Horror Mangaka Junji Ito Talks Silent Hills Involvement

Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills was canceled in March 2015 due to conflicts between Kojima’s team and publisher Konami. While most of the high-profile individuals involved have since offered their two cents on the matter–including filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim), who’s had some choice words for the Japanese publisher–horror manga artist Junji Ito recently discussed his role with the project.

Ito, while at the Toronto Comics Art Festival this past weekend, was asked about his involvement with Silent Hills. His responses come via translation thanks to Twitter user MinovskyArticle.

Though he may not have had the opportunity to contribute his signature brand of body horror to the project, Ito got to see Pacific Rim (for free) and sang his heart out with both del Toro and Kojima.

Silent Hills was announced through 2014’s P.T., a short, free PS4 playable teaser that confirmed Kojima was directing a new Silent Hill entry alongside del Toro and starring Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct) in the lead role. Kojima has since left Konami, pursuing game development under his independent studio Kojima Productions, which he founded in 2005 while still under Konami’s umbrella.

Since publicly splitting from Konami in 2015, Kojima has announced the studio’s first game, Death Stranding. “I’m embarking on a new challenge with a fresh slate,” Kojima said of the split. “But I intend to keep pushing the creative envelope until the day I die.”

Rockstar Games Buys India Studio Dhruva Interactive

The oldest video game company in India, Dhruva Interactive, has been purchased by Rockstar Games from Starbreeze Studios for $7.9 million. According to a post on the company’s official website, Dhruva, which was founded by Rajesh Rao in Bangalore in 1997, “was India’s first ever game development studio.” Starting as a five-man team, the company grew to over 300 employees “specializing in every aspect of art and design.” Since then, Dhruva has contributed to a number of high-profile, AAA games, including Arkane Studios’ Prey, Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man, Rare’s Sea of Thieves, SIE Bend Studio’s Days Gone, and many more.

Dhruva will now get folded into Rockstar India, which houses approximately 500 employees “already working in Bangalore on Rockstar’s ground-breaking games.”

“Dhruva Interactive has been a beacon of Indian game development for decades and we are excited to bring them into the Rockstar family,” said Rockstar India’s studio manager Daniel Smith. “The addition of the Dhruva team to the existing talent at Rockstar India will expand the studio’s capabilities and reinforces our belief in and commitment to the local development community.”

Rao, who serves as the company’s CEO, shares Smith’s sentiment and is excited about the acquisition. “Rockstar Games are the undisputed leaders of innovation and creativity in modern game development,” Rao said. “Dhruva Interactive was founded with the aim of creating a world-class game development community in India, and so bringing the Dhruva team under the Rockstar Games label is further proof that we have succeeded in creating a talented team that can contribute to the best games in the world while helping to create a thriving local game developer community in India.”

Prior to the purchase, Dhruva was acquired by Starbreeze in 2016. Starbreeze is most well-known for 2007’s The Darkness, 2013’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Payday 2, and last year’s OVERKILL’s The Walking Dead.

While the sale is “expected to close in the coming weeks,” whatever projects Dhruva is currently working on will remain unchanged and proceed uninterrupted.

Black Mirror Season 5 Trailer And Release Date Revealed

Black Mirror Season 5 is coming very soon. Netflix has announced that the latest season of the highly acclaimed sci-fi anthology series will be released on June 5. The first trailer has been released.

The trailer reveals that the new season will consist of just three episodes. Among the stars we can expect to see in the new season are Marvel star Anthony Mackie, Andrew Scott, who is best known for his role in Sherlock and recent Bond movies, and pop star Miley Cyrus. It looks like another sinister, visually stunning exploration of the dangers of technology, with some crazy-looking imagery in there. Watch it above, then check out our full trailer breakdown.

This will be the first release from the show since the interactive special Bandersnatch, which hit the service in December 2018. Prior to that, Season 4 was released in December 2017. For more on Black Mirror, check out our look at the most WTF moments in Season 4 and all the Season 4 Easter Eggs.

Total War: Three Kingdoms Preview

Total War: Three Kingdoms offers a somewhat more guided narrative than previous games in the series for those who want it. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel on which it’s based is full of iconic moments of heroism, betrayal, and tragedy – and the grand campaign presents each warlord with dilemmas based on these moments to guide the campaign. Will you stick to the script or go off-book?

This preview highlights the ambitious Yuan Shu and a couple different directions his campaign can go. In the Romance, he would side with the valorous Sun Jian against Liu Biao, one of the most powerful men in central China at the start of the conflict. Doing so allows him to undermine Liu Biao’s vassals and possibly bring them into his alliance later.

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Lots of Colorful Xbox One Controllers Are on Sale Today

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

Good news, Xbox One owners: right now, several online retailers are featuring discounts on Xbox One controllers. It’s always a good idea to have some extra controllers floating around, and with the wide array of colors and designs, building a collection for display can be fun as well. So check out the Xbox One controller deals and pick up a few extras so you always have enough on hand for couch co-op when your buddies drop by.

Xbox One Controller Armed Forces II Special Edition is 17% Off

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Pokemon Rumble Rush Announced for Mobile

Pokemon Rumble Rush, a free-to-play mobile game, has been announced for iOS and Android.

The game, which will be known as Pokemon Scramble SP in Japan, is designed to be played with one hand. You explore a variety of islands with a chosen Pokemon, and can attack enemy monsters by tapping on them. In the tradition of other games set in the Pokemon universe, you can upgrade your Pokemon with new and more powerful moves to aid in boss battles.

The islands of Pokemon Rumble Rush’s world change every two weeks, and so there will be regular opportunities to see new sights and collect more Pokemon.

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The Marvel Villains Who Could Be the Next Big MCU Threat

Warning: Full spoilers follow for Avengers: Endgame.

There’s a reason Marvel has started referring to the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as “The Infinity Saga.” Each of these 22 films has played a part in advancing an overarching story about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes banding together to stop Thanos from wreaking havoc on the universe. Even if Thanos himself only ever appeared in a handful of these movies, he was the catalyst that fueled the MCU for an entire decade.

Now that Avengers: Endgame has arrived and brought the Infinity Saga to a close, we have to wonder what villains could possibly fill that void. What Marvel characters are twisted enough, ambitious enough and fascinating enough to shape the next decade of the MCU in the way Thanos shaped the first? Here are a few worthy candidates.

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Rocket Arena Is a New 3v3, Rockets-Only FPS

Final Strike Games and Nexon have revealed Rocket Arena, a 3v3, rockets-only ‘shooter where no one dies’ – and you can sign up for a PC closed beta now.

Headed to PC and Xbox at launch (with the promise of cross-play), Rocket Arena pits teams of 3 cartoony characters against one another, using rockets to knock others off the map. The more blasts a player takes, the easier it is for them to be knocked off – essentially, it sounds like it’s pitched somewhere between Quake and Super Smash Bros.

“Rocket Arena’s matches take place as part of the Rocket Championship Tour on the mysterious World of Crater, where just about everything is made from or powered by rockets.” Final Strike CEO Kevin Franklin tells IGN. “We’ve worked tirelessly to perfect the mechanics of the game, including Rocket Jumping, Blasting, and a Return System to create, ‘The shooter where no one dies’. Our input tuning, projectile networking, and hit detection are balanced with feedback from our internal test team, made up of pro players and the professional Korean eSports team Element Mystic. The result is an accessible 3v3 shooter that can scale up to be a highly competitive FPS.”

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Funko Pop Preorders: Avengers, Venom, Spider-Man Far From Home Coming Soon

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

Funko Pops are some of the most popular collectibles around, and it’s easy to see why. There’s pretty much a Funko Pop for everything, from comic characters, to video games, to Bob Ross. Basically, if you’re into it, there’s a Funko Pop for it.

This summer has a slew of awesome Pops: there’s a special Marvel Venom line, where everyone’s favorite symbiote pairs up with some of Marvel’s most iconic characters, as well as Avengers Endgame Pops and figures from the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home.

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