After introducing its first episode without traditional opening credits, House of the Dragon has revealed its full opening sequence, and it's sporting a familiar theme that long-time fans will be happy to hear again.

Co-creators Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochni told ET that they opted to forego an opening sequence in House of the Dragon's first episode as a "creative choice" so as to "get on the tell the story." As such, episode one functioned as a cold open for the series.

However, the second episode of the Game of Thrones prequel finally introduces an opening sequence that combines the original series' nostalgic theme song with a fresh take on its visuals.

the opening of #HouseoftheDragonpic.twitter.com/PrsbAa15Lj

— house of the dragon scenes (@sceneshotd) August 29, 2022

Returning composer Ramin Djawadi's famous Game of Thrones theme plays over the opening credits of House of the Dragon as it greets viewers with an aesthetically similar visual style to the original show, albeit much darker. This time around, the focus is on heavy foreshadowing – a trail of blood makes its way through Valyria, eventually splintering in various directions as it encounters different sigils, each alluding to an important moment in the long and storied history of the Targaryen bloodline.

Reactions on Twitter and elsewhere have been mixed, with plenty of users liking it for its nostalgic vibe and plenty of others wondering why House of the Dragon didn't go with something new.

I'm enjoying House of the Dragon well enough so far, but I do think they should have created a new opening theme song.

— DAEMON (@DaemZero) August 29, 2022

House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones and follows the Targaryens during a period of turmoil that eventually leads to the war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons." To the surprise of some, the show has started its run with largely positive reception and has already been renewed for a second season.

In our review of the premiere episode, we said, "House Of The Dragons is here to stake a claim to its progenitors’ title at the pinnacle of peak TV, and this first episode makes a solid case."

Billy Givens is a freelancer at IGN with over a decade of experience writing gaming, film, and tech content. His work can also be found on GameSpot, USA Today, Digital Trends, Tom's Guide, and more. You'll find him blabbering on about video games and more on Twitter at @mektige.

After months of rumors, Hangar 13 confirmed today that a brand-new Mafia game is under development, though it remains to be seen whether it will be titled Mafia 4.

The news came from a Mafia 20th anniversary interview with Hangar 13 General Manager Roman Hladík and Head of Production and Media Director Tomáš Hřebíček. They pair took the time to look back on the franchise's journey over the past 20 years before Hladík got to the news.

"I'm happy to confirm we've started work on an all-new Mafia project!" Hladík said. "While it's a few years away and we can't share anything more right now, we're really excited to keep working on this beloved franchise and to entertain our players with new stories."

As the name implies, Mafia is basically an open-world version of The Godfather, featuring a story that stretches from the 1930s to the 1960s. Hangar 13 remade the original Mafia in 2020, which we praised for featuring "excellent performances from its new cast, a fantastic driving model, and a beautiful and authentic city oozing with 1930s atmosphere."

A hypothetical Mafia 4 has been rumored for some time now. It's unclear where or when it will be set, but based on the story progression, a Scarface-like 1980s setting wouldn't be out of the question.

Either way, it'll be a while before we see this new Mafia project, whatever it turns out to be.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

After months of rumors, Hangar 13 confirmed today that a brand-new Mafia game is under development, though it remains to be seen whether it will be titled Mafia 4.

The news came from a Mafia 20th anniversary interview with Hangar 13 General Manager Roman Hladík and Head of Production and Media Director Tomáš Hřebíček. They pair took the time to look back on the franchise's journey over the past 20 years before Hladík got to the news.

"I'm happy to confirm we've started work on an all-new Mafia project!" Hladík said. "While it's a few years away and we can't share anything more right now, we're really excited to keep working on this beloved franchise and to entertain our players with new stories."

As the name implies, Mafia is basically an open-world version of The Godfather, featuring a story that stretches from the 1930s to the 1960s. Hangar 13 remade the original Mafia in 2020, which we praised for featuring "excellent performances from its new cast, a fantastic driving model, and a beautiful and authentic city oozing with 1930s atmosphere."

A hypothetical Mafia 4 has been rumored for some time now. It's unclear where or when it will be set, but based on the story progression, a Scarface-like 1980s setting wouldn't be out of the question.

Either way, it'll be a while before we see this new Mafia project, whatever it turns out to be.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Popular modder Akaki Kuumeri has continued his series of creating custom-made accessibility accessories by building a one-handed Nintendo Switch controller.

Sharing the creation on his YouTube channel, Kuumeri posted the step by step development process of the one-handed adapter, the final version of which allows players - left or right-handed - to fully play Nintendo Switch games using just one hand.

Kuumeri shows off the final product, which he's also selling on Etsy for about $200, being used with a variety of games that feature complex control inputs such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - even winning a brawl with the controller while playing as the particularly difficult MinMin from Arms.

YouTuber Akaki Kuumeri has designed an attachment for the PS5 DualSense that lets you play with one hand. The 3-D printed piece was created for a design contest. https://t.co/yvIy241fgT pic.twitter.com/1PATqDnu6f

— IGN (@IGN) January 17, 2022

Having previously created one-handed adapters for the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller and the Xbox Series controller, Kuumeri commented that the Joy-Con adaptation was the easiest to do since the pair of controllers can be literally switched around to serve different purposes.

Kuumeri utilises this when creating the Joy-Con adapter, flipping over one of the Joy-Cons so that the left stick can be pushed against another surface to move the character around in the likes of Breath of the Wild. He also inverts the inputs (so that left is left and right is right), and brings control of the triggers and face buttons over using 3D printed connectors.

Speaking to IGN about his DualSense adapter back in January, Kuumeri said he began modding the one-handed adapters because Sony itself was doing nothing for accessibility.

Image Credit: Akaki Kuumeri on YouTube

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Popular modder Akaki Kuumeri has continued his series of creating custom-made accessibility accessories by building a one-handed Nintendo Switch controller.

Sharing the creation on his YouTube channel, Kuumeri posted the step by step development process of the one-handed adapter, the final version of which allows players - left or right-handed - to fully play Nintendo Switch games using just one hand.

Kuumeri shows off the final product, which he's also selling on Etsy for about $200, being used with a variety of games that feature complex control inputs such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - even winning a brawl with the controller while playing as the particularly difficult MinMin from Arms.

YouTuber Akaki Kuumeri has designed an attachment for the PS5 DualSense that lets you play with one hand. The 3-D printed piece was created for a design contest. https://t.co/yvIy241fgT pic.twitter.com/1PATqDnu6f

— IGN (@IGN) January 17, 2022

Having previously created one-handed adapters for the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller and the Xbox Series controller, Kuumeri commented that the Joy-Con adaptation was the easiest to do since the pair of controllers can be literally switched around to serve different purposes.

Kuumeri utilises this when creating the Joy-Con adapter, flipping over one of the Joy-Cons so that the left stick can be pushed against another surface to move the character around in the likes of Breath of the Wild. He also inverts the inputs (so that left is left and right is right), and brings control of the triggers and face buttons over using 3D printed connectors.

Speaking to IGN about his DualSense adapter back in January, Kuumeri said he began modding the one-handed adapters because Sony itself was doing nothing for accessibility.

Image Credit: Akaki Kuumeri on YouTube

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Colossal Cave - Reimagined by Roberta Williams is coming to more than PC and Meta Quest 2. In an announcement exclusive to IGN, Cygnus Entertainment confirmed that the upcoming remake will also be coming to Nintendo Switch.

"Colossal Cave - Reimagined by Roberta Williams will soon be accessible to gamers worldwide on an additional platform," Cygnus Entertainment founder and CEO Ken Williams said in a release. "We hope to bring back the spirit of traditional adventure games for devoted fans who grew up with the original game and the new generation of explorers alike. We believe bringing Colossal Cave Reimagined by Roberta Williams to the Nintendo Switch will help us do that."

First announced back in March, Colossal Cave is Roberta and Ken Williams' first game in more than 20 years. The pioneering duo behind Sierra Entertainment were responsible for many of the greatest adventure games of the 1980s and 1990s, including King's Quest and Phantasmagoria.

Colossal Cave was originally conceived as a VR adventure in partnership with Unity, but its move to the Nintendo Switch means that it will be portable, too. It's based on the seminal 1970's text adventure that tasked players with finding "all the treasure" in an intricate labyrinth populated by trolls, bears, and pirates.

Here's the official synopsis:

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous Eden untouched by mortal hands…until now. Enchanted with the prospect of magical discoveries, plant a confident boot on the path ahead, unhindered by the looming threat of danger. Armed only with a trusty lantern and a limited supply of oil, cast a curious eye through massive underground labyrinths in search of something extraordinary.

Tread lightly through winding caverns so as to not awaken a magnificent dragon from its slumber. Encounter whimsical creatures of both friendly and cruel intention including adorable dwarves, brutish trolls, and fearsome pirates lurking within the corridors. Employ magic and wit to unveil mystical secrets and decrypt complex environmental puzzles. Discover exciting easter eggs and collect all 15 priceless hidden treasures before venturing back to the mortal realm.

Talking with IGN at GDC, Roberta Williams said that the remake would be as true as possible to the original, even going so far as to use all of the original source code and narration. Williams also said she doesn't plan to include any of her own puzzles.

"I want people that have played this game... to feel yeah, this is right," Williams said. "This is Colossal Cave. It's history. I get to see it now."

Colossal Cave does not yet have a formal release date, but is expected to be out this fall. It will be available for $39.99 on Nintendo Switch.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Colossal Cave - Reimagined by Roberta Williams is coming to more than PC and Meta Quest 2. In an announcement exclusive to IGN, Cygnus Entertainment confirmed that the upcoming remake will also be coming to Nintendo Switch.

"Colossal Cave - Reimagined by Roberta Williams will soon be accessible to gamers worldwide on an additional platform," Cygnus Entertainment founder and CEO Ken Williams said in a release. "We hope to bring back the spirit of traditional adventure games for devoted fans who grew up with the original game and the new generation of explorers alike. We believe bringing Colossal Cave Reimagined by Roberta Williams to the Nintendo Switch will help us do that."

First announced back in March, Colossal Cave is Roberta and Ken Williams' first game in more than 20 years. The pioneering duo behind Sierra Entertainment were responsible for many of the greatest adventure games of the 1980s and 1990s, including King's Quest and Phantasmagoria.

Colossal Cave was originally conceived as a VR adventure in partnership with Unity, but its move to the Nintendo Switch means that it will be portable, too. It's based on the seminal 1970's text adventure that tasked players with finding "all the treasure" in an intricate labyrinth populated by trolls, bears, and pirates.

Here's the official synopsis:

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous Eden untouched by mortal hands…until now. Enchanted with the prospect of magical discoveries, plant a confident boot on the path ahead, unhindered by the looming threat of danger. Armed only with a trusty lantern and a limited supply of oil, cast a curious eye through massive underground labyrinths in search of something extraordinary.

Tread lightly through winding caverns so as to not awaken a magnificent dragon from its slumber. Encounter whimsical creatures of both friendly and cruel intention including adorable dwarves, brutish trolls, and fearsome pirates lurking within the corridors. Employ magic and wit to unveil mystical secrets and decrypt complex environmental puzzles. Discover exciting easter eggs and collect all 15 priceless hidden treasures before venturing back to the mortal realm.

Talking with IGN at GDC, Roberta Williams said that the remake would be as true as possible to the original, even going so far as to use all of the original source code and narration. Williams also said she doesn't plan to include any of her own puzzles.

"I want people that have played this game... to feel yeah, this is right," Williams said. "This is Colossal Cave. It's history. I get to see it now."

Colossal Cave does not yet have a formal release date, but is expected to be out this fall. It will be available for $39.99 on Nintendo Switch.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Ulf Andersson, who worked on Payday and Payday 2, is returning to the co-op heist genre with his studio 10 Chambers. During an interview with NME, the developer revealed that his upcoming game will be a cyberpunk style, team-based action game.

“I'm back on the heist s**t, basically,” he said. “So, it's a heist cooperative FPS, and it has a sort of a techno-thriller theme. I read a lot of sci-fi books, and so imagine everything that cyberpunk is inspired by, and a ton of other s**t.”

The Payday games were defined by heavy action – gunning your way out of a bank and making off with as much cash as you could cram into a sports bag.

However, Andersson’s upcoming game isn’t that. “This one won't be constant shooting,” he explained. “Payday had a massive problem where the action would ramp up and then it would just stay ramped up.”

Andersson struck out on his own as CEO and founder of 10 Chambers after working on the two original Payday games, and the new studio is clearly taking a different approach to their upcoming heist game… but how it all works out remains to be seen. Either way, it looks as though it won’t be as difficult as its previous game, GTFO.

“You can sneak for an hour, at least, and then just f*****g die, right?” he said about GTFO. But his next game will be a bit more forgiving. “So, it's not gonna have that hardcore thing to it. It is more mechanically smooth, or you could say, easier to play.”

IGN’s review of GTFO said: “While the symptoms of its early access state may be keenly felt where breadth of content is concerned there is no shortage of depth in GTFO. It’s clever, creepy, and already surprisingly polished, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

As for the upcoming game, it doesn’t have a name yet… or a release date. “We haven't put a date on it,” said Andersson. “We don't want to miss a deadline or overpromise. We're in pre-production at the moment, but things are ramping up quite fast.”

Want to read more about Payday? Check out what we know about Payday 3 so far, as well as when the highly anticipated sequel is coming.

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

Ulf Andersson, who worked on Payday and Payday 2, is returning to the co-op heist genre with his studio 10 Chambers. During an interview with NME, the developer revealed that his upcoming game will be a cyberpunk style, team-based action game.

“I'm back on the heist s**t, basically,” he said. “So, it's a heist cooperative FPS, and it has a sort of a techno-thriller theme. I read a lot of sci-fi books, and so imagine everything that cyberpunk is inspired by, and a ton of other s**t.”

The Payday games were defined by heavy action – gunning your way out of a bank and making off with as much cash as you could cram into a sports bag.

However, Andersson’s upcoming game isn’t that. “This one won't be constant shooting,” he explained. “Payday had a massive problem where the action would ramp up and then it would just stay ramped up.”

Andersson struck out on his own as CEO and founder of 10 Chambers after working on the two original Payday games, and the new studio is clearly taking a different approach to their upcoming heist game… but how it all works out remains to be seen. Either way, it looks as though it won’t be as difficult as its previous game, GTFO.

“You can sneak for an hour, at least, and then just f*****g die, right?” he said about GTFO. But his next game will be a bit more forgiving. “So, it's not gonna have that hardcore thing to it. It is more mechanically smooth, or you could say, easier to play.”

IGN’s review of GTFO said: “While the symptoms of its early access state may be keenly felt where breadth of content is concerned there is no shortage of depth in GTFO. It’s clever, creepy, and already surprisingly polished, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

As for the upcoming game, it doesn’t have a name yet… or a release date. “We haven't put a date on it,” said Andersson. “We don't want to miss a deadline or overpromise. We're in pre-production at the moment, but things are ramping up quite fast.”

Want to read more about Payday? Check out what we know about Payday 3 so far, as well as when the highly anticipated sequel is coming.

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

More than 3,000 theaters across the U.S. are offering $3 tickets for National Cinema Day, which is happening for the first time this Saturday, September 3.

Tickets will be discounted from big chains such as AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and more in an unprecedented move that could just be a much-needed win for the industry.

“After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Cinema Foundation president Jackie Brenneman. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”

Labor Day weekend is historically rather slow for the movie industry, with most Americans making the most of the last weeks of summer. This year has proved particularly tough as theaters have experienced a distinct lack of major movies, with last weekend's box office proving the weakest since May 2021.

However, $3 tickets might be enough to bring in the crowds, and you can find your nearest participating theaters on the official National Cinema Day website. Labor Day weekend doesn’t see much in the way of new releases, but Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is back (and this time in 3D) as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Cinema Foundation is a non-profit that’s dedicated to promoting the cinema exhibition industry by developing diverse workforces and growing moviegoing communities. It was founded earlier this year by the National Association of Theater Owners with key members from across the industry.

“The future of the cinema industry is being determined right now,” said president Jackie Brenneman. “The Cinema Foundation is designed to bring together key industry stakeholders from business, technology, and the creative community to be the leading voice in what that future will be.”

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