Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions have picked Aquaman actor Jason Momoa to star in their upcoming Helldivers movie.

As reported by Deadline and confirmed by Sony, the action film regular is now set to lead the adaptation of Arrowhead Game Studios’ popular video game franchise. With the casting update comes news that Sony is charging forward in hopes of dropping into theaters November 10, 2027.

The Secretlab Presidents Sale has officially commenced and with it are a couple of different promotions that are running concurrently (some are stackable). For starters, you can save up to $139 off across Secretlab's lineup of Titan Evo gaming chairs and Magnus gaming desks, including themed editions from One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Star Wars, Demon Slayer, and more. Secretlab's highest-end gaming chair, the Titan Evo Nanogen, has also ben discounted.

In addition to these instant discounts, you can get extra tiered savings by hitting a certain order amount for each category. These should be stackable with the instant discounts, although some themes are excluded.

• Extra $40 off Chair orders of $850+ with code "SLEV-MINCPRES26"
• Extra $50 off Desk orders of $1,489+ with code: "SLEV-MINDPRES26"
• $100 off all orders of $1,999+ with code: "SLEV-MINSWPRES26"

Finally, Secretlab's Genshin Impact themed gaming chairs gets some love of its own. The Ninguang and and Xiao inspired gaming chairs are on sale as well, to coincide with the Lantern Rite event that's going on right now in-game.

Save $50 off Secretlab Titan Evo gaming chairs

The Titan Evo is Secretlab's most iconic and best selling chair. Over 70 different styles are currently on sale, with prices ranging from $529 to $634 after a $50 off instant discount across the entire lineup. It's available in small, medium, and large sizes, which is great for smaller people because most gaming chairs sold here in the United States are huge. Discounted upholstery optioins include Neo Hybrid leatherette and SoftWeave Plus fabric.

Signature features include a solid steel frame with aluminum wheelbase, firm and supportive cold-cure foam upholstery, adjustable four-way lumbar system, full length backrest with 165 degrees of recline, full metal 4D armrests with magnetically attached PU cushions, and a memory foam headrest pillow. Check out our own glowing Titan Evo review.

Genshin Impact themed chairs see their first discount ever

Actor James Van Der Beek, best known for his role as the title character on The WB teen drama Dawson's Creek, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 48.

His passing was confirmed by his family on his Instagram page with the following message:

"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend."

DC K.O. is the latest epic crossover dominating the DC Universe. This storyline brings together dozens of heroes and villains to take part in a martial arts death tournament. The ultimate winner will be crowned King Omega and granted the power to battle the almighty Darkseid. And with the release of DC K.O. #4, we now know the identity of King Omega.

But that's arguably not the biggest development in DC K.O. #4. This issue is also notable for featuring the first real crossover between the regular DC Universe and the Absolute Universe. What happens when Batman fights Absolute Batman? And who is King Omega in the end? Read on to learn more, but beware of full spoilers for DC K.O. #4 ahead!

Issue #4 opens with only four combatants left standing - Superman, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, and Joker. Their opponents this time are the Absolute Universe versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, along with a Darkseid-possessed Booster Gold. Darkseid has brainwashed the Absolute heroes to be his personal fighting force, and they waste no time in bringing the pain.

Joker is so taken aback by Absolute Batman that he immediately defects and offers to become Darkseid's fourth horseman. However, that betrayal is quickly canceled out when the regular Batman returns to the battlefield following his surprise defeat in DC K.O. #1. Thanks to the events of the tie-in series DC K.O.: Knightfight, Batman is granted a second chance to fight. The Dark Knight impales Joker just as the Clown Prince of Crime did to him. That leaves the two versions of the DC Trinity to battle it out, while Luthor bides his time.

In other comic book news, find out which series was selected as IGN's best comic book of 2025, and see which comics we're most excited for in 2026.

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

Toy Fair 2026 is just around the corner, meaning a lot of companies are gearing up to reveal new toys and figures hitting shelves in 2026 and beyond. IGN can offer an exclusive first look at the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles offerings from Super7.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at Super7's newest TMNT Ultimates and Reaction+ figures:

With the TMNT Ultimates line, Super7 has shifted from releasing figures inspired by the classic '80s TMNT toys to focusing on the 2003 animated series. Fans can expect three new 7-inch-scale figures in the next Ultimates wave - Raphael (Road Gear), April O'Neil, and Hun. All three figures are designed to be compatible with a Shell Cycle vehicle and will come with interchangeable helmeted heads.

The TMNT Ultimates figures are priced at $65 each, while the Shell Cycle is $150.

On the Reaction+ front, this marks the first time Super7 will include the TMNT franchise in that long-running line of retro-style figures. Like all Reaction+ figures, these toys are similar in size and style to classic G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero figures and feature similar O-ring construction. The figures are inspired by the 1987 animated series, with this first wave including Raphael, Donatello, Shredder, and a Foot Ninja.

The TMNT Reaction+ figures are priced at $25 each.

Stay tuned to IGN in the coming days for more Toy Fair 2026 coverage. Until then, check out Mondo's latest X-Men: The Animated Series figure and Hasbro's new Marvel Legends reveals.

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

Crunchyroll has revealed that Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc will arrive on the anime streaming service this spring. In the announcement, Crunchyroll notes that the streaming release will be accompanied by “a range of subs and subs,” but does not confirm specific languages.

While not exactly a concrete release date, the streaming window is relatively soon, offering a boon to fans who didn’t catch one of last year’s biggest anime movies in theaters.

The Chainsaw Man movie was originally released in Japan last September, where it quickly climbed and proceeded to hold on to the #1 spot at the box office for over a full month. The movie's popularity continued to grow after expanding to North American theaters in mid-October, leading to a global box office haul of over $162 million.

This success is one of many that contributed to a record-breaking year at the Japanese box office; according to The Hollywood Reporter, theaters saw a 32% increase in revenue over the course of the year. Another notable release contributing to the box office excitement was Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which, as of early 2026, is the highest grossing Japanese movie of all time (and a Golden Globes nominee).

In the world of anime movies, this is a relatively quick turnaround for a streaming release, likely a product of the film’s theatrical success. The Chainsaw Man movie also ended up being Letterboxd’s highest user-rated film of 2025, with IGN’s own review highlighting plenty of action as well as "a compelling and hauntingly beautiful romance."

For now, Chainsaw Man -The Movie: Reze Arc is only available to purchase digitally through services like Prime Video. Crunchyroll, which recently increased prices and removed free streaming support, asked fans to “stay tuned for more details for an exact release date, time and languages.” No information has been revealed about a physical release, but it would be reasonable to anticipate one under the Crunchyroll banner.

The first and only Chainsaw Man movie so far is a direct sequel to the anime’s first season, which we gave a solid 9/10. Season 2 is currently in development, and is expected to pick up right after the movie's conclusion with the Assassin’s Arc from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original manga. No release window has been announced.

Blythe (she/her) is an Audience Development Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski has railed against the addition of AI tools into creative processes, as he prepares to launch a new sci-fi comedy featuring a rogue artificial intelligence as its villain.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die arrives in theaters this Friday, February 13 as Verbinski's first movie in eight years. Sam Rockwell stars as a time traveller who seeks help in the present day from a group of quirky diner customers, in order to stop an AI threat in the future.

Discussing the movie's AI villain character with The Hollywood Reporter, Verbinski said he wanted to create an adversary that wasn't "HAL 9000 or Skynet" but an AI that was worse because "it wants you to like it" — similar to the wave of seemingly-helpful AI bots and tools being injected into everyday apps and software today.

"So much of what AI has initially been focused on is how to keep us engaged. What do we buy? What do we consume? More importantly, what do we hate?" Verbinski said. "We're writing our worst attributes into its source code, and it's generating so much stuff back into the internet that it's starting to drink its own piss."

Verbinski said he'd been in meetings with movie executives where he's been told the future of film-making is using AI to make movies for cheaper, and as a "tool" he should use. "They're very fast," he said of discussions where this topic has come up.

"Why is AI helping me write a song or tell a story?" he continued. "I don't want it to breathe or f*** for me; I want it to solve cancer. Send some shit through a black hole; do something that we can't do. Or dig a ditch; do the shit we don't want to do. Why is it coming after the stuff that we essentially need to do to be human beings?"

Mummy fans, you’ve got a lot going for you right now. Lee Cronin’s take is dropping trailers and visuals left and right, and the film is set to be released in just over two months. On top of that, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are returning for a sequel to the beloved 1999 adventure film — and we now have a release date for that project.

According to the official release calendar for Universal Pictures, the fourth installment in The Mummy franchise — which currently has no official title just yet — will hit theaters on May 19, 2028. It’s a ways away, for sure, but at least there’s a date on the books!

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, two of the members of the directorial collective and production company Radio Silence, will serve as directors on the project. By now, you know these guys well; they’ve directed two of the three most recent Scream sequels, both 5 and 6, and both Ready or Not and its sequel film, which is hitting theaters at the end of next month. They also made one of the best V/H/S segments to date, the finale segment of the original film titled “10/31/98.”

David Coggeshall, the writer behind Orphan: First Kill, will write the script for the upcoming Mummy sequel film — and it seems as though the plot of the next movie will be fulfilling a dream for Fraser himself.

"The one I wanted to make is forthcoming," he explained to The Associated Press back in November. "And I've been waiting 20 years for this call. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was a faint telegraph. Now? It's time to give the fans what they want."

"The one I wanted to make was never made," he also noted, revealing of the third installment, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: "the third one was a model of… how can I say this to the AP reporter? NBC had the rights to broadcast the Olympics that year. So they put two together and we went to China."

After The Mummy was released in 1999, the first sequel titled The Mummy Returns debuted two years later in 2001. The third film premiered in 2008, though Weisz did not return for it and was replaced by Maria Bello. Thankfully, though, she’s back and it's hoped she and Fraser will bring the heart and charm of the original right back to this beloved franchise… in 2028, that is.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Crime 101 opens in theaters on Feb. 13.

A few minutes in to Crime 101, with the streets of Los Angeles whipping by, a tense, thudding soundtrack gnawing at you while carefully laid plans are set up with unassuming close-ups only to be paid off in full-circle moments, you might start to think that you’ve seen this movie before. If you find yourself enjoying the cross-cut montage of the main characters crossing paths on the 101 and the evocative LA-at-night atmosphere, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong in feeling a little deja vu.

Like an entry level college course from which the film takes its name, Crime 101 is proficient in all the right elements of a heist movie. Director Bart Layton and the stacked cast led by Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry do what they can to take some chances around the periphery, veering from the formula in a few interesting ways. But like a high-end thief who strays from his MO, the movie ultimately pays for it in the end.

Crime 101 doesn’t actively do anything bad. In fact, the film tries to do a handful of interesting things, but only does each of them half as well as it could have with a little more focus. The pull of familiar heist movie tropes, the cat and mouse of Heat or the “one last score and I’m out” of… well, Heat again, proves too strong and too thoroughly reproduced in Crime 101 for the variations to comfortably fold in. It all adds up to a pretty standard heist flick featuring some flourishes to the formula that feel more out of place than like a creative riff on the genre.

For example, Chris Hemsworth’s Mike Davis is an awkward, almost cripplingly shy man who, at times, seems to be neurodivergent. It’s definitely a departure from Thor or any number of the comedic supporting roles he’s shone in over the years. He’s a charismatic presence on screen no matter who he’s playing and his performance here works in the moments where he struggles to connect with a would-be love interest or when he scrubs himself down before a job to avoid leaving DNA evidence behind. However, the characterization gets a little lost when he shows no compunction about car chases or shaking down insurance executives.

Mark Ruffalo’s Detective Lubesnick and Halle Berry’s broker Sharon, even Hemsworth’s thief, all suffer under the unjust treatment of awful bosses and the same dead-end sense of futility. Both Sharon and Detective Lubesnick wear the bitterness well, but are dismissed by their superiors in ways that are equally frustrating and formulaic. The trio also share a clarity as to who the real villains are in their world, leading to no small amount of Robin Hood style class warfare, with the film dipping a toe into a thread of wealthy white people buying and hoarding Black and Native American art while stopping short of a proper eat-the-rich kind of theme.

The real problem is none of this is allowed to be what the movie is “about” because Crime 101 is so determined to fall in line with the crime thriller genre that the flourishes feel more like bugs than features.

On the upside however, Barry Keoghan is an energetic little blast of a character. His version of the dangerous wild card thrown into the mix brings a rabid energy to the proceedings. He’s desperate to prove himself, bouncing back and forth between a skilled criminal and a clear psychopath.

Nick Nolte (now with 100% more gravelly-voice) does his thing as the elderly fence / father figure to Mike, but doesn’t get much else to play with outside of what the elderly fence / father figures usually get to do in movies like this.

Frankly, one of the real highlights is a one-and-a-half scene cameo. Jennifer Jason Leigh, in her screentime with Mark Ruffalo, helps make a tragic scene grounded and hilarious as an argument erupts about how much of a “beach guy” Lubesnick may or may not be. As far as scene partners go, they’re a pair I’d love to see more of.

By the end of the movie, though, the scales are tipped toward familiar crime movie tropes as opposed to the variations on the pattern. There are interesting ideas at play throughout the film that get swapped out like one getaway car for another in service of a plot that’s less compelling than any one of them.

Ultimately, there really isn’t anything wrong with Crime 101. That might be its biggest problem, though.

February 27 is Pokémon's big 30th anniversary of its original launch in Japan, and while details are slowly trickling in on how Nintendo and Game Freak plan to celebrate, TIME Magazine is already getting into the spirit.

The 96-page special edition issue of the magazine is coming out with three different covers, each featuring iconic pocket monsters from over the year - one cover depicts Mega Charizard X, one has Lugia and Ho-Oh, while the third shows off Rayquaza. You can purchase any of the three covers for $14.99 each on Amazon now.

Oscar-nominated racing blockbuster F1 is getting a sequel, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has now confirmed.

Speaking to BBC News today, Bruckheimer confirmed he was "working on a sequel," though did not share further detail on a filming schedule or plans for a release. It's unknown, too, whether F1 star Brad Pitt will return for the second film.

The quick confirmation comes as something of a surprise, just days after executives from both F1 and Apple TV hinted at the possibility of a F1 follow-up while simultaneously suggesting that any public confirmation was still a year away.

"Stay tuned," said Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali at an Apple TV press event last week. "We're going to tell you something more in the future. Never say never. But we need to digest more the success of this movie because it was something unique. And if you want to think of a new one, it has to be really, very, very good. Therefore, if this will happen, it will not be for next year. But maybe next year we're going to be here, and hopefully we have something more to announce."

Bruckheimer, who apparently didn't get that memo, today said he planned to be involved again — including in casting decisions. "I never worked with Brad Pitt before and it's really a thrill to work with Brad," he added, without confirming whether the Fight Club, Ocean's 11 and Troy star had yet been tempted back on board for the sequel.

Work on F1 2, or whatever it gets called, seems to still be in its early stages — and that's not surprising, considering the fact that the first F1 is still to see out its award season. Released last summer, the movie earned $630 million at the global box office and garnered four Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.

"F1: The Movie follows the sports movie playbook almost perfectly," IGN wrote in its F1 movie review, "finding ways to be just that much better at nearly every stage of its 156-minute runtime – creating a super fun racecar flick in the process that eventually finds its way to victory lane."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

A lengthy, 60-plus minutes Sony State of Play is heading our way this Thursday, February 12, and promises new looks at “third-party and indie games headed to PS5, along with the latest from teams at PlayStation Studios.” So, what upcoming games can we expect to see fresh reveals for and gameplay of? Well, here’s what we think is likely to show up, as well as a few out-there guesses.

Exclusives

Seeing as it's shaping up to be PlayStation’s biggest game of 2026, you’d perhaps have expected Wolverine to show up in Thursday’s stream. Well, a late spanner has been thrown into the works via Insomniac’s official X account, which claims that we won’t be seeing any more of its latest Marvel game until “Spring 2026”. Last time I checked, February was in Winter, so maybe we’ll have to wait a little longer.

Spring 2026.

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) February 10, 2026

At the last State of Play, back in September 2025, Insomniac Games gave us a first look at Marvel’s Wolverine in action. As one of Sony’s tentpole releases for this year, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock to see some more X-Men gameplay, as well as perhaps a release date for Logan’s latest adventure. Could we also catch a glimpse of Daredevil, who has been teased to be making an appearance, too?

PlayStation Studio’s first big exclusive of the year comes in the shape of Marathon, Bungie’s extraction shooter, which will be looking to emulate the success of last year’s Arc Raiders. It’s been a bumpy road for the Destiny developer, such as a plagiarism scandal and poor reception to its alpha, but this week’s State of Play will be one of the last chances for it to convince players to hop into its world on March 5.

Later in Spring, we have Saros, Housemarque’s follow-up to Returnal, which will be dropping on April 30. We’ve seen it pop up regularly on recent State of Play streams, and it would make perfect sense to see it here, too, seeing as we’re only 10 weeks away from launch.

Another PS5 console exclusive is Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the upcoming superhero fighting game from Guilty Gear Strive developer Arc System Works. Due for release this year, the flashy-looking fighter suffered from an unfortunate leak earlier this week that revealed a few key details about the game, such as the size of its roster. It would not be a shock to see some of this information officially confirmed as fact on Thursday.

PS5 console exclusive Phantom Blade Zero is a hotly anticipated wuxia action RPG coming from Chinese developer S-Game. The lead character is called Soul, so you can probably guess what genre this project borrows heavily from, too. It’s all looking very impressive, and maybe we’ll get yet another look at it in action this week ahead of its September 9 launch.

Then there’s the freshly revealed Horizon Hunters Gathering, yet another spin-off of the mechanical monster-hunting series created by Guerrilla Games. A 3-player live-service co-op action game, it's getting its first playtest at the end of this month, so, again, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we were to get a further look at some gameplay in this State of Play.

Unveiled at The Game Awards, 4:Loop is a PS5 and PC exclusive that appears to infuse some roguelike elements with the co-op shooting of games like Helldivers and Left 4 Dead. That makes more sense when you consider that Left 4 Dead creator Mike Booth is behind the project, working with Bad Robot Games, the video game wing of film director J.J. Abrams' production company. No release date has been given yet, but playtesting will start soon, with maybe a timing for that revealed at this State of Play.

One exclusive that we don’t think is coming this year, but would certainly love to see more of, is Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The Last of Us and Uncharted studio’s upcoming sci-fi action-adventure has gone very quiet since its initial reveal back at the 2024 Game Awards. So, is it time for a deeper look into what this new world has to offer? Let’s hope so.

As for what the other PlayStation Studios are up to, your guess is as good as mine, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect one or two surprise reveals or updates. This State of Play stream is over an hour long, after all, so surely there’s something brand-new in there? Perhaps a look at the next project from God of War developer Sony Santa Monica, or a look into the world of Ghost of Yotei: Legends from Sucker Punch? Maybe the time is right for a first sighting of Gran Turismo 8, or an update on the development of Haven Studios’ Fairgames — if we don’t see this one soon, we’ll really start to get worried about it. Then there are two of Sony’s most creative studios, Media Molecule and Team Asobi. We’ve certainly been waiting a lot longer for a follow-up to Dreams than we have Astro Bot, but you never know what’s been going on behind those doors...

Multiplatform

Will we see GTA 6 at this Sony State of Play? No. I will eat my whole fist if we do.

There are a fair few other exciting games that we wouldn’t put body parts on the line for in terms of their likelihood, though. Resident Evil Requiem is imminent, so now seems like as good a time as any to show us one last slice of Leon Kennedy action before the big day on February 27. Sticking with survival horror, Konami has curiously announced a Silent Hill stream will be taking place just two hours after the State of Play. Is this a signal that a more in-depth look at a new Silent Hill game will be at that show, following its reveal just minutes prior as part of PlayStation’s stream? Perhaps this week is when we’ll see Bloober Team’s remake of the original in the series, or – more likely – our first proper look at the Annapurna-published Silent Hill: Townfall, which was first announced in 2022 and has been MIA since.

Back at Capcom briefly, and you can likely expect to see something from one of, if not both, Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Final Fantasy 7 remake director, Naoki Hamaguchi, recently teased that Square Enix will “share more updates than ever before” about the project this year. Does that mean a potential reveal of the third part in the modernised RPG trilogy will happen at this State of Play? Or could we get an Intergrade-style bridging chapter as DLC for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

But, before we get too sidetracked, let’s stick with games closer on the horizon, such as Hitman developer IO Interactive's 007 First Light, and Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight from Warner Bros. Games. Both are coming this May, and their respective developers could share further info on Thursday. Before those, though, March will bring with it Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’ ambitious open-world action-adventure that looks set to push the PS5 to its limits. No stranger to a trailer, we can likely expect it to turn up here, too.

As for later in the year, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra recently shifted out of its original window of early 2026 to “beyond early 2026”, so your guess is as good as mine as to when we’ll be playing Amy Hennig’s Captain America and Black Panther in World War 2 story. Legendary PlayStation hero Lara Croft will be returning in a “reimagining” of her original game, titled Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Finnish developer Remedy is back with another entry in its connected universe, Control: Resonant. Also announced at The Game Awards was the pleasantly surprising Star Wars: Galactic Racer from the makers of Burnout and Need For Speed that is scheduled to drop in 2026. All of these are possibilities.

As for indies, outside of the announcement of a PS5 version of Hades 2, there are a few destined for PlayStation that I’d personally love to see more of on Thursday. Namely, Beethoven & Dinosaur’s coming of age story Mixtape, old-school cartoon-inspired shooter Mouse P.I. For Hire, and Japanese convenience store sim inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories.

What game are you most looking forward to seeing more of at this week’s Sony State of Play? Let us know in the comments!

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Amazon's been a great place to find discounts on video games lately. Hidden among the retailer's selection of PS5 deals at the moment is Battlefield 6, which has dropped to $39.88 (see it here). It's not just the PlayStation version that's seen a price drop, though. Xbox fans can also scoop up it up on Series X for the same price (see it here).

Overall, this is a 43% discount for each platform, which is some great savings to make a move on. According to price tracker camelcamelcamel, it's also just a few dollars away from both PS5 and Xbox Series X's lowest price at the retailer of $35, so why not grab it now if you've been itching to drop in?

Battlefield 6 (PS5/Xbox Series X) for $39.88

Playground Games gave us a first look at gameplay from its Fable reboot earlier this year in January’s Xbox Developer Direct, and among its viewers was the series’ original creator, Peter Molyneux.

IGN recently spoke to the former Lionhead Studios developer in anticipation of his new God game, Masters of Albion, and took the opportunity to ask for his thoughts on what he saw from this new incarnation of Fable.

“When I was watching the Fable trailer, I just felt myself tearing up”, reveals Molyneux. “I know that I could probably be slaughtered for saying that, but I am someone who cries frequently, and I felt incredibly emotional, and the reason I felt emotional was: F*** me. This thing that we created, it's going to live, it’s going to carry on. This world, which we loved creating so much, and other people loved, has a life.”

“And for me, the saddest thing would be to see it diminish, which is one of the reasons I'm really going back to God games. So that was the overall emotion. I thought it was really smart of them to retell Fable 1 rather than have the burden of continuing the Fable story. I loved seeing some of those references. I thought it was super smart to have the kid’s family turn to stone. I thought that was really smart. And so those were all the plus points.”

But… there’s always a but. Although there was plenty that the series’ original creator enjoyed in Playground’s grand unveiling, it didn’t completely hit the nail on the head for Molyneux — with the game's tone and visual design not quite to his tastes.

“I mean, if I was critical, which I think you want me to be, there was a slight antiseptic feel about it," Molyneux states. “But I mean, they've got months and months to build in that character and almost that dirtiness that you want in the world. I never thought Fable as being clean and all the angles being sharp and defined. It's more chaotic. It's more what Old England probably used to be, which was not straight lines, the place, it's more crinkling, and all the buckle belts on people are ridiculously large, and the boots and the hands ridiculously large because that is part of the character. So there’s a little bit more of that character, which I would probably foolishly and ridiculously ask for.”

But these minor quibbles with the current aesthetic certainly aren’t getting in the way of Peter looking forward to getting his hands on it when it arrives later this year. When asked if he plans to play Fable, he replied: “Absolutely. For sure. Not as someone looking for the flaws and faults, but as someone who truly loves and adores that universe.”

I, too, cannot wait to jump back into the fairy tale world of Fable. You can check out all of the latest updates on Playground’s upcoming fantasy RPG here, including how it plans to utlilise a surprising storytelling technique from The Office, and how you’ll be able to marry each and every one of its 1,000 NPCs.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.