Since Skate 3’s release over 12 years ago, fans and newcomers alike have eagerly awaited the release of Skate 4 (also known as skate.). Though it’s been almost a year since Full Circle's last update, the newly-formed team wants players to know that they're “still working on it.”

Today, the team released a trailer for the game showing footage of the game’s various prototypes (or, as the trailer puts it, “pre-pre-pre-alpha” versions).

The trailer is noticeably transparent about the game development process, giving players a glimpse of various processes like character rigging and dealing with bugs, though there are a few segments of gameplay with more polished graphics to show players what the game's future might have in store

It also seems that player feedback is a big component of Skate 4 — the trailer shows a variety of comments that the development team took into account, supposedly confirming features like nonbinary player customization options, the ability to climb up to skate spots, and cross-platform play.

EA is also recruiting playtesters for the game here. However, it is a closed playtest, so only certain players will be selected (and those who are won’t be able to share any content from the game).

While not much else is known about what the final game might look like, EA previously released a trailer for the game teasing an open-world design. It’ll also be available on PC (a franchise first) and will likely include opportunities for user-generated content.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Since Skate 3’s release over 12 years ago, fans and newcomers alike have eagerly awaited the release of Skate 4 (also known as skate.). Though it’s been almost a year since Full Circle's last update, the newly-formed team wants players to know that they're “still working on it.”

Today, the team released a trailer for the game showing footage of the game’s various prototypes (or, as the trailer puts it, “pre-pre-pre-alpha” versions).

The trailer is noticeably transparent about the game development process, giving players a glimpse of various processes like character rigging and dealing with bugs, though there are a few segments of gameplay with more polished graphics to show players what the game's future might have in store

It also seems that player feedback is a big component of Skate 4 — the trailer shows a variety of comments that the development team took into account, supposedly confirming features like nonbinary player customization options, the ability to climb up to skate spots, and cross-platform play.

EA is also recruiting playtesters for the game here. However, it is a closed playtest, so only certain players will be selected (and those who are won’t be able to share any content from the game).

While not much else is known about what the final game might look like, EA previously released a trailer for the game teasing an open-world design. It’ll also be available on PC (a franchise first) and will likely include opportunities for user-generated content.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

At last, it looks like Halo Infinite is nearing its long-promised campaign co-op. 343 Industries has announced that a two-week-long beta preview of the feature is happening at last, running from July 11 through July 22.

The beta will include the entire campaign, and is available to anyone who either owns Halo Infinite or has Xbox Game Pass. Console players who are interested in trying it out will need to join the Xbox Insider Program, and the beta on Steam will only be available to Halo Insiders who are signed up for the program by July 5.

Players will need to download the campaign build and start a new playthrough, and won't be able to carry any existing progress over. Beta progress will also not transfer back to the retail version of the game. However, this is only for the beta, and when the full feature releases players will not need an isolated co-op save, and co-op progress will count toward a regular playthrough for all players involved if so desired.

According to lead world designer John Mulkey, this is how it will work in the full release:

"The way we are handling this is through something we internally refer to as 'No Spartan Left Behind'. When players join the Fireteam and choose their save slots to play on, the game aggregates the states of all missions across those saves and sets up a world state in which any missions completed by all Fireteam members are marked as complete while any missions not completed by all are marked as incomplete."

Additionally, cross-platform play will be fully supported including with xCloud, and co-op experience should be the same regardless of platform.

For the beta, 343 says the goal is to catch any lingering performance or technical issues ahead of the full release of the feature, and encourages people who experience issues to report them on the Halo Support site.

Per Halo Infinite's roadmap shared in May, the plan is for a full rollout of both campaign co-op and the option to replay missions in August. Revisiting the campaign with friends should hopefully be a good experience given how we felt about the single-player campaign in our review last year, calling it "exactly what this series needed."

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

This article was amended after publication to better clarify the start date of July 11.

At last, it looks like Halo Infinite is nearing its long-promised campaign co-op. 343 Industries has announced that a two-week-long beta preview of the feature is dropping next week, running from July 11 through July 22.

The beta will include the entire campaign, and is available to anyone who either owns Halo Infinite or has Xbox Game Pass. Console players who are interested in trying it out will need to join the Xbox Insider Program, and the beta on Steam will only be available to Halo Insiders who are signed up for the program by July 5.

Players will need to download the campaign build and start a new playthrough, and won't be able to carry any existing progress over. Beta progress will also not transfer back to the retail version of the game. However, this is only for the beta, and when the full feature releases players will not need an isolated co-op save, and co-op progress will count toward a regular playthrough for all players involved if so desired.

According to lead world designer John Mulkey, this is how it will work in the full release:

"The way we are handling this is through something we internally refer to as 'No Spartan Left Behind'. When players join the Fireteam and choose their save slots to play on, the game aggregates the states of all missions across those saves and sets up a world state in which any missions completed by all Fireteam members are marked as complete while any missions not completed by all are marked as incomplete."

Additionally, cross-platform play will be fully supported including with xCloud, and co-op experience should be the same regardless of platform.

For the beta, 343 says the goal is to catch any lingering performance or technical issues ahead of the full release of the feature, and encourages people who experience issues to report them on the Halo Support site.

Per Halo Infinite's roadmap shared in May, the plan is for a full rollout of both campaign co-op and the option to replay missions in August. Revisiting the campaign with friends should hopefully be a good experience given how we felt about the single-player campaign in our review last year, calling it "exactly what this series needed."

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

Sabotage Studio has announced that it would be delaying Sea of Stars from its original 2022 release window to sometime in 2023.

“As we are closing in on a very big milestone the road to launch become clearer, and we find ourselves here with a large body of text and our logos at the bottom,” Sabotage says in a statement. “Keeping in mind our two main priorities—quality of life for our team and quality of the finished game—we can now confirm that Sea of Tars will be released in 2023.”

“We understand waiting is a big ask, and want to sincerely thank you community for the overwhelming support and positive vibes,” continues Sabotage. “In the meantime, we are looking at options to get a playable slice out to everyone this year.”

Sea of Stars will release in 2023 pic.twitter.com/S7U71G1oWh

— Sea of Stars (@seaofstarsgame) June 30, 2022

Sea of Stars is a prequel to Sabotage’s previous game, 2018’s The Messenger. However, Sea of Stars occupies a completely different genre in that it is a turn-based RPG rather than a sidescrolling beat ‘em up like The Messenger was.

Sea of Stars was first announced in 2020 and was given a 2022 release window last December in a Nintendo Direct. However, players will now have to wait a bit longer for it to come out.

The game is confirmed to be launching on Nintendo Switch and PC. The official Sea of Stars Twitter account lists “and TBD” in its biography as well, so that indicates the game could be announced for other platforms later.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Sabotage Studio has announced that it would be delaying Sea of Stars from its original 2022 release window to sometime in 2023.

“As we are closing in on a very big milestone the road to launch become clearer, and we find ourselves here with a large body of text and our logos at the bottom,” Sabotage says in a statement. “Keeping in mind our two main priorities—quality of life for our team and quality of the finished game—we can now confirm that Sea of Tars will be released in 2023.”

“We understand waiting is a big ask, and want to sincerely thank you community for the overwhelming support and positive vibes,” continues Sabotage. “In the meantime, we are looking at options to get a playable slice out to everyone this year.”

Sea of Stars will release in 2023 pic.twitter.com/S7U71G1oWh

— Sea of Stars (@seaofstarsgame) June 30, 2022

Sea of Stars is a prequel to Sabotage’s previous game, 2018’s The Messenger. However, Sea of Stars occupies a completely different genre in that it is a turn-based RPG rather than a sidescrolling beat ‘em up like The Messenger was.

Sea of Stars was first announced in 2020 and was given a 2022 release window last December in a Nintendo Direct. However, players will now have to wait a bit longer for it to come out.

The game is confirmed to be launching on Nintendo Switch and PC. The official Sea of Stars Twitter account lists “and TBD” in its biography as well, so that indicates the game could be announced for other platforms later.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

The much-maligned remake of XIII is now being, well, remade by a completely different developer after it was released to scathing reviews in 2020.

Announced on the game's Steam page, publisher Microids revealed that XIII's remake will essentially be released again thanks to a major update that arrives on September 13.

The hefty update from French studio Tower Five will redefine the art style (which was criticised for abandoning the original, comic book look), enhance the A.I., rework the HUD, revamp the sound design, and add multiplayer for up to 13 players.

XIII will be released on Nintendo Switch the same day (which will run at 30fps) and Microids' update also mentions PS5 and Xbox Series versions (which will run at 60fps).

"To achieve the quality standards and offer an optimal gaming experience, Microids decided to entrust the development of XIII Remake to the French studio Tower Five," the post said. "Hard at work for more than a year on a major update, this update will be released on September 13th.

"On that date, owners of the game will receive a free update and enjoy the game as intended. The development studio reworked the entire game from the Art Direction to the AI and added numerous technical improvements."

Those who bought XIII on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One when it was released in November 2020 will therefore receive the update at no extra cost. The game was criticised heavily for myriad technical issues amongst other things and currently has an "overwhelmingly negative" review on Steam.

Original developer PlayMagic, who will not contribute to the remake's remake, apologised at the time alongside Microids, saying "players expectations have not been met by the launch version and we hear loud and clear the legitimate criticism and disappointment."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes keeps growing, with more stars signing up alongside prequel leads Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place about 10 years after the war that created the Panem of the Hunger Games lore. The upcoming film adaptation is expected to differ from the original movies quite significantly, as the games will be viewed from an entirely new perspective during a time period that is considered to be "less glitzy."

The story takes place around the 10th annual Hunger Games when a young Coriolanus Snow is chosen to mentor District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. According to the official synopsis, the duo will try to turn the odds in their favor by uniting "their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy" in a race against time to survive.

Francis Lawrence, who helmed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, and Mockingjay Part 2, is returning to the franchise to direct and produce the prequel from a screenplay by Assassin's Creed writer Michael Lesslie. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are also on board as producers, with Tim Palen and author Suzanne Collins as executive producers.

Keep reading for a rundown of who's in The Hunger Games prequel cast — and don't forget to bookmark the page, as we'll be updating this article with all-new casting announcements.

Tom Blyth as Young Coriolanus Snow

Tom Blyth was the first cast member to be announced for Lionsgate's adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel novel to the Hunger Games series. He will portray a young Coriolanus Snow long before he served as the brutal and conniving President of Panem, as played by Donald Sutherland in the previous movies.

Blyth is a rising talent who is well-known for his role as the titular outlaw of the Epix series Billy the Kid. He also had a guest role playing Archie Baldwin on one episode of HBO's The Gilded Age and was cast as Glen Byam Shaw in the 2021 biographical drama film Benediction, which chronicled the life of celebrated war poet Siegfried Sassoon.

Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird

Rachel Zegler has been cast as Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from the impoverished District 12 who is mentored by Coriolanus Snow for the 10th annual Hunger Games. She is a pivotal character in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes novel, which chronicles the rise of the villainous Snow before he eventually becomes the President of Panem.

Zegler made her film debut in 2021, playing Maria Vasquez in Steven Spielberg's feature-length adaptation of West Side Story. She is next set to appear in Shazam! Fury of the Gods alongside Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, though she's also whistling while she works on the set of Disney's live-action Snow White that has Mark Webb in the director's chair.

Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow

Hunter Schafer has joined the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie opposite Blyth and Zegler. According to Deadline, she will play Tigris Snow, the cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow. She acts as one of his trusted advisors in the early years, guiding him on everything from "his role as mentor to the core of his moral compass."

Schafer made her acting debut in 2019, portraying Jules Vaughn in HBO's Euphoria. She continued in that role for a second season while also co-writing and co-executive producing a special episode for the critically acclaimed series. She's currently in front of the camera again filming Cuckoo, an upcoming horror movie from director Tilman Singer.

Laurel Marsden as Mayfair Lipp

Lionsgate has also announced that Laurel Marsden is in the ensemble cast of the prequel movie, per Deadline. She will be playing a character named Mayfair Lipp, who is responsible for placing Lucy Gray Baird's name into contention for the 10th deadly Hunger Games, acting as a catalyst to the events that follow for the District 12 tribute.

Marsden recently made the jump into the MCU playing Zoe Zimmer in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, and she has just wrapped filming on the horror-thriller film All Fun and Games. Before that, she starred alongside Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins in Quibi's Survive, which just about made it onto our recommended watch list for the streaming platform.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman

Lionsgate announced in June that Jason Schwartzman had become the latest addition to the cast of the upcoming Hunger Games prequel. He will be portraying Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor to Caesar Flickerman, who was memorably portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the original series of films.

Schwartzman is a frequent collaborator with Wes Anderson, having made his film debut in the 1998 film Rushmore before appearing in six more movies helmed by the director. He will next be seen in Anderson's Asteroid City, opposite Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, and many more.

Other Tributes

The first round of cast announcements for tributes appearing in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes came by way of Deadline. The list featured Jerome Lance as Marcus from District 2, Knox Gibson as Bobbin from District 8, and Mackenzie Lansing as Coral from District 4.

Nick Benson later joined the line-up playing Jessup, another tribute from District 12 alongside Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird. Luna Steeples is also in the mix, starring as Dill from District 11, while Hiroki Berrecloth is said to be portraying Treech from District 7.

Other Mentors

On the mentoring side of things, Ashley Liao is stepping up to play Clemensia Dovecote, one of Snow's closest friends who will mentor a District 11 tribute. She is appearing in the movie alongside Aamer Husain as Felix Ravinstill, a fellow mentor to a District 11 tribute.

Lilly Cooper has also been named as a mentor. She will be playing a character called Arachne Crane who will act as a guide to a tribute from District 10 in the Hunger Games, together with Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, who will work with a tribute from District 2.

The Hunger Games franchise is slated to return to the big screen in November 2023. Keep checking back here for all the latest casting updates for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

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

Return to Monkey Island director Ron Gilbert will no longer talk about the game online due to the amount of abuse he has received, particularly about its new art style.

As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Gilbert said on his personal blog (the entirety of which has now been shut down) that "the joy of sharing has been driven from me", and it isn't the first time the developer has been forced to defend the game following fan backlash.

"I’m shutting down comments. People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments," Gilbert said. "It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else. I won’t be posting anymore about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me."

Bang up job, everybody.

(I've seen a lot of passionate but polite/polite-adjacent discussion going on, but the comments on Ron's blog were a total shitshow.) pic.twitter.com/BUBoPdU1fS

— Dominic Armato (@SkilletDoux) June 30, 2022

Gilbert and developer Terrible Toybox have received criticism over the game's art style, which fans have criticised for not matching the original games that were released more than 30 years ago.

Gilbert said previously that "Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it's the art style I wanted." He said the point of the games was never to have pixel art but instead to use state-of-the-art tech and art to push the franchise forward, claiming that, even if he'd stuck around to make Monkey Island 3, it wouldn't have looked like the previous games.

The game was first revealed in April and is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch at some point later this year, with other consoles currently unconfirmed. Though it's not especially clear what this means, the game's website declared Return to Monkey Island will be "the exciting conclusion to the Monkey Island series."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Despite Thor: Love and Thunder and Moon Knight not feeling very close together within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the writers of each property collaborated pretty closely to ensure their storylines didn't clash.

That's because the one consistent element across the incoming fourth Thor film and the Moon Knight Disney+ series is the inclusion of gods. Thor is, of course, set amid Norse mythology - and the new film introduces a take on Greek myth, and new villain Gorr the God Butcher. Moon Knight, meanwhile, features multiple Egyptian gods.

The series' head writer, Jeremy Slater, told The Playlist that, while Moon Knight was allowed to exist in its own space in the MCU and doesn't really have strong connections to the rest of the universe, his team worked with the Thor writers to ensure their gods slotted together in the overall lore.

"Marvel was great about giving us our own little corner and our own little space and saying, 'okay, the Egyptian gods can be their own thing,' especially since we’re only seeing three of them on screen over the course of this story.

"But we did speak extensively with the producers of Thor: Love and Thunder just to find out what they were doing with gods in their story, to make sure that we weren’t going to be contradicting anything. At the time, all of the release dates were still up in the air, and we didn’t know if we would be coming out before Thor: Love and Thunder or following up Love and Thunder."

Moon Knight is the first MCU Disney+ series to not feature any major cameos referencing other properties, but Slater explained this wasn't always the case. He and the writing team originally had plans to connect the series to the new Thor film, with different versions ready to go depending on which one released first.

The team decided against any references in the end, however, because "these release dates are going to be determined by much larger factors than whatever’s happening in our show," Slater said. "So the safest thing to protect both of these properties is just to give them some distance.”

That's not to say they'll never cross over, as they obviously do exist within the same universe already. "Marvel is constantly expanding the boundaries of the MCU, and it’s getting bigger, and it’s weirder, and it’s giving us a lot more runway to tell cool stories in the future," he added. "I could definitely see some of these gods crossing over into other properties or showing up in other forms in future shows."

Thor: Love and Thunder will release on July 8 and sees Chris Hemsworth's character take on Gorr the God Butcher with the help of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, who makes her return to the MCU as the Mighty Thor.

Moon Knight's six episode series, on the other hand, wrapped in early May and received a positive reception. In our 8/10 review, IGN said: "Moon Knight, featuring a brilliant performance by Oscar Isaac, is massive platter of out-there ideas that succeeds more than it stalls."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.