Comoros News API

Supported Countries - 165

Get headlines from Comoros with our JSON API.

Country Parameter

The country paramter for the Comoros is KM.

Some example queries:

Below is the search query to fetch random 100 news-sources of Comoros.

https://newsdata.io/api/1/sources?country=km&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

Some of the well known sources

Live Example

This example demonstrates the HTTP request to make, and the JSON response you will receive, when you use the News API to get headlines from Comoros.

Headlines from Comoros

https://newsdata.io/api/1/latest?country=km&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

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      • "article_id": "46302ef555e95f10c0bfece43c6a326b",
      • "title": "Nintendo Issues 'Conservative' Switch 2 Sales Forecast Amid Uncertainty Around Tariffs",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/nintendo-switch-2/209442/news/nintendo-issues-conservative-switch-2-sales-forecast-amid-uncertainty-around-tariffs",
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      • "description": "Demand remains huge.Nintendo has issued what analysts are calling a \"conservative\" Switch 2 sales forecast amid ongoing uncertainty around tariffs.Reporting its financials this morning, Nintendo forecast 15 million sales of the Switch 2 and 45 million game sales during its current financial year ending March 31, 2026. The Switch 2 goes on ...",
      • "content": "Nintendo has issued what analysts are calling a \"conservative\" Switch 2 sales forecast amid ongoing uncertainty around tariffs. Reporting its financials this morning, Nintendo forecast 15 million sales of the Switch 2 and 45 million game sales during its current financial year ending March 31, 2026. The Switch 2 goes on sale June 5. Nintendo said its forecast assumes the U.S. tariff rates that kicked in on April 10 are maintained throughout its financial year, but admitted changes to the tariff rates may affect its forecast. “We will continue to monitor the situation to respond to changes in market conditions,” Nintendo said. Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners, called the 15 million figure “conservative,” saying in a tweet that Nintendo was “likely factoring in unpredictability around tariffs, pricing and production despite the positive pre-order momentum.” It’s worth noting that if Switch 2 hits 15 million in its first year, it would go down as one of the biggest console launches of all time, and would exceed the OG Switch’s 14.87 million sold year-one. Demand for Switch 2 does seem huge. After a delay due to tariffs, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24 with the price of the console still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you'd expect . Meanwhile, Nintendo has issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store , saying release date delivery is not guaranteed due to very high demand. Check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-08 08:54:00",
      • "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
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        • "ivory coast",
        • "uganda",
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        • "algeria",
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        • "dr congo",
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        "category": [
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        "ai_org": [
        • "nintendo issues",
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      {
      • "article_id": "eb949f3009d7894d4cd894959549bd00",
      • "title": "Palworld Developer Pocketpair Says It’s Being Forced to Patch the Game Due to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s Lawsuit",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/palworld/209441/news/palworld-developer-pocketpair-says-its-being-forced-to-patch-the-game-due-to-nintendo-and-the-pokemo",
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        "keywords": [
        • "palworld",
        • "ps5",
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      • "description": "But vows to continue legal fight.Palworld developer Pocketpair says recent patches made changes to the game that were forced upon it as a result of the ongoing patent lawsuit with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.Palworld launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC early 2024, breaking sales and ...",
      • "content": "Palworld developer Pocketpair says recent patches made changes to the game that were forced upon it as a result of the ongoing patent lawsuit with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. After Palworld’s huge launch, comparisons were made between Palworld’s Pals and Pokémon, with some accusing Pocketpair of \"ripping off\" Pokémon designs. But rather than file a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company went down the patent route. They want 5 million yen (approx $32,846) each plus late payment damages, as well as an injunction against Palworld that would block its release. In November, Pocketpair confirmed the three Japan-based patents , which revolve around catching Pokémon in a virtual field, it is being sued over. Palworld does include a mechanic that involves throwing a ball-like object (called a Pal Sphere) at monsters out in a field to capture them, similar to the mechanic seen in the 2022 Nintendo Switch exclusive Pokémon Legends: Arceus . Half a year later, Pocketpair has now provided an update admitting recent changes made to the game were indeed the result of the legal threats. Pocketpair confirmed that Patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, was the result of the ongoing litigation - as players suspected. This patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres and instead changed it to a static summon next to the player. Several other game mechanics were also changed with this patch. Pocketpair said that if it hadn’t made these changes to Palworld, “the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players.” But it doesn’t stop there. Pockeptpair said that today's Patch v0.5.5 makes further changes to Palworld so that gliding will be performed using a glider rather than with Pals. Pals in the player's team will still provide passive buffs to gliding, but players will now need to have a glider in their inventory in order to glide. Pocketpair called these changes “compromises” the studio is being forced to make out of fear of an injunction being granted that could block the development and sale of Palworld. “We understand that this will be disappointing for many, just as it is for us, but we hope our fans understand that these changes are necessary in order to prevent further disruptions to the development of Palworld,” Pocketpair said. Despite making these changes, Pocketpair said it will continue to dispute the claims made in the lawsuit, focusing on asserting the “invalidity” of the patents. Here's Pocketpair's statement in full: At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN sat down for an extended conversation with John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Palworld developer Pocketpair . We spoke following his talk at the conference, 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' During that talk, Buckley went into candid detail about a number of Palworld’s struggles, especially the accusations of it using generative AI (which Pocketpair has since debunked pretty soundly) and stealing Pokemon’s models for its own Pals (a claim that the person who originally made it has since retracted). He even commented a bit on Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, saying it “came as a shock” to the studio and was “something that no one even considered.” Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-08 08:34:49",
      • "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
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      • "source_name": "Ign Africa",
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      {
      • "article_id": "01a5f860287b0cafdcbeae733ef70bca",
      • "title": "We Played 30 Hours of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach!",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/death-stranding-2/209440/preview/we-played-30-hours-of-death-stranding-2-on-the-beach",
      • -
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        • "ps5",
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        • "hideo kojima",
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        • "death stranding 2"
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      • "description": "New enemies, new world, new connections?2019’s Death Stranding transcended the framework of ordinary video games by metaphorically depicting cosmology and even anthropology through the act of delivery.It was a game that challenged the idea of human connection through refreshing gameplay mechanics that fundamentally reexamined the very act of movement. To me, Death Stranding was an ...",
      • "content": "2019’s Death Stranding transcended the framework of ordinary video games by metaphorically depicting cosmology and even anthropology through the act of delivery. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach can be seen as an attempt to take the premises of the first game to the next level. While taking the player on a journey across the border of the UCA (United Cities of America), its symbolic depiction of connection feels more dynamic yet less certain than its predecessor. What questions will the new journey of legendary deliverer Sam Porter Bridges bring, and how will they be answered? While it was explicitly stated that what I played was not the final version of the game, the playable portions demonstrated a density and completeness you would expect from a final product. Fundamental elements such as movement, dialogue, and presentation are highly integrated, and the intention to expand upon the experience that the first game delivered was evident throughout. In the first game, Sam reconstructed connections between people while uncovering the truth behind Death Stranding, a mysterious phenomenon that caused disconnection between cities. Through Sam's journey of delivering supplies, players experienced movement in a way video games had not offered before, while the story gradually unfolded its views on life, death, and cosmological visions. The setting of Death Stranding 2 moves from the rebuilt UCA to the Mexican border region. Bridges, the organization that previously handled delivery operations, has withdrawn from delivery, and instead, an automated delivery system called APAS is now operating with unmanned vehicles. Sam was living quietly with his daughter Lou in a remote area of Mexico, but at the request of Fragile, another returning character, he takes on delivery missions again in this region where the communication infrastructure is undeveloped. A new journey quietly begins to reconnect the Chiral Network, a communication network similar to the internet. The photorealistic graphics that meticulously depict Mexico's desolate land are nothing short of impressive. From the texture of the dried surface to faintly rippling sand dust and rocky mountains in the distance, Death Stranding 2’s visuals drew me in right away. Photorealistic modeling and subtle facial expressions of characters have also largely improved from the first game, and the art style creates an aesthetic that transcends mere realism, forming a powerful foundation supporting its surrealistic worldview and story. The part that plays in Mexico functions more or less like a tutorial, not just in terms of gameplay, but also story and settings. While the first one overwhelmed players with numerous terms and settings in its early hours, Death Stranding 2 is conscious of being accessible even without prior knowledge. The sequel also offers a recap mode in novel style narrated by Deadman. The original Death Stranding left a strong impression by overwhelming players with a vast amount of information from the beginning. By doing so, it undeniably confused more casual players not used to such a convoluted story. In contrast, Death Stranding 2 introduces a glossary function called Corpus, showing careful consideration for players who have not played the first game or those who did but found it too complicated. I feel that the game design of Hideo Kojima's works often comes in three layers. For example, the Metal Gear series’ gameplay consists of infiltration, danger, and stealth while its movement can be divided into walking, crouching, and crawling. The same philosophy can also be seen in Death Stranding. For example, your scanning device Odradek visualizes terrain danger levels in three different colors. Death Stranding 2 follows the same rules. Just like in the original, the player once again has to manage cargo weight and balance while traversing unstable natural terrain. Footing must be secured on slopes, while the center of gravity must be controlled to avoid being swept away in rapid water streams. The risk of cargo damage is present throughout the process, which makes traversing the world itself a nerve-wrecking task. Constructions such as ropes and ladders can be used to traverse the world more conveniently. These infrastructures go beyond individual player experiences, as structures installed by other players are shared in the world as the Social Strand System. As you make use of ladders and bridges left by someone else, the solitary exercise of delivery gradually transforms into a more connected and social experience. In addition to highways, Death Stranding 2 allows the player to construct monorails too, which makes traversing its world a lot smoother. Highways and monorails require a lot of materials, forcing the player to utilize the mines to gather materials. As a result, establishing trade routes has become more central to gameplay than it was the first time around. While traversing the world itself has become more convenient, environments have become more challenging in return. The width of rivers can double due to rainfall, while natural hazards such as earthquakes called “gate quakes” and sandstorms can occur. As a new feature, the time of the day also changes in real time, which causes additional challenges for Sam. These natural elements interfere with player actions in various ways, such as footing collapsing due to flooding and earthquakes, or visibility worsening due to sandstorms and nightfall. To overcome these conditions, the sequel also boasts more room for customization. The “Porter Grade” indicates Sam’s current proficiency in a more direct way, while a new system called APAS Enhancement allows you to use skill points to enhance stats and obtain new abilities. From weapon power enhancement to weather analysis and footprint erasure, you can choose to have Sam specialize in either delivery, movement or combat skills. That means that while preparing your cargo was pretty much the only thing you could do to get ready for a new delivery in the first game, you can now also prepare by customizing Sam’s abilities according to your preference. Sam’s skills show that once again, Kojima is utilizing three layers of gameplay in which the player can tackle the game’s missions and obstacles. However, while delivery, movement and combat skills can all be customized, combat plays a greater role in Death Stranding 2. Combat, meanwhile, occurs much more frequently and has become more flexible in Death Stranding 2. In the first game, combat was limited and functioned merely as a way to secure supplies or to make your way through bases. Death Stranding Director’s Cut already added infiltration missions into Mule bases, but Death Stranding 2 builds more varied stages and systematized combat in the open world, seemingly as an extension of that. New human enemy forces such as Bandits and Armed Survivalists appear, and their bases are designed as stages with simple three-dimensional structures. When infiltrating these bases, players are often forced to engage in combat. BTs, or creatures that appeared due to the Death Stranding phenomenon, also have new types. Larger BTs with stronger attacks make the combat more challenging than it was last time. Combat has become more tactical as well. By throwing a speaking doll called Dollman, you can observe the insides of bases from above to grasp enemy placement and movement lines. While close combat remains important, remote stealth attacks with the Blood Boomerang, precision shooting with sniper rifles, and utilizing assault rifles and grenade launchers give the player a multitude of new options. It's even possible to put down Sam’s backpack, allowing for more agile and nimble movement by completely separating him from his cargo. Weight management directly connects to mobility, which greatly enhances tactical flexibility. Whether to engage in direct combat, choose stealth or avoid combat altogether, freedom of approach has increased when compared to the first game. The APAS Enhancement even allows you to refund skill points, welcoming trial and error to find the playstyle that suits you best. Death Stranding 2 has four difficulty settings – Story, Casual, Normal (which I played), and Brutal – providing flexibility in how much you want to invest in the game’s expanded combat as well. As partially revealed in trailers, after a series of dramatic events, Sam will cooperate with Drawbridge, a civilian company established by Fragile. The setting moves from Mexico to Australia, and a journey to spread the Chiral network begins once again. A mobile base called DHV Magellan (Deep-Tar Hunting Vessel), named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who travelled around the world, functions as a hub for the player. As the name DHV Magellan suggests, the story steps into themes reminiscent of colonial domination. Furthermore, the rise of a private political organization called APAC (Automated Public Assistance Company) shows similarities with the PMC (Private Military Company) depicted in Metal Gear Solid 4. Since I haven't witnessed the story to its conclusion, it is too early to speculate on how these motifs will come to fruition in the full game. In Death Stranding, people were isolated and only porters traversed the dangerous outside world, which has been noted by many as a portrayal that seemed to foresee the Covid-19 pandemic. In Death Stranding 2, the APAC seems to resonate with recent movements of America's DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). With such eerie points of convergence with reality, I can't help but feel that there is a significance worth noting in contemporary times regarding how connections will be redefined in Death Stranding 2. Of particular note is the presence of actor Luca Marinelli, who plays a mysterious man. Both Marinelli’s acting ability and the presentation of scenes he appears in leave a strong impression. The mystery of who this man is and why he stands in Sam's way will have players speculating for sure. Marinelli and his character are just as captivating as Mads Mikkelsen’s Cliff was in the first game. One concern I had during my 30 hours with the campaign was that I realized that the trailers contain content that delves quite deeply into the main story, to the extent that a lot of what happened throughout the game I was already somewhat aware of. Could it be that too much has been given away in the trailers? Or is there a big surprise awaiting players when Death Stranding 2’s full picture is revealed? We can only eagerly await the game’s June 26 release.",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-08 07:01:00",
      • "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
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      {
      • "article_id": "f98cc540fe42ca7f96977bc88fca7378",
      • "title": "Hideo Kojima Talks Death Stranding 2: On the Beach: 'I’m Just Really Happy We Can Finish Making the Game'",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/death-stranding-2/209439/news/hideo-kojima-talks-death-stranding-2-on-the-beach-im-just-really-happy-we-can-finish-making-the-game",
      • -
        "keywords": [
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      • "description": "Should we have connected?It's been a while since videogames were more than just action-filled, nerve-wracking experiences. Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding established the two opposites of division and connection as its themes during a pre-pandemic world, and its highly conceptual story structure and innovative delivery- centered movement mechanics blew open ...",
      • "content": "It's been a while since videogames were more than just action-filled, nerve-wracking experiences. Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding established the two opposites of division and connection as its themes during a pre-pandemic world, and its highly conceptual story structure and innovative delivery- centered movement mechanics blew open new possibilities. The development of Death Stranding 2 proceeded under the unprecedented circumstances of the Covid pandemic. How exactly did Kojima reconsider the meaning of \"connection\" and reconstruct it while being forced to reckon with his understanding of technology, production environments, and the nature of our relationships with one another? In this interview, Kojima talks about his philosophy framing the game's production, what was left behind in the previous game and carried on to the new one, and contemporary society and its relationship to his games. New Locations and New Elements IGN: What were you trying to accomplish for Death Stranding’s sequel? Kojima: I'd like to ask you to think back to the beginning of Metal Gear Solid. No weapons appear at first, and you only acquire them after going up the elevator. Placing weapons at the very start will cause players to pick them up and start killing enemies, so we consciously decided to not do that. But that part turned out to be unpopular, with some people saying they couldn't get up the elevator. Still, we had to design Metal Gear Solid so that players learned how stealth works. For Metal Gear Solid 2, we made it a little easier to use weapons and aim at specific parts using a POV angle, as many players were already aware of stealth games. It was the same for Death Stranding. There aren't many games about delivery, so we first had to get people accustomed to it first. For the sequel, we wanted to allow players that want to fight to do so more freely. Players can use weapons, and it's now easier to drive cars and motorcycles. For the story, the first game was about Sam and Cliff, but this time one of the main themes is Lou and what her existence means. IGN: Death Stranding depicts deeply emotional themes such as loss and sorrow. Are these based on your own experiences? Kojima: About half of what I create is based on real experiences, while the other half is based on fictional experiences. Themes like where people go when they die come from a very private place. IGN: What made you choose Mexico and Australia as new locations for Death Stranding 2? Kojima: I can’t say too much, but first of all, Mexico is contiguous to the UCA, and there was a need to connect to neighboring cities. As Sam says many times, it's possible that it could lead to an invasion. In the first game, players connected America from east to west. This does mirror the pioneer age, but are we going to do the same thing when making the sequel? My initial thought was to do something completely different, which was a story about cutting off connections. But doing that would mean reusing the setting and environment of the first game. My thought process was that we needed a continent that's about as long across as North America that faces the ocean to both the north and south. Eurasia would be too large, and Africa wasn't right either. After thinking about it, I decided on Australia. I came up with the concept of Plate Gate as a desperate measure being used to connect it. We could potentially keep on creating sequels if we use this approach, but there aren't any plans to make any. IGN: Why did you decide to add the concept of there being both night and day? Kojima: We did this in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain as well, but I wanted to properly include the passage of time in an open world. Gazing at the sky as the sun rises and sets is something that couldn’t been done in the first game, in part due to engine-related reasons, but it's been put into the sequel. Night scenes were far too dark at first, so we changed a lot when it comes to lighting. Cutscene lighting changes depending on the time of day too. It wasn't easy building a game that could account for that. There are times when I want to use film-like backlighting in specific scenes, but this is a game, not a movie. What's being seen will change based on the player. I'd personally like you to play certain cutscenes at night, but it's fine if you see them at another time of the day too. We also included the option to go to bed and wait for the morning before leaving. This is something we've been sure to include because I imagine there will be players that don't want to travel at night. Metal Gear Solid V had a system where you could smoke to advance time, but this game does it in more natural ways, like going back to bed in a private room after waking up once. IGN: It felt as though there's an emphasis on strategic combat in Death Stranding 2. What kind of effect did this change have on the game's design and storytelling? Kojima: It's not that I'm simply pushing combat. The game is still fundamentally about cargo delivery, but combat has become more flexible. Players have the choice to take a detour around enemies or use a car or motorcycle so as not to encounter them. This does mean there's a need for new weapons as well, though. Some of the staff on Death Stranding 2 worked with me on the Metal Gear series, so there were times when people worried that it was getting a little Metal Gear-ish. My personal explanation for it is that we simply pursued more enjoyable combat. This is actually connected to the theme of \"we should not have connected.\" This even relates to war. Our world today is connected by a rope that is the internet. But at the same time there’s conflict going on in the world. We ultimately can't connect to each other in harmless and inoffensive ways alone. Higgs tells you that ropes on their own are not enough. Maybe we also need sticks to connect with one another. The story keeps on progressing in that direction. That doesn’t mean that you will be forced into stealth. I don't even use stealth myself. The Social Strand System and how it connects to real-life social media IGN: Were you ever surprised by what players did with the Social Strand System in the first game? If so, how did that affect the production of Death Stranding 2? Kojima: Whether players would really use the Social Strand System or not was an unknown to us. When I play the game myself, I use ladders and make bridges, but I don’t build any of the highways; I just use what someone else made. That's why I was concerned if people would really make roads themselves when the game came out, but it turned out that a lot of people did nothing but that. That was a pleasant surprise for me. I wanted to make sure that the sequel would have more interesting things to do for those players as well. The monorail is one such element. One point of debate within the team when making the first game was likes. They aren't a form of currency, and they don't make you stronger. Staff members reacted negatively to that, but I placed importance on how good it feels to receive likes even if they don't have any value, similar to how that feels in real life. It's a strange game design choice, you know. But even the staff members who were against it at first ended up being pleased by the implementation in the end. We don't know how systems like these will be received until the game actually comes out and we see everyone's reactions. For the Director's Cut, we took a look at player data and decided what to remake based on the points for improvement we found there. This sequel is being developed based on the player behaviour. Personally, though, I wanted players to put down their cargo more often when they fight. Even when we had people test the game out, a lot of them tended to believe that they'd lose their cargo since that may happen in the real world, but we didn't make many changes to that part of the game during that time. IGN: You are known to be active on social media, but it seemed as though there was a shift in theme between these two games. The first Death Stranding was about people connecting, while Death Stranding 2 asks if we really should be connected. Kojima: Death Stranding was developed before the pandemic. There were movements toward division at the time such as the United Kingdom leaving the EU, and so both its story and gameplay were created based on my thoughts on that during that time. But then Covid started three months after making the game, and I was truly shocked. Now in the 21st century, though, we have the Chiral Network... which is to say the internet. Spanish flu struck in the early 20th century, but we were able to survive this time because we were connected by the internet. We started working remotely, while concerts and live events vanished. We had no choice but to rely on the Internet. Children couldn't go to school or play and had to stare at screens all day. I think we didn't have any other choice at the time. You'd turn on the TV and hear about how the metaverse was the next big thing, but that isn't how human communication works. You don't meet people by chance that way. IGN: So in other words, your thoughts about social media have changed, and that's being reflected in this title? Kojima: This may sound strange, but I made the first game based on the theme of, \"We're in danger of being divided and isolated, so let's connect.\" Then Covid hit after it came out. After actually experiencing that, I felt that maybe it’s not such a good thing to connect so much. That feeling is foreshadowed in lots of different scenes and settings, including \"the stick and the rope.\" I think there are portions that players will only understand once they reach the end of the game. What I felt during the pandemic is quite strongly reflected within this title. The logo for the first Death Stranding features strands dangling underneath the logo. These are meant to represent connection, but the strands dangle from above the logo for the second game. It’s kind of like the logo for The Godfather. This applies to Dollman too, and you'll find enemies dangling from strands if you go to the weapons factory as well. I added a lot of moments that will make players aware of the presence of different strands. When you really think about it, what does it mean to be connected? I hope you'll play the game when it comes out at the end of June. You've all gone through Covid, so there should be something to resonate with for everyone. Casting and Collaborating with Artists IGN: How did you approach and find new cast members for Death Stranding 2? Kojima: As we show you in the opening, Fragile shows up when Sam and Lou are living together. That was something I wrote while we were still making the previous game. I told Léa (Seydoux) in January 2020 that I wanted her to appear in the sequel. But due to the pandemic, we were unable to record, leading to a delay at the time. At least we were able to release the PC version and the Director's Cut during that period. Since this game was made during the pandemic, the process took four to five years. This involves scanning and digitizing, choosing costumes, and more. It's not as if we can shoot everything in one three-month period like a film. It had to be done at regular intervals while making everything else, and it's pretty tough work. What determines whether you can work with someone in this kind of situation is your mutual bond. I start with the people I like, the people who I like to see in films, and the people I want to work with. I go and meet these people directly. We'll end up knowing each other for a while, and so over the course of having meals with them and such I'm able to decide whether or not I want work with them, and that's when I'd figure out the details through their agent. Lindsay Wagner, who played Amelie, is someone I loved since I was young, but a younger staff member responsible for her (CG) data didn't know who she was. They said that as they saw her face each day, though, they ended up becoming a fan. In fact, by the time production was nearing its end, they had bought the Blu-rays for The Bionic Woman. So that’s how I select the actors. I do auditions sometimes, as well, but it’s more about the connection. It’s the same for OD , Physint , and other projects, too. IGN: Are there any cast performances in Death Stranding 2 that you like in particular? Kojima: That would have to be Neil and Lucy. Neil is played by Luca (Marinelli) , and I actually made a comment promoting Martin Eden, which he's in. When I did that, Luca emailed me in English himself, saying that he had been a fan of mine since he was young and that he'd read what I wrote. This will probably let down fans of Mads (Mikkelsen), but it wouldn't be right for Cliff to return in the sequel because his story has already come to an end. That means I needed to cast someone who can surpass his performance, though I wondered if that’s even possible. That's when I thought of Luca and made him an offer. At the time I was trying to find someone who could play Lucy as a counterpart to Neil, only for Luca to ask if I had already decided on his partner. When I said no, he suggested his wife. His wife, Alissa Jung, isn't just an actress but also a film director. When I met her in person, she seemed perfect to play a counsellor and so I offered her the role. Once we ended up filming Neil and Lucy's scenes, most of them involved the two characters on their own, which was kind of interesting. Luca is a stage actor as well, while Alissa is an actress and film director. There were times when they tried to put me aside and direct themselves! You need a lot of people when working in a performance capture studio, such as makeup artists, record-keeping staff, and more. They were all spellbound during Neiland Lucy's scenes. That had never happened before, which goes to show just how amazing the scenes we captured were. IGN: How did your collaboration with Woodkid, whose music is included in the game, come about? Kojima: When I was on my way back to my hotel during a January 2020 trip to Paris, I was introduced to Woodkid as a musician who was a fan of mine. He asked if I would listen to the music he was working on. The song was Goliath, and it was incredible. The song hadn't come out yet, and I fell in love with his music from then on. When I returned to Japan and watched his music videos, I was shocked to see a world featuring beach-like scenery and whales, just like Death Stranding's. Ryan Karazija, the frontman of Low Roar who I collaborated with in the previous game, had passed away and I didn't know what to do for the sequel's music, but when I offered that role to Woodkid he gladly accepted it. Just like I was worried about who would replace Mads, I was worried about the music, and I've gotten texts asking if it's really possible to create a musical experience better than Low Roar's. It was received very well worldwide, and Woodkid said to me for the first time that he actually had felt immense pressure that people would say they don’t like it and reject him because it wasn’t Low Roar, but he was assured after seeing the positive response. IGN: How do you go about selecting which songs to use in a game? How much of your personal taste in music is reflected in that? Kojima: Like the previous game, I've asked Ludvig Forssell to handle the soundtrack. Of course, Woodkid's songs are in there, too. I pick musicians who I listen to and enjoy regularly. Similar to casting, I contact them directly and get permission to use their music, or they'll let me know that they want to write a new song for me that I then use. IGN: What was the most rewarding part of creating Death Stranding 2? Kojima: I wrote the proposal for this game while isolated during the pandemic and worked on it with people whose faces I couldn't see for the most part, only really meeting Yoji Shinkawa once a week. I imagine the same went for any studio. If we can't all gather and we can't shoot, what should we do? But even under those circumstances, I was fortunate to have everyone's help as we made progress on the game. I'd say it was around 2021 when we seriously began performance capture work. But I wasn't allowed to go to the Los Angeles studio at the time and had to connect there remotely from Tokyo to direct the actors there. I used my smartphone, my iPad, and all kinds of cameras, but directing remotely really did drive me mad. Just when I didn't know what to do, someone from Sony HQ let me borrow two window-like monitors that make two-way voice communication possible, which allowed me to find a way to record. It still wasn't easy, though. When someone's working right next to you, you're able to make discoveries and realizations about what to do. But if you're working fully remote, there are a lot of times when the timingor details of a report get delayed. Even if someone makes a mistake, it isn't noticed right away. Still, I think we'll find a way to make it safely over the finish line. At the time, I really thought that it wouldn't be possible to complete the game. So what has been the most rewarding? I think I’m just really happy that we can finish making the game. IGN: Thank you for your time. Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "title": "Meet the Investor: Aaron Fu, DCG",
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      • "description": "Since moving to Africa in 2015, Aaron Fu has backed more than 100 companies and represented some of the most active investors on the continent. Now, he is focused on crypto, blockchain, and AI, leading early-stage venture investing at DCG. Located in Stamford, Connecticut, DCG, or Digital Currency Group, invests in digital currency companies and [...]The post Meet the Investor: Aaron Fu, DCG appeared first on Disrupt Africa.",
      • "content": "Since moving to Africa in 2015, Aaron Fu has backed more than 100 companies and represented some of the most active investors on the continent. Now, he is focused on crypto, blockchain, and AI, leading early-stage venture investing at DCG. Located in Stamford, Connecticut, DCG, or Digital Currency Group, invests in digital currency companies and blockchain startups, providing insights, network, and access to capital to help build and support bitcoin and blockchain companies.The company, which formerly owned CoinDesk, started investing in Africa in 2021, and has made 23 investments on the continent so far, with 12 of those coming last year. Heading up this increase in activity is Fu, originally from Singapore, who told the latest episode of Disrupt Africa’s “The month in VC” podcast series he always thought of himself as a technologist, and had been building tech platforms back when he was 11 years old.“My career however actually began in financial services, I worked in banking for eight or nine years. During that period I also built a ridesharing startup in Singapore, which was my first founder experience. We built that and scaled it to Myanmar and Cambodia – it was a lot of fun. I remember having to practice valuations and pitching in front of the mirror,” Fu said. “But I never started getting into venture until I moved to Africa. I was with Standard Chartered in Singapore and got sent across to Africa to lead our digital bank there. I started to do a little angel investing, and then joined a firm based in Hong Kong called Nest.”That was the first venture firm he worked for, and he raised an Africa fund for them.“We invested in a few companies on the continent, and tried to help them go a bit more global, get in touch with banks, but fast forward 10 years down the road I’ve backed more than 100 companies now across fintech, logistics, SaaS, a wide range of sectors,” Fu said.Those investments have been made personally and via a few different vehicles, including Catalyst Fund and Sherpa Ventures, while he has also started investing in other emerging markets, like Latam and Southeast Asia.“Now at DCG I get to look after the world – we haven’t done anything in Antarctica yet but it is exciting times,” said Fu.Fu leads ventures at DCG, but what exactly does that mean?“DCG is not new to investing in Africa but we’ve been doing so a little under the radar. We’ve been an investor since day one, we’ve always been investing in venture at early-stage. It is a core part of our DNA. We are known for being early checks into Coinbase and Kraken, but we have been investing in Africa for four or five years now. We have a significant portfolio, many companies you already know, like Stitch, AccessPay, tappi...” he said.Where does the capital come from?“DCG invests off our balance sheet, which gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility, not just in terms of the stage we invest in, but we are also able to follow-on all the way through to pre-IPO. We don’t have LPs in a traditional sense, but we do have a couple of shareholders,” said Fu.So what type of investments is DCG looking for?“We are very very founder-first. We care a lot about a team’s ability to execute, what they have done before, what kind of businesses they have built before, what is the ambition level? We really want to back founders that think big, think global, and try to use the best technology out there,” he said.“We like coming in very early, sometimes pre-idea, and getting to know founders. And by the time they’re two years in, launching in their second market, or third product, we can then decide whether we want to lean in with significantly more capital and lead or co-lead the next round.”Has Fu’s experience as a founder helped him when it comes to working with entrepreneurs from the other side of the table?“100 per cent. I especially empathise with first time founders, it is a daunting thing to be doing. Having been a founder, having understood how crazy each and every day can be, how uncertain your future can be, I think that level of empathy is really important,” he said. “At the end of the day, you are really just working with the founding team, and they’re going through a lot. I really see myself as more than just a financial investor – almost part-time therapist, part-time gym coach, I’ve even given haircuts!”DCG itself provides other support beyond just capital.“For us, we listen a lot to what the founders need. There’s a very wide spectrum of services and ways in which we work with founders. At the highest level we are a sounding board for strategy. When it comes to the more hands-on, we support founders a lot with partnerships and go-to-market. Also people, in the earliest days you might need certain types of people, and we have a lot of professionals in our network,” said Fu.Though it has diversified a little, he says crypto is still central to the firm’s mission.“DCG does a little more than just crypto, but crypto is still at the heart of everything we do. We invest in crypto, fintech, and AI. If you think about moving money across different geographies in Africa or helping companies in Brazil settle with their trade partners in the US, a lot of these use cases could really leverage crypto in the short or long term. So we want to be the right partner to these builders, to help them think about how they can leverage crypto or blockchain to do better at what they are doing. AI is also an important part of what we do now and an area we are bullish about,” said Fu.Africa, he says, is one of the regions with the most acute use cases for these technologies. “In a geography like, say, Nigeria, where a lot of systems have been built on pretty legacy software, crypto and blockchain can come in,” Fu said.What are DCG’s plans for 2025?“2024 was an incredible year for us in Africa – this year we’re looking to ramp up more of the same. We want to invest in between 10 and 15 companies in Africa this year, and we’re looking forward to helping our investments from last year as well, maybe doubling down with more rounds,” he said.The post Meet the Investor: Aaron Fu, DCG appeared first on Disrupt Africa.",
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      • "content": "Former Dragon Age series executive producer Mark Darrah says he doesn’t feel EA and BioWare efficiently supported his team during the early development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard . The ex-BioWare developer shed light on his time working on the legendary fantasy RPG franchise during a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel . His story recounts events that transpired throughout 2017 or, according to Darrah, “the most impactful 12 months in BioWare’s history.” He touches on not only decisions that affected the early development of last year’s Dragon Age game but how a change in attitude was tied to the final days of development on Mass Effect: Andromeda. It starts in late 2016, when Darrah was moved over to the team that would handle the last stages of development on Andromeda. He says his “feeling at the time” was that the Dragon Age team felt “jerked around” and had “no support from BioWare or EA.” The hope was that Darrah could aid in getting Mass Effect out the door so the next Dragon Age could utilize more resources, though this ultimately didn’t quite pan out. Mass Effect: Andromeda launched in March 2017 and, in Darrah’s own words, “it doesn’t go well.” Throughout this time, BioWare was still adjusting to a structural change that saw the team reporting to new leadership at EA that was “hyper interested” in its projects and plans. He calls the change dramatic, noting that the studio’s new bosses weren’t interested in continuing work on Mass Effect due to its recently troubled launch. However, Darrah didn’t feel like Dragon Age was getting the support it needed even after Andromeda was shipped. The former BioWare lead says he approached current EA CEO Andrew Wilson and former EA executive Patrick Söderlund with his concerns and was reassured of Dragon Age’s importance to the company. While EA offered few resources in an attempt to maintain the studio’s work in the summer of 2017, Darrah along with the rest of the BioWare staff were told that studio veteran Casey Hudson would be returning. It was a major shakeup that staff was made aware of without notice. “You have to remember: I am the second most senior person at BioWare,” Darrah said. “Casey was interviewed, and hired, and prepared to be brought back entirely without me being consulted in any way. Would me have being involved in the process have changed the decision? No, I don’t think it would have, but there is an immense amount of disrespect involved in making a hire of this impact, in making a decision of this import, without involving the second-most senior person at your studio in any way.” Darrah then predicted that BioWare would shift its focus to Anthem. When his concerns were shared with EA, he was told that leadership was committed to giving Dragon Age the attention it deserved. “As we all know, that’s not what happened at all,” he added. EA’s interest in Anthem ballooned until its similarly troubled launch in 2019, all while Darrah felt his trust in the company was being “constantly hammered” and “constantly challenged.” Resources were continuously pulled away from what would eventually be known as Dragon Age: The Veilguard all the way through 2019, leading to what Darrah says were “fundamental” changes to the nature of the project. Dragon Age: The Veilguard would go on to release in late 2024 as BioWare’s latest AAA fantasy RPG. Despite positive reviews from critics (we gave it a 9/10 in our review ), EA painted its launch as a letdown, saying in February that it failed to “resonate with a broad enough audience.” These were comments former BioWare developers later pushed back on, with some suggesting the company should follow the lead set up by Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios . Many Dragon Age developers were laid off in January of this year as the studio shifted its focus back to Mass Effect 5. Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).",
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      • "description": "More than 18 million streams in two weeks.Developer Sandfall Interactive has announced that the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack has managed to top Billboard album charts in the weeks since its release.As fans continue to flock to the mega-hit turn-based RPG, one element that seems to have almost everyone pleased is its music. It’s been a ...",
      • "content": "Developer Sandfall Interactive has announced that the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack has managed to top Billboard album charts in the weeks since its release. Head to the Billboard website and you’ll find that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 currently sits atop both the Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts. Sandfall also revealed that the soundtrack has managed to make a mark at 13 on the Official Soundtrack Album chart and 31 on the Official Album Download chart. It means players are gravitating to more than just the experience’s story and gameplay as its dreamlike tunes back the entire adventure. The Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack is comprised of more than 150 individual tracks, with many boasting hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify . It’s the epic Lumière that has established itself as the most popular track, though, as it has nearly 1.9 million views on YouTube and a little more than 1.9 million streams on Spotify . A video game resonating with music fans in such a way is no doubt a feat to be proud of, but it’s especially impressive considering the soundtrack was handled by composer Lorien Testard, who, as Sandfall stated in an interview with BBC , was discovered on SoundCloud. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S (as well as Game Pass) April 24, 2025, less than two weeks ago. In that time, it’s managed to blow past the 2 million copies sold milestone , securing Sandfall’s first game as quite the success story. It’s seen so much praise that French President Emmanuel Macron even chimed in to offer his congratulations . For more on how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s reception, you can read up on why Sandfall doesn’t believe the surprise launch of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered impacted its sales. You can also check out how the project is dredging up familiar arguments surrounding turn-based games . Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).",
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      • "title": "Charlie Cox Reveals His 'Least Favorite' Episode of Daredevil: Born Again: 'I Pushed Back Against It'",
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      • "description": "Is it YOUR favorite?The road from page to small screen for Daredevil: Born Again was rife with tweaks and rewrites, but it turns out the series that made it to air ultimately had one episode left untouched: Episode 5, the one that, believe it or not, just so happens ...",
      • "content": "The road from page to small screen for Daredevil: Born Again was rife with tweaks and rewrites, but it turns out the series that made it to air ultimately had one episode left untouched: Episode 5 , the one that, believe it or not, just so happens to be star Charlie Cox’s “least favorite” of the entire season. “I dunno if this is of interest, but I will say this amongst all of this, there was one episode we didn’t change at all,” Cox explained in a recent interview with The Playlist . “It’s the episode in the bank, and that was part of the original [shoot]. We shot that before the strike. That was part of the original [draft], and just for my money, I wasn’t into it.” Cox revealed to the outlet that he “pushed back against it as much as I felt was possible.” The episode in question features Cox’s character Matt Murdock (also known as the titular Daredevil) getting caught in the throes of a bank robbery while attempting to land a loan for the law firm he shares with partners Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll). That said, the actor also acknowledged that despite his own preferences, fans seemed to really enjoy what the episode had to offer. “I really pushed back on the episode, and yet I hear from so many people that they love that episode. So, it just goes to show you just don’t know. It’s so subjective,” Cox added. “Everyone’s taste is different. And I’ve heard that that episode is one of the highest-rated. Internally, when they do their ratings, it’s one of the highest-rated Disney shows that they’ve had.” Indeed, we loved Episode 5. In our Daredevil: Born Again Episodes 5 and 6 Review , we said: \"It’s all just so well done. I can’t remember the last time a Marvel show had me wearing such a big smile the entire episode and had me completely captivated from start to finish. This episode also achieves something very important given the lack of Daredevil thus far: it shows what makes Matt Murdock such a unique and amazing hero, even when he’s not in costume.\" Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.",
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      • "title": "As Call of Duty: Warzone Cheating Complaints Ramp Up Following the Return of Verdansk, Activision Insists It’s Caused ‘Chaos’ in the Cheat Marketplace by ‘Disrupting’ Over 150 Cheat Resellers",
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      • "description": "Scrambled.Following the euphoric reception to the return of Verdansk to Call of Duty battle royale Warzone, familiar complaints have begun to resurface, chief among them cheating.Call of Duty has a reputation for cheating (it comes with the territory of being such a hugely popular shooter and having a free-to-download ...",
      • "content": "Following the euphoric reception to the return of Verdansk to Call of Duty battle royale Warzone , familiar complaints have begun to resurface, chief among them cheating. Activision, as IGN has reported, has spent millions of dollars in the battle against Call of Duty cheat makers, cheat sellers, and cheat users, with a number of recent high-profile successes . In March, Phantom Overlay announced it was shutting down , with fans reacting in disbelief that such a prominent Call of Duty cheat provider could fall by the wayside. Also in March, IGN reported on four cheat providers that were shut down ahead of the hotly anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone . It had been hoped that Warzone's cheating problem would improve following Verdansk’s release, but the honeymoon period has well and truly come to an end, with players reporting that cheaters are back in force. “Geegees Cheaters...it is your game now. Enjoy,” declared redditor Patient-Author-2960 . “Big congrats to all the cheaters for finally conquering the game again and donkey punching Verdansk. You guys really stuck with it, grinding those walls and aimbots to perfection. It must feel amazing to dominate lobbies without any actual skill. Welcome back.” Amid this fresh wave of negativity, Activision has published an anti-cheat update from its Ricochet team, recapping what’s gone on with Season 3. Activision failed to address this apparent rise in Warzone cheating, but did outline the work it has been doing to address the problem of cheating generally across Warzone and Black Ops 6. “Our commitment is to keep cheaters out of the game and, for those who make it past our initial systems, identify and remove them as quickly as possible,” Activision said. “The Ricochet Anti-Cheat team is hard at work taking on would-be cheaters throughout the game, including those looking to steal leaderboard glory.” Activision said it had shut down five more cheat makers since its last progress report (this is on top of the 20+ it’s shut down since Black Ops 6 came out last year), and had “disrupted” over 150 cheat sellers in the same period. It said it had protected over 10,000 accounts that had a potential suspicious account link in Season 03 (Activision recently forced players to verify they are in control of an account if someone attempts to link a new PC account to an Activision ID). It’s also added Replay Tech Preview, a new tech that helps examine replays for faster investigation, and added new elements to the Death Widget, making KillCams clearer for players. “The Season 03 update has made a strong impact against cheat makers and resellers,” Activision insisted. “For example, as we announced recently, Ricochet Anti-Cheat quickly detected a cheat provider that came back online after weeks of downtime, resulting in a large-scale ban wave against its customer base, forcing it offline once again. “We’ve continued to cause chaos in the cheat marketplace and have hit a milestone of disrupting over 150 cheat resellers – shutting them down or rendering their software ineffective. And we’re not slowing down.” Activision highlighted new account creation, which is a tactic cheaters use when they get booted from Warzone. This, Activision said, is “a reality” for all free-to-play games like Warzone, but it’s targeting new accounts and is now seeing “strong” results. On average from the period between Season 02 through Season 03, new accounts are banned within four matches when they cheat, Activision said. New anti-cheat systems and upgrades are coming throughout Season 03 Reloaded – specifically with Ranked Play online in Call of Duty: Warzone – as well as upcoming seasons, Activision continued. “Our team’s commitment remains the same. While threats continue to exist, we’re focused on strengthening the barriers to make cheating in Call of Duty a fool’s errand, eliminating as many cheaters as possible before they can impact a match, and hunting down and removing any cheating account that makes its way into the game as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile, Activision said it has issued cease and desist demands to several companies that create and sell third-party hardware used to cheat in Call of Duty games. “We have already seen compliance from some of the companies we’ve contacted; however, we will continue to pursue other device makers in the market, globally, as well as people that create scripts to manipulate Call of Duty game code,” Activision warned. “These devices and scripts used to cheat in our games are not welcome. Call of Duty does not endorse the use of these products. Any account that utilizes these devices on PC or console for the purpose of cheating will be permanently banned.” “No anti-cheat system can eliminate all threats, but we continue to deliver updates to take the legs out from under cheat makers by banning their users, forcing them offline, and reducing the time to detection for accounts that make it into the game,” Activision concluded. “Today and into the future, the Ricochet Anti-Cheat roadmap continues, with new updates being developed and deployed on a regular basis.” Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "title": "Nintendo Privacy Policy Update Says Switch 2 'May' Monitor and Record Audio and Video Chat Sessions — With Your Consent",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/nintendo-switch-2/209429/news/nintendo-privacy-policy-update-says-switch-2-may-monitor-and-record-audio-and-video-chat-sessions-wi",
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      • "description": "Collectathon.The Nintendo Switch 2 launches in less than one month, so you should know that it may use some of its new features to record your audio and video chat sessions.Nintendo clarified its intentions on the privacy policy section of its ...",
      • "content": "The Nintendo Switch 2 launches in less than one month, so you should know that it may use some of its new features to record your audio and video chat sessions. “Our services may allow you to create, upload or share content such as text, images, audio, video, your nickname and user icon, or other content that you create or is licensed to you,” the Your Content section of its privacy policy says. “With your consent, and to enforce our terms, we may also monitor and record your video and audio interactions with other users. When you use any of our services that include these or other similar capabilities we may collect your content in accordance with our terms of use and this policy.” It's worth noting Nintendo's line about needing the user's consent to monitor and record video and audio, which suggests there will be an opt-in button when setting up the Switch 2. Still, it's an important update fans should be aware of as we inch toward the launch of the Switch 2, which is slated to arrive June 5. A new Nintendo console means new features, and this time around, one focus for the architects behind the hardware involved giving players more multiplayer communication options . Leading the charge on this initiative is a new C button, which allows users to instantly start chatting with friends across Nintendo’s online network. Pressing the button allows players to speak with friends via a microphone built into the Switch 2 itself. Screen sharing is also available to those who wish to replicate the feeling of couch co-op with buddies outside of your play area, as is video streaming for those who purchase the new camera accessory. Video options, specifically, seem to be relatively low quality but still do the job of broadcasting your face – and potentially your environment – to your friends. Outside of improved graphics and mouse-like control options , voice and video chat might be the Switch 2’s defining feature, so it’ll be important to keep Nintendo’s recent privacy policy changes in mind. For more on the upcoming tech launch, you can read up on why a popular Piranha Plant accessory is slightly cheaper than the standard camera . You can also check in on how the system’s pre-order launch was handled , as well as our interview with Nintendo’s Bill Trinen . Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).",
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      • "title": "The 13 Best Dragon Ball Z Characters",
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      • "description": "Their power levels are off the charts.Even decades after its original run, Dragon Ball Z remains one of the most popular anime series ever released. Who doesn't love watching colorful, muscular heroes battling it out with the fate of the entire world at stake?Even as the franchise continues to grow thanks to Dragon ...",
      • "content": "Even decades after its original run, Dragon Ball Z remains one of the most popular anime series ever released. Who doesn't love watching colorful, muscular heroes battling it out with the fate of the entire world at stake? Note: This list only covers Dragon Ball Z, not the original Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, or Dragon Ball Daima! 13. Mr. Satan/Hercule Dragon Ball Z has a number of designated comic relief characters, but it's hard to top Mr. Satan (or Hercule, if you prefer the Funimation dub). This bombastic, self-aggrandizing fighter is only too happy to keep taking credit for the Z crew's victories, which leads to him becoming the world's most beloved celebrity by the end of the series. But on some level, we can't really blame the guy. By human standards, he actually is pretty powerful, and it's not his fault he has to try to compete with Saiyans and Namekians. Besides, he got the chance to fight a resurrected Hitler in the Fusion Reborn movie, and that has to count for something. 12. Majin Buu As the final main villain of the series, Majin Buu doesnt quite hold up to previous baddies like Frieza and Cell, but he's still pretty imposing in his own right. He's by far the most powerful of the many fighters Goku and friends square off against in the series. What really makes Buu stand out is the fact that he has so many forms, each with their own personality and motivations. Every time our heroes think they've achieved the power necessary to conquer this ancient evil, he transforms and resets the game board all over again. 11. Videl She may be a relatively late addition to the series, but Video definitely ranks among the show's best female characters. It's a lot of fun watching her friendship/romance with Gohan develop in the early course of the Buu Saga, especially as Videl butts heads with the equally headstrong Chi-Chi. It also quickly becomes clear that Videl is the powerful, noble fighter her father wishes he could be. She's not able to contribute much as the Buu Saga wears on, but Videl remains one of the best later additions to the DBZ saga. 10. Bulma Bulma isn't quite as central to the Dragon Ball Z saga as she is the original Dragon Ball, but she's still a character worth highlighting. The rare science dork amid a sea of musclebound fighters, Bulma is always happy to save the day with a handy gadget or three. Where would our heroes be without her trusty array of Capsule Corp. accessories? Bulma's unlikely romance with Vegeta also proves to be one of the series' more compelling subplots. She's come a long way since her very first team-up with Goku. 9. Android 18 While the line between good and evil is usually pretty well defined in the DBZ-verse, there are exceptions. Android 18 is certainly one such case. One of the world-conquering androids Future Trunks is sent to warn our heroes about, 18 quickly proves herself to be more than just a killing machine. Her independent streak and sarcastic sense of humor reveal a deep-seated humanity Dr. Gero couldn't quite snuff out. By the end of the series, 18 has given up her original programming in favor of starting a family with Krillin. It's a shame the series never shows us more of how that relationship developed, but 18 nonetheless ranks among the series' more intriguing and nuanced characters. 8. Cell The ultimate creation of Dr. Gero, Cell is a creature who has near limitless growth potential. What is most interesting about him, though, is that he is willing to wait for characters to reach their full potential. He could simply kill everyone with his immense power, but often he is seen stalling and waiting, as he wants to battle the heroes of Earth when they are at their true potential. If not quite the greatest villain in DBZ history, Cell is certainly responsible for some of the series' best moments. Who can forget the tragic death of Android 16, spurring Gohan to unleash his true power? And don't forget the dramatic final showdown, when the late Goku returns to help his son finally destroy this all-powerful threat to humanity. 7. Krillin You really can’t make a list about Dragon Ball Z without including Krillin, Goku’s longtime friend and training partner. Although his power is quickly outpaced by Goku during the events of Dragon Ball Z, Krillin is always around and ready to fight, even if it often does mean he gets beat up. In fact, Krillin's poor fighting record has become a bit of a running joke at this point. The most memorable of his many deaths occurs at the hands of Frieza, something Krillin himself has never forgotten. However, it was not entirely in vain, as his death served to spark the initial Super Saiyan transformation in Goku. He may never be the strongest, or the most... alive, but Krillin is always there for his friends, and that’s what makes him number seven on our list. 6. Trunks Trunks is unique among the DBZ fighters in that he appears in two completely different forms over the course of the series. We first meet Trunks early in the Cell Saga, as a battle-hardened teen warrior from the future with a dire message. Trunks makes quite the first impression, handily dispatching both Mecha-Frieza and King Cold with a few lightning-quick sword slashes, and he continues to gain new layers over the course of that storyline and the tie-in movie, The History of Trunks. Later, fans meet the younger version of Trunks, a boy no longer burdened by growing up in a hellish world of evil androids. Along with his BFF Goten, Trunks is the source of endless comedic relief during the Buu Saga. Whichever version you prefer, he's a worthy addition to the series' cast. 5. Piccolo Piccolo did quite the 180 over the course of DBZ. It's easy to forget he was the main villain in the final story arc in the original Dragon Ball. Piccolo slowly morphs from Goku's mortal enemy to reluctant ally to outright friend over the course of the series. Whatever differences the two warriors might once have had, Piccolo is redeemed after taking a strong interest in young Gohan, helping nurture his pupil's immense hidden power. Piccolo is also notable for being the one non-Saiyan character who can keep up with the likes of Goku and Vegeta, thanks mainly to his habit of fusing with fellow Namekians like Nail and his doppelganger Kami. 4. Gohan Goku's older son Gohan could potentially be the strongest fighter in the series. Sadly, that potential is never fully realized, as he would rather live his life as a pacifist, only fighting in times of true need. Even with that mentality, though, Gohan has been involved in some of the largest and most memorable moments of the entire franchise. We are teased throughout the series that his inner potential is greater than anyone's, and we see an example of this when he becomes the first Super Saiyan 2 in order to defeat Cell. His potential is further unlocked during the Buu Saga, when he gains the ability to go into an Ultimate form, totally separate from his Saiyan forms. Perhaps he never truly eclipses his father in terms of power, but in many ways Gohan is the true heart and soul of DBZ. 3. Frieza He may not be anywhere near the most powerful villain by the series' end, but Frieza's capacity for evil is unrivaled. Frieza and the rest of his family rule over a massive space empire, and they clearly prefer to do so with an iron fist. Even before meeting Goku, we learn that Frieza has destroyed countless worlds, killed millions of people and was responsible for the destruction of Planet Vegeta, the homeworld of the Saiyans. Once we do meet him in the series, his evil ways are further displayed as he kills and tortures the people of Namek to obtain their Dragon Balls. He kills Krillin, and in his last act, destroys the planet Namek in an attempt to kill Goku. Years after his original debut, there has still been no villain who can match Frieza’s ruthless, evil ways, and for this reason he makes it to number three on our list. 2. Goku Goku is the main character of the Dragon Ball saga, and it only makes sense he'd rank very high on this list as one of the most recognizable anime characters . Time and again, Goku proves himself to be the hero his adoptive home planet needs. He always digs deep and finds a new reservoir of strength or a new level of Super Saiyan-hood to overcome the mightiest opponents the universe has to offer. No one, not Frieza, Broly or Buu, can truly defeat the ultimate Saiyan warrior. Goku is also a fundamentally good guy. He wants nothing more than to train hard, prove his mettle and come home to a good meal. Maybe that makes him simpler and less complex than his archrival Vegeta, but you have to admire Goku's consistency over the years. 1. Vegeta No character experiences a greater or better-defined arc over the course of Dragon Ball Z than Vegeta. When we first meet him, this prince of the lost Saiyan Empire is a planet-destroying bully come to conquer Earth. But over the course of the series, Vegeta evolves from foe to reluctant friend of the Z Fighters. He even settles down with Bulma and starts a family. But even when he turns over a new leaf, Vegeta has a habit of putting his rivalry with Goku ahead of the planet's best interests. Vegeta is the series' greatest character because he's also the most fascinating. He's cursed to always be second best. No amount of high-gravity training or death-defying schemes will allow Vegeta to stay ahead of Goku for long. But that doesn't stop him from trying, and that's why we love him. Do you agree with our picks? Does the #1 choice make you want to go Super Saiyan? Sound off in the comments below! You can also check our selection of Dragon Ball Z action figures to add them to your collection. Note: this article was originally published on 9/16/2021 and updated on 5/7/2025.",
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      • "title": "Elden Ring Nightreign - Raider Class Hands-On Impressions - IGN First",
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      • "description": "He’s totem-ly awesome.One of the great things about Elden Ring has always been the diversity of playstyles it enables, and one of my favorite playstyles is loading up on Strength, grabbing the largest weapon I can find, and crushing foes with posture-breaking jumping attacks and charged-up heavy strikes. If that’s you too, ...",
      • "content": "One of the great things about Elden Ring has always been the diversity of playstyles it enables, and one of my favorite playstyles is loading up on Strength, grabbing the largest weapon I can find, and crushing foes with posture-breaking jumping attacks and charged-up heavy strikes. If that’s you too, then allow me to introduce you to the Raider in Nightreign (see the video below). While the Guardian — the other big burly class with lots of health and an affinity for big weapons — is more focused on defense with a shield as a starter weapon and an ultimate ability that can mitigate damage for the entire party for an extended period of time, the Raider is designed as an absolute offensive powerhouse. The most important ability of the Raider is Retaliate, which initially may not seem like a very strong skill on its own — it’s just two stomps that deal a bit of physical and poise damage. But the real magic is that thanks to the Raider’s passive, he cannot be knocked down while doing Retaliate. This means that the Raider basically has a free damage-soaking technique that will let you totally armor through pretty much any enemy or boss attack, with the added bonus of that weak second stomp getting replaced by an extremely powerful punch that will stagger even the largest enemies, if you manage to absorb an attack that would’ve done a substantial amount of damage. The Raider starts with the Raider’s Greavtaxe, which is a pretty solid starting weapon that deals some fire damage and has the “Endure” skill affixed to it, which basically gives you another way to absorb and power through enemy attacks in case Retaliate is on cooldown. Still, you’ll definitely want to find a better weapon as the nights get closer, and large strength-scaling weapons are definitely the Raider’s go-to style of weapon. Of all the classes I’ve played in Nightreign, the Raider is definitely the one that I’ve had the most fun with. It’s the one that is most well-suited for one-on-one battles, which is appropriate because its Remembrances (we’ll talk about those later on in the month) have you fighting in one-on-one boss fights in a sort of gladiatorial arena, which is a nice change of pace. That's all for our hands-on impressions of Nightreign's classes, but stay tuned all throughout the month in depth looks at the mechanics of Nightreign, along with interviews with the developers, and more as IGN First continues on. Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit",
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      • "title": "Fight or Flight Review",
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      • "description": "Josh Hartnett gets another chance at the late 2000s in this ultra-violent action movie.If Josh Hartnett feels like he missed out on the Crank-style action movies of the late 2000s, Fight or Flight gives him the strange opportunity to circle back. Arguably Hartnett’s first movie as an action lead, Fight or Flight is in the tradition of winkingly over-the-top exercises like <a ...",
      • "content": "If Josh Hartnett feels like he missed out on the Crank -style action movies of the late 2000s, Fight or Flight gives him the strange opportunity to circle back. Arguably Hartnett’s first movie as an action lead, Fight or Flight is in the tradition of winkingly over-the-top exercises like Shoot ‘Em Up and Drive Angry that make a point to revel in their own violent ridiculousness. With the novelty of those quais-trangressions long since worn off, however, this approach needs more than pure attitude to really succeed. Because so much of Fight or Flight proceeds in fits and starts, it takes a while to realize that Hartnett’s main job is stringing the movie along, doing his best to legitimize a cutely ridiculous premise that mutates into an even more outlandish one. First, Lucas is tasked with boarding the plane, figuring out who the Ghost is during the flight, and bringing them into custody alive when they land. But it turns out others have figured out that the Ghost is on this flight, too, and aren’t so keen on keeping their target alive, which means Lucas has to fight off a plane’s worth of attackers, assassins, and mercenaries after he’s unmasked the Ghost. That Hartnett is able to even take this material halfway is a huge credit to his re-ascendant star. Imagine, prior to the releases of Trap and Oppenheimer , watching an action movie where the saving grace, classiest element, and battered soul are all the former heartthrob of The Faculty and Pearl Harbor fame. Visibly doing many of his own stunts, Hartnett’s performance is more physical and less psychological than his exemplary work as M. Night Shyamalan’s serial-killer-disguised-as-doting-dad; at his core, Lucas Reyes is more like a thin character out of Bullet Train , the David Leitch beat-’em-up that this movie frequently recalls. To Madigan’s credit, the craziest action in Fight or Flight goes a lot harder than Bullet Train. There are a solid 15 minutes or so where sheer tripped-out cartoon madness takes over, piling on the unlikely additions – hallucinations, a chainsaw – with glee. But that’s not much of the movie, and the director struggles to coherently convey what, exactly, is going on in between those all-in melees. For example, some time is taken to point out that at least a few people on the manifest really are normal civilians. But rather than up the stakes, this only serves to make Fight or Flight seem careless about what actually happens to the passengers who don’t deserve to die. Whatever their edgelord tendencies, Crank and Shoot ‘Em Up are less haphazard about navigating that line between silly provocation and complete disregard for collateral damage, while less amped movies like Neeson’s Non-Stop do a better job of building toward pulpy pandemonium. In the end, Fight or Flight isn’t even really interesting enough to be genuinely nihilistic. It’s just another uneven action exercise, proudly saying nothing about its ill-defined characters. (The only character other than Lucas who isn’t a visual gimmick or a one-note caricature is the flight attendant played by Charithra Chandran.) It zaps to life for a couple of fight sequences and becomes robotically dreadful in the many pointless control-room scenes. Back in 2008 or so, this might have been Josh Hartnett’s best starring vehicle in ages. Congratulations are in order that by 2025, he clearly deserves something better.",
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      • "title": "Sony Announces teamLFG, a New PlayStation Studio Spun Out of Bungie That’s Making a Team-Based Action Game Inspired by Fighting Games, MOBAs, And... ‘Frog-Type’ Games",
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      • "description": "Leap of faith.Sony has announced a new PlayStation studio called teamLFG and teased its debut game.In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, said that teamLFG \"originated\" at Destiny and Marathon developer Bungie, and is working on an \"ambitious\" incubation ...",
      • "content": "Sony has announced a new PlayStation studio called teamLFG and teased its debut game. The LFG in teamLFG stands for ‘Looking For Group,’ as per the online vernacular, and it sounds like social gaming is a big part of the games it wants to make. Its first game is a team-based action game that draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and \"frog-type games.\" “Players will inhabit a lighthearted, comedic world set in brand-new, mythic, science-fantasy universe,” teamLFG said. “We are driven by a mission to create games where players can find friendship, community, and belonging,” the new developer added. “We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online. We want our players to recognize familiar names and to make myths and memes out of each other. We want our players to love remembering that one time where they pulled off That Play that changed the whole story of the match. As we say on the team – dat’s da good stuff. “We will make immersive multiplayer worlds propelled by action games that players can learn, play, and master for countless hours. We want to build our games with our communities, inviting players to be a part of our development process through early access playtests. It’s critical that we stay nimble enough to react to player feedback, not just in our lead-up to launch, but throughout live service as we continue to grow the game and community for years to come.” teamLFG's game is the incubation project that was spun out of Bungie amid significant layoffs last year. Following the Sony acquisition, Bungie reportedly repeatedly missed its financial targets with Destiny 2 on the wane, leading to roughly 100 employees being laid off in November 2023 . A second round of layoffs followed in 2024 , impacting another 220 people, or 17% of the studio's workforce, with another 155 being integrated elsewhere in Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was at this time that this incubation project being spun off was announced. Late last year, a former Bungie lawyer commented on announced improvements to embattled live service looter shooter Destiny 2 , saying the role of parent company Sony in “forcing” through the changes was very much a good thing. Since then, Bungie has fully revealed extraction shooter Marathon , and this week confirmed the roadmap for the future of Destiny 2 . Bungie reportedly has no plans for Destiny 3 and has canceled a Destiny spinoff project known as Payback. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "title": "The Long Walk Director on Casting Mark Hamill as a Stephen King Villain",
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      • "description": "Francis Lawrence: \"We walked probably close to 350 miles making the movie.\"Lionsgate debuted the first trailer today for The Long Walk, an upcoming survival thriller directed by Hunger Games franchise veteran Francis Lawrence and based on the first novel written by Stephen King (under his then-pseudonym Richard Bachman). The Long Walk is set in a dystopian near-future where a group of ...",
      • "content": "Lionsgate debuted the first trailer today for The Long Walk, an upcoming survival thriller directed by Hunger Games franchise veteran Francis Lawrence and based on the first novel written by Stephen King (under his then-pseudonym Richard Bachman). Watch the first trailer for The Long Walk below: The film stars Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) as Raymond Garraty and David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) as Peter McVries, while Mark Hamill goes to the dark side as the sinister Major, leader of the competition’s military escort. Hoffman is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who Lawrence directed in three Hunger Games films. Here’s what Francis Lawrence told me this week about bringing The Long Walk – which the director calls “one of my favorite, if not my favorite, Stephen King book” – to the big screen. (This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.) From The Hunger Games to The Long Walk Francis Lawrence: I think what I really loved, and especially because this is way pre-Hunger Games, was I love the conceit. I think part of it is just the idea of walk at a certain pace and how long can you go without dipping below that speed, and what do you do when you need to eat, when you need to drink, when you need to go to the bathroom, and in the middle of the night when you're getting tired and dozing off and all of that. I think when you have that kind of a conceit, you get the audience to imagine themselves in the character's shoes, no pun intended, to really try and imagine themselves what it would be like and whether or not they could do it. The thing that I really love and loved from the very beginning, and that's the thing that I think this movie is really about, is the relationships between all these young men. And it's one thing that really differentiates from The Hunger Games. Of course, there's relationships that are formed in those movies too, but this one is really about the camaraderie of these boys, and that's the heart and soul of the story of the core ensemble, but really of McVries and Garraty, the sort of two leads of the movie. And it was that that really, really sold me because they felt like real grounded, authentic young men. Stephen King wrote this when he was very, very young, but those relationships and that dialogue still holds up today. I think it's so timeless and the relationships are timeless. I just found it to be a really beautiful story, which is a weird thing to say with how intense it is and how violence it is. I think it actually is quite beautiful because of the relationships. How Difficult Is it to Shoot a Movie That’s All Walking All the Time? Francis Lawrence: We shot this movie chronologically and that's not something that I've ever gotten to do. There's just no movie that's been built in a way that sort of afforded me that opportunity. But because of the nature of this movie, these young men gather, they all meet each other, and once they start walking, every day, the location changes and you're in a new scene. And so we could choose chronologically, and I did worry a little bit in the very beginning about how I shoot these guys, how I block them, how do you shoot them walking, talking, doing all these things. And what I realized that the important thing is in this, again, is the camaraderie, as it's the heart of the story. ... I have to really focus on the characters and what the characters are going through physically, psychologically, emotionally with one another, seeing the degradation over time and over days and after nights and when the group's whittling away. Another thing that also helps is the change of locations [and] what is the kind of weather of the day, which is something that we are very much sort of at the whim of. If a scene was written as a rainy scene but we show up and it's 100 degrees out, it now turns into a scene about sweltering heat. And that's another thing that happens in these sequences. So, you have this variety: it could be early foggy morning, it could be raining, it could be 100 degrees, there could be bugs. There's all these different things that are happening and that make each of the sort of scenes and sequences have different emotional values. And that's really what I focused on, as opposed to just trying to get fancy with how do I shoot them walking. I wanted to be really anchored with the boys, and that meant that we were always moving with them. So, there's very few shots. There's some sort of establishers that are sort of long lens shots from a distance, but usually we are right there in with the boys moving along with them three miles an hour down stretches of highways and roads and things like that. So, when you're doing that and you're really in the mix, there truly is really only a handful of angles that you can use to convey what we want to convey. Walk a Mile (or 350) in My Shoes Francis Lawrence: Physically, it took a toll. I think somebody clocked in that, in the movie, they walk like 336 miles over 4 or 5 days or something, and we walked probably close to 350 miles making the movie. I will say I think that was good for the actors and they really embraced it. But what was fascinating, and this actually really mirrors the characters, these are young men and with not fully formed frontal cortexes, right? So, they come in like, \"Oh, this is going to be great. We're all going to do this movie where we're walking, and then we love these characters,\" and they're all gung ho, just like all the guys are at the beginning of the movie and the gun goes off, they start walking and a week into it, they're all like, \"What the fuck have we gotten ourselves into?\" We're walking three quarters of a mile for every take in certain scenes, and then going back to one and doing it again and doing it all day, and there were blisters and sunburns and people had to learn how to wrap their feet. But when you see some people limping, it was because they were wiped out and people lost weight, and it was pretty incredible. Casting Star Wars Hero Mark Hamill as a Stephen King Villain Francis Lawrence: I've been a fan since I was a kid. I mean, I saw Star Wars when I was seven, and so that was just a huge movie for me. I think anybody in my generation is just so changed by witnessing the Star Wars movies. So, he's an icon and a legend, but I will say it was the later ones. It was the J.J. [Abrams] Star Wars where I saw him and I hadn't seen him in so long, and there was just this kind of weariness to him and a gravitas to him that, quite honestly, I didn't know he really had. But I did also know that he had done a ton of voice work, and I don't think a lot of people really know how much voice work he's done. And he has real command over dialect and the kind of tone and the timbre of his voice and things like that. And I thought, \"God, you know, there'd be something really interesting about him playing this part.\" Because I didn't want to go down the route where you get some real military guy, usually a military consultant and just sounds official. And I wanted somebody, again, with more complexity that just had kind of a weariness to him, but with gravitas. He and I had a great Zoom [chat] and discovered that he had, as a kid, moved around from military base to military base with his family, and he knew these guys, these types of guys, and so he could just kind of go into this kind of mishmash of various people he had met over the years as a child and kind of conjured up his version of the Major. But it was just fantastic to work with him. But I think it was really him in J.J.'s movie [that] sort of shifted my view of the kinds of roles that he could play. The Long Walk opens in theaters on September 12th.",
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      • "title": "The Long Walk (2025) - Official Trailer",
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      • "description": "Adapted from master storyteller Stephen King’s first-written novel and directed by Francis Lawrence, the visionary director behind The Hunger Games film franchise (Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Pts. 1 & 2, and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), this intense, chilling, and emotional thriller film challenges audiences to confront a haunting question – how far could you go?The film features powerful ensemble cast of young stars on the rise and legends such as Cooper Hoffman (Saturday Night, Licorice Pizza), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus), Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends), Charlie Plummer (Looking For Alaska), Garrett Wareing (Manifest) and Tut Nyuot (The Witcher: Blood Origin), alongside Judy Greer and Mark Hamill.Lionsgate presents, in association with Media Capital Technologies, a Vertigo Entertainment / about: blank production, The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence, screenplay by JT Mollner, based on the novel by Stephen King.The Long Walk debuts only in theaters on September 12, 2025.",
      • "content": "Adapted from master storyteller Stephen King’s first-written novel and directed by Francis Lawrence, the visionary director behind The Hunger Games film franchise (Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Pts. 1 & 2, and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), this intense, chilling, and emotional thriller film challenges audiences to confront a haunting question – how far could you go? The film features powerful ensemble cast of young stars on the rise and legends such as Cooper Hoffman (Saturday Night, Licorice Pizza), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus), Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends), Charlie Plummer (Looking For Alaska), Garrett Wareing (Manifest) and Tut Nyuot (The Witcher: Blood Origin), alongside Judy Greer and Mark Hamill. Lionsgate presents, in association with Media Capital Technologies, a Vertigo Entertainment / about: blank production, The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence, screenplay by JT Mollner, based on the novel by Stephen King. The Long Walk debuts only in theaters on September 12, 2025.",
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      • "title": "Disney Announces It Will Open Its Seventh Theme Park in Abu Dhabi With Miral on Yas Island",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/walt-disney-world-theme-park/209405/news/disney-announces-it-will-open-its-seventh-theme-park-in-abu-dhabi-with-miral-on-yas-island",
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      • "description": "The park will be the \"most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio.\"Disney has announced that it will officially be opening its seventh theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi on the waterfront of Yas Island with the help of Miral. As detailed by Disney Parks Blog, this new theme park will be fully developed, built, and operated by ...",
      • "content": "Disney has announced that it will officially be opening its seventh theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi on the waterfront of Yas Island with the help of Miral. Disney and its Imagineers will still be heavily involved in the project and will \"lead creative design and operational oversight to provide a world-class experience.\" Furthermore, Disney's CEO Bob Iger said in Disney's Q2 2025 Earnings Call that the company is investing no capital but will still get royalties. \"So, there isn't any ownership,\" Iger said. \"We own our IP and license it to them is essentially the agreement.\" “This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” Iger also said in a statement. “As our seventh theme park destination, it will rise from this land in spectacular fashion, blending contemporary architecture with cutting-edge technology to offer guests deeply immersive entertainment experiences in unique and modern ways. \"Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati – an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world that will bring to life our timeless characters and stories in many new ways and will become a source of joy and inspiration for the people of this vast region to enjoy for generations to come.” While we didn't learn too much more about this new park, it was confirmed that it will be anchored by Disney's first-ever modern castle. In a piece of concept art shared with the announcement, it looks like the castle will be a tower of glass or crystal with some stunning architecture. The tagline, 'A whole new world awaits,\" also hints at Aladdin being part of the park. Disney has been seriously discussing this project since 2017, but Iger mentioned in an interview with ABC News that it was \"crystalized\" last year. Iger also spoke to CNBC and discussed a bit about the timeline of this project. \"We’re not pinning down a date yet,” Iger said. “It typically takes us between 18 months and two years to design and fully develop and approximately five years to build but we’re not making any commitments right now.” Iger then noted that around 1/3 of the world's population lives within about a four-hour flight of the UAE, which is also home to the largest global airline hub in the world that sees 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year. This also will fill in nicely in the world map of Disney Parks, as it will fill the gap the company has in the Middle East region. “Abu Dhabi is a place where heritage meets innovation, where we preserve our past while designing the future,” His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman at Miral, said. “The collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Disney demonstrates the remarkable results of combining visionary leadership and creative excellence. \"What we are creating with Disney in Abu Dhabi is a whole new world of imagination — an experience that will inspire generations across the region and the world, creating magical moments and memories that families will treasure forever. Through the development of unique attractions and experiences, Abu Dhabi continues to be a destination of choice for the world.” When this park is complete, Disney will have Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Honk Kong Disneyland Resort, Shanghai Disney, and this currently unnamed park in Abu Dhabi. Josh D'Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, added that this resort will be the \"most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio.\" “This groundbreaking resort destination represents a new frontier in theme park development,” D’Amaro said. “The location of our park is incredibly unique – anchored by a beautiful waterfront – which will allow us to tell our stories in completely new ways. This project will reach guests in a whole new part of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than ever before. Ultimately, it will be a celebration of what’s possible when creativity and progress come together.” For more in the world of Disney, check out our experience of being invited to Walt Disney Imagineering to learn more about the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic and everything you need to know about Disneyland's 70th anniversary and the Disney Destiny. Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.",
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      • "title": "Marvel's Thunderbolts* Marketing Push Continues as Dispute Between Sam Wilson's Avengers and the New Avengers Is Dragged Into the Real World",
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      • "description": "That perfectly petty man has thought of everything.Oh, the girls are fighting. Marvel Studios recently revealed a whole new side of Thunderbolts*, the one that comes after that asterisk — and now, it's doubled down on what it started and brought it into the social media world.Marvel has now added a copyright symbol ...",
      • "content": "Oh, the girls are fighting. Marvel Studios recently revealed a whole new side of Thunderbolts* , the one that comes after that asterisk — and now, it's doubled down on what it started and brought it into the social media world. Marvel has now added a copyright symbol to some of its social media bios for the official Avengers pages — which plays perfectly into the post-credits scene for Thunderbolts*. Warning! Spoilers for Thunderbolts* follow. Spoilers for sure, but this new team formed in Thunderbolts*, which have been dubbed The New Avengers, is clashing with Sam Wilson’s team, the one he began to build during Captain America: Brave New World . And in the film’s post-credit scene (brought to you by the Russo Brothers via the set of Avengers: Doomsday ), we see that Sam has in fact copyrighted the Avengers name, so like I said earlier, the girls are fighting. Shortly after Thunderbolts* debuted in theaters on May 2, Marvel Studios revealed that the asterisk at the end of the movie’s title actually referenced the project’s secret title : The New Avengers. To mark the occasion, the cast unveiled a new poster for the movie that features the new name — and naturally, the move has been a bit divisive , both in the real world and now, in-universe. Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.",
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      • "title": "Genshin Impact Updates Shop to Show How Much You Need to Spend to Guarantee Pulling a Character — and Now Players Want HoYoverse to Sell the Characters Directly",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/genshin-impact/209403/news/genshin-impact-updates-shop-to-show-how-much-you-need-to-spend-to-guarantee-pulling-a-character-and",
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      • "description": "Wishful thinking.Genshin Impact is one of the most popular gacha games in the world. The free-to-play action RPG from HoYoverse lets players spend a virtual currency called Primogems to have a chance (a “wish”) to obtain rare characters of varying power. It’s a microtransactions system that has proved controversial, but ...",
      • "content": "Genshin Impact is one of the most popular gacha games in the world. The free-to-play action RPG from HoYoverse lets players spend a virtual currency called Primogems to have a chance (a “wish”) to obtain rare characters of varying power. It’s a microtransactions system that has proved controversial, but a money-spinner for the developers, generating billions of dollars in revenue over the years. The Genshin Impact shop now tells U.S. players how many pulls you’re getting with each purchase (you can buy wishes directly with a direct conversion rate displayed) and how much you need to spend to guarantee pulling a character, which varies between $1.98 to $475.20. The figure is based on the base prices of the pulls (without bonuses) and if you hit the max pulls to guarantee the character (180 pulls). So, while the posted figure assumes the highest possible price if you intentionally don’t buy the higher value (and more expensive) bundles, you could face spending nearly $500 pulling just one character in Genshin Impact. Players have reacted with a mix of disbelief and positivity at the transparency. “Whole thing is weirdly.... Transparent,” said redditor Zion-plex. “You see it clear as day, 100 bucks 50 pulls every time staring at you (whales think or maybe don't even care they ‘know’ the math). Man, that'll sting, even for those who can and will spend, there's a lot of mental suppression that goes on.” ”Unmitigated positive,” said Whilyam. “The only people helped by obscuring costs are the ones who want to take advantage of people or make it easier for people with addictions to justify spending money.” “I think it’s harder to justify the spending with abysmal conversion rate visible with your eyes,” added Mtboomerang. “I think the biggest problem with addicts is they follow the emotion then they will calculate. With the conversion rate visible now, their logic will shut their emotion down in time before they are deep in emotion abyss trying to come up with a reason.” “Good changes that should be standardized for all Gachas and other similar games with gambling/loot box type mechanics,” said mikethebest1. Some players are now calling on HoYoverse to just let Genshin Impact players buy characters directly, given they now know how much it could cost to obtain them through the gacha system. “I wish they would just freaking sell the damn characters,” said yuusharo . “Horse armor works on me, I’d pay a freak ton on these games if I knew I’d get what I wanted every single time. “Instead, the vast majority of their revenue comes from a tiny percentage of players exploiting gambling tendencies, preying on people like vultures. I hate it, I feel so gross whenever I succumb to that.” So, why has HoYoverse added this layer of transparency to Genshin Impact now? It’s because it lost a court case against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) back in January that resulted in a ban on selling loot boxes If you are wondering why, back in January HoYoverse reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that resulted in increased transparency around parental consent and virtual currency practices within its games. The results are now kicking in. As part of this, HoYoverse is now required by U.S. law to age verify U.S. player accounts . That's because as part of the FTC's settlement order, sales of Genshin Impact loot boxes to kids under 16 without their parents' consent were banned. The age verification process will be rolled out to all U.S. players by May 20. If you don’t provide your age information by July 18, 2025, you could see your account suspended, the developer warned. If the verification is not completed by July 20, 2026, the personal information of your HoYoverse account will be deleted permanently. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "title": "John Wick 5 Will Be ‘Really Different,’ Director Chad Stahelski Teases Following Keanu Reeves Confirmation",
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      • "description": "He’s back. Again.Following last month’s news that John Wick 5 is official and Keanu Reeves had signed on to “give John’s story the proper next step,” franchise director Chad Stahelski has begun to tease what fans can expect from the film — and it sounds like things are going to be ...",
      • "content": "Following last month’s news that John Wick 5 is official and Keanu Reeves had signed on to “give John’s story the proper next step,” franchise director Chad Stahelski has begun to tease what fans can expect from the film — and it sounds like things are going to be different this time around. How different? “Really different,” Stahelski told Empire magazine , now that the High Table storyline from John Wick 1-4 had come to an end. Warning! Spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4 follow. John Wick appears to die at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 after, once again, defeating the bad guys. We even get to see John Wick’s gravestone, with Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) saying their farewells. But, crucially, we only see John Wick collapse from his injuries and appear to die. So, how can Reeves continue as Wick? We don’t have story details yet, but do know that John Wick 5 will tell a new story that involves the titular character. It’s a busy time for the billion dollar John Wick franchise. In addition to the four mainline films, the John Wick Universe, as it’s called, includes two spinoff films (Ballerina, to be released June 6, and a spinoff directed by and starring Donnie Yen reprising his Caine character, set to start production this summer). In addition, Lionsgate Television produced The Continental: From the World of John Wick for Peacock and Amazon Prime, and Lionsgate confirmed it’s developing the TV series John Wick: Under the High Table, which Stahelski and Keanu Reeves are executive producing. There’s an animated prequel film that will tell the story of John Wick’s ‘Impossible Task,’ too. It sounds like the John Wick animated film and the Under The High Table TV series will help build into John Wick 5. “The John Wick TV show and the animation are big priorities,” Stahelski said. “Our idea is to try some things and explore some threads and use those two properties to catapult us forward into the ideas for John 5.” Outside TV and films, Lionsgate recently opened an immersive John Wick experience in Las Vegas and has a John Wick AAA video game in the works. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "description": "\"Our business is very different today than it was even just 10 years ago,\" says CEOPublisher/ developer EA has confirmed it has no plans to raise the price of its games even as the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo jump to $80.Addressing investors in its latest financial call, CEO Andrew Wilson said the company's focus was to \"deliver incredible quality and exponential ...",
      • "content": "Publisher/ developer EA has confirmed it has no plans to raise the price of its games even as the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo jump to $80. \"In terms of pricing power, our business is very different today than it was even just 10 years ago,\" Wilson explained. \"In a world where everything we did 10 years ago was about selling shiny discs in plastic boxes in retail shelves — well, that’s still a part of our business, it’s a significantly smaller part of our business, and we now have pricing representing everything from free-to-play all the way to deluxe editions and beyond. \"At the end of the day, whether we're doing something that costs a dollar, or we're doing something that costs $10, or we're doing something that costs $100, our objective is always to deliver incredible quality and exponential value for our playerbase,\" said Wilson. \"And what we've discovered over the course of time is [when] we can marry quality and value together, our business is strong, resilient, and continues to grow.\" \"From a guidance perspective [...] we have reflected no changes in our current [pricing] strategy at this point,\" added CFO Stuart Canfield. It'll be welcome news to some, given just last week, Microsoft confirmed it was raising Xbox prices as well as increasing the cost of controllers, headsets, and some games. The price hike for consoles and accessories has already taken effect, and while game prices will stay the same for now, we should expect to see Xbox charging $79.99 for new, first-party games around the holiday season. It follows a broader trend in AAA gaming that has seen prices jumping from $60 to $70 in just the last five years, and Nintendo going with $80 for upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World and some other Switch 2 Edition games . The Switch 2 itself was recently revealed to be launching at $450, a price that drew criticism from Nintendo fans even as analysts admitted such a high price was likely inevitable amid current economic conditions . Given EA's comments, we can expect the next EA Sports FC, Madden, and Battlefield games to stick to the $70 standard edition pricing. Last week, IGN reported EA cut around 100 jobs at Apex Legend developer Respawn Entertainment , as well as making wider cuts across its organization, impacting around 300 individuals in all. Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky .",
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      • "description": "X-rated.It looks like photos of Asus' Xbox-branded handheld device, codenamed Project Kennan, have leaked online.As first reported by 91mobiles and spotted by Eurogamer, two images of the Asus ROG Ally 2 device — one white, one black — seem to have gone public via ...",
      • "content": "It looks like photos of Asus' Xbox-branded handheld device, codenamed Project Kennan, have leaked online. While both boast buttons configured for Xbox (Y, B, A, and X, rather than PlayStation's triangle, circle, cross, and square, or Nintendo's X, A, B, and Y), the photo of the black variant is particularly interesting as a Xbox button, albeit one without a defined 'X', is very clearly to the left, next to the thumbstick. The tech specs at this time are a little piecemeal, so it's not entirely clear how they'll run or if there's any meaningful difference between the black and white versions. That said, Windows Central's Jez Corden reports the devices are \"currently being tested at Microsoft HQ rather openly as we speak\" and posits a reveal may be coming on or around May 20. Last month, Asus Republic of Gamers' X/Twitter account shared a teaser offering a brief glimpse at both a Republic of Gamers (ROG) Xbox controller and handheld system . The official Xbox account acknowledged the tweet with a cheeky wide-eyed gif, suggesting it was gearing up for a formal reveal. It follows an earlier report from IGN on Microsoft’s video game hardware ambition, which allegedly includes a full next-gen Xbox for 2027 and an Xbox-branded gaming handheld that may launch later in 2025 . While this particular Xbox-branded gaming handheld is not a Microsoft-made console, the company is reportedly planning to finally launch one of its own in 2027, potentially alongside its next-gen Xbox. Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer recently indicated a first-party Xbox handheld is years away . Speaking of which: the successor to the Xbox Series X is now allegedly \"fully\" in production and due out in two years, tying in with Xbox president Sarah Bond's recent comments that Microsoft was \"moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware , focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.\" Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky .",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-07 11:36:18",
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      • "title": "Will GTA 6 Be S-Tier? Rank Every Rockstar Game",
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      • "description": "Which Rockstar game do you think is the greatest?A new GTA 6 trailer is here and, in case you missed it, we broke down all of the secrets and details from it. Sadly, though, we’re going to have to wait until May 26, 2026, to actually play Lucia and Jason’s story. So, in the meantime, why don’t ...",
      • "content": "A new GTA 6 trailer is here and, in case you missed it, we broke down all of the secrets and details from it. Sadly, though, we’re going to have to wait until May 26, 2026, to actually play Lucia and Jason’s story. So, in the meantime, why don’t we think about all of the Rockstar games we’ve already enjoyed over the years and rank them for fun? Red Dead Redemption 2 is simply my favourite game of all time, so it was a pretty easy S-tier pick for me if I’m honest. It’s (perhaps unsurprisingly) joined its predecessor and GTA 5 in that category – both pioneers of the cinematic open world genre. I also have a particular soft spot for Max Payne 3 and its bullet time ballet, as well as GTA San Andreas (a game I played at a way too young age). Down at the bottom in the D-tier, we have the likes of Austin Powers: Oh, Behave! and Welcome to My Underground Lair!, a game that literally nobody in their right mind wants to play. Don’t agree with me? Think that Vice City is better than GTA 4? Well, why not have a go at ranking all of Rockstar’s games yourself in a tier list below, where you can compare your own S, A, B, C, and D tiers with the whole of the IGN community. We may have only seen two trailers so far, but where do you think GTA 6 will end up ranking when all is said and done? Let us know in the comments, as well as why you’ve ranked the games in the order you’ve chosen. Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social .",
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      • "description": "Time to go undercover.GTA 6 Trailer 2 is packed full of details (we spotted 89!), but it has also sparked an explosion of fan theories as the community analyze each frame for clues on what to expect when the most anticipated game in the world eventually comes out in May 2026.GTA fans ...",
      • "content": "GTA 6 Trailer 2 is packed full of details ( we spotted 89! ), but it has also sparked an explosion of fan theories as the community analyze each frame for clues on what to expect when the most anticipated game in the world eventually comes out in May 2026. GTA fans across social media, Discord, forums, reddit, and elsewhere are putting forward their speculation, with Trailer 2 the most up to date reference point they have. Let’s start with a fun reference to Red Dead Redemption 2 that has some, once again, theorizing that the worlds of GTA and Red Dead exist within the same universe. Eagle-eyed fans spotted that the presidents on the cash seen in a screenshot of the club in GTA 6 are the same as those from Red Dead Redemption 2’s cigarette cards (Thaddeus Waxman and Franklin Hardin). It’s worth noting this is an incidental detail, and GTA and Red Dead existing in the same universe does not amount to much at the end of the day (although some are now suggesting Jason may be a descendant of Arthur Morgan, given the two look sort of alike). But it shows that there are connections between the two Rockstar IPs that may be strengthened further when GTA 6 comes out. If true, it may be the case that GTA 6 features two of these sections: one for Jason and one for Lucia, the game’s second playable protagonist. The theory here is that GTA 6 will feature a similar transition into gameplay moment for Lucia, helping the player get to grips with the dual protagonist gameplay ahead of the time-skip to when Lucia leaves prison. Moving on, fans are focusing their attention on an image transition on the recently updated official GTA 6 website, which sees the camera swing around from spotlighting Jason to spotlighting Lucia as they share an embrace. Some are wondering if this is a character select screen that might display when you load the game. The expectation is you’ll be able to swap between Jason and Lucia during gameplay, but perhaps GTA 6 gives you the chance to pick between the two upon getting back into the game, and if so, this could be what we’ll see. There are all sorts of theories on the nature of Jason and Lucia’s relationship and where the story will take it. I’ve seen everything from speculation that Jason is an undercover cop to either Jason or Lucia or perhaps even both dying at the end of the story. Most seem convinced either Jason or Lucia betrays the other at some point, which would be criminal. Perhaps we’ll get to choose via an optional ending system. Just a note on the Jason is a cop theory: Jason tells the prison security guard, when picking up Lucia, that he might have been there before. In what capacity? Later, an older cop says, “Us cops, we’ve got to protect each other,” before the trailer cuts to Jason shooting at a moving car. This leads on to a theory that GTA 6 may feature a third playable character that Rockstar is keeping secret so it’s a surprise to fans, and that this older cop may be it. Could you shift perspective to a cop hunting down Jason and Lucia during the story? Now, this is a brilliantly silly fan theory: previous GTA games are films in the world of GTA 6. Phil Cassidy, the arms dealer from Vice City and GTA 3, is at the heart of this theory. In those games he’s missing an arm, but there is a character seen on Jason’s TV during the GTA 6 trailer that looks a lot like Cassidy — except he has both arms. So, what’s happening here? If this is indeed Cassidy, then how does he have both arms? Could the GTA 6 Cassidy be Phil Cassidy’s son? Or his grandson? Adding to the confusion is GTA's seperated universes structure. The GTA series is divided into three distinct parallel universes, officially named by Rockstar North as the \"2D Universe\", \"3D Universe,\" and the \"HD Universe.\" The 2D Universe includes the original top-down GTA games developed by DMA Design. The 3D Universe starts with GTA 3 and includes its prequels, such as Vice City. And the HD Universe starts with GTA 4 and includes GTA 5, GTA Online, and the upcoming GTA 6, with each game set in the same year it was released. Following this, GTA 6 will be set in 2026, aka the modern day. Now, while these are meant to be distinct parallel universes, there is a lot of crossover between them, with shared place names, characters, some lore, and more besides. But certainly no-one was expecting Phil Cassidy from Vice City to pop up in GTA 6, as it makes the 'distinct parallel universes' thing even trickier. So, perhaps having GTA’s 3D Universe games as films in the ongoing HD Universe would help resolve these issues. We do see what looks like Phil Cassidy on Jason's TV, after all. Or, this Phil Cassidy has nothing more than a fun Easter egg Rockstar added to GTA 6 to spark exactly this kind of speculation. This is Rockstar, after all! Trailer 2 has also reinforced existing theories that GTA 6 will feature heists, and that there is a heavy influence from the Fast & Furious movies. At one point we see a truck with a vault attached to it, similar to the Fast 5 scene that does pretty much the same thing. More GTA 6 fan theories are popping up all the time as people dig into Trailer 2. Expect plenty more in the year we have to wait until GTA 6 comes out. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.",
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      • "title": "Destiny 2's Year of Prophecy: Here's Everything Guardians Need to Know",
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      • "description": "Expansions, updates, Star Wars, and more.Get ready, Guardian — Bungie just unveiled what's coming up in its sci-fi shooter, Destiny 2, including two new expansions and major seasonal and core game updates coming to both paying and free players, all badged under the \"Year of Prophecy.\"Year of Prophecy is the first year ...",
      • "content": "Get ready, Guardian — Bungie just unveiled what's coming up in its sci-fi shooter, Destiny 2 , including two new expansions and major seasonal and core game updates coming to both paying and free players, all badged under the \"Year of Prophecy.\" Year of Prophecy is the first year to boast four \"major content beats,\" with two paid expansions and two major updates. The former is paid content while the latter will be available to all players. First up is Rite of the Nine, a \"fresh take on dungeon diving for both seasoned dungeon crawlers and those stepping into the depths for the first time\" that is already available to all players for no additional cost. While the dungeons themselves — Prophecy, Spire of the Watcher, and Ghosts of the Deep — will be familiar to some, even the most hardened Guardian can expect \"unique twists\" in which you'll reconnect with Orin and refreshed dungeon weapons. Then, on July 15, we'll get the brand-new expansion, Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate, a \"multiyear saga that will unfold across multiple expansions.\" A paid-for expansion, The Edge of Fate will reintroduce us to the Nine, powerful and mysterious beings who existed long before the Traveler, as two characters \"step into the spotlight\" — new ally Lodi and Warlock Vanguard, Ikora. At the same time, on July 15, \"major core game innovations\" will roll out, including revised armor and gear systems \"to create richer opportunities for buildcrafting\" and a new activity selection screen called the Portal. \"Players will be able to easily choose between Fireteam Ops, Pinnacle Ops, Crucible Ops, and the newly introduced Solo Ops,\" Bungie explained. \"Fireteam Ops and Pinnacle Ops reinforce quick fireteam action and longer-form cooperative content, while the new Solo Ops activities are specifically designed for solo players who want short, self-contained gameplay sessions without the need for a fireteam. \"Additionally, players can tailor activities to match their desired gameplay and the specific rewards they are chasing. 50 all-new modifiers will allow deeper gameplay customization and offer greater challenges for players, while curated activity rotations will ensure there is always something new to chase.\" As typically happens with a new expansion, pre-order sweeteners are available, including an instantly unlockable Exotic Ghost and Legendary Emblem. We've listed the full spoils below: Destiny 2 Pre-Order Details The Edge of Fate Pre-Order includes: The Edge of Fate Campaign New Raid 1x Active Rewards Pass Pre-Order Exclusive Exotic Ghost (instant unlock) Pre-Order Exclusive Legendary Emblem (instant unlock) Year of Prophecy Edition Pre-Order includes: The Edge of Fate and Renegades Campaigns New Raid and Dungeon 1x Active Rewards Pass 3x Rewards Passes The Edge of Fate Pre-Order Exclusive Exotic Ghost (instant unlock) The Edge of Fate Pre-Order Exclusive Legendary Emblem (instant unlock) Renegades Pre-Order Exclusive Exotic Ship (available September 9, 2025) Renegades Pre-Order Exclusive Legendary Emblem (available September 9, 2025) Year of Prophecy Ultimate Edition Pre-Order includes: The Edge of Fate and Renegades Campaigns New Raid and Dungeon 1x Active Rewards Pass 3x Rewards Passes Instant Unlock Exotic Sniper Rifle: New Land Beyond New Land Beyond Ornament and Catalyst (available at launch of Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate) The Edge of Fate Pre-Order Exclusive Exotic Ghost (instant unlock) The Edge of Fate Pre-Order Exclusive Legendary Emblem (instant unlock) Renegades Pre-Order Exclusive Exotic Ship (available September 9, 2025) Renegades Pre-Order Exclusive Legendary Emblem (available September 9, 2025) Year of Prophecy Exotic Emote (instant unlock) Year of Prophecy Exotic Sparrow (available July 15, 2025) Dark Side Legends Bundle (3 full armor ornament sets, 1 for each class, instant unlock) Secret Stash (1x Exotic Cosmetic, 1x Exotic Cipher, 2x Ascendant Alloys, 3x Ascendant Shards, delivered with each seasonal update) A Year of Prophecy Collector's Edition is also available, although pre-orders for the physical edition have already entirely sold out at the time of writing. From September 9, a second major update will go live — Ash & Iron — with the second expansion of the year, Renegades, going live on December 2. Finally, March 3 sees the Shadow & Order major update roll out. Destiny 2: Renegades, the second expansion in the Year of Prophecy, is inspired by the \"legendary Star Wars universe\" and \"merges Destiny’s distinctive storytelling and gameplay with themes and elements drawn from the iconic sci-fi franchise.\" All this will be welcome news to many Destiny 2 players after Bungie laid off 220 staff — that's 17% of its entire workforce — in July 2024, less than a year after 100 other layoffs at Bungie . Of course, Destiny 2 isn't the only game keeping Bungie busy right now. Marathon was revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise , but it was only in the last month that we got our first real look at it. In IGN's Marathon hands-on preview , we wrote: \"After playing enough Marathon to get a pretty good feel for it in its alpha state, I’m already fairly confident it’ll scratch the Bungie PvP itch that’s been left unscratched for a number of years now. Here’s hoping they’ll knock it out of the park when it comes to PC and consoles in September.\" Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky .",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-07 09:48:39",
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      • "title": "Will Street Fighter Creator’s New Saudi-Backed Boxing Game Pack a Punch? Japanese Fans React",
      • "link": "https://za.ign.com/street-fighter-ii/209380/news/will-street-fighter-creators-new-saudi-backed-boxing-game-pack-a-punch-japanese-fans-react",
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      • "description": "Ring out.Street Fighter creator Takashi Nishiyama is developing a brand new boxing game in collaboration with long-running boxing magazine The Ring. The news was revealed on the official X account of Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. Alalshikh acquired American publication The Ring back in November 2024.According ...",
      • "content": "Street Fighter creator Takashi Nishiyama is developing a brand new boxing game in collaboration with long-running boxing magazine The Ring. The news was revealed on the official X account of Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. Alalshikh acquired American publication The Ring back in November 2024. According to the tweet, the untitled game will feature original characters and combine \"The Ring’s unmatched authority in boxing with game developer Dimps’ decades-long experience in crafting classic games.\" Dimps is Takashi Nishiyama’s company. Its most recent game was Freedom Wars Remastered, a reworking of a PlayStation Vita game for modern consoles released in January 2025. According to the tweet from Alalshikh, development of the boxing title will begin soon. Japanese people’s reactions to the announcement of The Ring x Dimps collaboration so far have generally ranged from surprised reactions of “What?!! I want to play it!” to curiosity as to what the final game will be like. @ryo_redcyclone, an X user who frequently posts Street Fighter-related content, responded to the news with: “Commenting on the first Street Fighter, Nishiyama said: ‘I chose to focus on street fighting because established sports are restricted by rules.’ This time he is making a game based on boxing, a sport with rules, so I’m curious to see how it will turn out.” Much of the concern seems to center upon whether boxing’s rules will restrict Nishiyama’s creativity, considering the roster of quirky characters and crazy moves that can be found in his previous fighting games. Although Street Fighter has Mike Tyson lookalike Balrog, his kicks, not to mention his Buffalo Head move, clearly violate professional boxing rules. It will be interesting to see whether The Ring and Dimps’ new boxing game goes for a realistic or rule-breaking approach. Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-07 08:59:23",
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      • "title": "Boundary-Pushing Co-op Adventure Split Fiction nears 4 million sales",
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      • "description": "Get used to split.Hazelight's fan-favorite co-op adventure, Split Fiction, has sold almost four million copies.Publisher EA confirmed the milestone in its latest financial results, calling the game a \"hugely successful launch\" and name-checking it as one of the reasons the publisher ended the 2025 financial year with a \"strong finish.\"\"4 MILLION SOLD!!!!\" ...",
      • "content": "Hazelight's fan-favorite co-op adventure, Split Fiction , has sold almost four million copies. Publisher EA confirmed the milestone in its latest financial results, calling the game a \"hugely successful launch\" and name-checking it as one of the reasons the publisher ended the 2025 financial year with a \"strong finish.\" \"4 MILLION SOLD!!!!\" developer Hazelight exclaimed on social media in response to the news. \"So many of you have picked up Split Fiction already, it’s amazing... \"Seeing the fun you have with our game and the love you show for Mio, Zoe and each other warms our hearts here at Hazelight. And so many hot dogs made... \" Split Fiction pulls you into the many worlds of two fiction writers in a boundary-pushing co-op adventure that allows two people to play even if only one owns the game. It only launched in March, but is yet another hit for Hazelight and designer Josef Fares, selling over 2 million copies in just a week . It's also down as a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title as Hazelight gets going on its next game . We said Split Fiction was \"an expertly crafted and absorbing co-op adventure that pinballs from one genre extreme to another\", writing in the IGN Split Fiction review that it was \"a rollercoaster of gameplay ideas and styles that are usually discarded as quickly as they’re introduced. This keeps it fabulously fresh for its full, 14-hour duration.\" Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky .",
      • "pubDate": "2025-05-07 08:44:57",
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