reportedly ‘Regretted Missing Out’ on Making Genshin Impact an Xbox Exclusive

Microsoft reportedly passed on the chance to make Genshin Impact an Xbox console exclusive, something the company regretted after the game blew up.

As reported by Reuters, sources familiar with the matter said Microsoft met with Chinese developer miHoYo early in Genshin Impact's development but failed to reach an exclusivity deal. Sony would later secure the deal for itself, making the game a PlayStation console exclusive.

"Picking up Genshin Impact made Sony a lot of money," one source said, adding that missing the opportunity is the driving force behind Microsoft's current pursuit of independent Chinese developers.

The company is reportedly building a team specifically to scout out Chinese games and developers with high potential in an attempt to emulate the same move made by Sony in 2017 with its China Hero Project, an initiative to help Chinese developers publish games on PlayStation.

While Microsoft has been doing so already in a smaller capacity for years, Genshin Impact reportedly added "a sense of urgency" according to Reuters' sources. It was one of 2020's biggest games, with its action RPG gameplay and anime-inspired open world setting drawing in millions of fans.

It's also seen a ton of updates since it first launched, adding new characters, quests, items, and more, and has even seen crossovers with other franchises including Horizon: Zero Dawn. As with every new version stream, three new codes for Genshin Impact's premium currency and other rewards were released too.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "An incredible open-world and addictive exploration make Genshin Impact anime-zing adventure."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Microsoft Reportedly ‘Regretted Missing Out’ on Making Genshin Impact an Xbox Exclusive

Microsoft reportedly passed on the chance to make Genshin Impact an Xbox console exclusive, something the company regretted after the game blew up.

As reported by Reuters, sources familiar with the matter said Microsoft met with Chinese developer miHoYo early in Genshin Impact's development but failed to reach an exclusivity deal. Sony would later secure the deal for itself, making the game a PlayStation console exclusive.

"Picking up Genshin Impact made Sony a lot of money," one source said, adding that missing the opportunity is the driving force behind Microsoft's current pursuit of independent Chinese developers.

The company is reportedly building a team specifically to scout out Chinese games and developers with high potential in an attempt to emulate the same move made by Sony in 2017 with its China Hero Project, an initiative to help Chinese developers publish games on PlayStation.

While Microsoft has been doing so already in a smaller capacity for years, Genshin Impact reportedly added "a sense of urgency" according to Reuters' sources. It was one of 2020's biggest games, with its action RPG gameplay and anime-inspired open world setting drawing in millions of fans.

It's also seen a ton of updates since it first launched, adding new characters, quests, items, and more, and has even seen crossovers with other franchises including Horizon: Zero Dawn. As with every new version stream, three new codes for Genshin Impact's premium currency and other rewards were released too.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "An incredible open-world and addictive exploration make Genshin Impact anime-zing adventure."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

New Simpsons Clip Reveals Anime Lisa Simpson in Death Note Parody By Original Studio

The Simpsons' annual Treehouse of Horror compilation is right around the corner, and it features a Death Note parody from the studio that worked on the original anime.

A clip from the upcoming tribute has been making the rounds on Twitter, showing Lisa Simpson as the recipient of the mysterious but mighty "Death Tome." The segment is animated by DR Movie, a South Korean studio that helped out on Death Note, and features tons of Easter eggs, including anime versions of Disco Stu and twins Sherri and Terri.

Three images from The Simpsons parody of Death Note have also been released, spotlighting more Springfield favorites from the animated sitcom. One frame from the Treehouse of Horror special shows Disco Stu and a potential sighting of anime Ned Flanders in the background while another image offers a first look at Homer and Marge in the same art style.

Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine has promised to share more Easter Eggs from the Death Note segment on Twitter during the premiere of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XXXIII Halloween special on October 30. The annual series will comprise three parts in total, with two other sections offering animated takes on The Babadook and Westworld.

The Treehouse of Horror specials have been airing since 1990, and there's been plenty of notable entries over the years but none have quite matched up to the wit and brilliance of Treehouse of Horror V, which kicked off with an inspired spoof of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. That installment earned a coveted spot in IGN's Top 34 Best Simpsons Episodes.

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