How Nomura’s Signature Style Was Refreshed For NEO: The World Ends With You

Tetsuya Nomura holds many titles at Square Enix and has had pivotal roles in the creation of Kingdom Hearts and several iconic entries in the Final Fantasy franchise; he’s a household name among those who follow Japanese games. He has also established instantly recognizable character designs over the years–gratuitous use of fashionable belts and zippers aside, fans of Square Enix games know Nomura’s influence when they see it. However, with the upcoming NEO: The World Ends With You (henceforth referred to as NEO TWEWY), a different generation of character designers have left their creative mark alongside Nomura in this game, supporting what he set in motion with the original game from 2007.

I had an opportunity to talk specifically about the development of NEO TWEWY’s character designs with those who led its development: Gen Kobayashi and Miki Yamashita, in addition to Tetsuya Nomura. With extravagant style and fashion at the forefront of NEO TWEWY’s expressive, youthful attitude, our brief conversation centered around keeping up with trends, reflecting the real world in their designs, and how creating characters has changed but also stayed the same over the years.

Now Playing: NEO The World Ends With You Gameplay

NEO: The World Ends With You is set to launch soon on July 27 for PlayStation 4 (playable on PS5) and Nintendo Switch, and a PC version is planned for release sometime this summer. For more on the game, you can read up on our NEO TWEWY gameplay impressions, our previous interview with Nomura and company on NEO TWEWY, or check out the game yourself with the demo available on PS4 and Switch.

The following interview was conducted through a video call with an interpreter from Square Enix who translated the questions and answers between Japanese and English. This was also edited for clarity and readability.

Left to right: Gen Kobayashi, Tetsuya Nomura, Miki Yamashita (photos provided by Square Enix)
Left to right: Gen Kobayashi, Tetsuya Nomura, Miki Yamashita (photos provided by Square Enix)

How do you keep up with trends and find inspiration and stay youthful? Since this is a game where it’s mostly young folks living in a modern world, how do you make sure that you’re portraying them accurately or creating something that players can identify with?

Nomura: I actually live very close to Shibuya, so it’s actually within the vicinity of where I would actually be on a daily basis. I didn’t really have to buckle down and go out to Shibuya to do extensive research. It was essentially part of my daily life. And then, as for looking at more newer fashion, I did look to social media and fashion model accounts for people in their teens to get an idea of what the latest trends were because they know best. I got ideas of what kind of things were most important in the current fashion. So I really utilized social media a lot.

Kobayashi: I’m not really the type of person to follow the latest fashion trends. When this project initially started, I kind of scrambled, went to Shibuya to look at their various stores and check the latest sorts of trends. Also, I did a lot of research online to take in as much knowledge as possible. But when I actually got down to creating designs, it really didn’t go well at first. There was a lot of advice that I ended up getting from Nomura-san, he did give me a lot of pointers, you should take a look at this. Through his guidance, I was able to cross the finish line and finish up these designs.

Yamashita: I tend to do a lot of my research online, so I would look up what kinds of trends there are for the modern age and among young Japanese people. What kind of trends, brands, or Japanese brands are setting, too. Those are some points that I looked into. I also referenced overseas high fashion brands to make sure that we weren’t veering too far away from the worldwide trends as well. So, that is something that I try to incorporate into my designs.

Gallery

A number of character designs from NEO: The World Ends With You.

How has the team evolved in terms of designing female characters that are more representative of fashion in the real world? I’ve been playing the game and have also been seeing some non-gender specific styles of fashion as well. How has the team modernized how they design characters that aren’t always dressed traditionally male or female?

I’ve noticed some really stark design decisions for Nagi and Kanon for example, but also for characters like Kaie, who I didn’t want to assume how they identified, but really stood out through their style. I’m seeing a lot more variety in expression between non-gender specific styles and female characters, and that stood out to me.

Nomura: I wasn’t really overly conscious of the current kind of conversation that’s being had relating to those issues. I designed as I had done in the past as well. But some of the characters that you had mentioned were designed by Yamashita-san, and with the fact that we had a new female designer on the team this time around, that might have changed things around. So I think Yamashita-san can speak on this point.

Yamashita: Regarding the second part of your question, I think one of the characters you were referring to is Eiru, who is kind of non-gender specific. This is a character that I designed at the very end. When we look at the original TWEWY, we had Rhyme, who is also kind of non-gender specific or somewhere in the middle. We thought it might be a good idea to have a similar character in the mix as well for this game. I went back to the planner and was able to put this character into the mix at the very last moment.

Kaie Ono (left) meets the main squad early on to help them navigate the Reaper's Game.
Kaie Ono (left) meets the main squad early on to help them navigate the Reaper’s Game.

I think what we’re seeing in the current age where people are living their lives, we’re not specifically confined to one gender or the other, which is what we’re seeing more. I wanted to incorporate that into the design for this character. That is one point. Then, as for the female characters, Nagi and Kanon, what I really focused on was trying to make sure that their personalities really shone through each of their designs. That is something that I was most conscious about.

As for Nagi, I actually don’t think anybody in real life really dresses this way, but I wanted to make sure that her inner characteristics were shown in her design and that her fashion was brought to the forefront. I think I was able to achieve that. The current sort of temperature that we’re seeing or the sentiment with female characters, that is something I didn’t really have to consider for her specifically.

As for Kanon, she’s the character that Fret [one of the core characters in the main party] falls in love with at first sight. I wanted to make sure that that was incorporated into her design as well, making her a beautiful, more mature lady that would catch the eye of the people. I tried to give her pants that aren’t exactly tapered, not skinny, but wider at the seam, which I feel is something that is fashionable amongst women in the current age. So, I wanted to use that as something modern in her design.

Kanon gives you a tough time early on in NEO TWEWY.

Yamashita-san, you’ve worked on several Kingdom Hearts games. Throughout those years, what’s something you’ve identified in character design you’ve really wanted to impact? Then, maybe you were able to with NEO TWEWY or still want to change or impact in the realm of character design?

Yamashita: Difficult question, but to answer, the foundation of the approach that I have is that I want to provide character designs that players really enjoy and like. That is the basis. Then, in terms of what I tried to accomplish this time around, is to let the characters wear what they want. Essentially, freedom or liberty in terms of what kind of design and fashion to incorporate into these characters.

Nomura-san, you’ve been doing this for a very long time–what are some of the biggest things that you’ve learned over the years in either designing so many characters and overseeing other people’s designs?

Nomura: Looking back at past games, let’s say, I would have just handled all the character designs myself. But more recently, for a lot of games, there have been more characters in the games themselves, a lot more character designs that need to be done, and more designs that are required. This is not just limited to NEO TWEWY, but more recently, we have multiple character designers taking care of one game. We’re seeing more and more of those games where we’re having multiple designers work on them and collaborating. But when we’re looking at NEO TWEWY in particular, we each took care of one of the characters in the main party.

NEO TWEWY has Nomura's style but Yamashita and Kobayashi put their own touch on it.

This was a first for us where we had different people take care of the main characters in the game. Through this, they came up with various ideas that I would never have thought of myself. It’s great that different personalities are coming out of these characters. In a way, it feels more natural that we’re having different people with different ideas, creating different characters for this game. Whereas before, it was one person, me, taking care of or creating different characters. Then, also with Yamashita joining the team this time around, we also have a female perspective on the team, which was also a great addition. For me, this is a great kind of progress or direction that we’re going in.

Also, from a workload perspective, it’s nice that people are carrying the workload with me now. It’s a lot better for me. I do kind of oversee the character design as a whole, but what we’re actually seeing on the screen in terms of characters, that is overseen and handled by Kobayashi. So, it’s great that he’s able to handle that [taking] more workload off my shoulders. And it’s great [overall] to have multiple people where we can actually split the work amongst us.

Fortnite: Collect Records From Pleasant Park Or Craggy Cliffs

In Fortnite Week 7, you’ll want to collect records from Pleasant Park or Craggy Cliffs in order to earn 30,000 XP and complete one of this week’s Legendary Quests. This and all other Week 7 Legendary Quests will go live on Wednesday, July 21, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET. Here’s where you can find more than enough records for this Week 7 challenge.

Where To Collect Records In Fortnite Week 7

In total, you’ll need to find only two vinyl record crates to complete this quest, but as usual, there are many more available on the map. That’s good, because it gives you options. You can drop on just one of the two locations and maybe even dodge enemies who might be near your collectible. We’ll show you all the records we’ve found so far and let you pick the two that work for you.

Find Fortnite records at the following spots within Pleasant Park:

  • In the westside white house to the left when entering from the front door
  • In the northwest brick house, in the left bottom floor room which housed Jonesy in Season 6
  • In the center-north brick/white house, find records once again to the left when using the front door
  • In the brown house northwest of the gas station, in the TV room
Fortnite Pleasant Park record locations
Fortnite Pleasant Park record locations

If you’d rather head to Craggy Cliffs, you can find another pair of records there that can help you just as much in completing this Legendary Quest. Find Craggy Cliffs records:

  • In the dilapidated house atop the westside cliff
  • In the southwestern two-story building with the assembly line inside
Fortnite Craggy Cliffs record locations
Fortnite Craggy Cliffs record locations

Collectively, that’s six record locations, but remember that you’ll only need two. Typically, I like to go wherever is farthest from the Battle Bus trajectory, as that tends to mean less foot traffic from enemy players, but in Season 7 that’s not always the case. Oftentimes, players will now extend their descents to far-off locations if that’s where Abductors or UFOs may be, so it’s important to factor in those things. It’s never fun to get insta-killed when you’re going for collectible challenges.

Once you complete this challenge, you’ll soon be looking to collect parenting books, or perhaps finishing off the many other Week 7 challenges. Don’t forget the Week 7 Alien Artifacts too.

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Batwoman’s Renee Montoya To Be Played By Gotham’s Renee Montoya

Actor Victoria Cartagena will be joining Season 3 of Batwoman, according to Deadline. Cartagena will take on the recurring role of Renee Montoya, the former Gotham City police officer, which she previously played in the Fox series Gotham.

Deadline describes Batwoman’s version of the character as someone who “left the force when she could no longer stomach the corruption inside the department.” Montoya is still trying to work within the system, running the “‘freaks division,’ which hasn’t seen a lot of action… until now. Righteous and pragmatic, and LGBTQ+, she’s a woman with a very personal (and mysterious) mission to help clean the streets of Gotham in the right way, by whatever means necessary.”

It was also recently announced that Riverdale’s Robin Givens is set to appear in Batwoman as Jada Jet, a new character created for the DC show. According to a previously released character synopsis, Jet is “a woman who has worked her way through life’s ups and downs to climb her way to the top–all while being extremely protective over her impetuous son. A woman with a deep past that forced her to give up her first-born child, Jada is a woman with a good heart, but will do whatever it takes to protect her family.”

Batwoman Season 3 premieres on The CW on October 13, with Javicia Leslie in the title role. Her character, Ryan Wilder, is the show’s second Batwoman, with Ruby Rose having played Kate Kane in Season 1. The show will screen back-to-back with DC’s Legends of Tomorrow each week, which is about to start its seventh season. The Flash also returns to The CW this fall, with Season 8 premiering on November 16.

Fortnite Week 7 Alien Artifact Locations

It’s nearly Fortnite Week 7, which means Week 7 Alien Artifacts are upon us. If you’ve been following along all season, you must have the bulk of the related rewards unlocked by now, but to complete the list, you’ll want to keep playing and unlocking Alien Artifacts each and every week. Here’s where to find all Alien Artifacts in Fortnite Week 7. These Alien Artifacts will appear in-game on Thursday, July 22, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET.

Week 7 Alien Artifacts

There are once again five Alien Artifact locations in Week 7. As always, what you’re actually looking for are pink canisters that house four Alien Artifacts each, meaning you can find 20 Alien Aritfacts in total this week, and that’s before you stumble upon the bonus Alien Aritfacts tucked away in Cosmic Chests, which randomly spawn each week when you play in teams of two or more. You’ll find the Week 7 Alien Artifacts at the following locations:

  • Inside a command center atop the Stealthy Stronghold wall, left of the southside doors
  • On the bottom floor of the northernmost building at Dinky Dish west of Steamy Stacks
  • Hanging in the air at Gorgeous Gorge, below where the boats are suspended from the ceiling
  • Inside the eastside building in Camp Cod (where Jules spawned during Season 6)
  • In the bathroom at Dampy Dish, southwest of Slurpy Swamp
Where to find Fortnite Week 7 Alien Artifacts
Where to find Fortnite Week 7 Alien Artifacts

With Alien Artifacts, you can unlock new cosmetics for Kymera. The Tier 1 Battle Pass alien character can be customized across a variety of features, including armor color, skin color, armor underglow, eye color, head shape, and more. Each category of Kymera’s features includes a tiered list of options ranging from two to 17 Alien Artifacts per item, including a full set of free options which act as the default Kymera style. To unlock the most expensive item in any category, you’ll need to first unlock all the others before it in the same category.

That’s why collecting all Fortnite Alien Artifacts each week is so important if you’re hoping to unlock the full range of features. Unlike past customizable Battle Pass cosmetics like Chapter 2 Season 2’s Maya or Chapter 2 Season 3’s ‘Brella, Kymera can be restyled whenever you feel like it.

With enough Alien Artifacts, you can design Kymera exactly as you wish.
With enough Alien Artifacts, you can design Kymera exactly as you wish.

There’s no permanent locking-in of his look. You could even make multiple Kymera characters for different presets. It’s like amassing an alien army for your loadouts. But you have to get Alien Artifacts during the week in which they debut, as they’re replaced the following week with new ones.

You’re unlikely to grab all Alien Artifacts in one round since they’re spread out–though you could with a UFO and a little Storm luck. But don’t worry, so long as you get them all before they disappear next week, you’ll be all set.

It’s a busy week in Fortnite so don’t miss the other headlines, like the Week 7 challenges, the Rainbow Royale celebration, and the 17.20 patch notes.

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Lost Judgment Gameplay Trailer Reveals Dozens Of Mini-Games, Combat, And Skateboarding

Lost Judgment bills itself as a legal-suspense game, but between the brawling action and investigative activities, there’s a whole lot more to do. Similar to the Yakuza games, protagonist Takayuki Yagami can also take part in a number of other mini-games such as darts, in-game arcades, and board games like Mahjong. If that’s not enough for you, the latest gameplay trailer also shows off a few wilder activities such as skateboarding, extreme dog-walking, and customizing a scooter so that you can hang out with a colorful Bosozoku motorcycle gang.

Still not satisfied? There’s a boxing gym where you can trade blows, a high school pop start program to take part in, mini-robot battles, and drone racing to try out. You can see all that and more in the trailer below. If you’d prefer something more atmospheric, the dramatic opening cinematic that Sega released not too long ago also makes for great viewing.

Aside from the numerous mini-games, Yagami’s detective skills have also been beefed up as he makes use of various gadgets to eavesdrop on suspects and infiltrate locations to gather clues. As for his combat skills, Yagami’s martial arts now include the Snake stance, which allows him to use his opponent’s momentum against them.

A sequel to 2018’s first entry in the series, Lost Judgment might be the last game in the franchise. According to a recent report, a conflict between Sega and talent agency Johnny & Associates blocking the game’s potential PC release might result in the publisher simply ending the series and moving on.

For now, Lost Judgment is still scheduled to release worldwide on September 24, 2021, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. To find out more, you can check out our Lost Judgment preorder hub.

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Comic-Con@Home: How To Watch And 16 Panels You Need To Check Out

District 9 Director Hints At Long-Awaited Sequel

2009’s District 9 was a well-received sci-fi movie that ended on a cliffhanger, with fans of the film hoping for a sequel but never getting one in the decade-plus that followed. Director Neill Blomkamp has now reiterated that work continues on District 10, and he provided an update on the script and its theme.

Speaking to IGN, Blomkamp said it took some time to craft a story that was more than a simple sequel. “That script continues to be written. It’s looking good. It took a decade to figure out, to come up with a reason why to make that film as opposed to just make a sequel,” he said.

Regarding the plot of District 10, Blomkamp did not share any specifics, but he teased it will dig into a certain “topic in American history.”

“There was a topic in American history that the second I realized that that fit into the world of District 9, it felt like an awesome way to do a sequel,” he said. “So yeah, it continues to be developed and it’s getting a lot closer.”

Blomkamp made District 9 with The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson as its producer after the Halo movie with Blomkamp and Jackson fell apart. Blomkamp followed up District 9 with Elysium starring Matt Damon in 2013 and the AI robot movie Chappie in 2015. His next movie, Demonic, is slated to arrive in theaters this August.

In other news, Blomkamp is now working with developer Gunzilla on a multiplayer shooter game.

“Games will become what films were in the 20th century,” Blomkamp said. “They’ll just be the thing that is the dominant form of cultural entertainment and [I want] to be in that. Mixing my history in visual effects and interest in 3D graphics means I want to have a home base in the creation of games for a really long time. So if the game is a success and everything works out, hopefully, I’m staying at Gunzilla for a long time.”

WoW: Burning Crusade Classic Is Looking To Give Extra Rewards To Alliance PvPers

Blizzard is once again testing same-faction Battlegrounds in World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic, and this time, Alliance players will be receiving more rewards than their Horde counterparts.

Starting July 20 and running through July 27, same-faction Battlegrounds will once again be enabled on Burning Crusade Classic, with a few tweaks from the previous same-faction Battleground test. The maximum group size able to queue for a Battleground will be reduced to five, the matchmaking system will wait a little longer to find an opposite-faction match, and Alliance players will be able to complete a repeatable quest that rewards Battleground wins with a box of loot that contains various crafting materials, consumables, and currencies.

Now Playing: World of Warcraft Classic: Burning Crusade Reveal Trailer | BlizzCon 2021

PvP Battlegrounds are usually against the opposite faction, ie Horde vs. Alliance. But Burning Crusade Classic has a bit of a faction imbalance problem, with far more Horde players both in general and when it comes to participating in game’s match-made Battlegrounds. That was resulting in massive queue times for Horde players that made acquiring PvP items almost impossible. The fix Blizzard came up with was to run a test over one weekend and see how having Horde vs. Horde Battlegrounds (or, in rare circumstances, Alliance vs. Alliance) would change the equation.

The result was near instant match-finding times for players, but Blizzard also found some other interesting pieces of data. Many players were participating in full premade groups, which when encountered by players who solo queued and weren’t in Discord with their teammates, almost always resulted in a loss. Alliance players also weren’t particularly happy. Being able to more readily participate in PvP has long been a perk of being a member of the Alliance, a perk Blizzard now looked to be removing.

Hence the new enlistment bonus. Blizzard says the trend over the last few months has been a lower Battleground participation rate for the Alliance, and these new rewards will be looking to increase that number.

“A major point of discussion was the perception that the faction a majority of players chose for their main character would see all players switch to it, unless we change the game to either reward the minority faction, punish the majority faction, or prevent players from choosing to play on the majority faction in the first place,” Blizzard says in a forum post.

That being said, Blizzard doesn’t want to dramatically alter the game, preferring to “emulate the design pillars and intentions of original Burning Crusade’s game systems” and “address player concerns in a way that capture the spirit of the original design of the game.

“As you can see (and has been discussed at great length here and elsewhere), most such changes that might come to mind would conflict with our stated goals above,” Blizzard says. “Still, we’d like to see what happens when we place a reward for the minority faction into the game.”

Changes to Battlegrounds wouldn’t be the only modern adjustments made to Burning Crusade. In addition to a paid level boost and a new mount, the game’s content is also being rolled out in phases, differing from the original landmark expansion in a major way.

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NBA 2K22 First Details On Gameplay, New Social Spaces, Seasons, And More

2K Sports has divulged the first official details on this year’s NBA 2K22, revealing what’s new this year for MyCareer, gameplay updates, and a new social hub called the City. 2K also began to discuss new features like Seasons that the studio is hoping will keep people coming back.

The information revealed today is very high level in nature, and 2K said it will have “deep dives” coming in August and September to discuss new features in more detail.

Candace Parker in NBA 2K22
Candace Parker in NBA 2K22

Starting with gameplay, 2K Sports says it has revamped the block, steal, and shot contest systems to make them more skill-based and thus rewarding in an ideal scenario. The new gameplay setup will reward player IQ and stick skills. In short, making the right plays, at the right time, is a focus for 2K Sports this year as it attempts to more authentically represent the sport.

The gameplay should feel like less of a dice roll, and that players have more control of any given outcome, according to developers on a call GameSpot attended. If something goes wrong, or you fail to execute a play, that’s on you and not a result of something with the game or its controls.

“It really has changed the way the game plays. For me, it’s a lot more fun, it’s a lot more engaging. It really rewards the veterans who put in the time and the work to get good at the game, and at the same time we’re still accessible [to newcomers],” gameplay director Mike Wang said.

Another big area of focus for NBA 2K22 are in-game Seasons. Like many other games, it appears NBA 2K is leaning even further into ongoing, seasonable content to keep players coming back. For NBA 2K22, seasons aren’t entirely new, as they were in MyTeam in last year’s game. But for NBA 2K22, Seasons are game-wide, spanning multiple modes. The game you play on day one won’t be the same as the one you play in Season 2, 3, and so on, the developers said, adding that the content in Seasons is free for everyone. There will not be any battle passes, either.

“Across fan-favorite experiences, Seasons will allow players to extend and enhance their hoop ambitions long after the game’s launch with more content, more rewards, and more ways to play,” the developers said.

Dirk Nowitzki in NBA 2K22
Dirk Nowitzki in NBA 2K22

For MyTeam, 2K is promising an “evolved” experience that gives players more control over how you want to build their team. There is a new Draft mode where players can select their entire lineup and choose from a pool of players that is constantly being updated. Additionally, MyTeam supports cross-gen progress, so everything you do on one platform moves with you, whether that’s progression or any store items you might purchase. A future Season for NBA 2K22 will introduce a brand-new mode for MyTeam outside of the Draft, but 2K is holding back revealing it for now.

In terms of NBA 2K22’s social spaces, there is a new City for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S editions of the game. This social space now has NPCs to help it feel more alive. It should feel like it’s “teeming with life,” according to the developers. The City also has matchmaking options now, and you can select from 1v1 and 3v3 against other humans, or against computer players. The overall aim for the matchmaking system is to help players get into matches faster, the developers said.

On PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, there is a new version of The Neighborhood that’s set on the decks of a cruise ship. You can even get off the boat and visit different locations. Additionally, if there is an in-game event happening on a Friday, for example, on the Tuesday before you might see an island off in the distance that gets closer each day until you arrive. Some of the locations you’ll visit include Egypt and Iceland, the developers said.

Eric Boenisch, a VP at developer Visual Concepts, stressed that no matter what platform you’re playing on, you’ll get the full NBA 2K22 experience.

“We didn’t want to focus all of our energy on one generation of consoles and make that section of our fans feel like they got the lesser,” he said. “We put all of our efforts into both. Both games. And made them both incredible, standalone pieces on their own.”

Here's Luka Doncic in NBA 2K22

The PC edition is considered to be in line with the PS4/Xbox One/Switch versions of NBA 2K22, according to Boenisch.

The MyCareer mode is getting attention in NBA 2K22 as well with a narrative experience that unfolds in the City. It’s no longer a separate experience, but instead it’s baked directly into the social space, the City, though this is only for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Very few details are known at this stage, but the developers said players will be able to extend their careers beyond the court through things like getting involved in the fashion and music business. The overall aim is to give players the freedom to live out a pro basketball player’s fantasy even more than last year’s game.

COVID had an impact on NBA 2K21, and specifically how the studio was unable to record all of the motion-capture it might have wanted due to the pandemic. But NBA 2K22 is shaping up to be a return to form when it comes to motion-capture, and overall this should benefit the experience across the board, according to Wang.

“With COVID last year, we had a lot of challenges. With this year we were able to get into more of a normal groove where we had all of our normal motion-capture was back in place and so we have a ton of content this year that was a struggle to get in last year,” he said. “I think you’re going to see just a much more full experience and the movement, everything, just feels a lot more tight and it looks a lot better, too.”

NBA 2K22 launches in September for PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzski, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, and Candace Parker are featured on the various different covers for the pro basketball game.

Preorders for NBA 2K22 are now available.

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How to See Free Guy for Free This Week

It doesn’t hit theaters until August 13 but IGN has partnered with 20th Century Studios to offer stateside fans a chance to see the new Ryan Reynolds action-comedy Free Guy for free this Thursday, July 22.

IGN is presenting free fan screenings in five cities — Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Austin, and Chicago — this week. Screenings will be held on the evening of Thursday, July 22. The screenings will be held at 7 pm except for the Chicago screening, which will happen at 8 pm.

Screening details and RSVP links for the respective regions are below. If you click on the wrong link by mistake and need to fill out an RSVP request for a different city, please refer back to this main article.

If you’d like to bring a guest then please have them fill out their own submission via the appropriate RSVP form below.

Click here to RSVP for the Los Angeles Screening.

Click here to RSVP for the San Francisco-San Jose Screening.

Click here to RSVP for the New York City Screening.

Click here to RSVP for the Austin, TX Screening.

Click here to RSVP for the Chicago, IL Screening.

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to screening start time to check-in. A guest list will be utilized at the screening. If your name is not on the list, you will not be admitted.

You are seeing this film before it is available to the public. Anti-piracy security will be on-site at the theater.

In order to give audiences around the world the opportunity to enjoy movies to the fullest and allow them to discover any surprises and plot twists, we respectfully ask that you refrain from revealing spoilers and detailed story points on social media.

Free Guy is rated PG-13.

COVID COMPLIANCE POLICY:

Please be advised we are planning on filling the theater to approximately 80% capacity, which allows us to maintain a select number of seats set aside for those who are unvaccinated and need to physically distance themselves from others and those who feel more comfortable having some physical distance.

For L.A. county screenings, attendees will be expected to wear a face covering per the new mandate.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/07/19/free-guy-exclusive-official-clip-ign-premiere”]

Free Guy opens only in theaters on August 13.