The cast of the upcoming Star Wars: Ahsoka continues to take shape. The Hollywood Reporter confirms Grand Admiral Thrawn will be the central villain of the series, and reveals that Thor: The Dark World's Ray Stevenson is joining the cast.

Thrawn was expected to be a core focus of the series, given that The Mandalorian: Season 2 revealed Ahsoka has been hunting her old nemesis on the far fringes of the galaxy. However, THR clarifies that Stevenson won't be playing Thrawn, but another villain with the rank of admiral.

It's unclear if Stevenson's role is an existing character or brand new to the Star Wars franchise. In the Expanded Universe, Thrawn was frequently accompanied by his second-in-command, Gilad Pellaeon. Could Pellaeon be following his commanding officer in making the jump from the EU to Disney's Star Wars canon?

It's still unknown who will be playing the Thrawn role. The character was previously voiced by Sherlock's Lars Mikkelsen in the animated series Star Wars Rebels. THR indicates production on the series will begin in April, so more casting news may well be dropping in the weeks ahead.

In addition to Rosario Dawson reprising the Ahsoka role, the series' cast includes Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Mandolorian warrior Sabine Wren. Like The Mandalorian, Star Wars: Ahsoka is set roughly five years after Return of the Jedi, so Christensen's Anakin will either be appearing as a Force Ghost or via flashbacks (or both?).

Executive producer Dave Filoni recently revealed he's had the idea for the plot of Star Wars: Ahsoka for "a long time."

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

Earlier today, Elden Ring's Steam page was updated to include the minimum system requirements needed to run the PC version.

As the the bare minimum needed for a gaming PC to run FromSoftware's highly-anticipated action RPG, the specs raised some eyebrows due to their heft requirements: an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X for the CPU, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 as the graphics card.

More surprising was the fact the minimum PC requirement asked for 12GB of RAM. While 12GB of RAM is not out of the realm of possibility for the majority of PC gamers, many systems still roll with about 8GB of RAM. By comparison, Dying Light 2 — which was released earlier this month — only requires 8 GB of RAM.

Elden Ring's minimum PC requirements are also far more demanding than previous FromSoftware titles. Including 2019's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which lists an Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD FX-6300 for the CPU, 4GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 as some of the minimum specs needed to run the game.

Elden Ring's minimum PC system requirements have since been removed from the game's Steam page at the time of writing. IGN has reached out to Bandai Namco for comment.

With Elden Ring out in two weeks, Bandai Namco should hopefully be sharing the full list of system requirements needed to run the PC version soon.

For more on Elden Ring, check out our final preview ahead of the game's February 25 release date.

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

Earlier today, Elden Ring's Steam page was updated to include the minimum system requirements needed to run the PC version.

As the the bare minimum needed for a gaming PC to run FromSoftware's highly-anticipated action RPG, the specs raised some eyebrows due to their heft requirements: an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X for the CPU, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 as the graphics card.

More surprising was the fact the minimum PC requirement asked for 12GB of RAM. While 12GB of RAM is not out of the realm of possibility for the majority of PC gamers, many systems still roll with about 8GB of RAM. By comparison, Dying Light 2 — which was released earlier this month — only requires 8 GB of RAM.

Elden Ring's minimum PC requirements are also far more demanding than previous FromSoftware titles. Including 2019's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which lists an Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD FX-6300 for the CPU, 4GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 as some of the minimum specs needed to run the game.

Elden Ring's minimum PC system requirements have since been removed from the game's Steam page at the time of writing. IGN has reached out to Bandai Namco for comment.

With Elden Ring out in two weeks, Bandai Namco should hopefully be sharing the full list of system requirements needed to run the PC version soon.

For more on Elden Ring, check out our final preview ahead of the game's February 25 release date.

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

Subnautica's developers have announced their next game, and it won't be an immersive survival sim. Codenamed Project M, the new game will be a turn-based strategy game set in a sci-fi world, according to the Krafton earnings release. It is set to release in early access in 2022, alongside Callisto Protocol — a survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios.

In the same announcement, Krafton also announced a new program called "The Potential" intended to "actively push into new businesses such as deep learning, Web 3.0, NFT, VR, and others."

Unknown Worlds was picked up by Krafton late last year, with the publisher saying it would continue to function as an independent studio as it worked on both what we now know as Project M as well as updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero.

In our review of Subnautica back in 2018, we found it to be a "template for what open-world survival games should strive to be." We similarly loved Subnautica: Below Zero in our review last year of the frosty follow-up.

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

Subnautica's developers have announced their next game, and it won't be an immersive survival sim. Codenamed Project M, the new game will be a turn-based strategy game set in a sci-fi world, according to the Krafton earnings release. It is set to release in early access in 2022, alongside Callisto Protocol — a survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios.

In the same announcement, Krafton also announced a new program called "The Potential" intended to "actively push into new businesses such as deep learning, Web 3.0, NFT, VR, and others."

Unknown Worlds was picked up by Krafton late last year, with the publisher saying it would continue to function as an independent studio as it worked on both what we now know as Project M as well as updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero.

In our review of Subnautica back in 2018, we found it to be a "template for what open-world survival games should strive to be." We similarly loved Subnautica: Below Zero in our review last year of the frosty follow-up.

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

Empire Magazine's new issue gives us our best look yet at Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight, the latest Marvel hero to receive their own Disney Plus Series.

Embrace the chaos. #MoonKnight is here to shake up the MCU, and he’s on the cover of Empire's new issue – with brand new Oscar Isaac and Kevin Feige interviews, world-exclusive new images, and much more. On sale Thurs 17 Feb.

READ MORE: https://t.co/E5s7iXmvzU pic.twitter.com/CRLgroXTpZ

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) February 11, 2022

For those living under a rock, Oscar Isaac plays the titular Moon Knight, a mercenary with a dissociative identity disorder, who is drawn into a mystery involving ancient gods. That said, you can expect the MCU's Moon Knight to be very different from the comics.

Empire's cover also shows Moon Knight wielding his Crescent Darts, a set of moon-shaped blades that function similarly to shuriken.

Empire is also releasing a special edition cover showing off a different angle of Moon Knight and the Egyptian god Khonshu, who bestows Moon Knight with his powers.

This month's subscriber cover features a spectral evocation of #MoonKnight and Ancient Egyptian god Khonshu. Illustrated exclusively for Empire by legendary comic book artist @sinKEVitch.

READ MORE: https://t.co/E5s7iXmvzU pic.twitter.com/Y51hlOpUhd

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) February 11, 2022

Of course, Moon Knight isn't a one-man show. Isaac stars alongside Ethan Hawke, playing the villainous scientist Arthur Harrow. You can check out the rest of the Moon Knight cast here. Moon Knight is out on Disney Plus on March 30.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Empire Magazine's new issue gives us our best look yet at Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight, the latest Marvel hero to receive their own Disney Plus Series.

Embrace the chaos. #MoonKnight is here to shake up the MCU, and he’s on the cover of Empire's new issue – with brand new Oscar Isaac and Kevin Feige interviews, world-exclusive new images, and much more. On sale Thurs 17 Feb.

READ MORE: https://t.co/E5s7iXmvzU pic.twitter.com/CRLgroXTpZ

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) February 11, 2022

For those living under a rock, Oscar Isaac plays the titular Moon Knight, a mercenary with a dissociative identity disorder, who is drawn into a mystery involving ancient gods. That said, you can expect the MCU's Moon Knight to be very different from the comics.

Empire's cover also shows Moon Knight wielding his Crescent Darts, a set of moon-shaped blades that function similarly to shuriken.

Empire is also releasing a special edition cover showing off a different angle of Moon Knight and the Egyptian god Khonshu, who bestows Moon Knight with his powers.

This month's subscriber cover features a spectral evocation of #MoonKnight and Ancient Egyptian god Khonshu. Illustrated exclusively for Empire by legendary comic book artist @sinKEVitch.

READ MORE: https://t.co/E5s7iXmvzU pic.twitter.com/Y51hlOpUhd

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) February 11, 2022

Of course, Moon Knight isn't a one-man show. Isaac stars alongside Ethan Hawke, playing the villainous scientist Arthur Harrow. You can check out the rest of the Moon Knight cast here. Moon Knight is out on Disney Plus on March 30.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

The Batman star Paul Dano says that his Riddler took a lot of inspiration from Batman.

During an interview with Fandango, the 37-year-old Batman villain explained how his character’s motives reflect those of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight.

“The Batman is born of trauma, right?” he said. “Bruce Wayne, losing his parents… and some people are able to take that and use it as fuel, and sometimes that fuel can lead towards something potentially good, and I think sometimes people take that fuel and it takes them.”

But it’s a lot more than that.

Director Matt Reeves recently said that The Batman is almost like a horror, with the Riddler taking inspiration from the real-life Zodiac Killer murders.

That horror, it seems, is based on The Batman’s version of vigilante justice.

“I guess I was really interested in the mask and the idea that a vigilante in our world… we often can see what we want to see,” said Dano. “And even though to a lot of people The Batman stands for good, I can tell you that the eyes… my character saw him representing exactly what I wanted to, as a great source of inspiration and power.”

Again, it goes back to the duality of trauma – in this case, the Riddler and The Batman it seems are two sides of the same coin.

“There was some awesome grey in the morality of Gotham and in the idea of good and bad,” he added. “It just felt super complex and thrilling and deep and I’m still so excited about it.”

And he’s not the only Batman to take some interesting inspiration. Recently, Colin Farrell revealed that his version of The Penguin is inspired by the Godfather and said that iconic character Fredo was “a bit of a reference”.

“I was totally surprised and blown away by the script,” said Dano. “In this day and age, you have to ask why? Why are we going to reinterpret The Batman? Right from the get-go of Matt’s script he had a really clear point of view of what he was bringing to this film.”

Robert Pattinson stars as The Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.

The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Peter Craig.

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

The Batman star Paul Dano says that his Riddler took a lot of inspiration from Batman.

During an interview with Fandango, the 37-year-old Batman villain explained how his character’s motives reflect those of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight.

“The Batman is born of trauma, right?” he said. “Bruce Wayne, losing his parents… and some people are able to take that and use it as fuel, and sometimes that fuel can lead towards something potentially good, and I think sometimes people take that fuel and it takes them.”

But it’s a lot more than that.

Director Matt Reeves recently said that The Batman is almost like a horror, with the Riddler taking inspiration from the real-life Zodiac Killer murders.

That horror, it seems, is based on The Batman’s version of vigilante justice.

“I guess I was really interested in the mask and the idea that a vigilante in our world… we often can see what we want to see,” said Dano. “And even though to a lot of people The Batman stands for good, I can tell you that the eyes… my character saw him representing exactly what I wanted to, as a great source of inspiration and power.”

Again, it goes back to the duality of trauma – in this case, the Riddler and The Batman it seems are two sides of the same coin.

“There was some awesome grey in the morality of Gotham and in the idea of good and bad,” he added. “It just felt super complex and thrilling and deep and I’m still so excited about it.”

And he’s not the only Batman to take some interesting inspiration. Recently, Colin Farrell revealed that his version of The Penguin is inspired by the Godfather and said that iconic character Fredo was “a bit of a reference”.

“I was totally surprised and blown away by the script,” said Dano. “In this day and age, you have to ask why? Why are we going to reinterpret The Batman? Right from the get-go of Matt’s script he had a really clear point of view of what he was bringing to this film.”

Robert Pattinson stars as The Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.

The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Peter Craig.

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

The 2021 Video Game Accessibility Awards has just unveiled its list of nominees with a wide, diverse spread of games being celebrated and no single title running away with dozens of nominations.

Several games received nominations in two categories, including Before Your Eyes, Unpacking, Halo Infinite, Far Cry 6, Back 4 Blood, It Takes Two, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

The winners will be announced on March 12, 2022, on a livestream hosted by Accessibility Awards co-creators Steven Spohn and Alanah Pearce [Disclosure: Alanah Pearce is a former member of IGN's editorial content team].

The awards show was founded last year in partnership with Able Gamers to celebrate games that push the bar of accessibility and enable more players with diverse needs to enjoy games. The judging panel is made up entirely of disabled gamers, and its categories are based on accessibility guidelines created by Able Gamers as tools for game developers.

"My goal when I created the awards show was to celebrate developers who are making significant strides in accessibility, as a thank you to those studios, but also in the hopes that it would encourage other studios to get involved," Pearce said. "If there's an awards show for something and it has some visibility, I figure more studios are likely to try to strive to be included, thus raising the bar for accessibility across the board. We're also inherently educating any developers who might watch the show on what the different categories do, thus hopefully encouraging different accessibility needs to be considered earlier on in development cycles.

"I'm definitely not going to pretend that any facet of game development is easy, let alone accessibility options, but it certainly is easier if it's considered from the start, rather than added towards the end of development as an afterthought. The more people know about a variety of accessibility needs now, the more likely they are to include features that cater to them in their games. I'm not going to hide that that's my agenda with creating the show - I want more developers to include more accessibility options in their games."

The nominees for the 2021 Video Game Accessibility Awards are as follows:

Second Channel - For games that give players a second means or interface to get the information they may need to progress.

• Before Your Eyes - GoodbyeWorld Games, Skybound Games
• Unpacking - Witch Beam, Humble Bundle
• Guardians of the Galaxy - Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix

Clear Text - For games that allow players to reliably read text in the game or its interfaces.

• Boyfriend Dungeon - Kitfox Games
• Loop Hero - Four Quarters, Devolver Digital
• Halo Infinite - 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios

Input Reduction - For games that allow players to decrease the amount of input reduction needed to successfully undertake a sequence of actions required by the game.

• Before Your Eyes - GoodbyeWorld Games, Skybound Games
• Fights in Tight Spaces - Ground Shatter, Mode 7 Games
• Escape From Tarkov - Battlestate Games

AI Assistance - For games that allow players to progress through challenges with assistance from in-game AI.

• Forza Horizon 5 - Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios
• Far Cry 6 - Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft
• Psychonauts 2 - Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios

Improved Precision - For games that allow players to increase or decrease things like movement sensitivity so that they may be precise with their actions in the game or its interfaces.

• Chivalry 2 - Torn Banner Studios, Tripwire Interactive
• Far Cry 6 - Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft
• Back 4 Blood - Turtle Rock Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Peer Assistance - For games that allow players to progress through challenges presented by the game with assistance from another player.

• It Takes Two - Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts
• Age of Empires IV - Relic Entertainment, World's Edge, Xbox Game Studios
• Back 4 Blood - Turtle Rock Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Remapping - For games that allow players to remap or reconfigure standard control figurations.

• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
• It Takes Two - Hazelight Studios, Electronic Arts
• Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker - Square Enix

Training Grounds - For games that give players a place or means to increase their skill level outside on their own time, outside of the usual means of training used by the game.

• Halo Infinite - 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios
• Monster Hunter Rise - Capcom
• Back 4 Blood - Turtle Rock Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Ability to Bypass - For games that allow players to bypass or skip sections that they are unable to successfully engage with.

• Life Is Strange: True Colors - Deck Nine, Square Enix
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Unpacking - Witch Beam, Humble Bundle

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