Get The First Deep Dive Into Hades 2 Gameplay With A New Video
Players can now sign up for the Hades II technical test, although only a few people will actually get in. For everyone else, there is still a way to get a glimpse at the anticipated title. Supergiant creative director Greg Kasavin and Studio Director Amir Rao livestreamed an initial run of the game on the developer’s official YouTube channel.
Like the technical test itself, the livestream only shows off the first major area of the game (although if you don’t want spoilers at all, probably best not to watch the video). You play as Melinoë, potentially a daughter of Hades, who seeks to vanquish the forces of the resurrected god Chronos. The technical test takes place in Erebus, where souls wait to be sorted into the afterlife from the last game. Like the prior game, Melinoë can pick up enhancements and new abilities from the gods of Olympus. The video shows off some of these new gods like Apollo. Melinoë is a witch and she can use “omega” moves that deal extra damage, but these can be hard to pull off and cost magick. She can even sprint, unlike the last game’s hero Zagreus.
Back at home base, The Crossroads, Melinoë can hang with her pet frog and a “listless shade” named Dora, learn from Hecate the witch of the crossroads, and meet other mythical figures like Odysseus and Hypnos. She can also gather ash to unlock Arcana cards that make Melinoë stronger and choose new weapons.
The technical test will run an as-yet-undetermined amount of time. The game should launch in an early-access-version soon after the technical test is complete. Here’s everything else we know about the game so far.
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Simon Kinberg In Talks To Produce New Star Trek Movies
Simon Kinberg, the screenwriter, producer, and director behind the latter years of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies, is in negotiations to join the Star Trek franchise and produce the next movie on the big screen. However, Kinberg is not expected to write or direct the previously announced film that is in development with Andor director Toby Haynes.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Kinberg’s deal with Paramount has not been closed. The initial contract will reportedly call for Kinberg to produce Haynes’ Star Trek movie, which has a script by Seth Grahame-Smith. And if Kinberg successfully guides that project to fruition, he may assume a lead creative role on the movie side of the franchise while Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman maintain control of the various Star Trek series on Paramount+.
Kinberg made his directorial debut with Dark Phoenix, the final X-Men movie produced by 20th Century Fox before the studio was sold to Disney. His previous credits include Star Wars Rebels for Lucasfilm, as well as Murder on the Orient Express and The Martian.
The upcoming Star Trek movie by Haynes and Grahame-Smith is said to take place decades before the events of the 2009 Star Trek that featured Chris Pine and a much younger cast as the crew of the Enterprise. This may also sidestep the question of whether the new film is a reboot, since it’s set before the Kelvin timeline diverged from the original Star Trek timeline.
Star Trek Beyond was the most recent film in the franchise in 2016, but Paramount hasn’t given up on reuniting Pine and the rest of his fellow cast for one final adventure. For now, that sequel remains in development hell.
Ubisoft’s COD-Like Shooter XDefiant Is Unplayable For Many On Launch Day
Ubisoft’s brand-new Call of Duty-like shooter XDefiant, which was designed in part by former longtime Call of Duty boss Mark Rubin, launched today–and it encountered major issues right out of the gate.
Players are reporting that they are unable to join matches in the free-to-play game. Ubisoft said in response, “Please bear with us while we look into servers and matchmaking!” Rubin, for his part, posted a silly GIF on social media with the caption, “Matchmaking servers go boom!” He said the team is working to address the problems.
Rubin works remotely from Los Angeles but flew into San Francisco to be with the XDefiant team for the game’s launch today, May 21.
XDefiant has been years in the making and has faced a long and challenging road to release. The game was seemingly almost ready to launch in 2023 before it was delayed indefinitely, and then later reassigned a release date in May.
XDefiant is out now and is in the midst of a “preseason” event before Season 1 begins later this year. The preseason includes five factions from various Ubisoft’s games. The first four are the Cleaners, Libertad, Echelon, and Phantoms, which will be available to everyone immediately. The fifth faction, Dedsec, will be available to unlock or purchase. The preseason also includes 14 maps, five game modes, and 24 weapons. While most game modes will be 6v6, the preseason will also include a 4v4 ranked practice playlist, which includes the same rules as the real ranked mode coming in Season 1.
As a free-to-play game, XDefiant makes money from microtransactions. Ubisoft recently clarified that while the game allows players to buy all manner of cosmetic items, there are no pay-to-win mechanics.
IGN Buys Gamer Network Sites, Layoffs In Progress
The gaming media landscape has just gotten a lot more consolidated. IGN Entertainment has purchased Gamer Network’s digital brands, which include Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Rock Paper Shotgun, VG247, and Dicebreaker. As a result of the acquisition, layoffs for some of the affected sites have already begun. Brendan Sinclair, the popular managing editor of GamesIndustry.biz, was among the employees who were let go.
The news was share with a number of sites including the now-IGN-owned GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network was founded by Rupert and Nick Loman in 1999 alongside the launch of Eurogamer. Gamer Network expanded to include the previously mentioned sites, and also owns a portion of Outside Xbox, Digital Foundry, as well as Hookshot; which includes Nintendolife, PushSquare, PureXbox, and Time Extension under its sites.
Gamer Network was initially sold to ReedPop in 2018, before the company signaled its intent to sell Gamer Network’s assets in late 2023. ReedPop had been behind the planned relaunch of E3 in 2023, partnering with the ESA to produce the show. However, it was subsequently canceled and E3 was killed off for good the following year.
ReedPop’s Popverse comic book and geek culture site was not included in the sale to IGN. Additionally, ReedPop will maintain its EGX and MCM conventions in the United Kingdom in addition to its domestic comic conventions like New York Comic Con.
Hellblade Studio Reportedly At Work On New Game, Not At Risk Of Shutdown
Hellblade developer Ninja Theory is reportedly working on a new game, and isn’t at risk of shutting down–like several of its sibling studios have at Microsoft.
According to Windows Central, the studio’s new game has already been greenlit and Microsoft isn’t considering closing the studio. Additionally, the new game is reportedly separate from Project Mara, which Ninja Theory revealed back in 2021. There aren’t any more details about this new game, such as whether it’s another entry in the Hellblade series or an entirely different IP.
Project Mara is billed as a psychological horror game that focuses on photorealism and takes place in one apartment. There is no release date for it yet.
Earlier this month, Microsoft shut down several of its studios, including Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. There were worries that other Xbox studios such as Ninja Theory could potentially suffer the same fate after the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, since Arkane Austin was reportedly pitching a new game before it was shut down.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is now available for PC and Xbox Series X|S. In GameSpot’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II review, we said, “Hellblade 2 is perhaps the most visually remarkable Xbox title to date, but is ultimately undermined by its emphasis on fidelity over story and gameplay.”
New Star Wars: The Acolyte Featurette Explores Lee Jung-jae’s Master Sol
We’re a few weeks away from the premiere of Star Wars: The Acolyte, which will introduce a slew of new characters from the New Republic era, taking place thousands of years before the Skywalker Saga. One of these characters is Jedi Master Sol, played by iconic Korean actor and Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae.
Exact details about The Acolyte aren’t known outside of Lee investigating a murder where a former student of his is the prime suspect. Disney released a quick featurette about Sol with cast members and Lee himself talking about the character and praising the actor’s abilities.
“I was writing the character of Sol when Squid Game came out,” said Leslye Headland, showrunner and writer for The Acolyte. “I said ‘that’s Sol’. Lee Jung-jae ran the gamut of every single emotion. J.J. knows how to switch from being formidable and then switch to being heartbreaking. I don’t know many actors that can do that.”
There’s some new footage of Sol calling out a mysterious opponent saying how they wield a Jedi’s weapon but they aren’t a Jedi as the red-lit blade ignites. There is also a closer look at Amandla Stenberg’s character Mae and the fighting choreography that she and Lee perform for the show. Stenberg complimented her co-star saying how great he looks when he’s fighting.
“Honestly I can’t believe I played a part in Star Wars,” Lee said excitedly. “I’m still trying to be cool about it.”
Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres on Disney+ on June 4.
The Sims Movie Moving Forward At Amazon MGM Apparently
The Sims movie has been in development hell for years, but it seems like production may finally begin soon. Amazon MGM is officially making the film with the production company LuckyChap Entertainment, and with Barbie’s Margot Robbie producing and Loki director Kate Herron set to direct.
We first got word that the long-rumored The Sims movie was back from the dead earlier this year, when LuckyChap Entertainment–run by Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Sophia Kerr, and Josie McNamara–announced that it was working on the project. Per Puck, the film’s stakeholders went with Amazon MGM in the bidding war–though Netflix reportedly offered a larger bid, the producers prefer a theatrical release before the film goes to streaming.
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Given the life simulation nature of The Sims, it’s unclear how exactly the film will adapt the property. Fans have speculated that the plot could revolve around the Goth family–pre-made Sims who have appeared in nearly every entry in the series–and particularly the mysterious disappearance of Bella Goth, which is still debated today by series fans.
Like many large video game properties, production companies have been threatening to make a live-action The Sims movie for quite a while now. Initial reports to that effect first surfaced all the way back in 2007. With the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, it seems like projects like this are more likely to be greenlit.