Unrevealed Star Wars Game from Zynga Aiming to Launch By the End of 2021
Zynga is aiming to release its unrevealed Star Wars game by the end of 2021, with more news to come soon, and a soft launch in the summer.
Zynga (Words With Friends, Farmville) revealed that it was working on its first Star Wars game late last year. In the company's latest earnings reports, the company revealed: "We also expect our first Star Wars game to enter soft launch in early summer with the potential to launch by the end of the year."
A soft launch is a release strategy often used for mobile games, similar to a beta, but with games usually released in specific territories as developers fix bugs and test server capacity, with a global launch coming later.
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We still don't know exactly what the Star Wars game will be, but it seems we won't have to wait too long. In an investor Q&A, CEO Frank Gibeau wouldn't be drawn on more details, but added, "There'll be more news on the Star Wars title as we progress into the first part of this year."
Zynga opened a brand new Austin, Texas studio to develop its Star Wars game, adding that it had a "mission of bringing AAA console visuals and deep, compelling gameplay to mobile platforms."
Whatever it is, this new game will be one of the first new Star Wars games to be housed under the returning Lucasfilm Games brand, and is presumably one of the new projects Lucasfilm promised would be revealed during 2021. So far, Lucasfilm Games has announced an open-world Ubisoft Massive game, an Indiana Jones game from MachineGames, and confirmed that EA still has more Star Wars games to come.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Street Fighter 5’s Last New Character Leaked By Twitch
Twitch has accidentally leaked a new Street Fighter V character called Eleven via an email sent to users – Eleven is the last character to be added in SF5's final season of content.
As spotted by AllGamesDelta on Twitter, an email rounding up the coming week's events on Twitch contains a blurb about the Street Fighter V Winter Update, which is set to occur on Thursday. The blurb notes that it will feature "an exclusive look at the newest character, Eleven."
This all but confirms that Eleven will be the next character added to Street Fighter V during Season 5. According to Capcom's roadmap for the game, we can expect Eleven to land in Fall 2021, following new characters Dan, Rose, Oro and Akira Kazama from Rival Schools. Eleven has already featured in Street Fighter V during the character story of Urien, and the character is a pale shapeshifter developed by the in-game Secret Society. They served as a prototype of the character Twelve, who first appeared in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/02/15/street-fighter-5-review"] After Eleven, Street Fighter 5 will seemingly be content-complete - and with Capcom all but confirmed to be working on Street Fighter 6, it seems clear where the team's attentions will be turned afterwards. Back in August of 2020, veteran Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono left Capcom after almost 30 years. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.Twitch accidentally leaks the identity of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition's final Season 5 character
It's Eleven, the precursor to Street Fighter III's Twelve https://t.co/SG0EABqd79 pic.twitter.com/PreEJ8NDPp — AllGamesDelta (@AllGamesDelta_) February 11, 2021
The Last of Us: Pedro Pascal Cast as Joel in HBO Series Adaptation
The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel in the upcoming HBO adaptation of The Last of Us.
As reported by Deadline, Pascal will join Game of Thrones' Bella Ramsey, who is set to play Ellie.
The Last of Us series is being developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and The Last of Us games' director and Naughty Dog Co-President Neil Druckmann.
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Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.
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Gina Carano Fired From the Mandalorian
Actress Gina Carano, known for playing former Rebel Alliance soldier Cara Dune on Disney's the Mandalorian, has been fired from the show, according to io9.
In a statement sent to io9, a Lucasfilm representative spoke on the matter:
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/bro for IGN.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”Carano was the subject of much criticism recently when, in a now-deleted Instagram post, she compared being a modern-day Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust. The hashtag #FireGinaCarano has trended on social media in recent months after other incendiary comments by the television and film star. Sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that Lucasfilm planned on announcing in December that Carano would star in her own Star Wars series. Those plans were scrapped after Carano's November tweets. "They have been looking for a reason to fire her for two months, and today was the final straw," THR's sources said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/15/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer"] Carano has also been a vocally against the use of masks in public spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as insinuating voter fraud conspiracies regarding the 2020 Presidential election. Carano first appeared as Cara Dune in episode four of The Mandalorian season one, when she teamed up with the titular bounty hunter to protect a community against raiders using stolen Empire weaponry. She returned midway through season two/episode 12 to assist in destroying an Imperial base and later in episode 15 to help infiltrate a refinery. The character proved initially to be popular with Star Wars fans, but opinion quickly soured following Carano's comments. [poilib element="accentDivider"]
HBO’s Last of Us Show Casts Game of Thrones Star as Ellie
The Last of Us TV show coming to HBO has found its Ellie. Bella Ramsey, best known for playing Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s Game of Thrones, will play the main role in Craig Mazin’s adaptation.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Ellie’s casting today and cleared up rumors on another bit of casting news as well. True Detective star Mahershala Ali will not be playing Joel in the HBO series, though the actor was at one point circling the role.
Ellie is one of the main characters in The Last of Us. A young orphan, she is discovered to be immune to the virus that has overtaken Earth that turns infected people into horrible creatures. A fixer named Joel is tasked with delivering Ellie to a group called The Fireflys so they can create a cure for the virus.
Ramsey is best known for her role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones. The young lord of House Mormont, Lyanna served as a key ally to the Starks in their quest to retake Winterfell from House Bolton, and later fend off the White Walkers and the Night King. Casting rumors from earlier this week claimed Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali will play Joel in HBO's TV series, but The Hollywood Reporter says this is not the case. Though there appears to have at least been some consideration for Ali at one point. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] Instead, Ali is slated to play the vampire/vampire hunter Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The upcoming Marvel movie has tasked Watchmen writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour to write the movie. HBO's Last of Us series is being developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin with the help of video game director Neil Druckmann. Russian director Kantemir Balgov will direct the pilot. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/06/10/the-last-of-us-remastered-e3-trailer"] The HBO Last of Us series will replace the planned movie adaptation, and the producer for the show has said the TV series will "enhance" the original game. You can check out why we think The Last of Us is better suited for HBO than the big screen. Also, this isn't the only Naughty Dog game adaptation in the works as Tom Holland's Uncharted film has finally finished filming. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is News Editor at IGN.Lyanna Mormont and more round out our favorite characters from Game of Thrones Season 6. https://t.co/vZm1PMRXhX pic.twitter.com/5kp6wwmx4m
— IGN (@IGN) July 9, 2016
Will E3 Still Have a Big Impact in 2021?
On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville to discuss the news that E3 is planning a digital event in 2021, and what that could look like after a year off for the show. The panel discusses E3's place in the wider realm of digital events, and more.
Watch the new episode above!
Plus, we discuss the latest Silent Hill comeback rumors, and whether we think a new SIlent Hill game is actually on the way.
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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console review and our PS5 wiki guide for tips on how to best use your system. And for more Beyond, be sure to watch the first episode of our Bloodborne let's play!
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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
HBO Max’s Generation Used Actual Cat Corpses in Dissection Scene, Extras Quit
Extras from HBO Max's upcoming show, Generation, reportedly quit after actual cat corpses were used in dissection scenes.
Generation, otherwise known as Genera+ion, is a show that touts itself as an ultra-realistic look at high school created by 19-year-old Zelda Barnz and her father, Daniel Barnz. Lena Dunham is an executive producer on the show and before it has even been released on the HBO streaming service, it's already facing trouble in the form of extras quitting the show, according to Variety.
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"Got word from a friend in the industry, HBO has a new show called Generation coming out," Twitter user Lilith Rose wrote in a tweet posted February 5. "It's produced by Lena Dunham and earlier this week they brought in real dead kittens for background to 'dissect' on set. No warning, people had trauma responses."
Rose goes on to say in additional tweets that the extras were apparently told they'd be dissecting frogs, but they showed up to "real dead kittens" on set and were expected to stay and shoot through the scheduled scenes. Variety received a statement from HBO Max on the situation and the company denies that the actors weren't warned in advance.
"Genera+ion depicts the unfiltered experiences of high school students and is drawn from many formative moments in the lives of the show's writers," the statement reads. "The production recently filmed scenes depicting a biology classroom assignment involving dissection of animal specimens. These were ethically sourced in consultation with American Humane via a biological supply company that works with schools."
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"Everyone involved was informed in advance that this would be a sensitive scene involving a real dissection; the assistant directors checked in regularly with all participants on set, and two background actors who expressed discomfort were released with full pay," the statement continues. "However, after subsequent discussion with the creative team, the scene is being reconceived and will not appear in the series. We deeply regret that this occurred."
Rose also wrote on Twitter that at the wrap of day two of shooting, the crew was informed that a camera man on set had tested positive for COVID-19, "as a cherry on top of their traumatic experience." Rose wrote that the positive case "should have been disclosed earlier, but (HBO Max) clearly wanted their shots of these kittens."
Sources close to Variety confirmed to the publication that a member of the crew had, in fact, tested positive for COVID-19, and that this person is currently in isolation. The sources told Variety that the crew had learned of the positive test result after the day filming had wrapped, which contradicts Rose's tweet. The show will resume filming when it's safe to do so per safety guidelines, according to Variety.
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Dunham, who is a creative and executive producer on the show, didn't hear about this incident until February 6, according to one of Variety's sources.
"I am committed in my life and work to the principled, humane and ethical treatment of animals," a statement from Dunham reads. "I don't use animal cadavers in any of my work, ever, and I was not on set or aware that they were used in a recently shot scene depicting a biology classroom assignment. I fully support the scene being edited out of the show."
Genera+ion is expected to premiere this Spring on HBO Max.
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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
Destruction AllStars Review
With its bright energy, colorful characters, and wacky-powered cars, Destruction AllStars takes many of the aesthetic and mechanical trends from the last five years of multiplayer-focused live games and applies them to the long-dormant car combat genre. Speeding around beautifully detailed and cartoonishly articulated demolition derby courses, looking for your chance to rev your engine and hit another player so hard their ride explodes. When your own car inevitably gets busted up beyond recognition, you can hop out of your car and climb into another: A novel idea, but one that keeps you out of the action. Despite its striking visuals and solid driving fundamentals, Destruction AllStars' demolition derby-style car smashing is inconsistent and unpredictable. Every multiplayer game has highs and lows, but Destruction AllStars' best bits are few and fleeting.
You have one job to do in Destruction AllStars: Get into a car and crash it into other players. At the start of each match, 16 players start out on foot and race to grab one of a handful of empty cars, which come in many recognizable shapes like slick sports cars, burly SUVs, and tough trucks. Unlike in most car games, though, you are not tied to your car forever. You can eject from a vehicle at any time to trade for a new model or because the car's health is low and you don't want to wipe out.
Whether you crash or get crashed into, at least you're going to look good doing it. Destruction AllStars' large arenas are incredibly well-detailed and drenched in bright, colorful lights are a visual feast. The characters, from Fuego the masked-metal head to Ratu, a teal-haired boxer in an orange jumpsuit, are all drawn in a familiar Overwatch-esque style but have very specific looks that pop and draw you to them all the same. Even the little flourishes, like how a character jumps into an empty white car which instantaneously takes on their color scheme, look cool every time.
Continue Reading at GameSpotDestruction AllStars Review
With its bright energy, colorful characters, and wacky-powered cars, Destruction AllStars takes many of the aesthetic and mechanical trends from the last five years of multiplayer-focused live games and applies them to the long-dormant car combat genre. Speeding around beautifully detailed and cartoonishly articulated demolition derby courses, looking for your chance to rev your engine and hit another player so hard their ride explodes. When your own car inevitably gets busted up beyond recognition, you can hop out of your car and climb into another: A novel idea, but one that keeps you out of the action. Despite its striking visuals and solid driving fundamentals, Destruction AllStars' demolition derby-style car smashing is inconsistent and unpredictable. Every multiplayer game has highs and lows, but Destruction AllStars' best bits are few and fleeting.
You have one job to do in Destruction AllStars: Get into a car and crash it into other players. At the start of each match, 16 players start out on foot and race to grab one of a handful of empty cars, which come in many recognizable shapes like slick sports cars, burly SUVs, and tough trucks. Unlike in most car games, though, you are not tied to your car forever. You can eject from a vehicle at any time to trade for a new model or because the car's health is low and you don't want to wipe out.
Whether you crash or get crashed into, at least you're going to look good doing it. Destruction AllStars' large arenas are incredibly well-detailed and drenched in bright, colorful lights are a visual feast. The characters, from Fuego the masked-metal head to Ratu, a teal-haired boxer in an orange jumpsuit, are all drawn in a familiar Overwatch-esque style but have very specific looks that pop and draw you to them all the same. Even the little flourishes, like how a character jumps into an empty white car which instantaneously takes on their color scheme, look cool every time.
Continue Reading at GameSpotHearthstone Players Are Celebrating the Game’s WoW Classic-like Update
A new round of upcoming changes to Hearthstone is being well-received by the game's community, specifically the announcement of a new "Classic Format" that lets players experience Hearthstone as it was when it launched in 2014.
The newly added Classic Format uses only the original 240 cards that existed in Hearthstone at the game's launch, and what's more, any changes to those cards that have happened since their initial release have been reverted. That means, for instance, that the Leeroy Jenkins card only costs four mana now instead of five, Warsong Commander can give minions charge, and Holy Smite can target opponents directly instead of just being able to hit minions. Numerous other cards are being reverted in different ways to their original forms, including cards like Leper Gnome, Fiery War Axe, Hex, Innervate, Ironbeak Owl, Mana Wyrm, and Knife Juggler -- all once-staples of decks that have been changed over the years.
Classic Format appears to be following in the footsteps of World of Warcraft: Classic, which launched in 2019 as a way for players to enjoy World of Warcraft in its original form and has since received regular content updates in the order the original game saw, maintaining an active player community alongside the retail version of the game.
And like its WoW predecessor, the new Hearthstone format is already being celebrated across social media. At the time of publication, replies on the Twitter announcement of the changes are almost all positive, top comments on a link to the announcement on the Hearthstone subreddit are praising the move, and the memes are looking pretty good too.
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Alongside existing players who are excited for the new format, some discussion also revolves around the new format's potential to draw in players, both veterans who may have lapsed over the years as well as new players. To the latter point, several note that Hearthstone has become increasingly complex and expensive over the years with its many modes and the need to constantly catch up with new expansions. Classic decks can often be cheaper to make, and many of their components are available to players for free by virtue of being a part of the class sets players can earn by leveling up characters through play.
Classic Format isn't the only update to Hearthstone Blizzard announced. In another celebrated change, it's increasing the total number of slots for saved decks players can have from 18 to 27. And as it nears the release of a new expansion, Hearthstone is shaking up all its formats by introducing a new Core Set of cards that will be free for all players.
The Core Set consists of 235 cards -- including returning cards from previous sets, reimagined cards, and 29 brand new cards -- that can be earned by leveling up each Class in Hearthstone. Core Set cards will be updated and rotated in and out on an annual basis. Meanwhile, Blizzard is moving all its old Basic and Classic cards that aren't staying with the Core Set into its existing anything-goes Wild Format under a new name: the Legacy Set.
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Put simply, this means Hearthstone will have three game modes going forward. Standard will include the aforementioned Core Set and whatever expansion sets are current, right now Legacy of the Phoenix and whatever new expansion Blizzard announces at BlizzCon next week. Wild Format will include all Core Set cards, as well as just about every other older expansion of cards from over the years: so all Classic cards, retired expansions, and just about everything else. And Classic Format will only have the original cards from when the game launched in 2014.
Blizzard is expected to announce more details about these changes at BlizzCon on February 19.
Late last year, Blizzard dropped a new battle pass in Hearthstone that was not nearly as well-received as today's changes, with Blizzard acknowledging after its launch that it had communicated the pass' rewards poorly and that its requirements and benefits weren't laid out in a clear way to players before they spent their money. Blizzard has since been working to address these issues, and earlier this year launched the game's first "mini-set" of 35 cards: The Darkmoon Races.
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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.