Month: January 2019

Hitman creator IO Interactive has opened a new studio in Malmo, Sweden, the company has announced. The developer says the new site will “strengthen IO Interactive’s commitment to deliver exceptional content to the Hitman franchise,” though it also hints at other projects in the works.

“Furthermore, this will expand our muscles for creating brand-new and exciting endeavours, new universes, new franchises,” said IOI CEO Hakan Abrak. “In other words, IOI Malmo and [existing studio] Copenhagen are one family.”

As yet there’s no clue what IOI is working on beyond additional Hitman 2 levels and missions, though it has previously stated it wanted Hitman (2016) to consist of three seasons of content. The studio is primarily known for creating and developing the Hitman franchise, but it has also worked on the Kane & Lynch series and the 2003 shooter Freedom Fighters–though it should be noted the studio does not own the latter two brands.

Hitman 2 received a positive critical reception, including an 8/10 from GameSpot. “The addition of other minor mechanical changes–like concussive weapons, a picture-in-picture enemy activity alert, and visible security camera sightlines–help to improve Hitman 2 overall as a dense and accessible stealth assassination game,” wrote critic Edmond Tran in our Hitman 2 review.

“But the new locations are the real stars, impressive and inventive sandboxes ripe for picking apart with exciting experiments. Hitman is about experiencing the anticipation of seeing whether a plan will work when you try it for the first time. It’s about feeling the tension of briskly walking away from a bad situation, hoping you can lose the suspicious guards. It’s the satisfaction of knowing the machinations of a level so well that when a target moves into a particular place at a particular time, you have the perfect way to intervene. Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength.”

A major new exhibit about The Lord of the Rings and its author J.R.R. Tolkien is opening at a New York City museum this month–and it sounds like a can’t-miss event for fans.

The exhibit, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, celebrates Tolkien and his work. Said to be the largest collection of Tolkien material assembled for several generations, the exhibit includes drawings, manuscripts, and maps that Tolkien himself put together for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

The exhibit will also contain illustrations that Tolkien etched for places like the gates of Moria, Sauron’s fortress at Barad-dur, and Lothlorien.

The exhibit was organised in collaboration with The Tolkien Estate, The Tolkien Trust, and members of the Tolkien family. The works on display come from the Tolkien Archive at the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, Marquette University’s collection of original materials, and also from private lenders. You can see a teaser for the exhibit in the video embedded above.

In addition to the main exhibit, the Morgan Library and Museum will have lectures, discussions, workshops, and symposiums related to Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. You can visit the Morgan website to see a full rundown of events.

The exhibit will be on display at the Morgan Library and Museum from January 25 through May 12, 2019. It’s located at 225 Madison Avenge in New York City.

In other news about The Lord of the Rings, Amazon is producing a Lord of the Rings prequel TV show, while a movie about Tolkien starring Nicholas Hoult as the author is in the works.

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The second season of The Punisher comes to Netflix this month, marking the return of Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). Featured alongside him in the first Season 2 trailer is a pissed off Billy Russo (Ben Barnes). He puts on a mask and becomes the villain Jigsaw, one of The Punisher’s biggest comic book enemies.

Before you watch Billy Russo in The Punisher Season 2, watch the video above where we dig into Jigsaw’s Marvel comic origins, abilities, movie appearances and Netflix series backstory. Go check out our review of The Punisher Season 2 here. And be sure to come back to GameSpot so you don’t miss our spoiler review video of The Punisher Season 2 coming soon!

Disney’s new live-action Pinocchio movie has suffered what sounds like a major setback. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey said in a new interview that director Paul King (Paddington 1 and 2), pulled out of the project over the holidays for family reasons.

McGarvey told Discussing Film that King personally chose him to be the cinematographer for the Pinocchio movie, so now that he’s out, it means McGarvey is as well. He initially said the Pinocchio movie “has been canceled,” but he went on to say that Disney is looking for a new director, and then production may start again. Or it might not, McGarvey said.

“I don’t think it’s a secret anymore, but the film has been canceled. Over the holidays, over Christmas, the director pulled out of the film for family reasons,” he explained. “Disney are trying to find a new director. They’re trying to get it going but I’m unlikely to be involved now because Paul King, who directed Paddington 1 and 2, wanted me to be his [director of photography] on the film.

“Who knows, the director they eventually bring on, it will probably be delayed by some time now; it probably won’t shoot until July or August, if it does at all.”

When Disney finds a new director, this person will likely choose their own director of photography, and from the way McGarvey was speaking, it sounds like it wouldn’t be him.

McGarvey earned two Best Cinematography Oscar nominations, for the movies Atonement and Anna Karenina, both of which were directed by Joe Wright.

King is not the first director to drop out of Pinocchio, as Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro was originally eyed to direct. He’s not doing the Disney movie, but he is set to write and direct an animated musical adaptation of Pinocchio for Netflix. Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) was also attached to direct the new Pinocchio before dropping out.

Tom Hanks is reportedly being considered to play Pinocchio’s father, Geppetto, in the new film, though whether or not the recent director change affects this remains to be seen.

While the new Pinocchio might not be happening soon, Disney has a few live-action remakes coming up in 2019 including The Lion King and Aladdin.

2K Sports and the NBA have announced a major extension on their licensing deal for the NBA 2K series in a move that’s said to be worth north of $1 billion.

The official line is that this is a “significant, multiyear global partnership extension.” Terms were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reports that Take-Two, which owns 2K, is set to pay as much as $1.1 billion over seven years to the NBA and its players’ union. That information is credited to a source who is said to have knowledge of the deal.

According to the report, the $1.1 billion over seven years is “more than double” what Take-Two paid the NBA for its previous licensing deal that was announced in 2011. The figure is said to be based on a percentage of sales of NBA 2K games.

One of the reasons why the licensing fee might be so much bigger this time around is because the NBA 2K series is believed to be an even bigger revenue juggernaut now that the franchise includes microtransactions. This has been a company-wide push, as Take-Two has said it aims to put microtransactions in all of its franchises going forward. NBA 2K’s use of microtransactions, which started in 2013, has been controversial, but they are still in the game and will no doubt continue to be used in future titles.

The latest NBA 2K game, NBA 2K19, was a smash hit. It sold more than 10 million units, and it drove even more money from its microtransactions. In total the NBA 2K series has shipped more than 86 million units since it first launch 20 years ago.

Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick said he’s excited to work together with the NBA to “find new and innovative ways to captivate and engage basketball fans, and expand further the success of the NBA 2K brand.”

The NBA also has a licensing deal with Electronic Arts for the NBA Live series. However, it’s not immediately clear if the NBA has reached a new deal with EA as well.

In addition to the NBA 2K series, 2K Sports published last year’s NBA Playgrounds 2, which is an arcade-style title.