Two Sony veterans have united to set up Liithos, a new AAA games studio. Liithos’ debut game will be Ashfall, which the studio describes as the “first true Web 3.0 AAA title for PC, console, and the Hedera network.” Yup, it’s another blockchain idea.

Liithos has been set up by Michael Mumbauer and John Garvin, two veteran PlayStation developers. Mumbauer was once head of PlayStation’s Visual Arts, where he worked on projects including Uncharted, The Last of Us, and Days Gone. He left Sony to become the founder of That’s No Moon, a role he left less than a year later.

Garvin, meanwhile, was creative director of Days Gone and Siphon Filter at Bend Studio. He, by his own admission, was fired from Bend for being “a disruptive personality”. In a talk with David Jaffe, Garvin said that he “had a few heated arguments” at the studio, and that he “sucked” at being a people person, a skill required in his position at the helm of a large team.

Ashfall is described as an open-world game set in a land ravaged by global warming, mysterious energy fields, and warring enclaves. It apparently starts as a narrative-driven single player game, but later evolves into a PvP and PvE game. Ashfall will also plug into the Hedera network, a blockchain system that will allow players to build, sell, and trade, with “exclusivity” being a focus. Such a word suggests that Ashfall’s scavenging and discovery elements result in NFTs. This comes despite the gaming community expressing overwhelming disdain for blockchain projects, so much so companies like Team 17 and GSC Game World have had to backpedal on NFT ideas.

Right now it’s impossible to tell what kind of studio and game these two personalities will produce, but it seems that Liithos is interested in not just the blockchain, but something called a “cinematic transmedia world.” It appears that Mumbauer and Garvin intend to work on more than just a video game, with the company announced as a “AAA Gaming and Entertainment Studio”.

“Michael and I have worked together creatively for almost two decades and this is our chance to create something really new and exciting. It’s like getting the band back together,” said Garvin in a press release. “Our goal is to create a truly next-gen, open world experience that engages with new technologies to allow user-generated content. As always, our focus is on creating beloved characters, captivating stories and evolutionary gameplay and a world worth exploring, not just in games, but other media as well.”

While Garvin has moved to set up this new studio, his Days Gone co-director, Jeff Ross, recently joined Crystal Dynamics as the studio’s new Design Director. It’s unclear if he’ll be working on the recently announced Tomb Raider game, or the Perfect Dark reboot that the studio is co-developing with Microsoft’s The Initiative.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Stranger Things already got pretty dark in Season 4, but the show's creators say it’s about to get even darker. During an interview with Empire Magazine, the Duffer Brothers said: “don’t say we didn’t warn you” about the upcoming season finale.

“I don’t really want to say, but I would be concerned about the characters going into Volume 2, for sure,” said Ross Duffer. “I hope that that is sort of the sense, because it is a darker season and the kids are no longer kids. And there’s sort of an ominous feeling that things might not go well. Now, whether they do or not, you’ll have to watch.”

Season 4 of Stranger Things has certainly leaned into the show’s horror roots. Now that Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, and the rest of the gang are growing up, the hit Netflix show has begun channeling ‘80s horror classics such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Hellraiser. But going into the season finale, it sounds as though nobody is safe.

Of course, the Duffer Brothers have teased a sticky ending for some of our favorite Stranger Things characters already, with hints that their plans to take on Vecna may not work out as they plan.

“One of our favorite things in horror films is seeing our protagonists be proactive,” said Ross. “You know in The Lost Boys when they decide to go after the vampires? It’s fun to see people come up with a plan and try to outsmart the villain. That’s what Volume 2 is about. But of course, not everything goes to plan…”

If the recent trailer is anything to go by, it looks as though Stranger Things Season 4 is heading for quite the explosive ending… and at least one death.

“You can expect from volume two, we’ve got some deaths coming,” said Will Byers himself, Noah Schnapp, in an interview on The Tonight Show. But who it will be remains to be seen.

Want to find out more about Stranger Things 4 Volume Two? Check out these first-look images of the upcoming finale, and find out the truth about the show’s new big bad, Vecna.

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

It seems The Last Podcast on the Left has found success in making the jump to the comic book medium, because Z2 is releasing a second volume of The Last Comic Book On the Left in 2022.

As with the first volume, The Last Comic Book on the Left Vol. 2 will be curated by podcast hosts Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ben Kissel. The book boasts new horror tales from a number of creators, including many returning favorites from Vol. 1 like James Tynion IV, Rick Veitch, Logan Faerber and Tyler Boss.

Also like with Vol. 1, Z2 will be offering a deluxe edition hardcover version that includes a set of art prints depicting the cryptids and other kooky characters featured within these stories. IGN can exclusively debut David Mack's cover art for the deluxe edition below:

"Our insatiable hunger for ink and blood couldn't be sustained with one volume," said Parks in Z2's press release.

"We needed to see more Detective Popcorn. We craved more Well Actually Killer, let alone debuts from Gef the Talking Mongoose and Philip K. Dick android. This volume delivers of all of this and more in an avalanche of paneled goodness," said Zebrowski.

The Last Comic Book on the Left Vol. 2 is slated for release in Fall 2022.

The original story is below:

Clocking in at nearly 500 episodes and counting, it's safe to say The Last Podcast On the Left is one of the most successful horror podcasts ever. Now the series is expanding into an entirely new medium, as hosts Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski and Ben Kissel spearhead a graphic novel series dubbed The Last Comic Book On the Left.

Where The Last Podcast On the Left takes a humorous approach to true crime cases and horror topics like ghosts, cryptids, serial killers and UFOs, The Last Comic Book On the Left is intended as a tribute to classic horror anthologies like Creepy, Eerie and Tales From the Crypt. The series will feature a number of different but interconnected horror tales from horror comics veterans like James Tynion IV (Something Is Killing the Children) and Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing).

The Last Comic Book On the Left will be published as a series of full-length graphic novels through Z2 Comics. The creative lineup for Vol. 1 includes:

• James Tynion IV (The Department of Truth, Something Is Killing the Children)
• Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing, Miracleman)
• Bob Fingerman (Minimum Wage, Beg the Question)
• Tyler Boss (4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, What’s the Furthest Place From Here?)
• Ryan Cady (Machine Gun Kelly’s Hotel Diablo, Sublime: $5 at the Door)
• Eliot Rahal (Machine Gun Kelly’s Hotel Diablo, the upcoming Cheech and Chong's Chronicles: The Graphic Novel)
• Morgan Beem (Swamp Thing: Twin Branches, The Family Trade)
• Noah Van Sciver (Grateful Dead Origins, the upcoming Cheech and Chong's Chronicles: The Graphic Novel)
• Logan Faerber ('Namwolf, The Woods)

In addition to those stories, Vol. 1 will include a tale written by Parks and Zebrowski and illustrated by John McCrea (Hitman). Eric Powell (The Goon), Martin Morazzo (Ice Cream Man) and Bob Fingerman provide cover art for Vol. 1. A deluxe edition version of the graphic novel will also include a series of cryptid-themed art prints.

“We are excited to expand our comic bloodlust with Z2 and The Last Comic On the Left,” Zebrowski said in Z2's press release. “We get to see many of our more ‘colorful’ ideas receive the evil MAD Magazine treatment. Z2 works with some of the most talented artists and creators in the comic business and it’s a privilege to be in their talented hands.”

"When I first got turned onto The Last Podcast On The Left a couple years ago, I was immediately hooked. As a lifelong weirdo with an obsession for crime, paranormal, and the occult, I learned to stifle talking about it in mixed company—listening to this podcast about the strange was an instant release valve,” Z2 Comics Publisher Josh Frankel said. “To be able to work with the guys to bring their comedic vision to life, as well as to do so in a format that pays homage to some of the greatest publications of all time, is insane to me."

The Last Comic Book On the Left Vol. 1 is currently available to preorder through Z2 Comics and is slated for release in Spring 2022.

The Last Podcast On the Left isn't the only podcast making the jump to other media. Critical Role is currently in development as an animated series at Amazon called The Legend of Vox Machina: Critical Role, and the series also getting an officially licensed D&D book called Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Filmmaker Taika Waititi has admitted that the What We Do in the Shadows crew pilfered timber from the set of Peter Jackson's second Hobbit film after it had wrapped production.

Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, Waititi shared a behind-the-scenes secret from the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows, which he co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in with Jemaine Clement. He revealed that the crew used dismantled green screen from The Hobbit set to build the house in the low-budget vampire movie.

"When I did What We Do in the Shadows, when Jemaine and I were shooting that, we didn't have much money to do that film, and The Hobbit had just wrapped," he said. "So our production designer... in the dead of night, took his crew to The Hobbit studios and stole all of the dismantled, broken-down green screens and took all of the timber, and we built a house.

"The house in What We Do in the Shadows is built out of The Hobbit's green screen," Waititi reiterated. "And I have never talked to Peter Jackson about this. I don't know if he knows. I like telling it at parties, that story, but I don't know if he actually knows."

What We Do in the Shadows was filmed on a budget of $1.6 million while the production budget for the second instalment in The Hobbit trilogy - the 2013 fantasy adventure The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - was upwards of $225 million, meaning there was a lot more money available to Jackson and his crew for each phase of the filmmaking process.

What We Do in the Shadows spawned a television series of the same name that follows a group of centuries-old vampires as they struggle with their mundane modern lives. The series premiered on FX in 2019 and has scored multiple season renewals since, with the fourth season set to premiere on July 12. It's then set to return for two more seasons on FX.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Gorō Taniguchi’s One Piece Film: Red is coming to theaters this Fall, and will be distributed by well-known anime service, Crunchyroll.

The upcoming anime, based on the One Piece manga series, will debut in theatres later this fall, around the same time as the 23rd anniversary of the One Piece saga. Crunchyroll has agreed to distribute the movie theatrically across the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, in both dubbed and subtitle variants.

“We’re excited to bring One Piece Film Red to theaters around the world this fall,” said Masayuki Endo, President, and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. “This new film from creator Eiichiro Oda will truly captivate fans in a thrilling new adventure with the Straws Hats that features the debut of Uta – a mysterious new character in the world of One Piece.”

The mysterious Uta is described as the world’s favorite diva, now performing for the first time in public. Her voice is said to be “otherworldly” with the island venue filled with fans and Star Hats from across the world.

But her diva personality hides the secret of her true identity. Uta is actually the daughter of Shanks – the legendary pirate and major player in the One Piece saga. Standing shoulder to shoulder with her father, Uta lifts the curtain on her mysterious identity, but it seems that’s only the beginning.

“One Piece has been a cornerstone on Crunchyroll, delighting fans around the world. We’re thrilled to bring audiences the next adventure in this global franchise, and the adventure with a new stand-alone story in theaters,” said Crunchyroll’s senior vice president of global commerce, Mitchel Berger.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Uta —the most beloved singer in the world. Renowned for concealing her own identity when performing, her voice has come to be described as ‘otherworldly.’ Now, for the first time ever, Uta will herself to the world at a live concert. As the venue fills with all kinds of Uta fans —excited pirates, the Navy watching closely, and the Straw Hats led by Luffy who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance —the voice that the whole world has been waiting for is about to resound. The story begins with the shocking fact that she is Shanks' daughter.”

More details about One Piece Film: Red will be revealed at Anime Expo on July 2 in Los Angeles.

Want to find out more about the One Piece film series? Check out who’s in the upcoming One Piece Netflix show, and get a behind-the-scenes look at its incredible sets.

Editors note: this story originally incorrectly stated that One Piece Film: Red would be available on Crunchyroll's streaming service at launch. IGN apologises and regrets this error.

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

It’s official – Overwatch 2 will fully replace the original Overwatch at launch. During a Reddit AMA, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller confirmed that the upcoming Overwatch sequel will replace the original live service when the game launches in October.

“When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service,” he confirmed. In other words, the original Overwatch will no longer be playable once the new game releases. Instead, players who try to play Overwatch will be prompted to update to Overwatch 2. Blizzard is pursuing this model in order to retain a unified playerbase.

When the sequel was originally announced back in August last year, Blizzard claimed that Overwatch and Overwatch 2 players would be able to play side-by-side when playing the same game modes.

The original plan allowed Overwatch players to play on the brand-new Overwatch 2 maps and as the new heroes. Then-game director Jeff Kaplan said it was a “shared multiplayer environment where no one gets left behind.” In other words, multiplayer PvP would have been possible across the two titles.

Now, it looks as though Overwatch will, in fact, be left behind. Overwatch will essentially roll right into Overwatch 2, which was already planned to retain old legacy content while adding new maps and systems. The fact that Overwatch 2 will be free-to-play means this should be an easy enough transition, since no players need to pay for the new game.

But this change means it looks as though 6v6 Overwatch is a thing of the past, as Overwatch 2 uses a 5v5 model. In fact, it's likely that the transition from 6v6 to 5v5 is the thing that made the two versions of the game incompatible.

“We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game,” said Overwatch 2's director, Aaron Keller, on Reddit. “We’re launching with new heroes, maps, and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2. Additionally, larger pieces of the game that have always been a part of the vision for OW2 will be released to the game as part of the live service, including the launch of the PvE Campaign next year.”

Elsewhere, Blizzard recently clarified what will happen to your unopened loot boxes, while the game’s official reveal event unveiled some brand new details.

Need some help with Overwatch while you’re still able to play it? Check out our guide to the tips, tricks, and secrets of Overwatch, and learn which characters counter each other to power up your games.

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

Hello Games has announced that its long-running space exploration game, No Man’s Sky, will release on Nintendo Switch this October.

Landing October 7, the Switch version of No Man’s Sky will come complete with all 20 updates that have transformed the game since its original PS4 and PC release back in 2016. This version is released in collaboration with Bandai Namco, and will be available both digitally and physically.

“No Man’s Sky on this tiny portable device feels both completely natural and also totally improbable at the same time,” said creative director Sean Murray in a press release. “This has been a real moonshot for our small team. No Man’s Sky is built around procedural generation, which means the console generates everything you see. This makes it so much harder to bring our game to something like the Switch, but I think this team never seems happier than when they are trying to do near-impossible things.

“I honestly feel the No Man’s Sky community has become one of the most welcoming in all of gaming, and it blows my mind just judging from Reddit alone that it’s also one of the largest. For many it is their “forever game”, with over half a billion hours played, across millions of players. We look forward to inviting over 100m Switch owners to join us on our journey.”

The Switch won’t be the only console getting a fresh version of No Man’s Sky on October 7. That same day sees the launch of the physical, boxed copies of No Man’s Sky’s PS5 remastered edition. Containing all 20 updates, this version is the first time a boxed copy of No Man’s Sky has been made available since the 2019 version that came with the Beyond update.

As for what's next for No Man's Sky, you'll need to watch out for its upcoming PSVR2 version.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Lilo & Stitch co-director Chris Sanders has admitted that the high praise Frozen earned for its celebration of sisterhood was "frustrating," considering his movie carried that message first.

Disney's animated hit Lilo & Stitch was released worldwide in 2002, 11 years before Frozen debuted in 2013. Both movies explored the relationship between two sisters, prioritizing that bond over a romantic storyline, but Sanders told The New York Times that his movie, which came first, didn't seem to receive as much recognition for that as Frozen.

"To be clear, I think 'Frozen's' great," Sanders asserted in the interview celebrating Lilo & Stitch's 20th anniversary, per Variety. "But it was a little bit frustrating for me because people were like, 'Finally, a nonromantic relationship with these two girls,' and I thought, 'We did that! That has absolutely been done before.'"

Lilo & Stitch explores the bond between a young girl and her older sister Nani through the Hawaiian concept of Ohana (family) as they grapple with an outlaw space alien that comes into their lives, while Frozen focuses on the relationship between sisters Anna and Elsa and how their love for one another can help them to overcome the challenges they face.

"When [Lilo & Stitch] came out, that's what a lot of critics talked about," Lilo & Stitch producer Clark Spender added, referring to the animated movie's nuanced depictions of family relationships. "Those moments that were based in reality in a way that people could see themselves in, and it didn't feel like they were cartoon characters."

When Lilo & Stitch was released in 2002, it grossed $237 million at the box office on a budget of $80 million. Its success led to video games, sequels, spinoffs, and an animated series. The Disney film is also said to be getting the live-action adaptation treatment, though not much has been said on that since reports circulated that John M. Chu was in talks to direct.

Frozen hit theaters in 2013 and received praise for subverting expectations and telling a much more modern type of Disney story. The movie broke box office records for an animated movie and crossed over the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. Frozen has since become a franchise of its own, with animated shorts, featurettes, and a feature-length sequel.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Back in March 2022, Destiny 2 YouTubers were hit with fake DMCA takedowns. Now, Bungie has found the culprit… and it’s on a warpath worth as much as $7.6 million.

A lawsuit filed by Bungie yesterday (via The Game Post) claims that Nicholas Minor, a YouTuber going by the name Lord Nazo, is responsible for the fake DMCA notices, issuing them to fellow YouTubers after he himself was hit with a real DMCA notice from Bungie.

“Ninety-six times, Minor sent DMCA takedown notices purportedly on behalf of Bungie,” the developer explained. “[He identified] himself as Bungie’s ‘brand protection’ vendor in order to have YouTube instruct innocent creators to delete their Destiny 2 videos or face copyright strikes, disrupting Bungie’s community of players, streamers, and fans.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, it looks as though Lord Nazo was heavily involved in community discussions surrounding the DMCA takedowns, which were at the time, assumed to be from Bungie.

“All the while, ‘Lord Nazo’ was taking part in the community discussion of ‘Bungie’s’ takedowns, spreading disinformation,” the studio said. “This caused Bungie significant reputational and economic damage, for obvious reasons.”

Minor’s original (and real) DMCA notice was issued by Bungie after he uploaded the soundtrack for the Destiny expansion The Taken King to his YouTube channel. Minor allegedly refused to remove his videos, leaving them online until they were eventually removed by YouTube in January. Minor allegedly retaliated by registering a new Gmail address, designed to mimic the email addresses of employees of CSC Global, the company who enforces Bungie's copyright. He then began issuing fake DMCA notices to Destiny 2 creators.

“The Destiny community was bewildered and upset, believing that Bungie had reneged on a promise to allow players to build their own streaming communities and YouTube channels on Destiny 2 content,” explains Bungie in the lawsuit. “Destiny community members were also misled to believe that Bungie’s brand protection agent was also fraudulent, causing confusion among users as to the authenticity of legitimate DMCA notices. Bungie had to devote significant internal resources to addressing it and helping its players restore their videos and channels.”

Bungie is now suing Minor for the staggering sum of $7.6 million – a total of $150,000 for each of the works implicated in the fraudulent DMCA takedown notices.

Just days ago, cheat company Elite Boss Tech agreed to pay Bungie $13.5 million in damages to end a copyright infringement lawsuit. Meanwhile, Sony’s planned acquisition of Bungie is being probed by the FTC.

Need some help with Destiny 2? Check out our guide to the Destiny Content Vault to find out which strikes and raids have been vaulted, as well as our guide to the latest expansion The Witch Queen.

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

Before Tom Holland became Spider-Man, it looks as though Ms. Marvel star Matt Lintz was in with a shot at becoming the MCU's web head.

During an interview with Insider, the 21-year-old actor revealed that he was originally in the running to become the MCU’s Spider-Man.

“I was in the top for Spider-Man, which eventually went to this guy, Tom Holland,” he quipped. “I don't know if you know who he is.”

Holland eventually debuted the MCU’s Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, going on to star in a trilogy of MCU-connected Spider-Man movies – Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home.

But while he missed out on becoming Peter Parker, Lintz was far from done with superheroes. He now stars in Marvel’s new TV series, Ms. Marvel, as Bruno Carrelli – Kamala Khan’s best friend. Debuting just a couple of weeks ago on Disney+ the show introduces new hero Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani.

The pair even had a brush with Tom Holland while they were filming. “It was cool because he ended up coming to one of our sets one day and I just got to speak to him, and I look up to him in so many ways,” Lintz said. “He's such an amazing person and an actor and it seems like life has come full circle.”

Both Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man: No Way Home were filmed in Atlanta around the same time, with Holland visiting the set to pay his respects to his new Marvel co-stars. But he also managed to spoil the big twist in Spider-Man: No Way Home… because of course he did.

“He was like, ‘What’s your show even about?’” said Vellani. “I was like, ‘What's Spider-Man about?’ He fully shows me a photo of him with Tobey Maguire!”

“I get we’re both in Marvel,” she added. “But I didn’t need to know that before it happened.”

Read more about Ms. Marvel with IGN’s review, as well as our look at the entire cast of the new Disney+ show, and how it fits into Marvel’s Phase 4.

Ms. Marvel stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan alongside Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Laurel Marsden, Azhar Usman, Rish Shah, Arian Moayed, and Alysia Reiner.

Bisha K. Ali created the series based on the Marvel comic books, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah leading the directing team.

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