For the uninitiated, Isekai refers to an anime or manga that primarily focuses on its main character being transported to another world, dimension, universe, what have you. In Sword Art Online, to use Koster's example, the main characters are trapped inside of a virtual reality video game while their real-life bodies are in a state of suspended consciousness. If they die in the game, they die in real life, and the only way out is to essentially beat the game.

Of course, vaguely similar ideas have been explored in other forms of media since at least the 1800s with books like The Wizard of Oz and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but Koster is obviously referring more to the relatively recent explosion of modern Isekai anime and manga.

Talking to GamesRadar+, Koster points to the Isekai boom as evidence that people are hungry for transportive virtual worlds.

"It's a fantasy of a more immersive parallel world, and players crave it, we think," Koster said. "Like, we see you. Look at, for example, all the Isekai anime, the Sword Art Onlines, and all of those. When you look at those, like the games that they show are not theme park games. They are immersive alternate realities, right?"

As someone who's made lifelong friends playing Ultima Online specifically, Koster is speaking straight to my soul here. I love the idea of a modern, more immersive, more interactive sandbox with the same depth to the social elements and open-ended PvP as Ultima Online. I don't know if that's what Koster is working to achieve with Stars Reach, but he's definitely taken notice of the popularity of another, wildly different game: Animal Crossing.

"When you look at the rise of all of these other sandboxy forms of gameplay done at smaller scale, it's super clear, right? I think you know, the way that something like Animal Crossing went really viral during COVID is indicative of that. So, yeah, bringing those things back into the context, we think there's a huge, huge appetite for it."

The nod to Animal Crossing might sound a little out of place at first, but I think in the context of the COVID pandemic, when people were desperate to escape a bleak reality and immerse themselves in a very different world, it does help to clarify what Koster is aiming for with Stars Reach.

Stars Reach will be the debut project from Koster's studio Playable Worlds, which he co-founded with fellow RPG veteran Eric Goldberg in 2019. The game, which is billed as a "sandbox science-fantasy MMO where you explore deeply simulated living worlds in a shardless galaxy", with "a fully player-driven economy full of peaceful ways to play." Basically, it sounds a lot like a modern sci-fi spin on Ultima Online, which I'm 100% down for. A release date has yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, for the first time in 28 years, the ancient MMO Tibia is adding a new class.

As spotted by Wario64, SteamDB was recently updated with a new listing for "Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2." The changelog goes back to early December of 2024 and has been updated as recently as this afternoon.

Now, this could either be some weirdly specific but meaningless update on Steam's backend, or more likely, it indicates a Neverwinter Nights 2 remaster is on its way to Steam at some point. It wouldn't be unprecedented; Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition launched on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile platforms back in 2018, so the same treatment for the sequel is actually a long time coming.

Neverwinter Nights 2 is based on the D&D 3.5 edition rules and its story is largely isolated from the first game in the series. If you've played Baldur's Gate 3 you'll be broadly familiar with the character creation process, companion system, die-rolling, RNG, and turn-based combat.

Only because I just brought up Baldur's Gate 3, it's worth noting that while generally very well-received, the Neverwinter Nights games don't have quite the same beloved legacy as the Baldur's Gate series. With that said, if you are a big fan of D&D-based RPGs and haven't played Neverwinter Nights or its sequel, they're still very much worth playing, particularly if the sequel does end up getting a remaster.

There's a reason Baldur's Gate 3 occupies the coveted top spot on our list of the best RPGs to play right now.

Yes, that's right: BioticNova defeated the ancient evil that is Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss Radahn twice simultaneously, with their attention torn between a PC monitor and a PS5 monitor, and their hands fluttering around two different controllers. I hardly made it out of my scrap with Miquella's consort, and I kept both of my – admittedly infirm and cowardly – hands tight around just one single controller. BioticNova's clearly capable of some next-level multitasking.

"I wasn't sure how we were gonna do Radahn," the streamer says modestly on Twitter, "but we did it!" In the accompanying clip, we see as BioticNova shifts their attention from one game to the other, seeming to only press a controller when their eyes are on the game it corresponds to. Using the Sword Lance and Blood Tax Ash of War, which helps trigger boss-melting bleed buildup, BioticNova ultimately slices through the two Radahns within 30 seconds of each other.

"Totally first try, guys," BioticNova says sarcastically during the three-hour stream. "That was rough. [...] I wish it was a little bit more smooth." Sorry, I didn't notice any issues – I was too distracted by the fact that you beat two copies of Shadow of the Erdtree at nearly the exact same time.

Now we know that BioticNova's ability to destroy Dark Souls 3 boss Pontiff Sulyvahn on, again, two different games simultaneously wasn't just luck like we thought in 2023, but also is an otherworldly skill that will no doubt make Nightreign matchmaking impossible.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta codes are finally being sent out, but many PS5 and Xbox Series X players are reporting the same issue – they've seemingly got access to the wrong platform

If you've played Battlefield 3, you'll no doubt remember the thrilling jet mission, which, I'll have you know, has an actual name. It's called Going Hunting, it's the fourth mission in the main campaign, and it puts you in the army boots of Lt. Jennifer "Wedge" Hawkins for a stunning airborne battle in the stormy skies of the Persian Gulf. It's arguably the most memorable mission from Battlefield 3 and one of the series' most celebrated gameplay sequences overall.

Things is, while you can use the jet's shooty things to take down enemies, you don't actually get to fly the plane, even though that was the original plan. In a tweet, Battlefield 3 lead designer David Goldfarb said technical limitations prevented DICE from implementing "free fly" in the mission.

"We did want to make this mission free fly initially, it just wouldn't have been possible to make the assets and stay at quality, plus lots of player education debate," he said. "We wound up going 'fuck it just make an awesome cinematic jet experience' but def wished freefly happened."

Goldfarb ended up leaving DICE in 2012 shortly after Battlefield 3's release. He was with Overkill for two years after that, where he directed Payday 2, and since 2014 he's been creative director at The Outsiders, the folks behind the Doom-inspired rhythm game Metal: Hellsinger.

If you're a fan of Battlefield 3, you'll be happy to know: Battlefield boss says the next game is ditching Specialists and returning to modern day because 3 and 4 were the "pinnacle of Battlefield."

"It's Johnny ******* Cage. Mortal Kombat II – coming soon only in theaters," the official Mortal Kombat 2 Twitter posted alongside a poster for a fake movie about Johnny Cage starring Karl Urban as the iconic video game character. "Uncaged Fury," the poster reads. "From the studio that brought you Rebel Without a Cage." You can check out the poster below.

Mortal Kombat 2, which serves as a follow-up to 2021's successful Mortal Kombat, is directed by Simon McQuoid from a screenplay penned by Jeremy Slater. The cast includes Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Lewis Tan as cole Young, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, and Tati Gabrielle as Jade.

Urban is arguably best known for his role as Billy Butcher in Amazon Prime's hit superhero satire series The Boys, in which he has starred in some 32 episodes and appeared in the spin-off Gen V. Johnny Cage was previously portrayed by Linden Ashby in the 1995 movie, Matt Mullins in the 2011 fan-made movie, and Casper Van Dien in the Machinima series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Mortal Kombat 2 hits theaters on October 24, 2025. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies, or, check out the ever-growing list of upcoming video game movies.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ about how much the devs watch or play the beta, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda says, "A lot," actually. Tokuda shares that the Wilds team spends a lot of time reviewing people's beta streams and videos to "see feedback that we can't really get internally" – something the chief designer of the Lance found useful especially.

Mind you, not all feedback gathering is done from afar. Tokuda says the devs play the beta for a closer look at how everyone gets on with the game.

"So on my own personal console, I took part in the beta," he shares. "You can't tell it's me from the username, but there are players out there who'd have no idea to this day that they were actually playing with the director of the game.

"I would go online and put an SOS flare up, and that would mean that a couple of players would join my party, and that gives me a chance to see – whenever staff play the game at the company together, there's a certain amount of 'we all know the game inside out' – getting a chance to see real players on how they react to the content is really important to me, to understand if it's working or not. That was a great opportunity for me as well."

It's not just Tokuda, either. Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto says he'll return to the beta "straight away" after finishing some travel to promote the game. You'd better keep those monster-hunting skills sharp, pals, as Capcom is watching.

In good news for Tokuda and us, then, Capcom is extending the next Monster Hunter Wilds open beta for an extra day as the "test period was cut short."

LA Strong: A Charity Comic for Victims of the Los Angeles Fires is edited by Mad Cave Studios EVP Mike Marts and editor Sarah Brunstad, and includes new work by Brian Michael Bendis, Jody Houser, and Jimmy Palmiotti to name just three from the packed line-up of creators involved. Here's everyone involved that we know about so far who has contributed to the new book:

• Barbara Kessel
• Brian Azzarello
• Brian Michael Bendis
• Christos Gage
• Dan DiDio
• Daniel Kibblesmith
• Frank Tieri
• Greg Pak
• Jimmy Palmiotti
• Jody Houser
• Marv Wolfman
• Paul Cornell
• Rob DenBleyker
• Sina Grace
• Stephanie Phillips
• Steve Orlando
• Alex Cormack
• Alison Sampson
• Amanda Conner
• Christian Ward
• Geraldo Borges
• Ian Churchill
• Michael Avon Oeming
• Nico Leon
• Rian Gonzales
• Salvador Larroca
• Sami Kivelä
• With more still to be revealed

Mad Cave is not the only publisher raising funds following the disaster. AWA Studios is also spearheading an initiative where fans can bid on pieces of original comics art donated by artists including Denys Cowan, Alison Sampson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Deodato Jr., and more. Signed comics and prints are also available. You can see what's on offer at the ARTISTS for LA fundraiser page. All proceeds from the sales will aid relief efforts through donations to the California Fire Foundation Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund and the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund.

LA Strong: A Charity Comic for Victims of the Los Angeles Fires is published by Mad Cave Studios on March 19, with all profits going towards relief efforts.

Mad Cave Studios is bringing classic manga Speed Racer back to comics.

Andrei "Meddler" van Roon and Paul "Pabro" Bellezza explain why the choice was made in a dev update, but it still hasn't gone over well with fans.

Meddler says Hexchests, which were part of a system that rewarded good plays and nice behavior with components you could use to unlock skins, were "A great player experience, but it was not sustainable for League in the long term."

Pabro adds, "Increasing the number of skins we can make each year was good for both the business and the player experience, but eventually we ran into meaningful diminishing returns."

So, the decision was made to remove Hextech chests entirely, meaning you have to spend money if you want new skins. This has been done to "ensure League remains a great, fully free-to-play game," but it's irritating nonetheless.

"Just wanted to mention how some of the best Rioters ever got tired of the company and left to make a superior game with a friendly monetization system and unique gameplay," writes one fan of Supervive in a quote tweet response to the dev update. "With league imploding, Supervive is worth your consideration! Give it a shot," writes another, sharing a video of a new Supervive patch that went live the day after League's dev update.

Supervive is a "MOBA battle royale meets hero shooter" that launched in November, 2024. However, despite this "play Supervive" campaign, its player count hasn't gone up by that much these past few days.

According to SteamDB, since February 7, where the concurrent player count was 2,921, it rose to a height of 3,875 on February 10. It's a respectable increase, but the game had just over 4,000 players on January 26.

The player count is fairly steady, consistently over 2,000, so if you do want to give it a go, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a match. It's a free-to-play early access game that you can download from Steam.

In the meantime, check out some of the best online games you can play right now.

Elden Ring Nightreign – FromSoftware's shiny new co-op spin-off to the brutal action RPG behemoth we all know and love – is set to launch later this year, but it's getting a network test later this week that'll give players the chance to check it out early. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S fans had to register before January 20 for a chance to be picked, and invites have been so in demand that some scalpers have tried reselling them for hundreds of dollars. Yikes.

Despite the fact that players could only pick between playing on PS5 or Xbox Series consoles – no PCs allowed, apparently, despite the fact that the game is set to launch on there too – reports on Twitter suggest that a lot of players are running into trouble trying to redeem their codes. Some PS5 users claim they've been sent Xbox codes, and vice versa – it's immediately easy to tell if something is up since the former are supposed to be 12 characters long, whereas the latter should be 25 characters.

"I received an Xbox code but it's too short. Xbox codes are meant to be 25 characters long and the one I received was 12," one Twitter user writes. "Same problem for me too… I registered for Xbox and the mail says platform: XBSX but the code is too short for Xbox," says another. "Same here. I received a 25-digit code but need a 12-digit code for my PS5," another chimes in.

At the time of writing, neither FromSoftware or publisher Bandai Namco has posted publicly to acknowledge the problem – hopefully those without suitable codes could be given an alternative, but at the time of writing, it's not clear if that's an option when access was limited in the first place. With the first three-hour network test session set to kick off on Friday 14 February, here's hoping something can be sorted out before then.

Elden Ring Nightreign's map will sometimes see "large-scale changes" to terrain including procedurally appearing volcanos, forests, and yes, swamps.

Timed to the latest trailer drop during the 2025 Super Bowl, Marvel Japan shared a new Thunderbolts* poster on social media, and fans think it finally offers a clue about the much-discussed asterisk.

In the poster, we see the main characters, including Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, placed inside a yellow asterisk. "Not super. Not heroes. Not giving up", reads the tagline. At the bottom, below the official title in Japanese and release date, we finally get the meaning behind the asterisk: "*The Avengers are not available".

In the latest Thunderbolts* trailer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine delivers a speech that connects with the meaning of the asterisk. "Let’s talk facts," she says in front of some kind of Congress hearing, "The Avengers are not coming. Who will keep the American people safe?".

The fact that the trailer and the revealing Japanese poster dropped almost at the same time indicates that Marvel is ready to fully disclose the meaning of the asterisk — and it's really not that deep.

It seems to be a humorous way to say that this new superhero group is a downgrade from the mighty Avengers, but they're still the only option available to protect humanity from the threat ahead. It would match the light tone of the movie, which has been compared to '80s teen classic The Breakfast Club.

Previous footage of the movie teased a potential name change for the group, which might explain the use of asterisk to indicate a temporary name. When Red Guardian screams passionately in one of the trailers, "we are the Thunderbolts!", Bucky shakes his head and says: "We can't call ourselves that."

Alas, despite the clue left by the new poster, the mystery remains until official confirmation.

Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2. For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and shows as well as all you need to know about watching the Marvel movies in order.

Dr. Doot has provided the internet with some of the most entertaining Elden Ring content around, including a hitless run of the game using only an electric saxophone and a boss speedrun that even saw Malenia fall to the power of jazz in less than a minute. As for how it works, a pitch bend knob on the back of the instrument doubles as his left analog stick, while the notes he plays are mapped to a regular controller's buttons, meaning he has to doot and toot in a variety of ways to pull off even the most basic inputs.

Enter Monster Hunter Wilds, and Capcom has been cooking up a weapon that practically has Dr. Doot's name written all over it. Specifically, you can get your hands on a Hunting Horn weapon in the action RPG's open beta – the Hope Horn, to be exact – that's literally just a massive saxophone. The streamer first found out about its existence way back in August last year, when he responded: "OH MY GOD THERE'S AN ACTUAL SAXOPHONE WEAPON IN MONSTER HUNTER WILDS?"

Now though, his time has come. Last week, he expressed his excitement over the fact that "MONSTER HUNTER WILDS LETS ME HUNT MONSTERS WITH A GIANT SAXOPHONE," and thanked the devs for "CREATING DOOT-BASED GAMEPLAY," and now he's finally shared what we've all been waiting for – his controller in action.

"Everyone asked 'Will you use the giant saxophone weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds with [the] saxophone controller?'" he writes on Twitter. "The answer is yes (obviously) but no one told me it would be this much FUN." Attached is a short but sweet clip of his skills in action – taking out the beta's frog-like Chatacabra monster with a series of well-timed doots. I can't even begin to fathom how much practice goes into these sorts of challenges.

Hopefully, this won't be the last of the streamer's antics in Monster Hunter Wilds if his tweet is anything to go by. The action RPG's next beta session kicks off on February 14, and will run for an extra 24 hours to make up for last weekend's PlayStation Network outage. After that, we don't have too long to wait for its full launch on February 28.

20 years on, Monster Hunter Wilds' devs reflect on the series' co-op journey: "The world caught up with our vision."

Samantha Béart, who shot to fame as in their role as Karlach in 2023, tweeted "To the next studio that tries this: if your 'spiritual successor' to Disco Elysium does not involve creator Robert Kurvitz, then save both of us some time and miss me with that casting call." Ouch.

Béart clearly holds a lot of respect for Kurvitz and his work if they're not even willing to entertain offers from any Disco Elysium-related games that aren't involving him. Disco Elysium is a fantastic game, one I thoroughly enjoy, but it's wild to think it's had such an effect on people that they're willing to turn down work because the original creator isn't involved. I suppose when you're Karlach you get your pick of the jobs, though.

Disco Elysium was conceived during a drunken night in Tallinn, "We were just hanging around in total squalor and poverty," Kurvitz says. It went on to become a hit, but then the studio fell apart and many of the game's developers went their separate ways.

In just one day, two spiritual successors to the critically acclaimed RPG were announced. Neither of those studios have Robert Kurvitz working with them. The Disco Elysium creator set the game in the same world as his novel, Sacred and Terrible Air, which is an incredible title. It didn't do well, though. "It sold 1,000 copies," says Kurvitz. "So after that I succumbed to deep alcoholism."

Kurvitz made a new studio with DIsco Elysium lead artist Aleksander Rostov, Red Info. It's backed by NetEase, which did a u-turn on its Marvel Rivals mid-season rank reset just hours after it was announced.

If you want to play more things like Disco Elysium, check out all the best RPGs you can try now.

While a stop-motion effect is enabled by default in the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Compulsion knows this element might not be for everyone. "It's a normal framerate," says art director Whitney Clayton of South of Midnight's solid 60 frames-per-second action, with individual character models and environment assets toggled during production to "have different amounts of stop motion treatment."

The goal? "To sell the impression that you're still in this handcrafted world without making it, you know, too nauseating in certain instances" – though accessibility settings can help players tailor the experience further.

As a Southern Gothic action-adventure infused with folkloric myth and legends, a thematic visual style was always a key design pillar propping up South of Midnight – and Compulsion had something specific in mind. "If you tell people, oh, we're making miniatures that feel made by hand, you could get people thinking, 'Oh, is it like Wallace and Gromit or Gumby or something?' And that wasn't the direction we wanted to go," says Clayton. "We found this animation called Madame Tutli Putli [by Clyde Henry Productions], which had this really atmospheric, mature, kind of creepy style to it, and we loved it."

When the stop-motion production company (and fellow Canadians) had Compulsion's art team visit their studio in Montreal, Clyde Henry became instrumental in realizing South of Midnight's handcrafted dreams. "On the left was a real maquette and then on the right was our reverse engineered digital 3D model, where we were trying to figure out how to apply rules that made things feel handmade," says Clayton of the learning process. "We applied this to everything in the game – the creatures, the characters, the environments, and the people."

Creating a stop motion effect on the fauna and flora wasn't as easy as simply dropping the framerate in the environment. "You had to have a slightly different treatment for each thing to get that stop motion feeling, which is a combination of animation styles. We used tech art and VFX to emulate the flickering of materials that you would see in a real stop motion, when people's thumb prints are moving on something."

To smooth out gameplay, Clayton outlines protagonist Hazel's movement and combat encounters as two areas where stop motion effects were minimized during production. They have been left more pronounced elsewhere – particularly in the environments. "The foliage does move in a specific way, and certain built-in animals and other elements of the game move more obviously as a stop motion thing," Clayton says. "But if we applied that equally everywhere, I think it would be too jarring."

Setting the scene

While South of Midnight features a broad range of accessibility settings – including a "boss skip" mode and "combat skip" mode – one area is off limits. The short cinematic intro by Clyde Henry, as seen in the stop motion trailer, can't be turned off. "We needed an intro video, or an intro cinematic, to set the stage," says Clayton. "And we thought, no better treatment for this type of cinematic than doing the real stop motion. And there were no better people to do the stop motion than Clyde Henry – if they happen to be free and available – and we were really lucky that they said yes."

The process to create this single animation took "the better part of a year," posing a hefty new challenge for the animation studio. "Like Whitney explained, her challenge was to take all these assets and try to translate it [to digital] for a handcrafted aesthetic," says Clyde Henry's art director Brigitte Henry. "For us, it was the inverse. We had to take all the CG assets and translate them into handcraft environments." Clyde Henry co-founder Chris calls it their "great challenge, to take them out of the computer and back, literally, into this world of physical, handcrafted puppets."

"And each one of them was a different problem," explains Maciek Szczerbowski, particularly Hazel's puppet. "Every little stroke looks like it could fill up half the cheek. You have to be very careful to make it not look like a Barbie by not doing enough, or to make it look [unrecognizable] if you go too far."

Check out the 50 most anticipated video games of 2025 we can't wait to get our hands on.

"It's 10 to 12 hours," gameplay director Jasmin Roy tells GamesRadar+ of the average time it will take to beat South of Midnight's 14 chapters. "That was kind of the target, I think, [though] maybe a bit bigger than we thought, but it is pretty much in the ballpark of what we thought at the beginning. We don't like to necessarily put numbers on it."

"We always knew it was going to be a game that had a momentum of narrative," Roy says of the Southern Gothic adventure, with the game encompassing "a 24 hour period which also informed us of the kind of scale of the world we wanted to build. Because, you know, you're trying to find your mother. She disappeared. There's a kind of urgency to it that makes it feel like we do want you to explore, but it needs to support the momentum of Hazel's journey."

So, South of Midnight is "a day in the life of Hazel – a very strange day," according to Roy. In terms of how this single day pans out, art director Whitney Clayton describes it as "a linear game with some bits of exploration through the sections, and you go through various different types of locations in the deep South, all the span of one day. So you start your adventure in the morning, and it ends at midnight."

This means the game will take players through different environments as the clock ticks forward, each with "their own really specific mood, which would then reflect the type of story being told in that moment." Compulsion has already outlined four biomes in a half-hour documentary that premiered last year – the swamps, the Delta, the Appalachians, and a New Orleans-inspired area – but it's news to us that she'll be encountering them all across such a snappy timeframe.

Despite its shorter length, the reverse-engineered 3D modelled world of South of Midnight was no simple feat to develop. According to Roy, "it's [taken] around five years, I'd say, from the first few concepts." He references the extensive research, planning, and iterative prototypes throughout pre-production phases, though "the bulk of the game has been made in the last three years."

South of Midnight is one of our most anticipated games of 2025, and there's more where it came from

"I think it is such a kick-ass Valentine's Day movie," says Weaver to GamesRadar+. "It's a great date movie because it's terrifying and you're going to be sitting in each other's arms from, you know, the first half hour. And it's also one of those movies that sends thrills and chills up and down your spine the whole time, you don't know what's going to happen."

It may seem like an odd choice to release a horror movie on Valentine’s Day, but despite looking like an all-action, video game-like shooter movie from the offset, The Gorge is a love story at its core. "I think it's really smart that they chose Valentine's Day because it's a very romantic, suspenseful love story," adds Weaver.

Director Derrickson says the blending of multiple genres is what makes The Gorge an ideal V-Day flick. "You do have to like genre to like this film. But if a couple, or even one of the members of the couple, likes, you know, science fiction, action, horror, thriller, they're gonna get, you know, plenty of that," explains the helmer, adding that romance is the "glue" that holds the other genres together.

Although he’s best known for his horror pics including Sinister and The Black Phone, Derrickson says "the romantic elements" of The Gorge "spoke" to him because of his personal life. "I fell in love and got remarried in 2022 and it was just really shortly after that that I was given the script," says Derrickson.

Written by Zach Dean, The Gorge follows two highly trained snipers (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) who guard separate watchtowers overlooking a vast gorge. But as the pair protect the world from the evil that lurks beneath, they start to form a romantic bond. Weaver plays a headstrong businesswoman who appoints Teller’s character to the tower.

For more on the movie, see our interviews with Weaver on admiring co-star Anya Taylor-Joy and hoping to see her in Avatar 3, and Derrickson on how video games inspired The Gorge.

The Gorge premieres globally on Apple TV Plus on Friday, February 14, 2025. For more, check out our list of the best movies on Apple TV Plus, or keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.

"That was actually one of the first things I said to the bosses. You can't do this show without Karen and Foggy. They're Matt's family. They're the heart of his world. You can't take them out without explaining why, and if that explanation doesn't ring true, don't take them out," he explained in a recent interview with Empire.

The show was originally planned almost like a reboot for Charlie Cox's blind vigilante, but Scardapane didn't want to leave the three seasons of Netflix's fan-favorite show entirely behind. "It was much less the world we knew, and more trying to blaze a new trail, but in doing so, they'd forgotten some things that really were necessary to the engine of the story," he said of the original plans for the show.

During the writers' strike in 2023, The Punisher showrunner and directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead overhauled the production, reinstating some key elements including Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll's characters.

"I was willing to lose a job over this one. Because season 3 of the Netflix show ended with a dream, with the names on that napkin. If you don't pay that off, you're not giving your characters context. You can't ignore that dream," he argued.

Daredevil season 3 ended with Matt, Foggy, and Karen in a bar planning to turn their firm into Nelson, Murdock & Page. It was the dream of three close friends that the MCU show will respect, while delivering an exciting new adventure now within the confines of the superhero franchise.

Daredevil: Born Again releases on March 4 in the US and March 5 in the UK. For more, check out our list of all upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows.

According to Flix Patrol, The Åre Murders is Netflix's most-watched show worldwide today (February 11). The show is set in Sweden and follows two detectives investigating the murder of a teenage girl, and it's based on the novels of the same name by Viveca Sten. Carla Sehn and Kardo Razzazi star, and Joakim Eliasson and Alain Darborg direct.

The series seems to be flying under the radar entirely, with only two critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and fewer than 50 audience ratings. This could be Netflix's next major hidden gem, then.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of Cassandra, The Night Agent, Apple Cider Vinegar, Prison Cell 211, Wrong Side of the Tracks, The Recruit, Sakamoto Days, Sweet Magnolias, and Ghosts.

"I don't love acting, honestly, I'm not really psyched about this business, but season 3 I'm very excited about," The Night Agent star Gabriel Basso told us recently of the upcoming third season of the hit show. "I think the crew down in Istanbul were amazing. The stuff we were able to get on camera that was unplanned was nuts. I do some stunts in there that I can't believe Netflix signed off on."

2025 is shaping up to be a huge year for Netflix, with the likes of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (which recently screened a trailer behind closed doors), Knives Out 3, and a new Ben Affleck and Matt Damon project arriving on the movie side of things, with TV shows out this year including Squid Game season 3, Wednesday season 2, and Stranger Things season 5.

To fill out your watchlist, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies to stream now.

It turns out, if you dress Henry appropriately, he'll be more competent at specific tasks. If you choose to get a job with the blacksmith, Henry is given a room to stay in that comes with a blacksmith apron and some leather gloves. Pop them on and you'll get an extra five points to your craftsmanship skill.

This was spotted by a redditor who noted that other leather gloves have the same effect. They also noted that "The Spectacles that you can find add +5 to scholarship, which will speed up your reading of books!"

As well as hidden bonuses on clothes, there are perks you can gain by simply spending time on certain vocations and hobbies. Lab Dweller can be earned after spending "countless hours at the alchemist's table" and makes the effect of potions last longer and hangovers go away sooner. Handy if you're getting Henry on the ale.

There's another perk like this, Resistance, that gives you a permanent plus two to your Vitality if you spend "a lot of time on herbalism," so get gathering those nettles. One commenter noted that you get a similar perk by blacksmithing for a long time. It's called Hammerer and it causes heavy weapon attacks and blocks to use 10% less stamina.

[KCD2] Little Blacksmithing tip: Wear the Blacksmith Apron(+3) and leather gloves (+2) to gain a hidden bonus to craftsmanship! Any other hidden bonuses? from r/kingdomcome

Another commenter has discovered that if you ride Henrig a lot, the horse you get from the main quest in Trosky, you'll get a hidden perk that boosts the stallion's stats. This also works on Pebbles, so try it with whatever horse you've found. Apparently you need to ride for around 35 km, so give it a while.

One player got a perk called Bushman that reduces the noise you make when moving through bushes by 50%. You get it by "following a Cuman through the woods a long way."

If you're enjoying Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, check out some of the other best RPGs you can play right now.

Word about the next Subnautica first surfaced back in 2023, and with the highly anticipated sequel set to release in early access at some point this year, hype is building. With that in mind, you can understand why some particularly excited underwater explorers might not hesitate if they were sent a link to a playtest via Steam, but Unknown Worlds is making it very clear that it would "never" reach out to anyone this way.

"We've been made aware that fraudulent links to a Subnautica 2 playtest are being sent to our community on Steam," a new tweet reads. "Please be aware that we will never contact anyone by Steam DM for any potential playtests. Stay safe out there, Subnauts!"

Unknown Worlds has elaborated slightly on this situation in the official Subnautica Discord server, where community manager Donya Abramo clarifies: "Any contact regarding studies or playtests will only ever be sent by email from an Unknown Worlds address." Furthermore, while the devs recently invited players to sign up for a "User Research Participant Pool," the official link to it is only available on the Discord server.

If this warning has come too late for you, Abramo advises anyone who's already clicked one of the fake Steam playtest links to "change your password immediately to secure your account" and consider enabling two-factor authentication for some extra security.

For now, anyone eager to dive into the sequel will just have to hold on a while longer – in the meantime, there's no doubt that dedicated fans will have their eyes on its predecessor for more hidden teasers like we saw last year.

You can also check out our roundup of the best survival games for even more to play.

"State of Play is back tomorrow, February 12," Sony says in its official announcement. "Tune in live for news and updates on great games coming to PS5. The show celebrates a creative and unique selection of exciting games from studios around the world."

This will be a "40+ minute show" that begins February 12 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm GMT. You'll be able to tune in via the official PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels.

Sony has not provided any official indication of what games will be at this event, but with Ghost of Yotei expected to launch in 2025, it's a likely candidate for the showcase. Hideo Kojima has also been teasing a new trailer over the last few days, and with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach set to be another Sony-published title launching in 2025, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it also shows up here.

Other notable upcoming PlayStation titles, like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Marathon, and Marvel's Wolverine, are a bit further out and less likely to be shown here - but certainly, nothing's impossible. It's worth reiterating that this is being branded as a State of Play event, as opposed to one of the PlayStation Showcases where Sony typically hosts its biggest announcements. Still, the last State of Play is where Ghost of Yotei was first unveiled, so it's always possible that Sony has something major in store.

These are the best PS5 games to add to your collection.

Having gone hands-on with Monster Hunter Wilds previously, we noticed more of a traditional kind of RPG experience compared to previous games regarding the kind of front-facing story and structured chapters you get. Given the chance to speak to Tokuda lately, we ask if there was a push for this type of content to appeal to or help guide players unfamiliar with Monster Hunter to get into the game.

"The concept that I had from the start of the game was humanity as part of the ecosystem, and realizing that humans weren't something on the outside of it looking in, they were part of it, and they had an effect on it," Tokuda answers. "And that naturally led to an increased focus on story. Because, you know, the storytellers, the humans, are actually right in there amongst it.

"It just made sense to me to have the story more upfront than in past titles. So it was a natural evolution of that concept, and it spoke to all the other elements of the game, such as the learning curve of which monsters you face in which order as you get started in the game, and how they teach you the necessary skills to play the game, how that interacted with a chapter-based story structure of which one you were going to meet next.

"It all sort of flowed naturally from that original concept, rather than being the idea of, as you said, let's just make it more like an RPG on that basis."

As for the chapter structure, Tokuda says it makes a lot of sense as "it's easy to follow" and gives players a clear sense of how far along they are.

"The result was, it looked like, as you said, 'Oh, are you trying to go for RPG players by imitating that structure?' But really it was just a natural outcome of our other decisions that hopefully makes sense to players."

Monster Hunter Wilds is due to release later this month, on February 28. The good news, though, is that you don't have to wait that long to try it, as we're in the middle of the second Monster Hunter Wilds open beta test. While the first leg has come and gone, the second kicks off on February 13 at 7pm PT, with an extra 24 hours courtesy of the recent PSN outage, too.

Monster Hunter Wilds will give you one free character edit, which is great for Fashion Hunters, but frustrating for everyone who's sick of paywalled customization.

"I love those games, and I do think that gaming has sort of set the bar for gunplay action, especially if you're really with a single character or two characters, you kind of can't beat it," says Derrickson to GamesRadar+ when we asked him if the movie emulating the aesthetic of games like Until Dawn and Silent Hill was intentional.

The Gorge follows two highly trained snipers (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) appointed to guard separate watchtowers overlooking a vast gorge. But when night falls, the shooters realize just what evil lurks beneath. Off the bat, the movie reminded us of shooter games like Overwatch, but when the secrets of the gorge below became apparent, the film sprung into action scenes reminiscent of dystopian games like The Last of Us or Silent Hill.

However, as much as he admires these games, Derrickson didn't want to create an all-action mission movie, so he decided to add a different element to give the film some heart: love. "I think that the challenge of the movie was not letting it fall into just the straight, chaotic stimulus of gaming-type action. The challenge was to have that kind of stimulus and power and really utilize that," explains the director, "But then to also really keep the romance alive."

Fans of The Black Phone and Sinister director may be surprised to see that The Gorge at its core is really a love story, that is, of course, mixed with the horror, action, and sci-fi genres. This makes The Gorge really one of the most original stories so far this year. At a time when the horror genre is being dominated by remakes, prequels, and sequels, Derrickson feels it is important that movies like this are made.

"I don't want to keep seeing the same movie getting made, you know, or versions of the same movies getting made," says Derrickson, who feels that making this movie for Apple TV Plus gave him more freedom to be different. "I think streaming is a place where you can really dare to be different because you don't have that box office pressure every on the opening weekend where people are going to decide whether or not your movie is a failure based on the box office return."

The movie is written by Zach Dean and also stars Sigourney Weaver. For more, see our interview with Weaver on admiring Taylor-Joy and hoping to see her in Avatar 3.

The Gorge premieres globally on Apple TV Plus on Friday, February 14, 2025. For more, check out our list of the best movies on Apple TV Plus, or keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.

Hey, Mary! centers on young Catholic boy Mark who, when he realizes that he has a crush on another boy in school, struggles to reconcile his feelings with his religious upbringing. Mark turns to his priest and a local drag performer, as well as several unexpected historical figures including Joan of Arc and Michelangelo.

Check out an exclusive preview from the new book in the gallery below.

Wheeler also generously provided Newsarama with the following exclusive commentary on the pages:

"Growing up queer in a family of faith can be a very lonely experience, one that leaves you unmoored from your loved ones, your community, maybe your whole future. Hey, Mary! is a story about navigating that experience – the story of a teenager, Mark, coming to terms with his sexuality and trying to understand how it affects his faith.

We're not truly alone when we go on this journey – others have been there before us. In this chapter, Mark has a conversation with Jojo, a warm hearted drag performer who has their own complicated relationship with Catholicism and a familiarity with scripture that's not unusual to find among recovering Catholics!

Jojo is one of three characters that offer Mark guidance on his journey, and we see Jojo in various guises throughout the story, but in this introductory chapter it's 'just Jojo', and Rye does an incredible job capturing their style and confidence. I love the flow of the kaftan, the chic of the heels! Jojo is exactly who they want to be!

A lot of Jojo's language in this chapter draws from my own experiences. My Catholicism is intrinsic to me, but I also know I'll never be Catholic 'enough' for certain people. I suspect that's a common feeling, and it can be very alienating. In many ways Jojo represents the aspiration towards survival. Their breezy expression when they say 'I am an abomination' shows you that Jojo knows that other peoples' words do not define them.

Jojo doesn't know about Mark's own struggles in this chapter, so Mark is hearing things he needs to hear, but not necessarily when he's ready to hear them. In the final page of the chapter, Rye beautifully captures Mark's wordless anxiety as the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah sweeps over him. It's in these moments that we need to know we're not alone, and my hope is that Hey, Mary! can be that empathetic friend to anyone who needs it."

Artist Rye Hickman added, "I adore Jojo's storytelling in this scene. The modern touches add both irreverence and relevance in a way that makes a very ancient text relatable. Not that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is necessarily relatable, but Jojo has the magic touch! They do a fair amount of biblical storytelling in Hey, Mary! as they guide Mark through parts of his journey, and their scenes are some of my favorites. I hope they delight readers as well."

Hey, Mary! is published by Oni Press on April 15.

Check out our list of the most iconic LGBTQ superheroes in comics.

If you're someone who likes to let your Sims live out a natural life, dying due to old age or an unfortunate accident, congratulations, you're a monster and we can't be friends. I get far too attached to my creations and turn their aging off entirely, but for those of you who prefer to let nature take its course, there is some life after death in Inzoi.

As spotted by PCGamer, director Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim took to the game's Discord server to explain some of its upcoming early-access features: "We want to keep the playability of ghosts fairly limited so it doesn’t overshadow the main gameplay, but we also want to make sure the experience is engaging enough when it does happen."

InZOI has a karma system, and if your Zoi has enough, it'll make its way to a peaceful afterlife when it dies. If it doesn't, it'll hang around after death as a ghost that you can "encounter at set times under certain conditions." They won't be playable right now, but that is planned for later on. "Any further development for ghosts will have to come after the release," Kjun says.

Although the ghosts won't be playable yet, InZOI is implementing Nvidia Ace, the company's generative AI that features text-to-speech capabilities meant to make NPCs more life-like. It calls these NPCs "Smart Zoi," and in the video shared by publisher Krafton they sort of just seem like regular NPCs that react to the world around them. I saw the tech used at an Nvidia demo last year (not for InZOI), and wasn't very impressed, but maybe it'll be implemented in a creative way for InZOI.

To get a better idea of what this Sims competitor will look like, check out our InZOI preview. You should also check out other games like The Sims if you're a fan of the genre.

I say "slightly" because Arrowhead hasn't actually altered the power of the GP-31 Ultimatum at all. The explosive-launching delete button was only just added to the game in Helldivers 2's Servants of Freedom Warbond last week, and the devs have made it clear that "it's not our intent to release Warbond items that need immediate balancing, and we understand that any changes we make can evoke strong feelings." However, with the single-shot Ultimatum able to gain "extra ammo from the previously-a-bug-but-now-a-feature Siege Ready armor passive," Arrowhead thought "this specific combination is too strong."

In the latest patch notes, Arrowhead's release manager Max Carlberg (AKA Release Captain Carlberg) explains: "We're huge fans of big booms booming big (to quote our fabulous design director) so we didn't want to make the weapon less satisfying to use – we still want it to bring democratic tears to your eyes every time you use it, like it does for us. However, we will be addressing how easy it is to access extra ammunition for it, ensuring it requires a bit more effort to use it to the full effect."

It's not just the Siege Ready passive that won't work on the Ultimatum anymore – the Hellpod Optimization Booster is now ineffective, too. So, it'll no longer be so easy to fire out loads of shots, but it does seem like a solid approach to a nerf that still allows the weapon to keep its "core identity as a powerhouse" while dealing with "mixed" feedback about its strength.

Elsewhere, the patch irons out some crashes and an issue "where the scope aim-center was misaligned with the projectile's fire trajectory," and rebalances the LAS-17 Double-Edge Sickle – another new Servants of Freedom addition. "The goal is to ensure it feels like a truly powerful weapon while properly balancing the self-damage mechanics to reflect its high-risk nature," Carlberg writes. "In the current live version, we felt it lacked both the punch and the level of risk we wanted and we didn't feel it really lived up to our intent."

Now, the Double-Edge Sickle's armor penetration only builds up to the medium level (AP3) once the weapon has surpassed 25% heat, and after you pass 50%, you'll deal 70 damage rather than 55. However, you'll also be more vulnerable yourself, at 20 damage per second rather than 10 between 51% and 90% heat. From 91% heat onwards, the damage to enemies is still 70, but you'll go all the way to armor penetration level four. That is, of course, if you're willing to stand the 50 damage per second to yourself, which remains unchanged (along with the fire status effect).

For fellow fans of big booms booming big, you'll be pleased to know that the new Portable Hellbomb stratagem remains unchanged – other than the fact that you'll no longer be able to accidentally arm it when entering the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV).

To celebrate Helldivers 2's first birthday, GM Joel recalls his favorite community moments that are now "canon" and "part of Helldiver lore."

Quan, who played Short Round in the Temple of Doom, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he burst into tears before filming the film's iconic minecart sequence.

"When we shot this sequence, I was so scared," Quan said. "And I cried. I remember Harrison Ford kneeling down in front of me and asking me if I was okay."

"He said, and I'll never forget this, 'Ke, I want you to remember, I will never hurt you.' When he said that, oh my gosh, it just made me love him so much more. Here is Indiana Jones telling me that he's gonna take care of me."

After Quan's first role in the Temple of Doom, he then appeared the next year in The Goonies as Data. The actor then spent decades away from acting in Hollywood – including a stint as assistant fight choreographer on 2000's X-Men – before finding prominence and awards acclaim as part of the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ prior to the release of his new action comedy Love Hurts, Quan admitted that he would be open to reprising his role of O.B. in the MCU after first appearing as the TVA techie during Loki season 2.

"First of all, the answer to that is a resounding yes," Quan said. "I love O.B. I had such a fun time playing him, I loved him on the page, and when the show came out, he was so beloved – that was so gratifying. That entire experience, working with Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson, was amazing. I would love to see him do more, not only in the TVA but possibly in the main timeline…"

Harrison Ford, meanwhile, is set to join his former co-star at Marvel Studios, portraying Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross/Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World.

For more, check out our guide to upcoming movies. Then dive into the Marvel timeline for the MCU's story so far.

The movie, titled Dreadnought, is directed by Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott, with a script from Joseph Greenberg.

Bautista will play a man named Max, who, according to the official synopsis, lost his wife in a devastating plague caused by aliens crash-landing on Earth. In the aftermath of the plague, the survivors coexist with the alien invaders. Max's daughter Greta, though, is dying from the illness, with an alien predator intent on taking her body after her death for a metamorphosis ritual. "The government sanctions it. Society accepts it. But Max refuses to have anything else taken from him," the synopsis reads.

John Wick producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are onboard Dreadnought as producers via Thunder Road, and Bautista is also among the producers via Dogbone Entertainment.

"Erica and I have been trying to make a movie with Jon and Cary since we saw Bushwick," Iwanyk said in a statement. "They're able to create incredible tension, mount some kick-ass action, and create a compelling world without breaking the bank. It's exactly the kind of filmmakers Thunder Road has succeeded with in the past."

Bautista is no stranger to the sci-fi genre, having had previous roles in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, the Dune movies, and more.

Dreadnought doesn't yet have a release date or any further casting details. While you wait, check out our guide to all of 2025's most exciting upcoming movies for everything the year has in store, as well as our guide to the year's movie release dates.

The new look comes from a merchandise box for a Krypto action figure. A picture of the hero is shown at the corner of the box, where Corenswet’s Superman is seen flying upwards with his fist pointed out. Check out the image below.

New Promotional Image of David Corenswet's Superman from a Krypto Action Figure Cover from r/DC_Cinematic

It hasn't taken long for DC fans to take to Reddit to discuss Corenswet finally striking the iconic Superman pose. "Love the Reeve-style of flying!," said one fan, while others pointed out how the shot feels reminiscent of Brandon Routh’s hero in the 2006 movie Superman Returns

However, many Reddit users are questioning why Warner Bros. didn't use this shot in the first trailer. "This is literally what the other flying shot should have looked more like," said one fan, while another added, "Okay, now that’s more like it. I can’t help but feel the recent spot wouldn’t have gotten so much in the way of jokes had this been the posing, angle, and all that."

Of course, the fans are talking about the awkward restrained pose Superman was shown in recent Superman footage. As soon as the clip dropped, fans couldn't get over how strange Corenswet looked taking flight as the hero, with his arms held back as if he had been shot out of a cannon. This made a few fans a bit concerned, but with this new look, it seems like we have nothing to worry about.

Kickstarting the live-action side of James Gunn’s brand new DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, Superman stars Corenswet as The Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent AKA Superman, as the hero balances his Kryptonian and human heritage. The movie also stars Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.

Superman releases on July 11, 2025. While you wait, check out what other upcoming DC movies you have to look forward to.

The follow-up to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning sees Cruise's Ethan Hunt diving into the wreckage of the Sevastopol submarine. Something goes wrong during the mission, putting the hero in an impossible, life-threatening situation.

This subaquatic sequence, shot in an 8.5 million litre water tank on a rotating gimbal, is set to be one of the most impressive stunts in the movie. It required Cruise to wear a special suit and mask that he could only be in for 10 minutes at a time before suffering damaging consequences.

"I'm breathing in my own carbon dioxide. It builds up in the body and affects the muscles," the actor told Empire about the dangers behind the stunt, which could have led to him to suffer from an absence of oxygen in body tissue, a condition known as hypoxia.

"You have to overcome all of that while you're doing it, and be present," he added.

The film's director Christopher McQuarrie reflected on filming the sequence, saying it was "so challenging and so terrifying" for the team, but especially "really physically punishing" for Tom Cruise.

"He's in a rotating structure filled with debris, and you had to find a way to make that environment look as chaotic and unhinged as humanly possible, but in a way that you could repeat, and that Tom could navigate, and survive," McQuarrie explained.

As seen in the first trailers of the movie, the new Mission: Impossible movie is packed with death-defying stunts, which see Ethan Hunt hanging from a biplane and engaging in plenty of intense fights.

If this is his goodbye from the franchise, Tom Cruise is giving his all.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits cinemas on May 23, 2025. For more, check out our movie release dates calendar, and don't miss our ranking of the best Mission: Impossible movies.

McKay plays the role of protagonist Henry, and in an interview with the BBC he says working on the Kingdom Come games was "one of the most amazing and unusual acting challenges."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a sprawling RPG with many choices available to you. It's believed to have the biggest video game script ever, meaning McKay was in the sound booth for "over 500 hours."

"You would kind of go down one channel of a decision and then come halfway back up and go down another one and then maybe all the way back up to the beginning and back down," he says. "And that's not an acting challenge that you ever would have in TV or film."

You can play as a good person, an unlucky thief, or just murder anyone unlucky enough to cross paths with you. So, Henry needs to be able to deliver his lines in many different ways.

Dale, who plays Hans Capon, adds: "So you do the scene and you've got three four different people coming over to you, 'Can you do that? Can you just be aware of this?' Me and Tom are like: 'OK, can we distill this down?'"

Spending so much time together, the co-stars all became quite friendly with each other. "It is like putting on a really comfortable pair of clothes. Which is ironic because in the motion capture studio you're literally wearing head-to-toe lycra."

But while the actors can make friends on set, they had to keep the work they were doing for the better part of nine years incredibly secret. "It was almost like working for GCHQ or something," says McKay. "You couldn't talk to anyone about it and people in the studio couldn't even talk to their partners in some cases about what they were doing."

Movies and TV shows often share behind-the-scenes pictures and have actors, showrunners, and directors letting fans know what to expect for months or even years in advance, but video games are often far more secretive. When fans of the original game spotted McKay in Warhorse Studios' native Prague, he had to think fast to throw them off the scent of a sequel. "I'd be like: 'I just love Prague. And I come here very often for lots of holidays,'" he says.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has been a huge success, selling over one million copies in just 24 hours and already shattering its predecessor's peak concurrent player record and making it into Steam's top 50 most-played games.

If you're a fan of Kingdom Come, check out some of the other best RPGs you can play.

Yesterday, NetEase Games broke the news to Marvel Rivals players that come the second half of Season 1 on February 21, everyone's ranks would drop by four divisions. "For example, if you ended the first half of Season 1 at Diamond 1, you'll start the second half at Platinum 2," a dev diary explained at the time. This didn't go down well at all – ranking up takes sweet time, which isn't a luxury everyone has in spades. It's a lot of progress lost when you consider that Marvel Rivals ranks will be reduced by a further six divisions at the start of a new season, too.

Thankfully, it's taken less than 14 hours for significant changes to be announced. In yet another new dev diary, NetEase Games acknowledges the "wealth of feedback" it's received, noting that "a common concern was the pressure associated with having a rank reset every half-season, which has made participating in competitive mode less enjoyable."

While the season will still be sort of split in half – granting those at or above Gold, Grandmaster, and One Above All ranks certain rewards on February 21 – there'll no longer be a rank reset. "Players will retain their ranks and scores from the end of the first half," the post explains. "To earn new rewards, players simply need to complete 10 matches in Competitive mode and meet the relevant conditions by the end of the season. Rewards will include a new Gold rank costume and a variety of Crests of Honor, featuring distinct designs for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and One Above All."

Wrapping things up, NetEase Games says: "We strive to make Marvel Rivals the best game it can be, and the community is the driving force behind this mission!" You've really got to hand it to the devs for quickly responding to what fans actually want from their third-person shooter – it's no wonder that it continues to be so popular.

Be sure to check out our Marvel Rivals characters tier list to see who the strongest heroes in the game are right now.

According to a new report from TheWrap, the fifth Avengers movie will begin shooting this March in the UK. That's just a few weeks away, and just over a year from the movie's May 1, 2026 release date.

At the moment, it's unclear who will be appearing in Doomsday. All we know for sure is that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning, though as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man. Chris Evans has shot down rumors that he'll be back as Steve Rogers, too.

"That's not true, though," Evans said. "This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years – ever since Endgame. I've just stopped responding to it." He added: "Yeah, no – happily retired!"

Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie recently told us what he's excited to see in Avengers 5 and 6. "It's just exciting, the idea of seeing the new people, and hopefully the two worlds coming together and creating a super MCU," he said. "It's exciting. You see Deadpool and Wolverine, [and] it's like, 'Are they gonna be in it?' You know what I mean? Like, you see these movies [and you think], 'Who's gonna be in it, who's gonna do it.' I'm excited about that."

Avengers: Secret Wars will be arriving a year after Doomsday, landing on May 7, 2027. In the meantime, this year has Brave New World, Thunderbolts, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, along with TV shows like Daredevil: Born Again.

You can keep up to date with everything the MCU has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows, or have a marathon with our rundown of how to watch the Marvel movies in order.

"We’re in the middle of filming it right now, we’ve been at it since November, and I can tell you that I thought season 1 was extraordinary, personally, I was very pleased with it," he told Deadline. "This blows it out of the water, what these writers have done and the artisans that have come together to tell this story. It’s really gonna be something. I can’t wait for people to see it. We’re working really hard to make that happen."

Goggins plays The Ghoul in the hit Prime Video adaptation of the beloved game, a former film star turned bounty hunter. He went on an incredible arc in season one, which ended with him teaming up with Lucy MacLean to continue searching for answers about what happened to his family.

Official plot details for season 2 haven't yet been announced, but some casting news has been confirmed. Macaulay Culkin has joined the show, as well as rumors that Kumail Nanjiani will star. Beyond that, executive producer Jonathan Nolan has teased it will be bigger and better.

"There are more monsters, more environments, more factions that we are currently designing and building right now to begin production quite soon," he told The Wrap in 2024. "So we’re really excited."

You can see Goggins next on screen in The White Lotus season 3, where he joins a star-studded cast including Aimee Lou Wood, Michelle Monaghan, and Jason Isaacs. For more of what to stream now, here are our guides to the best Amazon shows and the best Amazon movies.

"I am as hungry for it as you all are," Serkis said during a public appearance at Orlando's fan convention MegaCon last Sunday (via Youtube channel Love Our Life).

"He [Matt Reeves] told me the story of The Batman 2, and I was so excited for it", the actor told the fans, but he didn't reveal any more details about the movie, or when we can expect filming to start.

It's still a positive update, however, following the sequel's recent delays, which will lead to a five-year gap between The Batman and the release of The Batman 2.

In early January, director Matt Reeves addressed the situation, saying things are going to start moving forward soon. "I can tell you we're going to be shooting this year, and that we're excited about it. We’re doing something that absolutely continues where the story comes, but it's something that I hope people will be surprised by," he said.

Reeves also said the villain of the film, who hasn't been announced yet, will surprise fans. "The story is a continuation in a certain way and completely different in another. It's gonna show a different side to Rob[ert Pattinson]. I think it's going to be really cool," he added.

It's going to be a long wait for The Batman 2, but in the meantime we can also enjoy this DC universe through HBO's award-winning spin-off series The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell as the titular DC villain.

The Batman: Part 2 hits theaters on October 1, 2027. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows for everything else that's on the way.

In the new movie, there are several references to the ongoing show as well as some of the actors crossing over and voicing the roles. Therefore, it's a good idea to get up to speed with exactly when the story takes place before diving into the new release. That's where we come in. Below, we've outlined exactly when Sirens of the Deep takes place in a spoiler-free section, as well as taking a more spoiler-heavy look into how exactly the plot connects. Read on for our complete guide.

When does The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep take place on The Witcher timeline?

The new anime movie is set very specifically between episodes 5 and 6 of The Witcher season 1. If you need a quick recap, episode 5, 'Bottled Appetites', is when Geralt and Yennefer first meet over an ill-fated release of a Djinn. It's the moment that their paths become intertwined forever after Geralt's last wish is to have his fate bound to Yennefer's, saving her life. This happened in 1256.

Episode 6 skips forward in time to 1262 when Yennefer and Geralt meet again on a dragon hunt. 'Rare Species' sees them join with Jaskier, and a group of monster hunters to find a golden dragon. Geralt and Yennefer aren't quite on speaking terms at this point, but it's another pivotal moment in their relationship.

Based on the events in Sirens of the Deep, it likely takes place in 1261, just before Yennefer and Geralt meet again.

How is The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep connected to The Witcher? *SPOILERS*

Sirens of the Deep is canon to The Witcher live-action universe. Most of the cast crossover between the two, including Anya Chalotra returning as Yennefer and Joey Batey back as Jaskier. The only one who doesn't is Geralt, who was played by Henry Cavill in season one. Cavill announced his exit from the show after season 3, and Liam Hemsworth is due to play the role in The Witcher season 4. Given this film falls in the time between these, the Monster Hunter is played by game actor Doug Cockle instead.

The film also helps fill in some gaps in The Witcher timeline with several added scenes between Yennefer and Geralt, giving audiences a bit more insight into their characters, and how they develop in the years between episodes 5 and 6.

Right at the end of the movie, there's also a very specific callout to what happens in the next episode of the Netflix series. As Jaskier and Geralt decide where to head next, the bard is very clear that he wants to go somewhere that Yennefer is not. His idea? "The farthest corner of the Continent. No culture. No comforts. No reason for that spoiled witch to be there," he tells Geralt. "A place called Caingorn, in the dragon mountains." Welp, as we well know, that's exactly where Yennefer will be…

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is out on Netflix now. For more, check out our The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep review as well as our guide to the best Netflix shows to stream now.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Assassin's Creed Shadows director Jonathan Dumont explained how he personally chooses to spend his time between the two protagonists. They both have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, with Yasuke is big, powerful, and brutish, while Naoe is light, nimble, and quick, and Dumont wisely takes advantage of that.

"I play quite a bit balanced out and what happens is, I play with one for three, four, five hours, and then I switch, and then I just play two, three hours," said Dumont. "Usually I play stealth and then I play, all right, let me destroy some camps and stuff all right for a while. And then I just change like that."

Content-wise, Dumont said each hero has their own unique intro scenes and questlines, but he recommends simply playing the characters you're having more fun with.

"So I don't think you're missing out on things too much," he said. "I think it's more on your preference to [say], 'okay, I'll see how the game will adapt a little bit to the character if you choose one over the other.' They get individual introductions and then they get their own questline also. So that one is, let's say Naoe, a personal questline cannot be played by Yasuke and those are two distinct things. But the core of the game can be pick your character and the game adapts."

It's still not entirely clear how many unique scenarios can be missed, but Dumont said several times you won't be "missing out on things too much," adding, "we're not imposing players try to split the time. So if you prefer one character for any reason, you can play maybe - I don't know, I'm not going to put a percentage - but quite a bit of the game using one of them. But if you want to balance it out."

Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on March 20.

Be sure to check out our Assassin's Creed Shadows big preview hub for more details about the game from our hands-on preview.

For the uninitiated, Tibia is an MMO from German developer and publisher CipSoft released in 1997, years before genre titans Everquest and RuneScape were more than twinkles in their publishers' eyes. It even beats out Ultima Online, if only by a few months. Point is, it's not quite the oldest MMO ever made, but it's one of the oldest and certainly longest running ever.

To really contextualize just how old Tibia is, it wasn't until 2022 that the game added sound... yes, sound. Now, it's getting arguably an even more significant update that adds the game's first new class ever. That's right, for 28 years there have been four classes; the Knight, Paladin, Druid, and Sorcerer; but that's about to change with the addition of the Monk class later this year.

We don't have any footage or even clips of the Monk in action, but CipSoft says in a press release that gameplay is focused on melee combat and "mystical powers."

The Tibia project manager known only as Niadus says the idea of adding a new class after so long was long deemed "too complex and too risky," but ultimately CipSoft decided "it felt actually possible as well as a natural step for the game."

"All in all, we see the addition of a new vocation as an opportunity to rekindle the sense of discovery that was always part of Tibia. A chance to learn the intricacies of a new vocation, experiment with new strategies, and adapt to new team compositions."

There's no release date for the Monk just yet, but the first playtest will be on February 25 and the full release is slated for the second quarter of 2025.

In the meantime, here are the best MMOs you can play today.

Writer Steve Orlando, who has been guiding Wanda Maximoff's adventures through multiple solo titles and a team-up title with Quicksilver, will be the one to bring her back together with Vision alongside artists Lorenzo Tammetta and Jacopo Camagni, who carry over from the current volume of Scarlet Witch's solo comic. The new title, The Vision & The Scarlet Witch, which takes its name from their classic 1985 series, will run for 5 issues.

Marvel calls the Vision and Wanda's romance "one of comics' greatest love stories," but it's been a rough road. Though the pair were once one of Marvel's most iconic married couples, their relationship fell apart when Vision was dismantled and reassembled in his emotionless all-white incarnation in the late '80s.

They've nearly come back together a few times since, but their relationship hit a, let's say, snag, when Wanda was manipulated into killing the Vision and several other Avengers by Doctor Doom in the Avengers: Disassembled event. Now, it seems they'll finally be getting back together - at least for a while, as Marvel warns the story will "test their souls and break their hearts."

Here's a gallery of covers for The Vision & The Scarlet Witch by Russell Dauterman, Josemaria Casanovas, Stephanie Hans, and Marguerite Sauvage:

"When it comes to the Scarlet Witch, anything's possible!" writer Steve Orlando says in a statement. "Now, on the 50th Anniversary of their wedding, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch reunite to face a creeping, corrosive evil from beyond not just the grave, but beyond the universe itself."

"Wanda and Vision remain one of Marvel's most iconic couples -- and not just for their marriage, but for everything since. It's a rare, beautiful thing for characters to truly be able to have a relationship grow as Wanda and Vision have," he continues. "They've come together, they've come apart, and come back together stronger than before - as family. That's a mature bond, and it's something truly special - I'm honored to be part of it, and even more excited for folks to see us test it! At Death's Door, Wanda and Vision have nowhere to turn...but to each other."

The title's art team is just as effusive about working on Vision and Scarlet Witch, with Lorenzo Tammetta calling it a "dream job."

"Drawing Wanda in action is always fun and inspiring, and I'm so happy to be able to continue exploring her powers in this series as well," he says. "Being able to draw her alongside Vision is also a huge honor, knowing how important these characters are to fans!"

"Scarlet and Vision are one of my favorite couples in the Marvel Universe," adds artist Jacopo Camagni. "They're certainly the couple with the most dramatic history and an almost Victorian love story. The idea of being able to work on them and their relationship both delights and excites me, and I can't wait!"

The Vision & The Scarlet Witch #1 goes on sale May 21.

Scarlet Witch and Vision make the list of the most iconic superhero couples from Marvel and DC.

That's why "there has been a slight delay in the release of major news," CEO Akihiro Hino says on Twitter, as translated by Japanese gaming site Gematsu. Hino doesn't expand on what new hardware he's been busy brawling with, though his announcement has a peculiar smell to it… it almost sounds like Fantasy Life i could maybe, possibly be an upcoming Switch 2 game.

But we have wiggle room for speculation. Game screenshots Hino attaches to his Twitter post indicate that he's using an Xbox controller, and Gematsu also reports that PlayStation leaks show Fantasy Life i could be coming to Sony's console, too.

While the game hasn't yet been announced on any console other than the Switch, Hino says in another loaded tweet translated by Gematsu that some additional screenshots he posts are "still from the Switch version" – implying other versions.

In any case, Hino more plainly shares a crucial milestone for the life-sim RPG: "The game content has become significantly more enjoyable."

The last and only other Fantasy Life game released in 2012 for the 3DS, so while, truthfully, any cute call back to that time in Nintendo's history would be enough to satisfy me, I'm glad to hear that Level-5's sequel will also have "enjoyable" content on offer.

Hino also boasts that Fantasy Life i's twee, rainbow cereal "visuals have evolved," and that, overall, the game is "shaping up to be an outstanding RPG."

"New information will be released soon," Hino shares, "so please look forward to it!"

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time looks like the RPG take on Animal Crossing: New Horizons that I've been waiting for.

In its latest earnings report for the nine-month fiscal period that ended on December 31, Square Enix says its "HD game sub-segment," which refers to its big tentpole releases like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, saw a decline in sales compare to the previous fiscal year. That's because "new titles generated lower sales than releases such as 'FINAL FANTASY XVI,' 'FINAL FANTASY PIXEL REMASTER,' and 'Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince' had the previous year."

Thankfully, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, along with "lower development cost amortization and advertising expenses compared with the same period of the previous year," saved the day. Square Enix reports that the Dragon Quest 3 remake raked in "stronger sales" than "initially assumed."

That's fairly encouraging news amid news of so many big and well-received RPGs, including Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth failing to satisfy sales expectations. Back in September, Square Enix admitted it might've been cannibalizing its own games and slapped several of its most anticipated RPGs with the classic "below expectations" line we hear far too often in these financial reports. It's refreshing to hear some good news about an RPG for a change, and a relatively niche one at that.

In our Dragon Quest 3 HD writeup, we praised the beautifully modernized graphics but warned that the 36-year-old JRPG might not be the most approachable thing for newcomers to the genre.

Why not pick something from our list of the best JRPGs to play right now?

The Ash clan, aka the Mangkwan, are set to make their first appearance, with Oona Chaplin's Varang as their leader.

"[The Mangkwan] had a natural disaster befall them, and that sort of helped shape their culture," production designer Dylan Cole told Empire. "So much of the world of Pandora is rich and vibrant and full of life - this is just the exact opposite. They used to live not too dissimilarly to the Omatikaya from Avatar 1." You can check out the photo below.

Cameron previously teased that we can expect Avatar 3 to show us "different cultures from those I have already shown. The fire will be represented by the 'Ash People.' I want to show the Na'vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides."

The cast includes Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, and Jermaine Clement. David Thewlis has also joined the cast as a Na'vi character who will go on to appear in Avatar 4 and 5 - which have already been greenlit by Disney.

Avatar 3: Fire and Ash hits theaters on December 19, 2025. Avatar 4 is set to hit theaters in 2029 (if the world hasn't exploded by then). For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, skip ahead to our complete list of movie release dates.

No offense, The Thing and Human Torch – you Fantastic Four members look very strong and intimidating in your promotional images. Personally, I would hate to be a torch or boulder person, so good for you.

That said, these superheroes are getting overshadowed like it's a lunar eclipse by Marvel Rivals' mid-season rank reset, which will make players fall four divisions when it also launches on February 21.

"For example, if you ended the first half of Season 1 at Diamond I," says a Marvel Rivals dev diary, "you'll start the second half at Platinum II."

Players don't like the sound of that. Marvel Rivals already has a seasonal rank reset, which drops players down six divisions – two unsparing rank resets might make gameplay feel like a depressing chore. Developer NetEase's decision here, by the way, comes only months after League of Legends developer Riot announced walked back its infamously back-breaking rank resets for one, massive yearly reset.

"This has to be the dumbest decision I've ever read," says one popular reply to Marvel Rivals' announcement on Twitter.

"Why on God's green earth do we need a mid-season rank reset?" wonders another player on Steam.

On Reddit, Marvel Rivals players are ready to revolt, feeling crushed by the "truly devastating news," as one hugely upvoted thread says.

"I can promise you NOBODY wants to have their rank reset halfway through every season," the Reddit post continues. "People have JOBS. I don’t have the time to re-rank up every few weeks.

Out of everything great about this game, this WILL make me and my friends stop playing."

Marvel Rivals is killing it right now, but there's one more thing it needs to borrow from Overwatch to truly thrive.

"[Your Friendly Neighborhood is] cool, but I do want to get the live-action out, too," Domingo said on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast. "Wouldn't that be kind of cool? I would love to tear that up on the big screen. But I'm having a good time, I love the animation. I love the idea of playing Norman Osborn and you'll see his evolution as the Green Goblin in the coming seasons."

The new animated series takes place in an alternate timeline where a young Peter Parker (Hudson Thames) is mentored by Domingo's Norman Osborn, rather than Tony Stark. Created by Jeff Trammell, the cast includes Kari Wahlgren as Aunt May, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Peter's classmate and best friend, Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone, Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn, and Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius AKA Doc Ock.

Despite online debate, the new animated series is the 12th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – thus making it canon to the MCU, though it does not take place on Earth-616. The main MCU timeline does not have its own Norman Osborn or Green Goblin – which made it all the more special when Willem Dafoe reprised his role from the Sam Raimi, pre-MCU Spidey movies in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, check out our Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man review or check out our Your Friendly Neighborhood release schedule to stay up to date with all-new episodes.

Last week, Zelnick again affirmed that Rockstar's long-awaited open-world sequel is still on track to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X this fall, noting that "there's always a risk of slippage." An eventual PC release has always seemed fairly likely because of established Rockstar precedent as well as the unrivaled demand for a game like GTA 6, and in an interview with IGN, Zelnick seemed to raise that likelihood significantly.

"So with Civ 7 it's available on console and PC and Switch right away," Zelnick said, referring to Firaxis' recent multiplatform release, Civilization 7. "With regard to others in our lineup, we don't always go across all platforms simultaneously. Historically, Rockstar has started with some platforms and then historically moved to other platforms."

In the same interview, Zelnick said the PC version of a multiplatform release can account for 40% of overall sales and that the PC market has "become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business." And though he shrugged off concerns over struggling console sales thanks to a promising 2025 release lineup, he also said "the trend that you'd want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC."

Basically, it would be really weird for Zelnick to say all of this and then not have GTA 6 come to PC at some point, but it's hard to say how long it'll take for that to happen. The most recent Rockstar game of comparative scale would be Red Dead Redemption 2, and that launched on PC in November 2019, a little more than a year after its PS4 and Xbox One release date. There's no telling whether it'll be the same for GTA 6, but it's a sound enough general indicator.

"Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do": Take-Two boss is confident in GTA 6, but "our competitors are not asleep."

"One 'Hunter's Grooming Ticket' and one '[Palico]'s Grooming Ticket' will be available free of charge from each store from the date of release for editing the series' familiar gestures and characters that have already been created," developer Capcom shares on Twitter, according to a DeepL translation.

Monster Hunter World notoriously offers players the same limited ability to alter their protagonist's and kitty companion Palico's appearances. After initially finalizing these characters' sweet looks, players have only one free Character Edit Voucher to meaningfully modify them – after using the Voucher up, players need to purchase additional $2.99 Vouchers if they want to continue overhauling their character customizations.

It's not a very popular system, as fans' responses to Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds news proves.

"Still wish it was just free to edit in general," popular Monster Hunter fan account Kogath says on Twitter.

"I think it's always kind of dumb to monetize the ability to change your character in a video game," agrees another popular Twitter reply. "I much prefer the route of having certain bonus choices be monetized, but free to swap."

Other fashion-conscious Hunters are already worrying about paywalled haircuts, or wondering why Wilds doesn't just copy Wild Hearts' totally liberating, and literally free character customization. Slaying monsters shouldn't preclude you from slaying, you know?

I spent 5 hours with a new build of Monster Hunter Wilds and it solved basically every problem I had after playing the beta – now this really feels like Monster Hunter World 2.

A new Resident Evil 5 ESRB rating was noted by Wario64 on Bluesky earlier today, and curiously, this rating is only for Xbox Series consoles. The content description is quite similar to that of previous versions of the game, though the text is slightly different, just as it subtly changed between the original PS3/Xbox 360 release, the later Gold Edition, and the PS4/Xbox One port.

What's odd here is that this Resident Evil 5 rating is, again, only for Xbox Series consoles, just like the Resident Evil 6 rating that popped up back in January. In a world where publishers like Square Enix are embracing multiplatform releases - and heck, even Xbox itself is doing the same - what sort of Resident Evil rerelease might only come to Xbox Series consoles?

It's certainly possible that the PS5 and/or other versions of these games just haven't been rated yet, but we're still left to wonder just what these implied new versions actually are. If Capcom continues its trend of remaking numbered entries in the Resident Evil series, 5 would be next in line, but it seems exceedingly unlikely that they'd let a full-on remake be outed by an ESRB rating.

The smart money is on remasters or current-gen patches for RE5 and 6, but exactly which platforms these games come to remains to be seen.

The Resident Evil deathmatch game that flopped is going offline as Capcom says it's "served its original, celebratory purpose admirably."

In Civilization 7, a new system has replaced the previous Eras of the game. In Civilization 6, there was both a World Era and an Individual Era, with the former being the median of all civilizations in play.

Now, instead of everyone progressing at their own pace by researching technology and civics, when one Age is completed, all players and opponents level up to the next one at the same time. Currently, you can play through three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern, and then the game ends just before the Cold War properly kicks off. The game currently has mixed reviews on Steam, and the devs have said they'll keep working to improve it.

As spotted by IGN, a redditor supposedly discovered that a fourth age is on the way: Atomic. The devs themselves have also teased more Ages, so this could be legitimate. In an interview with IGN, Civilization 7 executive producer Dennis Shirk says: "You can imagine the possibilities with this, honestly. The way that the design team set it up so that each age is chockfull of systems, visuals, units, Civs, all specific to that age, and what you could do with that and where you could take it… we can't talk about the specifics. We can just talk about it in generalities. We're excited for where this is going to go."

An Atomic age would likely go from the Cold War all the way to the current day, but it could go even further and throw in some sci-fi such as space travel or strange new nuclear weapons. The possibilities are endless, and it opens the game up for future Ages that speculate on what the years to come could hold.

While you wait, check out all the other best strategy games you can try right now.

As it stands, GTA 6 is only set to release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar has remained vague about a potential PC release, although many believe it'll get a port eventually, just like GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 did a good while after their initial launches (it took over a year and a half for the former). Speaking to IGN, Zelnick makes it clear that he knows how important PC launches are, explaining that PC versions of multiplatform games can generate 40% or more of total sales.

In fact, Zelnick says the industry has "seen PC become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business," but he's clearly not concerned about GTA 6's console launch, even if there's been a dip in sales for current-gen hardware. Rather, he's convinced that it'll actually help convince some players to splash their cash on a current-gen console for the first time. "When you have a big title in the market and we have many of them coming, historically that has sold consoles," Zelnick explains.

"And I think that will happen this year," he continues. "I don't think tariffs are going to be our friend, but I think there will be a meaningful uptick in console sales in calendar [year] 25 because of the release schedule, not just coming from us, but coming from others. So I'm not concerned about [console sales falling]. I think the trend that you'd want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC."

Zelnick isn't just being humble about there being big games "not just coming from us," because 2025 is looking ridiculously busy. Beyond GTA 6 and Borderlands 4, we can also look forward to Elden Ring Nightreign, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Doom: The Dark Ages, and many more. Get those backlogs cleared now, because they're about to get even more chaotic.

GTA 6 still coming this fall, Take-Two boss says "there's always a risk of slippage" but "we feel really good" about a 2025 launch.

"Listen, after a while, when it was constantly in the press and places like Twitter, I was like: 'wait a minute, is this true? Am I being talked about for Kang?' So I literally called my team and asked: 'are you having conversations that I don't know anything about?' They were like, no," he recalled in a recent appearance in Josh Horowitz's podcast Happy Sad Confused.

"There had been conversations about me coming into Marvel in some way, so we did follow up with a sit-down meeting with the heads of Marvel. So I did do that. And we talked openly about the landscape of Marvel, and even the Kang rumors," Domingo explained.

Ultimately, replacing Majors as Kang was not in the cards for the Oscar-nominated actor.

"I'm just all about energy, and I just want to do things that makes sense and brings gentle energy. I want a role to be mine, whatever that role is, whatever I develop. Something doesn't feel right of me like: 'oh, would I replace someone?' No, I said: 'I want to build something from the ground up that's my own'.

"So I feel that was never a conversation from my point of view, you know what I mean? If I was discussed, I still don't know if I was discussed, but I just know that I would want to build something from the ground up," he said.

Domingo confirmed "there are still talks" with Marvel, so we might get to see him in an MCU movie soon.

For now, as he pointed out in the podcast, he is already part of the superhero franchise thanks to his voice acting in Disney Plus' animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The actor voices an alternate-universe version of iconic villain Norman Osborn.

"I'm having a great time. I love the animation. I love the idea of playing Norman Osborn. You'll see his evolution to the Green Goblin in coming seasons, which will be very cool," he told Josh Horowitz.

Still, Colman Doming wants to switch to live action as soon as there is an opportunity for him: "It's cool [Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man], but I do want to get the live action out there. Wouldn't that be cool?".

For more, check out our list of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows you should know about.

"The details in this trilogy never cease to amaze me: there's a quarry next to Isildur statue in the Argonath!" said one fan on Reddit, accompanied by a picture of the quarry besides the statue.

lotr from r/lotr/comments/1ij71dr/the_details_in_this_trilogy_never_cease_to_amaze

"Yes, and those parts of the statues that are above the height of the cliff-face were visibly made with bricks," points out someone else.

"Just shows the amount of thought, love, and imagination that so many people put into these films. I hope we get to see their like again some day" says another fan.

"Wēta Workshops world building is unmatched," says someone else.

"The concept behind them is that they're carved out of the cliff faces of the river, but we theorized that probably there wasn't the necessary rock to be able to carve the whole figure," explained Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop Creative Supervisor, in a behind the scenes featurette for the movie.

"So what we're saying is that they were able to carve to about this level [below the arm], but then had to construct this massive quarry to mine the rock, lifting with massive gantries and lifting equipment, up onto the upper surfaces of these huge, 300 foot tall sculptures, to place and place these huge granite blocks into which they could continue to carve and create the final look of the characters," he continued.

You can return to Middle-earth with The Rings of Power season 3, which will be headed to Prime Video sometime soon – though there's no release window just yet.

In the meantime, check out our guide to the best shows on Prime Video to fill out your watchlist.