CastleStorm 2 will be released on July 31 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC via Epic Games Store. A free Epic Games Store demo is available today, until June 30. Announced exclusively at today's IGN Expo, the game follow the original's mixture of tower defense, castle destruction and hack 'n' slash elements, but adds a new real-time and turn-based strategy element, built around conquering a kingdom. Check out a Monty Python-flavoured trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/12/castlestorm-2-exclusive-launch-announcement-trailer"] Choosing from good and evil factions and taking over a procedurally generated map piece by piece, the game also features two story-driven campaigns set within its skewed, cartoony take on a medieval world at war. There's much, much more to see from today's IGN Expo, and we're running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here's the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we're supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=castlestorm-2-11-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

The latest character in the Guilty Gear Strive line-up has been revealed, and it's the returning Ramlethal Valentine. Announced exclusively as part of today's IGN Expo, Ramlethal specializes in controlling the mid-range, and uses two large swords as her primary weapons (carried by her flying Luciferos partners). Strive marks Ramlethal's second appearance as a playable character in the series. Check out a reveal trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/12/guilty-gear-strive-ramlethal-reveal-trailer"] The trailer also announces that we'll see the next playable character reveal for the game in August 2020. Billed as a reboot for the fighting game series, Guilty Gear Strive currently includes a roster of Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, May, Faust, Potemkin, Chipp Zanuff, Zato-1, Millia Rage, Axl Low alongside Ramlethal. It's due out in 2021, following a delay due to production issues stemming from the current pandemc outbreak and subsequent lockdowns. There's much, much more to see from today's IGN Expo, and we're running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here's the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we're supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ramlethal-valentine-guilty-gear-strive-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

The latest character in the Guilty Gear Strive line-up has been revealed, and it's the returning Ramlethal Valentine. Announced exclusively as part of today's IGN Expo, Ramlethal specializes in controlling the mid-range, and uses two large swords as her primary weapons (carried by her flying Luciferos partners). Strive marks Ramlethal's second appearance as a playable character in the series. Check out a reveal trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/12/guilty-gear-strive-ramlethal-reveal-trailer"] The trailer also announces that we'll see the next playable character reveal for the game in August 2020. Billed as a reboot for the fighting game series, Guilty Gear Strive currently includes a roster of Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, May, Faust, Potemkin, Chipp Zanuff, Zato-1, Millia Rage, Axl Low alongside Ramlethal. It's due out in 2021, following a delay due to production issues stemming from the current pandemc outbreak and subsequent lockdowns. There's much, much more to see from today's IGN Expo, and we're running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here's the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we're supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ramlethal-valentine-guilty-gear-strive-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

AT&T is reportedly looking to sell the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming division, which includes studios like NetherRealm, Avalanche, and Rocksteady. The deal could be valued at $4 billion and there’s reported interest from companies like Take-Two, EA, and Activision Blizzard. In a report from CNBC, telecom company AT&T, which purchased Warner Media in 2018, is looking to divest some assets to help pay off $200 billion in debt. This includes WB Interactive, which has already picked up interest from some of the game industry’s largest companies. Though sources say a deal is neither in place nor imminent. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-batman-video-game-review&captions=true"] Any company that does purchase WB Interactive will not gain the rights to IP like Batman or Harry Potter, which is owned by Warner Bros. Instead, any deal will likely include a “commercial licensing agreement where AT&T can continue to get revenue from its IP.” A potential purchase will, however, include studios that belong to WB Interactive like NetherRealm and Rocksteady, the developers behind Mortal Kombat, and the Batman Arkham series respectively. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/06/10/batman-arkham-knight-gameplay-trailer-e3-2014"] AT&T purchased Time Warner for $109 billion in 2018 and amassed $200 billion in debt. Investors have called on AT&T to sell “non-core assets” such as DirecTV and, now, WB Interactive. There are multiple projects rumored to be in development under Warner Bros. Interactive including a new game from Rocksteady, and a new Harry Potter RPG. There’s also a new Batman game in the works at WB Montreal. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

AT&T is reportedly looking to sell the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming division, which includes studios like NetherRealm, Avalanche, and Rocksteady. The deal could be valued at $4 billion and there’s reported interest from companies like Take-Two, EA, and Activision Blizzard. In a report from CNBC, telecom company AT&T, which purchased Warner Media in 2018, is looking to divest some assets to help pay off $200 billion in debt. This includes WB Interactive, which has already picked up interest from some of the game industry’s largest companies. Though sources say a deal is neither in place nor imminent. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-batman-video-game-review&captions=true"] Any company that does purchase WB Interactive will not gain the rights to IP like Batman or Harry Potter, which is owned by Warner Bros. Instead, any deal will likely include a “commercial licensing agreement where AT&T can continue to get revenue from its IP.” A potential purchase will, however, include studios that belong to WB Interactive like NetherRealm and Rocksteady, the developers behind Mortal Kombat, and the Batman Arkham series respectively. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/06/10/batman-arkham-knight-gameplay-trailer-e3-2014"] AT&T purchased Time Warner for $109 billion in 2018 and amassed $200 billion in debt. Investors have called on AT&T to sell “non-core assets” such as DirecTV and, now, WB Interactive. There are multiple projects rumored to be in development under Warner Bros. Interactive including a new game from Rocksteady, and a new Harry Potter RPG. There’s also a new Batman game in the works at WB Montreal. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

While the news that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales coming to PS5 for the 2020 holiday season was one of the highlights of Sony’s reveal event, precious little information about the game was actually revealed. That’s why it’s notable for Phil Lord -- best known to Spidey fans as the man behind the story of 2018’s Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featuring Miles Morales -- to reveal that he’s one of few people who have actually seen the game. Lord retweeted the reveal trailer for the upcoming game, writing, “We got a chance last year to check out what the insomniacs are up to and... it’s special. They’re special.” It certainly sounds as though Lord liked what he saw, and he was impressed with the people making it. By “insomniacs” Lord is of course referring to the developers at Insomniac Games who gave us 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 and are now working on the followup. Lord knows what it takes to capture the essence of Miles and faithfully adapt him from the comics to another medium, so if he approves of the game, then Insomniac must be doing a good job. It sounds like Lord wasn’t alone when he saw the game, so we’d hazard a guess that he saw it with some of his fellow Spider-Verse filmmakers, including his longtime collaborator Chris Miller. Lord is currently working on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2, which was announced last year with a release date of April 8, 2022 but was later delayed until October 7, 2022. Some confusion arose as to whether Spider-Man: Miles Morales was an expansion of the first game or not, but Sony has since clarified that it is a smaller standalone game. You can re-watch the amazing, spectacular reveal trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/spider-man-miles-morales-announcement-trailer-ps5-event"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Editor and Producer at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

While the news that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales coming to PS5 for the 2020 holiday season was one of the highlights of Sony’s reveal event, precious little information about the game was actually revealed. That’s why it’s notable for Phil Lord -- best known to Spidey fans as the man behind the story of 2018’s Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featuring Miles Morales -- to reveal that he’s one of few people who have actually seen the game. Lord retweeted the reveal trailer for the upcoming game, writing, “We got a chance last year to check out what the insomniacs are up to and... it’s special. They’re special.” It certainly sounds as though Lord liked what he saw, and he was impressed with the people making it. By “insomniacs” Lord is of course referring to the developers at Insomniac Games who gave us 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 and are now working on the followup. Lord knows what it takes to capture the essence of Miles and faithfully adapt him from the comics to another medium, so if he approves of the game, then Insomniac must be doing a good job. It sounds like Lord wasn’t alone when he saw the game, so we’d hazard a guess that he saw it with some of his fellow Spider-Verse filmmakers, including his longtime collaborator Chris Miller. Lord is currently working on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2, which was announced last year with a release date of April 8, 2022 but was later delayed until October 7, 2022. Some confusion arose as to whether Spider-Man: Miles Morales was an expansion of the first game or not, but Sony has since clarified that it is a smaller standalone game. You can re-watch the amazing, spectacular reveal trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/spider-man-miles-morales-announcement-trailer-ps5-event"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Editor and Producer at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

The fan petition worked. Disney announced Thursday that the Disneyland and Disney World theme park attraction Splash Mountain "will soon be completely reimagined" as a new attraction based on the animated film The Princess and the Frog. "We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance," Disney said. In the announcement, Disney explained:

"The approach to retheming or 'plussing' attractions (as Walt Disney referred to it) begins with Imagineers asking the question, how can we build upon or elevate the experience and tell a fresh, relevant story? It’s a continuous process that Imagineers are deeply passionate about. And with this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today. The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year."

Disney added that its Imagineers are already at work on the redesign, beginning with conceptual artwork and "will soon be able to conduct preliminary reviews and develop a timeline for when the transformation can start to take shape." Our original report from June 12 follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Fans are petitioning Disney to rename -- but not to close -- its popular Disneyland and Disney World theme park attraction Splash Mountain because it was inspired by and still features imagery from the studio's notorious 1946 film Song of the South, a movie featuring racially insensitive depictions that have caused it to remain locked away for decades. Some fans are petitioning to turn Splash Mountain into a Princess and the Frog attraction instead. 2009's The Princess and the Frog featured the first black Disney Princess in Tiana. As Yahoo! points out, other fans would like to see Splash Mountain turned into a Moana attraction instead, a sentiment echoed by Minions and The Secret Life of Pets screenwriter Brian Lynch.

Turn Splash Mountain into a MOANA ride.

— Brian Lynch (@BrianLynch) June 10, 2020

The live-action/animated musical Song of the South has long been criticized for its depiction of the Reconstruction era South and for its stereotypical portrayal of African-Americans, particularly Uncle Remus, the plantation laborer who recounts his interactions with animated animal characters such as Br'er Rabbit. The film's classic song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" won an Oscar, while Uncle Remus actor James Baskett received an honorary Oscar. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/11/disney-still-has-no-plans-to-release-song-of-the-south-not-even-with-disclaimer"] Lest you think Splash Mountain is a holdover attraction from the Disney parks' early days, the log flume opened at Disneyland in 1989, well after Song of the South had been deemed problematic and Disney had already pulled it from circulation. Indeed, in the '80s then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner announced that Song of the South would not receive a domestic home video release and the full film remains off of official Disney platforms to this day. (It was, however, released on video in some Asian and European countries decades ago.) But animated sequences and other portions of the movie have been repackaged into various home video offerings and even on Disney TV series over the decades. And while the full movie itself may not be available to consumers, Song of the South has remained part of Disney merchandising through the years, including book-and-record sets, audio usage, and, of course, Splash Mountain. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-disney-animated-movies&captions=true"] While there have been calls over time to re-release Song of the South -- including from Disney Legends inductee Whoopi Goldberg in 2017 -- Disney reaffirmed its position to keep Song of the South in the vault earlier this year, with then-Disney CEO Bob Iger calling the film "not appropriate in today’s world." Do you want to see Splash Mountain retooled to remove its Song of the South elements? And, if so, would you rather see it turned into a Moana or a Princess and the Frog-themed attraction? Let us know in the comments.

Writer/editor Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil, famed for writing superhero icons like Batman, Green Lantern, the Justice League and the X-Men, died Thursday night in his home at the age of 81. Via Games Radar, the news was confirmed by O'Neil's family, who said he died of natural causes. O'Neil had a long and prolific career in the comic book industry, including early jobs writing The X-Men and Doctor Strange. O'Neil followed Charlton editor Dick Giordano to DC Comics in 1968, a career boost that led to a number of major, influential writing gigs (albeit under the pseudonym "Sergius O'Shaughnessy"). O'Neil may be best known for his collaborations with artist Neal Adams. The duo helped dramatically revamp the Batman line in the aftermath of the 1966 TV series, returning the Caped Crusader and his villains to their darker roots and introducing pivotal new characters like Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul and Leslie Thompkins. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-most-iconic-comic-book-covers-of-all-time&captions=true"] Adams and O'Neil also made waves on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, a series that paired the two philosophically opposed heroes and dealt with a number of hot-button political topics. Most notably, the series stirred up controversy in 1971's Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85, with a now iconic cover image featuring Oliver Queen's sidekick Speedy abusing heroin (you can find that cover in the gallery above). After returning to Marvel in 1980, O'Neil enjoyed influential runs on books like The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating characters like Madame Web and Hydro-Man, and The Invincible Iron Man, where he co-created Tony Stark's rival Obadiah Stane, penned the iconic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline and had James Rhodes temporarily take over the Iron Man mantle. O'Neil even had a hand in developing the mythology of the Transformers toy line (which, like G.I. Joe, was greatly fleshed out in the accompanying Marvel series) and is credited with naming Optimus Prime. O'Neil also had a major impact on the comics industry as an editor, presiding over Frank Miller's legendary Daredevil series and later serving as group editor on the Batman line from 1986 to 2000. During this period O'Neil oversaw a number of seminal storylines like the death of second Robin Jason Todd, Batman's defeat by Bane in Knightfall and the massive No Man's Land crossover. O'Neil continued to write during this period, penning a critically acclaimed revamp of The Question with artist Denys Cowan and co-creating the vigilante anti-hero Azrael. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/01/30/what-could-the-batman-be-about"] O'Neil leaves behind a powerful legacy. Fellow Batman writer Tom King is among numerous comic creators paying tribute to O'Neil on social media:

Denny O’Neil made timeless comics by making comics about his time. The revolutions of the 60s, the excesses of the 70s, the corruption of the 80s, the facades of the 90s—he used super hero tropes as brushstrokes to paint a picture of who we are and who we could be. RIP. pic.twitter.com/eWwI6tfnrp

— Tom King (@TomKingTK) June 12, 2020

O'Neil is survived by his wife Marifran and his son, writer/director Lawrence O'Neil. Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Sony has finally revealed the PS5 design and the internet has reacted accordingly. The reveal, which happened during PlayStation's Future of Gaming event, finally showed off the PS5's design, which included a mostly white outer shell, black hardware section, and some blue lighting elements. The unconventional PS5 design quickly launched the internet into a meme frenzy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/playstation-5-official-console-reveal-ps5-reveal-event"]

The One Console to Rule Them All

We asked Twitter what the PS5 looks like and Twitter replied in true form: [caption id="attachment_2364741" align="alignnone" width="720"] @NIL66CAT thinks the console looks like Sauron's Tower from Lord of the Rings. One does not simply meme the PS5?[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364742" align="alignnone" width="720"] @Johnson201R thinks the console looks like something tasty from Taco Bell. Mmm all that crunchy goodness.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364743" align="alignnone" width="720"] @Unbeatenobj thinks the new PS5 looks like Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh! We see the resemblance. Blue eyes, white dragon.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_2364744" align="alignnone" width="720"] @MacedoCaio96 likens the PS5 to Dubai Tower. Yes, but can Tom Cruise scale the side of the PS5? Time will tell.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364745" align="alignnone" width="720"] @livingichigo think the PS5 looks like a previous PlayStation console with a white binder wrapped around it. Binder? Trapper Keeper? Yup. See it.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364746" align="alignnone" width="720"] The PS5 reminds @Superbowlpants of Eve from Wall-E. Okay, now that's just too cute.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2364747" align="alignnone" width="720"] Another tasty treat comparison, this time from @JMXD96. Please don't try and pull apart your PS5s. Heh.[/caption] All memeing aside, the PS5 looks pretty cool. What did you think of the PS5 event and the console reveal? Let us know in the comments below or send us a video response through Yappa! The PlayStation 5 is currently scheduled to be released during the Holiday season of 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=playstation-5-console-dualsense-and-accessories&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Lauren Gallaway is a Social Media Coordinator for IGN. She is very excited to play Horizon Forbidden West on the PS5. Find her tweeting at @LaurenGallaway and streaming at Glimpse Entertainment on Twitch.