Square Enix has revealed a new set of screenshots from upcoming remake, Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319, giving us a better look at the game's world. Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319 is a remake of 2010's Nier, which launched exclusively on the PS3  all the way back in 2010. In Japan, the game was split into two halves, with Nier Replicant being a PS3 exclusive, and Nier Gestalt being an Xbox 360 exclusive - the main difference being that you play as a teenage boy in Nier Replicant, but in Nier Gestalt (the game that came to the West as Nier) you play as a middle-aged man. Given that the remake is named after the Japan-exclusive release, it's safe to say we'll be playing as a teenager for the first time in the West. The game follows Nier as they fight shades in a post-apocalyptic world, in a struggle to find a cure for the Black Scrawl, a disease affecting the protagonist's sister. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nier-replicant-screenshots&captions=true"] In the screenshots above you can see a selection of environments that have been given extra attention in the remaster, from vast deserts and verdant fields to a crumbling metropolis being overtaken by nature. If you're unfamiliar with Nier, it's a spin-off series that hails from the Drakengard franchise of RPGs, helmed by mask-toting developer Yoko Taro. This remaster is being developed by Toylogic, and published by Square Enix. The remake was announced at the end of March alongside a free-to-play mobile game called Nier Reincarnation, which is set to launch on iOS and Android. You can check out the announcement trailer below which will give you a better look at the game in motion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/29/nier-replicant-ver-122474487139-teaser-trailer"] If this has piqued your interest and you're looking to get into the Nier franchise, the sequel to Nier, Nier: Automata, was recently added to Xbox Game Pass. You don't have to have played the original to enjoy it (I started with Automata too!). Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487319 will launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam, though we're still waiting on news about a release date for the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who hopes he never has to write out the game's title in full ever again. Follow him on Twitter.

Entertainment One has signed a first-look agreement with Marvel Studios alum Jeremy Latcham, who will take Dungeons & Dragons on as his first project under the new deal. Deadline reports that Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is on board to produce the Paramount-set Dungeons & Dragons movie following the recent eOne acquisition by Hasbro. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Latcham was the associate producer on Iron Man and the co-producer on its sequel Iron Man 2. He also executive produced Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy during his 13-year tenure at Marvel Studios. He then went on to produce Bad Times at the El Royale in his post-Marvel career. "Jeremy is a massively talented producer with a track record of creating true-to-brand films with size and scope that resonate with audiences and excel on a global scale. In our exciting new era with Hasbro, we're thrilled to begin this new partnership and look forward to sharing the amazing projects that are to come," Nick Meyer, eOne's president of film, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Nick and the entire eOne team have welcomed me into the fold with open arms," Latcham added. "Hasbro's incredibly rich library of beloved brands in addition to the opportunity to develop original material makes for a very exciting next step for me as a creative producer. My passion for telling stories steeped in heart, humor and spectacle aligns with D&D's decades of immersive, adventure-driven storytelling, and I am beyond excited to help John and Jonathan, eOne, Paramount, and Wizards of the Coast bring this rich world to filmgoing audiences." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Spider-Man: Homecoming writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are attached to write and direct the film adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, which is managed by Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary that also manages Magic: The Gathering. In April, Paramount pushed back the release of Dungeons & Dragons from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022, amongst a number of other shifts, shake-ups, and delays in the industry due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Entertainment One has signed a first-look agreement with Marvel Studios alum Jeremy Latcham, who will take Dungeons & Dragons on as his first project under the new deal. Deadline reports that Latcham, who formerly served as SVP of Production and Development at Marvel, is on board to produce the Paramount-set Dungeons & Dragons movie following the recent eOne acquisition by Hasbro. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/chris-pratt-and-tom-holland-want-to-start-an-avengers-cast-dungeons-and-dragons-party"] Latcham was the associate producer on Iron Man and the co-producer on its sequel Iron Man 2. He also executive produced Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy during his 13-year tenure at Marvel Studios. He then went on to produce Bad Times at the El Royale in his post-Marvel career. "Jeremy is a massively talented producer with a track record of creating true-to-brand films with size and scope that resonate with audiences and excel on a global scale. In our exciting new era with Hasbro, we're thrilled to begin this new partnership and look forward to sharing the amazing projects that are to come," Nick Meyer, eOne's president of film, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Nick and the entire eOne team have welcomed me into the fold with open arms," Latcham added. "Hasbro's incredibly rich library of beloved brands in addition to the opportunity to develop original material makes for a very exciting next step for me as a creative producer. My passion for telling stories steeped in heart, humor and spectacle aligns with D&D's decades of immersive, adventure-driven storytelling, and I am beyond excited to help John and Jonathan, eOne, Paramount, and Wizards of the Coast bring this rich world to filmgoing audiences." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Spider-Man: Homecoming writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are attached to write and direct the film adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, which is managed by Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary that also manages Magic: The Gathering. In April, Paramount pushed back the release of Dungeons & Dragons from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022, amongst a number of other shifts, shake-ups, and delays in the industry due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Private Division and V1 Interactive have announced that Disintegration will launch on June 16. The game will only be available digitally from PC and console store fronts. The flying motorbike - or ‘gravcycle’ - based shooter will be released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and other stores on June 16. The launch is purely digital, with no physical release announced by Private Division. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/07/disintegration-story-trailer"] Disintegration is priced at $49.99/£39.99 and can already be pre-ordered on Xbox One and Steam. Pre-orderers pick up bonus cosmetics for use in multiplayer including a unique Lost Ronin Midnight crew skin, Flex emote, Disintegration Medal Gravcycle attachment, and platform-exclusive animated player banners. If you’ve not seen anything of Disintegration, it’s the first game from V1 Interactive, a studio founded by the co-creator of Halo, Marcus Lehto. It features a single-player campaign focused on a future where human brains are slotted into robots, which then pilot flying machines to rain death upon their enemies. Multiplayer sees two teams of pilots battle each other, with each pilot having access to their own squad of AI soldiers that fight on the ground. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disintegration-45-new-behind-the-scenes-images-ign-first&captions=true"] For more, check out our previews of the Disintegration campaign and PvP multiplayer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.

Private Division and V1 Interactive have announced that Disintegration will launch on June 16. The game will only be available digitally from PC and console store fronts. The flying motorbike - or ‘gravcycle’ - based shooter will be released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and other stores on June 16. The launch is purely digital, with no physical release announced by Private Division. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/07/disintegration-story-trailer"] Disintegration is priced at $49.99/£39.99 and can already be pre-ordered on Xbox One and Steam. Pre-orderers pick up bonus cosmetics for use in multiplayer including a unique Lost Ronin Midnight crew skin, Flex emote, Disintegration Medal Gravcycle attachment, and platform-exclusive animated player banners. If you’ve not seen anything of Disintegration, it’s the first game from V1 Interactive, a studio founded by the co-creator of Halo, Marcus Lehto. It features a single-player campaign focused on a future where human brains are slotted into robots, which then pilot flying machines to rain death upon their enemies. Multiplayer sees two teams of pilots battle each other, with each pilot having access to their own squad of AI soldiers that fight on the ground. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disintegration-45-new-behind-the-scenes-images-ign-first&captions=true"] For more, check out our previews of the Disintegration campaign and PvP multiplayer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Nintendo Switch is apparently "barely in the middle" of its life cycle, according to reports from Nintendo's latest investor Q&A. That fact was reported by investment advisor David Gibson, who attended the Q&A following Nintendo's latest earnings report and explained that Nintendo representatives had said it was, "Barely in the middle of the switch cycle, no change to that view." The Nintendo Switch is just over three years old, which would put the expected end of its life cycle at around 2023 at least. That thinking matches up with Nintendo's other recent successes - Nintendo Wii was released in 2006 and followed by Wii U in 2012, while Nintendo DS was released in 2004, with 3DS coming 7 years later in 2011. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/e3-nintendo-direct-in-june-reportedly-delayed"] This doesn't necessarily discount an upgraded model of Switch arriving during that time - several Nintendo consoles have seen updates during their life cycle, and we've already seen Switch Lite - but we know that there are no plans for a rumoured Switch Pro model in 2020. This news isn't a huge surprise - Switch and its software continues to sell well, with April seeing new records broken for hardware sales, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons selling over 11 million copies in 11 days. It's been enough for EA - which once said its players don't want games on Switch - to announce that it will release multiple games for the console this year. In January, Nintendo explained: "we believe it is important to continue to communicate the appeal of both Nintendo Switch systems and expand the installed base." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

The Nintendo Switch is apparently "barely in the middle" of its life cycle, according to reports from Nintendo's latest investor Q&A. That fact was reported by investment advisor David Gibson, who attended the Q&A following Nintendo's latest earnings report and explained that Nintendo representatives had said it was, "Barely in the middle of the switch cycle, no change to that view." The Nintendo Switch is just over three years old, which would put the expected end of its life cycle at around 2023 at least. That thinking matches up with Nintendo's other recent successes - Nintendo Wii was released in 2006 and followed by Wii U in 2012, while Nintendo DS was released in 2004, with 3DS coming 7 years later in 2011. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/e3-nintendo-direct-in-june-reportedly-delayed"] This doesn't necessarily discount an upgraded model of Switch arriving during that time - several Nintendo consoles have seen updates during their life cycle, and we've already seen Switch Lite - but we know that there are no plans for a rumoured Switch Pro model in 2020. This news isn't a huge surprise - Switch and its software continues to sell well, with April seeing new records broken for hardware sales, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons selling over 11 million copies in 11 days. It's been enough for EA - which once said its players don't want games on Switch - to announce that it will release multiple games for the console this year. In January, Nintendo explained: "we believe it is important to continue to communicate the appeal of both Nintendo Switch systems and expand the installed base." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be shorter and smaller than some other Assassin's Creed games, to address criticism that Assassin's Creed Odyssey was somewhat bloated. The move was revealed by Ubisoft Middle East head of communications, Malek Teffaha on Twitter (as translated by VG247 and confirmed by IGN): “FYI, it won’t be the longest or biggest game in the series. They addressed criticism on this one." While Odyssey's epic scale and 60 hour+ length were appreciated by many, there was mention of the amount of less meaningful content and long travel times between major moments. In our mostly glowing review, we did single that out for criticism: "Oftentimes the payoff of a major character reveal was dulled because I had to spend six hours chasing my tail through half the Greek world to reach it." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-first-screenshots&captions=true"] This by no means indicates that Valhalla will be a straightforwardly small game, though - creative director Ashraf Ismail previously told us that the game would feature a Norway region as well as four English kingdoms, making up "quite a large chunk of England" in total. Hopefully, this move will mean a more densely packed game - it certainly sounds like there's a fair bit to do, from building a Viking settlement to fishing, hunting and, er, historically accurate Viking rap battles. We're due to see the first gameplay trailer for Valhalla in today's Inside Xbox broadcast for third-party games - here's how you can watch it live. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

Andy Serkis is set to embark on an unexpected journey on Friday morning, as he has announced that he is hosting a continuous live reading of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to raise money for charity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Taking to Twitter, the actor, who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies, invited fans to tune in for the "armchair marathon" across Middle Earth, which is expected to take approx. 12 hours from start to finish.

I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written. Join me for a 12-hour armchair marathon reading of “The Hobbit”, in aid of two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need@NHSuk @bestbeginnings #hobbitathon pic.twitter.com/q8qIO3diPT

— Andy Serkis (@andyserkis) May 7, 2020

The Hobbitathon will start at 10:00 AM GMT (5:00 AM EST, 2:00 AM PST) on Friday, May 8th. The link to the live stream will be posted on the official GoFundMe page for the event, which is in aid of NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/12/22/ranking-peter-jacksons-lord-of-the-rings-and-hobbit-movies"] "So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown," Serkis said in a video accompanying the announcement. "While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12-hour armchair marathon across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need." This campaign comes shortly after celebrities signed up to collaboratively read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first of J.K. Rowling's beloved fantasy book series. Daniel Radcliffe launched the project by reading the first chapter of the book as part of the next phase of the Harry Potter At Home initiative, run by J.K. Rowling and the Wizarding World team of magic makers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] For more lockdown entertainment offerings, check out John Krasinski's YouTube series "dedicated entirely to good news", listen to Seth MacFarlane's podcast hosted by Family Guy's Stewie and Brian, watch Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who give an "emergency transmission", and tune in for Sir Patrick Stewart's daily sonnet readings. More importantly, for a list of recommendations on how best to help, and stay safe, during the coronavirus pandemic, please read our resource guide. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Microsoft has revealed a new badge that will be used to indicate games that have been optimised for Xbox Series X.

Every game you’ll see on #InsideXbox tomorrow will be Xbox Series X Optimized. Spoilers, you’re going to see this badge a lot.

You ready? We’re ready. pic.twitter.com/pzSJmUvNUp — Xbox (@Xbox) May 7, 2020

The official Xbox Twitter account posted an image of the bright green badge, stating that “Every game you’ll see on Inside Xbox tomorrow will be Xbox Seires X Optimized. Spoilers, you’re going to see this badge a lot.” The tweet suggests that many developers have specifically optimised their games to make the most of the Xbox Series X’s 12 teraflops of computing power. We’ll likely see the logo on-screen with each of the new gameplay trailers in the next Inside Xbox presentation and further Xbox 20/20 shows this summer, although I’m also hoping for the ‘World Premiere’ voice to have an ‘Optimised for Series X’ line, too. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/phil-spencer-talks-about-his-vision-for-consoles-beyond-xbox-series-x-ign-news"] For more on Xbox, check out why Phil Spencer believes next-gen will “dramatically” change the feel of games, and our breakdown of the tech inside the Xbox Series X. And for more games, Xbox has joined IGN’s Summer of Gaming event, and will be bringing new game information in June. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.