Category: Video Games

Baldur’s Gate 3 actor and performance director Aliona Baranova has questioned why TV and movie adaptations often overlook in-game talent when casting for the big screen.

At a panel at the Tampa Bay Comic Convention moderated by Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, Baranova said: “I feel like it’s a shame that the video game audience is being overlooked when it comes to screen projects. We see from you guys how dedicated you are… and I feel like that’s been neglected at the moment by filmmakers [and] studios.”

It’s a pertinent challenge, not least because rather than simply reading a script into a mic, game performers often provide so much more than just their voices when it comes to bringing games to life, with some even providing the mo-cap and faces of our favorite characters, too.

“We see all the time how willing everyone is to support us in the screen projects we do,” Baranova — who’s also performed for Cyberpunk 2077, Lies of P, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, added. “Why are filmmakers not seeing that yet?”

The director and performer pointed specifically at HBO’s recent adaptation of The Last of Us, which cast both in-game Ellie (Ashley Johnson) and Joel (Troy Baker) in the show, too, albeit in different roles. The impact? “Ashley Johnson was the number one most looked-up person on IMDb when the TV project came out.”

“Why is more of that not happening?” Baranova asked. “Why was Doug Cockle not in the TV series, The Witcher? Why are we not being considered when there’s video game adaptations? Even animated adaptations like Arcane, we would love to be part of those.”

The role of Geralt went to Superman star Henry Cavill, who has since exited the series. Cockle did not appear in the show, even in cameo form. But he did voice Geralt in Netflix’s recently released animated The Witcher movie.

While most video game performers are fully and professionally trained, Baranova suggested that the screen industry still views video game actors as niche performers. “We are also theatre-trained,” she added. “A lot of us are formally trained in the UK… and I think that’s something that maybe execs are a bit short-sighted about. They think, ‘They just know how to do a video game.’ Studios are neglecting the video game audience who are so willing to support and so dedicated and passionate about… their favorite video game actors. And I think it’s a shame that that’s being overlooked. It’s being slept on.”

It feels as though we’re in the best of times when it comes video game adaptations, not least due to stellar projects like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, and TV series based on The Last of Us and Fallout. There are plenty more still to come, however — keep on top of things with our handy list of all the upcoming new video game movies and TV shows coming in 2025 and beyond.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Mafia: The Old Country will be PS5 Pro Enhanced at launch.

We already knew that Mafia: The Old Country would boast both quality and performance modes on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and now developer Hangar 13 has confirmed the game will also be ready for PS5 Pro when it releases later this week, on August 8, 2025.

This includes support for variable refresh rate, 120Hz displays, and higher dynamic resolution in both quality and performance modes.

The announcement follows last week’s reveal of the PC and console specifications, with Hangar 13’s statement simply saying: “We’re excited to confirm that Mafia: The Old Country will be PlayStation 5 Pro Enhanced at launch.”

On PS5 and Xbox Series X, Mafia: The Old Country will have both Quality and Performance modes, with the game running at an average 60fps in Performance Mode. “Players who want to prioritize higher resolution and visual fidelity should select Quality Mode, while players who prefer to prioritize framerate should select Performance Mode,” Hangar 13 suggested.

As for those aforementioned PC specs and features, here’s what you need to know.

Mafia: The Old Country — PC Features

• Uncapped gameplay framerate
• Anti-aliasing and upscaling
• Remappable keyboard inputs
• Frame generation with AMD PFSR, NVIDIA DLSS and Intel XESS
• HDR support
• Accessibility Options
• Untrawide monitor support
• V-Sync

We’ve been covering Mafia: The Old Country in an exclusive way through our IGN First cover story, with gameplay and our hands-on preview. Last month, IGN had the pleasure of talking to Hangar 13 studio president Nick Baynes and game director Alex Cox about returning the Mafia series to its not-open-world roots, which games The Old Country takes design inspiration from, the plentiful amount of fruit found throughout the upcoming prequel, and more.

Mafia: The Old Country is a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily wherein you’ll fight to survive as Enzo Favara in this immersive third-person action-adventure that sees you uncover the origins of organized crime. If you’re hungry for more, check out the newly released The Family Code: Vehicles & Villas Gameplay trailer. It shows how players will be able to traverse through a variety of different ways, from horseback to foot travel and occasionally in vehicles.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

HoYoverse is discontinuing support for Genshin Impact on PS4.

In a statement, the publisher thanked PS4 players for their “continued support and love,” but claimed that, “due to limitations related to hardware performance and platform application size,” it would be discontinuing support and updates for the RPG on Sony’s last-gen system.

The “removal and discontinuation plan” for Genshin Impact will unfold in three phases: firstly, the PS4 version of the game will be removed from the PlayStation store on September 10 (although you’ll still be able to re-download it if it’s already in your library). Secondly, in-game purchases will be delisted on February 25, 2026, and finally, support will end completely in August 2026.

Thankfully, HoYo has given a decent notice period, so you’ll still be able to play Genshin Impact on PS4 right up until August 4, 2026.

PS5 players are not to worry — the change shouldn’t affect you at all, and Travelers will still be able to “enjoy the latest content updates.”

“These adjustments apply only to Genshin Impact on PS4,” the publisher reiterated. “We recommend that Travelers currently playing on PS4 transition to PS5 or other supported platforms to continue enjoying the game. Your game progress will not be affected. If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please feel free to contact Genshin Impact Customer Service.”

The announcement has garnered a lot of attention in the post’s comment section, with hundreds of players sharing their thoughts. Some are confused why the game has to be discontinued on PS4 at all, given that the game is accessible on mobile devices, while others accept that PS4’s decade-old architecture had an inevitable end date.

While a PS5 may still be out of reach, don’t forget that Genshin supports crossplay across all platforms, including mobile — here’s now to cross-save between your accounts.

In the open-world action RPG Genshin Impact, you are a traveler drifted from another world who has awoken in a new land. You will explore this wondrous world freely, make friends along the way, and look for “The Seven” — Archons of the seven elements.

We thought it was ‘amazing’ when it released back in 2020, awarding it 9/10 in the IGN Genshin Impact review, writing: “Genshin Impact is an amazing open-world adventure that draws heavily on both its Breath of the Wild and anime inspirations to create something truly special. Even if the gacha model introduces some undesirable level grinding deeper in, the excellent combat, addictive exploration, and beautiful world make this one of the most exciting games I’ve played all year.”

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

While it wasn’t ready for a gameplay demo at Evo, the new Virtua Fighter project was still one of the most exciting games of the show, thanks to a brand new trailer released during Finals day that gave us our best look yet at what Sega and RGG have cooking for this revival of a series that has been dormant for more than two decades at this point.

At the show, I got a chance to sit down with Riichiro Yamada, producer on the New Virtua Fighter project, to dig into some of his previous statements about the game, ask about how he plans to modernize the series to compete with other more, current 3D fighters, and more.

[Editor’s Note: This interview has been lightly edited for grammar and clarity]

The concept gameplay that we’ve seen for the new Virtua Fighter project has been very fluid with guards going for each individual attack, the arms moving to block each individual attack. How close to this do you expect the final game to look?

Riichiro Yamada, Producer on New Virtua Fighter Project: In terms of how it looks, yes, [the battle system is] 70% there, and tomorrow there will be an announcement made at EVO [Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded the day before the trailer release]. So I really feel that I’ll be able to showcase what the current situation is. And from a vision perspective, I really have a very strong vision and really feel that we are getting very close to that vision.

So fighting games are in a very different place than they were when Virtua Fighter V was released. What are some of the ways that you’re ensuring that the new Virtua Fighter project will modernize the series?

Yamada: Virtua Fighter originally was a very simple game. It only has three buttons and everyone could basically touch and play it, but as the series went on, it became very complicated. And in terms of that and in terms of the progression, I feel that Virtua Fighter 5 is the complete version. In terms of a new Virtua Fighter, we need to keep progressing even more, not just in the gameplay but function as well.

I really feel that I need to look towards how do we progress this game, how do we improve this game, in terms of functionability, gameplay and how do we make it more modernized? Otherwise, I really feel like it won’t sell. So those are the places that I’m really looking into. Not only gameplay, but functionality as well. We need to modernize those parts.

In a previous video, you said that the two words that come to mind when asked what is Virtua Fighter were innovation and reality. Can you explain a little bit more about what that means and how those words have guided you through production on this new game?

Yamada: So in terms of innovation, I really won’t be able to specify in details, but it used to be graphics at the very beginning, and then computer graphics like CG has been improving. But with CG, it’s really up there right now. It’s really difficult to improve the current CG.

CG is already innovated, it’s really up there. So in terms of innovation, I really feel that bringing up more ideas is very important when it comes to that term. And then as for reality, I feel like reality is a very difficult word, but Virtua Fighter, it’s not a very UFC-like battle. It’s more of like a kung-fu movie battle. It’s more of that type.

And when I played Virtua Fighter at the very beginning, I felt like the reality of being hit, when you’re being hit by an opponent, you felt that hurt in your arms or your legs, your body. So that sensation, I really felt that. So with the new project, not just the battles but reality, I really want that reality to be felt within the players, not only the battles but the other places as well, which I feel is very important.

So with this new Virtua Fighter project, do you envision this as a new beginning for the franchise? Not just for the franchise but for the characters? Like Akira obviously looks a lot different than what we’re used to. He is not in his traditional gi, his hair is not styled up, he’s wearing a hat. Are these the same characters from the previous games or is this kind of just a new reboot of Virtua Fighter?

Yamada: So in terms of characters, I really feel that new characters are necessary, and as you said, Akira looks different. So in this one, Akira is a little bit older than the previous series. So in terms of that, I feel that a new generation of characters is needed and [I’m not] saying that the character designs in the previous VF is not very good. That’s not true.

I don’t want to say that the VF characters previously, that the character designs were a little bit weak. I’m not trying to say that. I feel that they were stylish, but we do need to evolve these characters, we need to make the character designs look better, to look cool.

Not saying that they were bad before, but I just need to make them cooler. So that’s why when I think about new characters, I said reality is one of the statements that I’m really focusing on. That too, when I create new character designs, I have to bring this reality to it and to make it a more good-looking character. So yes, using the same characters, but evolving it from the past, putting more elements to it, putting more design characters to it, making it more real is my stance.

Speaking of characters, in a previous Virtua Fighter direct, you revealed Stella, a character that bears a striking resemblance to Sarah Bryant. Is there anything you can tell us about this character? And on the screen the text says that she’s the bridge between worlds. Can you elaborate a little bit about what that means?

Yamada: Unfortunately, I won’t be able to answer your question on that, sorry. But please be excited. Please look forward to that.

You touched upon this earlier, Virtua Fighter traditionally is a three-button game — punch, kick and guard — but it derives a lot of depth from that very simple control scheme. Do you feel like the three-button control style for Virtua Fighter is core to the series, or is that an area where you see an opportunity to evolve the franchise by either adding another button or just changing the way the typical Virtua Fighter core gameplay works?

Yamada: So originally when Yu Suzuki created the Virtua fighter, he did a lot of testing. He actually tested with more than three buttons, like a lot of buttons. But they came to the three button conclusion. At the time it was more of a Game Center (Arcade) focused game, so that was the best at the time.

And the concept was that they wanted to create a game that was not too complicated and that anyone could enjoy. And so from that concept, I feel like, yes, I need to respect that concept. I want to create a game where anyone can play.

But currently, or moving forward, it’s not just a Game Center game, it’s more of a household game. So when you think about how people could enjoy playing this game in their living room or in their house, that’s when it kind of changes a little. So yes, the concept does stay the same, But… I’m not really focused on, oh, we need to keep it to three buttons. The more important thing is I want to create a game where anyone can play in their household when it comes to the new style.

For all the years that Virtua Fighter has been around, Akira has been the face of the franchise and he’s also the character that you revealed the new Virtua Fighter project with, but we don’t really get to see his face all that much. Do you feel like Akira is still the kind of face of this series or is it a new generation? Is there going to be a new person that’s going to take that mantle of being the face of the franchise?

Yamada: So when it comes to the protagonist, I really feel that users will still buy a game because of the protagonist. For example, for Street Fighter, it’s Luke, there’s probably a reason why it’s still Luke. For Ryu-Ga-Gotoku (The Yakuza series), it used to be Kiryu, but it’s changing. They did bring a new protagonist, Kasuga. Originally, RGG fans love Kiryu.

So I think there were challenges in bringing a new protagonist, a new character, Kasuga, into the series. Ideally, I would like to bring out more characters, but it feels like users really like Akira. History has proven or is proving that there is a lot of love for Akira.

Yes, I would like to bring out new characters, but I really feel that the protagonist, because Akira has been a strong face, the users will still look forward to or see or would like to buy the game because it’s Akira. So I feel that changing characters or bringing new characters is not a very easy thing to do.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit