Lost Ark is adding an entire new region of servers in Europe as the game continues to cope with high player counts following its launch last week that saw it quickly become Steam’s second most-played game of all time.

In a blog post, developer Smilegate said that it’s working “as quickly as possible” to add the new region. While it didn’t say how many servers will be included within that region, Lost Ark’s existing regions range from seven to 19 servers, so you can expect a similar number here.

Players won’t be able to carry over any characters or progress, and Smilegate made clear that the new region is mainly intended for incoming players and for those who’ve not yet committed to a single server.

The studio said it would work on the new region "24/7 until it's live," but did warn the addition would take time and lengthy queue times may persist until the new region is implemented.

Smilegate was forced to add more than a dozen new servers to Lost Ark even before it’s official free-to-play launch as the MMO cultivated an immense following that has left it “filled to the brim”.

To celebrate the launch of Lost Ark, however, and perhaps thank fans for their patience, Smilegate is giving all players a bundle of gifts that includes a choice of mount, a skin selection chest, and a number of consumable item chests.

IGN’s review in progress of Lost Ark said it “takes a genuinely impressive stab at the isometric action RPG genre” and the game is “expansive and deep, capable of scratching the itch for a new Diablo-like action RPG that is potentially filled with other players to meet and team up with.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Nintendo won't be hopping onto the metaverse train for the time being, as it doesn't know how it would use the concept to offer Nintendo's "fresh surprises and fun".

Speaking during the company's most recent financial earnings Q&A, president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked if Nintendo has plans relating to the metaverse and NFTs, but only responded to the former.

He began by acknowledging the current interest in the idea: "The metaverse has captured the attention of many companies around the world, and it has great potential." However, Furukawa continued by pointing out that it doesn't fit Nintendo's plans at this point:

"At this point in time, there is no easy way to define specifically what kinds of surprises and enjoyment the metaverse can deliver to our consumers. As a company that provides entertainment, our main emphasis is on ways to deliver fresh surprises and fun to our consumers."

So what would change Furukawa's mind? The crux seems to be in finding a way to use the metaverse in a 'Nintendo-y' way: "We might consider something if we can find a way to convey a 'Nintendo approach' to the metaverse that many people can readily understand, but we do not think that is the situation at the present time."

The metaverse is a concept gaining huge steam in the tech world right now. While there's no one clear version of what a metaverse is, the basic idea is that it would offer a persistent virtual world that breaks down barriers between online services, connected by a single economy.

Major players in the gaming industry have shown significant interest in the metaverse recently. Last year, Epic raised $1 billion to work on the idea. PUBG: Battlegrounds' creator Krafton has partnered with several companies across the world to create a metaverse in Unreal Engine, while Bandai Namco plans to spend $130 million on an "IP metaverse" for its library of games.

Nintendo won't be hopping onto the metaverse train for the time being, as it doesn't know how it would use the concept to offer Nintendo's "fresh surprises and fun".

Speaking during the company's most recent financial earnings Q&A, president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked if Nintendo has plans relating to the metaverse and NFTs, but only responded to the former.

He began by acknowledging the current interest in the idea: "The metaverse has captured the attention of many companies around the world, and it has great potential." However, Furukawa continued by pointing out that it doesn't fit Nintendo's plans at this point:

"At this point in time, there is no easy way to define specifically what kinds of surprises and enjoyment the metaverse can deliver to our consumers. As a company that provides entertainment, our main emphasis is on ways to deliver fresh surprises and fun to our consumers."

So what would change Furukawa's mind? The crux seems to be in finding a way to use the metaverse in a 'Nintendo-y' way: "We might consider something if we can find a way to convey a 'Nintendo approach' to the metaverse that many people can readily understand, but we do not think that is the situation at the present time."

The metaverse is a concept gaining huge steam in the tech world right now. While there's no one clear version of what a metaverse is, the basic idea is that it would offer a persistent virtual world that breaks down barriers between online services, connected by a single economy.

Major players in the gaming industry have shown significant interest in the metaverse recently. Last year, Epic raised $1 billion to work on the idea. PUBG: Battlegrounds' creator Krafton has partnered with several companies across the world to create a metaverse in Unreal Engine, while Bandai Namco plans to spend $130 million on an "IP metaverse" for its library of games.

While the Uncharted movie will not premiere in North America until February 18, it is off to a strong start at the international box office with $21.5 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, the Tom Holland-led video game adaptation opened in 15 overseas markets this past weekend and had the biggest debut in the United Kingdom with $6.4 million in ticket sales. When compared to other pandemic-era films, Uncharted is "tracking 12% above Eternals, 18% above Black Widow and 21% higher than Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at similar points in their theatrical rollouts."

Next week, Uncharted will open in not only the U.S. and Canada, but also Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and South America. With $21.5 million already under its belt, it is well on its way to recoup its $120 production budget.

Death on the Nile, which secured the #1 spot at the domestic weekend box office, earned $20.7 million internationally and beat out Jackass Forever, Marry Me, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Blacklight.

After a long and bumpy road, the Uncharted movie has finally arrived (or almost arrived) and looks to tell a prequel story of sorts for the franchise that began on PlayStation. Joining Holland will be Mark Wahlberg as Victor "Sully" Sullivan, Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, Tati Gabrielle as Braddock, and Antonio Banderas as Moncado. The film is being directed by Venom's Ruben Fleischer.

For more, check out our interview with Fleischer about all things Uncharted and see what the Uncharted movie and video game characters will look like when they arrive in Fortnite next week.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

While the Uncharted movie will not premiere in North America until February 18, it is off to a strong start at the international box office with $21.5 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, the Tom Holland-led video game adaptation opened in 15 overseas markets this past weekend and had the biggest debut in the United Kingdom with $6.4 million in ticket sales. When compared to other pandemic-era films, Uncharted is "tracking 12% above Eternals, 18% above Black Widow and 21% higher than Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at similar points in their theatrical rollouts."

Next week, Uncharted will open in not only the U.S. and Canada, but also Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and South America. With $21.5 million already under its belt, it is well on its way to recoup its $120 production budget.

Death on the Nile, which secured the #1 spot at the domestic weekend box office, earned $20.7 million internationally and beat out Jackass Forever, Marry Me, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Blacklight.

After a long and bumpy road, the Uncharted movie has finally arrived (or almost arrived) and looks to tell a prequel story of sorts for the franchise that began on PlayStation. Joining Holland will be Mark Wahlberg as Victor "Sully" Sullivan, Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, Tati Gabrielle as Braddock, and Antonio Banderas as Moncado. The film is being directed by Venom's Ruben Fleischer.

For more, check out our interview with Fleischer about all things Uncharted and see what the Uncharted movie and video game characters will look like when they arrive in Fortnite next week.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Death on the Nile has secured victory at the domestic weekend box office by earning $12.8 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, Death on the Nile, which is Kenneth Branagh's follow-up to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express and stars Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, and Letitia Wright, brought in an extra $20.7 million overseas for a global total of $33.5 million. Murder on the Orient opened to $28.7 million in ticket sales and earned $352 million globally during its run.

In our Death on the Nile review, we said, "It takes Death on the Nile far longer than it should to reach its most impactful moments, but actor-director Kenneth Branagh cares deeply enough about Detective Poirot to make it work."

Jackass Forever took second place this weekend with $8.05 million domestically. It saw a 65% drop from its opening weekend and has earned $37.4 million so far in North America. Globally, it is currently sitting at $47.4 million.

The Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson-led Marry Me took third place with $8 million. Unlike Death on the Nile, which is only showing in theaters, Marry Me is also available on Peacock.

Spider-Man: No Way Home added another $7.1 million to its domestic total and placed fourth over the weekend. It's currently only about $1.5 million away from passing Avatar's $760.5 million to become the third highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Globally, Spider-Man: No Way Home is at $1.8 billion and remains #6 on the all-time list.

Rounding out the top five was Liam Neeson's action-thriller Blacklight, which earned $3.6 million in its debut.

These films were all competing over Super Bowl weekend, and the big game saw some exciting new trailers debut, including those for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Moon Knight, and The Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Rings.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Death on the Nile has secured victory at the domestic weekend box office by earning $12.8 million in ticket sales.

As reported by Variety, Death on the Nile, which is Kenneth Branagh's follow-up to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express and stars Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, and Letitia Wright, brought in an extra $20.7 million overseas for a global total of $33.5 million. Murder on the Orient opened to $28.7 million in ticket sales and earned $352 million globally during its run.

In our Death on the Nile review, we said, "It takes Death on the Nile far longer than it should to reach its most impactful moments, but actor-director Kenneth Branagh cares deeply enough about Detective Poirot to make it work."

Jackass Forever took second place this weekend with $8.05 million domestically. It saw a 65% drop from its opening weekend and has earned $37.4 million so far in North America. Globally, it is currently sitting at $47.4 million.

The Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson-led Marry Me took third place with $8 million. Unlike Death on the Nile, which is only showing in theaters, Marry Me is also available on Peacock.

Spider-Man: No Way Home added another $7.1 million to its domestic total and placed fourth over the weekend. It's currently only about $1.5 million away from passing Avatar's $760.5 million to become the third highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Globally, Spider-Man: No Way Home is at $1.8 billion and remains #6 on the all-time list.

Rounding out the top five was Liam Neeson's action-thriller Blacklight, which earned $3.6 million in its debut.

These films were all competing over Super Bowl weekend, and the big game saw some exciting new trailers debut, including those for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Moon Knight, and The Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Rings.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Toshihiro Nagoshi has explained how his first post-Sega, post-Yakuza company – Nagoshi Studio – will approach making games, and the goals for its debut project.

Speaking to IGN Japan, Nagoshi explained how he felt about leaving his extremely successful work at Sega behind for a new studio, backed by NetEase Games:

“Well, when the team and I decided to start a new studio, we knew we’d be leaving the content we had previously been working on behind. But I also have a strong mental attitude and a lot of ideas I would like to try, which could even surpass my previous work, so I was confident that leaving the old series behind will afford the chance to try new things.”

Nagoshi wouldn’t go into detail about his specific plot or gameplay ideas for a new project – which is still at least a few years away – but made clear that he and his team will be looking to replicate the global success of Yakuza, rather than scale back their expectations.

“We are influenced by movies and are interested in creating games that offer a high level of human drama,” Nagoshi explained. “That’s what we find fun. Just as before, I hope to create games in that vein that can reach a global audience. So you won’t find us making, like, smartphone puzzle games or whatever. Those games are fun, but what we’re good at and what the world expects from us is games with dramatic and moving stories, and that’s what we want to make. So that’s where our focus is.”

Asked if he already had an idea what that would mean for the first game, Nagoshi said, “Yes, as a game creator I have always had a number of things I’d like to do one day, and there is one idea in particular from my personal locker that I’d like to try to expand on now. Now the idea is slowly taking shape, with the input of the team.”

Nagoshi made clear that he wants to continue capturing human performances in digital characters, but didn’t go as far as saying he would be continuing the trend of using celebrity actors (like Judgment’s Takuya Kimura) in his games:

“When we started the Yakuza series, at that time it was common to design an original character and have them voiced by a voice actor, and anything beyond that was not considered important. We were able to break through that system, and in doing so we learned a lot. I don’t think we have perfected this approach yet, and I think we can achieve even more emotionally engaging performances, facial expressions and so on. So I do have the desire to keep improving on that. In the meantime, whether or not we decide to work with any particular actors, I think it’s important to keep fostering those connections.”

Similarly, when asked whether his new game would be set in a modern-day real-world setting like the recognisable Japanese locations of the Yakuza series or something more fantastical like the near-future of Binary Domain, Nagoshi commented that the needs of the drama will take priority over the setting.

“Looking at the sales of the Yakuza series, I think having an Oriental setting probably helped to make it feel more unique, but I don’t think that on its own would be enough to make it a million-seller. There must be something stronger, such as an emotional story, or the balance between gameplay and storytelling, and the overall quality being high. So for our next game to be a worldwide success, I don’t think the setting is that important. If the drama is good, then people in France will be moved by a Takeshi Kitano movie, and we in Japan can enjoy a movie from India. If the quality is good then anyone anywhere should be able to enjoy it. I want to return to that pure element of entertainment.”

The studio currently consists of around 10 people, and while they are currently hiring more staff, Nagoshi says he intends not to grow beyond 100. For now, the team is taking it slow and steady, and may not focus on much more than the first game idea, to avoid biting off more than they can chew:

“We haven’t decided how many projects to produce at once. But the studio will have a compact number of staff, which means it would be difficult to focus on several games at a time. So there are limitations. It’s possible that we will work on an extra project in tandem, but the basic idea is to work on one idea and put all of our energy into it, to release a first game that is strong and that is well received.”

As for when we’ll see Nagoshi Studio’s first game, that too remains a secret – but Nagoshi himself wants to do it sooner rather than later: “I like to be able to hear players’ feedback to the games we work hard to develop, to consider the reaction and adjust the end goal accordingly. So I hope to be able to show off the game as soon as it is in a condition that is good enough to share. And we will ensure the game is impressive when we do so. I don’t want to take too long.”

Nagoshi joined SEGA in its early arcade days and worked on such series as Virtua Racing, Monkey Ball, and more before founding Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and creating the Yakuza franchise. He confirmed that he was leaving the company last year, and announced the creation of Nagoshi Studio last month.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Toshihiro Nagoshi has explained how his first post-Sega, post-Yakuza company – Nagoshi Studio – will approach making games, and the goals for its debut project.

Speaking to IGN Japan, Nagoshi explained how he felt about leaving his extremely successful work at Sega behind for a new studio, backed by NetEase Games:

“Well, when the team and I decided to start a new studio, we knew we’d be leaving the content we had previously been working on behind. But I also have a strong mental attitude and a lot of ideas I would like to try, which could even surpass my previous work, so I was confident that leaving the old series behind will afford the chance to try new things.”

Nagoshi wouldn’t go into detail about his specific plot or gameplay ideas for a new project – which is still at least a few years away – but made clear that he and his team will be looking to replicate the global success of Yakuza, rather than scale back their expectations.

“We are influenced by movies and are interested in creating games that offer a high level of human drama,” Nagoshi explained. “That’s what we find fun. Just as before, I hope to create games in that vein that can reach a global audience. So you won’t find us making, like, smartphone puzzle games or whatever. Those games are fun, but what we’re good at and what the world expects from us is games with dramatic and moving stories, and that’s what we want to make. So that’s where our focus is.”

Asked if he already had an idea what that would mean for the first game, Nagoshi said, “Yes, as a game creator I have always had a number of things I’d like to do one day, and there is one idea in particular from my personal locker that I’d like to try to expand on now. Now the idea is slowly taking shape, with the input of the team.”

Nagoshi made clear that he wants to continue capturing human performances in digital characters, but didn’t go as far as saying he would be continuing the trend of using celebrity actors (like Judgment’s Takuya Kimura) in his games:

“When we started the Yakuza series, at that time it was common to design an original character and have them voiced by a voice actor, and anything beyond that was not considered important. We were able to break through that system, and in doing so we learned a lot. I don’t think we have perfected this approach yet, and I think we can achieve even more emotionally engaging performances, facial expressions and so on. So I do have the desire to keep improving on that. In the meantime, whether or not we decide to work with any particular actors, I think it’s important to keep fostering those connections.”

Similarly, when asked whether his new game would be set in a modern-day real-world setting like the recognisable Japanese locations of the Yakuza series or something more fantastical like the near-future of Binary Domain, Nagoshi commented that the needs of the drama will take priority over the setting.

“Looking at the sales of the Yakuza series, I think having an Oriental setting probably helped to make it feel more unique, but I don’t think that on its own would be enough to make it a million-seller. There must be something stronger, such as an emotional story, or the balance between gameplay and storytelling, and the overall quality being high. So for our next game to be a worldwide success, I don’t think the setting is that important. If the drama is good, then people in France will be moved by a Takeshi Kitano movie, and we in Japan can enjoy a movie from India. If the quality is good then anyone anywhere should be able to enjoy it. I want to return to that pure element of entertainment.”

The studio currently consists of around 10 people, and while they are currently hiring more staff, Nagoshi says he intends not to grow beyond 100. For now, the team is taking it slow and steady, and may not focus on much more than the first game idea, to avoid biting off more than they can chew:

“We haven’t decided how many projects to produce at once. But the studio will have a compact number of staff, which means it would be difficult to focus on several games at a time. So there are limitations. It’s possible that we will work on an extra project in tandem, but the basic idea is to work on one idea and put all of our energy into it, to release a first game that is strong and that is well received.”

As for when we’ll see Nagoshi Studio’s first game, that too remains a secret – but Nagoshi himself wants to do it sooner rather than later: “I like to be able to hear players’ feedback to the games we work hard to develop, to consider the reaction and adjust the end goal accordingly. So I hope to be able to show off the game as soon as it is in a condition that is good enough to share. And we will ensure the game is impressive when we do so. I don’t want to take too long.”

Nagoshi joined SEGA in its early arcade days and worked on such series as Virtua Racing, Monkey Ball, and more before founding Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and creating the Yakuza franchise. He confirmed that he was leaving the company last year, and announced the creation of Nagoshi Studio last month.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Capcom has launched a new website that is teasing an announcement for next weekend.

The countdown page, which gives no further information as to what it may be for, is set to end on February 20 at 10pm PT/February 21 at 1am ET/6am GMT/4pm AEST.

It's important to note that the Capcom Pro Tour 2021 season final is set to end next weekend, meaning this very well may be an announcement for Street Fighter 6 or something else in the legendary fighting series.

Street Fighter 6 was part of a massive data breach at Capcom alongside Dragon's Dogma 2, the Resident Evil 4 Remake, Monster Hunter 6, and more.

It's also possible we may learn more about the DLC for Resident Evil Village, Monster Hunter Rise's Subreak expansion, or even the possible remaster of Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

Whatever it may be, we won't have too long to wait. Let us know below what you'd most be hoping for from Capcom.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.