Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced at the company's full year earnings call that the Xbox Series X and S were the fastest-selling consoles in Xbox history. Now, a year later and nearly two years into the consoles' life cycles, he's affirmed this continues to be true.

While this sounds a bit obvious, what Nadella's really saying here is that sales of the newest Xbox consoles haven't really slowed down significantly since they launched, at least not compared to past Xbox consoles.

His exact words were that Microsoft has "sold more consoles life-to-date than any previous generation of Xbox." So almost two years in, none of the other Xboxes had sold as many units as the current generation.

That's a lot of Xboxes, especially given the many challenges the ongoing chip shortage has presented in getting the dang things on the shelves in the first place.

Nadella also mentioned a few other numbers. He reminded us that Xbox consoles have been the next-gen console market leader for three quarters in a row now (basically, they've been outselling PS5 for the last three quarters). And, hardware aside, Xbox's xCloud seems to be doing all right too — over four million people have streamed Fortnite to date on xCloud, Nadella said, including over one million people who were brand new to the xCloud ecosystem.

That's all good news for Xbox, though it came alongside the announcement that gaming revenue for the quarter was down 7% year-over-year, content and service revenue was down 6%, while hardware revenue dropped 11%. While none of that sounds sparkling, it also shouldn't be shocking — last quarter the company was still riding the high of a massive hardware sales surge, and it's normal to see hardware sales gently decline as time goes on.

As for content revenue, without a ton of blockbuster releases hanging around, Xbox will probably have to wait for October or later for some big releases to bolster those numbers further.

Xbox is projecting that its current quarter (running from July through September) will see a year-on-year drop in the low-to-mid single digits due to declines in first party content, while console revenue and Game Pass subscriptions are expected to rise.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced at the company's full year earnings call that the Xbox Series X and S were the fastest-selling consoles in Xbox history. Now, a year later and nearly two years into the consoles' life cycles, he's affirmed this continues to be true.

While this sounds a bit obvious, what Nadella's really saying here is that sales of the newest Xbox consoles haven't really slowed down significantly since they launched, at least not compared to past Xbox consoles.

His exact words were that Microsoft has "sold more consoles life-to-date than any previous generation of Xbox." So almost two years in, none of the other Xboxes had sold as many units as the current generation.

That's a lot of Xboxes, especially given the many challenges the ongoing chip shortage has presented in getting the dang things on the shelves in the first place.

Nadella also mentioned a few other numbers. He reminded us that Xbox consoles have been the next-gen console market leader for three quarters in a row now (basically, they've been outselling PS5 for the last three quarters). And, hardware aside, Xbox's xCloud seems to be doing all right too — over four million people have streamed Fortnite to date on xCloud, Nadella said, including over one million people who were brand new to the xCloud ecosystem.

That's all good news for Xbox, though it came alongside the announcement that gaming revenue for the quarter was down 7% year-over-year, content and service revenue was down 6%, while hardware revenue dropped 11%. While none of that sounds sparkling, it also shouldn't be shocking — last quarter the company was still riding the high of a massive hardware sales surge, and it's normal to see hardware sales gently decline as time goes on.

As for content revenue, without a ton of blockbuster releases hanging around, Xbox will probably have to wait for October or later for some big releases to bolster those numbers further.

Xbox is projecting that its current quarter (running from July through September) will see a year-on-year drop in the low-to-mid single digits due to declines in first party content, while console revenue and Game Pass subscriptions are expected to rise.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Development on the upcoming remake of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic has reportedly been paused indefinitely after what appears to be disappointment over the current progress of the RPG.

According to Bloomberg, Texas-based studio Aspyr’s recent internal demo of the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic demo didn’t land as well as it could have when it was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony. This has led to Aspyr telling employees that the project would be put on pause and that the company would look for “new contracts and development opportunities.”

Additionally, Aspyr fired the remake’s art director, Brad Prince and design director, Jason Minor. The latter reportedly said on social media channels that the dismissal was unexpected.

Aspyr has been working on the remake of the 2003 Star Wars RPG for the last three years before finally announcing the game in September 2021. However, after presenting a demo, or vertical slice, of the game to its production partners Lucasfilm and Sony, it was followed by employees learning of the development pause, and two firings.

Bloomberg reports that Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice “wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused.”

While Aspyr’s future involvement in the project remains unclear, Aspyr’s parent company, Embracer, announced in May that Saber Interactive would assist on the project and some Aspyr employees believe Saber may take over the project completely.

Update 8/22 2:36 pm PT: Bloomberg later reported that the remake is officially moving from Aspyr to Saber Interactive's eastern Europe studio, though parent company Embracer doesn't expect the transition to result in a delay. However, a release date was never officially announced for the remake in the first place.

Knights of the Old Republic remake was set to be released as a PC and PS5 console exclusive and was touted as a full remake developed from the ground up. Originally developed by BioWare, Knights of the Old Republic has consistently been regarded as one of the best Star Wars video games and western RPGs.

The first teaser premiered in Sony’s 2021 PlayStation Showcase and it was revealed that original voice actor Jennifer Hale would be returning as Bastila Shan.

According to reports, Aspyr was targeting a late 2022 release date for the remake but insiders suggest 2025 was a more realistic target. However, it’s now unclear how this project will continue.

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

Development on the upcoming remake of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic has reportedly been paused indefinitely after what appears to be disappointment over the current progress of the RPG.

According to Bloomberg, Texas-based studio Aspyr’s recent internal demo of the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic demo didn’t land as well as it could have when it was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony. This has led to Aspyr telling employees that the project would be put on pause and that the company would look for “new contracts and development opportunities.”

Additionally, Aspyr fired the remake’s art director, Brad Prince and design director, Jason Minor. The latter reportedly said on social media channels that the dismissal was unexpected.

Aspyr has been working on the remake of the 2003 Star Wars RPG for the last three years before finally announcing the game in September 2021. However, after presenting a demo, or vertical slice, of the game to its production partners Lucasfilm and Sony, it was followed by employees learning of the development pause, and two firings.

Bloomberg reports that Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice “wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused.”

While Aspyr’s future involvement in the project remains unclear, Aspyr’s parent company, Embracer, announced in May that Saber Interactive would assist on the project and some Aspyr employees believe Saber may take over the project completely.

Update 8/22 2:36 pm PT: Bloomberg later reported that the remake is officially moving from Aspyr to Saber Interactive's eastern Europe studio, though parent company Embracer doesn't expect the transition to result in a delay. However, a release date was never officially announced for the remake in the first place.

Knights of the Old Republic remake was set to be released as a PC and PS5 console exclusive and was touted as a full remake developed from the ground up. Originally developed by BioWare, Knights of the Old Republic has consistently been regarded as one of the best Star Wars video games and western RPGs.

The first teaser premiered in Sony’s 2021 PlayStation Showcase and it was revealed that original voice actor Jennifer Hale would be returning as Bastila Shan.

According to reports, Aspyr was targeting a late 2022 release date for the remake but insiders suggest 2025 was a more realistic target. However, it’s now unclear how this project will continue.

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

The first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever confirmed Tenoch Huerta is playing Namor and showed fans their first glimpse of Atlantean characters in the MCU. It's probably going to be a while before a second, longer trailer comes along, but Hasbro is giving us a closer look at the new characters being introduced in the Black Panther sequel.

Hasbro revealed their full lineup of Marvel Legends figures inspired by Wakanda Forever at Comic-Con. You can see all seven figures in the slideshow gallery below, including figures depicting Namor and his fellow Atlantean Attuma:

The Namor and Attuma figures both showcase the reimagined take on Atlantis in the MCU, one that seems to combine Mesoamerican elements with the classic Marvel Comics aesthetic. The Attuma figure confirms that this MCU villain fashions both weapons and armor out of the bones of sharks. We'll see how that holds up against high-tech Wakandan weapons.

The Nakia figure also hints at some interesting developments in the film. Nakia looks to be wearing a Wakandan diving suit, which suggests she'll be undertaking a mission to Atlantis during the course of the movie.

Alongside the five MCU figures in this wave (which also includes Everett K. Ross and Okoye), Hasbro is releasing two comic book-inspired figures. One depicts Black Panther in his classic Silver and Bronze Age costume, while the other is a Hatut Zeraze soldier (basically the Wakandan version of a SWAT team).

Interestingly, Letitia Wright's Shuri is nowhere to be found in this lineup. Given how the new trailer dances around the question of whether or not Shuri will be suiting up as the new Black Panther, we suspect Hasbro is withholding Shuri until closer to the film's release.

For more on Wakanda Forever, learn more about the history of Huerta's Namor and check out the new Black Panther Funko POP! figurines And be sure to brush up on all the big announcements from Comic-Con.

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 first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever confirmed Tenoch Huerta is playing Namor and showed fans their first glimpse of Atlantean characters in the MCU. It's probably going to be a while before a second, longer trailer comes along, but Hasbro is giving us a closer look at the new characters being introduced in the Black Panther sequel.

Hasbro revealed their full lineup of Marvel Legends figures inspired by Wakanda Forever at Comic-Con. You can see all seven figures in the slideshow gallery below, including figures depicting Namor and his fellow Atlantean Attuma:

The Namor and Attuma figures both showcase the reimagined take on Atlantis in the MCU, one that seems to combine Mesoamerican elements with the classic Marvel Comics aesthetic. The Attuma figure confirms that this MCU villain fashions both weapons and armor out of the bones of sharks. We'll see how that holds up against high-tech Wakandan weapons.

The Nakia figure also hints at some interesting developments in the film. Nakia looks to be wearing a Wakandan diving suit, which suggests she'll be undertaking a mission to Atlantis during the course of the movie.

Alongside the five MCU figures in this wave (which also includes Everett K. Ross and Okoye), Hasbro is releasing two comic book-inspired figures. One depicts Black Panther in his classic Silver and Bronze Age costume, while the other is a Hatut Zeraze soldier (basically the Wakandan version of a SWAT team).

Interestingly, Letitia Wright's Shuri is nowhere to be found in this lineup. Given how the new trailer dances around the question of whether or not Shuri will be suiting up as the new Black Panther, we suspect Hasbro is withholding Shuri until closer to the film's release.

For more on Wakanda Forever, learn more about the history of Huerta's Namor and check out the new Black Panther Funko POP! figurines And be sure to brush up on all the big announcements from Comic-Con.

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

Early last month, a new Reddit user named u/sadfutago joined the Nier subreddit to ask what might seem to outsiders a fairly innocuous question: "How do you open the church?"

Their post was short and to the point, explaining that they were new to Reddit and wanted to know how to open the church in Nier: Automata, which they elaborated on in replies to mean "the place in the underground copied city where you fight the boss adam." They explained that while they can open the door, their friend who was at the same part of the game could not.

The problem? There is no such church in the Copied City. Or anywhere else in Nier: Automata, to anyone's knowledge. And now, thanks to this one user, the entire community is currently losing its mind trying to solve the mystery behind this location.

At first, community members replying to sadfutago's post thought they might just be confused, or inaccurately describing where they were trying to get to, and asked for screenshots or game clips to get a better idea of what was going on. But over the next month, as sadfutago returned to the subreddit sporadically to drop gameplay evidence of their predicament, it became clear that what they were showing was not a misunderstanding at all. Instead, it appeared to be an entire secret area complete with lore implications and easter eggs that no Nier: Automata player had accessed before.

In their earlier posts, sadfutago uploaded off-screen clips and photos of what appeared to be a secret door in the Copied City and, beyond it, a mysterious church with pews and a balcony above. As Redditors asked for more evidence and offered advice on how to more clearly share clips and screenshots, sadfutago's submissions became more detailed. It all came to a head in the last few days, when multiple clips they shared revealed the extent of this supposed secret area.

It starts with a hidden door, followed by a long drop down a ladder. The music changes, and there are strange tower spires that retract as A2 runs down a long, twisting hallway leading to an enormous door that opens into a church. A brief cutscene plays as A2 enters, focusing on several elements of the church, and as A2 walks in she has a brief dialogue with Pod 042 that some have identified as dialogue lines that occur elsewhere in the game.

At the front of the church, a child's body lies seemingly entombed with a single Lunar Tear growing from their chest. The child is flanked by Devola and Poppola's weapons, a mysterious dark mass that can't be interacted with, and a box that appears to be hackable by 9S.

So, what's going on here? The Nier: Automata community is, for now, completely stumped. Many have suggested sadfutago has somehow accidentally stumbled upon a piece of cut content, pointing to a known beta version of the Copied City which contained an unenterable church in roughly the same spot — albeit one very different from the one sadfutago has found.

But if this is a hidden easter egg or cut content, it should theoretically be replicable by other players under the same conditions. And so far, no one else has yet been able to manifest this strange secret in their own copies of the game.

They've tried everything, from matching the quest and progression conditions sadfutago describes in their own game to trying to replicate the same platform and patch version, to no avail. Dataminers are investigating Nier: Automata's code, looking for anything that could indicate how to unlock this weird church and its contents, but haven't found anything yet.

While this extreme lack of evidence would suggest this is perhaps just a fun hoax from a talented modder, the modding community isn't so sure. Multiple members of the Nier: Automata modding community across both Reddit and the official modding Discord have affirmed that up to this point, modders have not been able to create anything this complex, especially as this section contains multiple assets that don't exist elsewhere in the game.

As an official post from the Nier: Automata modding Discord put it:

"If this is a mod this would be the first time anyone has done something like this, and NOBODY else knows how to make custom doors like seen in the video -- it would be a relatively IMMENSE undertaking for a single individual to accomplish with various modding breakthroughs"

That doesn't mean it's impossible for this to be a mod — in fact, one theory being floated around is that this is an elaborate tease from a modder or group of modders who have figured out how to do map editing on this level and who are building up to a full unveiling of their hard work. But as several have pointed out, this is quite the long con for such an announcement given that it started nearly two months ago, so many members of the community don't seem to be clued into it, and it didn't really gain traction until just this past week.

The same counterargument also applies to those who think this might be not a mod, but a full-blown hoax built in Blender. It would be a lot of work over a long period of time for not a lot of return — just some brief internet fame followed by disappointment.

But if the Nier: Automata church isn't just an unfound secret, and it isn't a mod, what does that leave? One theory is that this is all an elaborate ARG leading up to new Nier content. After all, Nier: Automata The End of YoRHa edition is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 6, and it certainly would be in character for the game to include extra secret content teased in such a bizarre way.

But that's not the only possibility. Many community members have pointed out that in the most recent video posted by sadfutago, much of the contents of the church seem to point to a tie-in with Nier: Replicant. The child with the Lunar Tear seems to represent Yonah, the black mass could be the Shadowlord, and Devola and Poppola's weapons standing by would also make sense. Several users have also noted a strange square shadow appearing in the window at the top of the church as sadfutago walks in, suggesting it could be Grimoire Weiss.

What a Nier: Replicant tie-in could mean isn't exactly clear though. An updated version of Replicant was released for current consoles last year that included a fifth ending seemingly connecting it even more closely with the events in Automata. But what all this speculation actually would mean remains to be seen.

Regardless, the theory that this is all some elaborate tease for more Nier content was exacerbated today by two tweets. One, posted by Nier series producer Yosuke Saito, quips that this sort of tease is something Yoko Taro might do. He followed it up shortly after with a tweet telling people to "please calm down and make a reservation here," referring to pre-ordering the Nintendo Switch version of Nier: Automata.

The other is from the Nier: Automata creator himself. Asked by a user if the video in question was a "scrapped mission early in development" and to "bless us with your insight," Yoko replied that they could find his insight in his Twitter profile, which reads: "I can't answer about any products. Please ask publisher."

Do you want to know about my insight?

In that case, you can find answer at my twitter profile. Thank you.

RT: @JacobTjv
Was this a scrapped mission early in development, Taro-san? Please bless us with your insight! https://t.co/efUXxsXIqN

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) July 26, 2022

IGN has indeed asked Yoko Taro's publisher, in this case, Square Enix, for comment or clarification, as well as developer PlatinumGames, and is waiting on a response. But in the meantime, Yoko's tweet is a delicious deflection from a man who could very easily have said he didn't have anything to do with it and ended the entire conversation. Is he, in fact, teasing something deliberate here? Or does he just find the entire thing extremely funny and is just playing into a hoax as a goof?

For now, the Nier community is stuck in delightful confusion until one of several things happens: either someone finally manages to replicate the church in another copy of the game, sadfutago reveals this was all an elaborate hoax or setup for a mod announcement, or Yoko throws back the curtain at last to reveal the entire scheme was a fantastic marketing ploy for new Nier content of some kind.

Whatever the case, kudos to whoever is spinning us all around in circles right now is probably the most Nier-apropos mystery anyone could have possibly invented. If that sounds intriguing to you and you somehow have not played Nier: Automata, we called it a "crazy, beautiful, and highly entertaining journey full of nutty ideas and awesome gameplay" in our 2017 review. While we don't know if the Switch version will include an answer to the church mystery, we do know it will include brand new costumes, and the game is also on its way to becoming an anime.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Early last month, a new Reddit user named u/sadfutago joined the Nier subreddit to ask what might seem to outsiders a fairly innocuous question: "How do you open the church?"

Their post was short and to the point, explaining that they were new to Reddit and wanted to know how to open the church in Nier: Automata, which they elaborated on in replies to mean "the place in the underground copied city where you fight the boss adam." They explained that while they can open the door, their friend who was at the same part of the game could not.

The problem? There is no such church in the Copied City. Or anywhere else in Nier: Automata, to anyone's knowledge. And now, thanks to this one user, the entire community is currently losing its mind trying to solve the mystery behind this location.

At first, community members replying to sadfutago's post thought they might just be confused, or inaccurately describing where they were trying to get to, and asked for screenshots or game clips to get a better idea of what was going on. But over the next month, as sadfutago returned to the subreddit sporadically to drop gameplay evidence of their predicament, it became clear that what they were showing was not a misunderstanding at all. Instead, it appeared to be an entire secret area complete with lore implications and easter eggs that no Nier: Automata player had accessed before.

In their earlier posts, sadfutago uploaded off-screen clips and photos of what appeared to be a secret door in the Copied City and, beyond it, a mysterious church with pews and a balcony above. As Redditors asked for more evidence and offered advice on how to more clearly share clips and screenshots, sadfutago's submissions became more detailed. It all came to a head in the last few days, when multiple clips they shared revealed the extent of this supposed secret area.

It starts with a hidden door, followed by a long drop down a ladder. The music changes, and there are strange tower spires that retract as A2 runs down a long, twisting hallway leading to an enormous door that opens into a church. A brief cutscene plays as A2 enters, focusing on several elements of the church, and as A2 walks in she has a brief dialogue with Pod 042 that some have identified as dialogue lines that occur elsewhere in the game.

At the front of the church, a child's body lies seemingly entombed with a single Lunar Tear growing from their chest. The child is flanked by Devola and Poppola's weapons, a mysterious dark mass that can't be interacted with, and a box that appears to be hackable by 9S.

So, what's going on here? The Nier: Automata community is, for now, completely stumped. Many have suggested sadfutago has somehow accidentally stumbled upon a piece of cut content, pointing to a known beta version of the Copied City which contained an unenterable church in roughly the same spot — albeit one very different from the one sadfutago has found.

But if this is a hidden easter egg or cut content, it should theoretically be replicable by other players under the same conditions. And so far, no one else has yet been able to manifest this strange secret in their own copies of the game.

They've tried everything, from matching the quest and progression conditions sadfutago describes in their own game to trying to replicate the same platform and patch version, to no avail. Dataminers are investigating Nier: Automata's code, looking for anything that could indicate how to unlock this weird church and its contents, but haven't found anything yet.

While this extreme lack of evidence would suggest this is perhaps just a fun hoax from a talented modder, the modding community isn't so sure. Multiple members of the Nier: Automata modding community across both Reddit and the official modding Discord have affirmed that up to this point, modders have not been able to create anything this complex, especially as this section contains multiple assets that don't exist elsewhere in the game.

As an official post from the Nier: Automata modding Discord put it:

"If this is a mod this would be the first time anyone has done something like this, and NOBODY else knows how to make custom doors like seen in the video -- it would be a relatively IMMENSE undertaking for a single individual to accomplish with various modding breakthroughs"

That doesn't mean it's impossible for this to be a mod — in fact, one theory being floated around is that this is an elaborate tease from a modder or group of modders who have figured out how to do map editing on this level and who are building up to a full unveiling of their hard work. But as several have pointed out, this is quite the long con for such an announcement given that it started nearly two months ago, so many members of the community don't seem to be clued into it, and it didn't really gain traction until just this past week.

The same counterargument also applies to those who think this might be not a mod, but a full-blown hoax built in Blender. It would be a lot of work over a long period of time for not a lot of return — just some brief internet fame followed by disappointment.

But if the Nier: Automata church isn't just an unfound secret, and it isn't a mod, what does that leave? One theory is that this is all an elaborate ARG leading up to new Nier content. After all, Nier: Automata The End of YoRHa edition is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 6, and it certainly would be in character for the game to include extra secret content teased in such a bizarre way.

But that's not the only possibility. Many community members have pointed out that in the most recent video posted by sadfutago, much of the contents of the church seem to point to a tie-in with Nier: Replicant. The child with the Lunar Tear seems to represent Yonah, the black mass could be the Shadowlord, and Devola and Poppola's weapons standing by would also make sense. Several users have also noted a strange square shadow appearing in the window at the top of the church as sadfutago walks in, suggesting it could be Grimoire Weiss.

What a Nier: Replicant tie-in could mean isn't exactly clear though. An updated version of Replicant was released for current consoles last year that included a fifth ending seemingly connecting it even more closely with the events in Automata. But what all this speculation actually would mean remains to be seen.

Regardless, the theory that this is all some elaborate tease for more Nier content was exacerbated today by two tweets. One, posted by Nier series producer Yosuke Saito, quips that this sort of tease is something Yoko Taro might do. He followed it up shortly after with a tweet telling people to "please calm down and make a reservation here," referring to pre-ordering the Nintendo Switch version of Nier: Automata.

The other is from the Nier: Automata creator himself. Asked by a user if the video in question was a "scrapped mission early in development" and to "bless us with your insight," Yoko replied that they could find his insight in his Twitter profile, which reads: "I can't answer about any products. Please ask publisher."

Do you want to know about my insight?

In that case, you can find answer at my twitter profile. Thank you.

RT: @JacobTjv
Was this a scrapped mission early in development, Taro-san? Please bless us with your insight! https://t.co/efUXxsXIqN

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) July 26, 2022

IGN has indeed asked Yoko Taro's publisher, in this case, Square Enix, for comment or clarification, as well as developer PlatinumGames, and is waiting on a response. But in the meantime, Yoko's tweet is a delicious deflection from a man who could very easily have said he didn't have anything to do with it and ended the entire conversation. Is he, in fact, teasing something deliberate here? Or does he just find the entire thing extremely funny and is just playing into a hoax as a goof?

For now, the Nier community is stuck in delightful confusion until one of several things happens: either someone finally manages to replicate the church in another copy of the game, sadfutago reveals this was all an elaborate hoax or setup for a mod announcement, or Yoko throws back the curtain at last to reveal the entire scheme was a fantastic marketing ploy for new Nier content of some kind.

Whatever the case, kudos to whoever is spinning us all around in circles right now is probably the most Nier-apropos mystery anyone could have possibly invented. If that sounds intriguing to you and you somehow have not played Nier: Automata, we called it a "crazy, beautiful, and highly entertaining journey full of nutty ideas and awesome gameplay" in our 2017 review. While we don't know if the Switch version will include an answer to the church mystery, we do know it will include brand new costumes, and the game is also on its way to becoming an anime.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Marvel has chosen the director for the next big Avengers movie and it will be Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Cretton will be the next director to step up for the next big MCU team-up movie following the news that the Russo Brothers would not be directing either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or its follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars.

Instead, the job will go to Cretton who introduced Shang-Chi to the MCU. The Marvel film about the martial arts superhero grossed $432 million worldwide, and Cretton signed an overall deal with Marvel that includes an adaptation of Wonder Man and a Shang-Chi sequel. It's unclear if Cretton will also direct Secret Wars.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be the MCU’s big team-up film that will close out Phase 6 alongside Secret Wars. Kang Dynasty will be released on May 2, 2025, and Secret Wars will be released six months later on November 7, 2025.

While plot details are under-wrap, we know that the MCU has officially entered the Multiverse Saga and Kang, who is played by Jonathan Majors, has already made (one of) his appearances thanks to Loki on Disney+. Majors will return as Kang in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which will be released on February 17, 2023 and kickoff Phase 5.

Cretton's last MCU movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, introduced the kung-fu hero Shang-Chi and brought cinema legend Toney Leung in as the villain. IGN praised Shang-Chi as having the MCU's best fight choreography and a confident introduction to Marvel's first Asian superhero.

For more on Marvel's next big plans check out everything Marvel Studios announced as San Diego Comic-Con, and our big explainer on what exactly Secret Wars is.

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

Marvel has chosen the director for the next big Avengers movie and it will be Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Cretton will be the next director to step up for the next big MCU team-up movie following the news that the Russo Brothers would not be directing either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or its follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars.

Instead, the job will go to Cretton who introduced Shang-Chi to the MCU. The Marvel film about the martial arts superhero grossed $432 million worldwide, and Cretton signed an overall deal with Marvel that includes an adaptation of Wonder Man and a Shang-Chi sequel. It's unclear if Cretton will also direct Secret Wars.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be the MCU’s big team-up film that will close out Phase 6 alongside Secret Wars. Kang Dynasty will be released on May 2, 2025, and Secret Wars will be released six months later on November 7, 2025.

While plot details are under-wrap, we know that the MCU has officially entered the Multiverse Saga and Kang, who is played by Jonathan Majors, has already made (one of) his appearances thanks to Loki on Disney+. Majors will return as Kang in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which will be released on February 17, 2023 and kickoff Phase 5.

Cretton's last MCU movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, introduced the kung-fu hero Shang-Chi and brought cinema legend Toney Leung in as the villain. IGN praised Shang-Chi as having the MCU's best fight choreography and a confident introduction to Marvel's first Asian superhero.

For more on Marvel's next big plans check out everything Marvel Studios announced as San Diego Comic-Con, and our big explainer on what exactly Secret Wars is.

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