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Lucasfilm Games is now in business with Bethesda for its new Indiana Jones game and Ubisoft for its own Star Wars project, but where does this leave EA, the publisher of Battlefront, Jedi: Fallen Order, and other Star Wars games? Lucasfilm Games boss Douglas Reilly said in an interview on the Star Wars website that Lucasfilm is staying in business with EA, and the publisher is working on “a number of projects” right now.

“We’re really proud of the games we have created with EA,” Reilly said. “We will continue working with them and our relationship has never been stronger. While we may not have a lot of details to share at the moment, we’ve got a number of projects underway with the talented teams at EA.”

EA also shared a message on Twitter reaffirming the company’s love of Star Wars and intention to continue making more games (and pointing out how cute BD-1 is). However, no specific plans are shared, nor is there any indication of whether future games will be of the console/PC or mobile variety.

It’s not hard to see why Disney wants to stay in business with EA–its Star Wars games make a lot of money.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sold more than 10 million copies, while EA’s Battlefront (2015) and Battlefront II (2017) combined to sell a whopping 33 million copies. That’s just the beginning of how much money the games have made, as the Battlefront games feature microtransactions that have proven to be extremely lucrative, despite the controversy around loot boxes.

EA also runs the mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, which made more than $900 million by the end of 2019, a figure that has only grown higher since. Additionally, EA and BioWare continue to operate the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, which has generated $1 billion in revenue.

Outside of Bethesda, Ubisoft, and EA, Reilly told fans to expect additional announcements from Lucasfilm Games that you might not expect.

“This is really the culmination of years of preparing to come out and say, ‘We’re here, we’ve got a team of people, we’re going to make a lot of great games, and here’s some new things you weren’t expecting from us to do that we’re now starting to do,'” Reilly said. “And that’s going to continue throughout the next year or so, where we’re going to continue to announce projects that are more representative of the legacy of the old Lucasfilm Games that we’re now trying to live up to.”

PS5 exclusive Returnal has received another gameplay trailer highlighting the rougelite’s fast-paced action, with developer Housemarque providing a deep dive into many of its systems.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Returnal’s combat is described as a third-person take on Housemarque’s classic bullet hell, arcade-inspired shooters, such as Resogun, Nex Machina, and Super Stardust HD. Each run, however, will change up the action in drastic ways. Protagonist Selene is only able to use one weapon at a time, but weapon traits allow you to modify the base function of each of the ten available. These can be stacked as the run continues, unlocking powerful combinations specific to the weapon you’re using.

Each weapon also features a distinct alt-fire, with Housemarque explaining how the DualSense’s adaptive triggers have been used to allow for half pulls of the triggers to switch from aiming to firing. Weapons are supplemented by tools and gear that further expands your arsenal. The trailer shows Selene using a grenade that vaporizes all enemies near her, while another fires sharp spikes up from the ground to do damage around her.

Housemarque explains that each run will reset your weapons and tools, but persistent upgrades will be unlocked as your progress. Once unlocked, these enter the pool that items of pulled from during a run, giving you more possibilities with each new attempt. Runs will also feature parasites that latch onto you and offer both buffs and debuffs. For example, the trailer shows one that gives Selene more health but casues enemies to leave acid behind when defeated.

Returnal is launching exclusively on PlayStation 5 on March 19. It is the first of many planned exclusives in 2021, including Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Gran Turismo 7.

The Batman spin-off, Gotham PD, has reportedly found a new showrunner in Joe Barton after Terence Winter’s departure from the series.

According to Variety, Barton will take over as executive producer and showrunner on the HBO Max spin-off series after Winter exited the project due to creative differences last November. A report at the time claimed that Winter’s vision for the series didn’t match up with what Matt Reeves and several other producers on the project had in mind for the show.

Barton previously created and wrote an eight-part crime-thriller called Giri/Haji for BBC Two and Netflix. His other credits include The Ritual and Invasion, an upcoming sci-fi thriller starring Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer. He is also set to serve as the showrunner on Netflix’s Half Bad, which is based on Sally Green’s fantasy novel trilogy of the same name.

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HBO Max will play host to the new series, which is reportedly being referred to as Gotham Central internally. This title is a likely nod to the Gotham PD-focused procedural comic book series created by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Michael Lark. It ran from 2002 to 2006 and focused on the city’s police department and the struggles of working as a police officer in a city like Gotham.

The upcoming police procedural will act as a prequel to 2022’s The Batman, following events in Gotham City during presumably Robert Pattinson’s Batman’s first year as the caped crusader. This would place the series about a year before The Batman movie on Matt Reeves’ Gotham timeline, as Patinson’s take on the character is set during the Dark Knight’s second year in Gotham.

There’s currently no release date for the series, whereas The Batman is scheduled for release on March 4, 2022. Originally it was intended to be a summer movie, but it was pushed back from its June 25, 2021 release date a number of times after production was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s no guarantee the release won’t slip further back, but we’re hoping Reeves can meet the new timetable.

For more on The Batman, take a look at everything we know about the DC movie reboot.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

It’s a good time to be a bounty hunter in Red Dead Online, as this week’s update focuses on the gunslingers who bring in outlaws dead or alive. You can earn extra role XP and RDO$ by hunting down some notorious criminals, while also claiming some discounts.

This week you’ll get double role XP on Legendary Bounties and double RDO$ on Prestigious Legendary Bounties. In particular, those Prestigious targets include Gene “Beau” Finley, Carmela “La Muñeca” Montez, and Virgil “Shepherd” Edwards. You can also claim 50% RDO$ bonus on the original 10 Legendary bounties.

No matter what your role, jumping into Red Dead Online this week will grant you a 1,000 Bounty Hunter XP reward, and 100 rounds of Express Repeater ammo.

If you’re looking for a use for all that cash, you can take advantage of some discounts this week as well, especially for bounty hunter gear. You can get 50% off bounty hunter outfits and emotes, and 30% off bounty hunter weapon variants, wagon tints, accessories, saddles, gun belts, and off-hand holsters, along with 30% off the Schofield revolver, bolt-action rifle, and repeaters. Plus the Bounty Hunter License and Prestigious Bounty Hunter License are 5 Gold Bars off. These discounts will be available through January 18.

Red Dead Online launched as the online mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, but Rockstar recently broke it out into a standalone game. To begin the new year, the studio let players reset their honor to a neutral state, so they can approach this year as more of a goody-two-boots or a scumbag.

The Uncharted movie and The Last of Us series are “just the beginning” of Sony’s efforts to expand into new media, according to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan.

Speaking at CES 2021, Ryan touched on Sony’s plans to increase integration between all of its entertainment properties. He indicated that there could be more PlayStation adaptations on the horizon, as he referred to the upcoming Uncharted movie and HBO’s The Last of Us show as “just the beginning of the expansion of our storytelling into new media and even wider audiences.”

In his brief show appearance, Ryan said the company is “really thrilled to bring some of the best PlayStation IP to new media like film and television” because these types of projects align with the company’s core focus and strategy. He noted that, ultimately, “Sony is a creative entertainment company, and entertainment has never been more important.”

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Towards the end of last year, Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra revealed that his studio had been actively developing 10 video game adaptations, including seven TV shows and three movies based on PlayStation properties, though he didn’t specify whether the Uncharted movie and The Last of Us TV series were included in that count.

Uncharted is scheduled to release theatrically in the U.S. on July 16, 2021, after stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg (who is only signed on for one movie) finally wrapped production in October. While it remains to be seen if Uncharted sticks to its 2021 release date, at least we have actually seen Holland as Nathan Drake… and seemingly seen Wahlberg’s Sully mustache as well.

Meanwhile, The Last of Us HBO series producer Craig Mazin promised that the TV show adaptation will not “undo” the popular Naughty Dog PlayStation game, but rather “enhance” it by expanding the source material. HBO officially gave the green light to the project last November and it may end up airing in 2022, right against The Walking Dead’s final season.

For more news from CES 2021, check out our roundup of the biggest announcements from the show.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Frontier Developments has revealed that Elite Dangerous: Odyssey has been delayed due to the impact of COVID-19, with console versions in particular seeing a major pushback.

The expansion, which lets players touch down on and explore planets on-foot, was originally slated to launch in early 2021 on PC and console, but this has had to be pushed back to later in the year.

PC players who have pre-purchased Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Deluxe Alpha Expansion or hold a Lifetime Expansion Pass will get access to the Odyssey Alpha in early Spring 2021 to test the game ahead of its PC launch in late Spring 2021.

The game will then launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Autumn 2021, following feedback and iteration in the wake of the PC release.

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“The ongoing impact of the pandemic … including the renewed lockdowns in 2021, continues to put added pressure on our teams and ultimately our development timeline,” Frontier’s statement reads. “We have therefore had to make the difficult decision to make some adjustments and changes to our existing development roadmap.”

“Please do know that these difficult decisions have been made with a focus on making Odyssey as incredible as it can possibly be for all our Commanders regardless of their platform, while also respecting realistic project deadlines for our teams during this difficult global situation,” Frontier notes.

For more on Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, check out our interview with Frontier about how the developer is not finished with space exploration just yet.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Ubisoft is working on a story-driven, open world Star Wars game with Lucasfilm Games. The Division developer, Ubisoft Massive will develop the new game. According to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, it marks the start of a “long-term collaboration” with Disney.

No other gameplay details have been announced, and Massive is “actively recruiting” for the project. The game will utilise the Snowdrop engine used for the studio’s Division games, and Division 2 director Julian Gerighty will direct this project too. No indication has been given as to whether Massive’s Star Wars game would be single or multiplayer, what part of the Star Wars timeline it would be a part of, or when it might be released.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot did give a small tease to Wired, saying the game will be “an original Star Wars adventure that is different from anything that has been done before.” Lucasfilm also told Wired that all Star Wars games would continue to be treated as canon alongside the film TV, book, and comic releases.

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Earlier this week, it was announced that Star Wars games will be brought under a new, single brand called Lucasfilm Games. Yesterday, Lucasfilm Games also announced that MachineGames and Bethesda are working on an Indiana Jones game.

In 2013, EA and Disney announced a multi-year licensing agreement that gave EA the exclusive rights to publish Star Wars games developed by its internal studios. That deal now appears to have been altered, but EA will “continue to be a very strategic and important partner for us now and going forward”, accoring to senior vice president of Global Games and Interactive Experiences at Disney Sean Shoptaw, talking to Wired.

Wired’s report makes clear that Disney will take pitches from companies on using Star Wars and other Lucas properties (such as Indiana Jones), although VP of Lucasfilm Games Douglas Reilly made clear that Lucasfilm Games would have final approval on all projects.

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The EA deal produced games like Star Wars: Battlefront 1 and 2 from DICE, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order from Respawn Entertainment, and Star Wars: Squadrons from EA Motive. However, there were also some high-profile cancellations, including Amy Hennig’s Project Ragtag which was in development at the now defunct Visceral Games.

The Division games are set in a fictional version of the United States during cataclysmic events that force members of an elite military unit known as the Strategic Homeland Division as they rebuild US cities in the aftermath. Both games featured live service elements where players would continuously work on their characters and earn new gear by completing high-end objectives. Massive has also been working on an Avatar game for several years, which was recently delayed into 2022.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

When Grand Theft Auto V released in 2013, Lamar’s “yee yee ass haircut” roast became a hit, catching on with gamers as an expression of disgust. In 2020, the meme was revived when people started remixing the scene, replacing Lamar with fictional characters ranging from Spongebob to Darth Vader. Now, the meme has reached its peak form, with the original voice actors from the game reuniting to recreate it in person.

The video stars GTA 5 actors Slink Johnson and Shawn Fonteno (who provided both voice and motion capture for their characters) acting out the scene with impressive attention to detail. After it was uploaded by YouTube channel PlayStation Haven it racked up almost 2.5 million views in under 24 hours, proving the meme is still alive and well. The meme has a page on Know Your Meme, as well as an Urban Dictionary definition of “yee yee ass”.

The new video was made to promote an upcoming webseries from PlayStation Haven called GTA V Real-Life Comparisons. The series, hosted by Slink Johnson, compares GTA’s setting Los Santos to its real-world inspiration, the city of Los Angeles.

few notes and caveats:
-StreamHatchet had shroud peaking at 470k even though I saw him hit 504k, should be included
-YouTube Live is doing far better then people realize
-this data excludes China where streamers on Douyu and Huya are MASSIVE, reaching million CCU semi regularly

— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) January 12, 2021