Black Myth: Wukong - an action-RPG based on classic Chinese tale Journey to the West - has been announced for consoles and PC alongside an impressive 13 minute gameplay video. That video is getting some sections of the internet very excited indeed. Developed by Game Science, Black Myth appears to be taking soulslike approach to gameplay, but with a vibrant environmental art style (created in Unreal Engine 4), and a neat stealth mechanic in which you turn into a cicada to avoid bigger threats. You can check out 13 minutes of pre-alpha gameplay below, including exploration, combat, stealth, boss battles, a montage of different environments, and a giant battle thrown in for good measure: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/20/black-myth-wu-kong-official-13-minutes-gameplay-trailer"] It's safe to say the first impressions have been very good, with the gameplay flying up the r/games subreddit, and comments almost universally positive. "This looks awesome", said Reddit user xg4m3CYT. "The game came out of nowhere, is made by an indie studio, and completely swiped the floor with most of the announced AAA games." For a measure of quite how well this is going down, the gameplay - which was uploaded today - has already had over 4.6 million views on Chinese video streaming website BiliBili alone. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-myth-wukong-11-screenshots&captions=true"] No release date's been given, and with good reason - Game Science explains that the team is currently very small, and is using the early announcement to attract new talent to the studio to help build the final version. An FAQ on the game's website explains that "it shouldn't take 500 years", but that the game will only be released when the studio is satisfied by the end product. It seems likely, then, that this will be a game aiming for next-gen platforms. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and that little bit of gameplay where this started to look like next-gen Dynasty Warriors made him yelp. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Just in time for the debut of the new movie, the Eternals will be back at the forefront of Marvel's comic book universe. The publisher has just revealed a new ongoing Eternals series set to kick off in November 2020. Eternals boasts quite an impressive creative team. Writer Kieron Gillen (Star Wars: Darth Vader, Journey Into Mystery) is returning to Marvel to helm the series alongside Secret Wars and King Thor artist Esad Ribic and The Mighty Thor colorist Matthew Wilson. Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins. Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized. "I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-are-the-villains-kro-and-arishem-the-judge-from-marvels-eternals&captions=true"] Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!" Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs. For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Just in time for the debut of the new movie, the Eternals will be back at the forefront of Marvel's comic book universe. The publisher has just revealed a new ongoing Eternals series set to kick off in November 2020. Eternals boasts quite an impressive creative team. Writer Kieron Gillen (Star Wars: Darth Vader, Journey Into Mystery) is returning to Marvel to helm the series alongside Secret Wars and King Thor artist Esad Ribic and The Mighty Thor colorist Matthew Wilson. Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins. Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized. "I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-are-the-villains-kro-and-arishem-the-judge-from-marvels-eternals&captions=true"] Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!" Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs. For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Halo Infinite's developer 343 Industries has shot down some of the claims of a report that surfaced earlier alleging development woes for the now-delayed next Halo entry. In a statement provided to IGN by a 343 Industries spokesperson, the Halo Infinite developer refuted the claim in a report that the Halo TV show in the works at Showtime distracted the developer's leadership and had a major impact on Infinite's development. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/halo-infinite-delayed-to-2021"] The spokesperson labeled Infinite and the TV show as "completely independent projects" whose development did not impact one another or prove a "distraction," as the original reports sources claimed. "343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of the Halo TV show. This group is separate from the Halo Infinite development team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another," the spokesperson said in a statement to IGN. A source speaking anonymously to Thurott for the original report claimed the show was "taking their priority instead of focusing on making sure development progress is on the right path to reaching its targeted deadline." While 343's response rebukes this claim, the spokesperson did not speak to the report's claim that "a significant portion of the game is being outsourced to third-party contractors," which the report described as a source of some of Halo Infinite's alleged development problems. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20098018&captions=true"] Halo Infinite had its first proper unveiling at E3 2019, with an extended cutscene teasing Master Chief's next adventure. But after a recent gameplay showcase that was met with some blowback by viewers for perceived technical limitations, 343 and Xbox announced Halo Infinite would be delayed into 2021 and miss the Xbox Series X launch. For more on Halo Infinite, check out this episode of Next-Gen Console Watch 2020 where the team dig into the Halo Infinite delay, wondering how the Xbox Series X can compete without its flagship launch exclusive. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond!.

The spread of COVID-19 has forced numerous physical gaming events like E3 and PAX, as well as esports tournaments like Overwatch League, to go entirely virtual. While larger companies adapted quickly, smaller games businesses don’t necessarily have the resources to pivot as rapidly. However, this hasn’t stopped the movement of hosting gaming events in virtual spaces and making the content available for everyone. Still, many have made the effort to offer their virtual spaces to as many as possible, including The Game Gym – a community esports team and training center. The Game Gym’s Josh Hafkin and Evan Shubin spoke to IGN about how they’ve reacted to the pandemic and adjusted their locally owned and operated business to fit the current times. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] The Game Gym is located in Rockville, Maryland. Josh Hafkin, the founder and CEO, grew up playing both games and sports equally. He had the idea to form The Game Gym to fuse his love of sports and gaming when esports started to take off. Hafkin wanted to help create a place that serves as a community center to connect parents and their kids through an understanding of what gaming is, as well as a dojo that educates kids on cyberbullying, health and nutrition, and video game development. The Game Gym offers memberships for kids that teaches them to make healthy lifestyle choices by balancing gaming with other activities, provide insight on game design, and much more. Hafkin realized how few local opportunities there were at the community level for kids to get involved in esports and esports training in general and he wanted to bridge that gap. His sports experience gave him confidence in serving as a knowledgable coach to kids who were interested in learning more about gaming opportunities and how to improve their own skills. Since The Game Gym operates as a local club where kids and their families can come by in person and participate in numerous activities, including in-house tournaments, gaming in their private training rooms, and sitting in on presentations from guest gaming industry professionals – the impact of COVID-19 has caused some major changes to its community. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/11/e3-officially-canceled-over-coronavirus-concerns-ign-news"] Usually the memberships offered at The Game Gym included unlimited Gym access during open hours and access to classes and gaming tournaments that could be hosted in-house. Now, the staff has created a new system of online camp classes to supplement what would’ve been the summer camp program. Even with the unexpected hurdle of adjusting to stay-at-home life, The Game Gym has planned an entire special weekend of content to celebrate esports and the gaming community. This event, The DMV’s End of Summer Bash, goes live on August 21 and will run until August 23. The event will have educational and entertainment panels throughout the weekend and host different gaming tournaments. The goal is to raise $25,000 for Extra Life, which supports the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Evan Shubin, the chief operating officer of The Game Gym, told IGN he’d first been a part of The Game Gym as a customer when his two sons introduced him to the world of gaming. About four years ago, Shubin believed gaming was a “waste of time” and got in the way of his children's schoolwork. But when his son, Samuel, advocated for the game League of Legends and explained how its strategy-based gameplay actually taught him skills, Shubin realized there was a lot of technique and leadership involved – which was first step for him to realize gaming could offer much more than he thought. Shubin saw how big gaming could be for his son’s future when Ohio State introduced an esports program and its own arena, so he jumped on board with Hafkin to help operate The Game Gym’s vision. When asked about his experience educating parents on the topic of gaming and the possibilities of gaming extending beyond just a hobby and becoming a career, Hafkin said he acts as a translator between the kid and their parents. He helps bridge the gap between the two to help understand the different worlds. “A part of the issue that we’ve discovered is that the reason why we have so many issues is that no one is guiding our kids through their gaming process,” Hafkin said. “There are no coaches. Like, imagine if we taught football the way we teach gaming, which is essentially like watch a YouTube video then go do it.” Hafkin wants to foster coaching and help kids to game better and smarter while also helping parents understand the importance of being there to guide the process and encourage them. The End of Summer Game Bash is a free event that anyone can watch on The Game Gym’s Twitch channel, and it will include interview panels, presentations from esports players and team managers, and entertainment panels from content creators. Anyone is able to enter the tournaments – they are not closed off to non-Game Gym members. Donations can be made during the livestream to directly fund Extra Life, and the fees required to enter the tournaments will all go toward the charity fundraising goal. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Stella Chung is a video producer at IGN. Author’s note: Stella Chung will be involved in a panel for The Game Gym’s End of Summer Bash, live on the show on Saturday August 22 at 11:15 am ET/8:15 am PT. The event runs from August 21-23 and will have tournaments running for various games each evening that those interested can sign up for at the official website.

The next Call of Duty game is officially titled Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. As previously reported, the setting for the next Call of Duty will take place during the 20th century, geopolitical conflict between the United States and the USSR. Call of Duty posted an unlisted trailer that's short of gameplay but shows real video footage from the Cold War era of history. All the while using a voiceover from KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov as he explains the tools of fighting a cold war. You can watch the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/19/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-teaser-trailer"] The trailer ends with the title reveal for Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War is being developed by both Treyarch and Raven. It was previously reported that this year's Call of Duty game would be set during the Cold War. Activision has only recently started teasing a new Call of Duty game despite repeatedly assuring the community that a new shooter was going to be released in 2020. In August, Activision began sending out mysterious slideshow projectors that led the community on an alternate reality game that eventually uncovered a mysterious website that played news clips from the 1960s. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] The time period of the news clips seemingly confirmed the Cold War setting, and today's trailer officially confirmed the months-long rumors. Activision also embedded teasers for Black Ops Cold War into Call of Duty: Warzone. The company confirmed that Cold War will include the popular free-to-play Warzone mode as well. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

While The Batman is one of many Hollywood productions forced into hiatus by the COVID-19 pandemic, it won't be long before the cameras start rolling again. Variety reports the DC movie is expected to resume production in London in September. This good news comes a little more than a month after The Batman, Mission: Impossible 7 and several other Hollywood projects were cleared to resume shooting by the UK government. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-batman-how-robert-pattinsons-batsuit-draws-from-the-past&captions=true"] Variety notes director Matt Reeves completed seven weeks of filming before the shutdown, leaving roughly three months of shooting left to go. Bearing that in mind, it's little surprise Warner Bros. opted to delay The Batman's release date from June 25, 2021 to October 1, 2021. Even if things remain on schedule from here on out, principal photography on The Batman won't wrap until late 2020. While the September timeline could still shift depending on the state of the health crisis in the UK and current safety guidelines, crew members have reportedly already begun building sets in London. Variety also points out filming has already resumed on The Matrix 4 in Berlin, which looks to be a positive sign for The Batman. Apart from The Batman and the Mission: Impossible sequels, other major film productions that were originally halted in the UK include the third Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them installment, Disney's live-action retelling of The Little Mermaid, and Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion, which resumed filming at Pinewood Studios in July after an almost four-month hiatus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/19/batman-year-one-the-r-rated-reboot-that-almost-was-ft-frank-miller"] Despite teasingly claiming he was "just barely doing anything" for his physical training, The Batman star Robert Pattinson recently revealed his intensive workout and diet regimen. Bat-fans should expect to see the first footage from The Batman quite soon. Warner Bros. revealed the July 31 release of Tenet will include previews for upcoming Warners films, which could very well include The Batman since Pattinson stars in both films. Warners also announced their Comic-Con-style virtual event DC FanDome, which takes place August 22, will includes panels and footage from a number of upcoming DC movies, including The Batman. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Disney+ in September includes the much-anticipated release of Mulan on September 4. Mulan will forego its theatrical release in favor of debuting on Disney+ for a premium fee of $29.99. And as long as you have a Disney+ subscription, you'll be able to watch Mulan as many times as you want after you pay the purchase price. This exciting news was revealed in a recent investor call, which also revealed that the streamer has surpassed 60.5 million subscribers. On the TV front, all sevens seasons of ABC's Once Upon a Time will make its way to Disney+ on September 18. Also premiering on September 18 is a new series from executive producer and NBA star LeBron James, titled Becoming. According to Disney+, Becoming "chronicles the inspirational life stories of world-class entertainers, musicians, and athletes. Each episode follows a different celebrity back to their hometown as they revisit memorable locations that were central to their upbringing." Read on to see the full list of shows and movies coming to Disney+ in September: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/02/mulan-official-final-trailer"]

Friday, September 4

• Ancient China from Above (Season 1)
• D2: The Mighty Ducks
• D3: The Mighty Ducks
• Never Been Kissed
• Strange Magic
• Trick or Treat
• The Wolverine
• Mulan
• Earth to Ned
• One Day At Disney: Episode 140 - “Alice Taylor: Studiolab”
• Muppets Now: Episode 106 - “Socialized”
• Pixar In Real Life: Episode 111 - “Coco: Abuelita Says No Music”
• Weird But True: Episode 304 - “Germs”

Friday, September 11

• Christopher Robin
• One Day At Disney: Episode 141 - “Amanda Lauder: Chef Chocolatier”
• Weird But True: Episode 305 - “Photography”

Friday, September 18

• Bend it Like Beckham
• Coop & Cami Ask the World (Season 2)
• Europe from Above (Season 1)
• Ever After: A Cinderella Story
• Kingdom of the Mummies (Season 1)
• Marvel Super Hero Adventures (Season 4)
• Notre Dame: Race Against the Inferno
• Once Upon a Time (Seasons 1-7)
• Soy Luna (Seasons 2-3)
• Violetta (Season 3)
• Wicked Tuna (Season 9)
• Becoming: All Episodes Available
• One Day At Disney: Episode 142 - “Dr. Natalie Mylniczenko: Veterinarian”
• Weird But True: Episode 306 - “Trains"

Friday, September 25

• Fancy Nancy: Fancy it Yourself (Season 2)
• The Giant Robber Crab
• Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (Season 2)
• Muppet Babies (Season 2)
• Oceans
• Port Protection: Alaska (Season 3)
• Sydney to the Max (Season 2)
• Wild Central America (Season 1)
• X-Ray Earth (Season 1)
• Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom
• Secret Society of Second-Born Royals
• One Day At Disney: Episode 143 - “Ashley Girdich: R&D Imagineer Manager”
• Weird But True: Episode 307 - “Venomous Animals”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/12/20-actors-who-were-almost-x-men"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Update: Rocksteady has published a new statement direct from the company, rather than a new letter drafted by its female employees. In it, Rocksteady says it worked to tackle the issues raised in the 2018 letter that alleged Rocksteady did nothing about its sexist work place. "In response to the initial communication, we met with all our female staff, we listened, and we dealt with the issues raised. All formal complaints were thoroughly investigated, addressed appropriately, and a number of serious measures were taken in response to the issues that were surfaced, including discipline or termination of staff." As a follow-up, Rocksteady says it will work with an independent, third-party to speak with all employees at Rocksteady who wish to speak up about the company's culture.

Here is our statement: pic.twitter.com/ssyzNWfyhB

— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 21, 2020

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Rocksteady Studios, the London-based video game developer behind the Batman Arkham series and the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, has come under fire after the revelation the company allegedly did not take action when presented with stories of sexual harassment within the company. The Guardian published a report regarding a letter signed by over half of Rocksteady’s women employees back in November 2018 that claimed, among other things, of sexual harassment experienced in the workplace. The letter, signed by 10 of the company’s 16 women employees at the time, raised issues about the workplace that included “slurs regarding the transgendered community” and “discussing a woman in a derogatory or sexual manner with other colleagues,” as well as “unwanted advances, leering at parts of a woman’s body, and inappropriate comments in the office.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/22/rocksteady-reportedly-working-on-a-suicide-squad-game"] The Guardian's anonymous source, who signed the letter in 2018, claims that the letter was kept private from the rest of the company and resulted only in a single training seminar on sexual harassment in the workplace. The source alleges Rocksteady still has issues of sexism and harassment from the workplace. Since the publication of The Guardian’s report, Kim MacAskill, former senior scriptwriter for the upcoming Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, came forward with her account of working at Rocksteady. In her 13-minute video, MacAskill says that 97 percent of the employees at Rocksteady were supportive of her as a woman and developer. “It’s just so unfortunate that because one or two people weren’t so good that this happens and it happened because the company is so inept to limit this stuff,” she said. MacAskill delves into the time when she gathered Rocksteady’s female employees, save for those who worked in Human Resources (HR), to discuss their experiences with sexual harassment at the workplace. MacAskill says all but one of the women she spoke to claimed to have experienced some form of harassment at Rocksteady. MacAskill also alleges HR failed to appropriately handle the allegations. Following these allegations, Rocksteady has remained mostly silent on the matter. The company says it’s working on a response to the news but, in the meantime, shared a letter on the company’s official Twitter account, which it claims is a voluntary response from 7 of the ten signatories of the original 2018 letter. This new letter claims that “immediate action was taken” to address matters of sexual harassment at Rocksteady and that the original 2018 letter sent to The Guardian was done so without their consent.

While working on our response to the recent news, we received the following unsolicited letter. pic.twitter.com/sozmsp6u3C

— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 19, 2020

The allegations surfaced just as Rocksteady is about to reveal its latest game, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, at the upcoming DC Fandome. This is the studio’s first game since releasing Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015 and Batman: Arkham VR in 2016. IGN has reached out to Rocksteady regarding the report and allegations. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Microsoft unveiled an extensive look at the new Xbox user interface, which is designed to provide a cohesive experience for players across a variety of devices, including Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, and Android devices via cloud gaming. The overall layout should be familiar to longtime Xbox players, but with a faster, more focused design. Take a look at the UI in the gallery and video below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-series-x-user-interface&captions=true"] Microsoft says that the home screen will load more than 50% faster when booting up the system, and around 30% faster when returning from a game. The improvements also cut down on memory usage considerably – around 40% Microsoft says. Other improvements include the consolidation of Parties and Chat into a single tab to streamline communication and make it easier to track what's going on with your friends. One key aspect mentioned is how the system will connect to mobile devices using a new Xbox mobile app. When you capture a gameplay clip, for example, it will automatically be sent to the mobile app, making it easy to then share to your social media of choice. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/19/next-gen-xbox-ui-features-detailed-coming-to-series-x-and-xbox-one"] Microsoft says these new features – like an update to the Microsoft Store – will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, with the major overhaul coinciding with the Xbox Series X launch in November.