Neo City showcased in new trailer.
We’ve got another new trailer from Sega and Lizardcube of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, the upcoming brand new 2D action platformer in the long-running Shinobi series.
Today, we’re getting a look at Neo City, a neon-lit industrial city where danger lurks in the shadows; this is the second locale we’ve seen after Oboro Village, which dropped on the official Sega channel last week (and in Asia back in April).
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Alright, so, I know those of us on PC haven’t even had the chance to play the first one yet, but it seems like Shift Up have essentially confirmed that Stellar Blade 2 is in the works. As spotted by Insider Gaming, Shift Up recently shared its investor relations presentation for May of this year, most of it being businessy nonsense neither you or I could give two tosses about. The key thing is a slide in its strategy section, showing a very basic plan for its games Nikke and Stellar Blade.
Right, anyone in need of something that’s just generally quite pleasant? I’ve been looking forward to Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi’s next game to a T ever since, well, it was revealed, honestly. It’s suitably strange, as per usual with the cult game maker’s works, this time putting you in the position of a teenager who is constantly t-posing. There’s also sandwich-making giraffes and other strange inhabitants, and you can now take a look at it yourself in a demo that’s dropped on Steam today.
Along with ‘The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow’ and ‘Immortality’.
Lost in Cult has confirmed that its upcoming physical games label will kick off with three tantalising titles; two of which will be available on the Switch.
The three games are Thank Goodness You’re Here, The Excavation Of Hob’s Barrow, and Immortality (PS5). All will be available mass market via standard editions, but Lost in Cult is also releasing a line of limited editions known as, uh… ‘EDITIONS’.
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CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, codenamed Project Orion, is a closely guarded secret, but that hasn’t stopped Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith from teasing some previously unknown details.
Pondsmith, who worked closely with CD Projekt on the 30 million-selling Cyberpunk 2077 and was involved in promoting the game ahead of its 2020 launch, was asked about the scope of his involvement with Project Orion at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.
Responding, Pondsmith admitted he wasn’t as involved this time around, but he does review scripts and had been to CD Projekt to check out the ongoing work.
“Last week I was wandering around talking to different departments, and seeing what they had, ‘Oh look, this is the new cyberware, what do you think?’ ‘Oh yeah, that’s pretty good, that works here.’ “
And then, the morsel of detail on the sequel: that it features a brand new city in addition to the Night City we know from Cyberpunk 2077. Pondsmith described this new city as “like Chicago gone wrong.”
“I spent a lot of time talking to one of the environment guys, and he was explaining how the new place in Orion, because there’s another city we visit — I’m not telling you any more than that but there’s another city we visit. And Night City is still there. But I remember looking at it and going, yeah I understand the feel you’re going for this, and this really does work. And it doesn’t feel like Blade Runner, it feels more like Chicago gone wrong. I said, ‘Yeah, I can see this working.”
It’s worth pointing out here that Pondsmith’s comments do not necessarily suggest the Cyberpunk sequel will feature a future Chicago, rather a city that has the feel of a dystopian version of the city. It may well be a take on future Chicago, but that isn’t confirmed based on these comments.
There is also already some debate about whether the Cyberpunk sequel will expand upon the Night City that’s in Cyberpunk 2077 or feature a new version, and the extent to which it is playable. There are a lot of unknowns, but it looks like there may be two fleshed out playable cities in this sequel.
While CD Projekt’s focus right now is The Witcher 4, it has a new studio set up in Boston to work on Project Orion. Earlier this year, CD Projekt said 84 of its 707 staff were working on Project Orion, which is still in the concept phase. Much can change, and we’re not expecting the game for some time.
There’s also a new Cyberpunk animation project on Netflix following the well-received Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. In the shorter term, Cyberpunk 2077 is set to launch on Nintendo Switch 2.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
I think it might be time to stop letting Gearbox head Randy Pitchford tweet about his own games. Just last month, he accidentally shared the fact that Borderlands 4 was getting an earlier than expected release date ahead of an official announcement; he put that one down to time zones. This time his overly eager attitude towards posting hasn’t revealed any information about Borderlands 4 he wasn’t meant to, but it is something that could maybe, just potentially, be viewed as ever-so-slightly out of touch.
Stellar Blade is getting a fully-fledged sequel, developer Shift Up has confirmed.
The PlayStation-published action game launched to a positive response back in April 2024, with players saying its gameplay mixed elements of NieR: Automata and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Now, Korean company Shift Up has confirmed a Stellar Blade sequel is on the way, via a chart showing the company’s future plans published as part of its latest financial results released today.
As confirmed within a presentation slide detailing how Shift Up expects to expand its franchises going forward, a Stellar Blade sequel is listed as coming next among others that look set to be released before 2027.
Before the sequel arrives, there’s mention of a “platform expansion” for Stellar Blade — this likely just refers to the game’s upcoming PC version, which is set to arrive on June 11, 2025.
This development period — before 2027 — will also include the launch of Shift Up’s mysterious Project Witches, a new multiplatform action RPG that’s still yet to be fully revealed.
Earlier this week, Shift Up said it was “closely discussing” a mysterious PC region lock issue with Sony that had blocked the game’s store page on Steam in more than 100 countries.
“Stellar Blade stands out as a gorgeous and well-crafted action game with very impressive strengths and very clear weaknesses,” IGN wrote in our Stellar Blade review.
“Both its story and characters lack substance, and some of its RPG elements are poorly implemented, like dull sidequests that very often require you to retrace your steps through previous levels with very little done to make the return trip feel unique or rewarding.
“But its action picks up most of that slack thanks to the rock solid fundamentals of its Sekiro-inspired combat system, a deep well of hideous monstrosities to sharpen your sword against, and plenty of hidden goodies that do a great job of incentivizing exploration throughout.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Netflix and Supercell have announced that they will bring the Clash video game franchise to the small screen with an animated series set in the world of Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
The series, which is already in pre-production, will “build upon the mayhem of the games,” according to a press release from Netflix. The streamer also revealed the series’ plot, which will follow “a determined, but in over his head, Barbarian who must rally a band of misfits to defend their village and navigate the comically absurd politics of war.”
The official Clash of Clans social media accounts also got in on the announcement fun. “Sound the horns, raise the banners, and reinforce your village walls — Clash is invading @Netflix!” they shared alongside a cute teaser video featuring the company’s devs playfully announcing the game via a group FaceTime call. “We’re making a new animated series starring your favorite mustachioed Barbarian and his high-pitched, hog-riding friends. Charge!”
Sound the horns, raise the banners, and reinforce your village walls—Clash is invading @Netflix! We’re making a new animated series starring your favorite mustachioed Barbarian and his high-pitched, hog-riding friends. Charge! pic.twitter.com/55hiZkajni
— Clash of Clans (@ClashofClans) May 20, 2025
The Netflix crew also seems very excited to be finally bringing this game to life in a whole new way. “Clash has been a global gaming phenomenon for over a decade – filled with humor, action, and unforgettable characters perfect for an animated series adaptation,” John Derderian, VP of Animation, said.
“Working with the incredible team at Supercell, Fletcher Moules and Ron Weiner, we’re bringing all the fun, chaos and spirit of the world of Clash to life in a whole new way. We can’t wait for fans – old and new – to experience the mayhem.”
Netflix’s Clash animated series is still in pre-production, so we don’t have a release date quite yet. The streamer has invested heavily in turning video games into shows and movies. Arcane, based on League of Legends, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, based on Cyberpunk 2077, are the standouts, but there are Resident Evil adaptations, Tekken: Bloodline, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, Dragon’s Dogma, Dragon Age: Absolution, Castlevania, and a lot more besides.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
So THAT was the Imprisoning War…
The latest entry in Nintendo’s ‘Creator’s Voice’ Switch 2 series is here, and this week we’re taking a deep dive into Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.
Koei Tecmo’s Ryota Matsushita and Yosuke Hayashi shine the light on the studio’s upcoming fighter, promising that the game will not only “depict the battles of the Imprisoning War via a Warriors game,” but also show “life in the kingdom of Hyrule after Princess Zelda is sent back in time”.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Outspoken Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford has responded to a fan who expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4, saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”
The video game industry has made the jump to $80, first with Nintendo and Mario Kart World, then with Microsoft and its price hike announcement that will kick in this holiday season. Could Borderlands 4 follow suit?
Publisher 2K Games and parent company Take-Two have so-far remained vague on whether they will go to $80, and Randy Pitchford has insisted the decision is out of his control. But, responding to one concerned fan on social media, Pitchford set the cat among the pigeons by saying that if you’re a “real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”
Here’s the exchange:
“Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don’t take that risk, a lot of gamers aren’t gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag. You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher.”
And here’s Randy Pitchford’s response:
“A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.”
As you’d expect, Pitchford’s comment has sparked a vociferous response.
“Lmao CEO said ‘real fan’ WHOOO WEEEE in this economy,” said one social media user. “Wow that’s probably a bad take… cost of living crisis and you’re just gonna say ‘if you’re a real fan…’ damn,” said another. “What an elitist out of touch response,” another said. “His solution just buy it you know you will. Is this how you treat loyal consumers?” “You should have just left that response at ‘not my call’ and kept the gaslighting out of your response,” another added.
Last week, during a PAX East panel, Pitchford insisted that he didn’t know the Borderlands 4 price but refused to rule out $80.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know. That is the truth. I’ll hit it straight on. It’s an interesting time,” he said.
“On one level, we’ve got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible and they want to be careful about people that are price-sensitive. There are some folks who don’t want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.
“There’s other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there’s tariffs for the retail packaging. It’s getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget for Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don’t know what the price is going to be.”
In a recent interview, IGN asked Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick if the company would go to $80 for its games. Zelnick wouldn’t say either way, but did say consumers would be “willing to pay for the very best.”
“I have said for a long time that we offer enormous value and that that’s our job,” Zelnick said. “Of course, we certainly believe that compared to other forms of entertainment, whether that’s movie tickets or live events or streaming services, the value for our entertainment that we offer is just astonishing, and it’s our job. It’s our job to deliver much more value than what we charge. That’s our goal. We think consumers are willing to pay for the very best. It’s our job to make the very best.”
Earlier this month, 2K announced a cheaper than expected $50 price point for Mafia: The Old Country, confirming that it is not an open-world game, rather a linear, narrative-driven game. The announcement was positively received, with many fans saying they’re more interested in a high quality, cheaper, shorter story-driven Mafia game than a bloated open-world game filled with repetitive mechanics.
Indeed, there seems to be a growing call for more of these cheaper, manageable games, with Sandfall’s well-received Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which has sold an impressive 2 million copies despite being available day-one on Game Pass, held up as a potential trend-setter.
Given Borderlands 4 is due out September 12, 2025, 2K Games will have to announce the price sooner rather than later.
Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
