2021's first batch of Xbox Games with Gold includes Little Nightmares, the remastered version of Dead Rising, King of Fighters XIII, and Breakdown. As detailed on Xbox Wire, here's when Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to download January's free games:

• Little Nightmares – January 1–31
• Dead Rising – January 16–February 15
• King of Fighters XIII – January 1–15
• Breakdown – January 16–31

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/xbox-january-2021-games-with-gold-trailer"] IGN's Little Nightmares review called it "gleefully strange, unceasingly grim, and quietly smart." A sequel is coming to both Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on February 11, 2021. The Dead Rising remaster provides visual and performance enhancements to the 2006 original, bringing the resolution and frame rate up to 1080p and 60fps, respectively. As for the game itself, IGN's Dead Rising review awarded it an 8.3. King of Fighters XIII and Breakdown will both be available through backwards compatibility on Xbox. King of Fighters XIII is an Xbox 360-era arcade fighter, while Breakdown is a first-person, sci-fi action game released exclusively for the original Xbox. Check out IGN's King of Fighters XIII review and Breakdown review for more. Subscribers still have time to download some of December's Games with Gold as well. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dead-rising-remasters&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.

HBO and the BBC have renewed His Dark Materials for a third and final season. As reported by Variety, the eight-episode third season's production is set to begin in Cardiff in 2021 and looks to tell the story that took place in The Amber Spyglass - the third and final book of Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name. News of this renewal arrives less than a week before the finale of His Dark Materials' second season on HBO and two days after it aired on BBC. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/his-dark-materials-season-2-teaser-trailer-comic-con-2020"] His Dark Materials' second season saw the return of all of its main cast members, including Dafne Keen as Lyra, Amir Wilson as Will, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter, Ariyon Bakare as Lord Boreal, and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel. Newcomers include Andrew Scott as Colonel John Parry, Terence Stamp as Giacomo Paradisi, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, and Simone Kirby as Dr Mary Malone. Season 2 was mostly based off The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry who have to work together to investigate the mysterious Dust phenomenon in the eerie disquiet of an abandoned city called Cittàgazze. For more on His Dark Materials, check out our review of the first season. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/11/lin-manuel-miranda-recaps-his-dark-materials-season-1"] [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

HBO and the BBC have renewed His Dark Materials for a third and final season. As reported by Variety, the eight-episode third season's production is set to begin in Cardiff in 2021 and looks to tell the story that took place in The Amber Spyglass - the third and final book of Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name. News of this renewal arrives less than a week before the finale of His Dark Materials' second season on HBO and two days after it aired on BBC. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/his-dark-materials-season-2-teaser-trailer-comic-con-2020"] His Dark Materials' second season saw the return of all of its main cast members, including Dafne Keen as Lyra, Amir Wilson as Will, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter, Ariyon Bakare as Lord Boreal, and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel. Newcomers include Andrew Scott as Colonel John Parry, Terence Stamp as Giacomo Paradisi, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, and Simone Kirby as Dr Mary Malone. Season 2 was mostly based off The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry who have to work together to investigate the mysterious Dust phenomenon in the eerie disquiet of an abandoned city called Cittàgazze. For more on His Dark Materials, check out our review of the first season. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/11/lin-manuel-miranda-recaps-his-dark-materials-season-1"] [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Some players have accidentally been playing PS4 versions of cross-gen games on their PS5, and now Sony has added a warning that will help make sure that doesn't happen. As spotted by @Tidux on Twitter, if you try to start, for example, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you will now be asked to confirm your game version. It will say "You're about to play the PS4 version of this game. Do you want to switch to the PS5 version?" It then offers you an option to download/play the PS4 version if you choose to or to switch to the PS5 version. This issue was noticed by many who were accidentally playing the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on their brand new PS5s. This impacted mainly those who purchased and downloaded either the Cross-Gen bundle or the Ultimate Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which included both versions. While this is a much better solution, it is still a bit more complicated than how it is handled on the Xbox Series X/S with Smart Delivery. In your library on Microsoft's next-gen consoles, games that have been optimized for Xbox Series X/S will feature a badge signifying so. When you start the game, the best version will automatically be chosen. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/21/hades-igns-2020-game-of-the-year"] For more, check out our list of the best PS5 games and Xbox Series X/S games you can play right now. [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Some players have accidentally been playing PS4 versions of cross-gen games on their PS5, and now Sony has added a warning that will help make sure that doesn't happen. As spotted by @Tidux on Twitter, if you try to start, for example, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you will now be asked to confirm your game version. It will say "You're about to play the PS4 version of this game. Do you want to switch to the PS5 version?" It then offers you an option to download/play the PS4 version if you choose to or to switch to the PS5 version. This issue was noticed by many who were accidentally playing the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on their brand new PS5s. This impacted mainly those who purchased and downloaded either the Cross-Gen bundle or the Ultimate Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which included both versions. While this is a much better solution, it is still a bit more complicated than how it is handled on the Xbox Series X/S with Smart Delivery. In your library on Microsoft's next-gen consoles, games that have been optimized for Xbox Series X/S will feature a badge signifying so. When you start the game, the best version will automatically be chosen. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/21/hades-igns-2020-game-of-the-year"] For more, check out our list of the best PS5 games and Xbox Series X/S games you can play right now. [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Xbox and Bungie teamed up with professional snowboarder Grant Giller to break the Guinness World Record title for the Largest Projected Game Display. Inspired by the icy slopes and craters of Europa in Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Xbox projected Beyond Light onto a 180 x 105-foot-wide screen on the side of a mountain in Colorado. An Xbox Series X was used by Giller to play Beyond Light on the skyline of a 10-mile mountain range in the state at an elevation of over 11,000 feet, making it one of the highest elevation video game projects ever produced, according to Xbox. "Despite the extreme cold conditions, all the necessary equipment used to make this world record possible upheld throughout scattered snowstorms during shooting, experiencing zero system failures," an Xbox news release reads. "The mountain also provided a fiber internet connection strong enough for the Xbox Series X, allowing for perfect gaming, without visual or game play delays." This mountainside gameplay session took place after Giller spent his day snowboarding on Colorado's Copper Mountain with a custom Destiny 2 x Xbox snowboard and matching sweater, as you can see below. Giller was able to play Beyond Light with a 60 fps frame rate and 4K resolution (although the dimensions of a mountain-sized screen might have changed how that worked) thanks to the game's recent next-gen update, which is now available on Xbox Series X, Series S, and PlayStation 5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/destiny-2-beyond-light-review"] You can read our thoughts on the latest Destiny 2 expansion in our Destiny 2: Beyond Light review. For any questions you might have about the expansion, be sure to check out the official IGN Destiny 2: Beyond Light wiki guide, which includes a campaign walkthrough, a breakdown of the older exotics in the game, and a hub with everything you need to know about the Season of the Hunt. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Xbox and Bungie teamed up with professional snowboarder Grant Giller to break the Guinness World Record title for the Largest Projected Game Display. Inspired by the icy slopes and craters of Europa in Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Xbox projected Beyond Light onto a 180 x 105-foot-wide screen on the side of a mountain in Colorado. An Xbox Series X was used by Giller to play Beyond Light on the skyline of a 10-mile mountain range in the state at an elevation of over 11,000 feet, making it one of the highest elevation video game projects ever produced, according to Xbox. "Despite the extreme cold conditions, all the necessary equipment used to make this world record possible upheld throughout scattered snowstorms during shooting, experiencing zero system failures," an Xbox news release reads. "The mountain also provided a fiber internet connection strong enough for the Xbox Series X, allowing for perfect gaming, without visual or game play delays." This mountainside gameplay session took place after Giller spent his day snowboarding on Colorado's Copper Mountain with a custom Destiny 2 x Xbox snowboard and matching sweater, as you can see below. Giller was able to play Beyond Light with a 60 fps frame rate and 4K resolution (although the dimensions of a mountain-sized screen might have changed how that worked) thanks to the game's recent next-gen update, which is now available on Xbox Series X, Series S, and PlayStation 5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/destiny-2-beyond-light-review"] You can read our thoughts on the latest Destiny 2 expansion in our Destiny 2: Beyond Light review. For any questions you might have about the expansion, be sure to check out the official IGN Destiny 2: Beyond Light wiki guide, which includes a campaign walkthrough, a breakdown of the older exotics in the game, and a hub with everything you need to know about the Season of the Hunt. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Warning: this article contains some spoilers for recent episodes of The Mandalorian! [poilib element="accentDivider"] With The Mandalorian wrapping up its second season on a truly epic note, Hasbro is also also celebrating the final Mando Monday event of 2020. Fortunately, they've saved some of their coolest reveals for last, including a pair of life-size replicas that would make any collector drool. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a look at these new reveals, including a Boba Fett helmet, a Vintage Collection Slave 1 set and a Force FX Elite Darksaber prop: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hasbros-darksaber-replica-will-make-you-the-master-of-mandalore&captions=true"] This is actually the third version of Boba Fett's helmet to be released in Hasbro's Black Series line, following the classic Empire Strikes Back version and the white "Prototype Armor" variant. This "Re-Armored" version is inspired by Fett's appearance in the final two episodes of The Mandalorian: Season 2, after he's recovered his armor and touched up the Sarlacc-worn paint job. Similarly, while Hasbro has already released a Darksaber toy in 2020, that version was marketed more at younger fans than collectors. It also had the misfortune of being named one of the "10 worst toys of 2020" due to its potential safety hazards. The Force FX Elite version, however, is marketed squarely at older Star Wars fans who crave a display-worthy prop. The Darksaber has a light-up function and motion-controlled sound effects, as well as a rechargeable battery and display base. All three of these upcoming releases are available for pre-order now, with the Vintage Collection Slave 1 due out in Spring 2021, the Darksaber in Summer 2021 and the Boba Fett Re-Armored Helmet in Spring 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] For more Mando fun, check out our explainer for the Season 2 finale, and find out how The Book of Boba Fett connects to The Mandalorian. [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.

Warning: this article contains some spoilers for recent episodes of The Mandalorian! [poilib element="accentDivider"] With The Mandalorian wrapping up its second season on a truly epic note, Hasbro is also also celebrating the final Mando Monday event of 2020. Fortunately, they've saved some of their coolest reveals for last, including a pair of life-size replicas that would make any collector drool. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a look at these new reveals, including a Boba Fett helmet, a Vintage Collection Slave 1 set and a Force FX Elite Darksaber prop: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hasbros-darksaber-replica-will-make-you-the-master-of-mandalore&captions=true"] This is actually the third version of Boba Fett's helmet to be released in Hasbro's Black Series line, following the classic Empire Strikes Back version and the white "Prototype Armor" variant. This "Re-Armored" version is inspired by Fett's appearance in the final two episodes of The Mandalorian: Season 2, after he's recovered his armor and touched up the Sarlacc-worn paint job. Similarly, while Hasbro has already released a Darksaber toy in 2020, that version was marketed more at younger fans than collectors. It also had the misfortune of being named one of the "10 worst toys of 2020" due to its potential safety hazards. The Force FX Elite version, however, is marketed squarely at older Star Wars fans who crave a display-worthy prop. The Darksaber has a light-up function and motion-controlled sound effects, as well as a rechargeable battery and display base. All three of these upcoming releases are available for pre-order now, with the Vintage Collection Slave 1 due out in Spring 2021, the Darksaber in Summer 2021 and the Boba Fett Re-Armored Helmet in Spring 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/the-mandalorian-season-2-in-17-minutes"] For more Mando fun, check out our explainer for the Season 2 finale, and find out how The Book of Boba Fett connects to The Mandalorian. [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.

Blumhouse Productions and Morgan Creek Entertainment are said to be developing a sequel to the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. As reported by Observer, David Gordon Green is in talks to direct the sequel. Green directed 2018's Halloween and will be helming 2021's Halloween Kills and 2022's Halloween Ends. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/28/the-10-best-horror-movies"] In August 2020, it was reported that The Exorcist would be getting a reboot in 2021 by Morgan Creek Entertainment, yet it is unclear if this is the same project and it shifted focus, or if that was something different altogether. The Exorcist was directed by William Friedkin and was based on the novel by William Peter Blatty. It starred Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil, a young girl who was possessed by the demon Pazuzu. We recently ranked The Exorcist as #2 in our Top 25 Horror Movies of All Time list, saying "bottom line: It is the best horror movie about the consequences of belief ever made." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-most-controversial-horror-movies&captions=true"] In 2016, The Exorcist was made into a television show for Fox, but it was cancelled after just two seasons. It's average of 1.32 million viewers made it Fox's lowest-rated show of the year. [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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.