The ESA has confirmed that games from a number of prominent developers and publishers will be part of E3 2021, in addition to previously announced partners. Square Enix, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Gearbox Entertainment are all confirmed to have games to show at E3’s all-virtual event for 2021. They are also joined by XSEED Games/Marvelous USA, Inc, Freedom Games, Devious Eye Entertainment, Turtle Beach, Verizon, and Binge.com. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/08/what-to-expect-from-nintendos-e3-2021-nvc-555"] These companies join E3’s previously confirmed partners: Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, and Warner Bros. Games. For more information, check out the game publishers at E3 2021. You can also start planning with our E3 2021 schedule, which will be continually updated as E3 announces new streams. E3 2021 will take place from Saturday, June 12 to Tuesday, June 15 as an all-digital event for the very first time. You'll be able to watch it on IGN as part of our Summer of Gaming event. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Nintendo has reported that it has experienced its most profitable financial year on record, with operating profit up 81% year-on-year. Additionally, the company is approaching 85 million sales of its Nintendo Switch console. As revealed in Nintendo’s financial results for the year ending March 31, 2021, operating profit has risen 81.8% year-on-year, up to 640 billion yen ($5.9 billion). Ordinary profit is recorded at an 88.4% increase, sitting at 679 billion yen ($6.2 billion). This surpasses the company’s previous gross profit record of 501 billion yen, recorded in March 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/26/nintendo-switch-lite-review"] It’s not quite a record year for net sales revenue, but it’s close; at 1.76 billion yen ($16.1 billion), it is the second-highest year on record, just behind 2009’s 1.83 billion yen ($16.8 billion). Lifetime sales of the Nintendo Switch are now at 84.59 million units, with 28.8 million of those being sold last year. That’s over both standard and Lite versions of those consoles; 14.7 million of those units are Switch Lites. The year saw Nintendo sell 230.9 million games, meaning 587.12 million games have been sold for the console to date. A huge contributor to the year’s sales was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which sold 20.85 million units. As for Mario, the leader of the pack remains Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which sold an additional 10.62 million copies this year, bringing its total to 35.4 million. Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 9 million copies, but further growth has now been throttled due to it being taken off sale. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, meanwhile, has sold 5.6 million units to date. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-history-of-nintendo-hardware-1977-to-now&captions=true"] Ring Fit Adventure also saw a strong year, with 7.38 million copies sold, bringing lifetime sales to 10.11 million. Pandemic lockdown and the search for home exercise equipment no doubt contributed to this huge demand. Of the games sold this year, 42.8% were sold digitally, which is an increase over last year’s 34%. Looking ahead, Nintendo expects a decline in profit and revenue in the year that will end March 2022 - the demand for consoles and games experienced through the pandemic lockdowns will be hard to match - but does note that it has an array of anticipated games to come. Those include the already announced Miitopia, Mario Golf: Super Rush, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl in 2021, and the newly announced Game Creator Garage. In early 2022, we can also expect Pokémon Legends: Arceus. No mention was made of a release date for Breath of the Wild 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Nintendo has reported that it has experienced its most profitable financial year on record, with operating profit up 81% year-on-year. Additionally, the company is approaching 85 million sales of its Nintendo Switch console. As revealed in Nintendo’s financial results for the year ending March 31, 2021, operating profit has risen 81.8% year-on-year, up to 640 billion yen ($5.9 billion). Ordinary profit is recorded at an 88.4% increase, sitting at 679 billion yen ($6.2 billion). This surpasses the company’s previous gross profit record of 501 billion yen, recorded in March 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/26/nintendo-switch-lite-review"] It’s not quite a record year for net sales revenue, but it’s close; at 1.76 billion yen ($16.1 billion), it is the second-highest year on record, just behind 2009’s 1.83 billion yen ($16.8 billion). Lifetime sales of the Nintendo Switch are now at 84.59 million units, with 28.8 million of those being sold last year. That’s over both standard and Lite versions of those consoles; 14.7 million of those units are Switch Lites. The year saw Nintendo sell 230.9 million games, meaning 587.12 million games have been sold for the console to date. A huge contributor to the year’s sales was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which sold 20.85 million units. As for Mario, the leader of the pack remains Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which sold an additional 10.62 million copies this year, bringing its total to 35.4 million. Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 9 million copies, but further growth has now been throttled due to it being taken off sale. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, meanwhile, has sold 5.6 million units to date. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-history-of-nintendo-hardware-1977-to-now&captions=true"] Ring Fit Adventure also saw a strong year, with 7.38 million copies sold, bringing lifetime sales to 10.11 million. Pandemic lockdown and the search for home exercise equipment no doubt contributed to this huge demand. Of the games sold this year, 42.8% were sold digitally, which is an increase over last year’s 34%. Looking ahead, Nintendo expects a decline in profit and revenue in the year that will end March 2022 - the demand for consoles and games experienced through the pandemic lockdowns will be hard to match - but does note that it has an array of anticipated games to come. Those include the already announced Miitopia, Mario Golf: Super Rush, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl in 2021, and the newly announced Game Creator Garage. In early 2022, we can also expect Pokémon Legends: Arceus. No mention was made of a release date for Breath of the Wild 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

In 2013 it was reported that Michael B. Jordan auditioned for a role in the Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens. While we know now that Jordan wasn't cast for director J.J. Abrams' reboot, Jordan is finally ready to share more on his "bombed" audition. "I think that was probably my worst audition to date," Jordan says on the Just for Variety podcast while promoting his new film Tom Clancy's Without Remorse. Jordan auditioned for Abrams on Star Wars but says he just couldn't deliver a good performance. "I think it was I couldn't wrap my brain around some of the sides because you know when you're reading for these high-level projects, there's never really any specificity in the sides." Jordan says the material was "super vague" and "secret" and that reading for a role he "just couldn't connect it." "I definitely bombed that one for sure," Jordan says. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-premiere-dates-and-images-loki-star-wars-the-bad-batch-and-more&captions=true"] The audition process for Star Wars Episode 7 was notoriously secret and actors weren't able to take scripts back for fear of leaks. John Boyega described having to go to Pinewood Studios in London and learn lines on location for the audition. Jordan wasn't the only person to have auditioned and failed to book a role in The Force Awakens. Dev Patel and Tom Holland both auditioned for the movie but failed to land a role. Still, Jordan is doing just fine for himself starring in the new Tom Clancy movie and headlining the Creed franchise. Jordan will star and direct in the next entry, Creed 3, without co-star Sylvester Stallone. Meanwhile, Tom Holland booked Spider-Man a few years later, so it's not like he fell off the radar. Star Wars on the big screen is taking a bit of a break after Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker, but you can check out Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which just premiered on Disney+. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

In 2013 it was reported that Michael B. Jordan auditioned for a role in the Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens. While we know now that Jordan wasn't cast for director J.J. Abrams' reboot, Jordan is finally ready to share more on his "bombed" audition. "I think that was probably my worst audition to date," Jordan says on the Just for Variety podcast while promoting his new film Tom Clancy's Without Remorse. Jordan auditioned for Abrams on Star Wars but says he just couldn't deliver a good performance. "I think it was I couldn't wrap my brain around some of the sides because you know when you're reading for these high-level projects, there's never really any specificity in the sides." Jordan says the material was "super vague" and "secret" and that reading for a role he "just couldn't connect it." "I definitely bombed that one for sure," Jordan says. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disney-premiere-dates-and-images-loki-star-wars-the-bad-batch-and-more&captions=true"] The audition process for Star Wars Episode 7 was notoriously secret and actors weren't able to take scripts back for fear of leaks. John Boyega described having to go to Pinewood Studios in London and learn lines on location for the audition. Jordan wasn't the only person to have auditioned and failed to book a role in The Force Awakens. Dev Patel and Tom Holland both auditioned for the movie but failed to land a role. Still, Jordan is doing just fine for himself starring in the new Tom Clancy movie and headlining the Creed franchise. Jordan will star and direct in the next entry, Creed 3, without co-star Sylvester Stallone. Meanwhile, Tom Holland booked Spider-Man a few years later, so it's not like he fell off the radar. Star Wars on the big screen is taking a bit of a break after Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker, but you can check out Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which just premiered on Disney+. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Colin Stevens to jump into the latest PS5 and PS4 news and games. The cast first takes a deep dive into the latest Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart PS5 State of Play, including what we thought of the PS5 game's visuals, how it looks to advance the franchise forward, and why it all comes together to look like an absolute PS5 showcase. Plus, we dive into the renewal of a trademark for Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive, touch briefly on Returnal's launch, and more. And while none of us have played Resident Evil Village yet,  we reminisce on the franchise, our love for it, its highs and lows, and more ahead of Village's launch this week. Watch the new episode above! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console review and our PS5 wiki guide for tips on how to best use your system. And for more Beyond, be sure to watch the first episode of our Bloodborne let's play! [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=6dd2b926-8863-4080-99b2-d08eb61f67f6"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Colin Stevens to jump into the latest PS5 and PS4 news and games. The cast first takes a deep dive into the latest Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart PS5 State of Play, including what we thought of the PS5 game's visuals, how it looks to advance the franchise forward, and why it all comes together to look like an absolute PS5 showcase. Plus, we dive into the renewal of a trademark for Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive, touch briefly on Returnal's launch, and more. And while none of us have played Resident Evil Village yet,  we reminisce on the franchise, our love for it, its highs and lows, and more ahead of Village's launch this week. Watch the new episode above! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"]

• Direct Download

• YouTube

•  Apple Podcasts/iTunes

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• PlayerFM

• Podbay

• TuneIn

• Podbean

• Feedburner

Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console review and our PS5 wiki guide for tips on how to best use your system. And for more Beyond, be sure to watch the first episode of our Bloodborne let's play! [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=6dd2b926-8863-4080-99b2-d08eb61f67f6"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead.

More than a decade after starring in Green Lantern, Blake Lively is setting a return to comic book adaptations. Deadline reports that Netflix has greenlit a film based on the Dark Horse Comics series Lady Killer, with Lively attached to star. Diablo Cody will write the script but no director is currently attached. Lady Killer was created by writer Jamie S. Rich and writer/artist Joëlle Jones in 2015. Laura Allred colored the limited-run series. The story follows Josie Schuller, a housewife in 1950's America that moonlights as an assassin for the mafia, unbeknownst to her husband and children. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-superhero-movies-and-tv-shows-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] Lady Killer represents the latest project to spawn from an agreement between Dark Horse Comics and Netflix that began in 2019. The deal gives Netflix a first look at potential adaptations, which has already produced the Mads Mikkelsen vehicle Polar and the ongoing superhero series The Umbrella Academy. Netflix is also developing an adaptation of Mystery Girl, with Tiffany Haddish attached to star and McG set to direct. Lady Killer's premise practically resembles a mash-up of Blake Lively's last two features. The Gossip Girl actress last starred in the action-espionage film The Rhythm Section and the dueling moms crime-comedy A Simple Favor. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-umbrella-academy-season-3-the-sparrow-academy-cast&captions=true"] Cody won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her work on Juno. She is currently serving as a writer and executive producer on The CW's live-action adaptation of The Powerpuff Girls, which recently revealed its first-look image. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

More than a decade after starring in Green Lantern, Blake Lively is setting a return to comic book adaptations. Deadline reports that Netflix has greenlit a film based on the Dark Horse Comics series Lady Killer, with Lively attached to star. Diablo Cody will write the script but no director is currently attached. Lady Killer was created by writer Jamie S. Rich and writer/artist Joëlle Jones in 2015. Laura Allred colored the limited-run series. The story follows Josie Schuller, a housewife in 1950's America that moonlights as an assassin for the mafia, unbeknownst to her husband and children. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-superhero-movies-and-tv-shows-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] Lady Killer represents the latest project to spawn from an agreement between Dark Horse Comics and Netflix that began in 2019. The deal gives Netflix a first look at potential adaptations, which has already produced the Mads Mikkelsen vehicle Polar and the ongoing superhero series The Umbrella Academy. Netflix is also developing an adaptation of Mystery Girl, with Tiffany Haddish attached to star and McG set to direct. Lady Killer's premise practically resembles a mash-up of Blake Lively's last two features. The Gossip Girl actress last starred in the action-espionage film The Rhythm Section and the dueling moms crime-comedy A Simple Favor. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-umbrella-academy-season-3-the-sparrow-academy-cast&captions=true"] Cody won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her work on Juno. She is currently serving as a writer and executive producer on The CW's live-action adaptation of The Powerpuff Girls, which recently revealed its first-look image. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Netflix has released a batch of new images from Castlevania’s upcoming final season, giving us another glimpse of Belmont, Sypha, Alucard, and their vampiric company beyond last week’s trailer.

Check out the gallery below.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflixs-castlevania-season-4-first-look-images&captions=true"]

Notably, we get another look at Alucard with his shield, originally seen in Symphony of the Night. We also see the mysterious Saint Germain again in what appears to be the dimensional portal (otherwise known as the “Infinite Corridor”) he willingly leapt into at the end of season three.

Castlevania’s 10-episode final season kicks off on May 13, and promises to follow up on Belmont and Sypha’s fight with the vampiric Council of Sisters, as well as a possible resurrection of Vlad Dracula himself.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/05/netflixs-castlevania-season-3-review"]

Despite the whole “final season” thing, another Castlevania spinoff series is in the works at Netflix, which will explore a new cast of characters. Considering IGN gave Castlevania season three a 10 out of 10, we can’t complain. Castlevania’s success on Netflix has led the streaming giant to adapt other popular game franchises into animated series, including DOTA, The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and Cyberpunk 2077. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/coffin-dweller for IGN.