What to Expect From DC in 2025

Outside of the comics, 2024 was a pretty quiet year for DC. It didn’t help that Joker: Folie à Deux turned out to be one of the year’s biggest box office bombs. But there’s a new hope on the horizon. James Gunn’s DCU is coming, and with it a brand new era for DC on the big and small screens.

From Gunn’s hotly anticipated Superman movie to the return of shows like Peacemaker and The Sandman to the expansion of DC’s Absolute Universe, let’s break down the biggest and most important DC projects arriving in 2025.

Superman Kicks Off the Live-Action DCU

Compared to 2023, which saw the release of no fewer than four films set in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, 2025 is definitely smaller in scope. Just like with 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux, there’s only one new live-action DC movie hitting theaters this year. That said, it’s easily the most important movie DC has released in years.

That movie is, of course, James Gunn’s Superman. Where Gunn’s Creature Commandos animated series gave us our first taste of the new DCU cinematic universe, Superman is our first live-action foray into this world. Based on Creature Commandos’ quality, not to mention Gunn’s work on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, we have high hopes.

Superman casts David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Rather than exploring Kal-El’s origin story for the umpteenth time, the movie takes place after Superman has been on the job for a few years. He’s trying his best to use his powers to guide and protect mankind and prove that there’s room for decency and kindness in our cynical modern world. In other words, exactly the sort of superhero film we could all use right about now.

Superman also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. And because this film is our introduction to the DCU in live-action, fans can expect a lot of other DC heroes to drop by. That lineup includes Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. Also helping tie together the growing DCU will be Frank Grillo, who reprises the role of Rick Flag, Sr. from Creature Commandos.

Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on Superman’s brawny shoulders right now. This film marks the full debut of a brand-new cinematic universe, and it paves the way for a number of big-budget DC projects in the years ahead, from movies like Supergirl and The Authority to shows like Lanterns and Paradise Lost. It’s a piece in a much larger puzzle Gunn is calling “Gods and Monsters.”

The question is whether Superman can succeed where so many DC movies have crashed and burned in recent years. Given the way films like The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods bombed at the box office in 2023, it’s clear fans had written off the old DCEU before it even finished. And Joker: Folie à Deux proved to be a complete misfire for DC in 2024. Is the DC brand irrevocably tarnished in Hollywood, or can Superman start the road to recovery?

Whatever happens, we’re eagerly looking forward to the release of Superman, which hits theaters on July 11, 2025.

Batman: Knightfall Gets Animated

Superman may be the only live-action theatrical release DC is putting out in 2025, but it won’t be the only new DC movie. DC’s line of direct-to-DVD animated films will continue in the new year, with details starting to leak about their ambitious next project.

Following the release of the critically acclaimed two-part Watchmen adaptation, DC is turning to another classic graphic novel for its next adaptation, Batman: Knightfall. In fact, Knightfall is reportedly getting a full trilogy of adaptations, matching the scope of the recent Crisis on Infinite Earths movie trilogy. The trilogy hasn’t been officially announced yet, but as pointed out by The Direct, a listing for the first movie has appeared on the EIDR database.

Batman: Knightfall is the famous 1993 crossover where Batman first encountered the ruthless Bane. Over the course of the story, Bane wears down the Dark Knight physically and psychologically and breaks his back. Left paralyzed, Bruce has no option but to turn the Batman mantle over to another like-minded vigilante named Jean-Paul Valley.

Given that Batman: Knightfall is a trilogy of movies, we assume the first film will adapt Knightfall itself, while the second will cover the follow-up crossover Knightquest and the third will cap off the story by adapting Knightsend. In Knightquest, Jean-Paul establishes himself as a more ruthless and deranged alternative to Bruce, while in Knightsend a recovered Bruce has to reclaim the Batman mantle and save Gotham City from this sadistic new Dark Knight.

Again, DC has yet to formally announce the Batman: Knightfall movies, so at this stage we don’t know the voice cast or potential release dates. It’s possible that Knightfall is a continuation of the Tomorrowverse, meaning that Batman: The Long Halloween star Jensen Ackles would reprise the Batman role again. But it’s also possible that DC has closed the door on that animated universe following the Crisis trilogy, meaning we may see a new actor cast as Batman. Either way, expect Batman: Knightfall to be one of the darkest and most violent Batman movies since DC’s adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns.

DC TV in 2024

There may be only one new DC movie hitting theaters in 2025, but DC definitely has a more stacked TV and streaming lineup planned this year. That includes another addition to the new but rapidly growing DCU, as Gunn’s Peacemaker returns for Season 2.

Peacemaker: Season 2 will be the next DCU project to hit after Superman. How does that work when the first season was a spinoff of Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which was part of the DCEU? Don’t think too hard about it. Just know that Season 2 continues the misadventures of John Cena’s peace-loving anti-hero Christopher Smith. Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick are all also returning for Season 2, and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. continues to serve as the glue tying the DCU together.

Peacemaker Season 2 will debut on Max in August 2025, so fans don’t have to wait long after Superman’s release to get more of this growing superhero universe.

We’re expecting one other live-action DC series to arrive in 2025, as Netflix finally continues the saga of The Sandman. Tom Sturridge is back as Morpheus, as the Lord of Dreams deals with new challenges to his realm. One of those challenges comes from Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer, who is out for revenge after being outwitted by Morpheus in Season 1. It’s expected that Season 2 will adapt the comic storyline The Season of Mists, a tale that pushes the Morpheus/Lucifer rivalry in a very unexpected direction.

We can also expect to meet the rest of Morpheus’ siblings in Season 2, including Adrian Lester’s Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles’ Delirium, and Barry Sloane’s Destruction. Why did Morpheus’ little brother Destruction abdicate his responsibilities? That’s another mystery the series looks poised to explore in Season 2.

With production on Season 2 having wrapped in 2024, Netfix has previously confirmed a 2025 release for Season 2. However, executive producer Neil Gaiman was recently accused of sexual assault and abuse by multiple women, and it’s unclear how this might affect Netflix’s timetable.

On the animated side of things, we’re hoping to see new seasons of Batman: Caped Crusader, My Adventures With Superman, and Harley Quinn in 2025.

Caped Crusader debuted on Prime Video in 2024, at which point Amazon had already greenlit the series for a second season. Hamish Linklater will return as the voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Based on the ending to Season 1, it seems safe to assume that Season 2 will deal with the emergence of Batman’s greatest foe, the Joker, though we don’t yet know who will voice the Clown Prince of Crime.

As for My Adventures With Superman, this lighthearted, shonen anime-inspired series has been greenlit for Season 3. With Season 1 debuting in 2023 and Season 2 following in 2024, we’re hopeful that the third season can continue that annual release schedule, especially with the new movie also dropping this year. With Season 2 introducing Supergirl and pitting Superman against Amanda Waller and ARGUS, it’s anyone’s guess what parts of the Superman mythos Season 3 will mine.

Finally, Harley Quinn is confirmed to return in January 2025. This decidedly adults-only animated series took a year off in 2024 to make room for the Kite-Man spinoff, but it’s time to put the spotlight back on Kaley Cuoco’s Harley and Lake Bell’s Poison Ivy.

DC Games: Will We See a New Arkham Game?

2025 is looking to be pretty quiet on the gaming front for DC. Rocksteady will be adding Deathstroke as the newest and last playable character to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. After a rough launch in 2024, that live-service game looks to be headed into maintenance mode in 2025.

We could see new DC characters added to the free-to-play fighting game MultiVersus, which already includes mainstays Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Joker, and Harley Quinn. And it’s also possible the Meta Quest-exclusive Batman: Arkham Shadow will be ported to other VR systems in 2025.

But beyond that, there’s not much for DC fans to look forward to in 2025. At best, we hope to see some concrete announcements about what’s coming in terms of DC’s video game roadmap.

We do know there are projects in the works. While Gunn has already shot down rumors of a new game set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, there is at least one new Batman game in development right now. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav confirmed as much when he revealed on a recent investor call that Batman is one of the core pillars of the company’s gaming future going forward.

Could Rocksteady be working on the next entry in the Arkham franchise? Or will another studio take charge of putting players in Batman’s boots? Either way, we’re hoping to catch a glimpse of this mysterious game at some point in 2025. And while we’re at it, it would be nice to see a little more of Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, which was announced at the 2021 Game Awards but has basically dropped off the map since.

DC Comics Goes All In

DC may have had a rough year on the big screen in 2024, but DC Comics is coming off a very successful year and looking to continue that momentum into 2025.

DC’s main focus right now is on the DC All In initiative, which aims to give readers fresh, easy jumping-on points for all of DC’s ongoing titles. That includes major books like Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s Wonder Woman, Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora’s Superman, Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin’s Detective Comics, and Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Justice League Unlimited. We’re also eagerly looking forward to digging into Ram V and Evan Cagle’s New Gods, a series that just kicked off in December 2024 and will be as important as any other when it comes to charting the Darkseid-focused future of the DC line.

Then there’s the Absolute Universe, the other side of the DC All In coin. The Absolute line is similar to Marvel’s Ultimate Universe in that it focuses on updating and streamlining DC’s iconic heroes without the burden of decades of existing continuity. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s Absolute Wonder Woman, and Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman have all proven to be big hits for DC, and they’ll continue to expand the line heading into 2025. Look for new additions like Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay’s Absolute Green Lantern, Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles’ Absolute Flash and Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter, all debuting in March.

DC’s biggest story of the year, however, may well be Batman: Hush 2. This sequel brings back writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee for a brand-new mystery centered around the titular villain. Hush 2 kicks off in the pages of Batman #158, also releasing in March.

Finally, DC is bringing back the beloved Vertigo imprint in 2025. Once the home of critically acclaimed mature readers comics like The Sandman, Preacher, and Y: The Last Man, Vertigo was previously shuttered back in 2019. But now it’s returning as a home for creator-owned comics. James Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s The Nice House by the Sea is the first book to carry the Vertigo banner, but we’re expecting a lot more announcements in the months to come.

And that’s what you can expect from DC in 2025. Are you excited for Gunn’s Superman? What about the return of Peacemaker and The Sandman? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know in the comments which new DC project you’re most looking forward to this year.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Marvel Rivals Dev Apologizes for Mistakenly Banning Players for Using Cheats

Marvel Rivals developer NetEase has issued an apology to disgruntled players who it unfairly banned for cheating.

In a post on Discord, NetEase admitted it had mistakenly flagged as cheaters some who were playing in compatibility layer programs, even though they were not using cheating software. This, unfortunately, resulted in false bans, although NetEase failed to say how many.

“We sincerely apologize for this situation and want to assure you that we do not and will not ban players who are playing fairly and without cheating,” NetEase said.

The developer said it had made a list of affected players and lifted their bans. “We have identified the specific reasons behind these false bans and have compiled a list of affected players,” it said. “We have lifted these bans and want to express our heartfelt apologies for the inconvenience this has caused.”

NetEase went on to insist it is investing in improving its anti-cheat, and called on players to report cheaters if they encounter them. Here’s the rest of the statement in full:

Our mission is to provide all players with a fair, just, and enjoyable gaming environment. Therefore, preventing and identifying cheaters is one of our top priorities. We have invested significant manpower and resources to improve the speed and accuracy of our detection systems. With any ongoing detection system, there is always room for improvement. We appreciate your assistance in helping us tackle this challenge. If you encounter any cheating behavior, please report it immediately; our reporting system will respond promptly. If you believe you have been wrongly banned, you can appeal to our customer support team, and we will review your case and respond in a timely manner. You can reach the support team via either in-game or in Discord!

Thank you for your understanding and support!

The news comes ahead of Marvel Rivals Season 1 and the arrival of Fantastic Four playable characters, teased with a first-look image and set for a trailer of their own next week.

Marvel Rivals is a smash hit for NetEase, securing 10 million players in just three days and 20 million in two weeks. The free-to-play superhero team-based PvP shooter launched on December 6 across PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, and while Sony and Microsoft do not make player numbers public, Steam makes Valve stats available.

On Steam, Marvel Rivals peaked over its launch weekend with 480,990 concurrent players, which was enough to put it in the top five most-played games on Valve’s platform. It’s the 20th highest concurrent player number ever seen on Steam, ahead of the likes of Helldivers 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Destiny 2.

Marvel Rivals launched with Season 0, with Season 1 set for January 9 according to the in-game battle pass countdown timer. Check out IGN’s Marvel Rivals Review to find out what we think. And keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and vote on the strongest Marvel Rivals characters in our community tier list.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Call of Duty Players Are Getting Activision to Send Them Their Personal Information So They Can Find Out Their Hidden SBMM Rating

Call of Duty players are flooding to Activision’s privacy support page after a YouTuber showcased a method of finding out their hidden skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) rating.

For years, SBMM has been the hottest of topics within the Call of Duty community, with some proclaiming it ruins the experience, others saying it helps level the competitive multiplayer playing field. High-skilled Call of Duty players often bemoan SBMM for chucking them into what they call “sweaty” lobbies full of similarly high-skilled players. All the while, Activision has kept players’ skill rating hidden from them, forcing them to speculate about where they might sit compared to others and how it fluctuates from game to game.

However, popular Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce exposed a method that will let players know their skill rating for every single Multiplayer game they’ve played going all the way back to 2021’s Vanguard. However, it involves jumping through a few hoops and you’ll have to wait a little while before you get the data.

The method involves heading over to Activision’s privacy page and submitting a new personal information access request. You’ll need to log into your Activision account to automatically include the various Call of Duty games, but once done, you can submit a request. IGN has gone through this process and can verify its legitimacy, although you’ll have to wait a day or two for the data to arrive via email.

TheXclusiveAce received his data and, in his video on the subject, showed off just how extensive it is. It shows every single Multiplayer match in detail, down to the mode played, the map played, the operator and skin you used, and even the execution you had equipped. You can see the number of hits you landed in the match, your longest streak, damage done and taken, and, if you’re interested, the percentage of time moving. Many more data points are included, but it’s the skill stat that’s of most interest here.

With his data, TheXclusiveAce was able to chart his Black Ops 6 skill rating, showing how it changed over time. TheXclusiveAce, who will be one of the better Multiplayer Call of Duty players around relative to the overall player base, has a skill rating of around 400 through the course of his time with Black Ops 6, although there are occasional sharp drops and rises.

Unfortunately, this data in isolation doesn’t help players understand how their skill rating compares to others’. It also doesn’t reveal the skill rating of the lobby or why a player’s skill rating changed from game to game.

However, TheXclusiveAce compared his K/D ratio to his skill rating to try to draw conclusions on Black Ops 6’s SBMM. From what he can tell, poor play relative to previous performance does reduce skill rating, and improved play relative to previous performance increases skill rating, although it can take some time to kick in either way. TheXclusiveAce suspects lobby skill rating impacts changes in individual skill rating; if the SBMM expects you to perform at a certain level relative to the lobby skill rating and you fail to meet that expectation, your skill rating might drop even if you had a good game.

Last year, Activision explained how Call of Duty’s SBMM works in somewhat vague terms. Skill is determined based on a player’s “overall performance,” Activision said. This includes kills, deaths, wins, losses, as well as mode selection, and recent matches as an overall metric across all Multiplayer experiences. “This is a fluid measurement that’s consistently updating and reacting to your gameplay,” Activision explained. “Skill is not only a factor in matchmaking players against appropriate enemies, but also when finding teammates.”

Activision went on to say skill in matchmaking means all players (regardless of skill level) are more likely to experience wins and losses more proportionately. “We use player performance to ensure that the disparity between the most skilled player in the lobby and the least skilled player in the lobby isn’t so vast that players feel their match is a waste of time,” Activision said.

The question now is whether the Call of Duty community will work together to track skill ratings at scale. If it does, not only will players finally get a sense of their skill rating relative to the wider community, but they will start to learn exactly what influences skill rating changes over time.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Atari’s Gamestation Go Rolls the Trak-Ball, Paddle, and Keypad Controllers Into One Handheld Console

Atari has teased a re-reveal of its handheld console at CES 2025 next week.

In a tweet, below, Atari showed off the GameStation Go device, a portable video game player with extra buttons and a widescreen.

While the Gamestation Go comes complete with the d-pad, face buttons, and shoulder buttons you’d expect on a retro handheld, what makes this stand out is the inclusion of a Trak-Ball and Paddle on the left of the device, and a Keypad on the right.

There’s little else to go on at this stage, but the GameStation Go looks like the final design for a product Atari revealed a year ago. At the time the handheld was called the Atari Gamestation Portable and was due out during the fourth quarter of 2024 priced $149. This earlier version came with the Atari Trak-Ball, Paddle, and Keypad controllers, and we can see a refined design for these in the GameStation Go.

The Atari Trak-Ball is commonly used with arcade classics Centipede and Missile Command, with the Paddle used for the likes of Breakout. Atari games such as Brain Games and Codebreaker use the Keypad. The My Arcade logo is on the bottom of the device, which confirms the maker of the product under official license from Atari.

You’d expect the Gamestation Go to play a long list of retro games bolstered by Atari’s recent aquisition of the Intellivision brand and certain games from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. The purchase included the rights to more than 200 titles from the Intellivision portfolio and the Intellivision trademarks.

That’s all we have for now. Expect more when CES 2025 kicks off from January 7.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

IGN UK Podcast 781: The Big 2025 Movies and Games Preview

Cardy, Dale, and Mat are back with a bang in 2025 to talk about the biggest movies and games scheduled for release over the next 12 months. In this bumper preview, they chat about the GTA 6, James Gunn’s Superman, the Nintendo Switch 2, and much, much more.

Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you’re enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 781: The Big 2025 Movies and Games Preview

Black Myth: Wukong Wins IGN’s 2024 People’s Choice Tournament

There were some incredible games released this year, and we wanted to know which you thought was the best of the best. So with our partners at Truth, we picked 64 of 2024’s best games, put them in a head-to-head tournament, and gave you the power to vote for your favorites. After six rounds of voting and more than 1 million votes in all, one game reigned supreme as champion: Black Myth: Wukong.

An action game from developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. You play as the Destined One, an anthropomorphic monkey based on Sun Wukong from the novel. You wield a staff with different stances, have access to several magic spells, and can transform into enemies after defeating them.

In IGN’s review, we cited its fantastic combat, beautiful environments, and well-designed bosses as the areas where it shines. While it may not be a soulslike, its combat can be quite challenging and forces you to weave together quick reflexes, smart resource management, and versatile attacks to take down its many bosses.

Black Myth: Wukong’s popularity was obvious from the very start of our fan-voted tournament. It had a dominant run, culminating in a win over Marvel Rivals in the final with 59% of the vote. Before that, it had to get through Harry Potter: Quidditch Championship, Star Wars Outlaws, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Stellar Blade, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, beating all of them with at least 67% of the vote.

Marvel Rivals’ run to the final was more contested, with it barely beating out the Silent Hill 2 remake in the semifinals and Astro Bot in the quarterfinals, which was one of the closest matchups of the whole tournament. There were more than 50,000 votes cast in that matchup, and Marvel Rivals won by only 960. Before those close calls, it had to get through some stiff competition in World of Warcraft: The War Within, Batman: Arkham Shadow, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

IGN’s pick for Best Game of 2024 went to Metaphor: ReFantazio, but it didn’t make it out of the first round of the People’s Choice Tournament. Mario & Luigi: Brothership took it down before falling to Black Myth: Wukong in its path to the title. Indie darling Balatro, one of IGN’s runners-up for Best Game of 2024 and winner of our Best PC Game of 2024 Award, also had a surprisingly short run. After narrowly defeating Still Wakes the Deep in the first round, it got only 26% of the vote in Round 2 against Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Space Marine 2 had a very impressive run overall, taking down multiple big names on its way to the Final Four. In addition to its resounding win over Balatro, it also defeated Sons of the Forest, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, another of IGN’s runners-up for Best Game of 2024. The other member of the Final Four was Silent Hill 2, which won the IGN Award for Best Horror Game of 2024. It got to the semifinals by going through Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, Helldivers 2, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, and Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.

Thank you to the many people who logged votes in this year’s People’s Choice Tournament. Let us know in the comments below what you think of the outcome. If you disagree with the winner, which game would you have chosen? And here’s to another great year of gaming in 2025!

Call of Duty’s Squid Game Crossover Event Locks Its Best Rewards Behind a New Premium Battle Pass

Call of Duty publisher Activision has confirmed plans to charge players extra to earn the best Squid Game crossover event rewards in a first for the series.

In a blog post, Activision detailed the Squid Game event, which includes a Red Light, Green Light limited-time multiplayer mode for Black Ops 6, as well as new operator bundles based on characters from the hugely popular Netflix show for use across Black Ops 6 and Warzone.

One controversial addition, however, is the new Squid Game Event Pass, which includes a free reward track and a premium reward track. While Activision detailed all the rewards included in both tracks (the premium track includes a Front Man Operator skin), it failed to confirm a price.

Here’s the official blurb on the Premium Reward Track:

While every player can progress and unlock items along the Free reward track, a second Premium reward track in the Event Pass offers even more. Purchase the Premium track to access the ability to unlock additional themed rewards, including the instant reward “High Authority” XM4 Assault Rifle Blueprint plus Blueprints for the Knife, GS45 Pistol, and Saug SMG as well as a Concussion Grenade Equipment Skin, a Finishing Move, the “Throwdown” Emote, the “Who’s Left” Talking Gun Screen, and more!

Complete the premium track to turn the tide on the other competitors:

Ultimate Mastery Reward: “Front Man” Operator

Become the leader of the Pink Guards with the “Front Man” Operator. Deploy as the ruthless administrator of the Squid Game and take your team to victory.

Call of Duty players are used to battle passes, premium battle passes, and even more expensive versions of premium battle passes on top of the $70 cost of entry. However, this is the first time a Call of Duty event has launched with its own premium battle pass. It’s fair to say reaction to this development is negative, especially considering the hardcore Call of Duty community isn’t best pleased with the state of either Black Ops 6 or Warzone right now due to what appears to be rampant cheating, a failing anti-cheat, and various connection problems.

Call of Duty’s Squid Game Event goes live starting January 3 at 10am PT and ends on January 24 at 10am PT.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Fantastic Four Confirmed for Marvel Rivals in Official First-Look Image

The Fantastic Four are coming to Marvel Rivals, its developer has confirmed.

In a first-look image, below, we see Marvel Rivals’ take on Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and Thing, as well as the robot H.E.R.B.I.E. The superhero team are sitting in the Fantasticar, and we also see the Baxter Building in the background.

Marvel Rivals developer NetEase tweeted to say a trailer showing Fantastic Four is set for January 6 at 8am PST. One early question fans have is whether H.E.R.B.I.E. is playable alongside the main Fantastic Four members. We’ll find out soon enough.

It’s worth noting that the Fantastic Four image also includes what look like bats flying across a sky lit by a blood-red moon. Could this vampiric tease suggest Blade is coming in Season 2?

Marvel Rivals is a smash hit for NetEase, securing 10 million players in just three days and 20 million in two weeks. The free-to-play superhero team-based PvP shooter launched on December 6 across PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, and while Sony and Microsoft do not make player numbers public, Steam makes Valve stats available.

On Steam, Marvel Rivals peaked over its launch weekend with 480,990 concurrent players, which was enough to put it in the top five most-played games on Valve’s platform. It’s the 20th highest concurrent player number ever seen on Steam, ahead of the likes of Helldivers 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Destiny 2.

Marvel Rivals launched with Season 0, with Season 1 set for January 9, according to the in-game battle pass countdown timer. It seems likely Fantastic Four will be made available with the release of Season 1.

Check out IGN’s Marvel Rivals Review to find out what we think. And keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and vote on the strongest Marvel Rivals characters in our community tier list.

Image credit: NetEase / Marvel.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Steam Users Are Review-Bombing Assassin’s Creed Origins Because Microsoft’s 24H2 Windows Update Has Bricked the Game

Ubisoft’s PC woes have continued into 2025, with the generally much-loved Assassin’s Creed Origins suffering a review-bomb campaign on Steam after a Windows PC update rendered it unplayable for some.

In November, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 version 24H2 accidentally killed Ubisoft games such as Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and more. The issue was so bad that Microsoft updated its support website to reveal it has placed a temporary block on Windows 11 for users with those games installed.

“After installing Windows 11, version 24H2, you might encounter issues with some Ubisoft games,” Microsoft said at the time. “These games might become unresponsive while starting, loading or during active gameplay.

“In some cases, users might receive a black screen. The affected games are Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

“To safeguard your Windows update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on devices with these games installed. These devices will not be offered to install Windows 11, version 24H2 via the Windows Update release channel.”

Ubisoft released an update to fix the problem in Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, but Microsoft and Ubisoft are both still working to sort out the Assassin’s Creed games, and frustration has finally spilled over into Steam user reviews.

Negative reviews for Assassin’s Creed Origins ramped up mid-December before hitting a peak as we crossed into 2025, with the game’s recent user review rating dropping to ‘Mixed.’ Overall reviews for the game remain ‘Very Positive.’

Pretty much all the recent negative reviews complain about the Windows update making Assassin’s Creed Origins unplayable. Until a resolution is found, Ubisoft told customers not to manually update to version 24H2 using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant or the media creation tool. If the game stops responding, you’ll need to use Task Manager to close the application.

Ubisoft’s Windows problems have hit the company at a particularly troubling time. The company is reportedly in buyout talks with Chinese megacorp Tencent after a torrid 2024 in which it closed studios, shut down games, and made mass layoffs. The company’s next big game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, was delayed into 2025 and Star Wars Outlaws failed to meet sales expectations.

Ubisoft’s shares fell to their lowest level in the last decade in September after it made a series of dramatic announcements around the performance of its games. As well as delaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Ubisoft announced a return to Steam after a period of PC launch exclusivity on the Epic Games Store, with Star Wars Outlaws recently releasing on Valve’s platform.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Hideo Kojima’s Xbox and Sony Games Affected by Actors’ Strike

Hideo Kojima has revealed the ongoing video game actors strike has affected production on his Xbox game as well as his upcoming action espionage title for Sony.

In a tweet, Kojima said that Kojima Productions was forced to suspend actor scanning and filming for the Xbox-published OD during the second half of 2024 after the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) video game actors’ strike began in July.

Similarly, casting for Physint, Kojima’s hotly anticipated return to the “action espionage” genre, was suspended due to the strike. Kojima added that he hopes to resume production in 2025.

SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors accuse gaming companies of refusing to meet their demands on artificial intelligence. Negotiations over a new contract began in October 2022 and SAG-AFTRA members approved the strike in September 2023. Check out IGN’s feature, What the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Actors Strike Means for Gamers, for more.

What this means for both OD and Physint remains to be seen, with both games without an official release window. Both are video game / movie hybrids, with Nope and Get Out Director Jordan Peele collaborating with Kojima on OD. Physint was announced during a Sony State of Play broadcast, suggesting it may release on PlayStation 6.

Meanwhile, Kojima is working on Death Stranding 2, which is out at some point in 2025, and the live-action Death Stranding film with A24. In his tweet, Kojima teased “other adaptations” are underway, without saying any more.

OD and Physint aren’t the only video games affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Last month, Activision confirmed it had recast some members of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 cast after fans noticed much-loved Zombies characters with new voices in-game. Activision said at the time: “We respect the personal choice of these performers. Out of respect for all parties, we won’t add new commentary about the ongoing negotiations with SAG-AFTRA. We look forward to a mutually beneficial outcome as soon as possible.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is not subject to the strike because it was in development before July 25, 2024, when the strike began. However, as suggested by Activision’s statement, the voice actors may have decided against signing new contracts in solidarity with striking union members. IGN has asked SAG-AFTRA for comment.

Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.