Control Ultimate Edition On PS5 And Series X/S Will Offer 60 FPS Performance Mode And Ray-Tracing

Remedy Entertainment has announced that Control Ultimate Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S will arrive digitally on February 2, and launch as a physical version on March 2. Revealed via a tweet from the official Control Twitter account, Remedy also noted that the team is currently working on the full trailer for the next-gen version of Control Ultimate Edition, and will offer a 60 FPS Performance Mode and a 30 FPS Graphics Mode with Ray-Tracing. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/18/control-ultimate-edition-next-gen-teaser-trailer"] The teaser above offers a sneak peek at both modes in action, showing off the fluidity of performance mode and the impressive ray-tracing detail of Graphics Mode. The player can flick the setting on in the 'Display' menu and instantly see results, as protagonist Jesse is reflected in the glass panes that were previously flat. It's a nice touch that may well usher some players back to The Oldest House on their next-gen consoles, if they've been missing the spooky atmosphere of the Hiss-infested bureau. Control was our Game of the Year in 2019, and we scored it 8.8 in our launch review, noting its "captivating, oddball world." Control recently came to Xbox Game Pass in December, alongside other games like Doom Eternal and Rage 2, all of which you can check out here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Star Wars: The Vow of Silver Dawn Chinese Novel Adds Canon Sector of the Galaxy

Star Wars: The Vow of Silver Dawn, a new China-exclusive novel, explores a "unique sector" of the galaxy, which fits into the "overall canonicity" of the franchise. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group recently confirmed that "The Vow of Silver Dawn" is the English title of the Chinese Star Wars novel, which is set towards the end of the High Republic era and is said to focus on the Jedi and "the strange relationships with sectors in the Outer Rim," per an official video that appeared in a recent Weibo post. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/star-wars-the-high-republic-explained"] "This is a story that needs to fit within our overall canonicity," James Waugh, the Vice President of Franchise Content and Strategy at Lucasfilm, explained in the video. "These characters are thriving Star Wars characters that could show up again and populate other media." Waugh confirmed that the story takes place about 50 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with a Padawan named Sean taking a central role in the adventure. Waugh said that Sean comes up against a few challenges in the novel, as he finds himself grappling with an internal conflict over his duties and interests. "Sean is a character with a secret. His origins have always been shrouded in mystery," Waugh revealed, speaking about the main protagonist. "He ends up being very much torn between his duty to the Jedi Council, to his Master, and to his own interests." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-the-high-republic-publishing-initiative-novels-books-and-comics&captions=true"] Martin confirmed that there is no English version of The Vow of Silver Dawn currently planned for release, even though it takes place in the High Republic era, which is going to be explored further in Lucasfilm's multi-pronged publishing initiative next year. These stories will be told in multiple publishing phases, with the first phase being dubbed "Light of the Jedi." That also happens to be the name of writer Charles Soule's novel, which officially kicks off the High Republic. From there, Lucasfilm has revealed two more novels - Claudia Gray's YA-focused "Into the Dark" and Justina Ireland's junior novel "A Test of Courage" - as well as two comic book series. Lucasfilm delayed the launch of its cross-media Star Wars prequel series from August 2020 to January 2021 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, so there's still plenty of time to dig into The High Republic archives. Read the first chapter of Soule's Light of the Jedi, find out why lightsabers are different in The High Republic era, and discover more about the five new Jedi knights and masters. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Star Wars: The Vow of Silver Dawn Chinese Novel Adds Canon Sector of the Galaxy

Star Wars: The Vow of Silver Dawn, a new China-exclusive novel, explores a "unique sector" of the galaxy, which fits into the "overall canonicity" of the franchise. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group recently confirmed that "The Vow of Silver Dawn" is the English title of the Chinese Star Wars novel, which is set towards the end of the High Republic era and is said to focus on the Jedi and "the strange relationships with sectors in the Outer Rim," per an official video that appeared in a recent Weibo post. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/star-wars-the-high-republic-explained"] "This is a story that needs to fit within our overall canonicity," James Waugh, the Vice President of Franchise Content and Strategy at Lucasfilm, explained in the video. "These characters are thriving Star Wars characters that could show up again and populate other media." Waugh confirmed that the story takes place about 50 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with a Padawan named Sean taking a central role in the adventure. Waugh said that Sean comes up against a few challenges in the novel, as he finds himself grappling with an internal conflict over his duties and interests. "Sean is a character with a secret. His origins have always been shrouded in mystery," Waugh revealed, speaking about the main protagonist. "He ends up being very much torn between his duty to the Jedi Council, to his Master, and to his own interests." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-the-high-republic-publishing-initiative-novels-books-and-comics&captions=true"] Martin confirmed that there is no English version of The Vow of Silver Dawn currently planned for release, even though it takes place in the High Republic era, which is going to be explored further in Lucasfilm's multi-pronged publishing initiative next year. These stories will be told in multiple publishing phases, with the first phase being dubbed "Light of the Jedi." That also happens to be the name of writer Charles Soule's novel, which officially kicks off the High Republic. From there, Lucasfilm has revealed two more novels - Claudia Gray's YA-focused "Into the Dark" and Justina Ireland's junior novel "A Test of Courage" - as well as two comic book series. Lucasfilm delayed the launch of its cross-media Star Wars prequel series from August 2020 to January 2021 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, so there's still plenty of time to dig into The High Republic archives. Read the first chapter of Soule's Light of the Jedi, find out why lightsabers are different in The High Republic era, and discover more about the five new Jedi knights and masters. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

IGN UK Podcast #571: The Alternative Games Awards 2020

This year, as every year, we at the IGN UK Podcast have convened as another 12 months come to an end, and come up with a load of thinly veiled excuses to talk about games we don't think will get enough attention in the proper Game of the Year awards. So sit back and join Joe, Jesse, and Alex for the likes of the "Early Access Games Are Good Actually, In Shocking Twist", "The Best Reminder to Take Care of Myself and My Family", and the "Tried to Think of a Clever Award But Actually These Were Just My Favourite Games" awards, among many others. Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast #571: The Alternative Games Awards 2020

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ign-uk-podcast-episode-500-photos&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

IGN UK Podcast #571: The Alternative Games Awards 2020

This year, as every year, we at the IGN UK Podcast have convened as another 12 months come to an end, and come up with a load of thinly veiled excuses to talk about games we don't think will get enough attention in the proper Game of the Year awards. So sit back and join Joe, Jesse, and Alex for the likes of the "Early Access Games Are Good Actually, In Shocking Twist", "The Best Reminder to Take Care of Myself and My Family", and the "Tried to Think of a Clever Award But Actually These Were Just My Favourite Games" awards, among many others. Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast #571: The Alternative Games Awards 2020

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The Mandalorian Just Got Its Biggest Star Wars Cameo Yet

In a series of major connections to the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale contained perhaps its biggest yet. Warning: Spoilers for The Mandalorian, Chapter 16 follow. Beware! [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/hayden-christensen-returns-a-rogue-squadron-movie-announced-and-more-star-wars-news"] Yes, Luke Skywalker has now appeared in The Mandalorian, wielding his green lightsaber and a digitally de-aged face. The credits confirmed that Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke for the cameo, with Max Lloyd Jones serving as the body double. The legendary Jedi responded to Grogu's psychic call, and has taken him away for training, and away from Mando, but never away from our hearts. It may well be that Grogu is a part of Skywalker's ill-fated Jedi training academy (perhaps even the reason for starting it) - but we very much hope he wasn't still a part of it once Ben Solo joined and... well, we all saw what happened there. As you might expect, shortly after the episode aired, the words "LUKE SKYWALKER" in all-caps began to trend on Twitter. The move has kicked off some debate around the de-aging used to include Hamill, with some saying the effect wasn't of a high enough quality: There's been a long-standing fan movement to have Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan take on the role, given his resemblance to a young Mark Hamill - and the words "Sebastian Stan" also began trending shortly after the episode. It wasn't the only revelation in the season finale - we also learned in a post-credits sequence that The Book of Boba Fett will be coming in December 2021. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=8910267b-7dfd-4616-9d35-77a28398015a"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

The Book of Boba Fett Confirmed As Mandalorian Spinoff Series

Disney has confirmed a new live-action Star Wars TV show, The Book of Boba Fett, coming in December 2021. The Boba Fett spinoff was teased in the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian that aired December 18. (Read our Mandalorian Season 2 finale review here.) The show will be separate from the plot of The Mandalorian Season 3, which is already in production. Disney confirmed the news on Dec. 21 courtesy of The Mandalorian's official Twitter account, writing, "The Book of Boba Fett, a new original series, starring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen and executive produced by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Robert Rodriguez, set within the timeline of The Mandalorian, is coming to Disney Plus Dec. 2021." Warning: Spoilers for The Mandalorian, Chapter 16 follow. Beware! [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/18/star-wars-the-book-of-boba-fett-what-could-it-be-spoilers"] A post-credits scene following The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale, "The Rescue," first announced the news. The episode - which also includes a cameo from the actual Luke Skywalker (in de-aged form) - ends with a short scene in which Boba and Fennec Shand pay a violent visit to Jabba the Hutt's Palace, which is now seemingly ruled over by Bib Fortuna. After dispatching his old friend, Boba sits on Jabba's throne, and we see "The Book of Boba Fett" appear, before confirming a December 2021 release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=%5Bwidget%20path%3D%22global%2Farticle%2Fimagegallery%22%20parameters%3D%22albumSlug%3Devery-upcoming-star-wars-movie%26captions%3Dtrue%22%5D&captions=true"] The Book of Boba Fett may be a one-off event series, in the vein of the upcoming Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lando Calrissian series, or an ongoing series in the vein of The Mandalorian, but either way, Disney has confirmed it will take place during the same timeline as the events of The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett joins a long list of in-development Star Wars shows, alongside those announced and discussed at the recent Disney Investor Day - alongside Obi-Wan and Lando, there's also Andor, The Acolyte, Rangers of the New Republic, Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, and Visions. For more on the Mandalorian's Season 2 ending, check out our theories on Season 3's plot, see how old Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka Tano are at this point in the timeline, and read up on the history of the darksaber after Mando won it from Moff Gideon in the finale. [poilib element="accentDivider"] This post was first published on Dec. 18 and updated on Dec. 21 with official confirmation. 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.

Justice League: Snyder Cut Debuts on HBO Max in March, Director Reveals

Zack Snyder's heavily anticipated directors cut of Justice League may be arriving sooner than expected, as the director casually responded to a comment on his Vero account that indicates we may see at least the first part in March 2021. As spotted by TechRadar, Snyder responded to a fan's inquiry by saying, "I understand and of course respect your feelings and I just hope I can wipe that Version out of existence with what you see in March." Screenshot (4) The release schedule is still unclear overall, though, as the entirety of the film is set to be released in four, hour-long parts. So, assuming this is Part 1, we still have no idea when the remaining parts will be released. The Snyder Cut (as it was formally referred to) is expected to feature over 150 minutes of unseen footage that didn't make the original cut of 2017's Justice League. Additionally, Snyder will not be using even a "single frame" of Joss Whedon's theatrical version. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"] Snyder began some minor reshoots back in October, likely filling in some gaps and potentially setting up a way to integrate some of the new villains in the mix. After all, Jared Leto is set to reprise his role as the Joker, although he is going to be a more "road-weary" version than what we saw in Suicide Squad. Also joining the cast is Joe Manganiello, who will reprise his role as Deathstroke, and hopefully be more than a post-credits cameo this time. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/21/the-true-story-behind-the-snyder-cut] There's a lot of hype building behind the upcoming Snyder Cut. Let's hope it can deliver when it's finally ready. Until then, we've got Wonder Woman 1984 to look forward to in just over a week, and you can finally watch HBO Max on your PS5 and Roku (finally)! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.