If the epic tunes at the end of the trailer for The Batman tickled your inner dark knight, good news: You can listen to the whole thing right now and pick it up on music services at 9 PM PST.

The theme is composed by Michael Giacchino, composer on films like Pixar's Up and The Incredibles, all three Tom Holland Spider-Man films, and Doctor Strange.

It's got all the musical motifs you could ask for, including a slow burn introduction that swells into a domineering melody.

Fans have noticed that it draws on similar motifs as both Batman: The Animated Series and Tim Burton's Batman films, with solemn brass sections and elusive strings. There's even a bit of fluctuating synth to emphasize the growing melody.

"Yeah this has "World's Greatest Detective" written all over it," wrote one Reddit user. "This is like something I'd hear in Sherlock, Bosch or True Detective, or Maltese Falcon. Reeves saying he wanted to emphasize the detective aspect of the character clearly isn't just him talking the talk."

Though the 1960's Batman theme was all silly jaunts, Batman's musical themes definitely began to take a darker, more intriguing tone with the works of Danny Elfman on 1989's Batman and the animated series.

The Batman is out in theaters on March 4 and stars Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader. We also recently learned it sports one of the longest runtimes of any DC movie, and will in fact be rated PG-13.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/henchman for IGN.

In the wake of Microsoft's blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard, some Call of Duty devs are reportedly eager to move away from the annualized released schedule that has defined the series for much of its existence.

In a new article that provides an overview of Activision Blizzard's internal reactions to the acquisition, Bloomberg reports that "high-level employees" have discussed ditching Call of Duty's current release schedule. Currently, Activision continues to put a new Call of Duty every year from a rotating series of studios — a strategy that has proven an awkward fit since the release of Warzone.

These developers are said to feel that slowing the franchise's release cadence would please players who have grown weary of Call of Duty's steady drumbeat of releases. Bloomberg's article cites Call of Duty: Vanguard's 36 percent sales decline in the UK, though it still managed to top 2021's sales charts.

According to Bloomberg, the shift may not happen until "next year or later," with this year's release "expected to redeem the franchise's fortunes."

Call of Duty: Vanguard is commonly said to suffer from "Call of Duty Fatigue" — a label that has been applied to other underperforming releases such as Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Some have questioned the wisdom of releasing another World War II shooter relatively soon after Call of Duty: WWII, which came out back in 2017.

In the meantime, Call of Duty faces plenty of other questions amid Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have both signaled their intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, it is unclear whether they are referring to Warzone, the annualized releases, or both.

The games industry continues to sift through the fall out of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, which we called a "content war and not a console war" in a recent op-ed. You can see how it compares to other major entertainment acquisitions here, as well as why we think Call of Duty's days on PlayStation are numbered.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

In the wake of Microsoft's blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard, some Call of Duty devs are reportedly eager to move away from the annualized released schedule that has defined the series for much of its existence.

In a new article that provides an overview of Activision Blizzard's internal reactions to the acquisition, Bloomberg reports that "high-level employees" have discussed ditching Call of Duty's current release schedule. Currently, Activision continues to put a new Call of Duty every year from a rotating series of studios — a strategy that has proven an awkward fit since the release of Warzone.

These developers are said to feel that slowing the franchise's release cadence would please players who have grown weary of Call of Duty's steady drumbeat of releases. Bloomberg's article cites Call of Duty: Vanguard's 36 percent sales decline in the UK, though it still managed to top 2021's sales charts.

According to Bloomberg, the shift may not happen until "next year or later," with this year's release "expected to redeem the franchise's fortunes."

Call of Duty: Vanguard is commonly said to suffer from "Call of Duty Fatigue" — a label that has been applied to other underperforming releases such as Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Some have questioned the wisdom of releasing another World War II shooter relatively soon after Call of Duty: WWII, which came out back in 2017.

In the meantime, Call of Duty faces plenty of other questions amid Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have both signaled their intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, it is unclear whether they are referring to Warzone, the annualized releases, or both.

The games industry continues to sift through the fall out of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, which we called a "content war and not a console war" in a recent op-ed. You can see how it compares to other major entertainment acquisitions here, as well as why we think Call of Duty's days on PlayStation are numbered.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

A live-action Godzilla TV series is in the works at Apple TV+, helmed by Hawkeye author Matt Fraction and Chris Black, a longtime veteran on Star Trek: Enterprise and Robert Kirkman's Outcast.

The new series is set in the current Legendary franchise, after the events of 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong. It will follow a new family with a secret connection to Monarch, a shadowy organization working behind the scenes throughout Legendary's Godzilla trilogy.

"Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch," the synopsis reads.

Chris Black will serve as showrunner, and both he and Fraction will serve as executive producers, with production being handled by Legendary Television. Toho's Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita will also executive produce, representing the owners of the Godzilla brand.

No title or release date has been confirmed, so consider this one firmly in the early stages of development. It follows in the footsteps of 2014's Godzilla, 2019's King of Monsters, and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, which brought the kaiju legends to a head against each other and eventually Mechagodzilla. It'll be joining the fray alongside an animated Kong: Skull Island series set to debut on Netflix.

Meanwhile, Godzilla has found some success as an anime series on Netflix.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and Mecha Godzilla was just misunderstood.

A live-action Godzilla TV series is in the works at Apple TV+, helmed by Hawkeye author Matt Fraction and Chris Black, a longtime veteran on Star Trek: Enterprise and Robert Kirkman's Outcast.

The new series is set in the current Legendary franchise, after the events of 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong. It will follow a new family with a secret connection to Monarch, a shadowy organization working behind the scenes throughout Legendary's Godzilla trilogy.

"Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series explores one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch," the synopsis reads.

Chris Black will serve as showrunner, and both he and Fraction will serve as executive producers, with production being handled by Legendary Television. Toho's Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita will also executive produce, representing the owners of the Godzilla brand.

No title or release date has been confirmed, so consider this one firmly in the early stages of development. It follows in the footsteps of 2014's Godzilla, 2019's King of Monsters, and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, which brought the kaiju legends to a head against each other and eventually Mechagodzilla. It'll be joining the fray alongside an animated Kong: Skull Island series set to debut on Netflix.

Meanwhile, Godzilla has found some success as an anime series on Netflix.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and Mecha Godzilla was just misunderstood.

There are a lot of questions still left to be answered following Microsoft’s announcement that it will acquire Activision Blizzard. But with everyone involved keeping details close to the chest, some details are beginning to emerge, including Phil Spencer’s excitement to dive into Activision Blizzard’s library of retired franchises.

Speaking briefly with The Washington Post Spencer avoided talking about the future of ongoing blockbuster franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft under Microsoft. Instead, Spencer spoke about the overlooked franchises Activision owns that Microsoft will get access to.

“I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let’s go!” Spencer exclaimed. “King’s Quest,’ ‘Guitar Hero.’... I should know this but I think they got ‘HeXen.’”

Spencer says once the deal is finalized — it’s expected to close by the summer of 2023 — the Xbox team will speak with its many developers about what possible franchises from Activision Blizzard they might like to work on.

In recent years, Activision Blizzard has pointed its many teams towards key franchises with studios like Toys for Bob now lending support for Call of Duty and Diablo. But this deal could potentially free them to pursue different opportunities within the Xbox Games Studios.

As for the question of what will happen to the big franchises like Call of Duty, Spencer revealed on Twitter just today that he spoke with Sony leadership about keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation. But as with the nature of businesses, the wording is key and even the experts are still deciphering Call of Duty’s future on PlayStation.

The Xbox takeover of Activision Blizzard is ongoing, and while legal experts suggest it should pass regulatory muster, there’s still a year between now and when the deal is done. Check out what the Activision Xbox deal means for the games industry by the numbers.

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

There are a lot of questions still left to be answered following Microsoft’s announcement that it will acquire Activision Blizzard. But with everyone involved keeping details close to the chest, some details are beginning to emerge, including Phil Spencer’s excitement to dive into Activision Blizzard’s library of retired franchises.

Speaking briefly with The Washington Post Spencer avoided talking about the future of ongoing blockbuster franchises like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft under Microsoft. Instead, Spencer spoke about the overlooked franchises Activision owns that Microsoft will get access to.

“I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let’s go!” Spencer exclaimed. “King’s Quest,’ ‘Guitar Hero.’... I should know this but I think they got ‘HeXen.’”

Spencer says once the deal is finalized — it’s expected to close by the summer of 2023 — the Xbox team will speak with its many developers about what possible franchises from Activision Blizzard they might like to work on.

In recent years, Activision Blizzard has pointed its many teams towards key franchises with studios like Toys for Bob now lending support for Call of Duty and Diablo. But this deal could potentially free them to pursue different opportunities within the Xbox Games Studios.

As for the question of what will happen to the big franchises like Call of Duty, Spencer revealed on Twitter just today that he spoke with Sony leadership about keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation. But as with the nature of businesses, the wording is key and even the experts are still deciphering Call of Duty’s future on PlayStation.

The Xbox takeover of Activision Blizzard is ongoing, and while legal experts suggest it should pass regulatory muster, there’s still a year between now and when the deal is done. Check out what the Activision Xbox deal means for the games industry by the numbers.

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

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has described the launch issues that plagued last year's release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy as a 'glitch' that has since been 'resolved'.

During a CNBC interview, Zelnick spoke about the release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, where he appeared to draw a line under the issues that the collection of classic games suffered from across a number of consoles.

"With regards to the GTA trilogy, that was actually not a new title," Zelnick stated when speaking about the game. "That was a remaster of preexisting titles. We did have a glitch in the beginning, that glitch was resolved."

For those who didn't follow the release of last year's GTA remastered trilogy - or others who may have burned the memory from their mind - the title's launch was far from smooth. Issues across consoles and PC ranged from seemingly downgraded character models to poorly implemented weather systems, bizarre effects caused by rendering distances, and much more. In response to the game's poor launch and technical problems, Rockstar even ended up relisting the original versions of the game on PC while it set to work on fixing the remasters.

While there were certainly many problems with the game's launch on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, those who'd bought the game on Nintendo Switch complained of further issues including fluctuating framerates, lower-than-expected resolutions, and long loading times.

Despite the many problems, Rockstar has since apologised for the state of the game and begun deploying a number of patches to the trilogy in an attempt to fix its issues. Despite Rockstar acting to improve the performance of the GTA Trilogy, many fans may feel frustrated by Zelnick's comments who then went on to state that the title has done "just great for the company".

In other recent Take-Two news, the company recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy mobile game developer Zynga. The deal itself is valued at around $12.7 billion and could have been the highest-valued video game acquisition of all time, had Microsoft not announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion a few days later.

Zynga is one of the world's most successful mobile games developers, having created a number of popular mobile games such as Words With Friends, Farmville, and Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells. The company is currently busy working on Star Wars Hunters, which is set to launch on Nintendo Switch in 2022.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

NFTs and cryptocurrency have seen a massive wave of attention in the tech space in the last year, and continue to be controversial subjects. In games, at least, over a quarter of game developers have said they are interested in using cryptocurrency or NFTs in their games -- but only 1% are actively using them now.

This comes from the GDC's annual State of the Industry survey, which polls 2,700 games industry professionals on various industry topics. The survey concluded that 27% of developers in 2021 were interested in using cryptocurrency as a payment tool, and 28% were interested in implementing NFTs.

But even among those interested, some indicated that they may hesitate to implement either due to their reputation. Comments included:

“How this hasn’t been identified as a pyramid scheme is beyond me.”

“Blockchain is a foundational technology that will transform organizations and accountability, but NFTs and cryptocurrencies in general are a scam.”

“I’d rather not endorse burning a rainforest down to confirm someone ‘owns’ a jpeg.”

“I personally am quite interested in NFTs and cryptocurrency, but many people in my studio and friend circle do not like them and won’t develop for them. I think NFTs need to get a better reputation when it comes to [the] environment and art theft first, then it might be an interesting way to give digital content unique value.”

“I’d be lying if I said that I don’t think NFTs are, at best, stupid, and at worst, predatory and ecologically dangerous. Cryptocurrency, I think, can also be a sensitive thing to deal with. Both have had an immense amount of scams pop up in a very, very short while, and it makes me wonder if that trend will stay.”

Even so, a number of major gaming companies have publicly announced interest in NFTs in recent months, including Square Enix, EA, Sega, Epic Games, and Konami. Others, like Microsoft and Valve, have pushed back, and Stalker 2 actively retracted its announcement of in-game NFTs after fans criticized the move.

Blockchain and NFTs weren't the only topics GDC polled developers on. Another big, recent issue that came up was workplace toxicity, specifically in the wake of the California lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard. GDC asked respondents if their companies had proactively reached out to combat toxicity in their own studios following the news. Only 38% said yes, with outreach initiatives including group discussions on misconduct or simply reminders of how to report inappropriate behavior.

The survey also broke down interest in developing for different platforms. 31% of respondents said they were working on a game for PS5, while 29% said they were working on a game for Xbox Series X and S. 20% were working on a Nintendo Switch game. Most popular was PC (as it has been in prior years), with 63% of developers working on a PC game. Only 3% of developers were making a game for Google Stadia, and only 1% for Amazon Luna.

You can see the full results of the survey here.

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

Alongside a brand-new gameplay overview, it has been confirmed that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be released on April 5, 2022.

The much-delayed LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's newest breakdown shows off LEGO version of all nine films in the Skywalker Saga and how this game is changing up the formula that has been seen for so long in the LEGO games. We also get a glimpse of some of the over 300 characters that will be playable after being unlocked in-game.

Alongside seeing more of the third-person (LEGO?) action that is much more up-close and personal than previous entries, we see that we get to pick to start from the beginning of the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and sequel trilogy - giving fans of each period of Star Wars a chance to jump where they choose. The later episodes are locked and will become available as you play through the story of each trilogy.

While LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga lets players take part in their favorite Star Wars moments, it tells them with a hilarious and charming lens that is meant to to appeal to kids of all ages.

There will also be a Galaxy Map that will grow as you visit more planets. You can pull up the map and travel to any of these planets and travel to them while undertaking space battles in some of Star Wars' most iconic vehicles. Each mission will also have multiple routes that players can explore by choosing a more stealthy approach or a more direct one with weapons blazing.

There will obviously be a main story to complete, but players are also encouraged to explore the galaxy far, far away with side missions and other planets just waiting to be seen and completed.

The upgrade system is also getting a rework, as players will be able to find Kyber Bricks that they can use to invest in upgrades across various character classes - Jedi, Hero, Scavenger, Scoundrel, Bounty Hunter, Villain, Dark Side, Astromech Droid, and Protocol Droid.

The trailer ends with a glimpse at some of the hilarious extras that can be unlocked and serve as cheats of a sort in-game. These include Studs x10, Super GNK Droid, Porg Companion, Baguette Lightsabers, Galaxy Rave, Television Mode, Hologram Mode, Retro Mode, GNK Civilians, Mumble Mode, Comedy Weapons, Rainbow Effects, Cantina Music, and more.

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.