Shazam star Asher Angel wants to see his superhero interact with other DC characters in the new DCU.

Like Dwayne Johnson's recent push to include Henry Cavill's Superman in Black Adam, Angel told ComicBook.com that he also hopes to see Shazam have similar cameos and crossovers.

"Hopefully I get to integrate with other characters, but who knows?," Angel said, not giving anything away regarding potential crossovers in upcoming sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods.

The original Shazam film featured a minor cameo at the end, when Superman (filmed only from the neck down) appeared at the high school of Billy Batson, who Angel plays.

Unlike Black Adam's marketing, which showed off the Justice Society of America and other DC characters, Shazam: Fury of the Gods has remained light on this front. That being said, Black Adam's Superman cameo wasn't known about until the film was released (and Johnson spoiled it himself), so there could still be some surprises in store for the Shazam sequel.

Major changes are currently underway at DC Studios as new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran look to implement their eight to ten year plan. Angel is excited about this new era, commenting that he thinks the original Shazam helped usher it in. "I think, in a way, Shazam did open up the DC Universe because it's light-hearted and it's fun," Angel said.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The issues surrounding Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are largely performance-based; low framerate, extreme pop in, and camera clipping are just a few examples. But now Pokémon fans have seemingly discovered a new issue in Scarlet and Violet that is having a big impact on the competitive battling scene.

As posted to Twitter by Anubis, fans believe Scarlet and Violet's Battle Stadium is currently using the same RNG (random number generator) seed for every single battle. Basically, this means players can figure out what moves will hit and what moves will miss every single time depending on which turn of the battle it is. For example, apparently movies with less than 91% accuracy always miss on the first turn of a Battle Stadium fight.

Uh oh.

Pokémon Scarlet/Violet Battle Stadium currently is using the same RNG seed for every battle.

This allows us to choose moves to ensure that OHKO moves such as Sheer Cold always hit! pic.twitter.com/lSlBJr1AF6

— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) November 27, 2022

Reddit user Lord-Trolldemort first discovered this issue, when Frost Breath (a move with 90% accuracy) missed the opening attack of a battle 14 times in a row. If the RNG was working correctly, missing a 90%-accuracy move that many times in a row is a one in 100 trillion chance. As seen in the video above, players have also discovered the window where one-hit KO moves work every time without fail, essentially breaking the Battle Stadium in its current state. Players have also pointed out that this isn't an issue in other types of battles, like wild Pokémon, trainer, or gym battles.

The Battle Stadium is designed to let players take on other trainers from around the world. It includes Scarlet and Violet's Ranked Battles, which means this issue is particularly pressing for the most hardcore segment of the competitive Pokémon scene. For online ranked battles to be viable, this is something that needs to be fixed quickly.

The new revelations surrounding Scarlet and Violet's Battle Stadium is far from the only issue in the games. Since launch, fans have discovered glitches and issues that include cloning shiny Pokémon, running at double speed, and dozens of other bugs that range from funny visual glitches to serious performance problems.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's technical issues and oversights are the main problems holding the latest generation of Pokémon back from being great. In our Scarlet and Violet review, we said "discovering and catching all these charming monsters across an enormous open world with an actually good story is really fun… it just comes with far, far too many asterisks."

Despite all of the drama surrounding Pokémon, Scarlet and Violet have already sold over 10 million units en route to the fastest Nintendo launch of all time. For more, check out our picks for the top ten best Pokemon games.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Spider-Man 4 sadly never happened… but after almost 15 years, we’ve finally got a glimpse of the film’s villain – Vulture.

Comic book writer Ken Penders has unveiled the villain’s mechanical wings on Twitter – a practical prop that would have appeared in the long-defunct Spider-Man 4.

“Before Tobey & Sam were bid adieu by Sony, work actually had begun on SPIDER-MAN 4,” he revealed. “I visited friends who were working on the Vulture's costume intended for actor John Malkovich. Once production shut down, all materials were turned in. I've sat on this for almost 15 years.”

Before Tobey & Sam were bid adieu by Sony, work actually had begun on SPIDER-MAN 4, and I visited friends who were working on the Vulture's costume intended for actor John Malkovich. Once production shut down, all materials were turned in. I've sat on this for almost 15 years. pic.twitter.com/iY3VmzUrHI

— Ken Penders (@KenPenders) November 28, 2022

Vulture recently made his MCU debut played by Michael Keaton in Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, this iteration of the classic MCU villain featured largely CGI wings.

Spider-Man 4 was a different story – requiring Malkovich to don this beautiful mechanical rig.

Unfortunately, it never happened. The film was ultimately canceled by Sony, eventually leading to a reboot starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man.

What happened to the wings? Well, remarkably, they were sold online and ended up on display at Edmonton's Prop Museum in 2019.

Awesome! I'm guessing your friend was part of the Frontline Design team. I know those wings were sold online and were displayed at Edmonton's Prop Museum in 2019 before closing down. pic.twitter.com/ID053oybIE

— Fillmoreantidote (@DolosGallo) November 28, 2022

As for the designer who worked in them, he was also responsible for Maguire’s Spider-Man 3 suits.

“He was also responsible for fabricating Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man costumes in SPIDER-MAN 3,” added Penders. “He said the web pattern on the costume was the hardest thing about making the costume.”

According to concept artist Jeffrey Henderson, Spider-Man 4 would have featured a handful of classic Spider-Man villains, including “a montage of C and D- list villains that we knew would never be used as main antagonists: Mysterio, the Shocker, the Prowler, the old school-onesie-wearing version of the Rhino, maybe even the Stilt Man, etc.”

Heading back to the MCU, Michael Keaton recently reprised the role of Adrian Toomes aka Vulture in Morbius. However, it’s unclear how he factors into Sony’s upcoming Spider-Plans.

Want to read more about Spider-Man? Check out every Spider-Man spin-off currently in development as well as how to watch the Spider-Man movies in chronological order.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Disney CEO Bob Iger hosted his first companywide meeting after returning to the position with employees on Monday, addressing concerns over the company's recent response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill and how Disney plans to move forward.

According to Variety, Iger's comments regarding Disney's stance on LGBTQ+ inclusion were prompted by an employee Q&A session during the meeting. When asked about the company's current position, Iger said, "one of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion, and acceptance and tolerance. And we can't lose that; we just can't lose that…How we actually change the world through the good must continue."

Iger referred to this as a "core value" at Disney, acknowledged the approach is "not going to make everyone happy all the time," and claims it isn't trying to. Variety's report includes employees confirming Iger's statement and a tweet from one staffer saying Iger delivered the response with "no hesitation."

The topic arises after a series of employee-led initiatives and social media campaigns took aim at Disney earlier this year over its handling of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation. Disney employees criticized the company and organized a walkout after learning it donated nearly $200,000 to politicians supporting the bill. At the time, Bob Chapek still held the Walt Disney Co. CEO position and later apologized for the company's "painful silence" in an internal email.

In March, Florida's legislature passed HB 1557, prohibiting conversations around LGBTQ+ topics in the classroom, and Disney followed up with a statement. The company's stance claimed its goal was to see the law "be repealed or struck down in the courts."

While Iger's predecessor, Chapek, infamously avoided political conversations until pressured, The Hollywood Reporter shared comments regarding Iger's perspective on Disney's political stance. In the meeting, Iger said he thinks "there’s a misperception here about what politics is."

"Some of the subjects that have been proven to be controversial as it relates to Disney have been branded political," said Iger. "And I don't think they are."

Iger's initial meeting also confirmed it would maintain a recent hiring freeze Chapek put in place, and the CEO shut down rumors that Apple had plans to buy Disney. He also showed support for a push to see more Disney employees return to in-office work.

Chapek began his time as Disney's CEO in 2020, taking on the role after Iger initially stepped down. Last week, the company announced Iger's surprising return after Chapek's two-year run. Iger previously held the Disney CEO role for 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, and oversaw acquisitions like Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She's worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today's FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.

Troy Baker has revealed how the birth of his son helped him understand Joel’s controversial decision at the climax of The Last of Us Part 1, and talked about his ongoing wish to play Daredevil during an at times emotional appearance at the Milan Games Week in Italy.

In a recording of the interview, Baker — who voiced protagonist Joel Miller in The Last of Us Part 1 - explained that he was at a “disadvantage” to the game’s writer and creative director Neil Druckmann when it came to relating to Joel’s decisions.

Warning: This section contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 1

Upon being asked if Baker would have made the same decisions as Joel, the actor replied that, “When we were making part one I was at a disadvantage to Neil, because Neil was a father. I was acting. This was a very real possibility for him — what do I look like in the event that I lose my daughter.”

Specifically, Baker was referring to Joel’s decision to save Ellie at the climax of the game, by preventing Firefly scientists from performing a fatal operation on her that could have led to a cure for the cordyceps infection that was destroying mankind. In the time since making the game, Baker became a father.

“And I have a son, and I don’t know what I would look like if I lost him," explained Baker. "But I do know that if I had the opportunity to save him I would do anything. I would do anything to save him. So people have asked me, why would Joel do that when he could have saved the world, and my answer to them is always this — he did, he did save the world. It’s just that the world was that girl, and that’s it.”

In the same interview, the voice actor revealed that certain elements of the game, such as Joel’s wish to be a singer and Ellie’s longing to be an astronaut, came from conversations that he and Ashley Johnson had with Druckman on set.

Baker also spoke more about his wish to work on a Daredevil game in the future.

“I’ve said this a lot, I am a huge Daredevil fan," said Baker. "What Charlie Cox did for the show was amazing, and I had the opportunity to talk to him about it, and I told him what his performance of Daredevil meant. I want to either A — play Matt Murdock in a game, or I want to direct the game.”

According to Baker, Batman and Daredevil are his longtime comic book loves, and his wish to be involved in a Daredevil game is based at least partly on the hero’s blindness.

“Either way, because, the reason why we play games is because that character can do something that I can’t. What does that game look like when I can do something that the character can’t? That is what really intrigues me about making that game, and it would be a big challenge for me as an actor, to be able to play someone who was not sighted.”

“I’ve already played Batman, now I just need to play Daredevil, we’ll see.”

A live-action adaptation of The Last of Us is set to air on January 15 2023 on HBO, and will see Pedro Pascal step into the role of Joel Miller, while the Game of Thrones actress Bella Ramsey will play Ellie. Check out IGN's coverage for trailer breakdowns, and to find out why Ramsey was encouraged not to play The Last of Us Part 1 before filming the adaptation.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

After months of back and forth between employees and management, Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios – not to be confused with Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software – has published a public apology to its employees for its mishandling of a controversial hire.

The full statement can be read here under the section titled "Our Journey", and includes the following:

There have been times when we’ve had more to learn than we realized, and reflecting on where we’ve been is an important part of our journey forward.

We’re sorry we haven’t gotten things right every time.

During those times, the tireless work of Avalanchers who dedicate their attention and effort to improving the company has been invaluable.

The progress we can celebrate today is thanks to the compassion and convictions of our employees. To all Avalanchers who have spoken up throughout the years, engaged in our DEI efforts, and helped us throughout this journey, we want to say this:

Thank you for your contributions. You have our deepest respect, and we are grateful to you.

While Avalanche didn't go into the specific reasons for adding this apology to its website, IGN has spoken to a number of sources familiar with the situation at the company over the last few weeks, and who have shared more details on how Avalanche got here. According to their accounts, Avalanche's apology comes more than a year after the company hired a high-level individual who had been publicly accused of inappropriate workplace behavior toward female employees at his former company. IGN has verified the public allegations against the employee in question, but is choosing not to identify him here.

But while our sources say this person's hiring was the catalyst of their frustration, their real conflict ultimately became less with the individual in question and more with the company itself. They say that Avalanche management and HR repeatedly avoided engaging with their concerns about the company's hiring processes, dismissed feelings of discomfort from those in the company who had experienced workplace harassment in past jobs, and ignored requests for transparency on how Avalanche planned to keep employees safe going forward.

Now, over a year later, our sources tell us that Avalanche's willingness to acknowledge the matter at all is due to an overwhelming internal pushback against perceived attempts to downplay a situation that made many internally feel unsafe and unheard.

A Rumbling Avalanche

Our sources say the individual in question was hired in 2021 into a project leadership role within Avalanche Studios, a subsidiary of Nordisk Film with offices in Stockholm, New York, Malmö, and Liverpool.

Almost immediately, multiple employees raised concerns with the studio’s leadership and HR over the hire, but sources say those concerns were not acted upon. At one point, employees were allegedly reassured by leaders that they would not have to work directly with this person due to remote work and his status as a contractor – which in itself was considered unusual given his leadership role. However, our sources tell us these promises were later broken in 2022 when he began to work in the office, including holding one-to-one meetings with female employees and attending company events. This person was eventually promoted, prompting another wave of frustration from employees who did not feel their concerns were being heard by management or HR.

The individual eventually resigned in mid-2022, but sources say the lack of transparency around his hiring and the company's unwillingness to acknowledge employee concerns remained a source of agitation within the studio. In October, one employee approached Avalanche leadership on behalf of a group of employees to ask the company to apologize, but no action was taken.

Matters came to a head on November 9 when an Avalanche employee posted a message in a work Slack channel saying they were "no longer comfortable with the ethical implications of selling my labor to Avalanche Studios Group." The message, which was reviewed by IGN, specifically tagged Avalanche CEO Pim Holfve and invited employees to email the poster on their personal email for more information on the situation.

This prompted a company-wide email from Holfve later that day, in which Holfve emphasized the company's "zero tolerance" policy, and attested that Avalanche had in fact done a background check on the employee after the issue was raised internally. The background check, he says in the email reviewed by IGN, included the results from a third-party investigation at their previous workplace.

"The person has since left their contracted position with us, but the person chose to do so for project reasons only," the email continues. "Their decision had nothing to do with the accusations from their previous workplace.

"There have been no claims and no suspicion of any misconduct by the person during their time at Avalanche Studios Group." [Emphasis Holfve's]

The email concludes by promising to open an investigation of Avalanche's hiring practices led by a third-party legal company, and encouraging employees to continue raising concerns to HR and Holfve himself via existing internal channels.

On November 14, Avalanche management conducted a town hall meeting for which employees were encouraged to submit questions. Rather than answer them live, the company promised to distribute a Q&A with answers to selected questions several days later. IGN has viewed the Q&A, which sheds light on the nature of many employees' concerns, which our sources also echoed. In particular, employees voiced questions about the lack of scrupulousness in the hiring process that led to this person being brought on in the first place, why the numerous reports of discomfort didn't result in action or even acknowledgment, and the general lack of transparency from management throughout. As one of the questions in Avalanche's vetted Q&A read: "The most common question is why the concerns expressed by Avalanchers were not acted on when they were brought to managers or HR managers, asking, 'why do we not listen to our co-workers' experiences?'"

IGN has also viewed emails from the days that followed the town hall from Holfve and chief human resources officer Signe Svensson. Much of Holfve's email reiterates points from the Q&A and his previous email, but the overall tone is more contrite.

"Yesterday evening, a few Avalanchers reached out to me and Signe to share their experiences from the past year. They shared that they had not felt comfortable, and not felt heard. It saddened me to hear these accounts. No one should have to feel like this about their workplace, least of all at Avalanche.

"I can honestly say that your concerns have not reached me in the past year, and I did not know about them, or I would have acted on this information. For that, I'm really sorry. Had I known those things when yesterday's email was written, I would have apologized right there in the email - of course."

In a second email from Holfve sent a few days later, Holfve notes that his "own understanding of the events has also evolved over the last few days, and new facts have surfaced," adding that he has since learned that "there were concerns raised regarding [the employee's] leadership style going against our values and code of conduct."

"All of this highlights a number of flaws in our processes. For this, we are truly sorry. I said it to everyone on Thursday, and I'm saying it again today: we fucked up."

Holfve also repeats a refrain he'd maintained through past emails of urging employees to use internal channels such as Avalanche's whistleblower system, or by approaching him or the CPO directly. He also urges employees not to speak to media outlets about the situation, saying that "external attention would not expedite things."

Svensson's email announces to employees that Avalanche is contracting with independent DEI investigation group Gender Balance to look into the processes that led to this situation and help the company make changes to avoid it in the future. According to the employee Q&A, Gender Balance's involvement is the direct result of employee feedback. While Avalanche had initially set out to engage a legal firm, employees pushed back, urging the company to work with an organization focused on building good anti-harassment and anti-discrimination practices. The company's diversity, equity, and inclusion committee suggested Gender Balance specifically, with Gender Balance's website claiming it not only investigates harassment reports, but recommends measures "that take more than the legal side into account." The investigation began on November 21.

The Q&A also notes that Microsoft, with whom Avalanche has partnered on upcoming co-op open world game Contraband, was made aware of the situation. "They have not expressed any concerns with how we are handling what's come to light on our end."

IGN has reached out to Xbox for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Change in the Wind

Multiple sources told us that over the course of this conflict, a large number of Avalanche's 500 employees have voiced their displeasure with Avalanche's handling of the situation. Those same sources added that they had each heard from others in the company who were deeply uncomfortable, but did not feel safe speaking out against management.

Update 11/28/2022 10:08 am PT: Avalanche responded to IGN's request for comment just after the publication for this piece. While the company declined to answer our specific questions, the spokesperson pointed us to the statement on the website and reiterated the points in Holfve's emails regarding its background check of the individual in question, as well as its apology for not taking action sooner.

"We’re committed to learning from our mistakes and doing much better in the future," the response reads. "To this end, we are implementing concrete steps to review and improve our processes. This includes a formal investigation that is being led by an external partner to gain clarity on the dynamic of events and identify the flaws in our processes. We’re also ensuring that our values and code of conduct are reflected in our everyday interactions, and engaging in meaningful dialogue with our employees. This is to ensure that we are creating the truly inclusive, sustainable, and welcoming workplace that all Avalanchers deserve."

Original story continues below:

Several people we spoke to expressed frustration that it took this long and this much effort to get Avalanche to take action. One source IGN spoke with again this morning called the public statement "underwhelming", saying they had expected more.

Others told IGN they hoped a public acknowledgment of some kind would serve to set an example for the industry at large. One source, who we briefly spoke with again after the apology was published, said they were feeling optimistic, and hoped this and the other actions taken by the company in recent weeks would ultimately ripple into the culture of other games studios in the region.

"They say a rising tide can lift all boats," they concluded. "This looks like sea change to me."

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that its Unreal Engine 5 remake of 2007's The Witcher will be fully open world.

Revealed during its third quarter financial results, CD Projekt Red briefly mentioned its announcement of The Witcher Remake, saying that it will be a "story-driven, single player open world RPG".

The studio had previously only confirmed that it would be another "full-fledged" Witcher game, but as the original is not open world, there was still speculation whether or not the remake would resemble the 2007 version or something closer to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

CD Projekt Red didn't say anything else about the new game, reiterating its point made in October that "it's gonna be a while until we can share more details."

"The Witcher is where it all started for us, for CD Projekt Red. It was the first game we made, ever, and it was a big moment for us then. Going back to this place and remaking the game for the next generation of gamers to experience it feels just as big, if not bigger,” added studio head Adam Badowski at the time.

The original Witcher saw Geralt adventure around the Temerian capital of Vizima, a location briefly visited in The Witcher 3. While players could only access the royal castle in the third game, however, the entirety of Vizima, its outskirts, and more will be opened up in The Witcher remake.

Each of these areas was broken up as a different level in the original and, for the most part, once one had been completed players couldn't go back. With the remake though, it appears that all of these areas will be connected, and players can walk in and out of Vizima the same way they do Novigrad in The Witcher 3.

In our 8/10 review of the original, IGN said: "The Witcher really is a good game and one that PC RPG fans will surely enjoy. It combines some entertaining and fast-paced combat with a well realized world and pretty decent story that branches and can end in three different fashions."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has confirmed that the new DC film universe will be linked to future video games that exist in the same canon.

As reported by Eurogamer, Gunn was asked on Twitter if the DCEU (which now seems to be rebranded as just the DCU) will incorporate more forms of entertainment down the line, to which he replied, "yes, most definitely.

"The DCU will be connected across film and TV (and animation)," he added. When another fan asked if there are plans for games to be connected to the DCU too, Gunn replied plainly: "Yes."

Yes.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 27, 2022

Nothing else was said, but it does confirm a trend away from Marvel's strategy of building a shared universe across its films and a separate one across its games. We do know that Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran begun work on an eight to ten year plan for DC films, TV shows, animation, and more, however, meaning we'll likely see a game or two materialise in this time too.

The upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game won't be part of this universe, however, as developer Rocksteady Studios has already confirmed it's part of the Arkham world that includes Arkham Asylum and Gotham Knights.

Only time will tell exactly how the DCU's shared universe plan will turn out, but it could lead to some interesting crossovers such as Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam appearing in a video game, or a video game-first character moving on to star in a movie.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The rarest card in Magic: The Gathering's pricey Anniversary Set has a pull-rate of one in every 410 packs, meaning players would need to spend more than $100,000 on average to find one.

Statistics provided to IGN by Magic: The Gathering drafting website DraftSim show that one retro Black Lotus card - a reprint of the most coveted trading card of all time - is present in exactly $102,897 worth of booster packs.

Wizards of the Cost is only selling the Anniversary Set as a $999 product containing four booster packs with random cards. Despite the high price, however, the Black Lotus (alongside every other card) is only a proxy version and therefore can't be used in tournament play, and it's currently unknown if they will be worth anything to collectors.

Normal versions of each retro card, which feature a modern Magic: The Gathering style compared to the classic look, are also available at a slightly increased rate, but this version of the Black Lotus is still only available in every 95 booster packs (so 96 given they're four per set), meaning $23,976 worth.

These packs are completely random though, meaning players may pull a Black Lotus after buying one set at $999 or may not even pull one after dropping the $100,000. Using binomial distribution to calculate the risk, DraftSim shows there's still a 36% chance of not getting a normal Black Lotus after 96 packs and a 1% chance of not getting the retro after opening 410 packs.

The Anniversary Set caused frustration for Magic: The Gathering players when it was announced in October, with YouTuber PleasantKenobi saying what's claimed to be a "celebration" of the game only reinforces fan concerns that Wizards of the Coast are sacrificing its quality for the sake of making big money.

Analysts agree, as earlier in November the stock price of Wizards of the Coast's parent company Hasbro dropped nearly 10% after Bank of America criticised its handling of the trading card game.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Developer Offworld Industries has announced Starship Troopers: Extermination, an upcoming 12-player PvE first-person shooter for PC that's inspired by the cult-classic 1997 sci-fi film. It's due to launch into Early Access sometime in 2023. Take a look at the announcement trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Starship Troopers: Extermination promises squad-based, large-scale battles against the bugs you remember from the movie. You'll play as a trooper in the elite Deep Space Vanguard as one of three playable classes: Assault, Support, and Defense. New perks and gear will unlock as you progress in the persistent class progression system.

More details: Extermination will have a Titanfall-like ping system for easier player-to-player communication in the middle of a firefight, while tougher bugs will start swarming as the threat level increases. You'll also need to build and maintain your own defenses – erecting walls, ammo stations, lookouts, and more.

A huge five-zone map promises a scale of grandeur as you battle five different bug types. Check out the first gameplay teaser and some exclusive concept art below:

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.