IGN is happy to announce that Summer of Gaming will return this June.

Summer of Gaming is back for its third year with trailers, gameplay, news and reveals for some of the biggest upcoming games, and exclusive content.

Just like in past years, IGN Summer of Gaming will be a multi-day event with new trailers, behind-the-scenes interviews, and more from your favorite developers. IGN will be a hub for all the biggest news and our experts will be there for every major game reveal.

We're also happy to announce that we will be carrying and covering Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest as part of our Summer of Gaming programming. More details to come.

IGN will also be partnering with major developers across the industry to deliver the biggest news and announcements from across the web.

This fully digital event can be viewed entirely from home and you’ll be able to catch all of the announcements from Summer of Gaming right here on IGN or on your favorite platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

Be sure to catch up on Summer of Gaming from the last two years here with everything announced in 2020 and 2021.

So join us again this June as IGN takes you directly to the action with Summer of Gaming.

IGN is happy to announce that Summer of Gaming will return this June.

Summer of Gaming is back for its third year with trailers, gameplay, news and reveals for some of the biggest upcoming games, and exclusive content.

Just like in past years, IGN Summer of Gaming will be a multi-day event with new trailers, behind-the-scenes interviews, and more from your favorite developers. IGN will be a hub for all the biggest news and our experts will be there for every major game reveal.

We're also happy to announce that we will be carrying and covering Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest as part of our Summer of Gaming programming. More details to come.

IGN will also be partnering with major developers across the industry to deliver the biggest news and announcements from across the web.

This fully digital event can be viewed entirely from home and you’ll be able to catch all of the announcements from Summer of Gaming right here on IGN or on your favorite platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

Be sure to catch up on Summer of Gaming from the last two years here with everything announced in 2020 and 2021.

So join us again this June as IGN takes you directly to the action with Summer of Gaming.

After previously canceling its in-person E3 2022 event, the ESA has now informed its partners that there will be no digital event equivalent this year either - meaning E3 2022 has fully been canceled.

The news broke via a tweet from Razer PR lead Will Powers, who said that an email had been sent out announcing the cancellation of a digital E3 event. IGN has independently verified the contents of the email as well.

The ESA had initially planned for an in-person E3 event this year after having no event in 2020 due to COVID-19 and a digital one in 2021. However, this was canceled in January, with the ESA at the time unable to make a public statement on whether or not there would be a digital equivalent. According to sources speaking to IGN at the time, discussions around E3 had been fraught throughout the year, with third parties normally involved finding the ESA's ongoing silence regarding their plans frustrating.

Sources connected to the event tell IGN that discussions about a possible digital equivalent have been ongoing ever since, but without strong momentum to drive them. Instead, the ESA seems to be making plans to regroup for a larger comeback in 2023.

Update: The ESA has shared an official statement with IGN confirming E3 2022's cancellation and announcing that E3 will return in 2023 with "a reinvigorated showcase."

"We will devote all our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer. Whether enjoyed from the show floor or your favorite devices, the 2023 showcase will bring the community, media, and industry back together in an all-new format and interactive experience.

"We look forward to presenting E3 to fans around the world live from Los Angeles in 2023."

The ESA adds that the 2022 showcase has been cancelled so the organization can "focus its resources" on the 2023 show.

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

After previously canceling its in-person E3 2022 event, the ESA has now informed its partners that there will be no digital event equivalent this year either - meaning E3 2022 has fully been canceled.

The news broke via a tweet from Razer PR lead Will Powers, who said that an email had been sent out announcing the cancellation of a digital E3 event. IGN has independently verified the contents of the email as well.

The ESA had initially planned for an in-person E3 event this year after having no event in 2020 due to COVID-19 and a digital one in 2021. However, this was canceled in January, with the ESA at the time unable to make a public statement on whether or not there would be a digital equivalent. According to sources speaking to IGN at the time, discussions around E3 had been fraught throughout the year, with third parties normally involved finding the ESA's ongoing silence regarding their plans frustrating.

Sources connected to the event tell IGN that discussions about a possible digital equivalent have been ongoing ever since, but without strong momentum to drive them. Instead, the ESA seems to be making plans to regroup for a larger comeback in 2023.

Update: The ESA has shared an official statement with IGN confirming E3 2022's cancellation and announcing that E3 will return in 2023 with "a reinvigorated showcase."

"We will devote all our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer. Whether enjoyed from the show floor or your favorite devices, the 2023 showcase will bring the community, media, and industry back together in an all-new format and interactive experience.

"We look forward to presenting E3 to fans around the world live from Los Angeles in 2023."

The ESA adds that the 2022 showcase has been cancelled so the organization can "focus its resources" on the 2023 show.

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

Heart Machine has revealed Hyper Light Breaker, a 3D, co-op focused game set in the same world as the cult classic Hyper Light Drifter, coming to Steam Early Access in Spring 2023.

The announcement marks the sixth birthday of Hyper Light Drifter, the studio’s seminal action/adventure game that took players on a beautiful but melancholic journey through a ruined world. That first game was built around challenging combat and a wealth of secrets that offered brief glimpses into the game’s otherwise opaque narrative.

However, where Drifter offered a 2D single-player experience (albeit with a local co-op mode that was added post-release), Heart Machine is now looking at creating Breaker in 3D, with online co-op as the focus.

The announcement trailer (below) seems to indicate that Breaker will combine Drifter’s exacting combat with the elegant traversal mechanics seen in Heart Machine’s second game, Solar Ash. Speaking to IGN, creative director Alx Preston also noted that it will be “a little more systems-heavy, with more RPG mechanics” compared to Drifter, complete with a range of distinct playable classes.

“And when we say online cooperative play, we mean multiple players, not just you and another person; we're looking at a group of players that can go out and kill some monsters together.”

The online aspect represents a second major technological leap for Heart Machine since its debut; Solar Ash saw it make the transition from 2D to 3D, resulting in a game that was well-received, but took nearly twice as long to make as Drifter.

We asked Preston if having already made this transition might result in a smoother development cycle for its new 3D game. “Yeah. I mean, that is definitely part of it, now that we've made that transition into Unreal and built up the technology. It's important for us to make sure that we're releasing content on a more regular basis, and we aren't locked into a very focused mentality without being super public about it for multiple years on end.”

The plan to announce Breaker roughly a year before its intended launch on Steam Early Access is a big part of this desire for transparency, and marks a natural progression from Drifter’s early success on Kickstarter.

“We want to get Breaker out there. We want to start talking openly about development, about the process, doing live streams and all sorts of fun stuff like that. Because I think on Drifter, after the Kickstarter, we ended up doing something similar on a smaller scale, where we can engage on a regular basis with that particular community.”

While Solar Ash was a departure from the Hyper Light universe, Breaker is very much a part of it. Drifter’s story was told without a single word of dialogue, instead opting for environmental cues, alien text that players needed to translate outside of the game, and occasional cutscenes that blurred the line between things that actually happened to the player character, and their own illness-induced hallucinations.

Despite this - or, more likely, because of it - players really bought into Drifter’s narrative and, six years on, are still keen to learn more about its world. “There will be threads and things for people that have played Drifter, that they will get some value out of for sure. And certainly, there's an aesthetic and vibe, and the lore of the world that we're continuing to build off of.”

Preston adds that you won’t need to have played Drifter to know what’s going on. “But still, it continues the lineage in a lot of ways.”

It’s too soon to discuss the story or themes, we’re told, but Preston suggests that Breaker will likely follow in Drifter’s footsteps, while reflecting ongoing changes within the team as a whole. “I think we tend towards these elements of past experiences that have really shaped or formed us in some ways. For me personally, it's my own health struggles that I've tried to put out there in some fashion or another, and with Solar Ash being a bigger team of people feeding into the story, it became a broader context for those vicious circles that you can go into.”

“There's humour that I think we want to tap into a little bit more. We started to do that with Solar Ash a bit. But I think our stories are still going to be dark and about subjects that are really tough to deal with, regardless of the format of the game. Sure, Breaker is online multiplayer, but we still have a story to tell there. We still have a world that we've built, and we still have themes to tap into.”

Players can look forward to examining those themes (while killing monsters with their friends) when Hyper Light Breaker hits Steam Early Access in Spring 2023.

Correction: Heart Machine and Gearbox have clarified that Hyper Light Breaker will not be a sequel to Hyper Light Drifter, but will be set in the same universe. We've updated the story to match.

Sean Bell is a freelance writer, podcaster and streamer. You can find his bad jokes and worse opinions on Twitter: @CaptainToss.

Heart Machine has revealed Hyper Light Breaker, a 3D, co-op focused game set in the same world as the cult classic Hyper Light Drifter, coming to Steam Early Access in Spring 2023.

The announcement marks the sixth birthday of Hyper Light Drifter, the studio’s seminal action/adventure game that took players on a beautiful but melancholic journey through a ruined world. That first game was built around challenging combat and a wealth of secrets that offered brief glimpses into the game’s otherwise opaque narrative.

However, where Drifter offered a 2D single-player experience (albeit with a local co-op mode that was added post-release), Heart Machine is now looking at creating Breaker in 3D, with online co-op as the focus.

The announcement trailer (below) seems to indicate that Breaker will combine Drifter’s exacting combat with the elegant traversal mechanics seen in Heart Machine’s second game, Solar Ash. Speaking to IGN, creative director Alx Preston also noted that it will be “a little more systems-heavy, with more RPG mechanics” compared to Drifter, complete with a range of distinct playable classes.

“And when we say online cooperative play, we mean multiple players, not just you and another person; we're looking at a group of players that can go out and kill some monsters together.”

The online aspect represents a second major technological leap for Heart Machine since its debut; Solar Ash saw it make the transition from 2D to 3D, resulting in a game that was well-received, but took nearly twice as long to make as Drifter.

We asked Preston if having already made this transition might result in a smoother development cycle for its new 3D game. “Yeah. I mean, that is definitely part of it, now that we've made that transition into Unreal and built up the technology. It's important for us to make sure that we're releasing content on a more regular basis, and we aren't locked into a very focused mentality without being super public about it for multiple years on end.”

The plan to announce Breaker roughly a year before its intended launch on Steam Early Access is a big part of this desire for transparency, and marks a natural progression from Drifter’s early success on Kickstarter.

“We want to get Breaker out there. We want to start talking openly about development, about the process, doing live streams and all sorts of fun stuff like that. Because I think on Drifter, after the Kickstarter, we ended up doing something similar on a smaller scale, where we can engage on a regular basis with that particular community.”

While Solar Ash was a departure from the Hyper Light universe, Breaker is very much a part of it. Drifter’s story was told without a single word of dialogue, instead opting for environmental cues, alien text that players needed to translate outside of the game, and occasional cutscenes that blurred the line between things that actually happened to the player character, and their own illness-induced hallucinations.

Despite this - or, more likely, because of it - players really bought into Drifter’s narrative and, six years on, are still keen to learn more about its world. “There will be threads and things for people that have played Drifter, that they will get some value out of for sure. And certainly, there's an aesthetic and vibe, and the lore of the world that we're continuing to build off of.”

Preston adds that you won’t need to have played Drifter to know what’s going on. “But still, it continues the lineage in a lot of ways.”

It’s too soon to discuss the story or themes, we’re told, but Preston suggests that Breaker will likely follow in Drifter’s footsteps, while reflecting ongoing changes within the team as a whole. “I think we tend towards these elements of past experiences that have really shaped or formed us in some ways. For me personally, it's my own health struggles that I've tried to put out there in some fashion or another, and with Solar Ash being a bigger team of people feeding into the story, it became a broader context for those vicious circles that you can go into.”

“There's humour that I think we want to tap into a little bit more. We started to do that with Solar Ash a bit. But I think our stories are still going to be dark and about subjects that are really tough to deal with, regardless of the format of the game. Sure, Breaker is online multiplayer, but we still have a story to tell there. We still have a world that we've built, and we still have themes to tap into.”

Players can look forward to examining those themes (while killing monsters with their friends) when Hyper Light Breaker hits Steam Early Access in Spring 2023.

Correction: Heart Machine and Gearbox have clarified that Hyper Light Breaker will not be a sequel to Hyper Light Drifter, but will be set in the same universe. We've updated the story to match.

Sean Bell is a freelance writer, podcaster and streamer. You can find his bad jokes and worse opinions on Twitter: @CaptainToss.

Xbox Game Pass is set to receive a long-awaited Family Plan, according to a new report from Windows Central.

Though Microsoft has offered family plans for Xbox Live Gold for many years, Xbox Game Pass has always been a single-account subscription. That's all reportedly changing with an incoming "Family Plan" that will allow users to share the service across multiple consoles and households.

The report states that a higher tier of Xbox Game Pass will allow up to five other players to access the full library – so long as they reside in the same country as the primary account holder. The new plan is expected to make use of Microsoft's existing Family Account system used with services like Office 365.

Whether there will be separate plans for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass is uncertain at this time. There is also no information regarding pricing, though it's likely to come in at a reasonably cheaper price than paying for the subscriptions individually.

At the cost of $9.99 per month, Xbox Game Pass provides subscribers with a rotating list of games from a variety of publishers, including day one releases for Microsoft's first-party titles at no additional cost. Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines the service with Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 a month, giving players access to Xbox's online multiplayer functionality and monthly free games via Games With Gold.

MLB The Show 22 will join Game Pass on April 5, while the point-and-click adventure Chinatown Detective Agency will land on the service on April 7. Microsoft is expecting to announce the remaining April Game Pass releases soon.

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

Xbox Game Pass is set to receive a long-awaited Family Plan, according to a new report from Windows Central.

Though Microsoft has offered family plans for Xbox Live Gold for many years, Xbox Game Pass has always been a single-account subscription. That's all reportedly changing with an incoming "Family Plan" that will allow users to share the service across multiple consoles and households.

The report states that a higher tier of Xbox Game Pass will allow up to five other players to access the full library – so long as they reside in the same country as the primary account holder. The new plan is expected to make use of Microsoft's existing Family Account system used with services like Office 365.

Whether there will be separate plans for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass is uncertain at this time. There is also no information regarding pricing, though it's likely to come in at a reasonably cheaper price than paying for the subscriptions individually.

At the cost of $9.99 per month, Xbox Game Pass provides subscribers with a rotating list of games from a variety of publishers, including day one releases for Microsoft's first-party titles at no additional cost. Meanwhile, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines the service with Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 a month, giving players access to Xbox's online multiplayer functionality and monthly free games via Games With Gold.

MLB The Show 22 will join Game Pass on April 5, while the point-and-click adventure Chinatown Detective Agency will land on the service on April 7. Microsoft is expecting to announce the remaining April Game Pass releases soon.

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

Hayden Christensen has called it "a great honor" to be able to wear the Darth Vader suit again in the upcoming Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi, describing the experience as “surreal” and a “unique opportunity.”

It has been nearly two decades since Christensen first donned the infamous villain's suit in the climax of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, but the actor is excited to reprise the role once more.

"It's a great honor to get to put that suit on," Christensen told EW. "And I was just really excited to get to come in and play Darth Vader at this point in the timeline because it did feel like a natural continuation of your journey with the character. And that was very meaningful for me."

Christensen also seems happy to be returning during a period when interest in the Star Wars franchise has been renewed. "One of the things I loved so much about working on Star Wars projects is just that shared excitement," he said. "That everyone's real excited to be there. You feel that energy, and that's a really special thing."

Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up ten years after Revenge of the Sith and follows the titular character – played once again by Ewan McGregor – during his period of exile on Tatooine, where he finds himself watching over a young Luke Skywalker.

With so many returning characters and a focus on a formative period in the Star Wars canon, Christensen knows there's a lot of questions surrounding the new show. He refused to offer much in the way of important details, however.

"I don't know what I can share in terms of behind-the-scenes type stuff because I don't think they want me saying too much. But I can tell you the first time that I saw Ewan as Obi-Wan again, that was a very special moment for me and one that I'll remember for a very, very long time," Christensen said.

The first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi was originally set to debut on May 25, but Disney has since pushed the release back two days. It will now premiere as a two-episode launch on May 27.

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

Hayden Christensen has called it "a great honor" to be able to wear the Darth Vader suit again in the upcoming Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi, describing the experience as “surreal” and a “unique opportunity.”

It has been nearly two decades since Christensen first donned the infamous villain's suit in the climax of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, but the actor is excited to reprise the role once more.

"It's a great honor to get to put that suit on," Christensen told EW. "And I was just really excited to get to come in and play Darth Vader at this point in the timeline because it did feel like a natural continuation of your journey with the character. And that was very meaningful for me."

Christensen also seems happy to be returning during a period when interest in the Star Wars franchise has been renewed. "One of the things I loved so much about working on Star Wars projects is just that shared excitement," he said. "That everyone's real excited to be there. You feel that energy, and that's a really special thing."

Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up ten years after Revenge of the Sith and follows the titular character – played once again by Ewan McGregor – during his period of exile on Tatooine, where he finds himself watching over a young Luke Skywalker.

With so many returning characters and a focus on a formative period in the Star Wars canon, Christensen knows there's a lot of questions surrounding the new show. He refused to offer much in the way of important details, however.

"I don't know what I can share in terms of behind-the-scenes type stuff because I don't think they want me saying too much. But I can tell you the first time that I saw Ewan as Obi-Wan again, that was a very special moment for me and one that I'll remember for a very, very long time," Christensen said.

The first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi was originally set to debut on May 25, but Disney has since pushed the release back two days. It will now premiere as a two-episode launch on May 27.

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.