Microsoft is pushing hard to make mainstream cloud gaming reality, partnering with Samsung to release a smart TV app while making it a big part of the Xbox Game Pass package. But at least one former Xbox developer thinks there are still plenty of issues to work out.

Speaking with IGN on the occasion of the launch of his new studio, Jar of Sparks, former Xbox developer Jerry shared his thoughts on whether we're near the end of the line for the traditional console model. Hook, who once helped launch Xbox Live and most recently worked on Halo Infinite, has his doubts.

"My brain says [this isn't the last console generation], even in my notes for the studio, it's like, okay, [the next console generation] should land about here, so let's at least plan for it," Hook says. "But yeah, I have a hard time saying that it would be the last one just because of the struggle my friends globally have with streaming. And if everything's going to be in the cloud, you can't have millisecond delays, especially for what I consider AAA, like e-sports and competitive games, that just won't work. So you'll need something there."

Hook himself is taking a decidedly old-school approach with Jar of Sparks, choosing to focus on narrative action-adventure games rather than live service games, which he considers risky for a fledgling studio.

Games like the ones that Hook wants to make are ostensibly a good fit for the sort of cloud-based tech Xbox is offering, but online games are a different matter. Hook has plenty of experience making online shooters himself, and he thinks top competitive players will balk at any amount of input delay.

"Yeah, you really have to talk to esports players and you ask them and they'll go, 'Nope,'" Hook says. "They get mad when we have input lag just to the console at times, so it's something that I think again, for the general or the hobbyists where we're just not good enough. I know I'm not good enough to detect some of it, but some of it you can still detect or when there's spikes within the network. It's that kind of thing where the last mile problem of networking that you're always going to have to manage, that you can't predict because everyone's house isn't standard."

Regardless, Xbox continues to press ahead with cloud gaming while publishers like Square Enix release cloud-based games of their own, such as the widely-panned Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix for Nintendo Switch. It hasn't been all bad though — there are plenty of anecdotes to be found of players enjoying games like The Ascent with a mobile phone and a Backbone controller.

Either way, we're getting close to a turning point, with Hook himself acknowledging that we're "getting dang close" to a truly high-quality cloud gaming experience. Until then traditional consoles will have to suffice.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Microsoft is pushing hard to make mainstream cloud gaming reality, partnering with Samsung to release a smart TV app while making it a big part of the Xbox Game Pass package. But at least one former Xbox developer thinks there are still plenty of issues to work out.

Speaking with IGN on the occasion of the launch of his new studio, Jar of Sparks, former Xbox developer Jerry shared his thoughts on whether we're near the end of the line for the traditional console model. Hook, who once helped launch Xbox Live and most recently worked on Halo Infinite, has his doubts.

"My brain says [this isn't the last console generation], even in my notes for the studio, it's like, okay, [the next console generation] should land about here, so let's at least plan for it," Hook says. "But yeah, I have a hard time saying that it would be the last one just because of the struggle my friends globally have with streaming. And if everything's going to be in the cloud, you can't have millisecond delays, especially for what I consider AAA, like e-sports and competitive games, that just won't work. So you'll need something there."

Hook himself is taking a decidedly old-school approach with Jar of Sparks, choosing to focus on narrative action-adventure games rather than live service games, which he considers risky for a fledgling studio.

Games like the ones that Hook wants to make are ostensibly a good fit for the sort of cloud-based tech Xbox is offering, but online games are a different matter. Hook has plenty of experience making online shooters himself, and he thinks top competitive players will balk at any amount of input delay.

"Yeah, you really have to talk to esports players and you ask them and they'll go, 'Nope,'" Hook says. "They get mad when we have input lag just to the console at times, so it's something that I think again, for the general or the hobbyists where we're just not good enough. I know I'm not good enough to detect some of it, but some of it you can still detect or when there's spikes within the network. It's that kind of thing where the last mile problem of networking that you're always going to have to manage, that you can't predict because everyone's house isn't standard."

Regardless, Xbox continues to press ahead with cloud gaming while publishers like Square Enix release cloud-based games of their own, such as the widely-panned Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix for Nintendo Switch. It hasn't been all bad though — there are plenty of anecdotes to be found of players enjoying games like The Ascent with a mobile phone and a Backbone controller.

Either way, we're getting close to a turning point, with Hook himself acknowledging that we're "getting dang close" to a truly high-quality cloud gaming experience. Until then traditional consoles will have to suffice.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

The second round of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July has now been announced. Included in the new selection is Watch Dogs 2, As Dusk Falls, MotoGP 22, Inside, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation.

This latest selection of titles adds to the previous wave of games get introduced into the Game Pass library earlier in the month, including Far Cry 5, Yakuza 0, Last Call BBS, and more. You can see everything included on Xbox Game Pass in July below.

As Dusk Falls Is On Xbox Game Pass From July 19

As Dusk Falls is coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC, and cloud gaming on July 19. It is a Day One release for the service, and you can read IGN's full 9/10 review here.

"As Dusk Falls is a masterwork of branching storytelling that makes the best out of its comic book-style animations, which end up giving you the opportunity to fill the negative space with your imagination – and this works surprisingly well during some of the more intense scenes."

Everything Coming to Xbox Game Pass This Month

This is the complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2022.

• Far Cry 5 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Last Call BBS (PC) — Available Now
• Yakuza 0 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Yakuza Kiwami (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• DJMAX Respect V (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Matchpoint (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Road 96 (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Escape Academy (Console, PC) — Available Now
• My Friend Peppa Pig (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• Overwhelm (PC) — Available Now
• PAW Patrol The Movie (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• PowerWash Simulator (Console, PC, Cloud) — Available Now
• As Dusk Falls (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 19
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (PC) ID@Xbox — July 19
• Watch Dogs 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 19
• MotoGP 22 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — July 21
• Torment: Tides of Numenera (Cloud and Console) — July 21
• Inside (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox — July 29

Watch Dogs 2 Is Coming to Xbox Game Pass Soon

Watch Dogs 2 is the latest Ubisoft game to hit Xbox Game Pass, and continues a trend of Ubisoft titles coming to game subscription services like Game Pass or the new PS Plus tiers. Watch Dogs 2 will hit consoles, PC, and cloud gaming from July 19.

Every Yakuza Game Is Now Back On Xbox Game Pass

Now that Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 are back on Xbox Game Pass, that means that the entire Yakuza catalogue is now back on the service. Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon are all available to play on Xbox Game Pass right now. With this new reunion, it's now much easier to jump in and play the entire Yakuza series with ease.

Everything Leaving Game Pass in July 2022

The following games are leaving the Game Pass library by July 31, so if you want to keep playing them you'll need to finalise a purchase before they leave.

• Atomicrops (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Carrion (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Children of Morta (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Cris Tales (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lethal League Blaze (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dodgeball Academia (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Katamari Damacy Reroll (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lumines Remastered (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Omno (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Best Game Pass Deal Right Now: 2-Years of Game Pass Ultimate for $135 (Save $224)

First up, your Game Pass subscription must not currently be active - I repeat, you must not have an active Game Pass for this to work. Once you're confident, proceed to the next step.

Next, you need to invest in up to 3-years worth of Xbox Live Gold. You can easily buy 12-month Xbox Live Gold codes from Amazon or other retailers, costing $60/£50 depending on your region.

I Recommend Stacking 2-Years of Xbox Live Gold

The maximum amount of stacking for Gold subscriptions is 36-months (costing $180), any more than that will be lost. So, to keep things safe for those who currently have a Gold membership, I recommend sticking to just 2-years' worth (costing $120/£100).

Now, here's the fun part. Once you've redeemed these codes and stacked your Xbox Live Gold membership up to your liking, you can then convert this time to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at a 1:1 ratio.

Head to the Xbox Live Gold upgrade page and proceed to convert the time you've paid for directly into Game Pass Ultimate. If you've never used the upgrade feature before, this will cost $1/£1 (total cost coming to $121/£101). If you have used this before, it will instead cost you $14.99/£10.99 to upgrade.

Overall, at most, you'll be paying only $135 for 2-years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (instead of $359). If you manage to pull off a 3-year conversion, at most you'll be paying $195 instead (instead of $539). Now that's a big discount. Once you're done, just make sure you turn off auto renewal as well.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

2017's Calexit certainly made waves in the comic book industry, given that its premise was very directly inspired by the events surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Now writer and Black Mask publisher Matteo Pizzolo is following up that story with an equally topical speculative fiction series called Rogue State.

IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about Rogue State ahead of the book's official unveiling at SDCC this weekend. This ongoing series reunites Pizzolo with Calexit: San Diego artist Carlos Granda. It explores an alternate version of the US that has splintered into a series of paramilitary militia groups, and where a new freedom fighter named Vya of Brightstars emerges to rally a terrified nation.

Black Mask will be teasing the new series through a free preview ashcan booklet being released exclusively at Comic-Con. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see some of the unlettered artwork featured in that ashcan:

Here's Black Mask's official plot description for the new series:

In ROGUE STATE, a crew of young vigilantes will rise against an authoritarian state robbing Americans of their rights. The ongoing series tells the story of Vya Of Brightstars, a mysterious freedom fighter rising from the unrest, and Clara Santos (she/her), a young professional who becomes activated in Vya’s movement when her fiancée Taylor Sanchez (they/them) is disappeared as militias take over their Mission District neighborhood. As a nationwide police state takes shape following a contested Presidential election and The Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling to deputize paramilitary groups, Vya and Clara’s rogue state will blaze a path across America, inspiring others to raise their own armies… some in solidarity, others in opposition. Each issue of ROGUE STATE will also include non-fiction material about building local support networks and grassroots campaigning for coming elections.

“This is an amazing and crucial moment in the history of comics. It’s a real renaissance for socially relevant and politically challenging comic books and graphic novels, but at the same time these books are facing more attacks, lawsuits, and bans than they have in a generation,” said Pizzolo in a press release. “Researchers are pointing out the explosion in book banning has been disproportionately impacting graphic novels--and whether it’s Maia Kobabe’s powerful GENDER QUEER, Art Spiegelman’s incredible MAUS, Alison Bechdel’s moving FUN HOME, or Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s piercing V FOR VENDETTA, it’s clear that deeply personal and fearlessly political comics and graphic novels are capturing imaginations across our polarized world. There’s never been a more robust range of comics and graphic novels speaking to the demand for social and political change than right now.”

The Rogue State preview ashcan will be distributed at Black Mask's Comic-Con booth and during the Rogue State panel being held on Saturday, July 23 at 5pm PT. Additionally, the publisher will be offering the following exclusive comics at the con:

• Calexit: Our Last Night In America [Uncut]
• Godkiller: For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice #1 advanced issue
• Godkiller: Tomorrow’s Ashes Collected Edition Hardcover & Softcover
• Rogue State ashcan
• Destiny, NY Chapter 1

Rogue State #1 will be released in October 2022.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, find out how to watch this year's event and what to expect.

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

2017's Calexit certainly made waves in the comic book industry, given that its premise was very directly inspired by the events surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Now writer and Black Mask publisher Matteo Pizzolo is following up that story with an equally topical speculative fiction series called Rogue State.

IGN can exclusively reveal the first details about Rogue State ahead of the book's official unveiling at SDCC this weekend. This ongoing series reunites Pizzolo with Calexit: San Diego artist Carlos Granda. It explores an alternate version of the US that has splintered into a series of paramilitary militia groups, and where a new freedom fighter named Vya of Brightstars emerges to rally a terrified nation.

Black Mask will be teasing the new series through a free preview ashcan booklet being released exclusively at Comic-Con. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see some of the unlettered artwork featured in that ashcan:

Here's Black Mask's official plot description for the new series:

In ROGUE STATE, a crew of young vigilantes will rise against an authoritarian state robbing Americans of their rights. The ongoing series tells the story of Vya Of Brightstars, a mysterious freedom fighter rising from the unrest, and Clara Santos (she/her), a young professional who becomes activated in Vya’s movement when her fiancée Taylor Sanchez (they/them) is disappeared as militias take over their Mission District neighborhood. As a nationwide police state takes shape following a contested Presidential election and The Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling to deputize paramilitary groups, Vya and Clara’s rogue state will blaze a path across America, inspiring others to raise their own armies… some in solidarity, others in opposition. Each issue of ROGUE STATE will also include non-fiction material about building local support networks and grassroots campaigning for coming elections.

“This is an amazing and crucial moment in the history of comics. It’s a real renaissance for socially relevant and politically challenging comic books and graphic novels, but at the same time these books are facing more attacks, lawsuits, and bans than they have in a generation,” said Pizzolo in a press release. “Researchers are pointing out the explosion in book banning has been disproportionately impacting graphic novels--and whether it’s Maia Kobabe’s powerful GENDER QUEER, Art Spiegelman’s incredible MAUS, Alison Bechdel’s moving FUN HOME, or Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s piercing V FOR VENDETTA, it’s clear that deeply personal and fearlessly political comics and graphic novels are capturing imaginations across our polarized world. There’s never been a more robust range of comics and graphic novels speaking to the demand for social and political change than right now.”

The Rogue State preview ashcan will be distributed at Black Mask's Comic-Con booth and during the Rogue State panel being held on Saturday, July 23 at 5pm PT. Additionally, the publisher will be offering the following exclusive comics at the con:

• Calexit: Our Last Night In America [Uncut]
• Godkiller: For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice #1 advanced issue
• Godkiller: Tomorrow’s Ashes Collected Edition Hardcover & Softcover
• Rogue State ashcan
• Destiny, NY Chapter 1

Rogue State #1 will be released in October 2022.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, find out how to watch this year's event and what to expect.

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 all-new PlayStation Plus has introduced seven-day trials for both the Extra and Premium tiers of the subscription service in the UK.

Both the PS Plus Extra (£10.99/month) and Premium options (£13.49/month) will now also give you the option to try the new service before having to pay anything.

At the time of writing, seemingly only the UK has access to the trial, but this doesn't rule out the possibility of it coming to other regions as well in the future.

The trial is only available for those who are currently not PS Plus members (even on the Essential tier), and there aren't separate trials for Extra and Premium available.

Essentially, you are signing up for PS Plus Extra/ Premium, and can then continue to pay for 1, 3 or 12 months of the service at your discretion, or cancel if you so chose to.

The T&Cs show you can cancel the free trial before you are charged at the end of the seven days. But, if you don't stop the renewal, you will be automatically charged a recurring subscription fee until you cancel.

PS Plus additions for July include the sci-fi cat adventure Stray, alongside PS5 games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Marvel's Avengers.

Check out our updated lists of all PS Plus Premium Catalog Games and PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog on IGN Playlist. You can use these lists to plan what to play next, create custom ranked lists of your favorites, and track your backlog.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

The all-new PlayStation Plus has introduced seven-day trials for both the Extra and Premium tiers of the subscription service in the UK.

Both the PS Plus Extra (£10.99/month) and Premium options (£13.49/month) will now also give you the option to try the new service before having to pay anything.

At the time of writing, seemingly only the UK has access to the trial, but this doesn't rule out the possibility of it coming to other regions as well in the future.

The trial is only available for those who are currently not PS Plus members (even on the Essential tier), and there aren't separate trials for Extra and Premium available.

Essentially, you are signing up for PS Plus Extra/ Premium, and can then continue to pay for 1, 3 or 12 months of the service at your discretion, or cancel if you so chose to.

The T&Cs show you can cancel the free trial before you are charged at the end of the seven days. But, if you don't stop the renewal, you will be automatically charged a recurring subscription fee until you cancel.

PS Plus additions for July include the sci-fi cat adventure Stray, alongside PS5 games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Marvel's Avengers.

Check out our updated lists of all PS Plus Premium Catalog Games and PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog on IGN Playlist. You can use these lists to plan what to play next, create custom ranked lists of your favorites, and track your backlog.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

The UK government will not introduce lootbox laws following a near-two year enquiry into their potential dangers, but has instead requested that the industry self-regulates.

The government's website released the enquiry's findings, stating that "the government does not intend to amend or extend the scope of gambling regulation to cover loot boxes at this time".

The report highlighted that there are both positive consequences of loot boxes (good loot and progressing and improving gameplay) and negative ones (causing financial difficulties, poor mental health, and gambling problems amongst other things).

The government is asking the video game industry to make changes itself, however, rather than following the lead of countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, which introduced laws to change how lootboxes are utilised.

Per the UK government, evidence from 15 peer-reviewed empirical studies "identified a stable and consistent association between loot box use and problem gambling" but the report said "there are a range of plausible explanations that could underpin this association between loot box spending and problem gambling behaviours," and further evidence is therefore required.

This call for more research is one of the UK government's requests to the video game industry, as "better evidence and research, enabled by improved access to data, should be developed to inform future policy making".

Its other requests are that no children or young people should be able to buy lootboxes without parental approval, and every player should have access to or be aware of spending controls and "information to support safe and responsible gaming".

While no formal changes are being made at a governmental level right now, the report does state that lawmakers "will not hesitate to consider legislation if companies do not bring in sufficient measures to keep players safe."

This is just the latest in a long-running and ongoing conversation around lootboxes in gaming, though the first in a while that hasn't explicitly condemned them. An investigation from the Norwegian Consumer Council in June (that was backed by 18 European countries) found lootboxes to be manipulative and exploitative.

Some U.S. politicians also took a stance against lootboxes last year by sending a letter to game companies that asked them to better protect young people from predatory game design.

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

IGN can exclusively reveal that Kanata Hongo has been officially cast as Hiei in Netflix's adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi's mega-popular manga series Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei is one of the anime's main characters and an early nemesis of the show's protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi.

Hongo is best-known for playing Cheng Jiao in Shinsuke Sato's adaptation of the popular manga Kingdom. He also played Armin Arlert in 2015's live-action adaption of Attack on Titan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho is one of Japan's most popular manga. I believe that we will create a powerful, visually stunning series using the latest modern technology, while respecting the popular original work," Hongo told IGN. "I am sure that the series will exceed expectations, and I hope fans will get a chance to check it out!"

The series is based on the legendary Japanese manga of the same name, initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1990. The manga is considered a fan-favorite (we called its anime adaptation one of the best of all time) and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. The adaptation will present a new version of the 1990 manga in which a teenage boy, Yusuke, dies and begins a new afterlife as an underworld detective.

Known as the "Master of the Evil Eye," Hiei was cast out of the society he was born into and abandoned as a child because he was born male—something strictly forbidden by the matriarchal Koorime race he was born into. After years of developing his powers, Hiei hoped to return to the Glacial Village he was barred from to find his mother. Once there, he learned she committed suicide, guilt-ridden over abandoning her son, and about the existence of his sister, Yukina.

Setting out to find her, Hiei finds himself in the Spirit World, hoping to steal three dangerous weapons from the Reikai—and subsequently becoming the target of Yusuke Urameshi's first case.

The adaptation is being helmed by director Shô Tsukikawa (You Shine in the Moonlight, My Teacher, My Love) with a screenplay written by Tatsuro Mishima. Already announced in the cast are Takumi Kitamura, who will play Yusuke Urameshi, and Jun Shison, who'll play Youko Kurama.

Yu Yu Hakusho will be premiering worldwide and only on Netflix in December 2023. For more news about the adaption, stick to IGN.

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.

IGN can exclusively reveal that Kanata Hongo has been officially cast as Hiei in Netflix's adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi's mega-popular manga series Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei is one of the anime's main characters and an early nemesis of the show's protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi.

Hongo is best-known for playing Cheng Jiao in Shinsuke Sato's adaptation of the popular manga Kingdom. He also played Armin Arlert in 2015's live-action adaption of Attack on Titan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho is one of Japan's most popular manga. I believe that we will create a powerful, visually stunning series using the latest modern technology, while respecting the popular original work," Hongo told IGN. "I am sure that the series will exceed expectations, and I hope fans will get a chance to check it out!"

The series is based on the legendary Japanese manga of the same name, initially serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1990. The manga is considered a fan-favorite (we called its anime adaptation one of the best of all time) and has sold over 50 million copies in Japan alone. The adaptation will present a new version of the 1990 manga in which a teenage boy, Yusuke, dies and begins a new afterlife as an underworld detective.

Known as the "Master of the Evil Eye," Hiei was cast out of the society he was born into and abandoned as a child because he was born male—something strictly forbidden by the matriarchal Koorime race he was born into. After years of developing his powers, Hiei hoped to return to the Glacial Village he was barred from to find his mother. Once there, he learned she committed suicide, guilt-ridden over abandoning her son, and about the existence of his sister, Yukina.

Setting out to find her, Hiei finds himself in the Spirit World, hoping to steal three dangerous weapons from the Reikai—and subsequently becoming the target of Yusuke Urameshi's first case.

The adaptation is being helmed by director Shô Tsukikawa (You Shine in the Moonlight, My Teacher, My Love) with a screenplay written by Tatsuro Mishima. Already announced in the cast are Takumi Kitamura, who will play Yusuke Urameshi, and Jun Shison, who'll play Youko Kurama.

Yu Yu Hakusho will be premiering worldwide and only on Netflix in December 2023. For more news about the adaption, stick to IGN.

Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog, and Batman.

You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.