Have you ever wondered how a trebuchet works? Well, instead of reading up on the subject in a book or online, you can just play Age of Empires 4, which will feature around an hour of distinct segments about the history of medieval subjects such as, yes, the trebuchet.

During today's Xbox Gamescom showcase, Age of Empires 4 creative director, Adam Isgreen arrived on set to reveal the inclusion of Hands-On Histories in the game. These are a set of deep dives into certain historical subjects from all the different cultures represented in Age of Empires 4, with around an hour of total documentary content appearing in-game.

Aside from the trebuchet, Isgreen mentioned some other topics that would be covered by the documentaries, including medieval surgery, warfare, castle building, flaming arrows, falconing, horse taming, armor creation, and Mongolian musical instruments.

Isgreen went on to explain the team's goals in trying to "humanize history" through a partnership with UK production company Lion TV, who traveled to different countries to meet with subject matter experts and record the documentary segments with as many real, contextual examples as possible.

After a long wait since 2005's Age of Empires 3, the newest game in the civilization-building RTS will finally arrive on October 28 – it'll come to Xbox consoles and PC, and launch into Xbox Game Pass. The game has already announced all its playable factions, and we've had a first hands-on, saying "it's clear a lot of care has gone into preserving the Age of Empires experience while modernizing the experience."

Xbox's Gamescom showcase had more than just Age of Empires 4, with new trailers for Dying Light 2, Wasteland 3, and others. You can follow this and IGN's other Gamescom coverage over the rest of the week right here.

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

A competitive racing mode is coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator later this fall as part of a partnership with Reno Air Race.

Several high-speed planes will be coming to Microsoft Flight Simulator that you'll be able to pilot head-to-head against your friends. The racing series is based on the Reno Air Races, a multi-day race series that includes races in six different plane classes.

Flight Simulator is a realistic flight sim and for the most part, it's a game for plane enthusiasts looking to take a plane and travel to a distant land. But with the upcoming racing mode, Flight Simulator offers something for more competitive players who are interested in more than just sight-seeing.

Microsoft also gave an update to the Top Gun expansion that was announced at E3 2021. Unfortunately, this collaboration is meant to coincide with the Top Gun: Maverick movie, and since the film is under wraps so too is the DLC.

It will be the first major addition to the game following the release of Flight Simulator on console. We said the Xbox Series X/S edition doesn't quite match the 10/10 PC version but is incredibly impressive nonetheless.

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

Cloud gaming is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One this holiday, allowing Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream over 100 games on their consoles without needing to download them – including playing next-gen games on last-gen hardware.

Announced during the Gamescom Xbox Stream 2021, the move is a huge step further towards making Xbox games available on almost any device, allowing all compatible Game Pass games to be streamed without downloading or waiting for installs. Xbox points out that this is a useful way to try games before committing to downloading them, or to jump straight into multiplayer games with friends without causing the whole party to wait.

However, perhaps more exciting is the effect this has on last-gen games – with Xbox Cloud Gaming server blades now upgraded to Series X hardware, a solid enough internet connection now theoretically allows you to play Xbox Series exclusives on Xbox One, or Series X-quality games on a less powerful Series S. Of course, playing a game through the cloud is currently less stable than playing it off of a hard drive, but with many new Microsoft Studios games added to Game Pass with cloud functionality, it's a neat way to keep even those who can't get an Xbox Series console invested in the newest releases.

Xbox Cloud Gaming was fully launched in June, and we'd known for some time that streaming games on consoles was part of the plan. The next steps could be even more interesting – Microsoft now wants to build the "Xbox Experience" into TVs and streaming sticks, and Phil Spencer hasn't given up on bringing it to competing consoles too.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The first footage of Sony's forthcoming Uncharted film starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg is here... sort of.

Initial clips of the Uncharted movie appeared as part of a sizzle reel intended to promote Sony's upcoming movie lineup. As reported by Screenrant and io9, they included scenes that should appeal to fans of Naughty Dog's popular series of games.

According to those who viewed the sizzle reel, the Uncharted scenes began with Sully [Mark Wahlberg] asking Nathan Drake [Tom Holland] if he wants to go on the kind of adventure he has "only read about in books." This fits with earlier reports that the Uncharted film will be an origin story of sorts that focuses on the early part of Drake's career.

It's followed by additional scenes, including a shot of Drake near a pirate ship reminiscent of Uncharted 4. The money shot is reportedly Drake falling out of a plane resembling a similar sequence in Uncharted 3.

The scenes were well-received by the outlets that saw it, particularly given that they seem to feature plenty of nods to the games. Still, it was barely more than a teaser buried in the midst of a longer sizzle reel.

An Uncharted movie has been planned in one way or another for many years now, losing multiple directors along the way. Tom Holland was cast in the role of Uncharted's treasure hunter in 2017.

Sony has so far kept Uncharted heavily under wraps, with just a couple images revealed so far. Expect it to get a much heavier push as Uncharted nears its February 18 release date.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

Destiny 2 is finally bringing back the fan-favorite rocket launcher Gjallarhorn as part of a special 30th Anniversary Pack releasing this December.

Bungie is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and will host a massive in-game celebration to commemorate the milestone. There will be loads of free events and items players in Destiny 2 can experience, including a new 6-player match-made activity celebrating Bungie's history.

There will also be a special 30th Anniversary Pack available for purchase. This pack includes a new three-player dungeon, exotic weapon, four emotes, exotic ship and sparrow, two universal ornament sets, and a unique helmet ornament.

Hidden in this dungeon is a weapon that players have been begging for to return: Gjallarhorn.

Gjallarhorn has been updated for the Destiny 2 sandbox, so expect it to function up to the specs of Destiny 2 and not the previous game.

Bungie is bringing this fan-favorite weapon to life as well. In a partnership with Nerf a dart-firing version of Gjallarhorn is also coming down the pipeline, though sadly it wasn't shown during the Showcase.

Destiny 2's big showcase finally revealed the new trailer and release date for its upcoming expansion, The Witch Queen. While details leaked ahead of the show, they were all accurate including its February 22, 2022 release date, new Glaive weapon type, weapon crafting, and more.

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

Netflix's Magic: The Gathering series will star Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) as lead character Gideon, and will be coming in the second half of 2022.

Revealed during Magic Showcase 2021, Routh appeared to introduce the character, and we got a first look at sketches and 3D models, shown in the tweet below.

Magic: The Gathering is coming to Netflix in the latter half of 2022! This animated series is a completely new story that features beloved characters like our friend Gideon here. Keep an eye out for the prequel novel, arriving alongside the first Netflix season. pic.twitter.com/zCQ8ZwI0wq

— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) August 24, 2021

The show is now fully written, with the entire voice cast in place, and all voice recordings completed. It's been described as "character-first entertainment," focused on the familiar faces from the Magic multiverse, and their relationships. There's still a lot to do however, and the show won't arrive until the second half of 2022

The show will arrive alongside a prequel novel, which will tell the story of Gideon and Jace, how they met, see them head on a "roadtrip through the Multiverse" and, eventually, explore where their relationship went sour – presumably leading us directly into the events of the show.

The Russo Brothers exited the show, with Transformers: Prime co-creator Jeff Kline joining the project as executive producer.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Magic: The Gathering is going to some very unexpected places next year, with the card game's premier sets returning to the original Dominaria setting for the game's 30th anniversary, as well as adding a new Gangster-inspired plane, and a neon cyberpunk utopia.

Announced during Magic Showcase 2021, four sets were announced for 2022, taking players to some very disparate planes:

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty - Q1 2022

Acting as something of a sequel to the Sengoku era Japan-inspired Kamigawa sets, Neon Dynasty is set 2,000 years after the original 2004-2005 block. Neon Dynasty depicts the future of Kamigawa as a utopia, filled with "neon, ninjas, and cyberpunk samurai."

The set has been created in conjunction with external cultural developers, aiming to balance fans' love of the original Kamigawa sets with a respectful look at a futuristic Japanese culture.

Streets of New Capenna - Q2 2022

A completely fresh setting for Magic, New Capenna is based on old-school gangster movies, but with an expectedly fantastical twist. The city was built by angels but is now ruled by demonic crime families (each of which aligns with three colours of Magic). While it's a totally new setting, Wizards of the Coast promises that the set will include connections to existing characters in Magic lore.

Dominaria United - Q3 2022

To celebrate Magic: The Gathering's 30th anniversary, 2022's third set will take players back to the first ever Magic setting, Dominaria. Classic locations including Shiv, Tolaria and Urborg will appear, and Wizards promises that the high fantasy setting will feel totally familiar to longtime fans – and act as an introduction to the classic form of Magic for new players.

The Brothers War - Q4 2022

Also set in Dominaria, the Brothers War returns to one of Magic's most important storylines – the conflict of Urza and Mishra and its effects on the Magic Multiverse. The set will see the story told "through a new lens", including new perspectives and voices outside of the titular brothers – but deliver on the artifact-heavy set that longtime fans will expect.

Magic's been adding a lot of unexpected sets recently, from a full Dungeons & Dragons crossover, to a digital-only set with card effects that couldn't exist in the physical game. There's also an animated Netflix series on the way, but the Russo brothers will no longer be involved.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Magic: The Gathering will add cards and sets based on Lord of the Rings, Street Fighter, Fortnite, and Warhammer 40,000.

Shown off during Magic Showcase 2021, all of the new cards will be branded under the Universes Beyond label that covers the tabletop game's crossovers with other franchises.

The most substantial of the crossovers is a full Lord of the Rings set, Tales of Middle-earth, coming in 2023 and released in both boosters and 4 Commander decks, as well as Secret Lair drops. It will be released in physical and digital forms, and will be available in both Magic: The Gathering Online and Magic: The Gathering Arena. And yes, there'll be Gandalf, Gollum, Frodo, and Aragorn cards.

We also got a closer look at the previously-announced Warhammer 40,000 crossover, which will be released in the form of Commander decks with new cards, new art and reprints. They'll be legal in the modern format of the game, and will arrive "later in 2022."

More surprisingly, we also learned that Fortnite and Street Fighter will be transformed into drops for Magic: The Gathering's Secret Lair program. Fortnite cards will be rebranded reprints spread over two Secret Lair Drops. Street Fighter drops will take the form of "mechanically unique cards", and wil lalso be included in future releases. We got a look at Chun-Li's card art and learned that, yes, she's been given the Multikicker keyword ability).

Alongside the crossovers, we also learned about all of 2022's main Magic sets, which include Cyberpunk, Gangster, and 30th Anniversary settings.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update: Bungie confirmed that Destiny 2's next major installment, possibly the biggest yet, will be released on February 22, 2022.

The release date was confirmed during the Destiny 2 Showcase which officially revealed The Witch Queen expansion. IGN will have a rundown of the biggest Witch Queen reveals so check back.

Original Story: Destiny 2's next large-scale expansion, The Witch Queen, is seemingly set to launch in February 2022, according to the latest supposed leak surrounding the game.

The expansion is set to be formally revealed by Bungie in a live stream later today (August 24) at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK (that's 2am AEST on August 25). However, as spotted by True Trophies, an alleged leak from the PlayStation Australia store listing for the title has let slip a few of the details surrounding the upcoming content. Fans hoping to wait until Bungie's official reveal to read details about the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion will want to look away now.

The Australian store leak suggests that the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion will release on February 22, 2022 and that players will gain access to an all-new weapon type during their playthrough. Known as the "Glaive", the leak suggests that the new weapon type will allow players to "unleash powerful melee combos, projectile attacks, and a deployable energy shield," when battling against enemies.

In addition to the Glaive, the store page also seemingly sheds further light on a new destination for the game. In what is being described as a "definitive Destiny campaign", players will embark on a new adventure to uncover the Witch Queen Savathun's Throne World and "the mystery of how she and her Lucent Hive stole the Light".

Bungie teased the Witch Queen's reveal in a short clip on Twitter recently where the Destiny 2 account went on to say, "We have limited details on this embodiment of the Witch Queen Savathûn, but her stature suggests a height of 21 feet."

For more official details surrounding what lies ahead for Destiny 2, make sure to check out Bungie's showcase event. Alternatively, for the latest from the game, you can check out our Destiny 2 dedicated page which is full of trailers, news, and clips from Bungie's online first-person shooter.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

As part of its Gamescom 2021 announcements, Nvidia announced today that the PC versions of Dying Light 2 and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy will support the GPU giant's RTX gaming technologies DLSS and ray tracing, providing better frame rates as well as lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows.

As noted in the press release, Dying Light 2 will use Nvidia's RTX tech to create "an immersive, visceral experience" for players. Nvidia's DLSS will provide a frame rate boost to the game without compromising the image quality. At the same time, the game's day-night cycle will benefit from ray-tracing in a few ways, such as using ray-traced global illumination to provide bounced lighting to the entire in-game world.

Though the blog post does not go into much detail about how Guardians of the Galaxy will benefit from the RTX tech, Nvidia did confirm that those that do not own an RTX-powered PC or laptop will have the option to play the RTX-enhanced version of the game via GeForce Now, Nvidia's cloud gaming service, allowing you to stream the game on a lower-end device.

DLSS has become one of Nvidia's notable features in its RTX line of graphics cards. Standing for deep learning super sampling, DLSS upscales lower resolution images and uses artificial intelligence to make the image appear in a higher resolution without sacrificing power from your hardware to achieve that quality. Games such as Battlefield 2042, Doom Eternal, and Red Dead Redemption 2, have the tech available already, or will support it at launch.

In June, EA and Nvidia announced a partnership that would bring DLSS and Reflex into Battlefield 2042. The latter is a toolkit to measure system latency that is used in many popular competitive games such as Fortnite and does not require an RTX GPU.

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