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Star Trek: Discovery Renewed for Season 4

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for season 4. The cast appeared in a special video to announce that filming for the next season will begin on November 2.

Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham on Discovery, and Doug Jones who plays Saru, appeared in a short video alongside the co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman to announce the season 4 renewal.

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No plot details were shared in the video, but the cast and crew shared their excitement at filming together again after being separated throughout the pandemic.

Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 and was developed specifically for CBS All Access. The news comes a day after the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 on CBS All Access. Set after Commander Burnham went into a wormhole in the season 2 finale, season 3 finds the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery in a mysterious future.

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You can read IGN’s Star Trek: Discovery season 3 premiere review. No release date has been set for the season 4 premiere.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Doctor Strange 2 Adds New Cast Member

The long-awaited Doctor Strange 2 has had its share of setbacks–including losing original director Scott Derrickson, until Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi stepped in earlier this year–but hopefully they will be firmly a thing of the past, especially as new casting announcements are coming out. According to Deadline, Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) will be the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It has not yet been announced who she will be playing.

Benedict Cumberbatch will be returning in the title role, and also reprising roles are Benedict Wong (Deadly Class) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Lion King)–Wong as the sorcerer coincidentally with the same name, and Ejiofor as nemesis Karl Mondo. Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: Age of Ultron) is also reportedly due to return as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff for a storyline that will connect with this year’s still upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision. As it stands, the WandaVision show will be the only MCU release for the year–the last time a year went by without a new movie was 2009.

Information regarding the sequel is still scarce. In a recent interview, Cumberbatch indicated that filming is due to start either “in late October or early November,” so it is reasonable to expect more details to emerge sooner rather than later. While Derrickson is no longer producing, he previously revealed he will stay on as an executive producer.

Check out our breakdown of Marvel’s Phase 4–the production slate for movies due to be released between 2020 through early 2022–for a look into what’s still ahead from Marvel. Even though it’s been a rough year for movies, there’s still a lot ahead to look forward to.

Now Playing: Chadwick Boseman’s Best MCU Moments

Phil Spencer on Whether Microsoft Needs to Bring Future Bethesda Games to PS5

Microsoft shocked the gaming world when it acquired Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax Media recently for a whopping $7.5B. However, the decision has left a lot of people curious about the future of Bethesda games on other platforms, notably Sony’s upcoming PS5.

Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo interviewed Xbox’s Phil Spencer to discuss a bit more about the deal and what implications it may have for players outside the Xbox ecosystem.

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“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” asked Totilo.

“Yes,” Spencer quickly replied. Then he paused.

“I don’t want to be flip about that,” Spencer added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games.”

“When I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us,” Spencer continued. “Whatever that means.”

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Bethesda is home to some of the biggest franchises in gaming including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, as well as DOOM, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and more. Not having future titles arrive on PlayStation 5 or elsewhere puts Microsoft in a unique position, and one it must navigate delicately.

Xbox purchased Bethesda after it already had timed exclusivity with PS5 for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo and Spencer has stated that the company plans to honor those deals. It has already begun adding some of Bethesda’s back catalog of games to Xbox Game Pass including the recent addition of DOOM Eternal earlier this month.

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While he didn’t completely rule out the idea of the upcoming Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield coming to other platforms outside Xbox and PC he did confirm in September that future titles would come to “other consoles on a case by case basis.”

This wouldn’t be out of the norm as Xbox has already released a number of first-party games on other platforms—most notably Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired in 2015 for $2.5B. Additionally, titles such as Cuphead have made it over to PS4 and Nintendo Switch with a version even playable on Tesla electric cars. Recently, Ori and the Will of the Wisps debuted on Nintendo Switch, as well.

Even after the massive purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft said it still considering purchasing additional video game studios “where it makes sense.”

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We’ve learned quite a bit about the upcoming Xbox Series X during our final hands-on preview including how specific games enhanced for Xbox Series X perform as well as just how important an SSD is for next-gen gaming.

If you’re still looking to get your hands on Xbox Series X or S be sure to check out our Xbox preorder page for the most up-to-date information on where to purchase. We’ve also got a handy next-gen guide that includes how to transfer saves and a list of all games coming to Xbox Series X and S.

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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.

Star Trek Discovery Season 3: All The Easter Eggs, Callbacks, And References So Far

Star Trek Discovery Season 3: All The Easter Eggs, Callbacks, And References So Far – GameSpot

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While Star Trek found a new lease of life on the big screen in 2009, it had been more than a decade since the last TV show in the long-running sci-fi franchise when Star Trek: Discovery premiered in September 2017. The show’s producers faced the difficult task of making a show that appealed to modern audiences and new fans, as well as satisfying die-hard, long-term Trek devotees.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 followed in 2018, and embraced a darker, more emotionally complex approach to the series. But while the first two seasons of Discovery took the story and characters in some surprising directions, the show has remained very aware of its past. Every episode contained multiple references and callbacks to something from the grand 55-year history of Star Trek, which you can check out in our Season 1 and Season 2 Easter Egg galleries. Sometimes these are sly jokes that only the most dedicated fan would spot, and sometimes they are crucial plot-points and familiar characters.

Season 3 of Discovery is now here. This season is set 900 years after the events of Season 2, so we’re perhaps less likely to see familiar characters such as Pike and Spock, both of whom were main protagonists in the previous season. But the show is already delivering plenty of Easter Eggs, callbacks, in-jokes and references, so let’s take a look at them so far…

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1. The Gorn (Episode 1)

1. The Gorn (Episode 1)

Book tells Burnham “the Gorn destroyed two light-years worth of subspace.” The Gorn are a humanoid reptilian species that first appeared in The Original Series episode “Arena.” There’s also a reference to them in Season 2 when Section 31 boss Leland jokingly talks about “alligators” on the Gorn planet Cestus III.

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2. Andorians and the Orions (Episode 1)

2. Andorians and the Orions (Episode 1)

Burnham is surprised to learn that Andorians and the Orions are working together. Blue skinned Andorians first appeared in the Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” and were used as recurring characters on Star Trek: Enterprise. Orions are green-skinned and first featured in the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage.” Most recently, the animated show Star Trek: Lower Decks features an Orion character named Ensign D’Vana Tendi.

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3. Subspace Amplifier (Episode 1)

3. Subspace Amplifier (Episode 1)

Burnham notices that Book’s ship has a Subspace Amplifier. These devices are used for subspace communication, and were previously used in various episodes of Enterprise to allow the ship to communicate with the Earth and Starfleet Command.

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4. Dylithian Recrystalizer (Episode 1)

4. Dylithian Recrystalizer (Episode 1)

Book asks Burnham to “whip up a new dylithian recrystalizer.” This technology was invented by Queen Po back in Season 2, when she helped the Discovery recharge the time crystal. 900 years in the future, it is clearly used widely.

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5. Benamite and the Quantum Slipstream (Episode 1)

5. Benamite and the Quantum Slipstream (Episode 1)

Book also mentions needing “Benamite” to “fly Quantum Slipstream.” Benamite is the extremely rare crystal that the USS Voyager used to construct a quantum slipstream drive in the Voyager episode “Timeless.”

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6. Tachyon Solar Sails (Episode 1)

6. Tachyon Solar Sails (Episode 1)

Another of Book’s tech references is to tachyon solar sails, which are “slow as s***.” In the Deep Space 9 episode “Explorers,” tachyons are used to power an ancient solar sailing ship to warp speed.

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7. The Temporal Cold War (Episode 1)

7. The Temporal Cold War (Episode 1)

Book tells Burnham that all time travel technology was destroyed after the Temporal Wars. This was a conflict fought across different points in time, involving a variety of factions who wanted to manipulate history. These factions included a mysterious benefactor of the Suliban Cabal, the Na’kuhl, the Sphere-Builders, and the Federation. The Temporal Cold War featured as a main plot point in several episodes of Enterprise, in which Captain Jonathan Archer helps to end the conflict.

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company


Future Bethesda Titles Don’t Need To Be On PS5, Says Xbox’s Phil Spencer

Last month Microsoft announced the acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiaries, including Doom, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout publisher Bethesda. While Microsoft hasn’t detailed its release plans for Bethesda titles in the future, Xbox’s Phil Spencer says that the price of the deal isn’t forcing any decisions.

The acquisition cost Microsoft $7.5 billion and is expected to close soon, but Microsoft has said that existing exclusivity deals for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo on the PlayStation 5 will not be changed. The future of Bethesda titles is less certain, however, with Microsoft previously stating that it would determine release platforms for games on a “case-by-case” basis.

Spencer, speaking to Kotaku, didn’t elaborate on that stance, but did mention that Microsoft has no obligation to release games on platforms it doesn’t control for the financial aspect of the deal to make sense.

“[W]e have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means,” replied Spencer when asked about whether Microsoft will need to sell The Elder Scrolls VI on PS5 to recoup costs.

Although Spencer doesn’t outright say whether future Bethesda titles will be multi-platform, it does seem clear now that Microsoft has the flexibility to decide that without having to think about the costs of the publisher purchase. It has also released Microsoft-funded titles on competing platforms, most recently with Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch. Spencer does mention in the same interview that he doesn’t see that strategy as sustainable, however.

Elsewhere in the interview Phil Spencer shares his thoughts on the differences between the Xbox Series X and Series S, saying that he believes the latter will eventually be the best-seller during this coming generation. The Xbox Series X and Series S launch on November 10.

Now Playing: Deathloop “Two Birds One Stone” Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Showcase

Joe Biden’s Animal Crossing Island Is Impressive

The Joe Biden campaign put some serious work into its island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Democratic presidential nominee can be seen walking around his field office, a polling place, and much more in the meticulously designed ‘Biden HQ.’ He’ll shout one of his campaign slogans, “no malarkey” if you speak to his character.

“A lot of the residents on the island are dogs, Joe Biden loves dogs,” said Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller while exploring the island on Twitch. Kinda Funny debuted the town on their stream on October 16 by visiting it with the Dream Suite. Miller was joined by Animal Talking Host Gary Whitta.

Biden HQ's Polling Place
Biden HQ’s Polling Place

The island has Joe Biden yard signs, a field office with a basement full of trains (one of Joe Biden’s nicknames is ‘Amtrak Joe’ since he often commuted by train), a polling place with voter information, and an ice cream stand in front of Nook’s Cranny. There are a lot of fun spaces on the island, including Joe Biden fliers (made with custom designs) on the ground in places.

Amtrak Joe and his trains
Amtrak Joe and his trains

It’s clear that whoever designed the island is a big fan of Animal Crossing. The back part of the Biden HQ is covered in dog houses (turned around so they look like houses in the distance) and windmills. It’s a common design trick that makes islands feel bigger in the Animal Crossing community.

Biden HQ's View

You can visit Biden HQ in Animal Crossing by laying down in bed to open the Dream Suite and entering the code DA-7286-5710-7478. You won’t be able to take anything from the island, but you can text “AC” to 30330 to get a special Biden campaign shirt for your villager.

President Trump doesn’t have an Animal Crossing: New Horizons island yet and with the election fast approaching he better get on that. Terraforming takes a long time. Both candidates had individual town halls this week to talk to voters about social justice, climate change, and other issues.

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Last Chance To Claim Escape From Tarkov Gifts And 25% Off Discount

Battlestate Games, the studio behind Escape From Tarkov, is celebrating its birthday this week. As a thank you to its fans, the team has marked down all preorder editions of the game by 25%, but there’s not long left to take advantage of it. The sale ends today, October 16 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET. This is also your last chance to claim your free in-game gift bundle—another token of Battlestate’s gratitude.

The sale comes ahead of the highly anticipated Escape From Tarkov 12.8 update, which was supposed to go live this week, but had to be delayed last-minute due to “unforeseen bugs” and other issues.

How To Claim Escape From Tarkov Gift

To claim your free Escape From Tarkov gift, head to your Battlestate Games profile, scroll down to where it says “Additional ingame equipment,” and click “Receive” on the newest bundle. Don’t forget to also claim any leftover gifts you may have missed from prior events.

Then, load up Escape From Tarkov and head to your in-game messages. You should have a message from SYSTEM stating, “Here is a small gift to celebrate the birthday of our company! Good luck in Tarkov!” Hit the “Get’ button to receive the package. You’ll be taken to an inventory screen with a showcase of the free gift items on the left and your own stash on the right.

The free birthday gift bundle includes the following in-game items:

  • 100x GP coin
  • 540x 5.45×39 mm PS
  • 280x 5.7×28 mm SS190
  • 1x modified RPK-16 5.45×39 light machine gun
  • 1x FN P90 5.7×28 submachinegun
  • 1x grenade case
  • 1x dogtag case
  • 1x FORT Redut-M body armor
  • 2x 95-round 5.45×39 magazine
  • 4x FN magazine for P90, 50-round capacity
  • 1x ZSh-1-2M helmet + ZSh-1-2M face shield
  • 64x F-1 hand grenade (inside grenade case)

How To Claim 25% Off Escape From Tarkov Preorders

There are several editions of Escape From Tarkov available to preorder, which we’ve broken down in our Escape From Tarkov preorder guide. Each one, including the $140 Edge of Darkness Limited Edition, is 25% off until October 16 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET.

You can preorder your edition of choice on the Escape From Tarkov website, but remember to login to your Battlestate Games account first for more accurate prices. If you already own the Standard edition of Escape From Tarkov (or any of the middle tiers), the pricier editions will be listed at a lower price because you’d be upgrading from your current version. For instance, if you own the Standard edition already, it usually costs $95 to upgrade to Edge of Darkness, but with the 25% off applied, it’s now just $71.25.

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Fall Guys Update Will Make It Easier To Play New Medieval Levels

Fall Guys got a number of changes when Season 2 launched earlier in October, some of which weren’t received well by the game’s community. Mediatonic said that a hotfix would come next week to address some of the complaints, including one change that will increase how often new medieval levels will show up in playlists.

Season 2 introduced several small changes to the battle royale, including new animations and visual effects on games like Hex-A-Gone and Tip Toe, and several bugs that have frustrated players. An unexpected bug made Jump Showdown, one of the game’s finale modes, easier by slowing the spinning beam that the player needs to jump over. Several players said that the mode timed out while they were playing, awarding crowns to all players who were still alive. Some players didn’t like that because winning isn’t enough for them, they want to see others lose, too.

“Jump Showdown speed issues have been fixed,” Mediatonic wrote in its Discord server. The studio also said it was making “clarity improvements” to several mini-games. The hotfix will also increase the probability of the new medieval levels (Knight Fever, Hoopsie Legends, Wall Guys, and Egg Siege) showing up after players complained that they weren’t seeing them enough.

Mediatonic also introduced an issue tracker to keep players up-to-date with bugs and issues the development team is working to address.

Fall Guys Season 2 launched earlier this month. A new ‘gauntlet’ playlist was added that removes team games from the minigame rotation. The only finale in that playlist is Fall Mountain, though, so know that most of your games will end in frustration.

Now Playing: Fall Guys Season 2 Trailer | Gamescom 2020

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Super Mario Bros. 35 Kicks Off A New Limited-Time Event

Another new Special Battle event has begun in Super Mario Bros. 35, the free-to-play multiplayer Mario game for Switch Online subscribers. This event is called the Limited Course Special Battle, and as its name suggests, it restricts the playing field to a handful of specific stages.

During this Special Battle event, players will only play through World 3-1 to 4-4. The latter stage in particular should make this event hectic, as you’ll need to follow a specific path through the maze-like castle in order to reach Bowser at the end. This event only runs through the weekend, ending at 11:59 PM PT on October 18 (2:59 AM ET on October 19).

As previously mentioned, Super Mario Bros. 35 is a free download exclusive for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. The game was released as part of Nintendo’s Super Mario 35th anniversary celebration, but much like Super Mario 3D All-Stars, it’s not a permanent addition to Switch’s library; Nintendo says the game will only be available to play until March 31, 2021.

We gave the game a 7/10 in our Super Mario Bros. 35 review. “Playing against 34 other Marios at once is a wonderful type of mayhem, as is facing off against hordes of enemies. However, early course repetition and late-game lulls slightly temper this Mushroom Kingdom celebration of Mario’s 35 years,” critic Chris Button wrote.

Super Mario Bros. 35 is developed by Arika, the studio behind Tetris 99. That game is also holding its own event this weekend that gives players another chance to unlock Tetris 99’s Pokemon Sword and Shield theme. This time around, you’ll only need to earn 50 points (as opposed to 100) to unlock the theme.

Nintendo still has other events planned to celebrate Super Mario’s 35th anniversary, including a special Ninji Speedrun course for Super Mario Maker 2. That will run from November 17-24, and the 35 players who have the fastest speedrun time will win a special Mario 35th anniversary coin. You can register for that event on Nintendo’s website.

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Analogue Duo Announced for TurboGrafx-16 Fans Everywhere

Analogue, the makers of high-end retro consoles, have announced their latest vehicle for nostalgia: The Duo.

The Analogue Duo is a system that can play NEC’s high energy video games. The All-in-one system is capable of playing nearly every NEC system and game formate including TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, SuperGrafx, TurboGrafx CD. PC Engine CD-ROM2, and Super Arcade CD-Rom2 all at 1080p.

The Analogue Duo has two drives for CD-ROMs and Hucards and TurboChips. There are also accessory ports that support controllers and original hardware from Analogue. The Duo also supports 2.4g and Bluetooth and will sync up with any wireless 8BitDo Bluetooth or 2.4g controller directly.

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As a bonus, Analogue also announced a new adapter for Analogue Pocket which supports TurboGrafx-16 cartridges. This will be released separately in 2021.

Analogue is a hardware manufacturer founded in 2011 specializing in high-end retro consoles. Unlike emulators, Analgoue’s systems can play retro games directly from the source and can usually upres the games for modern TVs.

Analogue previously released the Analogue Nt and Super Nt for NES and SNES games as well as the Mega Sg for Sega systems. The most recent release was the Analogue Pocket which can play most handheld game cartridges.

Analogue says the Duo will be released in limited quantities in 2021 for $199.99. Check out IGN’s review of the Analogue Mega Sg for our take on Analogue’s previous retro hardware.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.