28 years after his original debut, Marvel villain Maestro is finally getting an origin story. And who better to tell that story than Maestro co-creator and seminal Incredible Hulk writer Peter David? Marvel revealed a new Maestro limited series written by David and drawn by Dale Keown (Incredible Hulk) and Germán Peralta (Thanos), with Keown also providing covers. You can check out Keown's cover to Maestro #1 below: In another treat for Maestro fans, co-creator George Pérez is also drawing a variant cover to issue #1, despite having retired from comics in 2019 due to health issues. Here's Pérez's variant: Maestro is among the most popular characters introduced during David's long tenure on Incredible Hulk in the '80s and '90s. Basically an evil, super-charged version of Hulk from a future timeline, the villain originally debuted in the 1992 limited series Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect. Future Imperfect hints at Maestro's origin story, revealing that this version of Hulk absorbed the radioactive fallout from a nuclear war, growing stronger and smarter but also more malevolent. Maestro rules his Earth with an iron grip, having killed most of the world's heroes and villains and lined his trophy room with relics of their battles. Though Maestro was seemingly killed after battling Hulk in Future Imperfect, the character has continued to play a role in later Marvel stories. David previously revisited the character in 2015's Secret Wars: Future Imperfect series, and a version of Maestro served as a recurring villain in the recently concluded Old Man Logan series. Maestro is also a central character in the mobile game Marvel's Contest of Champions. While Future Imperfect established the basics of Maestro's origin story, this new series will finally explore that story in greater depth and show fans how Hulk became warped and corrupted. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-marvel-villains&captions=true"] “I had no idea that when I first created the Maestro for Future Imperfect, that he would have the kind of popularity and staying power he has now,” said David in Marvel's press release. “Until now, I’ve only been able to allude to his origins, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore them in this series, and I can’t wait for fans to see all the artwork that's been coming in!” Marvel Comics editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski also sought to reassure readers starved for new Marvel content during the Diamond Comic Distributors shutdown, saying “We couldn't be more excited that we're resuming distribution of Marvel Comics to the best fans in the world. As we’ve announced, we will be observing a balanced release schedule over the next few weeks as the industry returns to normal – but we're hard at work on many more new stories like this one, and we can’t wait to tell you all more about them! Expect more announcements very soon.” Maestro #1 is slated to hit stores in August 2020, barring any further COVID-19-related delays. Let us know in the comments below if you're excited for this iconic Marvel villain's return. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/12/the-mcus-infinity-saga-ranked"] And for more great Hulk reading, find out why Immortal Hulk is a terrifyingly good comic and where that book ranked in our picks for the best comic book series of 2019. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Earlier this year, Ubisoft teased it would have five major AAA games set to be released in its next fiscal year. And as part of its most recent earnings call, the publisher reaffirmed that commitment while also confirming four of those games and teasing one in an unannounced franchise will be the fifth game. In its fiscal year 2019-2020 report, Ubisoft confirmed that Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Watch Dogs Legion, Gods & Monsters, and Rainbow Six Quarantine are four of its five previously teased AAA games coming in the new 2020-2021 fiscal year. Meanwhile, the fifth game is from "a yet to be announced franchise," seemingly indicating it is part of a known property in the Ubisoft portfolio. However, Ubisoft did not explain further at this time, and so it remains to be seen whether that game could be a new (and oft-rumored) Splinter Cell, a new Far Cry, a new Prince of Persia, the frequently delayed Skull & Bones, or something else. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/07/heres-what-ubisofts-5-promised-aaa-games-in-2020-2021-could-be"] Ubisoft of course also has in the works Beyond Good & Evil 2, but during that previous earnings report Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said at the time the long-awaited sequel was not one of these five games. Assassin's Creed Valhalla was the most likely candidate for one of these five games, as its reveal came along with a promised holiday 2020 launch, including on Xbox Series X and PS5. Meanwhile, Ubisoft unexpectedly delayed Watch Dogs Legion, Gods and Monsters, and Rainbow Six Quarantine from their early 2020 launches to allow for next-gen versions as well. Ubisoft's fiscal years typically end on March 31 of their respective years, meaning we should see these five games before that date in 2021, barring any delays, which Guillemot makes note could be a possibility in this most recent earnings call. Due to considerations needing to be made because of COVID-19's impact, Guillemot said the new earnings forecast "notably reflects the possibility that we decide to postpone the release of a AAA title to 2021-22, if it ensures to maximize the long-term potential of our line-up" but that "Our initial targets for 2020-21 remain in sight."  [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-first-screenshots&captions=true"] Whatever the fifth unannounced game may be, it's likely we may hear something about it, or at the very least these other four confirmed games, at Ubisoft Forward, the company's E3 conference-like digital event scheduled for July. Ubisoft will also be part of IGN's Summer of Gaming showcase event, which kicks off in June. For more on Ubisoft's upcoming slate of games, check out everything we've learned about Assassin's Creed Valhalla so far, including what we learned in our interview with Valhalla's director Ashraf Ismail. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and is currently making his way through Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

There are no Titanfall games in development right now - suggesting a Titanfall game teased last year may have been cancelled - but Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella wants to make a new game happen. Asked by IGN if the Titanfall franchise was over in an interview about the studio's 10th anniversary, Zampella explained, "There’s nothing currently in development. But it’s always there." Last year, Zampella teased that there would be more Titanfall coming in 2019, with EA CEO Andrew Wilson subsequently mentioning a premium Titanfall game that would be a "twist on the franchise". It's possible that teased game isn't being developed by one of the studios Zampella is responsible for and has been delayed, but it seems more likely to have been cancelled. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/24/titanfall-2-review"] It's clear the studio head still has a soft spot for the franchise that helped build his company's reputation, however: "You see the little bits of stuff coming back [through the lore in Apex Legends]. At some point, I would personally like to see some kind of resurrection there. We’ll see if I can make that happen." Titanfall and Titanfall 2 were critically acclaimed, but never saw AAA scale success. Respawn's latest games, Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have achieved that success, leading some to believe Titanfall won't be returned to directly - although Zampella's words offer a glimmer of hope. Famously, Titanfall 2 was released just a week after fellow EA-published FPS, Battlefield 1, which undoubtedly hurt its early sales. "I would say that I’ve been on record as saying that it was not ideal," says Zampella, looking back at that decision. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/17/never-have-i-ever-played-titanfall-2-episode-1-the-pilots-gauntlet-bt-7274"] Titanfall 2 has gone onto become something of a cult classic, with many citing its campaign as one of the best FPS stories in recent history. We awarded the game a 9/10 review, saying it's "rare that a sequel evolves on every part of the original concept so consistently for the better, but Titanfall 2 is that exception." Zampella address much more than Titanfall in our 10th Anniversary interview, hinting at DICE LA's new shooter, teasing what may be to come at EA Play this year, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

According to the President of V1 Interactive, the studio's upcoming real-time tactical first-person shooter, Disintegration, draws inspiration from Myth: The Fallen Lords, and one of the hardest things about making new properties stand out is delivering a high level of polish. In this month's IGN Unfiltered, Ryan McCaffrey sat down with Halo co-creator and ex-Bungie exec Marcus Lehto to discuss his new real-time tactical game, Disintegration, his advice for up-and-coming game designers, the origins of Master Chief, and much more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/disintegration-hands-on-preview-ign-first"] When comparisons were drawn to Full Spectrum Warrior and Brothers In Arms, Lehto said Disintegration was inspired by his own love for Bungie's real-time tactics game; Myth: The Fallen Lords. "Not that I wanted to stay too close to my roots with Bungie, but Myth: The Fallen Lords was one of those games that I think I most connected with... especially as I had a hand in helping build it, initially, and then it became a game that I stayed connected with. After we moved from Cleveland into the Chicago zone, I could stay connected with my friends. We played it all the time, online, together." "The most visceral aspect of the game that I think I was really interested in connecting with, was that real-time tactical element and how that played out on the battlefield in a way that was really tactile and very visceral and very exciting to watch play out." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=53-disintegration-in-game-screenshots-pvp&captions=true"] "So that was the kind of thing that... when I first started exploring what we wanted to do with our first game here at V1, that this hearkening back to Myth: The Fallen Lords and building something that was almost a spiritual successor to that, was the initial underpinning of what we started with an actual playable prototype. It was sci-fi, it was based in the universe of Disintegration, but it was something that was a very different beast at that time." "It's so weird how it paralleled Halo, going from [real-time strategy] to first-person shooter... It wasn't intentional, by any means, but it was... this natural progression of how we explored the idea, initially, and then led to something we felt was much, much more exciting... From there, things just exploded, to the point where we got so excited about what we were building, because we understood that there wasn't really anything else like it out there." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/disintegration-32-minutes-of-story-mission-gameplay-ign-first"] In recent years, in large part due to the massive number of games released, it has been increasingly difficult to gain visibility with new intellectual properties, unless they are given a massive marketing push by major publishers (Destiny, etc.). Lehto went on to elaborate on how he, and the rest of the team at V1, approach this challenge. "Part of it is, we rely on the fact that we have a legacy in building games [Halo, etc.] that allows us to, at least, talk to the people that we feel like we want to talk to... to discuss what this game is about. That's, of course, one part of it that we have to acknowledge." "The other big part of it... I really try to focus on as much as I possibly can, is making sure that we built something that is as polished as possible. There are so many great game ideas out there that just aren't executed to the point where they get into that quality level that is actually something that can be showcased." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/23/disintegration-16-minutes-of-retrieval-multiplayer-gameplay-ign-first"] "It's also a huge challenge for us, as a brand new indie studio, with only 30 people in it, and we have this one opportunity to make a mark, one way or the other." For more on the best, brightest, most interesting minds in the games industry, be sure to check out every episode of Unfiltered, which includes interviews with 343's Bonnie Ross, Valve's Robin Walker and Chris Remo, Respawn's Stig Asmussen, and many, many more.

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Brian Barnett writes features, wiki guides, & more for IGN. Check out his Final Fantasy VII Remake walkthrough, and get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).

With so many players keen to get a free copy of GTA, Epic has run into service trouble.

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki has shared an update on Hayao Miyazaki's next film, Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?), revealing that the animators have completed 36 minutes so far. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Suzuki, who has produced a number of Miyazaki's biggest hits in his filmography, admitted that he initially expressed reservations about the director coming out of retirement to take on a new project. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/11/23/why-miyazakis-films-are-important-to-animation-ign-anime-club"] "Many directors make films on and on and on throughout their careers as they grow older," he said through a translator. "When Miyazaki came back and said that I want to make a film again, I actually said that's not a great idea because he's achieved so much already. You can't come back and do something that you've already done in the past, you have to do something different. One of the ideas that came out from that was, why not spend more time and spend more money [to make a film]? So, that's one of the new approaches." Suzuki confirmed that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has affected multiple film and television productions across the globe, has not impacted the studio's progress on Miyazaki's ambitious feature film, though he expects it could still take another three years to complete the animation. "The film that Hayao Miyazaki's working on at the moment is a big, fantastical story," he explained. "We are still hand-drawing everything, but it takes us more time to complete a film because we're drawing more frames. So, there are more drawings to draw than before. Back when we were making [1988's] My Neighbor Totoro, we only had eight animators. Totoro we made in eight months. [For] the current film that Hayao Miyazaki is working on, we have 60 animators, but we are only able to come up with one minute of animation in a month. That means 12 months a year, you get 12 minutes worth of movie." He added, "Actually, we've been working on this film for three years, so that means we have 36 minutes completed so far. We're hoping it will finish in the next three years." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-anime-series-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] Earlier this year, Studio Ghibli announced that a second film was being developed alongside Miyazaki's coming-of-age fantasy adventure. Suzuki confirmed that Miyazaki's son, Gorō Miyazaki, is responsible for the second project, which he described as a computer-generated animation "based on a book or story from England" about "a very wise girl." If you want to get acquainted with the Miyazaki family's past anime classics before these new works join their back catalogue, a number of titles from Studio Ghibli's library will be available to stream on HBO Max when it launches later this month. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

As pandemic lockdown has brought an unearthly quiet to our streets, a different kind of unearthly has infected the streets of Los Santos. Gangs of players dressed in neon alien costumes are embroiled in a battle, beating each other to death with baseball bats, night sticks, and hatchets. What was once a practical joke has evolved into a war, and the final climactic battle takes place this week, where the runways of Los Santos International Airport will become the battleground for GTA Online’s most bizarre community phenomenon. If you’ve logged on to Grand Theft Auto Online within the past couple of weeks you’ll no doubt have witnessed groups of players causing chaos. The basic premise of the war is that those wearing green alien bodysuits are agents of anarchy, attacking players at random and restricted by just one ‘moral code’: no guns. Those wearing purple alien costumes are out to stop the greens, acting as a sort of vigilante army protecting other players. Over a matter of days those missions have blurred, and now it’s largely just a case of green versus purple in a strange echo of the turf war fought between GTA’s Families and Ballas. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=72955e2f-5312-4293-8d2e-542dfc80cf6c"] With the war dominating GTA Online, from the lobbies to the subreddit, a final battle has been declared by players. On May 15 at 8pm Eastern Time, the war will conclude in a colossal showdown at Los Santos International Airport, and afterwards things can go back to normal. At least, as normal as GTA Online can be in the wake of this community-shifting event. That’s the end point of the alien gang wars story. But what of the start? Well, that’s all down to Adam Long. On April 15, Long published a video to Reddit. The clip shows him and a few friends - all dressed in neon green alien bodysuits - pull a handbrake turn on Los Santos’ pier and bail out of their van, startling another player. They then beat him to death with baseball bats and drive away. As of writing, the video has over 28,000 upvotes, and has inspired an all-encompassing movement. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=On%20May%2015%20the%20war%20will%20conclude%20in%20a%20colossal%20showdown%20at%20Los%20Santos%20International%20Airport."]“The idea came originally when I saw a post on r/gtaonline about two weeks before I posted the alien video,” says Long. “The video was a chap just walking around the Vespucci canals when all of a sudden these two vans full of players just pull up and chase him down before beating him up.” Long intended to recreate the video with his friends, planning to do it dressed as “rednecks”. But one of his crew came out of the clothes store in a green alien bodysuit, and so the green alien gang was born. “Our country is on lock-down, so we were constantly looking for new stuff to do on lots of different games,” Long says while explaining why he and his friends pulled the in-game prank. Lockdown is one reason behind the wildfire-like spread of the alien gang wars - almost everyone I’ve spoken to about the phenomenon is of school age and now forced to stay at home - but social media has provided more fuel for the fire. “It's even more fun just watching all the posts on Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube of the community just coming together and having so much fun during these crazy times,” says Long. TikTok has been a surprisingly strong arm of the alien gang wars movement. The right GTA Online clip posted to the micro-video social network can lead to big boosts in follower counts, and generate viral memes. TikTok content creator Zhi Ko, known online as Nekoztek, quickly saw the potential in getting behind this new phenomenon. Despite having never made Grand Theft Auto videos before, he began to run updates on the alien gang wars. His follower count jumped. “All of a sudden all my notifications are kids DMing me asking me ‘Hey, can you please play with me?’” he says, despite not being a previously established GTA personality. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/12/gta-online-the-diamond-casino-heist-trailer"] “When I started my TikTok it was going to be mainly about general facts and technology,” Ko, who works in the blockchain industry, explains. “It wasn’t going to be curated around gaming or specifically GTA. I’m trying not to post just GTA videos, but it’s very difficult when all these kids are asking all this stuff and I want to respond to them. I’m trying to produce at least a minimum of four or five TikToks a day, now my friend is telling me I need to start producing ten!” With the community behind the war growing at an exponential rate, it needed a home. Intergalactics, created by Florent Gradit-Perier, is one of two major subreddits dedicated to the alien gang wars. When Gradit-Perier, known on Reddit as FloFlan, created the subreddit and its associated Discord server and in-game Crews, the green versus purple element of the war had yet to break out. The craze was simply anarchy on the streets of Los Santos. “I set up Intergalactics Inc because I wanted to unite all the aliens to be more coordinated and make the war funnier,” Gradit-Perier says. “It wasn't a purple vs green [war] but just aliens jumping on poor random players.” [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%E2%80%9CWith%20everything%20going%20on%20in%20our%20world%2C%20the%20alien%20war%20has%20made%20quarantine%20more%20enjoyable.%E2%80%9D"]Even now, with the green and purple gangs firmly established in the community - as well as numerous break-out factions including the Men in Black and Republican Space Rangers - it’s hard to see any kind of true hierarchical organisation. But Gradit-Perier points to his subreddit for proof that people are working together in their own ways. “I saw some clips on our Subreddit with 15 aliens on a bus, or just chilling in the street,” he says. “We're both unified and chaotic, but in a good way, a happy chaos!” Alongside r/intergalactics is r/GreenVSPurple, set up by Reddit user tapwaterbread. While the subreddit also has aims of bringing alien players together, it has an interesting side goal: “it also allowed for the main subreddit to become less flooded with alien content,” says tapwaterbread. Unsurprisingly, the alien war isn’t enjoyed by all GTA Online players. Their usual home has been transformed into a ganking arena, and it can feel impossible to escape. And that’s why, explains Ko, the final battle has been declared. “This final battle came from Reddit,” he says. “They were talking about how the core game of GTA was being ruined, and this war had to be over. It was getting to a point where you can’t even get on GTA without seeing a hundred aliens going around killing you every five seconds.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/05/17/the-history-of-grand-theft-auto-ign-secret-origin"] While those who want GTA Online to return back to normal are no doubt cautiously waiting for the final battle to be over, for the warriors of the alien gang war the showdown is set to be the shining star of some of the game’s most enjoyable times. “It has made GTA 5 so much more fun for me and my friends,” says Lui, creator of the Official Purple Gang Discord server. “It’s really easy to make friends and play with them on here and find some greens.” “I think the alien war has made GTA Online a lot more fun and has brought back a lot of veteran players to the game,” agrees tapwaterbread. “With everything going on in our world and us being stuck at home for most of the day, the alien war has definitely made my quarantine more enjoyable.” Ko highlights how important the war and viral TikTok videos can be for lonely people stuck in lockdown. “Imagine being a kid who can’t even go see his friends because of this quarantine, and all of a sudden you have a thousand people who want to play games with you because of your clips.” With the final battle fast approaching, this new community is already planning how it will adapt to life on the other side of the Los Santos International Airport showdown. “We host car meets every two days and gang meet-ups too sometimes to keep us all together,” says Lui. And the Official Purple Gang Discord isn’t the only group adopting non-alien activities to do with newfound allies; servers I’ve visited are already planning name changes to reflect their new identities in peacetime. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/01/where-will-gta-6-take-place"] Of course, some of the war’s supporters hope this fight won’t be the last of its kind. “I hope that Rockstar will make something similar to this in the future,” says Lui. Ko also thinks Rockstar would be sensible to pay attention to the phenomenon. “I’m curious about how the game will evolve from here,” he says. “What future conflict will come from this? How will Rockstar adapt to this?” He notes that he’d like to see an official “Gangs” DLC expansion for GTA Online. Rockstar is, of course, watching. On May 7 the developer made the alien bodysuits - which usually cost a huge $358,000 of in-game cash to buy - temporarily free of charge for all players. And since guns are prohibited by the war’s code, it means there’s now no in-game charge for anything required to take part. You just need to suit up, hijack a car, and you’re part of something huge. At a time when the world is feeling more isolated than it ever has, being a part of something unifying is perhaps more important than ever. The fact that the players of GTA Online created this alien gang war themselves, with no input from Rockstar at all, only makes it all the more impressive and uplifting. In-game concerts may distract for an evening, but pledging allegiance to a gang? Well, that’s for life. Or at least until May 15. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer, and occasional from-the-Los-Santos-frontlines reporter. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Nintendo has announced that Paper Mario: The Origami King will be released on Nintendo Switch on July 17, 2020. Paper Mario: The Origami King is a brand new adventure that has Mario teaming up with his new partner, Olivia, as "they team up with unlikely allies like Bowser and the Toads to battle evil Folded Soldiers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/14/paper-mario-the-origami-king-announcement-trailer"] Princess Peach invites Mario and Luigi to the kingdom's origami festival, but she looks a bit more...papery than usual. It turns out King Olly, who claims to be the ruler of Origami Kingdom, has hatched a "devious" plot that only Mario and his friends could solve. Oh, and Olivia is actually King Olly's sister! Paper Mario will have new abilities at his disposal, including the 1,000-Fold Arms ability that will allow players to extend Mario's arms to interact with the environment and solve puzzles. There will also be a new ring-based battle system that requires both "puzzle-solving skills and a quick wit." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=paper-mario-the-origami-king-screenshots&captions=true"] Paper Mario: The Origami King is the first title since 2016's Paper Mario: Color Splash that was released on the Wii U. In our review, we said "Paper Mario: Color Splash is a step in the right direction for the series after the 3DS’s Paper Mario: Sticker Star, continuing its shift from RPG to action-adventure game while also introducing some smart changes to its battle system." “Paper Mario: The Origami King delivers a grand new adventure on Nintendo Switch for players to wrap themselves up in,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “This game marks the debut of the Paper Mario series on Nintendo Switch, expanding the vast library of games with another standout entry in a beloved franchise.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/10/05/paper-mario-color-splash-review"] Paper Mario: The Origami King may very well be the first game that will help celebrate Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary, one that, if the reports are true, will see the release of remasters of many of Mario's classic adventures, including Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can't wait and is so excited he just can't hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.