Orphan Black Spin-off Will Premiere This Summer On AMC
Clone Club is about to reconvene. AMC has announced that the upcoming Orphan Black spin-off series, Orphan Black: Echoes, will premiere on June 23.
Orphan Black: Echoes features Krysten Ritter in the leading role as Lucy, a woman who undergoes a medical procedure and wakes up without any memory of who she is. Ritter previously had a recurring role on AMC’s Breaking Bad before starring in Marvel’s Jessica Jones series.
The new series picks up a few decades after the conclusion of Orphan Black. According to AMC’s synopsis for Orphan Black: Echoes, the show follows “a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unraveling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.”
Keeley Hawes, Amanda Fix, Avan Jogia, James Hiroyuki Liao, and Rya Kihlstedt round out the primary cast members for the series. The original Orphan Black featured She-Hulk: Attorney At Law star Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning, and several other virtually identical women who discovered that they were all clones. Maslany will not be reprising any of her roles on this show, but a few supporting cast members from Orphan Black will appear during the first season of Echoes.
Orphan Black: Echoes was created by Anna Fishko, and it will be available on AMC, AMC+, and BBC America on June 23.
Nintendo Is Laying Off An Undisclosed Number Of Contractors
Nintendo of America is currently in the process of laying off an undisclosed number of contractors who help with testing games and hardware. It’s unclear how many workers will be affected by this but it’s estimated to be over 100 contractors.
In a statement given to Kotaku, a Nintendo spokesperson said, these changes “will involve changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions.” The report explains that some contractors working alongside Nintendo of America feel as if they’ve been exploited and underpaid for some time, as they sought full-time employment with the company. Although some testers are being hired and moved out of software testing, the rest will be let go. Nintendo has stated that those impacted will receive severance packages.
The full statement given to Kotaku reads:
“Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its Product Testing functions to drive greater global integration in game development efforts. The changes will also better align NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.
These changes will involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions. For all assignments that are ending, the contractors’ agencies, with NOA’s support, will offer severance packages and provide assistance during their transition.
For those contractor associates who will be leaving us, we are tremendously grateful for the important contributions they’ve made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their hard work and service to Nintendo.”
The report goes on to explain that three contractors speaking to Kotaku noticed a “lull,” during which time no new first-party games had been tested. In addition, none of them had tested the upcoming Switch 2, which was initially suspected to drop during the second half of this year. Due to these cuts, some contractors have voiced concern about being able to adequately test Nintendo’s bigger games.
Unfortunately, layoffs continue to be a trend this year. Just recently, Certain Affinity laid off 25 of its employees and last month, Sony laid off 900 of its employees.
This Popular Sci-Fi Book Series Is Available In A Discounted Paperback Collection
A three-book paperback collection of the popular Red Rising dystopic sci-fi series is on sale at Amazon. The series, penned by author Pierce Brown, is set hundreds of years in the future after humans have colonized the solar system and established a new caste-based society. The books follow Darrow, a Mars-born human of the lowly “Red” caste who discovers a secret about the planet that sparks him to free his fellow Reds.
The paperback set includes the first three books in the series, Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star, plus an excerpt preview of the fourth entry, Iron Gold. You can pick it up at Amazon for just $41 (was $54).
Alternatively, there’s also a five-book paperback set that includes the full-length version of Iron Gold plus the fifth book, Dark Age, for $45 (was $49).
These collections are a great way to get into the Red Rising saga, but you’ll need to pick up the other books in the sci-fi series if you want to catch up before the seventh and final entry releases in 2025. Luckily, you can grab individual copies of all six books in hardcover at Amazon. Paperback editions of the first five books are also available, and you can preorder the paperback version of book six, Light Bringer, for $18 (was $20).
If you’re looking for more ways to experience the Red Rising universe, there’s also the three-volume graphic novel prequel series, Red Rising: Sons of Ares, which fills in the events leading up to the first book. The official Red Rising board game is also on sale for $19.86 (it was $24). It is designed for 1-6 players.
Given the popularity of the series, it’s surprising Red Rising hasn’t had its own TV series or movie adaptation, but if you’re looking for a more dramatic way to experience the story, there’s the two-part dramatized audiobook version, which features a full voice cast accompanied by background music and sound effects.
And, hey–even though it’s not connected to Red Rising, the book series’ plot and setting reminds us a bit of the Red Faction video games. As luck would have it, Red Faction 1, Red Faction Armageddon, and Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered are all on sale for super cheap at GameSpot’s sibling site Fanatical for a limited time. All three games are worth picking up if you feel the desire to vent some revolutionary rage against an oppressive Martian government.
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.
GTA 6 May Still Be On Schedule After All – Report
Rockstar’s upcoming sandbox Grand Theft Auto VI still has a way to go until its planned release sometime next year, and multiple reports speaking to the game’s launch schedule–including possible delays–are now in conflict.
According to Kotaku, Rockstar was afraid GTA VI may miss its 2025 release window, forcing the studio to consider pivoting to a 2026 release date. Following that, the Kotaku report updated its story, saying that “while early 2025 was at one point possible, it’s no longer the target for Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch.”
Now Playing: GTA 6 (Grand Theft Auto VI) Official Trailer
Earlier this week, Bloomberg pointed out that Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two, had its stocks fall by 5.2% because the report stated that GTA VI is behind schedule and could be delayed to 2026. The Bloomberg report explained that even though GTA VI is behind schedule, it’s to be expected given how massive the game is supposed to be. “Video games,” the report suggested “are always behind schedule.”
Most recently, however, Insider Gaming has reported that sources close to the project believe GTA VI is “on schedule,” and any signs pointing to a delay right now are “pure conjecture.”
As conflicting reports come in for what is bound to be one of the biggest video game launches of all time, don’t be surprised if a delay happens down the line, given Rockstar’s long history of delays. For example, GTA V was initially scheduled to come out in the Spring of 2013 but was delayed until September of that year. The same thing happened with its most recent game, Red Dead Redemption II. The game was initially supposed to drop in 2017 but was delayed until Spring 2018 and again to its ultimate launch date in Fall 2018.
For more GTA news, check out our story covering how an analyst said that GTA VI is the most important game release in the industry’s history.
Game Of Thrones Creators Reveal Their Favorite Deaths
A lot of people died on HBO’s Game of Thrones, but which deaths were the favorite of creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via EW), Weiss said it was the death of villainous characters that he was particularly fond of.
He said the show killed so many good guys early on, with Sean Bean’s Ned Stark famously getting his head lopped off before the end of the first season. Later on, though, came Weiss’ favorite deaths: Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Ramsay (Iwan Rheon).
“We finally got to really kill both Joffrey in season 4 and Ramsay Bolton in season 6. It was fun to go back to the old-fashioned joys of just killing off a really bad guy,” he said. His death felt like it was “balancing the scales a little,” Weiss said as it relates to good guys vs. bad guys getting whacked.
Benioff said the scene is particularly powerful because instead of showing the hounds mauling Ramsay up close, the viewer sees the reaction of Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)–which is a smile. As viewers no doubt recall, Ramsay rapes Sansa on their wedding night.
“It was all in one shot, and we did it seven times or something… She nailed it on the seventh or eighth time, and it was just that feeling of–that’s so epic. Sophie was so good. When she got that shot, I felt like I can now die happy,” Benioff said of Ramsay’s death.
Joffrey, meanwhile, was a similarly awful person and many viewers were eagerly awaiting his comeuppance. It finally came in Season 4, with Joffrey being poisoned.
Weiss and Benioff are now working with Netflix on a variety of projects, including the recently released 3 Body Problem. As for the Game of Thrones series, the main show is over, but the spinoff House of the Dragon comes back this June.
Xbox Honors Akira Toriyama With A Nod To Blue Dragon
Xbox has released a dynamic dashboard background of 2006’s Blue Dragon to honor the recent passing of Akira Toriyama.
The dashboard background features artwork much like that from the game’s original cover, with protagonist Shu and his Blue Dragon shadow. Toriyama worked on Blue Dragon’s artwork along with Yoshihito Takahashi. It was the debut game from Mistwalker, co-developed by Artoon.
Honoring a true legend.
We’ve added a new dynamic dashboard background featuring Xbox 360’s Blue Dragon, with art and character designs by Akira Toriyama. pic.twitter.com/ZFj20fX2ed
— Xbox (@Xbox) March 29, 2024
Toriyama passed away earlier this month from a brain condition at the age of 68. He was one of the most influential artists in the world and was the creator of popular franchises such as Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, and Sand Land. He also worked on other video games such as Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger.
Blue Dragon was first released in 2006 in Japan and worldwide in 2007 for Xbox 360. It is also available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility. The Blue Dragon series received two more games, Blue Dragon Plus and Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow, but for the Nintendo DS.
One of last projects Toriyama was involved in before his passing is a Sand Land, an RPG based on the manga of the same name. It will launch on April 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Ex-COD Dev’s New Shooter XDefiant At Ubisoft Delayed
XDefiant, the upcoming FPS from Ubisoft led by former Call of Duty boss Mark Rubin, has been delayed in what is the latest chapter of the game’s long and bumpy road to release.
In a social media post, Ubisoft said it hoped to release XDefiant by the end of March. However, there are “still some improvements” the studio has to make before it’s ready. Right now the focus is on an upcoming 12-hour stress test for the game’s servers, and Ubisoft is inviting its early access players to hop in and try to put the servers through their paces.
After this process, Ubisoft said it expects to be able to lock in a public release date and begin to discuss XDefiant’s post-launch content plans.
“Thank you again for standing by us,” Ubisoft said.
Just this week, Insider Gaming published a report containing behind-the-scenes info on XDefiant’s development process. In particular, the report called out a group of executives and directors on the project known internally as “The Boys Club.” These people reportedly “caused constant problems for the game’s development.”
“The Boys Club is a closed group of protected individuals who think they are better than everyone else and do as they please without any repercussions,” one developer said. Another worker said one person in particular “has a history of treating people extremely badly with more HR reports than I’ve ever seen.”
A source told Insider Gaming that the “constant changing of approved features,” among other things, led to the game being delayed “probably a year or so.”
A spokesperson for Ubisoft told Insider Gaming that it is “committed to the well-being and inclusivity of all our team members.” The statement added, “Our preventive approach includes promoting standards of respect and civility, awareness and training, and effective conflict resolution.” Ubisoft added that the company has an anonymous whistleblowing channel to help workers report bad behavior.
GameSpot has contacted Ubisoft for comment.
Previously, Ubisoft said XDefiant might launch in September or October 2023, but issues during the console certification process led to an earlier delay. Later, the game was delayed indefinitely.
Godzilla X Kong Is Shorter Than Most Blockbusters, Just As The Director Intended
Big-budget movies seem to keep getting longer and longer–after Avengers: Endgame proved once and for all that a lengthy running time isn’t a real impediment to box office success, why not? But Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire comes in at a sleek 115 minutes, just under two hours long–and director Adam Wingard says that’s just how he likes it.
“My preference is, I don’t really love watching super long movies. Like, Dune 2 really worked, and there’s certain movies that should be over two hours. But for me, it was really by choice. It wasn’t like we ran out of stuff to do or we’re rushing things. It’s just kind of the movie that we made,” Wingard told me at a Godzilla x Kong press event earlier this month. He also pointed out that Godzilla x Kong is actually his longest movie, being two minutes longer than Godzilla vs Kong, which he also shepherded. Prior to joining the MonsterVerse, Wingard was making horror flicks that would usually last between 90 and 100 minutes. So his tendency has always been toward shorter running times.
“It felt like when we were making it, in my mind the sweet spot was around two hours,” he explained. “So even the rough cut of the movie was never over 2:10, it might have been, like, 2:08. And I already worked with this editor on Godzilla vs Kong, and so whenever we were working together, we always try to aim within 20 minutes of the final run time. So I never wanted a version that was three hours. It was a natural thing. I know that’s not a great answer, but it wasn’t like there’s a mandate [from Warner Bros], like, you have to do a movie under this time.”
Given all that, Wingard said, there isn’t much in the way of deleted scenes on Godzilla x Kong–it was mostly just portions of scenes that were cut, rather than full sequences.
“There’s not a lot on the cutting room floor. There’s a couple little additional moments to sequences. Scenes could have easily been cut longer,” Wingard said.
Despite the relatively short length compared with a lot of other mega-budgeted, CGI-heavy action movies, Godzilla x Kong doesn’t scrimp on the plot at all.
“We pack a f**king shitload into it,” Wingard said with a chuckle, before claiming it wasn’t that tough to make it all fit while also keeping it coherent.
“That was never a problem really with this one–because we were doing so much previz and stuff, we had so much the movie already finished with before we even started filming,” Wingard said. “We had the opening scene basically pre-built, we had the first sequence with Suko. And we were almost halfway through the whole Skar King sequence while we were filming. So we had a lot of confidence of like, this sequence is going to be this length. And those always kind of stayed the same, like the Skar King. I knew, like his intro was going to be between seven and nine minutes. And also I wanted to see how far we could push having a scene without any humans in it as long as possible.”
But once the humans were around for filming, Wingard joked that he liked to play favorites. Godzilla vs Kong stars Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry returned for this one, but the main cast also got a new addition in Dan Stevens, who has been tight with Wingard since they worked together on The Guest a decade earlier.
“On the set, we sort of had an ongoing gag where the actors, like Rebecca and Brian, were always accusing me of favoritism with Dan because we’re so buddy-buddy,” the director said.”There would be certain takes where it’d be all three of them right? And maybe, like, Rebecca and Brian are doing all the acting, and Dan might have one line or no lines–at the end of the take, like, after they’d done all this stuff, I’d call cut and be, like, ‘Dan! That was amazing!'”
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is in movie theaters now.
Indie Devs Say Xbox Game Pass And Epic Exclusive Deals Have Dried Up
Some indie developers have revealed that deals regarding Xbox Game Pass and Epic Games Store exclusivity have dried up and aren’t nearly as lucrative as they were before.
At the Game Developers Conference 2024, Darkest Dungeon director Chris Bourassa said that Microsoft has decreased the scope for getting games onto Game Pass since the service began, and Epic Games has done similar things when it came to securing exclusives for its PC storefront.
“The Gold Rush is over. I come from the Northwest Territories. The town I’m from was built on gold, and then they found diamonds further north,” Bourassa explained. “Maybe another paradigm shift is waiting for us, but I definitely think the scale of the deals I’m hearing about is significantly diminished from the big swinging days. Certainly we got our Epic [deal] at the right time.”
Mega Crit, the developer behind Slay the Spire, co-founder Casey Yano said that he’s talked to at least five small teams with 35 or fewer employees during GDC. They all expressed similar sentiments that budget cuts have been occurring everywhere and funding was being canceled.
“We’re definitely very privileged to be able to self-fund,” said Yano. “[Otherwise] I’d be very, very, very scared right now.”
While it seems like Xbox Game Pass might not be providing great deals for indie developers nearly as much anymore, the service is ramping up on adding bigger titles. Diablo IV is the latest one to join the subscription on both console and PC. Epic Games is also looking to improve its storefront with more free games, a better download manager, and a better offline state in 2024.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Wraps Filming
Sonic the Hedgehog’s third movie has officially wrapped principal photography. Director Jeff Fowler confirmed on his Twitter account that filming has wrapped and now comes the months-long process of getting the animation in order leading up to its December release.
You have to love his shirt, too.
Plans for a third Sonic the Hedgehog film were announced in February 2022 even before the second film’s release. Jim Carrey had rescinded his announcement for retirement and will return once again as Dr. Robotnik.
With last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, filming for animated characters began in July last year in Surrey, England. Filming with the live-action actors began in November. The film will reportedly pull inspiration from the video games Sonic Adventure 2 and the Shadow-centric spin-off game from 2005.
Along with Carrey, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 will bring back James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, and Idris Elba–whose Knuckles is getting his own television spin-off mini-series. The voice actor for Shadow the Hedgehog’s has not been announced yet. The fan-favorite character was shown as a post-credit stinger in the previous movie.
Sega announced a remastered version of the 2D/3D platformer Sonic Generations, this time with extra Shadow the Hedgehog when it releases in Autumn 2024.
