With Superman’s release just around the corner, and a number of trailers and promotional images behind us, we have a decent idea of what to expect from the film and the many characters set to appear within it.

However, one character has remained shrouded in mystery ever since he popped up in the debut Superman trailer: Ultraman.

Writer and director James Gunn’s Ultraman is a very different take on the character made famous in the DC comics. In the comics, Ultraman is an evil, alternate-universe mirror of Superman himself. He looks a lot like Superman, just… evil.

Ultraman in James Gunn’s Superman doesn’t look like Superman at all. His suit, including his mask, has a more military fatigues feel, although the large U emblem on his chest as seen in trailers is unmistakable. But Ultraman’s power set looks consistent with Superman’s, at least based on what we’ve seen of the character in trailers.

Now, Gunn has released a new image of Ultraman that gives us a good look at the character up close. We can see the mask in plenty of detail, complete with dusty goggles. But who is underneath?

Ultraman. pic.twitter.com/KvdcMYL3XZ

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 24, 2025

Fans have already spent a great deal of time speculating about the true identity of this film’s Ultraman, with theories ranging from the plausible (a clone of David Corenswet’s Superman, the Hammer of Boravia in disguise, Martian Manhunter / J’onn J’onzz) to the outlandish (Henry Cavill!). Some are joking it’s Chris Pratt. IGN’s own comic book expert Jesse Schedeen has speculated that Ultraman is more akin to Nuclear Man from 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, or some versions of Bizarro from the comics.

So it's confirmed this is ultraman but who's playing him. pic.twitter.com/1TanQAGBJv

— sonci4536 (@AtikChafik) June 24, 2025

But this new image has sparked a fresh round of speculation, with some likening the character’s look to Doomsday, given the vague similarities between the two suits and goggles. Doomsday appeared in monstrous form in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but his first full appearance, on the cover of Superman: The Man of Steel #18 (December 1992), is more humanoid.

pic.twitter.com/e97jbFv9yG

— Daniel Guerra (@guerra_daniel) June 24, 2025

There’s a reason this Ultraman is covered from head to toe. The character’s true identity is meant to be a mystery as audiences head into theaters, so the eventual reveal will be quite the moment.

Gunn recently teased the origins of this Ultraman, although he kept things super detailed. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the DC Universe steward was asked whether Ultraman was Lex Luthor's attempt to create a "Superman kind of figure." He replied: "It's close. Yeah, I think that's close. Ultraman is sort of Lex's thug and is pretty powerful."

We’ll finally find out when Superman launches July 11.

In other Superman news, Gunn recently dismissed concerns that Superman could be confusing with so many superheroes and villains already established in its world, saying: “Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Palworld x Terraria update has launched, bringing fishing, salvaging, bigger towns, a Pal trust mechanic and more in one of the biggest patches the game has seen since its early access release last year.

Update v0.6.0 adds the collaboration with Terraria, Re-Logic’s hugely popular sandbox game. It includes a unique dungeon featuring enemies from Terraria, and the ability to collect materials in the dungeon to create equipment from the world of the game. The Moon Lord, a boss from Terraria, is now a raid boss in Palworld.

But the Terraria content is just one part of the update itself. Not only are there PlayStation 5 dedicated servers, but a number of new features. These include fishing, a salvage system, three new types of islands, a Pal trust mechanic, and the level cap raising from 60 to 65. All that and more is detailed in the patch notes, below.

Palworld developer Pocketpair continues to release major updates to the game even as it battles Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s patent lawsuit. And the lawsuit has affected the game. Last month, Pocketpair admitted that recent patches made changes to the game that were forced upon it as a result of the ongoing litigation. As you’d perhaps expect, modders stepped in.

Palworld launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC early 2024, breaking sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Pocketpair boss Takuro Mizobe has said Palworld's launch was so big that the developer couldn’t handle the massive profits the game generated. Still, Pocketpair acted swiftly to capitalize on Palworld’s breakout success, signing a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment that’s tasked with expanding the IP. It later launched the game on PS5.

After Palworld’s huge launch, comparisons were made between Palworld’s Pals and Pokémon, with some accusing Pocketpair of "ripping off" Pokémon designs. But rather than file a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company went down the patent route. The companies want 5 million yen (approx $32,846) each plus late payment damages, as well as an injunction against Palworld that would block its release.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN sat down for an extended conversation with John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Palworld developer Pocketpair. We spoke following his talk at the conference, 'Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.' During that talk, Buckley went into candid detail about Palworld’s struggles, especially the accusation it used generative AI (which Pocketpair has since debunked) and stealing Pokemon’s models for its own Pals. He even commented on Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, saying it “came as a shock” and was “something that no one even considered.”

Palworld: Tides of Terraria update 0.6.0 patch notes:

▼Terraria Collab!
・Terraria Dungeon
⤷ A unique dungeon featuring enemies from Terraria has been added! Collect materials in the dungeon to create equipment from the world of Terraria!

・Terraria Equipment
⤷ 6 new weapons and 7 new armour pieces from Terraria have been added!

・The terrifying "Moon Lord" raid boss has appeared!
⤷ The Moon Lord has invaded Palworld! Work together with your friends and Pals to defeat the greatest threat the islands have faced!

▼New Content
・PS5 Dedicated Servers!

・Fishing!
⤷ Craft a fishing rod and bait to catch new Pals! To start fishing, cast your rod in water where you can see fish shadows.

・Salvage System!
⤷ Ride on water Pals and use the fishing rod to salvage supplies at sea! Collect new ores salvaged from the ocean floor to strengthen your weapons.

・New Islands!
⤷ Three new types of islands have been added to the world: Tropical Islands, Iceberg Island, and Shipwreck Island! Find new Pals that live on each of these new islands!

・Mission System!
⤷ You can now find and accept missions around the Palpagos Islands. Help the islanders and get rewards!

・Zoe's Special Mission!
⤷ By completing missions for Zoe, you can earn her trust and recruit her as an ally!

・Pal Trust Mechanic!
⤷ The more time you spend with your Pal, the more trust you will gain, and stats will be increased. The weaker a Pal's original stats are, the greater the trust adjustment will be, so even weaker Pals will be able to shine!

・Sleep together with your Pals!
⤷ After a hard day of farming and battling bosses, you and your Pals can take a hard-earned rest together!

・Treasure Maps!
⤷ Use treasure maps to find the location of the hidden treasure and obtain valuable items!

・Enemy Bases?!
⤷ Enemy factions now build bases just like players! They are on high alert and will defend it with their lives, but if you manage to raid them successfully, you can obtain new blueprints for buildings related to that faction.

・Settlement Overhaul!
⤷ We've made the settlements larger and feel more lived-in! There are also many mission NPCs now to meet.

・Player level cap raised from 60 to 65!

・New Buildings!
⤷ Pal Surgery Table - By using various implants, you can overwrite your Pal’s passives! You can also change the gender of your Pals here!
⤷ Fishing Pond - Relax and catch some fish in the comfort of your base.
⤷ Hexolite Quartz Mine - Well, you knew we would add this one eventually!
⤷ Large Incubator - Hatch multiple eggs at the same time!
⤷ Palbox Control Device - A terminal that allows you to access your Pal Box from anywhere in the base. It makes Pal swapping during raid battles more efficient.

・ New Building Material - [Clean]
⤷ Decorate your base with futuristic floors and walls with this new building set!

・New Mechanic - Turbulence
⤷ Find unusual air turbulence around the world and use it to jump high into the sky!

・New Weapons!
⤷ Charge Rifle
⤷ Energy Shotgun
⤷ Overheat Rifle

⤷ Boost Gun
⤷ Pal Recovery Grenade
(These two are weapons for tamers who want to support their Pal!)

・New Item Types!
⤷ Whistles and Growth Acceleration Bell have been added!
⤷ New food recipes.

▼Arena
・A single-player challenge mode has been added!
⤷ Raise your rank by facing off against the fierce warriors of Palpagos Island! Get various rewards with the battle tickets you receive when you win!

・You can now set rules in the arena, such as banning certain pals.
・A public Pal Box has been added at the entrance to the arena that all players can use.
・An arena spectator function has been added in multiplayer!

▼Mechanic Adjustments
・Added equipment durability to the game settings.
・When a cooling Pal is assigned to the flea market, food spoilage rate is now reduced.
・Lyleen’s ability “Bountiful Protection” now recovers HP for all allies within range.

▼Balance Adjustments
・Some aggressive enemies have been made friendly.
・Pal skill cooldowns will tick down even if they are not summoned.
・The speed and stamina of Pals that can be mounted have been adjusted, and the speed of some Pals that were too slow has been improved.
・The lineup of bounty hunters has been expanded.
・With the implementation of the mission system, the rewards obtained from NPCs have been adjusted. To maintain fairness, conversation logs with all NPCs have been reset so that rewards can be received again.
・Pal Condensation is considered end-game content, so the strength of Axel, Marcus, and Victor on normal difficulty has been reduced to reduce its necessity.
・The power of some active skills, such as Pal Blast, has been increased.
・The probability of getting books that enhance Pal's work aptitude from attribute treasure chests has been increased.

▼Pals
・New Skins!!
The results of the 1st year anniversary popularity poll have been decided, and three new skins have been added to celebrate these results!
(※You must own the Pal to equip the skin)
⤷ Crown Chillet
⤷ Cyber Jetragon
⤷ Desert King Anubis

・Pals can now swim!
⤷ Swimming motions and animations have been added for Pals, and their speed in the water has been adjusted.

・New Water Skills
⤷ Geyser Gush
⤷ Aqua Surge
⤷ Torrential Blast
⤷ Hydro Slicer

・New Grass Skills
⤷ Crosswind
⤷ Reflect Leaf

・New Ice Skill
⤷ Freeze Wall

・New Unique Skills
⤷ Hydro Spin
⤷ Thalasonic Laser
⤷ High Breach
⤷ Lantern Sweep
⤷ Scorching Lantern Sweep
⤷ Smoke Jet
⤷ Trigger Happy
⤷ Chaotic Spray
⤷ Konoha Flip
⤷ Deep Breath
⤷ Dash Kick
⤷ Thunderslide

・New passive skills have been added!

▼UI
・Implemented "Easy Bulk Storage" feature! Conveniently store all materials in any chest around your base with the click of one button!
・Changed specifications to automatically select materials in bulk in the Pal Condensation UI.
・You can now set and quickly select your current Pal presets from the Pal Box UI.
・All neutral enemies now have green HP gauges, and only aggressive or hostile enemies have red HP gauges.

▼Multiplayer
・Fixed a bug where the option to display servers with matching versions was not working.

▼World
・Added more patterns to random dungeons.
・Fishing spots where fish shadows appear have been placed all around the world.
・Salvage spots have been placed out at sea.

▼Achievements
・Several new achievements have been added.

▼Bug fixes
・Fixed a bug where Jetragon would jump too high when jumping.
・Many many other minor issues have been fixed.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Pedro Pascal has admitted he’s well aware of some of the complaints around his casting as Reed Richards in upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but said Iron Man and Doctor Doom actor Robert Downey Jr. has provided reassurance.

The 50-year-old Pedro Pascal is set to make his MCU debut in July as one of the stars of The Fantastic Four. Marvel Studios and parent company Disney will be hoping it succeeds at a level this year's other MCU movies (Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*) have not, and so there is heightened scrutiny on what is expected to be one of the biggest movies of 2025.

In a Vanity Fair profile, Pascal revealed he is more aware of what he called “disgruntlement” around his casting as Mister Fantastic than any other role he has taken on. So, that’s more disgruntlement that he saw with his casting as Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, Oberyn Martell in HBO’s Game of Thrones, and the title role in Star Wars show The Mandalorian.

“I’m getting an inkling of excitement because it seems to reflect what our common goal was, and what we want to share, which is all of our f***ing hearts on a platter within this genre,” he said. “You just never know if people are going to be disgusted by your heart or not.”

“I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done,” Pascal added. “‘He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave.’”

Ever since Pascal was revealed as the actor behind Reed Richards, there has been a debate on whether he has the right look for the character. While some have complained about, yes, his version of Reed Richards wearing a moustache, others have said we’ve only seen a glimpse of Pascal as Mister Fantastic in action, and point out that there is of course much more to a performance than appearances.

Still, Pascal revealed he has an ally in Robert Downey Jr. The former Iron Man actor, now Doctor Doom actor, is set to star alongside Pascal in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, although Pascal, predictably, wouldn’t say much of anything about the secretive film.

“He’s just so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent,” Pascal said of RDJ.

Marvel Studios already sounds confident in this version of The Fantastic Four, at least. Last week, Marvel was said to be already planning a sequel, despite the upcoming blockbuster still being more than a month from launch.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Superman has a lot to squeeze in. Following the various trailer reveals, fans had wondered how Superman would do justice to its expanding supporting cast. The rebooted DC Universe kickstarter revolves around a trio of characters: Clark Kent / Superman, Lois Lane, and central antagonist Lex Luther, but there are a number of other superheroes and supervillains confirmed to appear in the summer blockbuster.

On top of this, the events of Superman take place in a fictional world in which superheroes and villains are already established. Superman has been doing the Superman thing for a few years by the time we meet him, and there’s no need for origin stories for the likes of Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Metamorpho.

So, is writer and director James Gunn concerned about causing confusion by dropping the audience in the middle of a fully formed world already filled with superheroes and villains?

In an interview with Esquire Philippines, Gunn said early screenings had proven this not to be a problem.

“No not really, because I've screened the movie for so many people and saw that people aren't confused,” he said. “So I know from fact that it's not confusing.”

Gunn went on to say that Superman just has two sets of friends in the movie: his work friends and his play friends. Who fits into which group is up for debate, of course, but the supporting characters should just be treated like the friends of any other movie’s protagonist.

“We're used to seeing movies with protagonists and Superman is definitely the protagonist of Superman, and he has his work friends and he has his play friends,” Gunn said.

“Now, I don't know if the Justice Gang are his play friends, or his work friends at the Daily Planet are his work friends or his play friends, but that's the two groups of his friends from different places. And just because they have insignias on their costumes or superpowers doesn't mean they're not like any other supporting character in any movie.”

Gunn then pointed to the Oscar-winning, three-hour biopic Oppenheimer as having more characters to contend with than Superman: “I think Oppenheimer has three times as many speaking roles as we do,” he said. “So I think people are fine.”

Speaking of runtime, Superman, which hits theaters July 11, clocks in at 2 hours 9 minutes inclusive of credits and post-credits. For context, that’s 15 minutes shorter than Henry Cavill’s 2013 film, Man of Steel.

All the characters revealed so far in Superman:

• Superman
• Lois Lane
• Lex Luthor
• Mister Terrific
• Guy Gardner
• Hawkgirl
• Metamorpho
• Baby Joey
• The Engineer
• The Hammer of Boravia
• Ultraman
• Rick Flag Sr.
• Supergirl
• Maxwell Lord
• Kryptonian robots, including Kelex
• Krypto
• Jonathan Kent
• Martha Kent
• Perry White
• Jimmy Olsen
• Steve Lombard
• Cat Grant
• Ron Troupe
• Eve Teschmacher
• Otis

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo has once again used its Today! app to announce news, this time a release date for Switch 2 exclusive Drag x Drive.

Drag x Drive launches exclusively on the eShop for Switch 2 on August 14, 2025. That confirms no physical release for the game is planned.

Nintendo has so far failed to confirm a price for Drag x Drive, which was announced in April as part of Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal Direct.

The Nintendo-developed exclusive uses the Joy-Con 2 for 3v3 basketball-style matches where you control wheelchair-using characters. You can use the controllers in mouse mode at the same time to simulate the act of pushing the wheels, speed up, and perform tricks.

With the announcement of Drag x Drive’s release date, we’re starting to get a clearer idea of what’s coming exclusively to Switch 2 during the second half of 2025. On July 17, Donkey Kong Bananza comes out (it just got an eye-catching Nintendo Direct all to itself), then there’s Drag x Drive a month later. Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV launches on July 24, with Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World due out August 28. Switch 2 exclusives down for 2025 but without a release date include Kirby Air Riders, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, and Splatoon Raiders. FromSoftware's definitely not Bloodborne 2, The Duskbloods, is due out at some point in 2026.

Of course, Nintendo has a number of other big games set for both Switch and Switch 2 later this year, but they're worth mentioning here as there will be plenty of Switch 2 owners interested in playing them on their new console. These include the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Microsoft has announced the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition, the first limited edition ever for the Quest virtual reality headset.

The company behind Xbox has yet to release a virtual reality headset of its own, but it seems happy to partner with Meta to expand Xbox cloud gaming on Quest.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Lori Wright, Corporate Vice President, Gaming Partnerships and Business Development, said the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is “crafted for Xbox fans.” It’s out now (see it at Meta) and costs $399.99.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition Bundle contents:

• Custom 128GB Meta Quest 3S in Xbox Carbon Black and Velocity Green
• Matching Touch Plus controllers and a limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller
• Elite Strap
• 3 months of Meta Horizon+
• 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

You can pair any Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, or Xbox Adaptive Controller to Quest using Bluetooth, but the included limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller will share the same look as the other accessories.

The Xbox app on Quest lets you access Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is available as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Game Pass Ultimate members can also stream select cloud-playable games they own, even if they are not included with Game Pass Ultimate (there are over 100 supported titles in the Stream Your Own Game collection).

The marketing for the Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition leans on Microsoft’s ongoing “This is an Xbox” campaign, which pushes the idea that Xbox isn’t confined to consoles, but playable on most things with a screen.

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition is available now at meta.com, Best Buy (USA), Argos (UK), and EE (UK), but quantities are extremely limited. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” Microsoft said.

Microsoft has so far resisted the temptation to release a VR headset of its own, even as competitors such as Sony went all-in. Back in 2019, ahead of the launch of the Xbox Series X and S, Phil Spencer confirmed that virtual reality wasn't a focus for the consoles because there wasn't enough demand for it.

“We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR,” Spencer said at the time. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”

Sony went on to release the PSVR2 for the PlayStation 5, which now appears to have been left behind.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

There’s a new Chicken Run video game in development, and its voice cast is sure to ruffle some feathers.

Chicken Run: Eggstraction, from Outright Games, is described as an “action-stealth” video game that is of course based on the Chicken Run franchise. It’s a top-down, heist game that picks up where Aardman's 2023 film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget left off. Expect a launch this fall on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

What’s interesting here is Chicken Run: Eggstraction’s voice cast. It sees Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, and Josie Sedgwick-Davies return to voice Molly and Frizzle from Dawn of the Nugget. But it’s also got Chicken Shop Date creator Amelia Dimoldenberg, too.

Carrie-Anne Moss has discussed the backlash to her characters’ death early on in Star Wars Disney+ show The Acolyte, insisting she had no idea it would be a big deal.

Episode 1, Lost / Found, launches straight into the action as a mysterious assassin (Amandla Stenberg) — later revealed to be Osha's twin sister Mae — enters a bar to confront Moss' Jedi Master Indara. Mae challenges Indara to "attack her" with all her strength and then forces her into a duel. Mae ends up striking Indara down, resulting in her death, which some fans felt was premature for a screen legend like Moss.

Series creator Leslye Headland has offered an explanation for the death, insisting it was essential for the show to throw down the gauntlet and highlight the threats faced by the Jedi.

"From a filmmaker perspective, I just felt like with the cold open, especially with a new story, that you just have to go hard," Headland explained in an interview with GamesRadar last year. "You have to say the Jedi are going to take some Ls; you're not going to know who the good guys and the bad guys are. And it's going to feel very visceral."

"Even if you already know it's going to happen, it doesn't have to be a big gotcha moment," she added. "It just has to be a moment where the emotional and the physical — meaning the fights — melt together. Carrie-Anne, not just being an action legend, is also a phenomenal actress. She was able to play all those beats within the fight as well as, of course, her death scene."

Still, fans took to social media as soon as the episode was shown to issue their complaints. Some were unhappy with the actor's short-lived appearance, feeling the character did not get enough screen time. Others criticized her heavy inclusion in promotional materials, only to be cut early on.

Why yall make Carrie-Anne Moss get out of bed if you’re just gonna waste her like that #theacolyte pic.twitter.com/d58TJbacI1

— Boka MAX (Formerly “Boka”) (@BokaLaBoca) June 5, 2024

Now, speaking to Business Insider a year on, Carrie-Anne Moss revealed she knew her character's fate when she signed on to play Indara, but admitted she underestimated the fan reaction to her death, and, looking back, feels she should have called it.

"The reaction to it from the fans, I kind of thought, 'Wow, how did I not think of that?'" she said. "I mean, I serve the writers and the directors. It didn't cross my mind. But afterward, when people made a big deal about it. I was like, 'How did I miss that?' I didn't think it would be a big deal at all."

Indara does appear in later episodes of the season in flashback form, but for many fans the damage was done. Indeed, Star Wars owner Disney canceled The Acolyte after Season 1, leaving a number of plot threads, chief among them the dramatic first appearance of Darth Plagueis in live-action form, dangling, perhaps never to be resolved.

Since the cancelation, a number of actors who appeared in The Acolyte have said they still hope for a Season 2. In December, Manny Jacinto, who played Qimir, said Darth Plagueis would have had a bigger role in further seasons of The Acolyte, but didn't reveal too much because "we could come back."

Sol actor Lee Jung-Jae said he was "quite surprised" to hear it wouldn't get a second season, which Headland was thinking about even before Season 1 premiered. Others, including Stenberg, have said they weren't shocked by the cancellation, however. "I'm going to be transparent and say that it's not a huge shock for me," she said. "I was in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren't aware there's been a rampage of vitriol that we've faced since the show was even announced. When it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it."

Mother Aniseya actress Jodie Turner-Smith raised this issue too, calling out Disney for not doing enough for the cast who faced waves of racist slander online. "They’ve got to stop doing this thing where they don’t say anything when people are getting f**king dog-piled on the internet with racism and bulls**t," she said. Jacinto is still eager to create more of The Acolyte though, calling Season 2 his life's goal not long after its cancellation.

The Acolyte earned a 6/10 in IGN's review. We said: "The Acolyte takes us to an earlier era of Star Wars than we’ve seen on screen with mixed results. Awkward dialogue and a small scope rob it of some of the series’ signature space magic, but these old-school Jedi are a thrill to watch in action."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Back in March this year, game industry veteran Masahiro Sakurai received a lifetime achievement award at the 30th AMD awards. In an interview by ITMedia Business Online conducted at the time (recently republished on Yahoo Japan), Sakurai revealed why he doesn’t hire people, reflected on how the games industry has changed, and touched on the potential use of generative AI in development.

Sakurai is best known as the creator behind two of Nintendo’s big franchises, Kirby and Smash Bros. After working at game dev studio Hal Laboratories from 1989 to 2003, Sakurai became a freelance game creator, founding his own company Sora Ltd. in 2005. In 2022, he created the award-winning YouTube channel “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games,” in which he shared insight and advice on all aspects of making a game.

Sakurai’s approach differs from that of many game creators who have gone on to form their own companies. “When a game creator becomes the president of a company, it is difficult for them to fully engage in creative activities,” explained Sakurai. “There was a conflict between making interesting games and making management decisions — the problem was that being overwhelmed by the duties of being a president made it hard to focus on the vital part, game creation.”

This led Sakurai to his current approach, which involves creating games without directly hiring or managing any employees. “Basically I work together with other game companies to avoid having to manage a company,” Sakurai explained. “This method has worked well so far. I am able to continue being creative and concentrate on making things without becoming extremely busy running a company.”

However, Sakurai noted that his method is not without its challenges. Working with different game devs means that Sakurai has to “build up trusting relationships and working styles from scratch every time. So, I think it is necessary to have a certain degree of flexibility.”

According to Sakurai, one of the most important elements when working with a team on a new project for the first time is to make sure everyone is on the same page and has a clear, shared vision of the game. “I make sure that many members of staff can share the same information at the same time, regardless of their job or whether they are designer or programmer.” Although this takes more time and planning, Sakurai said that in his experience, this approach “reduces the risk of information gaps” and misunderstandings. “Conversely, if I just conveyed my ideas to the producer, and then they assign work to various other people, then some kind of misunderstanding would occur, or even a 180 degree difference (in what was intended).”

However, when asked whether his approach would be the best for the game industry as a whole, Sakurai was hesitant. “It depends on the person. As for me, I had built up a track record and trust through working on Kirby and Smash Bros. titles in the past. If you don’t have this, if you don’t have any track record at all, then the work won’t come to you. This is a way of working that becomes possible through gaining more allies by continuing to make good games, and it is not a style of working that works well for everyone.”

Hytale, the Minecraft competitor announced in 2018, is canceled and its developer is shutting down.

Hypixel Studios announced that the ambitious, Riot Games-backed Minecraft-style game had ended development, and the studio itself was in the process of winding down.

Hytale was announced in December 2018 with a trailer that has an incredible 61 million views on YouTube. Here’s the official blurb, as it was back then:

Hytale combines the scope of a sandbox with the depth of a roleplaying game, immersing players in a procedurally generated world where teetering towers and deep dungeons promise rich rewards throughout their adventures. Hytale supports everything from block-by-block construction to scripting and minigame creation, delivered using easy to use and powerful tools.

Excitement around Hytale was fueled by the experience of the developers themselves, who co-founded Hypixel, one of the most influential Minecraft servers in the world. Riot Games, maker of League of Legends, invested in the project and eventually bought the studio.

However, the Hytale dream is now over. “This is not the outcome any of us — at Hypixel or at Riot — wanted,” a statement attributed to co-founder Noxy published to the Hytale website reads. “But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn’t bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise.”

So, what went wrong? According to Noxy, Hytale’s technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a reboot of the game engine, the team “found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be.”

“It became clear we’d need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game,” Noxy continued.

Options such as reducing scope and pushing the game back were rejected as they “would have meant compromising on what made Hytale special in the first place.” “It wouldn’t have been the game we set out to make,” Noxy explained. “And it wouldn’t have been the game you deserve.”

As for Riot, it tried to find investors to save the project, but it sounds like those efforts failed to go anywhere. The affected staff are getting “generous severance and resources to help them find what’s next.”

Confirmation of the cancelation comes just a few months after Hypixel issued a spring 2025 development update, where the studio revealed some of the progress it had made in the first few months of the year. It even finally revealed a new character that it had teased at the end of 2023. New engine progress was called out, with improvements highlighted.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Mahershala Ali has issued a number of updates on Marvel’s M.I.A. Blade movie while promoting his new film, Jurassic World Rebirth, and none are particularly positive.

Blade was first announced at San Diego Comic Con back in 2019 and if all had gone to plan, the movie would have launched this November. But the troubled project has cycled through several directors at this point, and now, six years after it was announced, Blade starring Mahershala Ali is no closer to becoming a reality.

Indeed, it's been eight months since Blade was removed from Marvel’s release schedule — and the studio has yet to confirm a new release date. That said, a month after the film was pulled from the calendar, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige insisted the company still planned to make a Blade movie happen at some point.

"We are committed to Blade. We love the character, we love Mahershala's take on him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still figuring out how it fits into our schedule, we let the audience know. You're all up to date on what's happening," he said during an interview with Omelete in November 2024. "But I can tell you that the character will indeed make it to the MCU.”

But what does Mahershala Ali have to say about it? Speaking to Variety, the Oscar-winning actor issued a brief and vague update that will do little to convince fans Blade is on the way. "Call Marvel," Ali said. "I’m ready. Let them know I’m ready."

The Hollywood Reporter also asked Ali for an update on Blade. Here, he said a little more, but it still sounds very much like nothing’s happening any time soon.

“I would love for Blade to happen; we’ll see, I don’t know where Marvel is at right now,” he said. “I’m just looking for the next great part, I really am.”