Author: Trafficblast

It seems like every time you turn around someone is breaking another record on Twitch. Now, the record for the longest continuous stream has been eclipsed at over 1,000 hours straight.

As reported by Dexerto, Twitch streamer GPHustla has been streaming non-stop since August (and he’s not done yet). What began as a simple 24-hour marathon quickly grew to 30-hours and beyond.

Soon after, GPHustla began sleeping during his streams, and even running daily errands like going to the grocery store to pick up essentials all while keeping the camera rolling. Now, he’s aiming to become Twitch’s first 24/7 streamer.

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The previous record was held by Reecesy since May where he streamed continuously for 200 hours. GPHustla has since shattered that record and doesn’t want to stop anytime soon. He wants to break the officially recognized Guinness World Record of 161 hours beginning January 1, 2021 and plans to stream until that point.

“I’m so excited every day. I kinda don’t want to stop,” GPHustla said. “I want to live on Twitch now and be the streamer that’s live on Twitch. You can, any time of the day, stop by GPHustla’s channel and he will be live.”

GPHustla streams a variety of games, from Fall Guys to Madden NFL 21, but also dabbles in Just Chatting sessions and watch parties with his community. As long as he’s live, that’s all that matters.

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Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

“At night on a river, the Viking longships emerge from within thick fog. They land on a sandy shore, the blonde Viking’s eyes shift upwards, the sky begins to glow. A mass of fiery arrows rain down, the Vikings raise wooden shields; a flaming arrow strikes a man’s neck.”

The quote above is read by a woman during the climax of the audio described reveal trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Audio description, as a concept, has been a fixture in movies and TV shows for decades — the goal is to narrate the subtle visual details, wordless gestures, and brisk action sequences on screen as if they were happening in a book for those who are either blind or visually impaired. But the concept never made serious landfall in gaming, at least until 2020.

And so, the woman details the medieval garb, acrobatic gore, and brutal weaponry during a skirmish between the Knights Templar and the unruly band of vikings. The trailer was produced by Descriptive Audio Works, which has been bringing the visually impaired community to the entertainment industry for years. Now, they’ve turned their attention to video games, ensuring that everyone, no matter how well they can see, gets a feel for that misty morning in the English countryside.

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“As a company we’ve been doing this work for linear media entertainment for years. We’ve done a lot of work with Netflix and various other broadcasters. So there were some initial conversations about, ‘How would this look in a gaming environment?'” says Rhys Lloyd, General Manager of the company. “By and large the feeling was that there was definitely an appetite for it, but nobody knew how to approach it. Trailers were the easiest entry point, conceptually.”

Lloyd’s hands have been all over Ubisoft’s 2020 lineup. Alongside Valhalla, Descriptive Video Works has also supplied descriptive narration for the trailers of the forthcoming Far Cry 6, and the Ghost Recon Breakpoint seasonal event, Resistance. The assignments came together quickly. “Out of the blue, they were like, ‘Can you do this [for Assassin’s Creed?] It’s going to be a quick turnaround,'” he remembers. “That’s core to our ethos. We were like, ‘Yes we can swarm this and get this done.'” Ubisoft sent over the video and some additional context for the specific points of interest the development team wanted to highlight in the trailer, and Descriptive Video Works got to work writing a script that was both uncompromisingly immersive, and smartly condensed. That is the challenge of description copy, explains Lloyd, you want to be as vivid as possible, without overpowering the music, the mood, and the other voice actors.

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“It’s all about supplementing. The other elements play such a key role in trailers and games in general, and you want to make sure you’re not eliminating that. You just want to be working alongside it,” he continues. “One of the things that was really refreshing to hear when the trailer came out was that people didn’t even realize that it was an audio described trailer. People just thought that that was the trailer. We never want to be jarring.”

Ubisoft’s description initiatives are the latest manifestation of the game’s industry long-overdue reckoning with accessibility. It is strange to consider that for decades, publishers scarcely paid mind to the reality that there are many avid gamers who do not see very well, or are hard of hearing, or have difficulty manipulating a joystick. Finally, disabled communities have won some attention. The Last of Us II, undoubtedly the biggest release of 2020, was touted as the most “accessible game of all time,” sporting a huge swathe of quality-of-life options like a high-contrast mode and a magnification tool. [poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Ubisoft’s%20description%20initiatives%20are%20the%20latest%20manifestation%20of%20the%20game’s%20industry%20long-overdue%20reckoning%20with%20accessibility.”]

Microsoft released its adaptive controller in 2018, which translated the knottiness of the standard gamepad to an approachable, easily mappable tray configuration that can rest easily in a lap or a table. Audio-described video game trailers are the tip of the iceberg for what’s truly possible for visually impaired gamers, but the community is already showing appreciation that they’re finally being heard. Steve Saylor, a prominent blind YouTuber and an advocate for accessibility options in games, posted a reaction clip to Valhalla’s described trailer. “I love this so freaking much, oh my god,” he says, giddy and almost out of breath, at the conclusion. “Video games are cool, man.”

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“It felt like visually impaired gamers had found some recognition, that we’re a part of the gaming community,” he says, in an interview with IGN. “It was cool to see that we were acknowledged and that they did it really well.”

This leads us to Descriptive Video Works’ most daring ambition. Annotating marketing material is one thing, but creating a full audio description for a  video game is quite another. Games are dynamic. Players wander around open worlds at their own pace; they pick flowers, smelt ore, and discover Korok seeds. No two combat encounters are exactly the same. It’s an onerous job to fill in the details of a two-hour movie or a season of television for visually impaired folks, but it’s at least easy to storyboard and conceptualize. Doing the same for say, a 40 hour Assassin’s Creed campaign plus sidequests and collectables would require reinventing the wheel entirely.

Lloyd does have some experience with this. Descriptive Video Works has worked on live events coverage before, where a narrator describes the action at, say, the Olympics without missing a beat. A similar improvisational dynamism would be necessary to bring their craft to interactive entertainment. The way Lloyd sees it, there are certain elements of gameplay that the company could start working on right now. “There are things that are set in games. Cutscenes, in-game cinematics, established links between scenes. Or even menus screens. Text to speech can tell you some things about what’s on-screen, but if you’re choosing an outfit, a describer can give you more information,” he explains. “We’ll see those things sooner rather than later.”

But for that deep, seamless immersion? The idea that an audio describer could read and react to everything Ellie does as she skulks around Seattle? That would require an inordinate amount of time, effort, and problem-solving. Descriptive Video Works is a company that’s used to getting a call from a client at the last minute. If they were to truly imbue a new game with a harmonious A.I. narrator for the blind, that would require their service to be a core priority for the developer — long before they started generating enough assets for a trailer. [poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20idea%20that%20an%20audio%20describer%20could%20read%20and%20react%20to%20everything%20Ellie%20does%20as%20she%20skulks%20around%20Seattle%3F%20That%20would%20require%20an%20inordinate%20amount%20of%20time%2C%20effort%2C%20and%20problem-solving.”]

“We aren’t game programmers. We’d need to work hand-in-hand with game programmers to build something that’s truly immersive, and object-based, that’d be a joint effort,” says Lloyd. “Normally we’re brought on at the very end. You send us the final picture, we describe it, and you add it to your audio drop-down menu.”

Surprisingly, says Lloyd, he’s had some promising conversations about taking on a project like that. If those discussions get off the ground, and Descriptive Video Works embarks on the first comprehensively annotated video game, we’ll likely not see the results for another few years. There are still so many questions to answer, so many problems to solve. But the rapid advances in accessibility have been one of the most encouraging trends in the industry. Disabled gamers have every right to feel optimistic.

“We’re at the point where people are aware of the human impact of accessibility, what we now push for is to have developers improve on what has been created,” says Saylor. “If they’re able to jump on the ball now, then years down the road, it’ll be a lot easier for developers to add those options because they’ll already have had so much experience doing it.”

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Luke Winkie is a writer and former pizza maker in Brooklyn. Follow him on Twitter.

With Marvel characters often crossing over into Fortnite and the Marvel’s Avengers beta doling out Fortnite weapons, it was only a matter of time before official Fortnite x Marvel merch arrived. A collection of T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, and hoodies featuring a mashup of Marvel heroes and Fortnite imagery are now available to purchase at Amazon.

The officially licensed apparel all shares a similar design aesthetic. Regardless of whether you get a T-shirt, long-sleeve, or hoodie, you’ll get a clothing item with a rectangular graphic across the chest. While the overall design of the products isn’t exactly inventive–especially since only black, white, and heather gray colors are available–the graphic prints themselves are pretty cool.

The apparel leans heavily on Marvel, often with Fortnite details in the backdrop of the main image. For instance, the Iron Man design features Tony Stark in the center ring and smaller images scattered about the outer rings, including the Battle Bus and Loot Llama. In another design, Groot is sitting next to Rocket Raccoon on a tree, while the Battle Bus floats by in the distance. The Thor design is based off of his look in Fortnite.

You can browse the full Fortnite x Marvel collection at Amazon and see some of the highlights below. The T-shirts are available in men’s and women’s fits, while the long-sleeves and hoodies are unisex.

As the COVID-19 pandemic fades in certain parts of the world, several high-profile TV shows are resuming production after a months-long hiatus. Deadline reports Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel series has already resumed filming in New Zealand, while Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop series is expected to start back up on September 30.

Deadline also notes Netflix’s Sweet Tooth series has already been filming in New Zealand for the past two weeks. All three projects were among those granted border exemptions by the New Zealand government in July 2020.

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The Auckland-based Lord of the Rings prequel suspended production back in March 2020 due to coronavirus concerns, shortly before filming wrapped on the second episode. Amazon has yet to reveal a release date or even an official for the series, but since the show was already scheduled to go on a 4-5 month hiatus after filming concluded on the first two episodes even before the pandemic hit, the break is unlikely to impact the company’s release timetable or work on the already greenlit Season 2. It’s reported that showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay used the break to work on scripts for Season 2.

We do at least know the setting for the prequel series. This Lord of the Rings project is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of the movies. Despite that, several familiar characters from the movies appear in the Lord of the Rings cast, including Galadriel, Elrond, and Sauron, though Hugo Weaving has made it clear he has no desire to reprise the role of Elrond.

As for Cowboy Bebop, production had already shut down even before the pandemic, with star John Cho injuring his knee while filming a scene in October 2019. Production was expected to go on hiatus for 7-9 months while Cho recovered, so the pandemic may have only added a couple of extra months of delays. Executive producer Marty Adelstein previously revealed filming had begun on Episode 6 of the 10-episode first season.

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Netflix’s Sweet Tooth is an adaptation of the popular Vertigo comic by Jeff Lemire and was first announced in May 2020. Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, and Will Forte will star in the family-friendly series, with James Brolin attached to serve as the show’s narrator.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Just in time for the Halloween season, Sam Raimi’s 50 States of Fright horror series is dropping a new batch of episodes on Quibi on September 28, and we’ve got a look at the new trailer.

Here’s how Quibi describes the series, which initially debuted back in April 2020 on the streaming platform: “50 States of Fright explores stories based on urban legends from each state, taking viewers deeper into the horrors that lurk just beneath the surface of our country. Earlier this year, the anthology series exposed thrilling folklore from Florida, Oregon, Kansas, and Michigan. Now, Taissa Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Jacob Batalon, Christina Ricci, and many more unleash new terrifying tales from Iowa, Washington, Colorado, and Missouri.”

IGN can exclusively bring you a sneak peek at the haunting new chapters in 50 States of Fright in the video below or at the top of the page:

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Quibi will debut a new episode every weekday starting September 28. The new episodes are titled, “Iowa: Almost There,” “Washington: 13 Steps to Hell, “Colorado: Red Rum,” and Missouri: Dogwood – Azalea.”

What do you think of the new footage from 50 States of Fright? Let us know in the comments.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

While Halo Infinite got delayed until next year, you can get a taste of the sci-fi shooter this week with a new Nerf replica of the MA40 used by Master Chief in the upcoming game. The blaster comes out Thursday, October 1, and you can preorder it from Amazon now. It even comes with a code that will unlock a “digital asset” in the game.

Preorder NERF Halo MA40

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The Nerf Halo MA40 comes with 10 darts and a removable clip big enough to hold all of them at once. Insert the loaded clip into the blaster, press the accelerator button to turn on the motor, and you’re ready to shoot. The blaster fires one dart each time you pull the trigger. The weapon also includes a rail riser you can attach to the tactical rail to add other Nerf accessories that are sold separately.

Also available for preorder is a Nerf Halo Mangler Dart Blaster for $19.99. It’s set to release on January 11, 2021.

Additionally, Hasbro has announced a Nerf Halo Bulldog SG, as well as two Halo-themed blasters from the Microshots line, the SPNKR and Needler. The latter two will cost $10 each. They’re not up for preorder yet, but we’ll update this article when they arrive.

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You can catch up on all of the biggest Halo Infinite news as you prepare for the launch of Xbox Series X.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on October 2. Unlike the other recent Crash releases, this is no remake of previous marsupial exploits. This is a totally new game, a full sequel to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. It’s developed by Toys for Bob, the same company behind Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

This time around, Crash and his sister Coco are once again trying to stop Dr. Neo Cortex from his current dastardly plans. The sequel promises to maintain the franchise’s high level of challenge, while introducing new play mechanics like swapping masks to use various abilities. You can check out our Crash 4 hands-on preview for more information. And if you’re ready to pull the trigger on this colorful platformer, here’s where you can lock in your preorder now.

Preorder Crash Bandicoot 4

PS4

• Get it at Amazon – $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $59.99
• Get it at GameStop – $59.99
• Get it on PS Store (digital) – $59.99

Xbox One

• Get it at Amazon – $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $59.99
• Get it at GameStop – $59.99
• Get it on Microsoft Store (digital) – $59.99

Crash Bandicoot 4 is only coming out in a single, standard edition. Click the links above to lock in your preorder.

The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4

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• Get it at Amazon – $40.50 (originally $45)

Also up for preorder is the official art book for the game. It will publish on October 26, and is currently available for a slight discount off list price at Amazon.

 

As for the game itself, it lets you choose to play as either Crash or Coco Bandicoot, but you’ll also get to hop into the shoes of other characters from time to time. Like previous installments, the game will feature side-scrolling areas, as well as times where you’ll be running toward or away from the camera.

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Crash and Coco have a few new moves at their disposal, including rail-grinding, wall-running, and rope-swinging. It will also have masks that give you special powers and abilities, like the ability to manipulate time.

For more details, check out our interview with one of the producers of Crash Bandicoot 4.

Crash Bandicoot 4 Preorder Bonus

Preorder Crash Bandicoot 4 from the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store, and you’ll get the Totally Tubular skins. Also, if you preorder though GameStop and pick the game up in-store, you’ll get a hourglass free minute timer.

Other Preorder Guides

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Check out these other preorder guides for more upcoming games.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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2020 has been a real rollercoaster ride for fans of the many current live-action DC superhero shows. On one hand, The CW is expanding its DC lineup with shows like Superman & Lois and Stargirl: Season 2, while HBO Max is building on the backbone of the DCEU with shows like The Batman prequel Gotham PD and the John Cena-starring Peacemaker. On the other hand, there’s been the widespread delays and premature season finales brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the surprise revelation that Supergirl’s sixth season will be its last.

One thing is clear at this point – the state of the DC TV landscape is shifting and will continue to shift in 2021. But where is this all leading? Does Supergirl’s end mean the Arrowverse’s days are numbered? Is WarnerMedia taking a page from the Marvel Studios playbook and trying to consolidate its TV content under the HBO Max umbrella? Let’s explore what we know right now and why you shouldn’t necessarily worry about the future of the Arrowverse just yet.

Why Is Supergirl Ending?

Saying Supergirl was “canceled” is a bit of a misnomer. The series was recently greenlit for a new season alongside most of the current CW lineup, and now we’re learning that season will be the show’s last. Presumably this wasn’t a shock to the cast and crew, and the writers have been plotting out Season 6 with the goal of tying up all loose ends. Fans needn’t worry about the series ending on an unresolved cliffhanger, a la the Dean Cain/Teri Hatcher series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from the ’90s.

Star Melissa Benoist indicated as much when she tweeted, “I’m so excited that we get to plan our conclusion to this amazing journey, and I cannot wait for you to see what we have in store. I promise we’re going to make it one helluva final season.”

At this point we can only speculate as to The CW’s reasons for ending the series. Maybe it was decided Season 6 was a natural ending point in terms of the ongoing storyline and Kara Zor-El’s character arc. Six seasons is a pretty healthy run, after all. Perhaps, like departing Batwoman star Ruby Rose, Benoist has grown tired of the heavy physical commitment involved in being an Arrowverse star and the need to spend so much of the year filming in Vancouver. Benoist’s recent pregnancy announcement could also have a lot to do with the decision to end the series now.

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Or the show’s end could come down to ratings. Mind you, Supergirl is among the more heavily watched Arrowverse shows, coming in second only to The Flash for average weekly viewers during the 2019-2020 TV season. But the series has also seen a steeper decline in viewers than its fellow Arrowverse shows from year to year. Coupled with the fact that the effects-heavy Supergirl is likely among the most expensive shows on The CW, the network may have decided to move on.

However, the most likely answer is that The CW didn’t see a need for two Arrowverse shows centered around the Superman franchise. Supergirl’s end may have been inevitable once Superman & Lois was given a full series order. And that’s assuming Superman & Lois wasn’t conceived as a Supergirl replacement from the very beginning. There are also rumblings of Warner Bros. working to make Supergirl a big part of its DC movie universe. Even though the studio seems much more tolerant lately of having multiple live-action versions of the same character coexisting, Warners may feel the TV series conflicts with its larger plans for the character.

The Future of the Arrowverse

With the news of Supergirl ending and so many recent DC TV announcements centering around HBO Max, some Arrowverse fans are concerned about the long-term fate of this shared universe. The fear being that WarnerMedia is echoing Marvel Studios’ approach to the MCU and consolidating its focus around one TV universe directly tied to its theatrical films.

We’ll get to that topic a little later in this article. But strictly in terms of the Arrowverse’s future, there’s not currently much evidence to suggest Warner Bros. Television is pivoting away from the Arrowverse or ending its long-running relationship with The CW. If anything, recent announcements argue the opposite – that The CW is committed to keeping the Arrowverse around at a scope similar to what we’ve seen in recent years. Supergirl may be ending, but it’s got a direct replacement in the form of Superman & Lois. Stargirl is leaving DC Universe and making its permanent home on The CW, and we suspect the network sees that show as a natural fit for the Supergirl audience. Even DC Universe’s Swamp Thing: Season 1 will be airing on The CW this fall, though we wouldn’t necessarily take that as a sign The CW plans to un-cancel that infamously troubled and expensive DC series.

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The network’s handling of the Batwoman situation is also an encouraging sign. If The CW had any real plans to scale back its DC lineup, then theoretically losing Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane would have been a perfect excuse to cancel Batwoman. Instead, Rose is being replaced by new lead actress Javicia Leslie, whose character Ryan Wilder is inheriting the mantle of Batwoman. Why go through that trouble if the network isn’t committed to Batwoman’s long-term future?

Right now, Green Arrow & The Canaries is the biggest question mark regarding the future of the Arrowverse. Arrow’s penultimate episode served as a backdoor pilot for this potential spinoff, but The CW has yet to announce whether it’s moving forward with that project. The network’s uncharacteristically long silence on that front is a little odd, but there are any number of reasons why The CW might opt to shelve Green Arrow & The Canaries for the time being. For one thing, the prospect of creating a martial arts-heavy superhero series in the midst of a pandemic might be unappealing for everyone involved. The lack of momentum on that front doesn’t necessarily reflect a waning interest in the Arrowverse as a whole.

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Rebuilding the Arrowverse After Crisis

Ultimately, the Arrowverse doesn’t appear to be shrinking so much as evolving. Similar to how Avengers: Endgame marked the end of one era for the MCU and the start of another, the recent Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover was a watershed moment for the Arrowverse. It was the big payoff for a storyline that began way back at the beginning of The Flash in 2014. And just as Marvel is pivoting to new characters and new franchises in Phase 4 of the MCU, the Arrowverse is slowly beginning to rebuild and establish a new direction in the aftermath of Crisis.

The pre-Crisis Arrowverse was built around four superhero pillars – Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and those lovable goofballs who call themselves the Legends of Tomorrow. The post-Crisis Arrowverse may be shifting focus to a different lineup of heroes – including both veterans like Black Lightning and Superman and newcomers like the Mia Queen Green Arrow and the Ryan Wilder Batwoman. The Legends could eventually be phased out in favor of a different team (as it is, only a handful of the original Season 1 cast are still series regulars). Heck, Crisis ended with the debut of the Arrowverse’s Justice League. Maybe The CW is planning to eventually replace both Supergirl and The Flash with an ensemble series starring both Benoist and Grant Gustin.

Warners actually has a vested interest in swapping out the current Arrowverse lineup for newer shows. Not only do new shows mean fresh starting points for Arrowverse newcomers, these shows become huge assets in the streaming wars. Currently, Netflix holds the exclusive streaming rights to most of the existing Arrowverse lineup. Batwoman is the first of these shows to head to HBO Max instead. Why continue to produce DC shows that benefit a direct streaming competitor when Warners can pivot to other characters and wind up with more content for the HBO Max library? They don’t need to phase out the Arrowverse; they just have to transform it.

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Is DC Repeating the Marvel/Netflix Controversy?

Many Marvel fans are still fuming over the abrupt, untimely end of Netflix’s various Marvel shows. Following the surprise cancellations of both Iron Fist and Luke Cage in 2018, it quickly became apparent Netflix and Marvel were ending their working relationship. The Disney+ streaming service is seen as a major culprit behind that split, along with Netflix’s reluctance to keep spending money on properties it doesn’t own.

With Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige taking a more direct hand in the TV side of the MCU, the Netflix shows and their murky continuity have been axed in favor of big-budget Disney+ exclusives more directly tied to the MCU movies. At this point, it’s unclear when we’ll see characters like Daredevil and Luke Cage in the MCU, and whether those characters will be rebooted/recast when they do return.

The concern many fans seem to be voicing lately is that DC could be heading in a similar direction. Between Gotham PD, Peacemaker, Justice League Dark, Greg Berlanti’s Green Lantern series and all the various ex-DC Universe shows like Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn, WarnerMedia is clearly betting big on DC content being a huge selling point of HBO Max. Gotham PD and Peacemaker specifically represent what seems to be a growing trend of using these lavish, star-studded prestige series to expand on an existing cinematic universe and create more movie/TV synergy. That trend isn’t even limited to DC, as Dune is also getting an HBO Max-exclusive prequel series. Does the Arrowverse still have a place in this new, streamlined DC machine, or is it doomed to go the way of Netflix’s Marvel Universe?

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Again, we don’t see a lot of evidence to suggest the Arrowverse is on the way out. Perhaps if the Supergirl news is followed by similar announcements for The Flash, Legends and Batwoman, like with Netflix’s Marvel cancellations, the situation will change, but for now that appears unlikely.

For all the money it’s throwing into the streaming wars, WarnerMedia is a fairly conservative company at heart. There’s always been a sense Warners doesn’t want to keep all its eggs in one basket where DC TV shows are concerned. Even with so much DC content being consolidated at either HBO Max or The CW, there’s still the occasional outlier like Epix’s Pennyworth. Warners also allowed The Sandman to find a home at Netflix rather than produce and stream the series themselves, likely because of the show’s reportedly massive budget. With their longer seasons and relatively smaller budgets, the Arrowverse shows are probably seen as a safer, more mainstream-friendly alternative to the HBO Max exclusives. Plus, Greg Berlanti continues to play a heavy role in many of these DC TV projects, and we doubt the company would want to upset one of their most valuable producers by abruptly tanking the shared universe he helped build.

There’s no reason the Arrowverse can’t continue to coexist with HBO Max’s DC lineup. If anything, WarnerMedia seems finally eager to lean into the idea of a live-action DC multiverse where several incarnations of iconic heroes are allowed to flourish and occasionally interact. If fans can see Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton and Robert Pattinson all play Batman on the big-screen within a one-year period, then why can’t the Arrowverse continue alongside a lineup of DCEU-connected streaming shows? With Marvel leaning more and more into one unified, interconnected cinematic universe, DC’s best bet may be to do the exact opposite. As Crisis on Infinite Earths showed us, every one of these shows is part of something bigger.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

New information on Pokemon Sword and Shield’s The Crown Tundra DLC will be revealed tomorrow, September 29, 2020, at 6am PT/9am ET/2pm BST.

Pokemon announced the news on Twitter, but gave no further information besides saying “Get Ready, Trainers: we’ve got updates on #PokemonSwordShieldEX!”

The image accompanying the tweet does also feature The Isle of Armor logo, so there may be more updates in store for Pokemon Sword and Shield’s first expansion as well, even though it was released a few months ago.

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In our review of Pokemon Sword and Shield’s The Isle of Armor DLC, we said “The Isle of Armor is a solid first attempt at DLC in a Pokémon game, even if it’s too short-lived to offer anything that feels like a truly substantial addition beyond the location itself. While the new Wild Area is beautifully crafted and the exciting selection of returning Pokemon are fun to catch, the shallow campaign feels like a waste of their full potential.”

We already know a little bit about The Crown Tundra, including that its theme is “exploration” and it will mostly take place on a snowy, icy tundra with mountains. We also know there will be new Legendary Pokemon, including Galarian versions of Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos.

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Speaking of Legendary Pokemon, The Crown Tundra will also bring back just about every previous Legendary Pokemon to Sword and Shield.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.