While the announcement of Assassin's Creed Valhalla didn't feature any gameplay footage just yet, it did include a host of information about the open world, the story, and gameplay of the first entry of the franchise set to hit PS5 and Xbox Series X. Below, we've broken down the biggest updates we learned as part of the Valhalla reveal, including officially released information from Ubisoft, information we received in our interview with Valhalla director Ashraf Ismail, and interviews from various other team members from other outlets. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/assassins-creed-valhalla-official-trailer"]

Open-World Gameplay and Combat

• Combat has been altered in some form, with an emphasis on making every hit feel impactful.
• That includes giving players the ability to dismember and decapitate foes.
• While Assassins have had two weapons at once before (two swords, for example), Valhalla places a new emphasis on dual-wielding weaponry, with players allowed to mix and match the game's arsenal.
• Shields return as part of that arsenal after being absent from Odyssey.
• The assassin's blade returns as well.
• Throwing axes will be available in Valhalla as one of Eivor's many weapon options.
• Players will traverse by sea via their Viking longship.
• Players can spot fortresses from the water to attack with their raiding party in massive raids.
• Largescale land battles will also be part of the story, though it's unclear if they'll function like Odyssey's army battles.
• RPG trappings introduced in Origins will return, with new skills, as well as new gear to collect.
• Open-world activities include hunting, fishing, dice, and drinking games.
• Additionally, Valhalla will introduce the competitive sport of flyting, aka, Viking rap battles.
• Eivor, the protagonist, will have a bird companion in the form of a raven, a common addition to the most recent Assassin's Creed.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-first-screenshots&captions=true"]

Story and World

• Valhalla is set in ninth-century England during the Dark Ages.
• It will follow Eivor, a Viking warrior who leads his people out of Norway and into England to settle.
• King Alfred of Wessex will be an opponent Eivor and the Vikings face
• Alfred will be an antagonist, but narrative director Darby McDevitt said it would be wrong to call him the "central antagonist" of the game. (via GameSpot)
• Where some other possible big antagonists may appear is in the modern-day story, as Ismail also confirmed Layla's modern story from Origins and Odyssey would continue in Valhalla. (via Game Informer)
• Eivor will eventually run across some group of Assassins in England, though at this time the Assassins and Templars are still being referred to as they were in AC: Origins and Odyssey: The Hidden Ones and the Order of the Ancients, respectively. (via Eurogamer)
• Valhalla's map will include Norway, which players can return to after the Vikings leave, and the four kingdoms of England: Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia.
• Major English cities included will be London, Winchester, and Jorvik. (via GameSpot)
• While Valhalla is not meant to be the end of the series, McDevitt called it a "good capper" to the franchise so far, and should include a lot of nods to the franchise's history (via GameSpot)

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/assassins-creed-valhalla-director-gives-gameplay-details"]

Development

• Ubisoft Montreal is the lead development studio on Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
• Ashraf Ismail is directing the project. Ismail and his team previously worked on Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Assassin's Creed Origins.
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be the first entry of the franchise for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
• It is also confirmed for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Google Stadia, and UPlay+.
• It is set for a Holiday 2020 release window.

Player Choice - Settlement, Customization, and more

• Like in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, players can choose either a male or female protagonist
• Gear will also be much more customizable in Valhalla
• Each piece of gear in the game will be unique (via GI)
• New customization options include hair, tattoos, clothing, and war paint.
• Players will be able to make custom Viking raiders for their raiding parties and even share them with friends
• Players will also get to forge a home for themselves and either Vikings with the focus on building a settlement, your Viking homestead.
• The settlement will include buildings to upgrade, like a blacksmith, barracks, tattoo parlor, and more
• Players will have to make choices throughout the campaign, including political and personal alliances, dialogue choices, and more
• Alliance examples include conducting a marriage to unite clans, while romance options will be available to the player, too (via Eurogamer)

[poilib element="poll" parameters="id=f90fefa4-336e-4d26-bf06-f994223841a7"]

"Oh my God, hello old friend. Greetings, program." That's the surprised reaction Tron actor Bruce Boxleitner had after being reunited with his light suit from the 1982 Steven Lisberger classic in Disney+'s new docuseries Prop Culture. In the exclusive clip below, you can watch Boxleitner have a heartfelt reunion with the iconic Tron costume, which he hadn't seen in years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/tron-actor-bruce-boxleitner-reunites-with-his-light-suit-disney-prop-culture-exclusive-clip"] Made of lycra, leather, canvas and plastic, the costume was in such delicate condition that Boxleitner and Prop Culture's host, movie prop collector Dan Lanigan, needed to wear plastic gloves to handle it. In the clip, Boxleitner reflects on how the costume was made and what it was like to star in a Disney movie that became such a fan-favorite. "It is amazing holding this because working on a Disney movie for a kid like my age group, this is what we grew up on," said Boxleitner. "To actually be in a Disney movie was pretty thrilling, I've got to say." Prop Culture follows Lanigan as he learns more about the extensive collection of movie props he's collected over the years by talking to the people who made them, while also going into the Disney archives and exploring its treasures. Episodes will focus on a number of Disney titles, including Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mary Poppins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Honey, I Shrunk the Kid, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and, of course, Tron. All eight episodes of Disney+'s Prop Culture will be available Friday, May 1st. Check out our full guide to everything coming to Disney+ in May 2020. If you don't have the streaming service, you can sign up for a free 14-day Disney+ trial here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-plus-spotlight-may-2020&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Terri Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.

"Oh my God, hello old friend. Greetings, program." That's the surprised reaction Tron actor Bruce Boxleitner had after being reunited with his light suit from the 1982 Steven Lisberger classic in Disney+'s new docuseries Prop Culture. In the exclusive clip below, you can watch Boxleitner have a heartfelt reunion with the iconic Tron costume, which he hadn't seen in years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/tron-actor-bruce-boxleitner-reunites-with-his-light-suit-disney-prop-culture-exclusive-clip"] Made of lycra, leather, canvas and plastic, the costume was in such delicate condition that Boxleitner and Prop Culture's host, movie prop collector Dan Lanigan, needed to wear plastic gloves to handle it. In the clip, Boxleitner reflects on how the costume was made and what it was like to star in a Disney movie that became such a fan-favorite. "It is amazing holding this because working on a Disney movie for a kid like my age group, this is what we grew up on," said Boxleitner. "To actually be in a Disney movie was pretty thrilling, I've got to say." Prop Culture follows Lanigan as he learns more about the extensive collection of movie props he's collected over the years by talking to the people who made them, while also going into the Disney archives and exploring its treasures. Episodes will focus on a number of Disney titles, including Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mary Poppins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Honey, I Shrunk the Kid, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and, of course, Tron. All eight episodes of Disney+'s Prop Culture will be available Friday, May 1st. Check out our full guide to everything coming to Disney+ in May 2020. If you don't have the streaming service, you can sign up for a free 14-day Disney+ trial here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-plus-spotlight-may-2020&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Terri Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.

Game Developers Conference (GDC) organizers have announced that the planned GDC Summer event in August that was meant to replace the original March conference will now be all-digital as the public continues to grapple with coronavirus. In a short blog update, GDC organizers announced that they will be moving forward with the GDC Summer event but as a digital-only affair. GDC traditionally runs as a live event in San Francisco during March. But plans were halted after the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Organizers later announced a shorter replacement event that was to run from August 4 to 6 at its traditional site, the Moscone Center in San Francisco. However, those plans have now changed again. While GDC is primarily an event for game developers, there are usually talks hosted by industry leaders that give greater insight into some of the year’s biggest games. Developers like Hideo Kojima were slated to give keynote talks at this year’s GDC before the shows were postponed. GDC also hosts the annual Game Developers Choice Awards which honor some of the year’s biggest and critically-acclaimed games. Other game shows have been impacted this year due to the pandemic including E3. For a full rundown of video game shows impacted by COVID-19 check out IGN’s master list here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Disney is hoping Hercules will go from zero to hero again, this time in live-action. The studio has reportedly tapped Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo to produce, but not direct, a live-action remake of their 1997 animated film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hercules will be scripted by Dave Callaham (Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doom, The Expendables).  The Russos will produce via their AGBO production company. The project is in very early development and there's no director attached yet. The film is also not at the casting stage yet. 1997's Hercules voice cast included Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, and Susan Egan. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-disney-live-action-remake&captions=true"] THR claims it's not known whether the live-action Hercules will be a musical as the original animated film was, but it should be expected to have action in it given Callaham's writing credits. Ever since the massive success of 2017's Beauty and the Beast, Disney has leaned into live-action remakes of and sequels to their animated classics (although in the case of The Lion King, "live-action" really means photorealism). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/06/29/the-25-best-disney-animated-movies"] The Russo brothers' next directorial effort is the drama Cherry, starring Tom Holland. They also produced Netflix's Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Sam Hargrave. All four talents will join IGN today, at 5pm PT, for a Watch From Home Theater breaking down the action-thriller.

Anne Hathaway says that she went on her audition for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises prepared for a totally different DC Comics femme fatale: Harley Quinn. In a new interview with BBC Radio 1 (via Batman-News), Hathaway explains that she dressed in the style of Harley Quinn when she met with Nolan assuming that was the role he had in mind for her only to discover in the middle of it that she was up for Catwoman. “I came in and I had this lovely Vivian Westwood kind of beautiful-but-mad tailoring top with stripes going everywhere,” Hathaway recalled. “And I wore these flat Joker-ey looking shoes. And I was trying to give Chris these crazy little smiles.” This went on for some time before Nolan dropped a bombshell on her. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ranking-the-batman-movies&captions=true"] “About an hour into the meeting he said ‘Well, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but it’s Catwoman,'” Hathaway said. “And I was shifting into a different gear. ‘Now ok, we’re slinky. We’re slinky. And I hate my shirt. I love my shirt, but I hate it right now. We’re slinky.'” Given how notoriously secretive Nolan is about his projects, Hathaway can be forgiven for not knowing which character she was up for before she went in. And considering his previous Bat-film, The Dark Knight, featured Joker, perhaps Hathaway assumed the sequel would somehow bring in his shrink-turned-girlfriend Harley Quinn. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/19/ranking-the-batman-movie-villains"] In the end, Hathaway played Catwoman in Nolan's final Bat-film and Margot Robbie went on to bring Harley Quinn to life in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. Hathaway also recently sent well wishes to the screen's next Catwoman, Zoe Kravitz, who will play Selina Kyle in next year's The Batman.

With Justice League Dark: Apokolips War coming to digital next week, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has revealed exciting new details on their next animated DC Universe Movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow. According to Entertainment Weekly, the film sees "Clark Kent working as an intern for the Daily Planet and learning on the job how to save the city of Metropolis." Darren Criss (Glee, Midway) has been cast in the lead role of Clark Kent, while Star Trek and Heroes' Zachary Quinto will voice his foe, Lex Luthor. Criss is no stranger to DC Comics adaptations, having appeared on The CW's Supergirl and The Flash as the supervillain known as Music Meister. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-best-superman-comics-to-learn-about-krypton&captions=true"] The voice cast ensemble of Superman: Man of Tomorrow also includes San Andreas and True Detective's Alexandra Daddario as Lois Lane, Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as cosmic bounty hunter Lobo, Ryan Hurst (The Walking Dead) as the supervillain Parasite, and Ike Amadi (Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge) as Martian Manhunter. Jonathan and Martha Kent will be played by Neil Flynn and Bellamy Young, respectively. The film's creative team includes director Chris Palmer, screenwriter Tim Sheridan, and supervising producer Butch Lukic. Superman: Man of Tomorrow is due out this summer on digital, 4K Ultra combo pack, and Blu-ray combo pack. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/superman-red-son-review"] This year also saw the release of another Man of Steel animated movie from WBHE, Superman: Red Son. In our positive review of the film, we praised it as "one of the stronger additions to DC's animated movie library in recent years."

This week in GTA Online, claim triple rewards in in Business Battles, double rewards in Southern San Andreas Super Sport Series races, and more.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the next entry in the long-running series and features Vikings, settlements, raids, and more new additions. It will be playable on current generation hardware, but has also been confirmed as a next-gen game for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Thankfully, Assassin's Creed Valhalla will support Smart Delivery on Xbox Series X as spotted by Shinobi602 on Twitter and confirmed by multiple retailers including Amazon and Best Buy. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-first-screenshots&captions=true"] Smart Delivery allows you to purchase the game once and play it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X, providing you the best possible version for your hardware. This is great news for those who may not be able to get their hands on Xbox Series X right at launch, but still want to jump into Assassin's Creed Valhalla when it launches Holiday 2020 and eventually play it when they upgrade. All of Microsoft's first-party Xbox Game Studios titles will support Smart Delivery including Halo Infinite, Gears 5, and more, but the feature is optional for third-party developers. Currently, the only confirmed third-party title aside from Assassin's Creed Valhalla to support the feature is Cyberpunk 2077. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/assassins-creed-valhalla-official-trailer] We've got plenty more on Assassin's Creed Valhalla including details on Assassin's Creed Valhalla's gameplay and story, as well as a look at the first in-game Valhalla screenshots. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a News and Features writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him stream on Twitch.

John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch have confirmed that they are returning to assist on Matrix 4. In an interview with Collider, Stahelski and Leitch, who worked as stunt performers on the original Matrix trilogy, discussed their involvement in the forthcoming instalment, explaining that they had been hired to help out with some of the action design on the sequel. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/05/matrix-4-reportedly-enters-production-as-izombie-actor-joins-cast-in-secret-role-ign-news"] "It's more about the creative concept of some of the choreography and backing them up with stuff," said Stahelski, who doubled for Keanu Reeves on the original Matrix movies. "They asked us to help out with the choreography and some of the physical training for the guys. I'm helping out a little bit for a sequence, I think Dave's helping out for a sequence. Lana [Wachowski's] come back with a lot of love to have a pseudo-family reunion, so that's been a lot of fun. It's been good to see a lot of the crew members again. We just finished doing a sequence in San Francisco before the pandemic started." Stahelski also noted that Matrix 4 doesn't have a second unit for its action scenes, as Wachowski opted to direct the sequences herself. "What makes [Lana] so great is she directs her own action," added Stahelski. "We've had second unit directors on some of the Matrixes just because of the logistics involved. But of late, and especially on Matrix 4, she's directing her own action. The second units for them are mostly establishing shots, the B-sides of the some of the compositions for some locations. But Lana, she does her own action. She weaves it into the main unit stuff, which is why their stuff looks so good." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-matrix-4-every-actor-and-character-confirmed-for-the-sequel&captions=true"] Stahelski described Matrix 4 as an "incredibly fun" entry into the groundbreaking sci-fi saga, adding, "I think if you're a fan of the original trilogy you're gonna love this. [It's] coming back with a vengeance." Interestingly, Matrix 4 is currently set for release on May 21, 2021, the same day as John Wick 4 (another Keanu Reeves-fronted film). However, these release dates could yet change, as production on Matrix 4 shut down last month due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has caused a number of other shifts, shake-ups, and delays in the industry. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.