Square Enix has confirmed that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Final Fantasy 16's development has been delayed by "almost a half year" and the next big reveal will not take place until Spring 2022.

Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida shared the news on Twitter and took the time to apologize that he and the team would not be able to keep their promise to show more of the much-anticipated next entry in the Final Fantasy series in 2021.

"Greetings everyone," Yoshida wrote. "When last we spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021. However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game's development by almost a half year."

"As the latest addition to the Final Fantasy series being developed for the PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy XVI has amassed a sizable team composed of talented creators from around the world," Yoshida continued. "However, in an effort to offset the effects of COVID-19, we've had to decentralize that workforce by permitting staff to tackle their assignments from home.

"This has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has led to delays in - or in extreme cases, cancellations of - asset deliveries from our outsource partners."

While this may not be the news Final Fantasy fans wanted to hear, Yoshida reassures all of us that much of 2021 has been spent tackling all these issues, meaning 2022 is looking a lot more hopeful.

"That said, we have spent much of 2021 addressing this issue, and hope to see its impact to a minimum by the new year, allowing us to better focus on the tasks at hand: increasing graphic resource quality, refining combat mechanics, fleshing out individual battles, putting the finishing touches on cutscenes, and conducting overall graphical optimization," Yoshida explained. "Our primary goal now is to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished."

As for when we will see the game next, Yoshida has revealed that the team is planning for a big reveal for Final Fantasy 16 to take place in Spring 2022.

"So that leaves us with the question, when can we expect the next round of information? Well, I am happy to announce the current plan is to conduct our next big reveal in spring of 2022 as we seek to build excitement leading up to the game's eventual release," Yoshida said.

"I deeply apologize to all those who have been looking forward to learning more about Final Fantasy XVI, and thank you for your continued patience while we focus our combined efforts on development," Yoshida concluded.

Final Fantasy 16 was first announced at September 2020’s PS5 event with a cinematic trailer that showed off a more medieval fantasy setting, iconic summons, crystals, and much more for this upcoming PlayStation exclusive.

We've since learned a bit more about the game, including the six realms that make up the land of Valisthea - The Grand Duchy of Rosaria, The Holy Empire of Sanbreque, The Kingdom of Waloed, The Dhalmekian Republic, The Iron Kingdom, and The Crystalline Dominion.

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.

Square Enix has confirmed that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Final Fantasy 16's development has been delayed by "almost a half year" and the next big reveal will not take place until Spring 2022.

Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida shared the news on Twitter and took the time to apologize that he and the team would not be able to keep their promise to show more of the much-anticipated next entry in the Final Fantasy series in 2021.

A message from Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida. #FF16 #FFXVI pic.twitter.com/qtfJUUp6LA

— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) December 27, 2021

Developing...

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has reconfirmed that The Batman will arrive on HBO Max for all subscribers on April 19, 2022 - 46 days after it arrives exclusively in theaters.

As reported by ComicBook.com, Kilar was speaking on Vox's Recode podcast and discussed how, even though it may be disappointing for those who don't wish to go to the theater to see The Batman beginning on March 4, 2022, this window is much better than it was in the past.

"Think about when movies would show up on HBO, which is eight to nine months after theatrical premiere. The Batman is going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max," Kilar said. "That is a huge change from where things were in 2018, 2017, 2016."

Kilar previously shared the news that WarnerMedia's biggest tentpole films would be headed exclusively to theaters for at least 45 days before moving to a service "like HBO Max," and the company would no longer be debuting them day-and-date as it did for its 2021 films, including The Matrix Resurrections, The Suicide Squad, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.

This strategy will also extend to Warner Media's other 2022 films like Black Adam, The Flash, and Elvis.

"I feel really, really good knowing that The Batman, and Black Adam, and The Flash, and Elvis, and a whole host of other movies, are literally going to be showing up on day 46 on HBO Max in a variety of territories all over the world," Kilar said. "That is a very, very big change that I don't think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it."

For more, check out our preview of all the big DC movies and TV shows in 2022, The Batman's secret website that pits fans against the Riddler, and how Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is inspired by the late Kurt Cobain.

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.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has reconfirmed that The Batman will arrive on HBO Max for all subscribers on April 19, 2022 - 46 days after it arrives exclusively in theaters.

As reported by ComicBook.com, Kilar was speaking on Vox's Recode podcast and discussed how, even though it may be disappointing for those who don't wish to go to the theater to see The Batman beginning on March 4, 2022, this window is much better than it was in the past.

"Think about when movies would show up on HBO, which is eight to nine months after theatrical premiere. The Batman is going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max," Kilar said. "That is a huge change from where things were in 2018, 2017, 2016."

Kilar previously shared the news that WarnerMedia's biggest tentpole films would be headed exclusively to theaters for at least 45 days before moving to a service "like HBO Max," and the company would no longer be debuting them day-and-date as it did for its 2021 films, including The Matrix Resurrections, The Suicide Squad, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.

This strategy will also extend to Warner Media's other 2022 films like Black Adam, The Flash, and Elvis.

"I feel really, really good knowing that The Batman, and Black Adam, and The Flash, and Elvis, and a whole host of other movies, are literally going to be showing up on day 46 on HBO Max in a variety of territories all over the world," Kilar said. "That is a very, very big change that I don't think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it."

For more, check out our preview of all the big DC movies and TV shows in 2022, The Batman's secret website that pits fans against the Riddler, and how Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is inspired by the late Kurt Cobain.

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.

A team of astronomers have studied a distant galaxy and found evidence that it contains little, if any, dark matter, according to a paper published this month in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The confusion is that scientists didn't previously think that would be possible.

The galaxy, AGC 114905, is about 250 million light-years away and around the size of the Milky Way. It’s also much more diffuse than the Milky Way, containing about a thousand times fewer stars. According to theoretical models, gas-rich ultra-diffuse galaxies like AGC 114905 should be held together by dark matter, an unseen type of matter that’s thought to make up most of the universe.

Pavel Mancera Piña and his co-authors previously observed AGC 114905 and five other ultra-diffuse galaxies, finding little indication of dark matter among them. After those findings were published, Mancera Piña’s team then took measurements of AGC 114905, the most extreme of the six galaxies, for 40 hours with the Very Large Array, an observatory that allows for higher resolution data. They found that the movement of the galaxy’s gasses can be explained by regular matter, without the need for dark matter.

"This is, of course, what we thought and hoped for because it confirms our previous measurements," said Mancera Piña in a statement. "But now the problem remains that the theory predicts that there must be dark matter in AGC 114905, but our observations say there isn't. In fact, the difference between theory and observation is only getting bigger."

There’s been some debate in recent years about the existence of other ultra-diffuse galaxies that seem to have little or no dark matter. Other researchers have also studied galaxies that are apparently dark matter deficient, but AGC 114905 is much more isolated, and Mancera Piña’s team say their techniques and measurements are more robust. The team says errors that would disrupt their findings, like miscalculating the angle of the galaxy, are unlikely.

Astronomers aren’t sure yet how dark matter-free galaxies could form, but further study of galaxies like AGC 114905 might help them understand more about the nature of dark matter.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.

A team of astronomers have studied a distant galaxy and found evidence that it contains little, if any, dark matter, according to a paper published this month in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The confusion is that scientists didn't previously think that would be possible.

The galaxy, AGC 114905, is about 250 million light-years away and around the size of the Milky Way. It’s also much more diffuse than the Milky Way, containing about a thousand times fewer stars. According to theoretical models, gas-rich ultra-diffuse galaxies like AGC 114905 should be held together by dark matter, an unseen type of matter that’s thought to make up most of the universe.

Pavel Mancera Piña and his co-authors previously observed AGC 114905 and five other ultra-diffuse galaxies, finding little indication of dark matter among them. After those findings were published, Mancera Piña’s team then took measurements of AGC 114905, the most extreme of the six galaxies, for 40 hours with the Very Large Array, an observatory that allows for higher resolution data. They found that the movement of the galaxy’s gasses can be explained by regular matter, without the need for dark matter.

"This is, of course, what we thought and hoped for because it confirms our previous measurements," said Mancera Piña in a statement. "But now the problem remains that the theory predicts that there must be dark matter in AGC 114905, but our observations say there isn't. In fact, the difference between theory and observation is only getting bigger."

There’s been some debate in recent years about the existence of other ultra-diffuse galaxies that seem to have little or no dark matter. Other researchers have also studied galaxies that are apparently dark matter deficient, but AGC 114905 is much more isolated, and Mancera Piña’s team say their techniques and measurements are more robust. The team says errors that would disrupt their findings, like miscalculating the angle of the galaxy, are unlikely.

Astronomers aren’t sure yet how dark matter-free galaxies could form, but further study of galaxies like AGC 114905 might help them understand more about the nature of dark matter.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has officially earned over $1 billion at the global box office and has become the top-grossing film of 2021.

Tom Holland's latest adventure as Spidey reached the impressive milestone over the Christmas weekend by earning another $81.5 million domestically and $121.4 million internationally.

These numbers - which brought the domestic total of the film to $467.3 million and the international total to $587.1 million - were enough to help it secure the third-highest Christmas Day gross, 10-day gross, and Super Hero film gross of all time.

Furthermore, No Way Home has earned enough to become the second-highest grossing film of any year's December.

Alongside seeing a drop of only 57% from its opening weekend gross of $253 million, No Way Home is also tracking of ahead of Spider-Man: Far From Home by 51% and Spider-Man: Homecoming by 99% for "the same group of markets at current exchange rates."

Spider-Man: No Way Home is just the 49th film to cross $1 billion at the global box office and currently ranks at #38 just above 2019's Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

According to Box Office Mojo, Sing 2 placed a distant second at the domestic weekend box office, bringing in $23.7 million and outperforming The Matrix Resurrections' $12 million. The fourth mainline Matrix film had the weakest domestic weekend box office opening of the franchise and fell behind The Matrix's $27.7 million, The Matrix Reloaded's $91.7 million, and The Matrix Revolutions' $48.4 million.

It's important to remember that The Matrix Resurrections is also available on HBO Max at no extra cost, while Spider-Man: No Way Home and Sing 2 are currently only playing in theaters.

Rounding out the top five this holiday weekend are The King's Man at $6.3 million and American Underdog at $6.2 million.

For more, check out our review of Spider-Man: No Way Home, our explainer of its ending and post-credits scenes, our 10 biggest WTF questions after leaving the theater, and what No Way Home means for the future of Venom.

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.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has officially earned over $1 billion at the global box office and has become the top-grossing film of 2021.

Tom Holland's latest adventure as Spidey reached the impressive milestone over the Christmas weekend by earning another $81.5 million domestically and $121.4 million internationally.

These numbers - which brought the domestic total of the film to $467.3 million and the international total to $587.1 million - were enough to help it secure the third-highest Christmas Day gross, 10-day gross, and Super Hero film gross of all time.

Furthermore, No Way Home has earned enough to become the second-highest grossing film of any year's December.

Alongside seeing a drop of only 57% from its opening weekend gross of $253 million, No Way Home is also tracking of ahead of Spider-Man: Far From Home by 51% and Spider-Man: Homecoming by 99% for "the same group of markets at current exchange rates."

Spider-Man: No Way Home is just the 49th film to cross $1 billion at the global box office and currently ranks at #38 just above 2019's Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

According to Box Office Mojo, Sing 2 placed a distant second at the domestic weekend box office, bringing in $23.7 million and outperforming The Matrix Resurrections' $12 million. The fourth mainline Matrix film had the weakest domestic weekend box office opening of the franchise and fell behind The Matrix's $27.7 million, The Matrix Reloaded's $91.7 million, and The Matrix Revolutions' $48.4 million.

It's important to remember that The Matrix Resurrections is also available on HBO Max at no extra cost, while Spider-Man: No Way Home and Sing 2 are currently only playing in theaters.

Rounding out the top five this holiday weekend are The King's Man at $6.3 million and American Underdog at $6.2 million.

For more, check out our review of Spider-Man: No Way Home, our explainer of its ending and post-credits scenes, our 10 biggest WTF questions after leaving the theater, and what No Way Home means for the future of Venom.

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.

China’s Yutu-2 rover recently sent home a photo of a mysterious cubic object on the lunar horizon, according to logs published by Our Space.

Dubbed the “Moon Cube” by delighted onlookers across the internet, the object sparked speculation about alien houses and a lunar McDonald’s. In reality, it’s almost definitely a boulder (or perhaps multiple boulders). Nevertheless, it intrigued the rover’s drivers enough that they’re steering the rover toward it to investigate.

Unfortunately for Moon Cube enthusiasts, it will take a while for Yutu-2 to reach the object. While it has a top speed of 200 meters per hour, it’s only traveled about 900 meters since it landed in January 2019. The rover takes pretty frequent naps, going dormant during the long, cold lunar nights and during lunar noons when temperatures rise. It also often stops to collect data with its various instruments, including a near-infrared imaging spectrometer and ground-penetrating radar.

A lot of meticulous planning goes into moving Yutu-2 only a few meters. Drivers on Earth study various images of the lunar surface, make 3D models, and carefully plot the path of the rover to avoid perilous craters and slopes. It will take about 2 to 3 lunar days, roughly 2 to 3 Earth months, to reach the cube.

Yutu-2 is the first rover to explore the far side of the moon. China also has a rover on Mars that landed in May 2021, joining NASA’s Perseverance rover. Perseverance landed in February 2021, bringing with it the Ingenuity copter that completed the first powered, controlled flight on Mars.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.

China’s Yutu-2 rover recently sent home a photo of a mysterious cubic object on the lunar horizon, according to logs published by Our Space.

Dubbed the “Moon Cube” by delighted onlookers across the internet, the object sparked speculation about alien houses and a lunar McDonald’s. In reality, it’s almost definitely a boulder (or perhaps multiple boulders). Nevertheless, it intrigued the rover’s drivers enough that they’re steering the rover toward it to investigate.

Unfortunately for Moon Cube enthusiasts, it will take a while for Yutu-2 to reach the object. While it has a top speed of 200 meters per hour, it’s only traveled about 900 meters since it landed in January 2019. The rover takes pretty frequent naps, going dormant during the long, cold lunar nights and during lunar noons when temperatures rise. It also often stops to collect data with its various instruments, including a near-infrared imaging spectrometer and ground-penetrating radar.

A lot of meticulous planning goes into moving Yutu-2 only a few meters. Drivers on Earth study various images of the lunar surface, make 3D models, and carefully plot the path of the rover to avoid perilous craters and slopes. It will take about 2 to 3 lunar days, roughly 2 to 3 Earth months, to reach the cube.

Yutu-2 is the first rover to explore the far side of the moon. China also has a rover on Mars that landed in May 2021, joining NASA’s Perseverance rover. Perseverance landed in February 2021, bringing with it the Ingenuity copter that completed the first powered, controlled flight on Mars.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.