The Last of Us Part 2 is getting a PS5 exclusive performance update, pushing the already-stunning game to 60 frames per second. The update is available for free, right now. Announced on the PS Blog, the update offers options for 30 FPS or 60 FPS framerate targets. A new 1.08 patch for the game will offer PS5 players a framerate toggle in the Display options menu. Other enhancements, such as resolution and load time improvements, were already available to players on PS5 through backward compatibility. Digital Foundry, which has extensively tested the patch, reports that "PS5 is capable not just of doubling PS4 Pro performance but in many cases exceeding it," after the patch. Even in areas that PS4 Pro could struggle with at 30FPS, such as scenes featuring a lot of water, the PS5 version reportedly runs at a locked 60 frames. In 8 hours of footage captured, Digital Foundry found that one scene dropped below 60 FPS for unknown reasons, and even then it was to 57 FPS – well beyond the capability of last-gen consoles. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/19/the-last-of-us-part-ii-enhanced-performance-patch-trailer"] It's worth making clear that this isn't a full new-gen remaster in the same manner as The Last of Us Remastered. However, Naughty Dog director of communications Arne Meyer adds, "The team has been digging into the PS5 hardware and the possibilities it unlocks since launch last year and we’re excited about what the future holds. This patch is just the first step of working on the PS5. We’ll let you know when we’ve got more news to share!" While co-creator Neil Druckmann has previously said there are no plans for TLOU2 DLC, the game has received a small content update before, adding permadeath mode and Grounded difficulty. If recent reports are correct, we could actually be seeing a PS5 version of the original Last of Us at some point. We're also expecting to see a standalone Last of Us 2 multiplayer game in the future. One project is less certain, however – The Last of Us Part 3 has a written outline, but Naughty Dog hasn't begun any kind of work on it. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero – a new open-world mobile RPG – launches today, and we can exclusively reveal its brand new trailer. The action-packed new trailer offers fans a better look at the open-world action-RPG, which is available to download today on iTunes and Google Play. The game is available in English and accessible to fans in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. New content will be released every month, with more characters expected to be added at a later date. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/19/my-hero-academia-the-strongest-hero-official-launch-trailer"] The mobile game is set in the My Hero Academia universe and features a full story campaign that allows players to build their own teams and take on classic villains like Shigaraki and Nomu. The Strongest Hero also offers different game modes, giving players the flexibility to choose whether they want to challenge each other in PVP or take on the Allied Assault together in co-op mode. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=my-hero-academia-the-strongest-hero-screenshots&captions=true"] Fans of My Hero Academia will recognize stories from the original anime as part of the campaign. The Strongest Hero will continuously add new characters but has initially launched with fan-favorite characters such as Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki, pro heroes like All Might and Endeavor, and even villains like Stain. My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero's global launch follows the premiere of the series' fifth season, which kicked off with "the Joint Training Arc, which saw Class 1-A and Class 1-B's students pitted against each other in a series of team battles that demonstrate just how much each respective class has grown." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=new-anime-to-watch-spring-season-2021&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

HBO Max and Cartoon Network are teaming up on a new Superman animated series starring The Boys' Jack Quaid as a young Clark Kent. The new series is called My Adventures with Superman and it stars Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen as twenty-something young members of an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet. Together, the would-be Man of Steel will work alongside Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen as they navigate through this kooky thing called life while fighting bad guys. Throughout the series, Clark will build up his Superman identity while also working with Lois and Jimmy as they navigate their professional careers. While Clark and Lois will of course fall in love, there will be a lot of growing up and crime-fighting done in between that. Lane will be voiced by Alice Lee (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist). [caption id="attachment_2515207" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Source: Warner Media[/caption] Quaid is best known for his role as Hugie on Amazon Prime's The Boys, an ultra-violent, post-modern take on the superhero genre. Hugie plays a normal human who teams up with a group of big-hearted mercenaries as they fight a superhero group known as The Seven and the evil mega-corporation backing them. "This is the first animated Superman series in many years and we want to tell our Superman story through the trio of Clark, Lois, and Jimmy - whose relationship dynamic will allow for rich,s serialized and engaging stories," Says Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios president Sam Register. Although Superman has appeared in a variety of DC Animated Films, he hasn't headlined an animated series since Superman: The Animated Series. But the Man of Steel is still flying around live-action shows including on The CW's Superman & Lois. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=history-of-the-justice-league-on-tv&captions=true"] HBO Max and Cartoon Network have already ordered two seasons of the show. Warner Bros. Animation will produce My Adventures with Superman, and the production team is led by veterans from series like Teen Titans Go!, Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and She-Ra and the Princess of Power. My Adventures With Superman is the second animated series HBO Max announced alongside Cartoon Network. The company also announced Batman: Caped Crusader, a new Batman animated series produced by Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and The Batman director Matt Reeves. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

Deathloop may be most anticipated for its immersive sim take on a time loop, but developer Arkane is also using it as a place to experiment with new player versus player ideas – even allowing a game-invading player to become a co-op partner of sorts. PvP in Deathloop revisits some of the ideas created for The Crossing, Arkane's cancelled multiplayer game, so much so that the game could have taken on the same name. In Deathloop, PvP works akin to the Invasion mechanic of Dark Souls. A player controlling Julianna, the rival of main protagonist Colt, will spawn into another player’s campaign and attempt to kill them. Quite how they do that will be entirely up to them. “The multiplayer element is quite freeform,” explained Deathloop’s Game Director, Dinga Bakaba, as part of a recent press Q&A. “We don't incentivise 'winning' as Julianna that much. We see her more as an 'entertainer', so what we reward is playing with style, playing creatively, or playing cautiously, things like that.” That freeform approach means an invading player can simply headshot their rival the moment they see them, or stalk them through the map, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Particularly cruel Julianna players may want to wait right up until the moment that the person playing Colt is about to kill their target, and then attack and ruin their plans at the final moment. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/16/deathloop-two-birds-one-stone-gameplay-trailer"] All the way on the other end of the spectrum, some players may want to have their Julianna “be friendly” with Colt, essentially acting as a co-op partner – “Because why the f**k not?” said Bakaba. Julianna has been written as an ambiguous character with a connection to Colt, meaning both aggressive and allied playstyles will still make sense in the wider narrative. What's not clear right now is whether you'll be able purposely join a friend's game to help them out as Julianna – it may be that you can help other players, but that whose game you join is out of your hands. Regardless of your approach, Deathloop will score Julianna players based on their activities within a PvP session. Those points will unlock new tools for Julianna to use; she starts with next to nothing, but will soon earn new weapons, powers, upgrades, and trinkets. “Those rewards are randomised,” Bakaba revealed. “For instance, after playing three hours of Julianna, [you] will have a different character than mine. That's something that we do to ensure diversity in encounters.” PvP is also the only way to unlock cosmetic skins for both Julianna and Colt. “We figure that if you care about how you look in a first-person game, that's probably because you want to play with others, so that's why we reward you with them,” explained Bakaba. The concept for Julianna was born out of a wish for there to be an enemy called The Nemesis, which would never be in a predictable place on Deathloop’s Blackreef island. Over time, this idea evolved into a multiplayer component. “It's something that just came out of a weird brainstorm about this one NPC,” recounted Bakaba. “Someone said ‘What if you could play them?’, and then someone said ‘Like The Crossing?’. We went all in almost immediately.” The Crossing was an Arkane project from 2009, in which a single-player campaign was infused with multiplayer elements. It was ultimately cancelled, but this idea presented the perfect opportunity to bring back some of the project’s ideas. In fact, those elements almost dictated Deathloop’s identity. “At some point, [we] discussed calling this game The Crossing,” Bakaba revealed in a separate interview with IGN. “In the end marketing didn't go for it because Deathloop was so cool [as a title], but we tried The Crossing because you cross [Julianna] a lot. It was not the same Crossing, but it was still a crossing.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=deathloop-screenshots&captions=true"] Importantly, where The Crossing was all about the mesh of single and multiplayer, for Deathloop PvP is entirely optional. “Overall we really wanted this mode to be something we don't force the players to engage in,” said Bakaba. As such, you’ll be able to play Deathloop entirely offline should you choose, with Julianna played by an AI. “It’s something we really see more as an anecdote generator,” Bakaba said, further detailing its position as optional extra flavour to Deathloop’s main campaign. “That's why it's so freeform, and we're not about competition here. Of course some people will be competitive, but that's the charm of it. I don't know what kind of encounter it will be.”

For more from Arkane, check out our Deathloop preview, our discussion with Bakaba about Arkane's freedom to make games without the pressure of blockbuster sales, our Fan Fest interview with the developers, and why time loops are the new zombies.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

The season of summer games announcements is nearly upon us, as Geoff Keighley has officially announced the date of this year's Summer Game Fest, with festivities beginning on Thursday, June 10. Summer Game Fest will open with an event called Kick Off Live!, a livestreamed showcase taking place on June 10 at 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm UK across Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other major streaming services. The event will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, and promises to feature "more than a dozen world premieres and announcements from select publishers." Alongside new major announcements, Kick Off Live! will feature Day of the Devs, an indie games showcase headed up by iam8bit and Double Fine Productions. And it will also include a performance by Weezer, who will perform a new "stream safe game soundtrack song" that Summer Game Fest promises will be freely streamable across Twitch, YouTube, and "anywhere else without being blocked or losing monetization." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/07/ps5-xbox-series-x-e3-2021-predictions-next-gen-console-watch"] The event will continue over the course of June, with updates from the following publishers to be expected either within Kick Off Live! or at some other point during the full event: 2K, Activision, Amazon Games, Annapurna Interactive, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Battlestate Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Capcom, Devolver Digital, Dotemu, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Finji, Frontier, Gearbox Publishing, Hi-Rez Studios, Inner Sloth, Koch Media, Mediatonic, MiHoYo, PlayStation, Psyonix, Raw Fury, Riot Games, Saber Interactive, Sega, Steam, Square Enix, Tribeca Festival, Tencent Games, Warner Bros. Games, Ubisoft, Wizards of the Coast, and Xbox. A full calendar of free, live-streamed events associated with Summer Game Fest will be available on the official website. Though Summer Game Fest isn't technically part of E3, it comes in right before E3 starts on June 12. So far, Ubisoft has announced its own major event at the show, a number of other partners have confirmed their involvement, and EA has announced its annual event won't be until July. Summer Game Fest is also a distinct event from IGN's Summer of Gaming, which is partnered with E3 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Arkane is a well-regarded studio with games that rarely sell more than a couple million units. With big-budget games expected to sell tens of millions units, it's tough to be a boutique studio that continues to favor traditional packaged releases. But if Arkane is feeling pressure to make Deathloop a sales success in the wake of Dishonored 2, which reportedly saw a 40 percent drop in sales compared to the first game, it isn't showing it. Speaking with IGN, Deathloop director Dinga Bakaba says that Arkane has the full backing of Bethesda to chase its figurative creative bliss. "We want to give players something that they really enjoy. Something that they will remember. Something that they will talk about. Maybe something that they will hate, but at least something that doesn't leave them feeling... apathy, basically. Apathy is the enemy of what we do," Bakaba says. "This is not fast food. This is cuisine. So maybe you don't like the taste, but at least there is this taste. It has a personality." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/13/deathloop-official-launch-date-reveal-trailer"] Deathloop certainly has that. Cast a time loop adventure in the style of Hitchcock and Kill Bill, Deathloop grabbed attention for its unique structure and graphical style. Arkane showed Deathloop to press earlier this month, and the response has been extremely positive. It follows previous projects such as Prey and Dishonored 2, which were known for their creativity if not necessarily their mainstream appeal. Prey in particularly had a rough time of it owing to poor marketing and little lead time for reviews. Within 6 months of release it was on sale for $20. With Deathloop nearly complete, Bakaba expressed gratitude for Bethesda's support. "We are lucky that our publisher is actually like, 'Yeah! Do Arkane stuff! Do Arkane stuff! You are Arkane!' You know? So that's been really nice. Otherwise, a project like this could just not exist in the AAA space." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=deathloop-concept-art&captions=true"] The real pressure, ultimately, is to make an excellent game, Bakaba says, "not to run after the sales numbers." He's hopeful that will continue now that Arkane is a part of Xbox Game Studios, citing Game Pass as a potential positive. Bakaba doesn't go into details, but Game Pass has been a boon for some creators in the way that it encourages players to try out games they might otherwise ignore. For now though, Deathloop is a timed PS5 exclusive, and Bakaba sees reasons to be optimistic there as well. "Sony is not known to have shied away from original games and interesting concepts. Just, you know, Returnal, being one of our fellow exclusives on the platform, and before that, Death Stranding. Sony is never afraid of innovation and artistic vision."

One way or another, Arkane feels free to focus on creativity over audience expectations, and Deathloop reflects that. It'll be out on PS5 and PC on September 14. In the meantime, lots of new Deathloop coverage is out, so check out our look at how Deathloop's PvP can even become a co-op game, and our breakdown of why the game isn't a roguelike, it's supernatural Hitman.

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Gotham is getting animated again. HBO Max and Cartoon Network have greenlit a straight-to-series order for Batman: Caped Crusader, a new animated series based on the DC property. The show boasts a trio of powerhouse executive producers in Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves. “We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City," the three executive producers said in a joint statement. "The series will be thrilling, cinematic, and evocative of Batman’s noir roots while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.” [caption id="attachment_2515218" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Source: Warner Bros.[/caption] Timm is one of the primary minds behind DC's animated series, having co-created and produced the original Batman: The Animated Series through its three-year run beginning in 1992. Timm went on to co-create and produce Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond, the beginning of a decades-spanning career behind various animated films and television shows based on DC properties. Now, almost 30 years after the premiere of Batman: The Animated Series, Timm is returning to Gotham. “Batman: The Animated Series was a masterpiece that shaped the perception of the character for an entire generation of fans," said Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios president Sam Register. "It is in that spirit that we are bringing together three master storytellers in J.J., Matt, and Bruce – each with their own intuitive understanding and affection for the character – to create a new series that will continue in the same groundbreaking legacy.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-10-best-batman-animated-movies&captions=true"] Reeves has his own major connections to Batman, as he is directing Warner Bros.' upcoming reboot The Batman starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, set to release in March 2022. Reeves will executive produce under his 6th & Idaho banner, while Abrams will executive produce under his studio Bad Robot. [poilib element="commerceDeal" parameters="slug=hbo-max-sign-up"] The entirety of Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond came to HBO Max back in January. For more about The Animated Series' legacy, read about how The Batman adopts the show's Batmobile design. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Harry Potter is getting two Wizarding World TV specials as part of a five-night event on HBO Max. If you didn't pick up the latest issue of The Daily Prophet this morning, then you might have missed the news about WarnerMedia's plans for the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO Max will be playing host to an unscripted Harry Potter quiz show and a retrospective special, which will air over five nights on the streamer. The quiz show will see Harry Potter superfans competing to answer trivia questions faster than the speed of Hermione Granger's lightning-quick hand-raising in Professor Snape's potions class. The four one-hour challenges will take place over four consecutive days and will finish with a retrospective special, airing across HBO Max, Cartoon Network, and TBS, with international viewing plans to follow. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/26/what-is-hbo-max-doing-with-harry-potter"] "To celebrate the dedicated fans old and new who have passionately kept the Wizarding World magic alive in so many forms for decades, these exciting specials will celebrate their Harry Potter fandom in a must-see multiplatform TV event," Tom Ascheim, president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, said about the upcoming specials, which will feature some very special guests. "All Potter fans can gear up for this ultimate one-of-a-kind celebration by embracing their inner Hermione Granger and studying their Wizarding World knowledge," he added, extending an invitation for people to submit applications via WizardingWorld.com. "For fans who have always wanted to discover what it might be like to take the O.W.L. exams, this is as close as they are going to get!" Those watching from home may also want to scrub up on their spells and spend some time studying everything from their Snitches to their Quaffles, as the epic quiz competition series will also include an online play-along component for Muggles, aka non-magic folk, which promises to make the contest as challenging as the Quidditch World Cup, no matter where you are in the world. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-harry-potter-characters&captions=true"] This comes shortly after a report emerged about a Harry Potter TV series being in early development at HBO Max. Sources indicated that "broad ideas" for the project had been discussed, but that no deals had been made. HBO Max and Warner Bros. commented on the speculation, telling THR, "There are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform." However, it's possible that HBO Max and Warner Bros. were giving a response based on a very different definition of "in development" at the time as there have been talks of Harry Potter offshoots for a while. WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar previously teased the expansion of the Wizarding World franchise for HBO Max and Warner Bros, noting a lot of "potential" for sequels and spinoffs. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A Fear Street movie trilogy, based on R.L. Stine's book series, will be released on Netflix over three consecutive weeks, beginning on July 2. Netflix has revealed that scary season will arrive a little earlier this year as the streaming service will be playing host to "an epic summer movie event" comprising three Fear Street movies. The first of the trilogy, Fear Street Part 1: 1994, will drop on Friday, July 2, with Fear Street Part 2: 1978 coming just one week later on July 9, and the final installment, Fear Street Part 3: 1666, on July 16.

3 movies.

3 weeks. 1 killer story. Experience the FEAR STREET trilogy — from director Leigh Janiak and based on the books by R.L. Stine — on Netflix this July pic.twitter.com/0GRCmyhPfQ — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) May 19, 2021

The movie trilogy is directed by Leigh Janiak (Scream: The TV Series), and will introduce "a new brand of horror to the next generation," with the story told across three movies spanning more than 300 years. It opens in 1994, with a group of teenagers who discover that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations​ may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. "We filmed all three Fear Street movies over one crazy, bloody summer," Janiak said of the production, which wrapped back in 2019. "It's a dream that audiences now get to experience the story in the same way - back to back to back, with only a week of waiting in between. I can't wait to welcome everyone into the world of Fear Street in 1994, 1978, and 1666!" [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=12-exciting-netflix-movies-coming-in-2021&captions=true"] "Fear Street fans are in for a treat--and some major surprises," R.L. Stine added. "Readers know that the book series is rated PG. But the movies are rated R. That means a lot more thrills--and a lot more terror! I have seen Leigh Janiak's epic trilogy releasing on Netflix in July and I can tell you the scares and the SCREAMS are more than I ever expected. What fun to see the horrors of Shadyside come to life!" At the very beginning of the year, Netflix vowed to release at least one new movie a week throughout 2021 for a total of at least 70. Fear Street was one of the projects announced as part of that line-up, together with several large-scale, star-driven movies like Red Notice and Don't Look Up, which both appeared on the streaming service's sizzle reel for its 2021 movie slate. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Members of the fighting game community have revealed The Fighting Game Glossary, a new website that explores, defines and breaks down fighting game terminology for old and new players alike. FGC veteran Ricky, better known by his handle Infil (@Infilament on Twitter) led the project, and revealed it yesterday via a tweet. Per Infil, the glossary includes, “Over 650 terms carefully explained with 200+ video examples and Japanese translations. Easily search by term or game, share links to terms with your friends, and explore related concepts without losing your place”. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/18/killer-instinct-video-review"] According to a tweet from April, Infil has been working on the guide for 9 months at this point, and it looks like the time spent developing the guide has been well worth it. It's an easy-to-navigate site and, with the ability to search either by term or game name, users will easily and quickly be able to find the information, guide or advice they’re looking for. There’s even a term of the day on the homepage if you’re just looking for a quick new fighting game fix. Other prominent figures in the FGC, such as Maximilian Dood, have expressed their support for the guide. Infil is well known in the Fighting Game Community for his work on the excellent Killer Instinct guide. Infil has been focused on breaking down barriers for new players interested in fighting games, as the terminology associated with the genre can often be confusing and off-putting for new players. The Fighting Game Glossary definitely fits that bill. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/17/guilty-gear-strive-story-trailer"] If you’ve ever struggled to break into the fighting game scene, this might be the go-to guide for you. With Sony’s recent purchase of Evo, it’s likely that fighting games will continue to increase in popularity, so having a guide like this for new players and veterans alike will be useful moving forwards. The next major fighting game to launch will be Guilty Gear Strive, and it was recently revealed that members of the FGC were very impressed by the game’s netcode. Thankfully, there's plenty of Guilty Gear content already sitting on The Fighting Game Glossary for those looking to jump in. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN, and loves all things Final Fantasy and Okami. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman