Following the launch of God of War on PC, Sony Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog has revealed that many of PlayStation's own studios helped convince Sony that it was a "really good idea" to bring its biggest exclusives to PC.

Speaking to Game Informer, Barlog - who served as game director on 2018's God of War - was asked what insight he may have into Sony's decision to put a greater focus on the PC market.

"I think it was the collective of studios all over saying this is a really good idea," Barlog said. "We should be looking into this. Eventually, I think it reached that tipping point. When we had sent so many suggestion box suggestions that they were like, 'I’m tired of hearing all this. Fine, we’ll do this.' It’s a process. We’re still figuring it out as a company and as individual studios how to do this and what the process and strategy will be."

Sony's push into the PC market began in 2020 when it announced it would be bringing Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition to the platform. While other games that were either funded or published by Sony had already made their way over like Death Stranding, Horizon was a true first-party PlayStation Studios game that would no longer be exclusive.

Following Horizon, Sony released Days Gone on PC in 2021 and is gearing up to make Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection available to PC players in early 2022.

As for God of War Ragnarok, Barlog isn't ready to commit one way or another and confirms the decision is ultimately up to Sony as to whether we may see the sequel arrive less than the four years it took the original to.

"I have no idea," Barlog said. "Right now, we’re taking it one game at a time, kind of looking at each one and determining, 'Okay, is this the best thing?' And we’ll gauge how it does. Do people enjoy it? Did we do it right? Is there anything we did wrong? What can we do better in the future if we do this again? But at the end of the day, ultimately, it’s Sony’s decision."

Hopefully, Ragnarok does make its way to PC as, in our God of War PC performance review, we said, "this PC port offers some nice boosts over the PS4 Pro release, it scales well, and although impactful on hardware, it does give you the choice of increasing resolution, quality, frame rates, and even aspect ratio over what PlayStation consoles offer."

For more on God of War on PC, check out our chat with Barlog and Santa Monica Studio lead UX designer Mila Pavlin that dives deep into how Santa Monica Studios made the game more accessible and how it sets the stage for the studio's future projects.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Following the launch of God of War on PC, Sony Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog has revealed that many of PlayStation's own studios helped convince Sony that it was a "really good idea" to bring its biggest exclusives to PC.

Speaking to Game Informer, Barlog - who served as game director on 2018's God of War - was asked what insight he may have into Sony's decision to put a greater focus on the PC market.

"I think it was the collective of studios all over saying this is a really good idea," Barlog said. "We should be looking into this. Eventually, I think it reached that tipping point. When we had sent so many suggestion box suggestions that they were like, 'I’m tired of hearing all this. Fine, we’ll do this.' It’s a process. We’re still figuring it out as a company and as individual studios how to do this and what the process and strategy will be."

Sony's push into the PC market began in 2020 when it announced it would be bringing Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition to the platform. While other games that were either funded or published by Sony had already made their way over like Death Stranding, Horizon was a true first-party PlayStation Studios game that would no longer be exclusive.

Following Horizon, Sony released Days Gone on PC in 2021 and is gearing up to make Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection available to PC players in early 2022.

As for God of War Ragnarok, Barlog isn't ready to commit one way or another and confirms the decision is ultimately up to Sony as to whether we may see the sequel arrive less than the four years it took the original to.

"I have no idea," Barlog said. "Right now, we’re taking it one game at a time, kind of looking at each one and determining, 'Okay, is this the best thing?' And we’ll gauge how it does. Do people enjoy it? Did we do it right? Is there anything we did wrong? What can we do better in the future if we do this again? But at the end of the day, ultimately, it’s Sony’s decision."

Hopefully, Ragnarok does make its way to PC as, in our God of War PC performance review, we said, "this PC port offers some nice boosts over the PS4 Pro release, it scales well, and although impactful on hardware, it does give you the choice of increasing resolution, quality, frame rates, and even aspect ratio over what PlayStation consoles offer."

For more on God of War on PC, check out our chat with Barlog and Santa Monica Studio lead UX designer Mila Pavlin that dives deep into how Santa Monica Studios made the game more accessible and how it sets the stage for the studio's future projects.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing the Xbox vs. PlayStation console race, flipping through the January 2001 issue of GamePro, and observing some important gaming anniversaries. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions.

Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

Listen on:

Apple Podcasts

YouTube

Spotify

Stitcher

Find previous episodes here!

The Batgirl cast is shaping up to have several heavy hitters, plus a few unexpected stars, including Michael Keaton, J.K. Simmons, and even Brendan Fraser.

Thus far, it's not quite the epic-sized Bat-family you might be expecting, but Batman movies have typically never gotten quite the size of an Avengers ensemble. As you might expect from the title, Batgirl (premiering on HBO Max) will follow Barbara Gordon's origin story as the young caped crusader, heir, and student to Bruce Wayne's crime-fighting empire. Written by Birds of Prey and Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson, Batgirl follows Barbara Gordon as she "discovers" the Batgirl side of her identity.

Batgirl (specifically the Barbara Gordon version) was originally introduced in 1967 in Detective Comics #359 as the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon. Her role throughout Batman continuity has fluctuated, particularly during The Killing Joke, when she was shot and paralyzed by the Joker. How the Batgirl movie will tackle things

Keep reading for a rundown of who's appearing in HBO Max's Batgirl — and don't forget to bookmark the page, as we'll be updating this article with all-new casting announcements.

Leslie Grace as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon

Filmgoers will recognize Leslie Grace as Nina Rosario, star of Jon M. Chu and Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. Before In the Heights, her career largely focused on songwriting and music video performance, earning her three Latin Grammy Award nominations.

"You put a little bit of yourself into each character, so just in the bit of research I've been doing, I've learned a lot of things about Barbara that are very in line with me," Grace told Entertainment Tonight. She's someone who's been underestimated even by her dad. Being the youngest kid, sometimes you're insulated from all the tough stuff, and she's so eager to prove to everybody and herself that there are things she can handle."

Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman

For the third time in his career, Michael Keaton is stepping into the black boots of Batman. Keaton previously played Bruce Wayne and his alter ego in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, where he squared off against Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Devito's Penguin, and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman.

Keaton's involvement was previously announced in December 2021, but he was already confirmed to play Batman in The Flash film. Considering Batman is a direct mentor to Barbara Gordon, he may play a larger role in Batgirl. Keaton dipped his toes into the Marvel cinematic universe with his role as the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon

Simmons is no stranger to comic book films. The actor portrayed gruff news chief J. Jonah Jameson in several Spider-Man entries, and he even previously played Commissioner Gordon in Zack Snyder's Justice League. He'll be returning for Batgirl, presumably being an overprotective father for Barbara Gordon and confidant for Batman, though that relationship might be tested if Bruce Wayne wants to recruit Barbara to his crusade against crime.

Brendan Fraser as Garfield Lynns/Firefly

Filmgoers will recognize Fraser from his starring role in the Mummy franchise, and a more recent resurgence in DC's Doom Patrol as racecar driver-turned-machine Cliff Steele/Robotman. Deadline originally reported he'll be playing Garfield Lynns AKA Firefly, a pyro-obsessed villain with a lengthy history in Batman lore.

Fraser took an extended hiatus but has returned to acting in a major way recently lining up roles for directors like Darren Aronofsky and Martin Scorsese.

Jacob Scipio in an unknown role

Scipio's career began in small television roles before landing a part in 2020's Bad Boys For Life, 2019's The Outpost, and the upcoming Expendables 4. It's currently unknown what role he'll be playing in Batgirl.

Keep checking back here for all the latest casting updates on Batgirl.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Just a week after Dying Light 2 developer Techland said the game will take "at least 500 hours" to fully complete, we're now learning that the game will get at least five years of post-launch content with new stories, areas, in-game events, and more.

Techland announced its post-launch plans on Twitter, guaranteeing support for years to come. We don't know how much of the update plans will be free content, or how much will come in the way of free DLC.

However, Techland also supported the original Dying Light with a lot of free content and multiple major paid expansions, so we can likely expect to see the same type of support with the sequel.

Want to know what will happen AFTER the premiere? We guarantee to expand the world of Dying Light 2 Stay Human for at least 5 years post launch with new stories, locations, in-game events and all the fun stuff you love!#DyingLight2 #StayHuman pic.twitter.com/SgaNynkrzI

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) January 14, 2022

Last week, Dying Light 2 was in the news for another tweet from the developers, where they said the game has 500 hours of content. That number was later clarified, with Techland saying it takes 500 hours to complete absolutely everything the game has to offer, including different story paths, endings, and more.

Players just looking to complete the main story and side quests can expect to spend about 70-80 hours, while players beelining the main story should only need about 20 hours.

After multiple delays, Dying Light 2 is set to come out next month, on February 4. We got to go hands-on with Dying Light 2 late last year, where we said the game, "simultaneously feels like the natural next step for the franchise, while also feeling like something that establishes its own unique identity." For more, check out Dying Light 2's official gameplay trailer.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Netflix is hiking its monthly prices again marking the sixth time the streamer has bumped up its prices since 2014.

Netflix updated its official price plan chart to reflect the new $1 increase for the Standard plan and a $2 increase for the Premium plan that includes 4K streaming.

The new monthly price for the standard plan is now $15.50 over the previous $14, and the new price for the 4K Premium plan is $20 from $18.

Netflix first increased its price back in 2014 to $8.99, which seems quaint today. Netflix even held a promotion where subscribers could keep the original $7.99 price for a full two years before the price change came into effect.

Since then Netflix has upped the price by $1 to $2 every two years, or so. In a statement to Reuters, Netflix says it’s updating prices “so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options. As always we offer a range of plans so members can pick a price that works for their budget.”

Netflix has a Basic Plan that costs $9.99 a month but doesn’t include HD streaming.

Streaming was meant to offer an alternative to bundled TV plans, but with so many streaming services available including Disney+ and HBO Max, maintaining multiple subscriptions is not so unusual. One popular strategy is unsubscribing from unused streaming services until a new show comes out.

Netflix subscribers will receive an email notification 30 days before their prices changes.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Amazon Prime Video has announced a special week dedicated to its upcoming adult animated shows including the upcoming The Boys animated spinoff Diabolical and the RPG series The Legend of Vox Machina.

From January 17 to 23, Amazon is launching something called Fanimation Week which will celebrate all things adult animation on Prime Video. The key dates are the 18th when Amazon will focus on the upcoming Diabolical series and the 20th which is dedicated to Vox Machina.

Check out the full schedule below.

• 1/17 - Anime Monday: A day dedicated to highlighting all of the amazing Anime titles available on Prime Video, including the critically-acclaimed Evangelion Rebuild series.
• 1/18 - Diabolical Tuesday: It’s time to get f*cking Diabolical with Prime Video’s animated anthology series, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, set in the world of The Boys.
• 1/19 - Fairfax Wednesday Drop: Get ready for the DROP! Let’s get hypebeast-y with Prime Video’s latest entry into its Adult Animation lineup.
• 1/20 - Vox Machnica Thursday: Fans have made this the most successful Kickstarter campaign of all time, let’s blow it all out for them and this amazing cast.
• 1/21 - Undone Friday: A behind the scenes of one of Prime Video’s most visually stunning shows.
• 1/22 - Invincible Saturday Season 1 Rewatch-a-thon: Let’s end the weekend on a high note with a rewatch of Prime Video’s most talked about animated series of 2021.

As a bonus, Amazon is dropping the paywall for some animated shows including the first four episodes of Invincible and Evangelion 3.33 and Evangelion 3.0+1.0 starting from January 17 to the end of February.

Amazon hasn’t revealed exactly what we’ll see for Diabolical, but this is the first mention of the series since it was announced back in 2021. When it was announced, the series was already described as nearly finished, but it’s unclear if Amazon is prepping a trailer, sneak-peak, or even just a poster.

The eight-episode animated series will tell “unseen stories within The Boys universe” and include Awkafina, Garth Ennis, Eliot Glazer, Ilana Glazer, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Simon Racioppa, Justin Roiland, Ben Bayouth, Andy Samberg, and Aisha Tyler.

Meanwhile, Amazon is already prepping Vox Machina for its January 28 release. Based on the popular tabletop RPG web show, Amazon recently released a trailer for the upcoming series.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

2022 marks the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man's debut in the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15, and Marvel Comics has big plans for the wallcrawler. Marvel will relaunch the flagship Amazing Spider-Man series in April, kicking off what looks to be one the darkest chapters in Peter Parker's life.

The new volume of Amazing Spider-Man will be helmed by two veteran creators - writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita, Jr. Romita is among the most prolific Spider-Man artists of all time, with multiple lengthy runs on the various Spider-Man titles dating back decades. Wells is overseeing the "Spider-Man Beyond" storyline in the current volume of ASM, which features the return of Peter's clone Ben Reilly.

It seems Peter will reclaim the Spider-Man mantle by the end of beyond, but not without some disastrous consequences. Check out the teaser art below for a glimpse of the latest disaster to befall Peter Parker:

This art suggests Peter will caught in a massive explosion in New York City, one possibly caused by his own tech. For a hero so often motivated by guilt, this disaster may be one that haunts Spider-Man for a long time to come.

Marvel's press release teases, "Peter’s on the outs with the FF. He’s on the outs with the Avengers. He’s even on the outs with Aunt May! After a terrible and mysterious incident, no one wants to see Spider-Man – except for Doctor Octopus. Ock’s on Spider-Man’s tail and the Master Planner has something truly terrible planned for when he gets his tentacles on Spidey. All that, and Tombstone makes a move that will remind readers why he’s one of Spider-Man’s most terrifying villains…"

“Spider-Man doesn’t turn sixty every year,” said editor Nick Lowe, “and we are going BIG with this run cramming it with the biggest WTF moments Spidey has ever had. Zeb and JRJR will go down in history as one of the best creative teams ever!”

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 will hit stores on Wednesday, April 6.

For more on what's ahead in the world of comics, find out what to expect from DC in 2022 and what to expect from Marvel in 2022.

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

It's only January, but it's apparently never too early to start getting in the holiday spirit, as Disney has announced Tim Allen will return for a new Disney Plus series based on The Santa Clause movies.

Allen is set to reprise his role as Scott Calvin from the original films, in addition to serving as executive producer on the series. Jack Burditt, who has worked on 30 Rock, Modern Family, Frasier, and more, is also on board as an executive producer. Production on the series is set to begin in March.

The series started in 1994 with The Santa Clause, where an ordinary man is forced to take on all of Santa's responsibilities after accidentally killing a man in a Santa suit. The movie got two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 in 2002, and 2006's Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. The series has been dormant since the third film came out over 15 years ago.

The new series will follow Calvin, who is still serving as Santa Claus as he nears his 65th birthday. He wants to return to the normal world, so he sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while also preparing his family to leave the North Pole.

While there's no release window for this new show, you can check out everything new to Disney Plus this month.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The original Superbad remains one of cinema's most beloved mid-aughts comedies, and fans have long been clamoring for more adventures with Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. In a recent interview with W Magazine (via Variety), Hill revealed that he'd be down for a Superbad 2… so long as it's made when he's 80 years old.

“I haven’t pitched this to anybody,” Hill said. “What I want to do is when we’re like 80, do a ‘Superbad 2.’ Like, ‘old-folks-home Superbad.’ Our spouses die, and we’re single again. That’s what I want ‘Superbad 2’ to be, and that’s the only way I would ever make it.”

The original Superbad was a coming-of-age comedy following Cera and Hill as two gawky high school seniors trying to impress a pair of girls by bringing alcohol to a house party, with plenty of hijinks and diversions ensuing. Presumably, this hypothetical sequel would be a coming-of-old-age plot.

Seth Rogen co-wrote and starred in the original Superbad as a fun-loving cop, but told LADBible in 2020 that he “100% probably never touch” Superbad again for a sequel or offshoot.

“Honestly, I don’t think it requires improvement or anything to be built upon it,” Rogen said. “I’m unbelievably proud of it. It really holds up — people still watch it, high school kids come up to me telling me that they watched it for the first time and how they loved it. It’s worked its way into being viewed as one of the better high school movies that’s out there. I’m so terrified of subtracting from it in any way with a bad sequel or spinoff that I’d never do it. I have so few actual good accomplishments that I’m horrified to fuck with the ones I have.”

Hill is currently 38 years old, so his pitch for Superbad 2 would put us off until 2064. In the meantime, he recently co-starred in Adam McKay's Don't Look Up as an advisor to President Meryl Streep.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.