Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans has just added… err… David Lynch to its cast. According to Variety, the 76-year-old filmmaker is joining the likes of Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Paul Dano in Spielberg’s upcoming semi-autobiographical movie.

It’s not the sort of casting news you see every day, but Lynch’s role is apparently a “closely guarded secret.”

Although the plot of The Fabelmans remains under wraps, it’s said to be a semi-autobiographical movie, loosely based on Spielberg’s own childhood, growing up in Arizona. Since it’s a very personal affair, Spielberg will also be writing its script – the first time he’s penned a movie in 20 years.

Lynch joins an already impressive cast, featuring Seth Rogan in a role based on Spielberg’s “favorite uncle” while Michelle Williams plays a character based on Spielberg’s own mother. Newcomer Gabrielle LaBelle stars as aspiring filmmaker Sammy, a stand-in for Spielberg himself, while Julia Butters portrays his sister, Anne.

The cast also includes Judd Hirsch, Sam Rechner, Oakes Fegley, Chloe East, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Jonathan Hadary, and Isabelle Kusman.

The Fabelmans marks the first-ever collaboration between Spielberg and Lynch, who has picked up a fair few acting roles throughout his career. Known for his directing work, however, Lynch has made plenty of award-winning and critically acclaimed movies, including Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, The Straight Story, and Lost Highway. He also picked up eight Oscar nominations for his 1980 historical drama, The Elephant Man.
The Fabelmans is expected to be released later this year, on November 23, 2022.

Blogroll image credit: Getty Images / Steve Granitz

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

Despite Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar reiterating that Hogwarts Legacy is still on track to release this year, the publisher has yet to give a firm release date on when the game is due. However, new evidence suggests the open-world Harry Potter game could be out as soon as September.

The Rowling Library, a literary website that is devoted to promoting "the life and works of J.K. Rowling," officially announced a release date for the official artbook of Hogwarts Legacy. According to the website, The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy will release on September 6. Coincidently, September 1 is "Back to Hogwarts Day," which marks the day when the fictional characters of the wizarding world return to Hogwarts.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that neither of these things confirms that Hogwarts Legacy will actually release in September. And there is always a chance that the game may get delayed into next year. Yet, we will not know for certain until Warner Bros. officially shares a firm release date for the highly anticipated title.

Hogwarts Legacy was announced in September 2020 as part of a Sony State of Play. The game was originally supposed to come out sometime last year, around January 2021, Avalanche Software announced that Hogwarts Legacy was delayed into 2022 to give "the game the time it needs."

Since the delay, not much information has come out for the game itself other than it is still on track for a 2022 release. In November, Warner Bros. General Manager Rachel Wakley said in an interview that the highly-anticipated action RPG would launch after the next Fantastic Beasts movie comes out.

One way or another, 2022 seems like the right time for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy to release, as shows like the recently-released Return to Hogwarts 20th Anniversary Special demonstrate that Harry Potter nostalgia is currently in full effect.

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

Despite Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar reiterating that Hogwarts Legacy is still on track to release this year, the publisher has yet to give a firm release date on when the game is due. However, new evidence suggests the open-world Harry Potter game could be out as soon as September.

The Rowling Library, a literary website that is devoted to promoting "the life and works of J.K. Rowling," officially announced a release date for the official artbook of Hogwarts Legacy. According to the website, The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy will release on September 6. Coincidently, September 1 is "Back to Hogwarts Day," which marks the day when the fictional characters of the wizarding world return to Hogwarts.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that neither of these things confirms that Hogwarts Legacy will actually release in September. And there is always a chance that the game may get delayed into next year. Yet, we will not know for certain until Warner Bros. officially shares a firm release date for the highly anticipated title.

Hogwarts Legacy was announced in September 2020 as part of a Sony State of Play. The game was originally supposed to come out sometime last year, around January 2021, Avalanche Software announced that Hogwarts Legacy was delayed into 2022 to give "the game the time it needs."

Since the delay, not much information has come out for the game itself other than it is still on track for a 2022 release. In November, Warner Bros. General Manager Rachel Wakley said in an interview that the highly-anticipated action RPG would launch after the next Fantastic Beasts movie comes out.

One way or another, 2022 seems like the right time for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy to release, as shows like the recently-released Return to Hogwarts 20th Anniversary Special demonstrate that Harry Potter nostalgia is currently in full effect.

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

If you've ever wanted to get to know the brilliant mind behind Death Stranding and the Metal Gear series, Hideo Kojima, now's your chance. The game director has started his own podcast called "Radioverse." However, you'll also need to understand the Japanese language because it's exclusive to Amazon Audible in Japan.

The podcast description on the website reads, "Each time, we welcome a variety of guests to talk about deep topics related to games and movies that cannot be heard anywhere else."

His first guest on Radioverse is a let's play Youtuber named Otsuichi, who is part of the channel 2Bro. In the debut episode, they talk about the Metal Gear franchise, Death Stranding, Kojima's aim for each of his titles.

The reviews of Radioverse have been unanimously positive so far. In the three categories of "comprehensive evaluation," "narration," and "story," the podcast has almost all five-star reviews across the board, with one four-star review.

One reviewer states that the episode was funny, saying, "I enjoyed listening to it very much! I would like to hear more behind the story of MGS production! Looking forward for next time!"

The latest project from Kojima, Death Stranding Director's Cut, was released back in September 2021 for PlayStation 5. The PC version will launch in March. In October 2020, Kojima Productions announced that it was working on a brand-new game, as well as expanding into Los Angeles back in November 2021 with a new division dedicated to movies, TV, and music.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

If you've ever wanted to get to know the brilliant mind behind Death Stranding and the Metal Gear series, Hideo Kojima, now's your chance. The game director has started his own podcast called "Radioverse." However, you'll also need to understand the Japanese language because it's exclusive to Amazon Audible in Japan.

The podcast description on the website reads, "Each time, we welcome a variety of guests to talk about deep topics related to games and movies that cannot be heard anywhere else."

His first guest on Radioverse is a let's play Youtuber named Otsuichi, who is part of the channel 2Bro. In the debut episode, they talk about the Metal Gear franchise, Death Stranding, Kojima's aim for each of his titles.

The reviews of Radioverse have been unanimously positive so far. In the three categories of "comprehensive evaluation," "narration," and "story," the podcast has almost all five-star reviews across the board, with one four-star review.

One reviewer states that the episode was funny, saying, "I enjoyed listening to it very much! I would like to hear more behind the story of MGS production! Looking forward for next time!"

The latest project from Kojima, Death Stranding Director's Cut, was released back in September 2021 for PlayStation 5. The PC version will launch in March. In October 2020, Kojima Productions announced that it was working on a brand-new game, as well as expanding into Los Angeles back in November 2021 with a new division dedicated to movies, TV, and music.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Disney Plus will soon be getting a bit scarier (but not too scary), as a new series based on R.L. Stine's kids horror series has officially been picked up by the streamer.

As reported by Variety, the new series will following five high schoolers trying to save their own from a host of supernatural creatures. It sounds like it won't be an anthology series this time around, putting it more in line with the feature films than the original Nickelodeon television show, which ran from 1996 to 1998.

That can likely be explained by the involvement of Neal Moritz, who served as a producer on the two movies. Rob Letterman, who directed the first movie, will serve as a writer and executive producer.

The Goosebumps live-action series was first revealed back in 2020. Announced as a collaboration between Sony Pictures and Scholastic Entertainment, it now has a home. In the meantime, if you haven't seen the first Goosebumps movie starring Jack Black, it's "perfect Halloween season fun" according to IGN's review.

Disney Plus has not announced a release date for the new Goosebumps television series.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Disney Plus will soon be getting a bit scarier (but not too scary), as a new series based on R.L. Stine's kids horror series has officially been picked up by the streamer.

As reported by Variety, the new series will following five high schoolers trying to save their own from a host of supernatural creatures. It sounds like it won't be an anthology series this time around, putting it more in line with the feature films than the original Nickelodeon television show, which ran from 1996 to 1998.

That can likely be explained by the involvement of Neal Moritz, who served as a producer on the two movies. Rob Letterman, who directed the first movie, will serve as a writer and executive producer.

The Goosebumps live-action series was first revealed back in 2020. Announced as a collaboration between Sony Pictures and Scholastic Entertainment, it now has a home. In the meantime, if you haven't seen the first Goosebumps movie starring Jack Black, it's "perfect Halloween season fun" according to IGN's review.

Disney Plus has not announced a release date for the new Goosebumps television series.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Microsoft's planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is a massive undertaking like nothing we've seen thus far in the gaming industry, and it certainly wasn't a decision the company came to overnight. In fact, discussion at Microsoft internally seems to have begun as far back as when the board gave approval to acquire ZeniMax, at which point they asked Phil Spencer a critical question:

"What's next?"

According to an interview with Spencer conducted by Axios, the answer was that Xbox needed to make a move in a new direction, a space where it didn't have any strong investments. "The constant conversation had always been about mobile and casual."

Though most people think of Activision-Blizzard most immediately for, well, Activision and Blizzard, the third arm of the publisher is King, maker of Candy Crush and a number of other wildly popular mobile titles. With King under its banner, Xbox has finally picked up a major name in mobile gaming.

In that regard, the acquisition is well in keeping with Xbox's philosophy of recent years: to be on as many platforms as possible and to reach as many users as possible. As Spencer told Axios, he is currently focused on raising player counts for Microsoft games, and will consider the Activision-Blizzard deal a success if it allows him to do that.

“The longest goal for us is: ‘Do creators on our platform feel like they have the best opportunity to reach the maximum number of players with the maximum creative diversity that they need?'” he said.

The ultimate consequences of this gargantuan deal won't fully be felt until well after it completes in 2023, but for now we have an analysis of the numbers involved and reactions from the rest of the industry that may give some clues. Earlier today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also noted that he wasn't worried about the acquisition potentially being blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

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

Microsoft's planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is a massive undertaking like nothing we've seen thus far in the gaming industry, and it certainly wasn't a decision the company came to overnight. In fact, discussion at Microsoft internally seems to have begun as far back as when the board gave approval to acquire ZeniMax, at which point they asked Phil Spencer a critical question:

"What's next?"

According to an interview with Spencer conducted by Axios, the answer was that Xbox needed to make a move in a new direction, a space where it didn't have any strong investments. "The constant conversation had always been about mobile and casual."

Though most people think of Activision-Blizzard most immediately for, well, Activision and Blizzard, the third arm of the publisher is King, maker of Candy Crush and a number of other wildly popular mobile titles. With King under its banner, Xbox has finally picked up a major name in mobile gaming.

In that regard, the acquisition is well in keeping with Xbox's philosophy of recent years: to be on as many platforms as possible and to reach as many users as possible. As Spencer told Axios, he is currently focused on raising player counts for Microsoft games, and will consider the Activision-Blizzard deal a success if it allows him to do that.

“The longest goal for us is: ‘Do creators on our platform feel like they have the best opportunity to reach the maximum number of players with the maximum creative diversity that they need?'” he said.

The ultimate consequences of this gargantuan deal won't fully be felt until well after it completes in 2023, but for now we have an analysis of the numbers involved and reactions from the rest of the industry that may give some clues. Earlier today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also noted that he wasn't worried about the acquisition potentially being blocked by the US Federal Trade Commission.

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

With Dying Light 2 officially releasing today, the new action game is facing the sort of online issues that often plague new multiplayer games. Players on social media are currently reporting network disconnects, co-op problems, and other online issues, leading developer Techland to put out a statement saying that addressing these problems are at the "top of our list."

In a statement echoed by Dying Light's official Twitter account, a Techland rep told IGN, "Thank you to gamers for your feedback! Disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content (including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG) are at the top of our priority list. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress."

Dear gamers, thank you for your feedback. Two things on the top of our list: disconnects in co-op mode and problems with redeeming awards, codes, and other in-game content, including Twitch Drops from TechlandGG. Our team is on it. We will update you on the progress.

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) February 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Dying Light subreddit moderators have created a megathread for players experiencing bugs and other issues. Common complaints include occasional screen flickering on PS5, co-op connections failing, and an inability to remap mouse buttons on PC. Strangely, some players even report a significant framerate drop the longer they play, with the only resolution appearing to be a reboot of the game. The remapping issue also ends up being an accessibility issue for some players.

"I dislocated a couple of fingers on my left hand 15+ years ago and have slightly reduced dexterity, so moving a couple of actions to the additional mouse buttons is the only way can comfortably play," wrote Reddit user Retro-Squid. "Dying Light 2 simply won't accept the mouse buttons for keyboard bindings."

In our review of Dying Light 2, IGN writer Travis Northup also noted consistent audio issues, with one egregious example of an entire character being muted while speaking during cutscenes.

Credit where it's due, Techland's day one patch for Dying Light 2 included fixes for more than 1,000 bugs, including crashing, story progression issues, and some missing voiceover dialogue.

Make sure to also check out IGN's Dying Light 2 wiki for beginner's tips, things to do first in Dying Light 2, and story choice consequences.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.