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Genshin Impact Is Becoming an Anime
The new trailer showed a tease of their vision of Mondstadt along with three important characters.
Genshin Impact is officially becoming an anime as developer HoYoverse has announced a new collaboration with animation studio Ufotable.
Announced during the game’s Version 3.1 Special Programme, a three-minute concept trailer (that was later shared on the official Genshin Impact Twitter, below) showed off the art style and feel of what the anime will eventually be.
Given that this is just a concept trailer, it will likely be some time before the final episodes are released, and HoYoverse has branded this as a “long-term project”.
Genshin Impact Long-Term Project Launch: Concept Trailer | Genshin Impact
Let’s step into this vast magical world of adventure together!
The long-term collaboration project between Genshin Impact and ufotable has begun.
The video does give us a brief teaser, however. “Let’s step into this vast magical world of adventure together,” its description reads. “The long-term collaboration project between Genshin Impact and ufotable has begun.”
For those unfamiliar, Genshin Impact is one of the biggest games that was released in 2020. Inspired by anime from the start, the action RPG has players travel throughout an open world in search of the Archons of the seven elements.
It’s also seen a ton of updates since it first launched, adding new characters, quests, items, and more, and has even seen crossovers with other franchises including Horizon: Zero Dawn. As with every new version stream, three new codes for Genshin Impact’s premium currency and other rewards were released too.
Future Assassin’s Creed Games Will Not All Be 150-Hour RPGs
Future games in the Assassin’s Creed series will vary in length, and not all will follow the open-world RPG template that has defined the series since 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins.
As part of today’s Assassin’s Creed Showcase, it was announced that Assassin’s Creed Mirage – an action/adventure game similar to the first game in the series – will retail at $50 for the standard edition. In an interview with IGN, vice president and executive producer of Assassin’s Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, explained that the price reflects the scale of the project.
“It is a smaller Assassin’s Creed project,” said Côté. “This was conceived [and] built to celebrate the 15th anniversary. So that’s why we’re using our modern Valhalla engine to build a smaller game that pays tribute to our original game by focusing more on stealth, close-quarter combat, parkour, and a denser city that goes back to our roots in the Middle East with Baghdad as the centrepiece.”
When asked if Mirage would be similar in length to the older games in the series, which were around 15-20 hours for the main story, Côté said, “Yes, you should expect something that’s closer to our original games.”
But it seems as if Mirage is not a one-off. Assassin’s Creed Infinity, an upcoming hub platform for the series, has been designed to support a variety of approaches for Ubisoft to develop around. While the first game on the platform, currently known as Codename Red, will be a large, open-world RPG set in feudal Japan, not all future games will share that formula.
“I think this Infinity approach is allowing us to have different experiences of different sizes as well,” explained Côté. “Not everything has to be a 150-hour RPG, right?”
Côté confirmed that Codename Hexe, the second game for Infinity, will not be an RPG. While he stopped short of saying what genre and what kind of length Hexe will be, it seems as though Ubisoft wants to make a variety of game types within the Assassin’s Creed universe. Côté says this will “bring more diversity to the places we choose to visit and to how we choose to represent those periods.”
The differing lengths of future games will be “priced accordingly,” which means we could see more $50 (or cheaper) games in the future.
“Sometimes you’ll have free experiences as well, which I think is a great way to entice players to either come back,” said Côté. “We’ve had a great experience with the latest crossover stories for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. It brought so many players back into Odyssey. It made a lot of players who were interested in Odyssey interested in Valhalla, because we had seen a lot of players, not crossover from Odyssey to Valhalla, and it piqued their interest and moved them across to another product and all that for free. So I think this will be top of [our] mind as we build Infinity.”
Ubisoft Forward September 2022: Everything Announced
Assassin’s Creed Infinity, Rayman coming to Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, and more.
A brand-new Ubisoft Forward has finally arrived and, alongside reveals from Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Skull and Bones, it gave us a glimpse into the future of Assassin’s Creed.
From Assassin’s Creed Infinity and its first game that will take us to feudal Japan to the official reveal of Assassin’s Creed Mirage to the news that Trackmania will be headed to consoles, we’ve gathered all the biggest news from the latest Ubisoft Forward for you here.
Assassin’s Creed Infinity Officially Revealed with Two New Games, and One Is Set in Feudal Japan
Ubisoft has officially revealed Assassin’s Creed Infinity, a new platform and hub that will serve as the future of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Furthermore, Ubisoft shared that the first two games for the platform – one that will follow the life of a Shinobi in feudal Japan, and another helmed by Watch Dogs: Legion director Clint Hocking.
Assassin’s Creed Infinity is not a game itself, but a place where players will explore and jump into future entries, beginning with the feudal Japan game Assassin’s Creed Codename Red. While not much was revealed about the second game, Assassin’s Creed Codename Hex, it was revealed that it will be “a very different type of Assassin’s Creed game” and may feature witchcraft.
In addition to the single-player games, Ubisoft also shared that Assassin’s Creed multiplayer will return in some form, although it said details will come at a later date.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage Is Set in Baghdad, Twenty Years Before the Events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Following its reveal last week, Assassin’s Creed Mirage got its big reveal at today’s Ubisoft Forward and it was confirmed that this new adventure will take place in Baghdad, twenty years before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It will star Basim Ibn Ishaq and is designed to be a modern take on the original gameplay template for the earlier Assassin’s Creed game.
During development, the team at Ubisoft Bordeaux focused on the same three design pillars as the original Assassin’s Creed game – stealth, parkour, and assassinations.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be released in 2023.
Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade Is an Open-World Assassin’s Creed Game for Mobile Devices
The Assassin’s Creed franchise is getting a new mobile entry set in Ancient China called Assassin’s Creed Jade. According to Ubisoft, it will feature “classic” Assassin’s Creed gameplay and take place in an open world built to work well with touch controls.
In addition to sharing that Assassin’s Creed Jade will let players create their own assassin protagonist for the first time ever in the series, Jade will also let players explore China in the year 215 BCE and even parkour across the Great Wall of China.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: The Last Chapter Till Tie up the Loose Ends of Eivor’s Story
A free update headed to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla called The Last Chapter will tie up loose ends of Eivor’s story.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Will Get Post-Launch Content with Rayman
Alongside a brand-new trailer showcasing the adorably chaotic gameplay, Ubisoft confirmed that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will be getting DLC, including one that will bring Rayman into the world of Mario + Rabbids.
Skull and Bones Trailer Shows Off Ship Customization and the Trading Network Called The Helm
Skull and Bones are set to finally set sail on November 8, and this Ubisoft Forward revealed a new trailer focusing on ship customization, the in-game trading network known as The Helm, and much more. It was also confirmed that Skull and Bones will feature cross-platform play at launch.
Trackmania Is Headed to Consoles With Cross-Platform Play and Cross-Progression
After years of being a PC exclusive, Ubisoft’s Trackmania is finally headed to consoles in 2023, and it will include cross-play and cross-progression with its PC counterpart. While no Switch version was mentioned, it was confirmed it will arrive on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna.
Just Dance 2023 Announced for a Holiday Release
Just Dance is back once again in 2023 and it looks to sport a shiny new look. This newest entry will arrive in Holiday 2022 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Switch and will include a brand-new “dance on demand” platform alongside new online multiplayer features and a new interface. As with previous Just Dance games, it will receive a constant stream of free, regular content updates.
Rainbow Six Mobile Gameplay Revealed
Gameplay was shown for Rainbow Six Mobile, a brand-new free-to-play game that was built from the ground up for mobile. For those interested in giving it a shot, there will be a closed beta on September 12, and Google Play users can sign up now.
When Rainbow Six Mobile launches in the future, it will have 5v5 matches, cross-play, and voice chat.
The Division Heartland Is Gearing Up For Another Testing Phase
The Division: Heartland, the free-to-play game set in the world of Ubisoft Massive’s Tom Clancy series, is still on track for a release in 2022 or 2023 on PC, consoles, and cloud. While Ubisoft wasn’t ready to be more specific with a release date, it did say that Heartland will have another testing phase that players can sign up for now.
The Division 2 Season 10: Price of Power Will Have Agents Hunting Down General Peter Anderson
The upcoming season of Division 2, Season 10: Price of Power, will see agents “embark on a new Manhunt to track down General Peter Anderson, a True Sons leader trying to ally with the Black Tusk against The Division.” This new season will launch on September 13.
The Division Resurgence, a Mobile Spin-Off, Is Accepting Sign-Ups for Its Next Testing Phase
The Division Resurgence is a new mobile title set in The Division universe and Ubisoft is currently welcoming those interested in trying it out to sign up for its next testing phase. This upcoming test will focus on PVP modes like Dark Zone and Conflict.
Riders Republic Is Teaming Up With Vans and Its Getting BMX Biking
The worlds of Riders Republic and Vans are colliding as the popular brand will be making its way into Ubisoft’s extreme sports game. We also got a look at Riders Republic’s fourth season, which will arrive on September 14 and will bring with it BMX biking.
The Crew 2 Is Getting Ice Tracks for the First Time
The Crew 2: Season 6, Episode 2: Dominion Frozen will arrive on September 14 and will bring with it ice tracks for the first time. THere will be nine new events to partake in and the season will also add 50 tiers of rewards, including “special-edition vehicles such as the Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo Glacier Edition (Hypercar), the Mazda RX-3 Supercharged Edition (Street race), and the Dodge SRT Viper GTS Lightning Edition (Street Race).”
Mythic Quest Season 3 Gets a New Sneak Peek
Ubisoft Forward was about more than just games, as it gave fans a new look at Mythic Quest Season 3.
Brawlhalla Is Crossing Over With Castlevania
Castlevania’s Simon Belmont and Alucard will be joining the roster of Brawlhalla on October 19, 2022.
Netflix and Ubisoft Are Partnering on a Live-Action Assassin’s Creed Adaptation Alongside Three Mobile Games Based on Assassin’s Creed, Valiant Hearts, and Mighty Quest
Netflix and Ubisoft have partnered up to develop not only a live-action adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, but also three exclusive Ubisoft mobile games for its players with a Netflix subscription. These games include a sequel to Valiant Hearts, a “roguelite-inspired Mighty Quest for Epic Loot,” and a new, original Assassin’s Creed game. These games will be free on the Netflix app for those with a subscription and will have no ads or in-app purchases.
Ubisoft+ Celebrates Its Third Anniversary With a Gift to PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna Players
To celebrate its third anniversary, Ubisoft is gifting PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna players Ubisoft+ Multi-Access for free until October 10. This will let them play over 100 Ubisoft titles, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Rick and Morty Showrunner Promises a New Season ‘Every Year’ From Now On
Rick and Morty the show’s seventh season is currently in production.
Rick and Morty showrunner Scott Marder has promised to release a new season of Adult Swim’s award-winning animated series “every year” from this point onwards.
Ahead of the imminent release of Rick and Morty’s sixth season, Marder and producer James Siciliano sat down with Inverse to discuss their future plans for the hit animated series. The duo shared their vision for Season 6 and beyond, revealing that they already have two more seasons in various stages of development as they plan to get more consistent with their releases from now on.
“There’s an unbelievable amount that we have going on,” Siciliano admitted. “I don’t know how much we could talk about, but as far as the production, we have Season 6 coming out, and Season 7 in production. We have the writers’ room for Season 8 going. So that’s about 20 episodes in some form of production, and the new season that we’re breaking.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Draws 25 Million Viewers to Become Prime Video’s Most-Watched Premiere
A great start to an epic adventure.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s two-episode premiere drew in 25 million global viewers in 24 hours, and it has officially become the biggest premiere in the history of Prime Video.
Amazon shared the milestone in a press release, saying The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power broke all previous records after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.”
“It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said. “I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate and our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy. And it is the tens of millions of fans watching – clearly as passionate about Middle-earth as we are – who is our true measure of success.”
While we don’t have exact details of how much of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s 25 million viewers actually watched as this doesn’t mean they sat through the entire two-episode premiere, it’s still an excellent sign for the series that has a reported budget of $465 million for its first season.
Once again, it’s hard to compare rings to dragons as we don’t have all the details. Still, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s viewership was a bit more than the premiere of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon’s 9.986 million people, which was also the largest in HBO history.
In our review of the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we said that it “may take it a little while to hit its stride, but once it does, it immerses us in a gorgeous fantasy world with a great ensemble and several intriguing subplots.”
For more, check out our chat with the series’ producers on making the series accessible and the important role Galadriel has to play alongside every major player introduced in the premiere.
MTV Video Music Awards: Taylor Swift announces new album as she wins top prize
MTV Video Music Awards: Taylor Swift announced a new album as she won the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sunday.
At the event, the singer won several awards, including the coveted best video award for All Too Well (10-Minute Version).
Swift expressed her gratitude for the award and announced that her next album, Midnights, would be released on October 21.
Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and Harry Styles were among the other winners, with Johnny Depp making a pre-recorded appearance.
Here are some of the highlights from the ceremony on Sunday.
Swift made her announcement in the final moments of the show, which was hosted by Nicki Minaj, Jack Harlow and LL Cool J.
“I’m so honoured to have been recognized alongside such amazing artists and directors,” the singer said as she accepted the night’s top prize.
“I’m just so proud of what we created and with every second of this moment, and we couldn’t have made this short film without the fans.”
“I wouldn’t be able to re-record my albums if it wasn’t for you… you gave me the confidence to do so,” she added.
Swift is currently re-recording her first five albums in an effort to reclaim control of her music after a falling out with music mogul Scooter Braun.
A re-recorded version of her 2012 album Red included a newly-extended version of All Too Well, the video for which won three VMAs in total.
The video for All Too Well, which stars Sadie Sink from Stranger Things and Dylan O’Brien from Teen Wolf, also won the best direction and best long-form video.
“Because you’ve been so generous, I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out on October 21,” Swift told the audience.
She later revealed more information about the album on her Twitter account. Swift’s new album is described as a “collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.”
Johnny Depp ‘available for weddings’
The VMA show was sprinkled with digital appearances from actor Johnny Depp, who was projected onto the face of the VMAs’ famous Moon Man mascot.
“I needed the work,” the actor joked as the ceremony began, later adding that he was available for “birthdays, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, anything you need… anything.”
The appearance came after Depp won a multi-million dollar defamation suit against former partner Amber Heard.
It is the latest step in Depp’s gradual return to the public eye. It was recently announced that he will play Jeanne Du Barry in the film Jeanne Du Barry, produced by the French company Why Not Productions, his first starring role since the trial.
In addition, he is preparing to direct his first feature film in 25 years, a biopic of the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.
Harry Styles was ‘just down the road’
British nominees largely lost out to US counterparts at this year’s awards, with only Harry Styles taking home a major prize with an album of the year.
Despite being “just down the road” performing at Madison Square Garden in New York, the 28-year-old apologized to fans for his absence from the show.
The VMAs were held less than an hour away, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
In a video message, he said, “Thank you so much for this award.” “I know this is a fan-voted award, so I’d like to thank all of my fans who voted, thank you so much, I wouldn’t be holding this without you.”
“I’m sorry I can’t join you on stage tonight; I’m about to go on stage just down the road, but I hope you have a wonderful evening.”
The Notes app came to Nicki’s rescue
Minaj was the recipient of this year’s video vanguard award, which recognises artists who have consistently produced creative and influential music videos.
As she made her entrance at the ceremony, the US rapper performed a medley of her songs, including Monster, Super Bass, and her current number one hit Super Freaky Girl, which samples the original Rick James classic.
Minaj claimed she had “never written a speech in her life,” but went offstage to retrieve her phone to read her notes as she accepted the award from members of her fan club, the Barbz.
She thanked artists such as Kanye West, Beyonce, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Rihanna for inspiring “me and my flow” and providing opportunities.
In her speech, she also paid tribute to late performers Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Nipsey Hussle.
Snoop and Slim Shady entered the metaverse
Eminem and Snoop Dogg gave a trippy “metaverse” performance of their collaborative track From The D 2 The LBC.
At the awards, the rap legends performed live on a sofa, with Snoop smoking a massive joint before the performance became animated.
Before returning to the live show for an explosive finale, the pair transformed into cartoon versions of themselves as well as projections of Bored Ape NFTs.
The song is the pair’s first collaboration in over 20 years, and the performance is their first at the VMAs in over a decade.
It will be their third public appearance together in 2022, following their appearance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in February.
Tributes to Taylor Hawkins
Red Hot Chili Peppers were presented with the global icon by US comedy-stoner duo Cheech and Chong.
The band’s bassist Flea dedicated the band’s award to Taylor Hawkins, the late drummer of the Foo Fighters.
Hawkins, who died in March aged 50, played with Foo Fighters for more than two decades.
“There’s another musical legend and his name is Taylor Hawkins… I miss him every day,” Flea told the audience. “Fly on brother.”
Hawkins had opioids, marijuana and other drugs in his system before he died. Foo Fighters will host a tribute concert to the late drummer at Wembley Stadium on 3 September.
The winners in full
Global icon award: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Video vanguard award: Nicki Minaj
Video of the year: Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
Artist of the year: Bad Bunny
Song of the year: Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Best new artist: Dove Cameron
Push performance of the year: Seventeen – Rock With You
Best collaboration: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow: Industry Baby
Best pop: Harry Styles – As It Was
Best hip-hop: Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Baby – Do We Have a Problem?
Best rock: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Black Summer
Best alternative: Måneskin – I Wanna Be Your Slave
Best Latin: Anitta – Envolver
Best R&B: The Weeknd – Out of Time
Best K-Pop: Lisa – Lalisa
Video for good: Lizzo – About Damn Time
Best Metaverse performance: Blackpink The Virtual
Best longform video: Taylor Swift – All Too Well (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
Best cinematography: Harry Styles – As It Was
Best direction: Taylor Swift: All Too Well (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
Best art direction: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – Industry Baby
Best visual effects: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – Industry Baby
Best choreography: Doja Cat – Woman
Best editing: Rosalía – Saoko
Group of the year: BTS
Song of the Summer: Jack Harlow – First Class
Album of the year: Harry Styles – Harry’s House
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