Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy had a slow start for Square Enix as the publisher admitted the game initially underperformed when it launched in October last year.

During its latest financial briefing, Square Enix commented that despite receiving positive reviews, Guardians of the Galaxy's "sales on launch undershot our initial expectations."

The game made up ground later however through different sales initiatives (such as store discounts) that began in November, and Square Enix said it intends "to work to continue to expand sales to make up for the title’s slow start."

It proved to be the second shaky start for Square Enix's Marvel games as its president Yosuke Matsuda commented in November that its Avengers game "has unfortunately not proven as successful as we would have liked."

Guardians of the Galaxy certainly reviewed better than Avengers, as IGN said it was "great" and "another convincing example of how much fun a linear, no-frills, single-player campaign can be."

We said Avengers on the other hand was "okay" as its campaign is fun and endearing, but the loot-based post-game meant to be the meat of this meal is unrewarding and overly repetitive.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

An independent gaming store in Minnesota reportedly had around $250,000 dollars worth of Pokémon merchandise stolen by a thief who broke through the wall during the night.

Fox 9 reporter Mary McGuire tweeted security camera footage (below) of the alleged break-in that showed a man crawling into Punch-Out Gaming in Forest Lake.

According to McGuire, who spoke with the store's owner, the thief emptied two full storage rooms of products that included high-value items like sealed booster boxes of Pokémon cards worth upwards of $100 each.

They completely cleaned out two entire storage rooms full of products…but left behind all of the plush toys. pic.twitter.com/fBgDXBga4G

— Mary McGuire (@mcguirereports) February 13, 2022

A post on the store's Facebook page shared further footage of the break-in and said: "This guy broke into the neighbour's store and cut holes through our wall. He took cash and over 200k worth of product."

The next-door unit is reportedly empty and the thief broke into there before forcing their way through into Punch-Out Gaming.

The shop shared in further Facebook posts that it will continue to operate as normal and has received significant support from the community and other game store owners who have helped resupply it with products.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

An independent gaming store in Minnesota reportedly had around $250,000 dollars worth of Pokémon merchandise stolen by a thief who broke through the wall during the night.

Fox 9 reporter Mary McGuire tweeted security camera footage (below) of the alleged break-in that showed a man crawling into Punch-Out Gaming in Forest Lake.

According to McGuire, who spoke with the store's owner, the thief emptied two full storage rooms of products that included high-value items like sealed booster boxes of Pokémon cards worth upwards of $100 each.

They completely cleaned out two entire storage rooms full of products…but left behind all of the plush toys. pic.twitter.com/fBgDXBga4G

— Mary McGuire (@mcguirereports) February 13, 2022

A post on the store's Facebook page shared further footage of the break-in and said: "This guy broke into the neighbour's store and cut holes through our wall. He took cash and over 200k worth of product."

The next-door unit is reportedly empty and the thief broke into there before forcing their way through into Punch-Out Gaming.

The shop shared in further Facebook posts that it will continue to operate as normal and has received significant support from the community and other game store owners who have helped resupply it with products.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Bethesda.net Launcher, a PC gaming launcher home to games by Bethesda Softworks, is shutting down this year, the company announced today.

Beginning in early April, players that regularly use the game launcher will have the option to migrate their game library and virtual currency onto Steam. Bethesda notes that players will not be able to access or play games on the launcher starting in May, suggesting that players impacted by the news start the migration process as soon as it begins in April.

The studio notes that many titles in the launcher will have their saves migrated, though "a few" will require manual transfers to ensure you do not lose your progress. Games that still require a Bethesda.net login, such as Fallout 76, will continue to require it after the move.

The move comes at an interesting time for the company, which has several titles slated to launch this year, including Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo, Arkane Studios' Redfall, and Bethesda Game Studios' highly anticipated ARPG Starfield, which is set to launch on November 11.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Bethesda.net Launcher, a PC gaming launcher home to games by Bethesda Softworks, is shutting down this year, the company announced today.

Beginning in early April, players that regularly use the game launcher will have the option to migrate their game library and virtual currency onto Steam. Bethesda notes that players will not be able to access or play games on the launcher starting in May, suggesting that players impacted by the news start the migration process as soon as it begins in April.

The studio notes that many titles in the launcher will have their saves migrated, though "a few" will require manual transfers to ensure you do not lose your progress. Games that still require a Bethesda.net login, such as Fallout 76, will continue to require it after the move.

The move comes at an interesting time for the company, which has several titles slated to launch this year, including Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo, Arkane Studios' Redfall, and Bethesda Game Studios' highly anticipated ARPG Starfield, which is set to launch on November 11.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Three new character posters have been released for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, spotlighting the titular Blue Blur alongside his best buddy Tails, and his friendly nemesis Knuckles.

Paramount Pictures debuted the latest batch of posters on Twitter ahead of the movie's theatrical release on April 8. The one-sheets showcase stylish shots of Sonic the Hedgehog 2's main trio, pairing each character with an appropriately punny tagline while offering a closer look at Sonic as well as his good buds Miles 'Tails' Prower and Knuckles the Echidna.

As the posters highlight, Ben Schwartz is returning as the voice of Sonic alongside Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails, and Idris Elba as Knuckles. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are both also reprising their roles as Tom and Maddie Wachowski, while Jim Carrey is returning to star as the villainous Dr. Robotnik for the live-action adaptation of the hit Sega video game.

The upcoming sequel will see Sonic embarking on a globe-trotting journey with his loyal sidekick, Tails, to try and outrun Robotnik, now known as Dr. Eggman, as he returns from the mushroom planet with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that can provide the power to build and destroy civilizations, spelling potential doom for the planet.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is set to be released in theaters on April 8, 2022, and the film will apparently be "chock full" of Sonic 2 game references as the sequel expected to lean more into Sega's source material than the original Sonic movie released in 2020, which was a road trip fish-out-of-water comedy that just happened to include the blue hedgehog.

IGN rated the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie a 7 out of 10, saying that the "family-friendly action-comedy suffers from a simplistic story and leans too heavily on tired visual cliches," though it is "boosted by solid performances from Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik" who partake in an entertaining cat-and-mouse game throughout the film.

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

Three new character posters have been released for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, spotlighting the titular Blue Blur alongside his best buddy Tails, and his friendly nemesis Knuckles.

Paramount Pictures debuted the latest batch of posters on Twitter ahead of the movie's theatrical release on April 8. The one-sheets showcase stylish shots of Sonic the Hedgehog 2's main trio, pairing each character with an appropriately punny tagline while offering a closer look at Sonic as well as his good buds Miles 'Tails' Prower and Knuckles the Echidna.

As the posters highlight, Ben Schwartz is returning as the voice of Sonic alongside Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails, and Idris Elba as Knuckles. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are both also reprising their roles as Tom and Maddie Wachowski, while Jim Carrey is returning to star as the villainous Dr. Robotnik for the live-action adaptation of the hit Sega video game.

The upcoming sequel will see Sonic embarking on a globe-trotting journey with his loyal sidekick, Tails, to try and outrun Robotnik, now known as Dr. Eggman, as he returns from the mushroom planet with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that can provide the power to build and destroy civilizations, spelling potential doom for the planet.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is set to be released in theaters on April 8, 2022, and the film will apparently be "chock full" of Sonic 2 game references as the sequel expected to lean more into Sega's source material than the original Sonic movie released in 2020, which was a road trip fish-out-of-water comedy that just happened to include the blue hedgehog.

IGN rated the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie a 7 out of 10, saying that the "family-friendly action-comedy suffers from a simplistic story and leans too heavily on tired visual cliches," though it is "boosted by solid performances from Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik" who partake in an entertaining cat-and-mouse game throughout the film.

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

Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla Games is currently collecting community feedback to address "various visual issues" in the game.

Players are reporting that the game includes some visual bugs including brightness flaring up, some assets blurring when the camera moves, and textures popping in too late.

Guerrilla thanked players on Reddit for sharing their visual issues with the team, saying that it is "working vigilantly to resolve these issues with high priority and are aiming to get an update out as soon as possible.

"We understand your frustrations and appreciate your patience. We are doing our best to quickly get you back out into the wilds so you can explore all the secrets of the Forbidden West."

It's hard to say when the update will be released as Guerrilla applied a patch just four days ago, when the game released on February 18.

The original Horizon Zero Dawn received post-launch patches on a weekly basis, with the first one releasing exactly seven days after its launch.

It's unknown if Guerrilla will stick to this sort of release schedule for its updates to Horizon Forbidden West but these visual issues will seemingly be the first to be addressed when the patch does arrive.

The problems don't appear to affect the game's overall enjoyability too much as IGN said the PlayStation exclusive was "amazing" as "Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5."

Be sure to check out our guide as well for the best place to start in Forbidden West, the most powerful skills to acquire, the most important things the game doesn't tell you, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Horizon Forbidden West developer Guerrilla Games is currently collecting community feedback to address "various visual issues" in the game.

Players are reporting that the game includes some visual bugs including brightness flaring up, some assets blurring when the camera moves, and textures popping in too late.

Guerrilla thanked players on Reddit for sharing their visual issues with the team, saying that it is "working vigilantly to resolve these issues with high priority and are aiming to get an update out as soon as possible.

"We understand your frustrations and appreciate your patience. We are doing our best to quickly get you back out into the wilds so you can explore all the secrets of the Forbidden West."

It's hard to say when the update will be released as Guerrilla applied a patch just four days ago, when the game released on February 18.

The original Horizon Zero Dawn received post-launch patches on a weekly basis, with the first one releasing exactly seven days after its launch.

It's unknown if Guerrilla will stick to this sort of release schedule for its updates to Horizon Forbidden West but these visual issues will seemingly be the first to be addressed when the patch does arrive.

The problems don't appear to affect the game's overall enjoyability too much as IGN said the PlayStation exclusive was "amazing" as "Horizon Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5."

Be sure to check out our guide as well for the best place to start in Forbidden West, the most powerful skills to acquire, the most important things the game doesn't tell you, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

The Thing creator John Carpenter has had “discussions” about a new sequel.

During an interview with Fandom, the 74-year-old filmmaker hinted that he’s already been discussing a new sequel to his 1982 sci-fi horror classic, perhaps involving his original's remaining leads:

“I just think there’s another bit of a story to tell there, which I’m not going to tell you about,” he said. “But there have been some discussions about The Thing and what we could do because, as far as we know, both those two main characters – Childs [Keith David] and MacReady [Kurt Russell] — are still alive. They were alive at the end of The Thing, so maybe they’re still alive.”

The Thing starred Kurt Russell as R.J. MacReady – a helicopter pilot who becomes stranded at an Antarctic research base after a mysterious lifeform assimilates, and then imitates, his fellow researchers.

But would Kurt Russell return to the role? “I don’t know,” said Carpenter. “Maybe.”

Despite negative reviews and a slim box office haul, The Thing later became a cult hit and is now thought of as one of the greatest sci-fi and horror films of all time.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard rumblings of another film: “I think [Jason Blum's] gonna be working on The Thing,” Carpenter previously teased. “Rebooting The Thing. I may be involved with that. Maybe. Down the road.”

The original plan was for Universal and Blumhouse to adapt the novella Who Goes There? with additional content from the expanded version, Frozen Hell. But that was back in 2020, and we’ve heard relatively little since.

It’s entirely possible that plans have changed… and Carpenter is playing coy about whether or not he will direct a sequel. “I don’t know,” he said when asked about directing again. “We’ll see.”

But when asked which properties he would like to make a sequel of, The Thing was up there: “Maybe The Thing,” he added. “Maybe Prince of Darkness. I can see a little bit more of that. But we’ll see. You never know in this business. You really don’t.”

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