Cory Barlog has revealed that he won’t be returning to direct Santa Monica Studio’s upcoming Norse heavyweight God of War: Ragnarök. Instead, the latest installment to God of War will feature series veteran Eric Williams in the director’s seat, while Barlog is moving on to work on other unannounced projects.
In an interview aired as part of the recent PlayStation Showcase, Santa Monica Studios pair Cory Barlog and Eric Willaims confirmed the reshuffle in leadership on the new title, explaining that changing directors has always been a feature of how things are done at the studio.
“It’s always been a tradition here at Santa Monica, to change the directors across the games,” said Williams, who has been at the studio since 2004. “We’ve had really good success with that. Cory is the only repeat director and, you know, rightfully so: he’s pretty damn good at what he does.”
Barlog further expanded on the studio’s decision to change directors between iterations of the franchise talking further about the need for fresh perspectives and the tole that directing a game like God of War can have on a person.
“The important thing for us is to get a fresh perspective each time but also a fresh pair of legs in the sense that you’re really exhausted at the end of finishing one of these things. So you’ve got to con somebody else into doing it – like him.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Barlog was hesitant to offer much insight into what he’d be doing instead of working on God of War: Ragnarök. When asked about what projects he’s working on, the Sony Santa Monica studio creative director said, “Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you, you’d like me to just spill the beans and tell you everything that’s going on right now. We’re actually doing a bunch of stuff, it’s really exciting… but I don’t really have anything I can talk about right now specifically, mostly because we’re really focused on God of War Ragnarök.”
God of War: Ragnarök is set to release in 2022 for both PS4 and PS5. For more on the series, why not check out our full detailed look at God of War: Ragnarök where we talk about the different characters set to join the God of War franchise and what’s next for Kratos and his son.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Gameplay from a since-lost movie tie-in for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 has seemingly resurfaced more than a decade after it was created.
Between the trailer release for the MCU’s Spider-Man No Way Home and Insomniac Games announcing Spider-Man 2 at this month’s PlayStation Showcase, everyone’s favorite wall-crawler has taken center stage in recent weeks. However, in addition to newer editions of Spider-Man circulating the web, Obscure Gamers has leaked footage from what seems to be the game tie-in for Sam Raimi’s scrapped Spider-Man 4 movie.
The footage, which was posted on Obscure Gamers YouTube channel, allegedly shows an early build copy of what could have been for Radical Entertainment’s Spider-Man 4. Over eighteen minutes long, most of the clip features Spider-Man swinging casually around a relatively well-modeled build of New York City.
The city itself looks pretty complete compared to other features in the footage. According to Obscure Gamers, this is likely because the game was using a version of a map brought over from Prototype. In 2019, Wayne Dalton, a previous environment artist for Radical Entertainment, shared a range of screenshots and details from what he said was the canceled Spider-Man 4 that ended up becoming Prototype 2, adding to speculation that this would have been the case.
Spider-Man’s web-swinging mechanics and some of his combat techniques are both shown off in the footage – both of which seem at first glance to be very similar to that of previous Spider-Man games in the Raimi tie-in series. One of the more surreal parts of the footage, however, come in the form of the footage’s NPCs. Unfinished and untextured, citizens of Manhattan can be seen walking and driving around the streets as grey blob-like character models. In a few absurd clips throughout the footage, Spider-Man can be seen interacting with the blobs as they flock toward him before waving and cheering him through the city streets.
Despite few details being officially confirmed for Raimi’s canceled Spider-Man 4, speculation at the time suggested that John Malkovich would have joined the cast to play Vulture. Earlier this year, leaked footage from YouTuber CyberSonic seemed to show off what might have been a final battle sequence between Spider-Man and Adrian Toomes in the movie.
Whilst Activision’s previous addition to the franchise, Spider-Man 3, released to mediocre reviews, many fans would likely still be intrigued to see what could have been for a final fight scene between Spidey and the Vulture in a fourth movie tie-in title.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Marvel’s Eternals will reportedly not receive a simultaneous release in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access following the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Hollywood insider Matthew Belloni shared the latest in his What I’m Hearing newsletter, which covers recent happenings in the entertainment industry. This week, he delivered the news of Marvel’s Eternals release plans, revealing the powers that be over at Disney have decided to give the movie an exclusive theatrical run following the recent release of Shang-Chi.
“After Disney C.E.O. Bob Chapek basically dared Shang-Chi to perform in theaters over Labor Day weekend, and it did $94 million domestically, he couldn’t possibly put Eternals on Disney+ day-and-date, right?” Belloni quizzed in the most recent edition of his newsletter sharing his insider insight.
“I’m told Chapek and distribution chief Kareem Daniels have made their decision on the November movie’s fate, and it will indeed receive an exclusive theatrical run,” he added, noting that Disney had declined to comment on the news. “Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Angelina Jolie’s agents can exhale now.”
Chapek previously referred to Shang-Chi’s release as an “interesting experiment,” noting that the film’s performance would serve as “yet another data point to inform our actions going forward on our titles,” though the studio had originally planned on the film being released in a “much more healthy theatrical environment.”
Unlike Marvel’s Black Widow, which received a day-and-date Disney+ release, Shang-Chi was released exclusively in theaters on September 3, and is expected to arrive on Disney+ 45 days later for all subscribers. The film rang up an estimated $71.4 million at U.S. theaters between Friday and Sunday.
The superhero action-adventure, starring Simu Liu in the titular role, ended up closing out the extended Labor Day weekend with an estimated $94.4 million in ticket sales in the U.S., with Monday boosting its tally even further. Shang-Chi also crushed 2007’s Halloween, which previously held the record for the best Labor Day opening weekend at $30.6 million.
Marvel’s Eternals is the next Phase 4 movie on deck after Shang-Chi. The film, from Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, is due out on November 5, though there has been no official announcement in regards to whether it will follow Shang-Chi and play exclusively in theaters before moving to streaming platforms or replicate Black Widow’s day-and-date release.
Ubisoft has announced the DLC roadmap for Far Cry 6‘s post-launch content, and it includes crossover missions featuring Rambo, Stranger Things, and the actor Danny Trejo.
The missions are part of the free updates coming to Far Cry 6 at some point after launch. Playable solo or in co-op with two players, the DLC includes the crossover missions featuring the characters above, as well as weekly “insurgency” missions and events called operations.
The Insurgencies, as they’re called, take place each week after launch on October 7, and they will stay playable even when a new one arrives. The Insurgencies involve players tracking down Anton Castillo’s underlings to earn new gear.
The Special Operations, as they’re called, take players to “unique new areas” of Far Cry 6’s fictional country Yara. “These operations will introduce new gameplay mechanics as players must snatch highly unstable chemical weapons from Anton’s arms dealers and get to the extraction point before it overheats,” reads a line from its description.
The first two locations are called Mesozoico and Maceo and they will be available at launch. The other four will be released later.
As for the crossover missions, the Danny Trejo mission involves helping Trejo sell his tacos by murdering a lot of people in the Danny & Dani Vs. Everybody DLC. The Rambo All The Blood DLC sees a “Rambo superfan” teaming up with Rambo himself in what is described as a “blood-soaked rampage straight out of an ’80s action blockbuster.” And in the Far Cry 6 x Stranger Things DLC, The Vanishing, something happens to your cute little dog Chorizo and you must find and save him. Check out the trailer below to see more of all this DLC.
As for Far Cry 6’s Season Pass, this includes content that lets you play as some of the most sinister villains from previous games–Vaas Montenegro, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed–with the original actors coming back. This was originally announced back in June.
“Over the course of three DLC releases, players will embody a different villain struggling to escape the horrors of their own minds in a brand new ‘die and retry’ experience inspired by the roguelite genre,” Ubisoft said. “Starting with nothing more than a pistol to defend themselves, players will need to find new weapons and unlock power-ups to become stronger and progress deeper into the depths of the villains’ psyches. Blending intense action and storytelling, each DLC will provide a unique opportunity to better understand each villain’s past, personal demons, and motivations.”
The Season Pass costs $40 USD on its own, and is bundled with the Gold, Ultimate, and Collector’s editions. Here is everything it includes and when the content releases:
Far Cry 6 Season pass Contents
Three DLC episodes, playable solo or co-op with a friend – even if they do not own the Season Pass.
Episode 1: “Vaas: Insanity” planned for release in November 2021.
Episode 2: “Pagan: Control” planned for release in January 2022.
Episode 3: “Joseph: Collapse” planned for release in March 2022.
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon. On Windows PC, Season Pass holders will receive the original game released in 2013, while console and Stadia players will receiveFar Cry 3 Blood Dragon: Classic Edition*.
The Blood Dragon Set, which includes seven items usable in the Far Cry 6 main game:
One outfit: Blood Dragon Gear Set
Two weapons: AJM9 and Kobracon
One vehicle: Omega Enforcer
One weapon charm: KillStar
One Fang for Hire: K-9000
One vehicle Chibi: Blood Dragon Chibi
Finally, Ubisoft said there will be “more to come” beyond what’s been announced so far. The studio is intent on “building and improving on the core experience with new, yet to be revealed content,” Ubisoft said.
Far Cry 6 launches on PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Amazon Luna on October 7. The Stadia edition is coming in 2022.
Here’s one for fans of looter shooters. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on March 25, 2022 (see it at Amazon). A spinoff of the Borderlands series, this game drops you in what’s essentially a tabletop role-playing game. It lets you dispatch enemies using magic, swords, and guns on your way to collecting all the best loot. You can play solo or with friends.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands comes in a handful of editions, which can be a little confusing. Below, we have all the info you need to sort through the thicket of who should get which edition for which console and what comes in each one. Read on for the goods.
The Next Level edition is what they’re calling the one for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It’s worth noting that the Xbox version of this edition is also compatible with Xbox One.
This edition comes with the game, plus the Dragon Lord Pack bonus content. At the time of this writing, 2K has not detailed what is included in the pack.
The Chaotic Great edition comes with the game, plus the Dragon Lord Pack bonus content and the Season Pass. The Season Pass gets you the Butt Stallion Pack and 4 post-launch content drops.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Treasure Trove (Game Not Included)
GameStop has an exclusive treasure trove to accompany the game. Note that it does not include the game itself. The game is sold separately. Now that we’re clear on that, the treasure trove comes with the following items:
Butt Stallion Plush
Illustrated Tarot Cards
Standalone Bunkers & Badasses Module
Enamel Companion Pins
Butt Stallion’s Castle Papercraft Booklet
Cloth Wonderlands Map
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland Preorder Bonus
Preorder the game before March 24, 2022, and you’ll receive the Golden Hero Armor Pack. It includes two golden armor themes that can be applied to any armor set.
Additionally, anyone can go to the game’s official website to claim the Town Crier Pack. It does require you to have a Shift account and a 2K account, and to subscribe to a newsletter.
Though it’s a live-service game with an increasing number of game modes, Fortnite is also largely a fashion show where players show off their best Fortnite skins in every lobby, match, and mode. It’s the community’s zealous buying habits that fund its continued development, after all, but thankfully Epic has gone to great lengths to bring creative original characters and licensed crossover characters together in the Item Shop.
These days, the total number of Fortnite skins has surpassed 1,000, and increasingly that includes licensed superheroes, singers, streamers, and other fictional characters and real-life celebrities. It’s tough to narrow a list of 1,000 characters across several years down to just a few, but we’ve tried to be discerning and really only save space for our favorites. Some are elaborate, others are rare, others are just awesome fan service. Here are our picks for the best Fortnite skins.
Toon Meowscles
Meowscles starred in his very own cartoon, Toona Trouble.
Meowscles is an already awesome workout warrior cat created by Fortnite fan artist RexSadio. After acquiring the character from Rex, Epic has since reimagined him into a Golden Age cartoon character a la Steamboat Willy. The distinctive black-and-white cartoonish look pops off the screen whenever you see him flexing in the pre-match lobby, and he even includes his own built-in emote with an original Fortnite hip hop song.
Jules
Even more than Aquaman, Jules has become the most popular battle pass skin of her season.
We first met Jules in Chapter 2 Season 3 and we’ve since learned she is Midas’ daughter, so pretty quickly she was pulled into the lore spotlight. That’s where she belongs too, since she looks so stylish. With her entire midsection and arms covered in tattoos, plus already a few alternate styles thanks to her battle pass and subsequent reimaginings, Jules is a fan favorite you’re almost guaranteed to see at least once in every lobby of 100 players.
Kratos
Kratos heralded a run of many more video game crossovers in Fortnite.
The God of War hero is one of the biggest video game crossovers to date in Fortnite, and he was soon followed by the likes of Lara Croft, Master Chief, and even a Rocket League Battle-Car by way of an emote. But we give Kratos the edge on this list because his in-game model looks so incredible. Despite the usually softer features of Fortnite characters, Kratos retains all of his vitriol and power. Now we’re just wondering if we’ll get an OG Kratos someday, including his nu-metal beard in all its 2004 glory.
Relaxed Fit Jonesy
If you don’t like this one, that’s just like, uh, your opinion, man.
Formerly called “Dad Bod Jonesy,” some players fairly liken this snapshot of Agent Jones to Thor when he’s gone off the deep end in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but really it seems both Fortnite and Marvel were channeling Jeff Bridges’ beloved role as The Dude in The Big Lebowski. Jonesy’s sweater, beer belly, and holstered French fries really tie it all together and signal Relaxed Fit Jonesy is ready for everything, so long as it can be done from the seat of his couch.
Galaxy Grappler
The Galaxy Grappler is a more elaborate version of an earlier skin.
It should be innately less cool to have a skin tied to a smartphone brand than, say, a superhero, but credit where it’s due: The (Samsung) Galaxy Grappler is among the most standout skins ever made in Fortnite. Using a layering technique, Galaxy Grappler’s look includes a vibrant telescopic style that virtually no other skin in Fortnite shares. Only the earlier iterations of the Galaxy skins and DC’s Raven enjoy a similar style, and in neither case is it as distinctive as it is here.
Monks
As cuddly as they are cunning.
Speaking of distinctive, what’s more eye-catching than a six-foot stuffed monkey doll? Monks is made in the image of a classic stuffie you’d see in the toy aisles, except this time just happens to wield a submachine gun and a few firefly jars to burn down a town or two. Complete with their banana back bling, Monks’ greatest attribute is how unfit for the Fortnite world they seem at first glance, and sometimes that’s what we love the most.
Doctor Slone
Slone’s motives remain mysterious, but her style is blatant.
In Chapter 2 Season 7, we finally got to meet the leader of the Imagined Order, Doctor Slone. While we’re still unsure whether we can trust the IO boss, she is a go-to in our locker presets because of her varied but always cool customization options. Let her hair flow or put it in a headband, don the aviators or leave them off, and put her in her street clothes or the full IO militia garb. Whatever you choose, Slone is one of our favorite battle pass characters from Chapter 2, and not for nothing, her stealth glider is pretty handy too.
Mancake
Even among a diverse cast, anthropomorphic pancakes tend to stick out.
Mancake is, as his name suggests, a man… made out of pancakes. But he’s more than just a starchy breakfast. He’s also a gunslinger, and once resided in the beloved Butter Barn in Chapter 2 Season 5 (#BringBackButterBarn). Mancake’s mix of AM mealtime and high-noon dueling is one of the foremost examples of Fortnite’s incredible willingness to try anything once. We’re glad they tried with Mancake. Now we await his waffling wife.
Boundless Set
Some of the deepest customization options in all of Fortnite skins are within the Boundless set.
When Epic introduced customizable, original superheroes in the Boundless set, players loved them, and while you can’t go wrong with any of the diverse group, we especially love Backlash. From head to toe, each hero can be given a totally unique identity including color scheme, hair or mask style, glowing eyes, and even an insignia for their chest–we’ll let you decide if it means “hope” or something else. If you’re not into the Marvel and DC heroes all over the game, you create your own origin story with a hero from the Boundless set.
Daryl and Michonne
Walkers, loopers–what’s the difference, really?
Fortnite has a storied history with massive properties like Stars Wars and the NFL, but one of this author’s personal favorites is The Walking Dead crossover from 2020. TV series legends Daryl and Michonne each come equipped with alternate styles that pay homage to the series’ illustrious history, and they make really great fits each October especially, when Fortnitemares tends to come around. But these zombie killers are just as cool-looking when they’re dispatching loopers.
Magnus
Magnus and Huntress don’t come around the Item Shop often these days.
One of the rarer skins in the game, Magnus was introduced in Chapter 1 Season 5 and doesn’t pop up in the shop very often. Of course, you could argue video games–and even this list–have had their fill of Norse heroes already, but Magnus, or his female counterpart Huntress, provide that particular Fortnite flair to the frozen tundra. If you like the look of these heroes, be sure to grab them when you see them in the Item Shop, or else you’ll likely be waiting a while to get another chance.
Travis Scott
“Where’s Travis?” – the Fortnite community every single day
At the time of writing this, Travis Scott has never been re-sold outside of his initial window during his Summer 2020 in-game concert, The Astronomical Tour. That’s why no matter what you see the Fortnite team post on social media, a percentage of comments are just players begging for his return. Time will tell if the more recent Ariana Grande skin follows a similar path of exclusivity, and if she does, let that be a warning that these headliners may only ever be sold in their launch weeks.
Activision’s Call of Duty series is among the biggest, most popular, and best-known gaming franchises of all time. The franchise has dominated the sales charts in recent years, and this is expected to continue when Sledgehammer’s Call of Duty: Vanguard releases this November amid an ongoing lawsuit against parent company Activision Blizzard. With the new game’s release coming up in just a couple of months, we’re looking back at the shooter series and ranking the top 10 best Call of Duty games. With Activision releasing a new game every year since 2003 (with the exception of 2004), we’re only calling out the top 10 games we believe are the best and not ranking the entire series overall. With that caveat out of the way, let’s dive in.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is perhaps best known for what happened behind the scenes to bring the game to market. In the middle of the game’s development, Activision fired Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella for insubordination. A team of developers left with West and Zampella (who would go on to establish Respawn Entertainment and create the much-loved Titanfall series), and Activision had to find another way to finish the game and launch it on time–and it turned to Sledgehammer to co-develop and finish the game. This proved to be an especially notable move because Sledgehammer at the time was working on a more experimental third-person Call of Duty game set in the Vietnam War. The game has never seen the light of day, and Activision has never made a third-person Call of Duty game aside from a limited multiplayer mode.
As for Modern Warfare 3 itself, the game was received positively by critics and fans alike and went on to sell many millions of copies, despite the behind-the-scenes drama. The game is remembered for its gripping campaign that continued the popular Modern Warfare storyline of members of Task Force 141 and also for its Horde-style Survival mode and for its integration with the since-shuttered Call of Duty: Elite stat-tracking and social app.
Released in 2012 from developer Treyarch, Black Ops 2 was yet another successful and beloved release in the popular Black Ops sub-brand. One of its biggest and most exciting innovations on the story side was its narrative that bounced between the 1980s and into the future in 2025. How the two elements connected and wove together was unique at the time, and it led to some standout sequences. The campaign was also memorable for putting even more control over the story into players’ hands by allowing them to make decisions in key moments around characters who live or die, which could end up having ripple effects.
The Black Ops 2 campaign is also remembered for its Strike missions, which mixed things up by putting you into a squad of soldiers and drones and allowing you to control a particular asset. On the multiplayer side, Black Ops 2 changed up the formula with its Pick 10 system, which gave players more freedom to equip loadouts to their liking so they could suit their playstyle and interests. And of course, Treyarch’s trademark Zombies mode returned as well, offering up more frantic, fun, and challenging gameplay in new environments. It also included more mobility options through the bus that was constantly circling the map to provide another layer of strategy into the mix.
2018’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 from developer Treyarch marked a massive shift for the Call of Duty series, as it was the first in the entire franchise to not have a campaign mode. Despite that, the future-set military shooter impressed fans and is one of the best games in the series to date. Despite not having a campaign, we found the game’s three main modes–Zombies, Multiplayer, and Blackout–to offer substantial pathways to having a good time. Multiplayer was as good as ever, introducing new weapons and mechanics to take advantage of the game’s futuristic setting (but not forcing you to use them), while Zombies offered up a deep, memorable experience full of secrets to uncover as you lay waste to hordes of the undead.
But perhaps the biggest and most exciting innovation in Black Ops 4 was its battle royale mode, Blackout. A precursor to Warzone, which would come two years later, Blackout was Activision’s first step into the battle royale genre that it wanted to have a piece of after Fortnite and PUBG’s success. Critics and fans alike enjoyed Blackout, even if it wasn’t perfect, and Activision would go on to take the learnings from Blackout and apply them to Warzone with great success.
Released in 2017 from developer Sledgehammer Games, Call of Duty: WWII marked the franchise’s first return to the historical setting of WWII in many years. No more super-abilities, no wall-running, no drones. This was back-to-basics Call of Duty meant to hearken back to the earliest days of the franchise–and it was a formula that fans enjoyed and embraced. With Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey as the co-directors, WWII told a story set throughout the European Theatre, covering well-known battles and events like the Normandy landings. The game’s campaign was praised for its Band of Brothers-style narrative, following the stories of a group of soldiers trying to survive in harsh conditions, with their bonds growing closer over time. The campaign was also notable for not having automatic health regeneration.
On the multiplayer side, WWII mixed things up by casting out the create-a-class system in favor of letting players join one of a handful of Divisions, each with its own set of skills and abilities. Multiplayer also adopted a Destiny Tower-style social space called Headquarters, where players could meet up and hang out, collect and complete challenges, and take part in 1v1 matches. Sledgehammer is now continuing its WWII series with Vanguard, which launches in November.
An Infinity Ward-developed Call of Duty game makes the list again, showcasing the studio’s impressive track record. 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 followed up the massively popular Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare two years prior, continuing the story of Task Force 141 in another globe-trotting campaign to stop a terrorist threat. The campaign drew sharp and swift criticism for its infamous “No Russian” mission, in which the player takes part in an airport massacre and can choose to engage in the bloodshed.
The mission came with a warning, and it allowed players to skip it entirely, but Modern Warfare 2 will always be remembered for its No Russian mission. The campaign is short and sweet, coming in at around five hours, but what is there is memorable and action-packed–one of the finest Call of Duty campaigns to date. On the multiplayer side, Infinity Ward mixed things up with a restructured loadout system, while the perk system was overhauled as well, much to the enjoyment of players. The game proved to be so popular that Activision decided to remaster its campaign mode in 2020.
2005’s Call of Duty 2 from Infinity Ward was the second-ever Call of Duty game (not counting console-only spin-offs), and it told its story from multiple perspectives across different combatants in World War II. Its graphics and overall presentation style might look dated by today’s standards, but it was a market leader at the time, which shows just how much games have grown and evolved in 15 years. One of the game’s biggest changes over its predecessor was that it featured regenerating health, a system that would be featured in basically all future Call of Duty games in some capacity or another.
The game also introduced a grenade danger indicator, which was new at the time. Fans generally enjoyed the game’s head-to-head multiplayer mode, and here at GameSpot, we said Call of Duty 2’s “varied campaign, excellent sound and gameplay design, and generally good AI make it a worthy successor to the original.”
2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, developed by Treyarch, is among the most popular games in the franchise–and for good reason. The game features Avatar actor Sam Worthington as Alex Mason, with a supporting cast that included Ed Helms, James C. Burns, Ice Cube, and Gary Oldman in the memorable role of Viktor Reznov. Set in the ’60s during the Cold War and Vietnam War, Black Ops marked the franchise’s first steps into the murky waters of the “what if?” scenarios and conspiracy theories that many people love to entertain.
The game also featured cameos from real historical figures like JFK, Fidel Castro, and Robert McNamara. The multiplayer moved the franchise forward by giving players the freedom to better express themselves and customize their characters with unique cosmetics. And the fan-favorite Zombies mode that debuted in World at War was featured in Black Ops, letting fans fight against the undead in new environments with new abilities and features for the series. Black Ops was a tremendous success, and multiple sequels followed.
Call of Duty: Warzone was not Activision’s first stab at a battle royale experience, as that came from Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode. But Blackout took the first steps so Warzone could run. Released in March 2020 at the onset of the real-world pandemic, Warzone aimed to earn its place in the increasingly busy battle royale space by offering something no other game could. Call of Duty’s trademark gunplay, weapons, and the “feel” that the game provides is unmatched, and applied to a battle royale setting, the game thrived.
For years, Call of Duty fans called on Activision to create a large-scale, Battlefield-style Call of Duty experience, and Warzone delivered in spades, offering a gigantic map in Verdansk full of secrets, Easter eggs, and locations taken from memorable maps of Call of Duty’s past. Warzone is the game many Call of Duty fans could only dream of, and it is also free–lowering the barrier of entry and giving players who, for years, asked for a multiplayer-only Call of Duty (outside of the since-shuttered Call of Duty Online for Asia), exactly what they wanted. The game was not without its issues–cheating and the integration of Black Ops Cold War’s weapons are among the issues players have called out–but the overall package is a bonafide hit.
Activision rebooted its massively popular Modern Warfare series in 2019. Again, Infinity Ward took the reins of development, but the studio had changed since 2007’s Modern Warfare. Top bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired years prior (the two then co-founded Respawn), with Naughty Dog veterans Jacob Minkoff and Taylor Kurosaki leading the team–and to great success. 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot was not only a sales juggernaut, but it scored with fans who enjoyed its return to the modern-day setting after 2018’s Black Ops 4 went further into the future. Modern Warfare, like the 2007 game, followed a world-traveling story of soldiers fighting against a common enemy.
The campaign had many striking, Zero Dark Thirty-style missions and sequences, and in one memorable sequence, you play as a little girl scrambling through a home as an enemy seeks to find her. It was a harrowing, controversial mission that, if nothing else, stands out as memorable. The multiplayer in Modern Warfare was celebrated for its great diversity of maps and modes, and for introducing large-scale warfare with vehicles and bigger maps. The gunplay was once again excellent, and the bones of the game–the proprietary Modern Warfare engine–tied things together in a cohesive way. Modern Warfare also paved the way for 2020’s Call of Duty: Warzone, which ended up being the biggest expansion to Call of Duty in years.
Infinity Ward’s 2007 shooter sits at the top of our list and earned its place there for good reason. The game took the series out of World War II and moved it to a modern-day setting to tell a gripping, globe-trotting story with many twists and turns as players battled against a terrorist threat on a global scale. The game was praised for its cinematic, Hollywood-style campaign mode, while its quieter moments drew praise, too–the All Ghillied Up sniper mission remains iconic for the series.
But the game’s bigger impact came from its multiplayer. The game popularized now-common multiplayer elements like killstreaks and earning experience to unlock new weapons to create user-specific loadouts. After reaching level 55, players could elect to unlock “Prestige,” restart from 0, and grind all the way back up again to earn special designations. A lot of popular multiplayer conventions were established with Modern Warfare, many of which continue today in new forms. Activision remastered the game in 2016 and rebooted it with Modern Warfare in 2019, signaling its ongoing strength as a series.
Aquaman: King of Atlantis, the upcoming three-part animated mini-series event from Aquaman director James Wan, received not only a new trailer, but also a premiere date of October 14 on HBO Max.
This new original story, which will have new episodes weekly, focuses on the early days of Aquaman’s tenure as the King of Atlantis.
“The three-part event begins on Aquaman’s first day on the job as King of Atlantis and he’s got a LOT of catching up to do,” the official description reads. “Luckily, he has his two royal advisors to back him up – Vulko, the scholar, and Mera, the water controlling warrior-princess.
“Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman is going to have to rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects, and to himself, that he’s the right man for the throne!”
Aquaman: King of Atlantis’ voice cast includes The Walking Dead’s Cooper Andrews as Aquaman, Community’s Gillian Jacobs as Mera, Reno 911’s Thomas Lennon as Vulko, and Jellystone!’s Dana Snyder as Ocean Master.
ThunderCats Roar!’s Victor Courtright and Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Marly Halpern-Graser are serving as both showrunners and co-executive producers. Other executive producers include Aquaman director James Wan, Michael Clear, Rob Hackett, and Sam Register.
Tokyo Game Show 2021, much like E3 and Gamescom before it, is an all-digital event that will look to celebrate video games with such companies as Xbox, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, Konami, miHoYo, Bandai Namco, and much more.
This Tokyo Game Show 2021 watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the show, including when it starts, a list of places you can watch it, and what you can expect to see at the show.
When is the Tokyo Game Show 2021?
The upcoming Tokyo Game Show 2021 takes place Wednesday, September 29 through Sunday, October 3, and the show will have panels running throughout each of its five days.
Tokyo Game Show 2021 Schedule
Wednesday, September 29
TGS2021 Online Opening – Wednesday, September 29 at 6pm – 6:50pm PT
Keynote: We’ll Always Have Games – Wednesday, September 29 at 7pm – 7:50pm PT
GameraGame Now Tokyo Game Show 2021 Special – Wednesday, September 29 at 8pm – 8:50pm PT
[TGS2021 SNK] KOF XV Special Program (English) – Wednesday, September 29 at 9pm – 9:50pm PT
Thursday, September 30
SK Telecom Game Show! – Thursday, September 30 at 12am – 12:50am PT
Its Mealtime! Presentation – Thursday, September 30 at 1am – 1:50am PT
Tokyo Game Show 2021 Xbox Live Stream – Thursday, September 30 at 2am – 2:50am PT
[Konami] New Information to Reveal for Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL Along With Updates Across Key Titles! – Thursday, September 30 at 3am – 3:50am PT
Spike Chunsoft TGS2021 SPECIAL – Thursday, September 30 at 4am – 4:50am PT
D3PUBLISHER TGS2021 Live Broadcast – Thursday, September 30 at 5am – 5:50am PT
TGS2021 CAPCOM ONLINE Program – Thursday, September 30 at 6am – 6:50am PT
Yurukill Special! – Thursday, September 30 at 7am – 7:50am PT
Official Program – Coming Soon – Thursday, September 30 at 6pm – 6:50pm PT
SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2021 (SOWN2021) – Thursday, September 30 at 7pm – 8:50pm PT
Friday, October 1
NTTe-Sports – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 12am – 12:50am PT
Happinet GAME SHOWCASE in TGS2021 1st STAGE – Friday, October 1 at 1am – 1:50am PT
505 Games – Upcoming Titles Showcase – Friday, October 1 at 2am – 2:50am PT
SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS TGS2021 – Friday, October 1 at 3am – 3:50am PT
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 4am – 4:50am PT
Level 5 – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 5am – 5:50am PT
Sega / Atlas – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 6am – 7:30am PT
Official Program – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 5pm – 5:50pm PT
Happinet GAME SHOWCASE in TGS2021 2nd STAGE – Friday, October 1 at 6pm – 7:50pm PT
Tencent Games – Coming Soon – Friday, October 1 at 8pm – 9:50pm PT
Japan Game Awards: 2021 – Friday, October 1 at 8:30pm – 10pm PT
Lilith Games Warpath – 武装都市; New Game Release Conference – Friday, October 1 at 10pm – 11:50pm PT
Saturday, October 2
GungHo Online Entertainment – Coming Soon – Saturday, October 2 at 12am – 1:50am PT
Japan Game Awards: 2021 Games of the Year Division – Saturday, October 2 at 2am – 3:50am PT
A 2-Hour Livestream! KOEI TECMO Special Program – Saturday, October 2 at 4am – 5:50am PT
[Konami] “Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 4th Heart” Stage / Gameplay With 2 Special Guests! – Saturday, October 2 at 6am PT – 6:50am PT
DMM Games – Coming Soon – Saturday, October 2 at 7am – 7:50am PT
Official Program – Coming Soon – Saturday, October 2 at 6pm – 6:50pm PT
S-Game – New ARPG Arrives, New Expedition Starts – Saturday, October 2 at 7pm – 7:50pm PT
Japan Electronics College [TGS2021] – Saturday, October 2 at 8pm – 8:50pm PT
Arc System Works – Coming Soon – Saturday, October 2 at 9pm – 9:50pm PT
Japan Game Awards: 2021 – Saturday, October 2 at 9pm – 11pm PT
The Feature Presentation of New AAA Products Currently in Development Under the 110 Industries Umbrella – Saturday, October 2 at 11pm – 11:50pm PT
Sunday, October 3
NCSOFT TGS2021 SPECIAL PROGRAM – Sunday, October 3 at 12am – 12:50am PT
GungHo Online Entertainment – Coming Soon – Sunday, October 3 at 1am – 1:50am PT
Ubisoft – UBIDAY2021 Online x TGS Special Program – Sunday, October 3 at 2am – 2:50am PT
AKRacing Presents [AKTalking] – Sunday, October 3 at 3am – 3:50am PT
Wright Flyer Studios – Coming Soon – Sunday, October 3 at 4am – 4:50am PT
miHoYo – Genshin Impact TGS2021 Program – Sunday, October 3 at 5am – 5:50am PT
Fingger – Coming Soon – Sunday, October 3 at 6am – 6:50am PT
Gran Saga – Coming Soon – Sunday, October 3 at 7am – 7:50am PT
TGS2021 ONLINE ENDING – Sunday, October 3 at 8am – 8:50am PT
While we presented the Tokyo Game Show 2021 schedule in Pacific Time, we also wanted to include the time difference for other time zones to help ensure you won’t miss a thing!
Japan Standard Time (JST): +16 Hours
Eastern Time (ET): +3 Hours
British Summer Time (BST): +8 Hours
Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST): +17 Hours
Where Can I Watch Tokyo Game Show 2021?
If you’re interested in watching the upcoming Tokyo Game Show 2021, you can check out Tokyo Game Show’s YouTube and Twitch channels, and make sure to check back here as we will be covering all the biggest news, trailers, interviews, and more!
What to Expect at the Tokyo Game Show 2021
Tokyo Game Show will include presentations from some of the biggest publishers in the world, including Xbox, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, Konami, miHoYo, Bandai Namco, and much more.
Xbox is promising “exclusive news” during its panel, although it is yet unclear what that news may be. Could it be a new look at Halo or Forza Horizon 5? Could it be the rumored partnership between Kojima and Microsoft? Only time will tell.
Square Enix will also be part of the show, but fans of Final Fantasy 16 may want to keep their hopes in check. In July 2021, FF16 producer Naoki Yoshida shared that while the main story scenario is “set in stone” and that the English voiceovers are mostly all recorded, he wasn’t sure if the team would be able to make something in time for the TGS deadline.
Other highlights for the week include a presentation all about Genshin Impact from miHoYo, a panel from Konami about Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel and more, new details on Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires from Koei Tecmo, presentations from Capcom and Ubisoft, and more.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Anyone who’s been playing Destiny 2 for a while has likely managed to build up a sizable arsenal of Exotic weapons to replace the gear that was lost when Dominus Ghaul attacked the Tower, way back during the Red War campaign in the game’s vanilla release. But for veterans of Destiny, no shiny laser rifle or fast-firing scout rifle can replace a certain Gjallarhorn-shaped void in their emotional inventory. It’s one that happens to be shaped like a rocket launcher that’s capable of tearing through entire armies of anything unlucky enough to be in your way.
As part of Bungie’s 30th-anniversary celebration, the developer announced that it’s bringing back the Exotic weapon of mass destruction in a new dungeon inspired by the original Destiny’s infamous loot cave. The dungeon will provide players a new challenge with the ultimate reward being the return of a Destiny 1 favorite.
Here’s why Gjallarhorn’s entry inside of Destiny 2 is such a big deal.
The Original
Gjallarhorn in all its glory
Like most of Destiny‘s cool gear, Gjallarhorn’s story in-game is an epic tale of destruction and honor that the game’s Grimoire system of exposition didn’t do full justice in explaining. In a nutshell, Gjallarhorn was forged by the gunsmith Feizel Crux at the Crux-Lomar weapons foundry. It was a gift to the Guardians who survived the fabled Battle of the Twilight Gap against several united Fallen Eliksni houses. The rocket launcher is a double-metal weapon, due to it being constructed from the salvaged armor of Guardians who died while protecting the Last City from one of the worst attacks it has ever faced.
In Destiny’s first year, Gjallarhorn popped up during the game’s second week as part of Xur’s weekly inventory of Exotic weapons. At this point, the Agent of the Nine was still accepting Strange Coins for payment, but since it was early in the game, few players had stored up enough of the rare currency to buy the gun. Anyone who missed out on obtaining Gjallarhorn would have to hope that luck was on their side and that it would drop as a reward from engrams, Crucible matches, or as a prize from the completion of the Vault of Glass or Crota’s End raid.
Some players were happy to wait for Xur to offer the weapon again–at least, at first. Buying the rocket launcher required almost an entire year of patience, as the arms dealer only offered Gjallarhorn again in the first week of Destiny’s second year, and only sparingly afterward. The Prison of Elders from the House of Wolves DLC was another possible option for earning an Exotic engram possibly containing Gjallarhorn, if the RNG gods were on your side. That rarity led to Gjallarhorn being an incredibly sought-after item, especially once players began learning of just how ludicrously overpowered it was in action.
What Made It So Special
Beauty through destruction.
Gjallarhorn was digital proof that there’s no kill like overkill when it comes to weapons in Destiny. Besides looking like a gloriously ostentatious vessel for delivering high-velocity death from on high, Gjallarhorn’s signature Wolfpack Rounds perk meant that a single rocket could become many tracking cluster missiles upon detonation of the main warhead. One high-damage round became several, erasing anything from existence that was caught in its blast radius.
So powerful was the rocket launcher that it became an essential part of high-level activities and a scourge in the Crucible. Raid groups only allowed cool Guardians equipped with the Exotic entry in their a weekly expeditions into the Vault of Glass to annihilate Atheon across multiple timestreams, packs of roaming Fallen from the House of Wolves were shot down before they even hit the ground, and no matter how fast you ran in the Crucible, there was nowhere to hide from all the seeker missiles locked onto your fancy armor.
Rise Of Iron
Not even space-gods could stand up to Gjallarhorn
As time passed, several patches were released, and Bungie introduced other Exotic rocket launchers such as Truth and Dragon’s Breath, making Gjallarhorn a relic as other powerful weapons were added to Guardian arsenals. With Destiny 2 on the horizon, Bungie gave the game’s signature weapon one final hurrah in 2016’s Rise of Iron expansion. This time dubbed the “Iron Gjallarhorn,” what made this version of the rocket launcher so special was a long quest that players would embark on to assemble their Exotic and cement their reputation as an Iron Lord for a new era.
Iron medallions had to be collected, a whole lot of talking was done between fetch quests, and the end of the mission saw a legend reforged and tested in epic fashion. With multiple Fallen converging on their position, Walker tanks gearing up for an almighty assault, and no reinforcements on the horizon, Guardians were left with nothing more than a shoulder-mounted extinction-level event weapon, a small mountain of ammo, and plenty of moving targets.
Return Of The King
Gjallarhorn, it has been too long.
Enter Destiny 2, a game that hit the reset button on player’s inventories when Dominus Ghaul invaded the Last City. It would take some time for players to rebuild their collections, and in the game’s first year, Gjallarhorn would have a spiritual successor in the form of Wardcliff Coil. While it had no tracking systems with which to pursue enemies, Wardcliff Coil made up for it with a cluster of rockets that could turn the tide of battle–or make someone in the Crucible curse your name.
In the years since then, Destiny 2’s selection of Exotic rocket launchers has grown to include Two-Tailed Fox, Deathbringer, and Eyes of Tomorrow. They’re all fantastic weapons in their own right, but lacking the prestige and history of Destiny’s Gjallarhorn. All of that changes later this year though, as Destiny 2’s general manager Justin Truman explained during Bungie’s recent showcase event for The Witch Queen expansion that the studio’s 30th Anniversary celebration was the right time to bring the iconic weapon into the game.
“One of the questions we asked ourselves, when we started looking at what would a 30th Anniversary Celebration look like, is, ‘What are those moments that we really want to call back to on this journey, the experience we’ve had with our players?'” Truman said to Polygon in an interview. “And two that immediately jumped was that experience of the loot cave at the very beginning of Destiny 1, and the Exotic-defining moment when you understood what Gjallarhorn was.”
Gjallarhorn’s Destiny 2 incarnation has some big boots to fill, as the legacy of this weapon sums up the original Destiny at its finest: a loud, confident, and explosive salvo of fun, all wrapped up in a gloriously ostentatious package of metal and violence.
