D-Pad Studio is not known for rushing its work. Its second game, 2016’s Owlboy, took the team ten years to make. It was restarted multiple times due to studio concerns about fan expectations in the wake of a new renaissance for Metroidvanias, various life events, and director Simon Stafsnes Andersen’s acknowledged struggles with depression. And now, D-Pad is on the cusp of releasing a game that’s taken them even longer to complete: Vikings on Trampolines, which has been in the works for 20 years.

Speaking to IGN at Gamescom, creator Jo-Remi Madsen says that their bouncing battler was conceived when he was about 14 years old, playing games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. with his sister. “She would always give up,” Madsen says, because even though she understood how to play, she couldn’t figure out the controller and found his explanations of how it worked boring. So he began working on a game that only used the joystick to play: a core concept that Vikings on Trampolines still rests upon in 2022.

So how did the vikings end up on trampolines? When Madsen programmed the earliest version of the game, he didn’t know how to make characters walk yet. But he could make them jump. “I’m not an animator,” he says, “so if I just make them bounce, I don’t have to animate anything.”

Madsen’s prototype served its purpose, and for about ten years, Vikings on Trampolines was largely forgotten. But when he partnered with Andersen at D-Pad Studio, Madsen shook off the cobwebs and showed it off to his new business partner. Andersen loved it. The team made a new prototype of the concept that turned it into a Smash-like brawler, and that prototype won the first-ever Nordic Games Indie Sensation Award at the Nordic Game Awards in 2011. A promising start for a new indie game studio.

And…then it went back into the vault again. D-Pad Studios was initially focused on Owlboy, which ended up taking much longer than any of them thought it would. So for almost another decade, Vikings on Trampolines lay forgotten again until Owlboy was complete, at which point D-Pad was able to shake off the dust and take one more crack at it.

But Vikings on Trampolines’ hurdles were not yet all cleared. The version that we’re seeing now in 2022 was first intended as a competitive couch game, where the titular vikings bounce around stages on trampolines and try to knock each other off the trampolines onto the ground. But not long after D-Pad started work on Vikings, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, dampening hopes that such a game would be successful.

So D-Pad pivoted again. The competitive mode stayed at the core of Vikings on Trampolines, but the team iterated on the idea to flesh out a full adventure mode, complete with a story, villains, minigames, and boss battles. And this, then, is the Vikings on Trampolines that we saw this week at Gamescom: a 20-year saga at last nearing its conclusion, though it’s still waiting on a formal release date.

And yes, you can still play it with one hand. Andersen quips that the one-handed setup is perfect for parties “so you can drink beer” with your other hand while you play, and Madsen confirms the team has had people who were “very inebriated” beat them at the game before. But more importantly, they continue, what initially began as a gameplay novelty turned into a way to make Vikings on Trampolines available to many people who may otherwise struggle to play a couch competitive game like this. Because it only requires use of one joystick, it’s easier to play for those who struggle to hit lots of buttons, or people who may be unfamiliar with games and don’t want to deal with complex controls – perfect, in fact, to play with a less-experienced sibling like Madsen did all those years ago.

We got a hands-on preview of Vikings on Trampolines at Gamescom 2022, calling it “a blast in the right environment” that “shines brightest in multiplayer,” though the adventure mode has plenty of promise too. You can catch more Vikings on Trampolines and everything else we’re checking out at Gamescom in our roundup and ongoing live show.

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

Warner Bros. Discovery may have found its version of Kevin Feige.

THR reports that Dan Lin is in talks to be the new company's DC chief, with far-reaching control over both film and television. In such a role Lin would report directly to WB Discovery CEO David Zaslav, bypassing multiple other division heads.

Lin has a long history with Warner Bros., boasting a track record as an executive producer that includes the The Lego Movie, the It films, and Godzilla: King of Monsters. He has been called one of the "30 Most Powerful Film Producers in Hollywood."

According to THR, Lin was championed by former Disney chair Alan Horn, who helped orchestrate the reorganization that gave Feige so much power at Marvel Studios.

Walter Hamada, who currently leads DC Films, will reportedly transition out of the role. Hamada was reportedly on the brink of quitting over the recent Batgirl cancellation, but ultimately decided to stay on until at least the October 21 release of Black Adam.

In the meantime, significant hurdles remain in Lin's potential hiring. Among them, Variety reports that Lin is involved in several potential projects for Disney, including a live-action Lilo & Stitch. Lin's ties to these projects would have to be resolved if he were to go to WB Discovery. In the meantime, Variety reports that no offer has been made.

Should he ultimately be hired, Lin will immediately face with several major challenges, including the fallout from the cancellation of Batgirl. He will also have to contend with the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, who headlines The Flash — the movie ostensibly meant to be a soft reboot for the DC Extended Universe. Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom were also recently delayed.

Zaslav has been vocal about his desire to have a role within DC equivalent to that held by Feige, who enjoys outsized influence as the head of Marvel Studios. If he successfully recruits Lin, Zaslav may accomplish just that.

Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images

This story has been updated with additional reporting from other sources.

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.

Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have found its version of Kevin Feige.

THR reports that Dan Lin is in talks to be the new company's DC chief, with far-reaching control over both film and television. Lin will report directly to WB Discovery CEO David Zaslav, bypassing multiple other division heads.

Lin has a long history with Warner Bros., boasting a track record as an executive producer that includes the The Lego Movie, the It films, and Godzilla: King of Monsters. He has been called one of the "30 Most Powerful Film Producers in Hollywood."

According to THR, Lin was championed by former Disney chair Alan Horn, who helped orchestrate the reorganization that gave Feige so much power at Marvel Studios.

Walter Hamada, who currently leads DC Films, will transition out of the role. Hamada was reportedly on the brink of quitting over the recent Batgirl cancellation, but ultimately decided to stay on until at least the October 21 release of Black Adam.

Should the deal go through, Lin will immediately be faced with several major challenges, including the fallout from the cancellation of Batgirl. He will also have to contend with the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, who headlines The Flash — the movie ostensibly meant to be a soft reboot for the DC Extended Universe. Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom were also recently delayed.

Zaslav has been vocal about his desire to have a role within DC equivalent to that held by Feige, who enjoys outsized influence as the head of Marvel Studios. In recruiting Lin, Zaslav appears to have accomplished just that.

Photo by WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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.

Battlefield 2042 is about to enter Season 2 – Master of Arms.

The upcoming season begins on August 30th on all platforms and brings a new map, a new specialist, plenty of new weapons and hardware, and 100 tiers of new battle pass content.

Season 2: Master of Arms moves the action to the Panama Canal with its new Stranded map – an exciting new fight across a drained lake, with a shipwrecked tanker that also serves as an illicit black-market hub.

Battlefield 2042 players will find themselves vying for control of the Starg Ceres, now a market for illicit military hardware. As you might expect, the tanker itself favors close-quarters combat with tight corridors, a lot of cover, and short distances between objectives. Might want to pack a shotgun.

Charlie Crawford is your new specialist in Season 2 – an ex-arms dealer with a Mounted Vulcan stationary minigun (which can be used by other Specialists) and the ability to revive teammates and refill their gadget ammo.

On the subject of weapons, Season 2 packs a few new guns to get your hands on.

The new AM40 offers a mid-range alternative that sits somewhere between an assault rifle and a sub-machine gun, while the Avancys is a lightweight machine gun that maximizes mobility as well as attachments. The PF51 sits between an SMG and a pistol, albeit with a huge magazine.

The new concussion grenade gives players the chance to daze and confuse their enemies.

All these and more are available thanks to the black market… and there’s even a new way to get hold of some of your favorite weapons in All-Out Warfare.

Completing Assignments will allow you to unlock Vault Weapons – these are weapons previously only available in Battlefield Portal, such as the M60E4 and M16A3. These are the first two which will become available with the new season, while others will become available later as the season goes on.

All in all, there are a lot of new features in Battlefield 2042’s latest season. Better yet, all items that affect gameplay will be unlockable without the premium battle pass, so you can level up and earn it regardless.

Want to read more about Battlefield 2042? Check out the Battlefield 2042 Season 2 gameplay trailer and how popular Battlefield 2042 is compared to other installments.

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

Battlefield 2042 is about to enter Season 2 – Master of Arms.

The upcoming season begins on August 30th on all platforms and brings a new map, a new specialist, plenty of new weapons and hardware, and 100 tiers of new battle pass content.

Season 2: Master of Arms moves the action to the Panama Canal with its new Stranded map – an exciting new fight across a drained lake, with a shipwrecked tanker that also serves as an illicit black-market hub.

Battlefield 2042 players will find themselves vying for control of the Starg Ceres, now a market for illicit military hardware. As you might expect, the tanker itself favors close-quarters combat with tight corridors, a lot of cover, and short distances between objectives. Might want to pack a shotgun.

Charlie Crawford is your new specialist in Season 2 – an ex-arms dealer with a Mounted Vulcan stationary minigun (which can be used by other Specialists) and the ability to revive teammates and refill their gadget ammo.

On the subject of weapons, Season 2 packs a few new guns to get your hands on.

The new AM40 offers a mid-range alternative that sits somewhere between an assault rifle and a sub-machine gun, while the Avancys is a lightweight machine gun that maximizes mobility as well as attachments. The PF51 sits between an SMG and a pistol, albeit with a huge magazine.

The new concussion grenade gives players the chance to daze and confuse their enemies.

All these and more are available thanks to the black market… and there’s even a new way to get hold of some of your favorite weapons in All-Out Warfare.

Completing Assignments will allow you to unlock Vault Weapons – these are weapons previously only available in Battlefield Portal, such as the M60E4 and M16A3. These are the first two which will become available with the new season, while others will become available later as the season goes on.

All in all, there are a lot of new features in Battlefield 2042’s latest season. Better yet, all items that affect gameplay will be unlockable without the premium battle pass, so you can level up and earn it regardless.

Want to read more about Battlefield 2042? Check out the Battlefield 2042 Season 2 gameplay trailer and how popular Battlefield 2042 is compared to other installments.

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

Russell Crowe’s Zeus appears in a bunch of Thor: Love and Thunder deleted scenes.

The 58-year-old actor starred as the mythical Greek god in the recent Thor sequel, and it looks as though there were even more scenes featuring Zeus that ended up on the cutting room floor.

The upcoming blu-ray release includes four previously unseen deleted scenes, featuring Korg, Zeus, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Marvel superhero, embarking on an intergalactic journey of self-discovery… not to mention an encounter with a powerful new villain called Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).

It looks as though Thor is in for quite a rough time, but it’s Russell Crowe’s Zeus that’s getting more screen time in those deleted scenes.

Here are the official descriptions of those deleted scenes:

• Looking for Zeus – “Thor, Valkyrie, and Korg run into a few characters while seeking an audience with Zeus.”
• Wasting Time – “Star-Lord and Mantis convince Thor to help their cause.”
• A Safe Vacation – “A nonchalant Thor chats with a panicked Star-Lord and Mantis in the middle of chaos. An explosion thrusts Korg into the scene.”
• Fighting For You – “Zeus gifts Thor a special tool after overhearing a heartfelt conversation.”

Not exactly the most exciting scenes, but I’ll take more of Russell Crowe’s Zeus where I can get it.

Additionally, the DVD and Blu-ray releases include a gag reel, audio commentary, and a bunch of new featurettes, including a deep dive into Christian Bale’s Gorr. Intriguing.

IGN’s Thor: Love and Thunder review gave it 7/10 saying it was “held back by a cookie-cutter plot and a mishandling of supporting characters, but succeeds as the MCU's first romantic comedy thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman's chemistry.”

Want to read more about Thor: Love and Thunder? Check out how Russell Crowe might have looked before he became Zeus and find out what happened to the Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor 4.

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

Russell Crowe’s Zeus appears in a bunch of Thor: Love and Thunder deleted scenes.

The 58-year-old actor starred as the mythical Greek god in the recent Thor sequel, and it looks as though there were even more scenes featuring Zeus that ended up on the cutting room floor.

The upcoming blu-ray release includes four previously unseen deleted scenes, featuring Korg, Zeus, and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Marvel superhero, embarking on an intergalactic journey of self-discovery… not to mention an encounter with a powerful new villain called Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale).

It looks as though Thor is in for quite a rough time, but it’s Russell Crowe’s Zeus that’s getting more screen time in those deleted scenes.

Here are the official descriptions of those deleted scenes:

• Looking for Zeus – “Thor, Valkyrie, and Korg run into a few characters while seeking an audience with Zeus.”
• Wasting Time – “Star-Lord and Mantis convince Thor to help their cause.”
• A Safe Vacation – “A nonchalant Thor chats with a panicked Star-Lord and Mantis in the middle of chaos. An explosion thrusts Korg into the scene.”
• Fighting For You – “Zeus gifts Thor a special tool after overhearing a heartfelt conversation.”

Not exactly the most exciting scenes, but I’ll take more of Russell Crowe’s Zeus where I can get it.

Additionally, the DVD and Blu-ray releases include a gag reel, audio commentary, and a bunch of new featurettes, including a deep dive into Christian Bale’s Gorr. Intriguing.

IGN’s Thor: Love and Thunder review gave it 7/10 saying it was “held back by a cookie-cutter plot and a mishandling of supporting characters, but succeeds as the MCU's first romantic comedy thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman's chemistry.”

Want to read more about Thor: Love and Thunder? Check out how Russell Crowe might have looked before he became Zeus and find out what happened to the Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor 4.

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

It's been a rough time for Warner Bros. Discovery, which has dealt with delays and cancellations amid the fallout from its merger, but at least one divison appears to still doing well.

In a new interview with Axios Gaming, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment chief David Haddad touted the divisions recent successes, which include Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Multiversus. Both games have managed to sell tens of millions of units while garnering solid reviews.

According to Haddad, the division is profitable and does not look likely to suffer the sort of layoffs and cancellations that have impacted other parts of WB Discovery.

"I do believe, especially moving forward, that we have a critically important role to play inside the company," Haddad said.

According to Haddad, WB Discovery has expressed "a strong belief in the growth of the games business and being part of that overall company strategy."

This would seem to temporarily put to rest rumors that studios within WB Games — which include the likes of NetherRealm and Rocksteady — were for sale following WB Discovery's merger. Xbox and PlayStation were rumored to be among the groups interested in such an acquisition. Previous owner AT&T reportedly attempted to sell WB Games for $4 billion in 2020.

WB Games has been a relative bright spot in what has otherwise been a difficult year for WB Discovery. In early August, WB Discovery stunned Hollywood by unexpectedly cancelling Batgirl, yanking dozens of shows off HBO Max, and effectively killing the Arrowverse. The backlash has been intense as creators and fans alike have spoken out against what they perceive to the heavy-handed decisions by CEO David Zaslav, who has been outspoken in his desire to build WB's own version of the MCU.

WB Games, meanwhile, continues to move ahead with multiple high-profile projects including Hogwarts Legacy, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Gotham Knights, which we've been covering all month via IGN First, is WB's next game. It's due out on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 21.

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.

It's been a rough time for Warner Bros. Discovery, which has dealt with delays and cancellations amid the fallout from its merger, but at least one divison appears to still doing well.

In a new interview with Axios Gaming, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment chief David Haddad touted the divisions recent successes, which include Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Multiversus. Both games have managed to sell tens of millions of units while garnering solid reviews.

According to Haddad, the division is profitable and does not look likely to suffer the sort of layoffs and cancellations that have impacted other parts of WB Discovery.

"I do believe, especially moving forward, that we have a critically important role to play inside the company," Haddad said.

According to Haddad, WB Discovery has expressed "a strong belief in the growth of the games business and being part of that overall company strategy."

This would seem to temporarily put to rest rumors that studios within WB Games — which include the likes of NetherRealm and Rocksteady — were for sale following WB Discovery's merger. Xbox and PlayStation were rumored to be among the groups interested in such an acquisition. Previous owner AT&T reportedly attempted to sell WB Games for $4 billion in 2020.

WB Games has been a relative bright spot in what has otherwise been a difficult year for WB Discovery. In early August, WB Discovery stunned Hollywood by unexpectedly cancelling Batgirl, yanking dozens of shows off HBO Max, and effectively killing the Arrowverse. The backlash has been intense as creators and fans alike have spoken out against what they perceive to the heavy-handed decisions by CEO David Zaslav, who has been outspoken in his desire to build WB's own version of the MCU.

WB Games, meanwhile, continues to move ahead with multiple high-profile projects including Hogwarts Legacy, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Gotham Knights, which we've been covering all month via IGN First, is WB's next game. It's due out on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 21.

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.

The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman admitted to sabotaging a planned movie adaptation for The Sandman himself.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, the 61-year-old author admitted that he leaked a script to the press to halt an earlier attempt to bring The Sandman to the big screen.

“I sent the script to Ain’t It Cool News, which back then was read by people,” he revealed. “And I thought, I wonder what Ain’t It Cool News will think of the script that they’re going to receive anonymously. And they wrote a fabulous article about how it was the worst script they’d ever been sent. And suddenly the prospect of that film happening went away."

Peters was adapting The Sandman for Warner Bros. but the film got stuck in development hell in 2001. The article from Ain’t It Cool News certainly didn’t help.

“It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody,” said Gaiman. “A guy in Jon Peters’ office phoned me up and he said, ‘So Neil, have you had a chance to read the script we sent you?’ And I said, ‘Well, yes. Yes, I did. I haven’t read all of it, but I’ve read enough.’ He says, ‘So, pretty good. Huh?’ And I said, ‘Well, no. It really isn’t.’ He said, ‘Oh, come on. There must have been stuff in there you loved.’ I said, ‘There was nothing in there I loved. There was nothing in there I liked. It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody. It’s not just the worst Sandman script. That was the worst script I’ve ever been sent.’”

Unimpressed with the script, Gaiman decided to sabotage the movie himself. The script was shaping up to be an action movie with giant mechanical spiders and Lucifer, Morpheus, and the Corinthian set to be identical triplets in a race for the ruby, helm, and bag of sand.

"They were a family of identical brothers, and it was all a race to see who could get the ruby, the helm, and the bag of sand before midnight in 1999, before the new millennium started, because whoever got it would be the winner. That was the plot," Gaiman revealed.

Funny enough, the giant spider would appear in Peters' next film, Wild Wild West.

After this version of the movie was killed, The Sandman changed hands several times.

A version was in the works with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Morpheus, but this too failed to enter production, despite winning Gaiman’s seal of approval. Following an aborted attempt to serialize The Sandman for HBO, the rights were then sold to Netflix…

The Sandman debuted online earlier this month, winning over fans and critics alike.

Whether or not a second season enters production remains to be seen… but either way, it’s a miracle we got to see the first.

Want to read more about The Sandman? Check out how Netflix changed Calliope’s story as well as all our burning questions ahead of the second season.

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