Arkane Austin has a lot of experience open-ended gameplay design, but when it came to designing Redfall's open world, the famed studio behind Prey had a unique problem ⁠— Redfall's open world was actually a bit too open.

In a new interview with IGN, Redfall designer Harvey Smith talked about designing the Massachusetts town in which Arkane's new supernatural shooter is set, describing it as "very open." Redfall is an on-foot game he says, and the team has worked to make sure that the setting's design fits within that dynamic.

But at first, Redfall was "too open," Smith says.

"It was like there was not enough blocking you or channeling you, but it's very, very open rooftops and alleys and streets of this small town, Redfall, Massachusetts, which is like a fishing community, a tourist community — quaint, historic, New England stuff with this stealthy takeover by vampires. But the one thing that we do in terms of that gating pretty heavily is we divided the world into two districts. District One is the first half of the missions, and it's the downtown part of Redfall, while District Two is more rural. It's farms, lighthouses, churches, things like that."

Arkane has worked to refine the town's design, with the end result being an open world co-op game in which multiple players work together to take back Redfall's neighborhoods from the vamps. In so doing, they are free to venture off on their own, but at the cost of potentially making things more difficult for themselves; as they say in Dungeon & Dragons, you should never split the party. It's very much in keeping with Arkane's earlier games, where players are encouraged to explore, experiment, and develop unique solutions to their problems.

"What would the Arkane DNA look like in the open world?" Smith asks. "The way we do resources, scrounging for ammo and medical stuff and lock picks, and the way we approach buildings — there's multiple entries and problem to gameplay encounters, there's multiple ways you can approach it. What would it be like to work together?"

He continues, "Because if you play solo, it's a lot spookier, it's a lot more atmospheric, it's more slow-paced. As soon as you add another person, you're not really afraid anymore because you have a friend there, but there's got to be something to make up for that. So the social aspect, the narrative changing in terms of the banter between the characters, just the fun of playing with another person... Layla drops the elevator and everybody can get on the roof or get up to a higher vantage or whatever. There's lots of little synergies like that that are good."

Redfall takes aim at a 2023 release date

In the rest of the interview, Smith talks about how the various characters work together, and how Redfall has some "very dynamic systems" driving the narrative design as characters get to know each other over time. That said, Smith says Arkane is deemphasizing branching missions this time around, meaning Redfall won't have multiple endings in the traditional sense.

Redfall was first announced as an Xbox exclusive during its E3 2021 showcase, after which it dropped out of sight. It reappeared with a new gameplay trailer at Sunday's Xbox + Bethesda Showcase, in the process confirming that Redfall will be a classic Arkane single-player game even when playing co-op.

Redfall was slated to release in 2022, but was pushed to 2023 along with Starfield, joining a long list of games that have been delayed. Still, there's plenty to look forward to in the world of games, so keep an eye on all the rest of our coverages as the Summer of Gaming continues.

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.

Sonic the Hedgehog won't be kissing any more humans if Sega veteran Takashi Iizuka has his way.

Iizuka has worked on the franchise since 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and told Axios what the two critical rules for a project featuring the Blue Blur are – alongside an additional, unofficial one regarding the infamous smooching scene from 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog.

In the game, the very human Princess Elise the Third used the Chaos Emeralds to save Sonic's life and kissed the anthropomorphic hedgehog as she did. Though he didn't work on that particular entry, Iizuka said "I don't think we'll be doing that again".

The other rules are more on brand, with the first simply being "speed". Iizuka said the games need to be built around Sonic moving quickly - he quite literally "gotta go fast" - while the second rule is that he cannot swim. Even in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games franchise, Iizuka pointed out, Sonic has to use a flotation device in swimming events. The more you know!

All of these rules will, of course, be applied in Sonic Frontiers, the latest entry in the franchise and first with open world elements. First teased in May last year, it also features extensive combat that was actually based in part on the Sonic Movie,

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Screenshots of what rumors say is a new, already complete Fire Emblem game have seemingly leaked online.

Prompted by a FamiBoards post from industry insider Emily Rogers, which included several purported details of a new game, Reddit user miasmadelta posted what they claimed were screenshots from it alongside further details. The screenshots were then shared by FavorDish on Twitter (below).

"I can confirm that this is a brand new [Fire Emblem] game, and it has been completed for quite some time now. I'm not sure what the delay has been in announcing it," said miasmadelta. "Interestingly, some aspects of it seem to be reused from the cancelled Wii [Fire Emblem] game. Additionally, the rumours of [a Fire Emblem 4] remake are real as well."

For those who haven’t seen, there are apparently new Fire Emblem leaks going around. Marking as spoilers in case you don’t want to see, but if you do look at them, what do you think?#FireEmblem #FEHeroes pic.twitter.com/xFFoAHanwv

— Dish (@FavorDish) June 15, 2022

The posts claim the game is a brand new entry in the series with multiple new characters and a summoning mechanic that allows players to bring in past Fire Emblem characters - though apparently it isn't like mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes (which includes a similar mechanic).

The main character apparently features red and blue hair (as seen in the alleged screenshots) and the roster of other characters seemingly includes regularly recurring character Anna.

The posts also said that Gust, the developer best known for its Atelier franchise, has been helping with the new Fire Emblem game, though it is mainly being developed between Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo (who worked on Fire Emblem: Three Houses together) and has been completed for more than a year.

All of this information needs taken with a pinch of salt until Nintendo itself confirms it, but the post suggested the publisher was waiting for a big Nintendo Direct presentation to announce it. Given that the company is yet to hold its usual E3-adjacent Nintendo Direct, however, a confirmation of a new Fire Emblem could be on the way soon.

Based on its rccent release schedule, a new entry may not be too far away. The last mainline game, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, was released in 2019, while Fates was released in 2015, and Awakening in 2012. In our 9/10 review of the previous game, IGN said: "Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers an incredible amount of choice, and a story that deserves to be viewed from more than one angle."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

What's the best way to follow up an Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland? What about a Gran Turismo movie directed by District 9's Neill Blomkamp?

IGN understands that Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions are currently working on an adaptation of PlayStation's famous racing series with an eye toward an August 11, 2023 release date. What's more, it's based on a true story.

The story features a teenage Gran Turismo player who becomes an actual professional race car driver after winning a series of competitions. It appears to be based on the story of Jann Mardenborough, a British driver who began competing in events such as the F3 European Championship after winning the GT Academy reality show at the tender age of 19.

The Gran Turismo movie was first reported to be in the very early stages of development back in May, joining adaptations of Horizon and God of War.

The new movie follows Uncharted, released in February, which has gross $400 million globally to become the fourth highest-earning video game adaptation worldwide. The screenplay will be penned by Jason Hall.

PlayStation released Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on March 4, where we praised it as both a celebration of cars and the series itself on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

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.

What's the best way to follow up an Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland? What about a Gran Turismo movie directed by District 9's Neill Blomkamp?

IGN understands that Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions are currently working on an adaptation of PlayStation's famous racing series with an eye toward an August 11, 2023 release date. What's more, it's based on a true story.

The story features a teenage Gran Turismo player who becomes an actual professional race car driver after winning a series of competitions. It appears to be based on the story of Jann Mardenborough, a British driver who began competing in events such as the F3 European Championship after winning the GT Academy reality show at the tender age of 19.

The Gran Turismo movie was first reported to be in the very early stages of development back in May, joining adaptations of Horizon and God of War.

The new movie follows Uncharted, released in February, which has gross $400 million globally to become the fourth highest-earning video game adaptation worldwide. The screenplay will be penned by Jason Hall.

PlayStation released Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on March 4, where we praised it as both a celebration of cars and the series itself on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.

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.

Disney worlds have been a staple of the beloved Kingdom Hearts series since the first game released in 2002. According to a new interview with game director Tetsuya Nomura at Game Informer, fans of those magical, nostalgia-filled worlds might see fewer of them in Kingdom Hearts 4 due to graphical limitations.

Fans of those Disney-based worlds shouldn’t fret, though. Nomura confirms “players are definitely going to see a few Disney worlds in there” and fans “don't need to worry” about their inclusion.

He goes on to say that Kingdom Hearts 4 “might feel slightly different from previous Kingdom Hearts titles.” We’ve gotten one look at the upcoming game, and it shows Sora in a world called Quadratum that looks close to our own. It is definitely a departure from the more fantasy-based worlds in the first three installments and their various spin-offs.

“As far as the graphic qualities ... since with each new title, the specs have been really increasing and there's so much more we can do in terms of graphics, it kind of limits the number of worlds that we can create in a sense,” Nomura explains.

It’s safe to say we should see a blend of Disney worlds and new areas. Earlier this year, Nomura teased that Quadratum is more of an “afterworld” and isn’t the real world despite featuring real life locations like Shibuya.

In April’s reveal trailer, some eagle-eyed fans noticed the foot of an AT-ST from the Star Wars series in a jungle setting. This has led many to speculate that Sora, Donald, and Goofy might be venturing to Endor. If so, this would be the first time the Disney franchise would be featured in the hit game series.

Regardless of what Disney worlds will be featured in Kingdom Hearts 4, there are still a number of questions we have following April’s reveal trailer. Be sure and check out our list of burning questions we have about Kingdom Hearts 4 including where the heck Donald and Goofy have ended up.

Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.

Disney worlds have been a staple of the beloved Kingdom Hearts series since the first game released in 2002. According to a new interview with game director Tetsuya Nomura at Game Informer, fans of those magical, nostalgia-filled worlds might see fewer of them in Kingdom Hearts 4 due to graphical limitations.

Fans of those Disney-based worlds shouldn’t fret, though. Nomura confirms “players are definitely going to see a few Disney worlds in there” and fans “don't need to worry” about their inclusion.

He goes on to say that Kingdom Hearts 4 “might feel slightly different from previous Kingdom Hearts titles.” We’ve gotten one look at the upcoming game, and it shows Sora in a world called Quadratum that looks close to our own. It is definitely a departure from the more fantasy-based worlds in the first three installments and their various spin-offs.

“As far as the graphic qualities ... since with each new title, the specs have been really increasing and there's so much more we can do in terms of graphics, it kind of limits the number of worlds that we can create in a sense,” Nomura explains.

It’s safe to say we should see a blend of Disney worlds and new areas. Earlier this year, Nomura teased that Quadratum is more of an “afterworld” and isn’t the real world despite featuring real life locations like Shibuya.

In April’s reveal trailer, some eagle-eyed fans noticed the foot of an AT-ST from the Star Wars series in a jungle setting. This has led many to speculate that Sora, Donald, and Goofy might be venturing to Endor. If so, this would be the first time the Disney franchise would be featured in the hit game series.

Regardless of what Disney worlds will be featured in Kingdom Hearts 4, there are still a number of questions we have following April’s reveal trailer. Be sure and check out our list of burning questions we have about Kingdom Hearts 4 including where the heck Donald and Goofy have ended up.

Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.

One of the main selling points of the Kingdom Hearts games was the weird mashup of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura recently sat down with Game Informer to discuss Kingdom Hearts 4 and addressed several questions, including concerns about Final Fantasy characters.

When asked about the relative lack of Final Fantasy characters in recent Kingdom Hearts entires, Nomura had this to say:

I understand there weren't that many Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts III. One thing I want to clear up is that a lot of fans are saying that Kingdom Hearts is this collaboration between Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters. But I really feel like that's not the basic concept of Kingdom Hearts; that's not exactly what Kingdom Hearts is.

When we released the first title, we had only a few original Kingdom Hearts characters. When they were interacting with really well-known, beloved Disney characters, I felt nobody really knew these new characters, so it was harder for them to stand their ground just yet. And so, we had a lot of Final Fantasy characters involved to lend a hand for everyone to get to know these [original Kingdom Hearts] characters better.

Now, there are so many original characters from Kingdom Hearts that are so well-loved, and people want to see more of those characters. With Kingdom Hearts III, since we did have so many original Kingdom Hearts characters, it was hard to find room for including more Final Fantasy characters. We're trying to find a good balance for that. I know that some fans were concerned about that and weren't too happy and wanted to see more Final Fantasy characters. That's something we definitely are thinking about. But just with the sheer number of original characters that we have now, it's hard to say what the exact balance is going to be and how it will play out in Kingdom Hearts IV. We can't really give you a firm reply on this just yet.

This answer seems to imply that he'd rather flesh out the original Kingdom Hearts characters than add more Final Fantasy characters. This answer may disappoint fans who were looking forward to seeing more Final Fantasy as there are a plethora of characters to choose from.

Looking through the various Kingdom Hearts games, there have been many characters from more popular Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy VII and X, but none from any recent Final Fantasy games. Protagonists such as Vann from Final Fantasy XII, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, or even Noctis and crew from Final Fantasy XV are nowhere to be seen in a Kingdom Hearts game.

It could be that Nomura wants the game to live off the strength of its original characters rather than ride on the popularity of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. That said, one could argue that Disney and Final Fantasy are what make Kingdom Hearts, well, Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts 4 is the latest in the series with its debut trailer showing off a more realistic Sora in the world of Quadratum. Nomura talks more about Kingdom Hearts including the uncertainty of getting Sora into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

David Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and gaming. He also strongly believes that sugar does not go in grits. Follow him on Twitter @packetstealer

One of the main selling points of the Kingdom Hearts games was the weird mashup of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura recently sat down with Game Informer to discuss Kingdom Hearts 4 and addressed several questions, including concerns about Final Fantasy characters.

When asked about the relative lack of Final Fantasy characters in recent Kingdom Hearts entires, Nomura had this to say:

I understand there weren't that many Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts III. One thing I want to clear up is that a lot of fans are saying that Kingdom Hearts is this collaboration between Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters. But I really feel like that's not the basic concept of Kingdom Hearts; that's not exactly what Kingdom Hearts is.

When we released the first title, we had only a few original Kingdom Hearts characters. When they were interacting with really well-known, beloved Disney characters, I felt nobody really knew these new characters, so it was harder for them to stand their ground just yet. And so, we had a lot of Final Fantasy characters involved to lend a hand for everyone to get to know these [original Kingdom Hearts] characters better.

Now, there are so many original characters from Kingdom Hearts that are so well-loved, and people want to see more of those characters. With Kingdom Hearts III, since we did have so many original Kingdom Hearts characters, it was hard to find room for including more Final Fantasy characters. We're trying to find a good balance for that. I know that some fans were concerned about that and weren't too happy and wanted to see more Final Fantasy characters. That's something we definitely are thinking about. But just with the sheer number of original characters that we have now, it's hard to say what the exact balance is going to be and how it will play out in Kingdom Hearts IV. We can't really give you a firm reply on this just yet.

This answer seems to imply that he'd rather flesh out the original Kingdom Hearts characters than add more Final Fantasy characters. This answer may disappoint fans who were looking forward to seeing more Final Fantasy as there are a plethora of characters to choose from.

Looking through the various Kingdom Hearts games, there have been many characters from more popular Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy VII and X, but none from any recent Final Fantasy games. Protagonists such as Vann from Final Fantasy XII, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, or even Noctis and crew from Final Fantasy XV are nowhere to be seen in a Kingdom Hearts game.

It could be that Nomura wants the game to live off the strength of its original characters rather than ride on the popularity of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. That said, one could argue that Disney and Final Fantasy are what make Kingdom Hearts, well, Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts 4 is the latest in the series with its debut trailer showing off a more realistic Sora in the world of Quadratum. Nomura talks more about Kingdom Hearts including the uncertainty of getting Sora into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

David Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and gaming. He also strongly believes that sugar does not go in grits. Follow him on Twitter @packetstealer

Sora's appearance in Super Smash Bros. was a big moment for the series. As the final DLC character in Nintendo's epic crossover, the Kingdom Hearts hero's appearance finally fulfilled years of speculation and dreams on the part of fans. It was also unexpected.

For many years, a Sora cameo was considered unlikely due to the licensing restrictions involved in working with Disney. But in a new interview with Game Informer, Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura says that, actually, working with Disney was fine. It was Nomura himself who was strict.

"Obviously, I was very happy that we were able to have Sora make an appearance in Smash Bros. Ultimate. Most of the feedback when Sora was [announced] for Smash Bros. Ultimate was, 'I can't believe Disney okayed for him to be in this game.' Behind the scenes, I was actually the one being very picky about his appearance in Smash Bros. Disney was the one that was like, 'Go ahead! This is a great opportunity,'" Nomura explains.

"I thought it would be tough to pull off because it might clash with the established lore in Kingdom Hearts and the Disney worlds, so it was an opportunity I had to consider very carefully. After seeing how happy everybody was in welcoming Sora to Smash Bros., I feel like the end result was really great."

Nomura is well-known within industry circles for his exacting attention to detail in his art. The famed artist has been with Square Enix since the mid-90s, exerting a huge amount of influence on Final Fantasy's style before moving on to projects such as Kingdom Hearts.

According to Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai, Sora's inclusion in the Smash Bros. roster was the result of a chance meeting with a Disney representative at an awards show, which helped to kickstart discussions with the media giant. After careful negotiations between Nintendo, Disney, and Square Enix, Sora finally joined Sephiroth, Minecraft Steve, and the rest of the guest characters in Fighters Pass 2.

Since then, Square Enix has announced Kingdom Hearts 4, which Nomura further details in the Game Informer interview. It will feature Sora's adventures in the Quadratum, where he will seemingly venture through an abstract version of the real world. Don't worry, though: Nomura says that Disney worlds and maybe even Final Fantasy characters will appear in Kingdom Hearts 4 in due time.

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.