Monthly Archives: January 2022

MLB: The Show Is Coming to Nintendo Switch

MLB: The Show 22 is coming to Nintendo Switch, and will feature cross-save, cross-play, and cross-progression across all consoles.

Announced during a reveal event, the Sony first-party game will now be playable on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Switch. You'll be able to play and carry save data across all platforms by creating an MLB: The Show account. The game will once again hit Xbox Game Pass on launch day.

MLB: The Show arrived on Xbox for the first time last year, after MLB itself asked Sony San Diego to make the series multiplatform. This year's edition marks the first time the series has come to a Nintendo platform, and is the first portable version of the game since MLB: The Show on Vita in 2015.

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels will be the cover athlete on the standard edition of this year's game. Collector's editions of the game will feature a different star, who is yet to be revealed.

The game is available to pre-order now, and will be released on April 5, 2022.

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.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Is Reportedly Being Made By 11 Different Studios

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

The rumoured Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – expected to be the franchise's 2022 release – has reportedly entered an early alpha stage, with the game apparently being developed by 11 different studios.

Activison Blizzard has yet to confirm that a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare will be released this year but several reports from September indicate this will be the case.

According to industry insider Tom Henderson, who first reported on Modern Warfare 2's existence, three Infinity Ward studios are working on the game alongside Treyarch, Activision, Raven, Sledgehammer, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Toys for Bob, and Beenox.

In a YouTube video (spotted by Dualshockers), Henderson said: "[The large number of studios involved] shouldn't be a massive cause for concern as the majority of these studios have had some involvement in the past couple of years for every single Call of Duty title. From everything that I've heard in regards to Modern Warfare 2 everything is running smoothly.

"A few developers even referred to the Modern Warfare 's current build as being in alpha. By all of my own accounts I think this is the earliest I have heard a Call of Duty title being in its alpha stage."

Henderson also said he's seen Modern Warfare 2 footage and "the game did look really well [into] its development stage."

The game will reportedly include a campaign featuring U.S. special forces fighting Colombian drug cartels and is internally codenamed Project Cortez.

IGN called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare "great", saying its "varied gameplay modes and excellent gunplay suggest the series is headed in a promising direction." The game also did well commercially, breaking multiple sales records when it released.

The upcoming release, if official, is not to be confused with the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that released in 2009 and was remastered in 2020. Infinity Ward's 2019 Call of Duty rebooted the Modern Warfare franchise and the studio is at the helm again as per the franchise's three-year development cycle.

After news that Xbox plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, Call of Duty's 2022 entry would presumably bew one of the reported three entries in the series to be released as multiplatform games, after which Xbox could make the series a first-party exclusive. The timescale for that could be longer than expected, with reports that Activision may ditch annual releases of the series.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale

The Original Voice of Solid Snake Is Creating an American McGee’s Alice TV Show

American McGee’s Alice is getting its very own TV show, and it's being created by David Hayter, writer of the original X-Men movie, and voice of Solid Snake.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hayter will write and showrun the upcoming video game adaptation, bringing the classic twisted Alice in Wonderland video game to TV.

“The American McGee’s Alice and Alice: Madness Returns game series is a ground-breaking reimagining of the classic tale,” said Hayter. “It takes you into the heart of a corrupted Wonderland and throws light into shadowy corners the world has never seen. I am beyond excited to bring this world of madness and wonder to a global audience.”

American McGee’s Alice was originally released in 2000 and told the story of Alice, a psychiatric patient traumatised by the death of her family who retreats into the fictional world of Wonderland.

IGN’s own review said: “Alice impresses and keeps impressing. It's really rare that you play a game that's just so consistently brilliant, and never falls to the "first level punch" only to peter out as you get more than halfway through the game. Alice will suck you in, and keep you interested through its entire elaborate journey.” The game was followed up with a sequel, Alice: Madness Returns in 2011.

As for the upcoming TV show, no broadcaster has been set just yet, but the show will be produced in partnership with Abandon Entertainment.

“David Hayter brings imagination, experience, and stealth sneaking skills gained through successful missions in film, TV, and video games – a unique combination sure to make this adventure into Wonderland a successful one for the franchise and the fans,” said series creator McGee. “I am excited to be working with him and know the Alice fans will welcome him with mad affection.”

Hayter himself is best known as the original voice of Solid Snake in the English language version of Metal Gear Solid. However, he has a history in screenwriting, penning the original X-Men movie, co-writing X2, and an early version of the Watchmen movie.

American McGee’s Alice was once tapped to head to the big screen, but development of the project faltered after a few years.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Elden Ring Director Thinks George R.R. Martin Might Be ‘Shocked’ By What He’s Done to His Characters

Elden Ring Hidetaka Miyazaki says that George R.R. Martin may be shocked with what he has done with a number of the characters that the Game of Thrones writer created for the game.

During a recent interview with Game Informer, Miyazaki spoke further about the mythological lore that Martin had created for Elden Ring, which sets up the world before its catastrophic Shattering event.

In explaining that the writer had conjured up a number of human characters for the game, Miyazaki then went on to state that the writer may be surprised to see what inhuman monsters From Software has created from the back of his initial concepts.

“When Martin wrote these characters, and when he provided that origin story, that mythos for the world of Elden Ring, these demigods were much closer to their original form, and maybe closer to human form back then, before the Shattering, before it all started," explains Miyazaki in the interview.

The Shattering is an event in Elden Ring's pre-game history. The game's location, The Lands Between, was once a kingdom blessed by the titular ring, and the Erdtree at its centre. However, a war known as The Shattering saw the ring broken, and the land's inhabitants transformed.

"So it was more up to us to interpret this and say, ‘how did they become such inhuman monsters," continued Miyazaki. "And how did the mad taint of the shattered shards of the Elden Ring and its power affect them?’ So that was our job to take these grand heroes and sort of misshape them and distort them into something they were not.”

“And I think if we get a chance to show Martin and if he gets a chance to see the game and see these characters, I think he might be a bit shocked. When he wrote them, he was really envisioning something a little bit more human, a little bit more traditional human drama and fantasy characters. So I hope he gets a kick out of that.”

Last week, From Software finally announced that Elden Ring has 'gone gold' prior to its upcoming February 25 release date. As part of a recent interview during the Taipei Game Show, Elden Ring producer Yasuhiro Kitao recently delved a little further into what fans can expect in terms of the game's length and replay value.

According to Kitao, fans should expect to be able to complete the game's main set of quests in around 30 hours. That being said, the producer did note that Elden Ring includes a New Game Plus option as well as dozens of additional hours of content that hardened players can sink their teeth into.

For more on Elden Ring, make sure to check out this article detailing how Hidetaka Miyazaki believes that more people will finish the game than other From Software titles, despite also stating that he doesn't necessarily think the game is any easier.

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

Witcher’s Gwent Getting a New Single-Player Standalone Game Later This Year – Exclusive

IGN can reveal that The Witcher's Gwent is becoming a new, single-player, standalone game, codenamed Project Golden Nekker and set to launch in 2022.

Project Golden Nekker is currently in development within CD Projekt Red’s Gwent team and aims to provide a “captivating single-player experience” different to previous versions of the digital card game.

Project Golden Nekker will be a completely standalone game, and won’t require players to own any other versions of Gwent to get the full experience.

Gwent was a fan-favourite minigame included in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but evolved into a standalone multiplayer game in 201. In turn, Gwent got its own spin-off two years later with the excellent The Witcher Tales: Thronebreaker.

Project Golden Nekker will be something else entirely according to Gwent Comms Lead Paweł Burza: “It’s not another Witcher Tales [game] but something different,” he said. “We’re aiming to provide a captivating single-player for players who prefer it over competitive multiplayer Gwent.”

Although this is the first time we've learned that it's an entirely new game, CD Projekt Red has been quietly teasing the project for several months, dropping hints on Gwent streams and community podcasts.

In a developer update streamed during Gwent World Masters #3 in December – the game’s esports finals – Game Director Vladimir Tortsov said an official reveal for the game is coming soon.

He said: “We want to announce stuff that we’re working on when the time is right," continuing, “I’m really excited about this project coming together and I hope you like it as much as I do.”

Tortsov also revealed new concept art for the game to go alongside the handful of images already teased, all of which can be viewed in the gallery above, along with a new image of “The Barbarian” that IGN can reveal for the first time.

Four of the images – The Barbarian, The Golden Nekker, Living Fire, and Fire Elemental – are in the style of Gwent cards, meaning this could be a first look at some of the playable units in Project Golden Nekker. The other two appear to be environment art of some kind, featuring a library (with a lurking Golden Nekker), and a marketplace.

When The Witcher Tales: Thronebreaker released, new cards in the standalone game were also added to the multiplayer version of Gwent, meaning these new cards will likely be added to that game as well.

The 2022 Gwent roadmap has already revealed that new cards are due to be released in April, July, October, and December, and every Witcher game has been released in either May or October in the past.

This means that, assuming the cards appear in Gwent: The Witcher Card Game alongside the new standalone game, it’s very possible that Project Golden Nekker will release in October 2022.

Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance writer for IGN.

Gran Turismo 7 State of Play Broadcast Coming This Week

PlayStation has announced that it will broadcast a Gran Turismo 7 State of Play on Wednesday, February 2.

The event will be shown on Twitch and YouTube, starting at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 10pm UK (that's February 3 at 9am AEDT).

Sony says the broadcast will include "30 minutes of new PS5 footage and gameplay details," and adds that it will cover modes and features in the upcoming driving simulator.

After a delay, Gran Turismo 7 will be released for PS5 and PS4 on March 4, 2022.

Creator Kazunori Yamauchi says the game will be "a title that connects the past to the present and to the future", aiming to bring together 25 years of the series' history into a single game. The game will feature returning features (the used car dealership, variable time and weather) and tracks (High Speed Ring and Trial Mountain) alongside its new inclusions.

It will also include a controversial always-online connection, but Yamauchi says that's to prevent cheating and allow for livery data to work properly.

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.

Halo TV Series Release Date and Official Trailer Revealed

Update (1/30/22) - The official trailer for the Halo TV series has been released ahead of its March 24, 2022, premiere date on Paramount+.

In the trailer, which you can see below, we catch a glimpse of not only Pablo Schreiber's Master Chief, but also our best look yet at the show's version of Jen Taylor's Cortana. Additionally, we see many of the Covenant enemies Chief and friends will be facing off against, including the Elites (Sangheili), Brutes (Jiralhanae), Jackals (Kig-Yar), and more.

Fans of the series will also notice an Energy Sword, what appears to be a Plasma Pistol, a Warthog, a Pelican, and more.

The original story follows.

Ahead of the reveal of its official trailer, the Halo TV series has been given a premiere date of March 24, 2022.

The announcement came as part of a teaser for the trailer that will air during the AFC Championship Game that will see the Cincinnati Bengals facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

The premiere date can be heard around 0:53 and follows footage of both Master Chief and his fellow Spartans alongside clips of Chiefs and Bengals players.

Our first look at the Halo TV series was given at the Game Awards 2021, and we saw for the first time Pablo Schreiber's Master Chief in action. This show has been in development for some time now, but we only have a short time to wait to see its story unfold.

Speaking of which, the show's story will be separate from the games' canon. Despite that Jen Taylor will make the jump from games to the TV screen to once again voice the AI known as Cortana. Schreiber and Taylor will be joined by Danny Sapani's Jacob Keyes, Olive Gray's Miranda Keyes, Charlie Murphy's Makee, Yerin Ha's Quan Ah, Natascha McElhone's Catherine Halsey, Bokeem Woodbine's Soren-066, and more.

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.

Halo TV Series Release Date and Official Trailer Revealed

Update (1/30/21) - The official trailer for the Halo TV series has been released ahead of its March 24, 2022, premiere date.

Ahead of the reveal of its official trailer, the Halo TV series has been given a premiere date of March 24, 2022.

The announcement came as part of a teaser for the trailer that will air during the AFC Championship Game that will see the Cincinnati Bengals facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

The premiere date can be heard around 0:53 and follows footage of both Master Chief and his fellow Spartans alongside clips of Chiefs and Bengals players.

Our first look at the Halo TV series was given at the Game Awards 2021, and we saw for the first time Pablo Schreiber's Master Chief in action. This show has been in development for some time now, but we only have a short time to wait to see its story unfold.

Speaking of which, the show's story will be separate from the games' canon. Despite that Jen Taylor will make the jump from games to the TV screen to once again voice the AI known as Cortana. Schreiber and Taylor will be joined by Danny Sapani's Jacob Keyes, Olive Gray's Miranda Keyes, Charlie Murphy's Makee, Yerin Ha's Quan Ah, Natascha McElhone's Catherine Halsey, Bokeem Woodbine's Soren-066, and more.

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.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Wins Its Sixth Domestic Weekend Box Office and Crosses $1 Billion Overseas

Not only has Spider-Man: No Way Home secured its sixth domestic weekend box office, but it has also become one of the rare films to cross $1 billion overseas.

As reported by Variety, Spider-Man: No Way Home added another $11 million to its domestic total and surpassed $735 million at the North American box office. While it still remains the fourth-highest grossing domestic release in history, it is currently $25 million away from passing Avatar's $760 million for third place.

No Way Home may very well pass Avatar at the domestic box office, but it still has a long way to go to topple its global first place spot with $2.8 billion. Despite that, No Way Home passed another impressive milestone and crossed the $1 billion mark overseas. It has also done so without the help of China, which just so happens to be "the world's biggest moviegoing market." In total, No Way Home has earned $1.74 billion globally and sits at the sixth-highest earning movie of all time at the worldwide box office.

Scream, which bested Spider-Man: No Way Home in its opening weekend, took second place with $7.3 million. This was a 40% drop week-over-week, but Scream continues to shoot past its production budget of $25 million as it now has earned $106.2 million globally.

Sing 2 placed third with $4.8 million, bringing its global tally to $134 million and continuing to raise its record as the highest-grossing animated film during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redeeming Love placed fourth with $1.85 million and The King's Man rounded out the top five with $1.8 million. The latest entry in the Kingsman franchise has also crossed $100 million globally.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in for a bit of competition next week as both Moonfall and Jackass Forever will be released in theaters on February 4, 2022.

For more on Spider-Man: No Way Home, read on as to how it was Andrew Garfield's idea to include this meme in the film, how the stars of the movie had a "Spider-Man therapy session" before filming the first scene, and check out the full script of the latest Spidey movie.

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.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Wins Its Sixth Domestic Weekend Box Office and Crosses $1 Billion Overseas

Not only has Spider-Man: No Way Home secured its sixth domestic weekend box office, but it has also become one of the rare films to cross $1 billion overseas.

As reported by Variety, Spider-Man: No Way Home added another $11 million to its domestic total and surpassed $735 million at the North American box office. While it still remains the fourth-highest grossing domestic release in history, it is currently $25 million away from passing Avatar's $760 million for third place.

No Way Home may very well pass Avatar at the domestic box office, but it still has a long way to go to topple its global first place spot with $2.8 billion. Despite that, No Way Home passed another impressive milestone and crossed the $1 billion mark overseas. It has also done so without the help of China, which just so happens to be "the world's biggest moviegoing market." In total, No Way Home has earned $1.74 billion globally and sits at the sixth-highest earning movie of all time at the worldwide box office.

Scream, which bested Spider-Man: No Way Home in its opening weekend, took second place with $7.3 million. This was a 40% drop week-over-week, but Scream continues to shoot past its production budget of $25 million as it now has earned $106.2 million globally.

Sing 2 placed third with $4.8 million, bringing its global tally to $134 million and continuing to raise its record as the highest-grossing animated film during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redeeming Love placed fourth with $1.85 million and The King's Man rounded out the top five with $1.8 million. The latest entry in the Kingsman franchise has also crossed $100 million globally.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in for a bit of competition next week as both Moonfall and Jackass Forever will be released in theaters on February 4, 2022.

For more on Spider-Man: No Way Home, read on as to how it was Andrew Garfield's idea to include this meme in the film, how the stars of the movie had a "Spider-Man therapy session" before filming the first scene, and check out the full script of the latest Spidey movie.

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.