But, that’s where we come in. We’ve been tracking PS5 stock relentlessly and come bearing a few tips and tricks to help guide you towards the coveted console. And with so many awesome upcoming PS5 games on the near horizon, not to mention the release of PSVR 2, now’s a great time to buy a PS5.

That’s why we make sure to stick with the trusted retailers – think Walmart (opens in new tab),  Best Buy (opens in new tab), Target (opens in new tab), and Sony (opens in new tab) in the US and PlayStation direct (opens in new tab), Amazon UK (opens in new tab), and GAME (opens in new tab) in the UK – so you don’t have to worry about being shipped a brick in a PS5 box or having to deal with scalper prices.

When you finally do get your hands on a PS5 we’ll still be here to help, so be sure to head on over to our best PS5 accessories and best PS5 headsets guides to complete your setup.

Where to buy a PS5: check these stores for stock

• USA PS5 ($499.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Best Buy (opens in new tab) | Walmart (opens in new tab) | Target (opens in new tab) | GameStop (opens in new tab) | B&H Photo (opens in new tab) | Newegg (opens in new tab)  | Adorama (opens in new tab) | Sony | Sam’s Club (opens in new tab)
• USA PS5 Digital Edition ($399.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Best Buy (opens in new tab) | Walmart (opens in new tab) | Target (opens in new tab) | GameStop (opens in new tab) | B&H Photo (opens in new tab) | Newegg (opens in new tab) | Adorama (opens in new tab) | Sony | Sam’s Club (opens in new tab)

• UK PS5 (£449.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Very (opens in new tab) | John Lewis (opens in new tab) | Argos (opens in new tab) | Currys (opens in new tab) | Box (opens in new tab) | eBuyer (opens in new tab) | AO (opens in new tab) | Game (opens in new tab)
• UK PS5 Digital Edition (£359.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Very (opens in new tab) | Argos (opens in new tab) | Currys (opens in new tab) | Box (opens in new tab) | eBuyer (opens in new tab)

Let’s have a closer look at some retailers below. We’ll let you know what they’ve been up to lately and how likely they are to get PS5 restock updates any time soon.

Where to buy PS5 – USA

(opens in new tab)

Amazon (opens in new tab) – last PS5 restock on June 2
Amazon has said it’s giving priority PS5 access to Prime members through March 31, so expect a restock to happen before the end of the month. Just remember, PS5s should be $499 for the standard version and $399 for the digital edition, so resist buying one from a reseller charging a premium!

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Walmart (opens in new tab) – last PS5 restock on June 2
The traditional Thursday PS5 restocks might well be back folks. Sometimes you’ll see a time on the listing page when PS5 stock is set to go live on the day. If you just miss out, stick around as it usually updates with another time shortly after for a second or third resupply the same day.

If you fancy giving Walmart Plus a go for free right now by the way, for free speedy delivery, discounted fuel, and other benefits, there’s currently a 15-day free trial (opens in new tab).

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

GameStop (opens in new tab) – last PS5 restock on June 24
Things are picking up at GameStop with PS5 stock seemingly coming in at least once a week on a regular basis recently. Wednesdays or Thursdays seem to be your best bet. Bundles are often available, so if you spot any you like, dive in as they sell out (slightly) slower than solo consoles.

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Target (opens in new tab) – last PS5 restock on April 15
After a long period of sticking with PS5 restocks on a Wednesday or Thursday, Target has really started messing with the formula of late. Friday was a thing, then all of a sudden we now have a Monday drop. The early starts of 6-10am ET seems to be holding though and stock is dependent on where about in the US you are. So throw in your zip code and try your luck!

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Best Buy (opens in new tab) – last PS5 restock on June 7
This store hasn’t been as prolific of late, but given the huge reach we’d never count it out. We’ve given up trying to predict Best Buy PS5 days as the Thursday/Friday pattern it once favored has been all over the place lately with weekend and Monday drops popping up at random. Great, more randomness.

View Deal (opens in new tab)

Where to buy PS5 – UK

(opens in new tab)

Amazon (opens in new tab)
Various Amazon websites in mainland Europe have had stock recently, so we’re thinking a PS5 restock drop could be UK-bound at any moment. Keep trying your luck as Amazon hasn’t had anything for a while, so the next shipment could be a big one.

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Very (opens in new tab)
Very has been quiet for a PS5 restock since March. When it does get it, there’s often an online rolling queue which perhaps gets around the scalper bots problem, giving more genuine buyers a shot at finding the PS5 in stock. Note: Very often deletes the PS5 product listing page when out of stock, so you might have to search manually for the PS5 on the site.

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Currys (opens in new tab)
The Currys website has been one of the best in the UK as far as bricks and mortar stores adapting to online go and it’s been a regular on our PS5 restock updates alerts over the last few months. It often gives people a heads-up on when the next chance to buy a PS5 online will be, although we’re not massive fans of having to join a digital queue on the busier days (get yourself signed in and everything in advance folks next time stock is coming), we’ll keep you updated here next time that’s announced too. Currys has also just launched an online PS5 ballot system (opens in new tab) for a chance to buy one in person, so that’s a hat more than worth throwing your name into if you’re tired of the search.

View Deal (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

Argos (opens in new tab)
Calling all you night owls, Argos might be your best store to buy a PS5 from while stock is this bad nationwide. That’s because the store tends to put stock online in the middle of the night, often around 3 or 4am. There’s very little, if any, warning ahead of time too. We often check out the PS5 stock rumor mill first thing on Twitter in the morning and have seen plenty of threads from frustrated day walkers, although nothing so far this week.

View Deal (opens in new tab)

Where to buy PS5 – Canada

• Canada PS5 ($629.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Walmart (opens in new tab) | Best Buy (opens in new tab)
• Canada PS5 Digital Edition ($499.99): Amazon (opens in new tab) | Best Buy (opens in new tab) | Walmart (opens in new tab)

Another item you might want to pick up once you’ve been able to buy a PS5 is one of the options on our best PS5 external hard drives page to increase your storage capacity. Or if you’ve got the need for speed, the best PS5 SSD might be worth a look.

• Back to the top ^

The post PS5 restock updates – Your guide to buying a PlayStation 5 appeared first on Game News.

The quality of the PS5 launch games that arrived with the console back in November 2020 definitely helped kick off the best PS5 games list with aplomb, and has been brilliantly aided by the quality of the PS5 exclusives released so far. 

While finding any PS5 stock is still quite the challenge, this collection will do nothing apart from make you more focused to get your hands on one. Whether you want a shot of pure, extra-strength joy from Sackboy: A Big Adventure, a demon challenge from Demon’s Souls, or to feel like a hero in Spider-Man: Miles Morales you’ll find all that and more on this list of the very best PS5 games that are out now, including a good selection of the PS5 launch games. 

15. Demon’s Souls

Dying horribly at the hands of a soulless monster has never looked so good. The 2009 cult classic, Demon’s Souls, has been completely remade for the 4K age, and is one of the best looking games on the new PS5. The motion capture, textures, and audio might all be new, but the hardcore action is utterly faithful to the original, offering the same brutal learning curve and sense of monumental achievement with every victory. FromSoftware’s original formula has been respected, but there are some new tweaks too, new items, armor and weapons to covet, a change to the amount of healing grass you can carry, and new consumable Grains that offer buffs as you adventure. Whether you’re a veteran warrior or visiting the land of Boletaria for the first time, there’s something special to discover in this iconic adventure.

14. Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a magical little adventure that’s sure to be a hit with anyone who loves a good platformer with layered combat elements and has a penchant for anything even vaguely adorable. You play as the titular Kena, a spirit guide who has arrived at a village to help those trapped there. You’ll be aided by some of the spirits themselves, but also by the soot sprite-esque Rot, who are not only some of the cutest game companions ever but also incredibly useful for solving puzzles and pulling off some killer moves in battle.  

13. Astro’s Playroom

Diving into this little toy box of technical wizardry is a no brainer, it comes installed on your PS5 for free. Don’t discount it just because it’s free though, as well as being a great way to get to know the DualSense’s new adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, it’s a charming game in its own right. Pilot a glider, climb like a monkey, shoot ball guns in space, fight monsters and find collectibles, and enjoy some cheeky nods to PlayStation history along the way. Explore and you’ll find artefacts like UMDs and the original PlayStation, puzzle pieces, and collect coins to have fun with a gachapon machine. It’s a great showcase for the machine’s new technical highlights, and gives you something to do while the next game on your play list downloads.  

12. Death’s Door

Death’s Door is a wonderful blend of elements from games like The Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, and the entire Metroidvania genre. You play as a soul-reaping crow, who is tasked with gathering some of the hardest to reap souls to date. Thus, you’ll have to navigate an isometric world filled with beautiful, bizarre creatures and landscapes. With boss encounters that will hex you and stay with you, this is not one to be missed. The graphics are incredible too, with a lovely touch of Studio Ghibli to its design and characters.

11. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

We didn’t think it was possible for Eidos Montreal to do its own take on the infamous Marvel space pirates, but with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy it has done just that. You play as Star-Lord, who is leading an early version of the Guardians, just a few years into the crew’s life together. In this version, they’ve all just survived an intergalactic war, with Groot, Rocket, Gamora, and Draxx all coming with their own tales of loss and woe, with almost alt-history backstories. At its heart, this single-player adventure is about learning to operate as a team, both in exploration and combat, and realising that friends can be just as close as family. 

10. Hitman 3 

The final entry in this arc of the Hitman story, Agent 47 is the most inventive in the series to date, where anything and everything can be used in your assassination mission. It’s hugely entertaining, with excellent level design, and locales that’ll take you from Dubai to the UK’s Dartmoor in one massive, murderous adventure. 

9. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 

The historical murder series is back with a bang with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, putting your in the fur-lined shoes of Viking clan leader Eivor. Build a new settlement in ye olde England, bring down kings to forge alliances, and travel with your longship crew to plunder the towns and monasteries of Mercia. This will stand as one of the great entries in the Assassin’s Creed series, thanks to complicated hero Eivor, the brutal combat, and the wealth of customisation options that cover everything from your fighting style to your face tattoo. There’s rarely been a better match for the universe’s lore than the Viking legends either, so you can expect some very interesting tangents as you explore the mysteries of Anglo Saxon England, try to appease the pagan gods, and go on special dream quests. There’s a reason the world has been obsessed with Vikings since they first went pillaging, and Valhalla only makes us love them more.  

8. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut

The PS5 release of the Ghost of Tsushima is well worth diving into, even if you’ve played it through on PS4. The PS5 version upgrades the game to offer 4K graphics running at 60fps, wonderful DualSense features, and 3D Audio support. The Director’s Cut itself, adds the new Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island expansion, which is a fantastic new side-story set in an entirely fresh location. You’ll learn more about hero Jin, meet new friends (and foes), and be able to engage with some new side content – including adorable critters. It’s quickly solidified itself as one of the best PS5 games. 

7. Sackboy: A Big Adventure

A perfect platformer packed with delights and surprises, and absolutely stuffed with charm. In Sackboy: A Big Adventure our titular hero visits different planets – think themes like jungle or the sea floor – to foil the plans of the evil Vex (voiced by Richard E Grant) and has lots of fun along the way. As well as looking like a party in a craft store the game is packed with ingenious level design, giving you sticky feet so you can walk up walls, levels that move in time to music, and fun tools like boomerangs and grappling hooks. As a bonus you can collect bells in the game to buy new outfits for your Sackboy, from cute tigers to mix and match punk witch mountaineers. There’s no part of this game that hasn’t been built with buckets of love and a cheery smile, and it shows in every secret corner, ingenious enemy and piece of fluff. Whether you’re getting it for your child, or your inner child, it’ll make your day.  

6. Returnal

Returnal certainly won’t be a game for everyone, but there’s no denying how well it demonstrates the technological and graphical capabilities of the PS5. This challenging roguelike looks – and feels – absolutely fantastic. Between the haptic feedback bringing the rain of Atropos to your very fingertips through the controller, or the visual splendor of neon against a monotone world, it’s all utterly gorgeous – if a little bleak at times. Like other roguelikes, the moment you die in Returnal, the loop begins again, with our heroine Selene trying to figure out exactly what’s going down on this alien planet. Gain new upgrades, discover new weapons and alien tech, and work your way through the various biomes to reveal some of the truths behind the loops. 

5. Elden Ring

Elden Ring is one of those games where if you’re in, you’re in. This is the best game coming out of FromSoftware since the original Dark Souls, taking its particular brand of gameplay to an open world for the first time. It refines, it evolves, and it tweaks the formula to make sure that suffering in its very specific masochistic style has never been much fun. 

4. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is right near the top of our best PS5 games for two reasons. Not only is it the best Ratchet and Clank adventure yet, with our heroic duo taking us on an utterly memorable journey with some new friends, but it is also a powerful demonstration of what the PS5 can do. Doctor Nefarious has been at it again, stealing the Dimensionator and ripping holes between dimensions. Ratchet and Clank are split up, flung across the universe through time and space, and enlist the help of fellow Lombax, Rivet, to help stitch the universe back together. Flying through time rifts is utterly seamless, with not a loading screen in sight, and the haptic feedback on the DualSense, along with those adaptive triggers, are used brilliantly. Ratchet and Clank has never looked, played, or been better.

3. Deathloop

Arkane’s latest is another triumph, with Deathloop offering up a murderous puzzle box for players to break open and figure out. Launching as a timed PS5 exclusive, Deathloop is one of those rare games that surprises you, playing out nothing like any of us expected. Lose yourself trying to figure out the mystery of how to kill eight targets in a single day, where all move around the world of Black Reef living their lives – and rudely not just staying put so you can kill them. The more you play and experience the loop, the more you learn, and the more you understand about this strange little time-looping world.  

2. Spider-Man: Miles Morales

The next generation of Spider-Man, both technically and narratively, is packed with comic book adventure, heart and soul, and plenty of that oh so satisfying swinging through New York. As the attention switches from Peter Parker to Miles Morales, so does the action, with focus moving to his home turf of Harlem, and a whole new set of teen turned superhero problems. Miles has some new powers this time around, like the bioelectric venom, and the haptic feedback of the DualSense makes them even more satisfying to dish out to criminals and ne’er-do-wells. Spider-Man: Miles Morales manages the tricky task of delivering a story that Venom punches you right in the heart, but is also a place that you want to escape to after a long day in the real world. Thanks mainly to Miles’ charm, and that sweet swinging, Spider-Man: Miles Morales pulls it off so well you’ll wish Peter Parker a happy retirement without even a tear in your eye. 

1. Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is such a confident sequel. It’s not reinventing the wheel – it’s another game about saving a world filled with giant robot dinosaurs – but it doesn’t have to. Aloy’s story is just as compelling as the first game, but with more human elements, interesting new character additions, and tonnes more personality than before. It’s got some of the best side quests in the gaming space right now too, and yes, even more robo-saurs. Plus, it’s an absolutely stunning showcase of the power of PS5. 

The post Best PS5 games to play right now appeared first on Game News.

Need a primer before then? Below, we run the rule over the next installment to tide you over until next year. We’ve also taken a look at the source material to speculate about what might come next. And that’s just the start – for all that and more, read on to find out everything we know so far about Jujutsu Kaisen season 2. For more from the medium, you can even check out our curated list of the 15 best anime series you should be watching right now.

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will air in 2023

As confirmed during an event in Japan (H/T Crunchyroll (opens in new tab)), Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 will release in 2023. It could debut during one of anime’s three major release windows: Winter 2023 (starting January 2023), Spring 2023 (starting April 2023), or Fall 2023 (starting October 2023).

If we had to put money on it, we’d say a Fall 2023 release is most likely. Not only did the original season debut in the Fall window, but animation studio MAPPA has also spent time working on Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Attack on Titan, and the upcoming Chainsaw Man. That’s a busy schedule for any studio – and October 2023 onwards would give them enough time to deliver a second season that matches their absurdly high standards.

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 story: what chapters could it adapt?

Jujutsu Kaisen’s first season ended with the conclusion of the Death Painting Arc, which ran from chapters 55-64 in the manga. If the anime continues to adapt the manga in release order, then next up is the Gojo’s Past Arc, which covers chapters 65-79 in the manga.

That revolves around – you guessed it – Gojo’s past, specifically a mission involving Gojo and Geto escorting a Star Plasma Vessel to Tengen. 

If that’s the case, the second season might be a patchwork of flashbacks to Gojo’s past, as well as setting up a major next arc: the Shibuya Incident (chapters 79-136). We’re not heading into spoiler territory here, don’t worry, but the Shibuya Incident Arc all revolves around a plan to seal away Goto, spearheaded by Gojo and his new cursed alliance.

That has more than enough material to last for a 25-episode second season and seems the most likely scenario. The first season’s ending may also indicate that’s the case.

Having defeated the Cursed Wombs Eso and Kechizu, Yuji and Nobara join back up with Megumi. However, Sukuna – using a mouth in Yuji’s hand, because anime – eats the finger and moves him one step closer to regaining his power.

Expect the new season to do with that encroaching evil, as well as that of the third Cursed Womb triplet, Choso, allying himself with series villains Geto and Mahito.

There’s also the small matter of a mole in Jujutsu High, with teacher Utahime very much on the hunt for the duplicitous sorcerer. That will also form a large part of the next season.

In a final season 2 setup, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara (as well as Maki and Panda) are recommended for a promotion to Grade 1 Sorcerers – and Gojo invites them to take part in a new mission…

Do I need to watch the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie before season 2?

We’d certainly recommend it, but – due to the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie being a prequel to the main series – it’s not essential.

The movie centers on swordsman Yuta Okkotsu, who will – mild spoilers – play a more prominent role in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime as it wears on. He’s also one of the most popular characters from the manga series, so you should really go and see what all the fuss is about.

There’s also a post-credits scene which sets up future events in the anime. It revolves around Yuta heading back to Japan and into the fold of the main series, though it’s not yet known if he’ll turn up in Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.

In completionist terms, it’s also worth seeking out – it fleshes out the world and the curse-heavy concept of the universe, all while making for a compelling story in its own right. It can likely be skipped if you’re pressed for time, but we really suggest you seek it out.

Where can I watch Jujutsu Kaisen before season 2?

If you need to catch up on Jujutsu Kaisen before season 2 then all 24 episodes of the first season are currently available to watch on Crunchyroll. Expect to be able to stream Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, Demon Slayer season 3, and other hit anime exclusively on the streaming service too – all thanks to the recent merger with Funimation.

Need something new to watch? We’ve picked out some of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

The post Jujutsu Kaisen season 2: Everything we know about the new season so far appeared first on Game News.

Set years before the events of the 2009 hit, the sequel-turned-prequel centers on Leena Klammer, who went by Esther in the first flick – a woman suffering from a hormone disorder that stunts her growth – as she travels to the US after orchestrating an elaborate escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility. There, she impersonates the missing daughter of Tricia (Julia Stiles) and Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland), Esther, and quickly moves into their home, but Tricia soon becomes convinced that Esther isn’t who she claims to be. 

Judging from the synopsis and the teaser, which you can watch above, what follows is pretty standard horror movie stuff: Allen, the husband, doesn’t believe his wife’s concerns, while Leena/Esther splits her time between painting eerie pictures and trying her best to separate them (or worse). If its predecessor is anything to go by, though, it’s sure to have a few surprises in store.

What’s perhaps most impressive about the clip, however, is how they’ve managed to de-age Fuhrman. The 25-year-old actor was just 12 when she made the twisty original, and word on the street is that no visual effects were used to make her look younger. Esther isn’t actually as young as she presents herself to be, either, so it’s kind of wild to think about how Fuhrman was once a pre-teen, playing a 33-year-old disguised as a nine-year-old, and now she’s in her mid-20s, playing an even younger version of that same character.

“I love the challenge of being able to play a kid because that’s never historically been done in cinema — I was like looking all this up, because I love looking up old movie history and things like that, and I was like, ‘Oh, an adult has never reprised the role that they played as a child,'” she told The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) last year. “Will Smith, for example, recently did that movie [Gemini Man] where they de-age somebody, but to reprise a role that you literally did as a kid as an adult has never been done before. It’s kind of impossible. And we did it.

“We didn’t use special effects, we didn’t use any crazy makeup tricks. And I think that’s what makes the movie work, is because you really can’t figure out how I look like a [9-year-old], but I do. It’s really creepy.”

Written by Scream’s David Coggeshall and directed by The Boy’s William Brent Bell, Orphan: First Kill is set to release in select theaters, on Digital, and on Paramount+ on August 19. In the UK, it will be coming out exclusively in cinemas.

The post Orphan: First Kill trailer sees Isabelle Fuhrmans murderous Esther terrorize another family appeared first on Game News.

To aid you in spotting these, we’ve compiled a list of all the biggest moments we noticed in the new movie. However, as you might expect, we’ll be getting into heavy spoiler territory below. So make sure you’ve seen Thor 4 before reading our guide. Everyone else, read on for our breakdown of all of the Thor: Love and Thunder Easter eggs and references you need to know about.

Thor 4 Easter Eggs

Thor’s t-shirt with the Yggdrasil on it

During his opening scene with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor can be seen wearing a shirt with Yggdrasil on it. This is the World Tree in Norse mythology, which holds up the Nine Realms, including Asgard, Jotunheim, and Niflheim. This doesn’t play into the plot of the movie but is a nice nod to Thor’s comic book and Old Norse history.

Thor’s goats: Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, 

After Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy help save a planet at the beginning of Thor: Love and Thunder, the God of Thunder receives a gift for his efforts. He is given two screaming goats, who fans of the comics will know are Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder. These are Thor’s trusty mystical goats who pull his chariot. In Thor: Love and Thunder, they get the slightly less glamorous job of pulling a tourist Viking ship. 

Thor’s handshake with Star-Lord  

When Thor and Star-Lord are parting ways to head on their own missions, Thor wants to do a special handshake with the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. This starts as a “human handshake, to the Asgardian handshake, into the snake that you cannot trust, and finish with a classic Asgardian high one.” While we never saw Loki and Thor do this handshake themselves, the reference to the “snake” could be a nod to the God of Mischief. As you may remember, in Thor: Ragnarok, Thor told a story about a time when they were children when Loki turned into a snake. Then when Thor went to pick the snake up, Loki returned to normal form and stabbed him – hence a “snake you cannot trust”. 

References to Event Horizon and Interstellar 

When Dr. Jane Foster is in the hospital receiving her chemotherapy treatment, she winds up sitting next to a young man reading her book. She takes the opportunity to explain to him how the Einstein–Rosen bridge – or wormholes as they’re also known – works. Jane says it’s just like in Event Horizon and Interstellar. At the beginning of Event Horizon, Dr. Weir explains how wormholes work by taking a poster, folding it in half, and poking a pen through it. In Interstellar, Dr. Romilly does something very similar, folding over a piece of paper and poking a hole through it. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Jane does the exact same thing by tearing out a page of her own book, calling back to both of these moments. 

New Asgard ice cream shop called Infinity Conez

In Thor: Love and Thunder, New Asgard has been transformed into a tourist destination for Avengers fans. The town is full of nods to Marvel, including an ice cream shop called Infinity Conez. The shop’s sign features an Infinity Gauntlet holding an ice cream cone, complete with six candles representing the six Infinity Stones. Waititi gave Entertainment Tonight (opens in new tab) a look at this on the set, joking: “As you can see here, a little special invention just for the film, which I have heard on quite good know-how that it’s going to make it into real-life one day, is this ice cream shop here called ‘Infinity Conez.’ So keep an eye out for that.” 

Falligar the Behemoth

When Lady Sif calls on Thor for aid in Gorr the God Butcher’s attacks, he finds her next to Falligar the Behemoth. The huge hyena-looking creature has been felled by Gorr who’s on a mission with his Necrosword to kill all Gods. Falligar is the Patron God of the Galactic Frontier and champion of the Tournament of Immortals, as well as being a friend of Thor’s. This shot of him lying dead is taken directly from the Thor: God of Thunder #3 comic, which was published in December 2012. 

Nick Fury is under ‘Nick Furry’ on Thor’s phone 

During the flashback to Thor and Jane’s relationship, we learn they broke up because they were both so busy with work. During the montage, Jane is constantly being called away while Thor has to disappear and save the world. At one point, he receives a call from Nick Fury on his mobile, but eagle-eyed viewers will notice he has cheekily renamed him Nick Furry. 

Thor’s Loki tattoo

Now we know that Loki doesn’t appear in Thor: Love and Thunder. However, there is a major reference to Thor’s brother in the Omnipotence City scene in the movie. Thor is wearing a disguise when he goes to meet Zeus, which the leader of the Gods “flicks” off, revealing he isn’t wearing anything underneath. On his back, there’s a clear tribute to Loki, who died at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. This features Loki’s helmet and a broken heart alongside the words: “R.I.P. Loki”. Of course, an alternate version of Loki is alive in the MCU. This is the Loki who seized an opportunity with the Tesseract to disappear after the main characters went back in time in Avengers: Endgame. However, he’s a bit busy with the Time Variance Authority – which you can read all about in our Loki season 2 guide. Another part of the tattoo also features a scroll with the names of characters who have died in it. Among the list are: Loki, Mother, Father, Heimdall, Tony, and Natasha. 

Cameos

There are loads of cameos peppered throughout Thor: Love and Thunder. Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Neill are back as the Asgardian thesps. Kat Dennings returns as Jane’s friend Darcy, as too does Stellan Skarsgard’s Erik Selvig. Daryl from Team Thor even shows up as an Asgardian tour guide.

Shakespearean actor Simon Russell Beale makes a cameo as one of the Gods in Omnipotence City, which is overseen by Russell Crowe cameoing as Zeus. As well as this, Chris Hemsworth’s, Taika Waititi’s, Natalie Portman’s, and Christian Bale’s kids all also have roles in the movie, with India Rose Hemsworth playing a central character. However, it’s in the post-credits scene that we get the biggest cameo when a new character is introduced to the MCU. Brett Goldstein appears as Hercules. His character has a long history with Thor in the comics, and it seems he may even be a potential adversary to the God of Thunder in the future as well. For more, check out our guide to all the Thor: Love and Thunder cameos and to Hercules in Thor: Love and Thunder.

The statues at Eternity

The final battle between Thor and Gorr the God Butcher takes place at the gate to Eternity. However, if you look in the background of this scene, you can see multiple statues lining the walls. Among them appears to be Uatu The Watcher, who played a big role in the Disney Plus What If? series. He is an observer of the multiverse and is voiced by Jeffrey Wright. This is seemingly his first appearance in live-action in the MCU. It’s not confirmed who the other statues are in this scene, but they appear to be The Living Tribunal, who is the personification of multiversal law, as well as Infinity and Death who are among the four cosmic entities who forged the Infinity Stones. 

Celestials

Two unnamed Celestials (the giant Eternal-creating deities) were briefly glimpsed during the scenes on Omnipotence City. As Thor and the team fly away, they are seen poking their heads into the building where Zeus was holding court. 

Space dolphins

One of Thor: Love and Thunder’s strangest sights is also an Easter egg. Go figure. Thor points out the space dolphins, beings of supreme love who roam around in packs of six, as they head towards the Shadow Realm. 

This is likely a reference to the run of Jason Aaron, the comic book writer who heavily influences the plot of Love and Thunder and introduced Gorr the God Butcher to the world. In his run, they attacked Thor (and an older Thor) during their final battle with Gorr.

Necrosword

Gorr’s Necrosword, the all-corrupting sword used to slay gods, was also the villain’s weapon of choice in the comics.

There, the Necrosword holds slightly different origins. Instead of being passed down from generation to generation at the dawn of time, it was created by evil symbiote god Knull to aid in his god-killing crusade. It eventually ends up in the hands of Gorr.

Thor: Love and Thunder likely doesn’t use this version of the Necrosword likely due to being tangled up in movie rights. If it’s a symbiote sword, there’s every chance it could only be used with permission of Sony or in a Sony/Marvel movie. The previous owner of the Necrosword was slain by Dionysus in the movie, but he’s not named.

Team Thor

Thor: Love and Thunder features a cameo from the series of Marvel shorts that Waititi wrote and directed back in 2016. These were set between Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok and featured Thor moving in with a new housemate called Darryl Jacobson (played by Daley Pearson). He makes a cameo in the latest MCU movie as a tour guide in New Asgard. While it’s not clear if he’s still playing Darryl in the scene, it’s a fun nod to the internet series.

Cocktail reference

There’s a reference to the 1988 Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. On the outside of the Viking boat that’s transporting Thor and the gang to Eternity, there is a neon sign reading “Cocktails and Dreams”. This is the name of the chain of bars Cruise’s character is hoping to open one day. Speaking to Uproxx (opens in new tab), Waititi acknowledged the reference before adding how he’d initially hoped to include it in his previous Thor movie. He said: “My big regret with Ragnarok was not doing Cocktail. Well, probably Jeff Goldblum’s big palace in Ragnarok? It should have been in there.”

Was Jane snapped?

A small piece of dialogue between Thor and Jane addresses the fact she may have been among the victims of Thanos’ snap. When the pair meet again, they have a slight disagreement on how long they’ve been broken up. Jane suggests it was only three or four years, while Thor says it was “eight years, seven months, and six days, give or take”. The difference in time is likely due to the fact Jane was snapped out of existence by Thanos for five years. This was seemingly confirmed in the script for Avengers: Endgame (opens in new tab). In the notes on the scene, Jane’s name is among those listed as victims of the snap.

Potential link to Moon Knight 

Thor name-drops a number of Gods ahead of him, Valkyrie, Korg, and the Mighty Thor leaving for Omnipotence City. Among them is the Egyptian god Ra, who is a part of the Moon Knight comic books. He’s not in the Disney Plus series, but should Moon Knight season 2 happen, he could potentially play a role. Moon Knight’s writer Jeremy Slater also previously told The Direct (opens in new tab) that his script included a reference to Thor as well. He was going to include some dialogue about a rumor that “Gods were being killed” in a nod to Gorr the God Butcher.

Fore more on Thor: Love and Thunder, be sure to check out our guides to:

• The Thor: Love and Thunder ending explained
• The Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scenes explained
• When does Thor: Love and Thunder take place on the Marvel timeline?
• When to expect Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney Plus
• Who dies in Thor: Love and Thunder?
• Every cut Thor: Love and Thunder cameo, listed
• Will there be a Thor 5?
• Does Thor have a daughter in the comics?
• Is Loki in Thor: Love and Thunder?
• How to watch the Marvel movies in order
• The full Marvel timeline, explained
• Everything coming in Marvel Phase 4

The post Thor: Love and Thunder: The major Easter Eggs and Marvel references you might have missed appeared first on Game News.

Most popular doesn’t always mean the greatest – sorry, The Interceptor – but whether you’re in the mood for neon-soaked, close-combat (Kate), a star-studded cowboy romp (The Harder They Fall), or an actioner that trades blood for banter (Red Notice), there’s bound to be something in our roundup that tickles your fancy.

Everything mentioned is available in both the US and the UK, so you can get your adrenaline fix whichever side of the pond you’re on. So, without further ado, scroll on to find the very best action movies streaming on Netflix now – and for more watching recommendations, check out our lists on The best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies. 

The best Netflix action movies out now

RRR

Are you ready for one of the wildest movies you’ve ever seen? RRR is a masterpiece in Indian cinema. Directed by S. S. Rajamouli, the Telugu-language movie takes place in the 1920s and centers on two revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), in their explosive challenge of the British Raj. It’s lengthy at 182 minutes, but doesn’t waste a second, cramming in everything from fiery bow and arrow battles and motorcycle chases to men fighting alongside bloodied tigers. If none of that tickles your fancy, firstly, what more do you want? Secondly, fear not, it also features a romantic subplot, a sweet bromance, and a couple of musical numbers, too. No surprise it made huge amounts of money at the box office.

The Harder They Fall

Trumpeted by Netflix as a ‘new-school western’, The Harder They Fall in fact takes the staples of old-school westerns (bandits, bank jobs, train robberies, rowdy taverns, shootouts) but blends them all together in a manner that feels fresh and vibrant. Towns populated by Black people are painted in vivid hues, while an all-white town is literally that – stores built with pale wood and streets coated with sawdust shavings like snowflakes. Director Jeymes Samuel is a stylist, given to arresting compositions and whizz-bang set-pieces, but he isn’t afraid to let his magnificent actors simply lock eyes and jaw.

Red Notice

Early in Netflix’s globe-trotting romp Red Notice, a priceless artifact is revealed to be a clever fake by the application of a fizzy drink. You won’t need sugary beverages to catch writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s comedy-thriller out, because it’s exactly what it seems to be: a starry and undemanding caper, with Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot sticking like fingerprints to character type. 

Reynolds plays master art thief Nolan Booth, whom we first encounter pursued by Johnson’s FBI profiler John Hartley for stealing said artifact. Various twists, turns, surprise incarcerations, and quips about Johnson’s physique later, Booth and Hartley reluctantly unite to best the Bishop (Gadot), the super-thief who routinely outwits them. Will these relative rookies-in-crime manage to make their moves before the Bishop calls checkmate?

Army of Thieves

Set six years before zombie heist movie Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves focusses on the nervous Ludwig Dieter, played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also directs the movie. We’re in the early days of the zombie outbreak and Ludwig is just starting his safecracking days when he’s hired by a mysterious woman to carry out a heist with a ragtag bunch of aspiring thieves. The cast also includes Game of Thrones’ Nathalie Emmanuel and British comedian Guz Khan, while Zack Snyder executive produces. This one’s a fun flick that’s essentially part-Fast and Furious, part-comedy actioner that will sate any fans of Army of the Dead.

Kate

Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives John Wick a run for his money in Kate, Netflix’s action thriller. Joined by Woody Harrelson and Game of Thrones’ Michiel Huisman, Winstead plays the titular role, an assassin who finds out she only has 24 hours to live after being poisoned. She decides to spend her last moments going on a manhunt through Tokyo and befriends the daughter (Miku Martineau) of a past target in the process. Ignore the naysayers who say this one’s simply another knock-off of Keanu Reeves’ action franchise – Kate strikes out on her own, making for an engaging romp that’s well worth a watch.

Army of the Dead

Zack Snyder’s latest offering is an action-packed zombie heist movie that sees a group of mercenaries venture into an undead-ridden Las Vegas to crack a near impenetrable safe, with the promise of a huge reward. The problem is, Vegas is set to be nuked in just hours – and if that wasn’t enough to get the adrenaline pumping, a lot of the zombies the crew encounter are faster, stronger, and smarter than you’ve seen before. Expect plenty of dead vs. living showdowns. The cast includes Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Matthias Schweighöfer, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro. 

The Old Guard

Charlize Theron headlines this popular graphic novel adaptation, a glorious mash of fight sequences and fantasy lore that plays the part of a modern-day actioner. The Old Guard follows a band of do-gooding mercenaries, led by Theron’s Andy, who also happen to be immortal. Through the ages, they’ve managed to keep their heads down and dispense with vigilante justice undetected, but the advent of technology soon makes that impossible.

Not content to rely solely on its cool “unstoppable warriors” schtick – that’s unveiled in an early show-stopping sequence – the movie kicks serious ass on every front. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood showcases her flair for marrying together a tight story with likable characters. Oh, and it’s got a romance for the ages, too.

The Lovebirds

A brisk, laugh-packed buddy comedy set over the course of one night. Nope, we’re not talking your standard ‘80s male-fronted pics. The Lovebirds takes that concept and splices it with the remnants of a fairy tale love story, opening on a couple, Jibran and Leilani, on their way to a party that they never reach because they fight in the car and decide to break-up. It’s tense, not particularly fun, and all feels a little grim. Until Jibran accidentally hits a cyclist who refuses their help. 

Things spiral from that point, sending the duo into harm’s way repeatedly over the evening. They encounter a host of crooks who want to kill them, naturally making them work together as a team to survive their ordeal. It’s hardly reinventing the wheel, but that’s down to the comedic chops of Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae as the couple who deliver both gags and surprisingly solid beatdowns throughout.

Wheelman

You might know him as Crossbones from the MCU, or as that guy from The Purge movies. Here Frank Grillo plays a getaway driver – aka the wheelman of the title – thrown into an unfortunate set of circumstances when a heist goes wrong. With a car full of cash and no idea who framed him, it’s up to him to figure out what happened, even though he’s no idea who he can trust. 

Dubbed a thriller and a neo-noir, with flashes of melodrama, you can safely call it all of those things. By the time the end rolls around, there’s no doubting this is a balls-to-the-wall actioner. And really, who doesn’t like a good car chase movie? Even when they’re bad they’re still a blast. Luckily, Wheelman is an excellent experiment in blending thrills and action, with a brisk running time that will make it speed by. 

The Siege of Jadotville

The Siege of Jadotville is inspired by the experiences of the 157-strong Irish Army during their 1961 UN peacekeeping mission in Congo. It’s hard to believe that Jamie Dornan, he of Fifty Shades, can deliver on the dramatic action front but he’s at the top of his game as Commandant Pat Quinlan in this Netflix Original. He leads his 150 men into battle with a world-weariness that seems baked-in, taking them on a life-changing mission to hold steady a fort from 3,000 Congolese troops.

Part of director Richie Smyth’s plan to toughen up his actors before shooting was to ensure that their experiences felt real. He made all of them attend a soldier training camp… and boy, does it show. That’s how you bring a layer of emotional truth to a movie like this. 

The Night Comes For Us 

Fancy watching something that will make your soul shake? Give this a go. It’s a blistering actioner that seldom takes its foot off the gas. Keeping the story simple works as an anchor, a way to let the action run riot, which you want with a star like The Raid’s Iko Uwais in charge. Here he plays a triad thug called Ito, who at the last minute turns on his fellow enforcers, when he spies a young girl in the village they’re currently slaying. Choosing to save her life, and waste his comrades, Ito must do whatever it takes to protect the child. 

Cinema’s gone pretty far in terms of what’s deemed, well, acceptable, pushing the limits of good taste to the extreme. The Night Comes For Us charges down that route, somehow extending previous ideas on over the top violence and relentless barrage of gore. You will not see another action movie like it this year.

Da 5 Bloods

Not a classic action movie, but features enough war-torn action to certainly find itself on this list. Da 5 Bloods is directed by Spike Lee and tells the story of four US veterans (played by Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Norm Lewis) returning to Vietnam to locate and repatriate the remains of their squad leader (played by Chadwick Boseman). 

There’s also the little matter of finding a trunk of gold bullion they buried during the war – it was intended to pay locals for their help against the Viet Cong, but when it went down with a CIA plane, our heroes took it for themselves. This is a frequently fierce, fascinating picture, and that’s why it’s classed here as one of the best Netflix action movies available now.

The Wandering Earth

Watching Chinese box-office smash The Wandering Earth, it seems as if its screenwriter mainlined every ‘90s Hollywood disaster movie then promptly declared “Hold all the beers in the world.” The sweaty-browed machismo of American popcorn entertainment is nothing compared to what’s being dubbed China’s first proper sci-fi blockbuster. The story somehow surpasses them all. 

Earth is in dire straits as the sun is on the cusp of dying out, making life on the planet uninhabitable. Scientists pepper the Earth’s surface with 10,000 rocket thrusters, enabling Earth to be directed to a new star system…  as long as they also avoid pesky Jupiter’s gravity. It’s ambitious-as-hell yet director Frank Gwo and his team somehow juggle the superb ensemble cast along with a series of showy visuals for an at-times arresting disaster actioner. 

Code 8

We’re in a post-MCU world now where the superhero schtick is no longer counterculture. As a result, we’re now getting more fun, straight-to-streaming pics like Code 8, set in a world where roughly 4% of the population is born with abilities. Alas, this circumstance is sadly not met with excitement by the majority of citizens who cower away from “Powers”, including Connor (Robbie Amell), a twentysomething labourer struggling to pay for his mother’s medical bills. He harnesses his electrokinetic powers and joins forces with a criminal gang, in order to raise the cash. 

Arrowverse heroes and real-life cousins Robbie and Stephen Amell co-star, after having raised the financing for the film through Kickstarter. It’s their on-screen dynamic that truly sells it, with the older Amell playing the thuggish crook who enlists Connor. Writer-director Jeff Chan hardly has the type of budget typically tossed at superhero fare, yet this grittier take on an X-Men-esque world delivers plenty of compelling action sequences.

Outside the Wire

Set in the near future, Outside the Wire centers around a civil war between pro-Russian insurgents and local resistances in Ukraine leads the US to deploy peacekeeping forces. It stars Anthony Mackie (who also produced the movie) as an android officer who works with a drone pilot, played by Damson Idris, to stop a global catastrophe. Emily Beecham, Michael Kelly, and Pilou Asbæk also star. The movie was directed by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström, who’s also helmed thrillers like 2013’s Escape Plan starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Project Power

Another Netflix Original, Project Power stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback. It follows a drug dealer (Fishback), a police officer (Gordon-Levitt), and a former soldier (Foxx) in a near-future New Orleans who team up to stop the distribution of a pill that gives the user superpowers for five minutes. The movie was directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the duo behind Paranormal Activity 3 and Paranormal Activity 4. Colson Baker, Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker, and Allen Maldonado also star.

Extraction

Sinking $65 million dollars into its action spectacle Extraction, it’s no wonder Netflix chose to, as they say, go balls-to-the-wall on every front. Nabbing Chris Hemsworth for the lead was a masterstroke, but the big get aside from Thor is its director Sam Hargrave, who also happens to be an MCU stunt performer. Much like John Wick saw noted stunt genius Chad Stahelski take the reins as director for the first time, Hargrave gets that same chance to lens action the way a stuntman experiences it.

And that’s largely why the plot might not matter much. Who’s fussed about specifics when your director’s strapping himself into a car for a 12-minute take of a high-speed car chase? Granted, the story’s a decent enough tale of a sultry mercenary who accepts a job to locate the kidnapped son of an international crime lord, but it’s not going to change the face of cinema. Come for Hemsworth playing a slightly more serious role, and stay for the terrific action set pieces. 

• The best Netflix comedies
• The best Netflix horror movies

Beasts of No Nation

One of Netflix’s very first productions was a bold proposition indeed; a war movie in a fictional African country, performed for long stretches in Twi (a dialect of the Akan language spoken in Ghana), about a child soldier groomed for violence by a simultaneously terrifying and magnetic commandant. Beasts of No Nation plays out in just as bleak a manner as the premise suggests, leaving the viewer morally conflicted and emotionally exhausted.

In a movie that’s equal parts thrilling and harrowing, Idris Elba delivers an absolute masterclass in his role as the commandant. You watch him groom a child for war and perform several war crimes, and yet, somehow, you still find yourself wanting to root for him. And no less of a revelation is the young Abraham Attah as Agu. 

Triple Frontier

Think of Triple Frontier as Ocean’s Eleven with a military slant. J.C Chandor directs from a script he co-wrote with Zero Dark Thirty’s Mark Boal for the testosterone movie of the year, that tells of a group of former Special Forces Operatives who band together to rob a noted cartel drug lord. It’s hardly new, plot-wise, but the movie brings out plenty of surprises beneath its pecs. Notably, its cast manages to venture into interesting territory with their characters, who find themselves in dire straits when a simple plan goes wrong.

Oscar Isaac leads as Santiago “Pope” Garcia, a DEA Agent who reunites his former team (Ben Affleck on top form, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pascal, and Garrett Hedlund) to carry out the heist, that undoubtedly doesn’t pan out the way they expect. Netflix struck gold with this winning combo of top-shelf A-listers, taut, precision scripting, and great action sequences that have your heart in your throat. One of the best action movies on Netflix, Triple Frontier packs equal amounts of brawn and brain and is eminently watchable. 

The Debt Collector

Non-Netflix original available in US/UK

Several collaborations deep, and action champ Scott Adkins and director Jesse Johnson’s established rapport continues to, well, put Adkins into increasingly-hairy situations where the only way out is through… someone’s face. The pair typically ramp up the Guy Ritchie-esque British crime thriller template, yet this time they relocate to sunny Los Angeles where Adkins’ dedicated martial arts teacher French is struggling to keep his dojo open. 

He quickly accepts a job as a debt collector that connects him with Sue, a former B-movie ninja expert, whose shabby aesthetic masks his thunderous desire to break people’s legs. Johnson and Adkins are in their element here. The stunt coordinator-turned director dispenses with scene-after-scene of action-comedy genius, clearly comfortable with both at this point in his career.

6 Underground

Starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Michael Bay, this movie follows a group of, you guessed it, six people. All of them are highly skilled and capable of taking down even the most untouchable of targets. Their aim this time round is a dictator in Turkistan, named Rovach Alimov. 

Though this film didn’t do that well with critics, it’s still packed with action, and Reynolds’ performance as the lead character has been praised. 6 Underground is a great choice for a slice of explosive escapism, especially if you’re already a Bay fan. 

Okja

A near-future sci-fi flick by Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho, this is exactly the type of Netflix Original the world needs: funny, weird, and utterly charming. Part environmental parable, part bleeding heart manifesto, the movie follows, Mija, a 10-year old whose best friend is a super-pig called Okja. When the lab that created her friend steal the swine away from her, Mija embarks on an adventure to retrieve Okja that takes her across the globe.

Unlike the brutal, bleak landscape of Snowpiecer, Okja showcases Joon-Ho’s softer side. It’s still oddball and wacky but packed with a ton of heart.  One of Netflix’s first movies that manages to juggle different ideas without losing sight of the goal; a real genre-blending effort. Oh, and Tilda Swinton. Anything that involves Tilda Swinton is worth watching.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

A spin-off of The Witcher Netflix series, Nightmare of the Wolf serves as an origin story for Geralt’s (Henry Cavill) mentor and fellow witcher Vesemir,  voiced by Theo James. A servant on a nobleman’s estate, Vesemir longs to explore the Continent and find his destiny. Sherlock’s Lara Pulver is Tetra, a sorceress descended from one of the Continent’s first mages. She and her followers work to keep peace on the Continent by ensuring that magic is not abused. Graham McTavish voices warrior-leader Deglan, while Mary McDonnell is noblewoman Lady Zerbst.

Kwang Il Han directed the movie, while Beau DeMayo wrote the script, and The Witcher showrunner and executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is on board as a producer. Han is part of Studio Mir, who worked on the series The Legend of Korra, and DeMayo has also written and produced on the original Witcher series.

• The best Netflix thrillers
• The best Netflix documentaries

The post The 23 best Netflix action movies to watch right now appeared first on Game News.

Franchise regulars King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Korg (Waititi), and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) are also back for another round, along with plenty of new faces, too. If you’ve already seen the movie, you might be itching for an at-home re-watch. But when will the Marvel movie be available to stream on Disney Plus, the home of the rest of the MCU? 

When is Thor: Love and Thunder releasing on Disney Plus?

While we don’t have an official Thor: Love and Thunder streaming release date just yet, we’ve done our best to estimate when it might arrive on Disney Plus. To use some recent Marvel movies as examples, Eternals arrived on the streamer 70 days after its theatrical release, while Black Widow dropped 90 days after arriving in cinemas (though the movie was simultaneously available on Disney Plus but for a $30/£20 additional fee). However, Disney’s most recent theatrical release, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, arrived on Disney Plus only 48 days after it first arrived on the big screen. 

That leaves us with a pretty big window, but it does narrow things down a bit. As Thor: Love and Thunder was released on July 7, 48 days after that takes us to August 24. At the other end of the window, 90 days from July 7 is October 5. Chances are, the movie will arrive on Disney Plus this September. 

Have you seen Thor: Love and Thunder? Then check out our spoiler-filled guides to:

• Thor: Love and Thunder ending explained
• Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scenes explained
• Every Thor: Love and Thunder Easter egg you might have missed
• When does Thor: Love and Thunder take place on the Marvel timeline?
• Who dies in Thor: Love and Thunder?
• All the Thor: Love and Thunder cameos you might have missed
• Every cut Thor: Love and Thunder cameo, listed
• Will there be a Thor 5?
• Is Loki in Thor: Love and Thunder?
• How to watch the Marvel movies in order
• The full Marvel timeline, explained
• Everything coming in Marvel Phase 4

The post When will Thor: Love and Thunder be on Disney Plus? Estimated streaming release date appeared first on Game News.

This is the most significant sign of a pulse since 2020 for the Ubisoft title, which popped up in 2017 with the promise of players sailing the seven seas and indulging in some salty naval combat, before disappearing below the waves for half a decade. After its reveal, Ubisoft let press members go hands-on with it back in 2018, but after that things started shifting around quite a bit over at the studio. In a 2020 update, we heard the game had a new vision and was aiming for a 2022 release date. 

Now, however, the tides have turned, and we’ve got a ton of new information about the mysterious and highly anticipated Skull and Bones. We’ve seen gameplay, spoken to the game director, and had a hands-off preview, and we can confidently say we’ve got all the information you’re looking for about Skull and Bones. Read on for more. 

Skull and Bones release date

Before we had a release date, we had rumors. It was revealed during a Ubisoft financial update with investors that the game would be due out sometime in the next year or so. “Skull and Bones will now be released in 2022-23,” it said in its earnings report – but for a while, there was no more information regarding a more specific release window.

Then, a Skull and Bones release date was leaked by a Twitter account just a few days before the worldwide reveal event, and it turns out this leak, in particular, was correct. Skull and Bones is set to release on November 8, 2022. Yes, that is one day before the highly anticipated God of War Ragnarok, so it’ll be interesting to see how both games fare. 

Skull and Bones trailer 

The latest trailer dropped on the same day as the worldwide gameplay reveal, and it will pull you in from the moment it starts. Promising to let you “chart a new course”, the trailer follows an unnamed character as they decide to try out the pirate life, become marooned on an island, and build their own ship to sail safely out of there. It cuts to other pirates in various stages of cool, swashbuckling garb before showing off some epic naval combat. 

Skull and Bones Insider Program

Back before we had a Skull and Bones release date or any idea what the gameplay looked like, we had the promise of the Insider Program, which was announced back in March 2022. After the July reveal event, we have a few more details on that what the program will entail.

We are kicking off our Insider Program, a unique opportunity for a selected few to test early versions of Skull and Bones & share feedback. Apply now if you think you have what it takes!March 9, 2022

See more

According to Ubisoft, the Insider Program is an “ongoing live testing initiative for which we’re inviting carefully selected players to play an early version of our game in real conditions before anyone else. Meaning for the very first time, members of our Insider Program get to play Skull and Bones and get a sneak peek at the work our development team has been doing behind the scenes.” According to the studio, the testing team will remain “relatively small” but if you’re interested you can sign up for the Skull and Bones Insider Program here (opens in new tab).

Skull and Bones 2021 update

We know that Skull and Bones will focus heavily on naval combat thanks to its roots lying in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. While working on our five key Skull and Bones questions answered, we spoke with game director Ryan Barnard, who gave us even more details beyond the July gameplay reveal. 

“The team developed their expertise in Naval Combat through their co-development work so we decided to capitalize on that to create a totally new world – the world of Skull and Bones,” Barnard says game director Ryan Barnard. “Since I joined, my focus has been about taking the creative vision to life.” His focus has been on adding  “depth to the naval combat,” the progression system, enemy factions, and crafting. 

Skull and Bones was initially billed as a game that would be made up of two main pillars: a single-player campaign where you play a fully customizable pirate and multiplayer 5v5 tactical naval combat. According to Barnard, the current iteration of Skull and Bones is not a “classic narrative-driven game” but a live game that Ubisoft is committed to working on far into the future. So, should you play it solo? “We want players to have advantages when they group up and pirate together. You can definitely play alone, but part of the risk in our world is that, if you are the lone wolf, you could potentially become prey for other players,” Barnard says. 

Solo play will include leveling up your ship, taking on pirate emissions, and battling on the high seas. It seems like ship customization will be very broad, so expect to see a variety of different vessels on the horizon.

Skull and Bones development issues

The co-director of the game, Antoine Henry, left Ubisoft after 15 years in January 2022, which many worried had to do with Skull and Bones’ development issues. In July 2021 a report from Kotaku (opens in new tab) offered insight into issues behind the scenes that have caused the development process to drag on so long.

The article, which included input from current and former developers on Skull and Bones, reveals constant changes to the game’s direction – like switching between naval combat and survival as the core concepts – and culture clashes on the development team. Three different sources put the cost of Skull and Bones at more than $120 million, and it’s not even finished yet.

In response, Ubisoft put out a statement updating Kotaku on the game’s progress and recent Alpha production milestone. 

“The Skull and Bones team are proud of the work they’ve accomplished on the project since their last update with production just passing Alpha, and are excited to share more details when the time is right. That being said, any unfounded speculation about the game or decisions being made only works to demoralize the team who are working very hard to develop an ambitious new franchise that lives up to the expectations of our players.

Over the past year, we’ve made significant changes to our policies and processes to create a safe and more inclusive workplace and empower our teams to create games that reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”

During the Ubisoft 2020-21 earnings call, chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet had this to say about the game. 

“We strongly believe in the team’s creative vision and they have been given an increasingly ambitious mandate for the game,”

“Production led by Singapore has been advancing well over the past 12 months and the promise is better than ever. The additional time will allow the team to fully deliver on its vision.”

Skull and Bones customization

There are loads of ways to customise your ship in Skull and Bones, and it seems that different set-ups will be useful for different scenarios. We see the ability to change sails, weapon set-ups, and figureheads in the demo, but expect there to be loads more options in the final game.

You’ll need to adapt because the conditions of the game will change according to the predictions of a fortune teller. Yes. You’re given an outlook for each session and will have to change your play accordingly – so, for example, high winds mean that there are more merchant ships to plunder, but greater competition for them. Not sure how that correlates, but it’s all in the demo. She’ll also advise on weather and trade routes too.

It’s worth noting that you can also hop off your ship and look around your own private island. Expect there to be plenty of distractions here too.

Why not jump into the best RPGs while you wait for Skull and Bones to drop?

The post Skull and Bones: release date, gameplay reveal, and more appeared first on Game News.

We kick things off with the birth of Yoda, some 900 years before the events of the Star Wars movies, and go all the way up to The Rise of Skywalker, which is currently the endpoint of the galaxy’s timeline. So, to find out about every crucial event that happens in between, scroll on and get up to date. This is the guide you’re looking for…

Want to just watch the movies?

Here’s how to watch the Star Wars movies in order

Before we go on, we should note that, although this is a comprehensive Star Wars timeline, we have not included absolutely every event. Does anybody really need to know when Dexter Jettster opened his diner on Coruscant? Our timeline deals with all the major events from the movies and shows, and touches upon some of the major comic-books and novels included within the canon. We have also listed which movie/TV show/book each event appears in just in case you want to go back and see The Trade Federation deciding to blockade Naboo…

As for the calendar, everything in the Star Wars galaxy is dated relative to the Battle of Yavin, where Luke Skywalker blew up the first Death Star. So Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which takes place 19 years ahead of Star Wars: A New Hope, is set 19 years Before the Battle of Yavin (in 19 BBY). Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 34 years After the Battle of Yavin (in 34 ABY). Now that all that’s taken care of, let’s start with an at-a-glance guide to the Star Wars timeline.

WARNING: Spoilers for every Star Wars movie and TV show released to date.

Star Wars movies and TV shows in chronological order

• The Acolyte 
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (opens in new tab) 
• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (opens in new tab) 
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars 
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch 
• Solo: A Star Wars Story (opens in new tab) 
• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Star Wars Rebels 
• Andor
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (opens in new tab) 

• Star Wars: A New Hope 
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (opens in new tab) 
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (opens in new tab)
• Star Wars Resistance 
• The Mandalorian (opens in new tab)
• The Book of Boba Fett 
• Ahsoka 

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi (opens in new tab) (2017)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (opens in new tab) (2019)

Star Wars timeline

~900 BBY – Yoda is born, though nobody ever thought to ask what species he belongs to. (Return of the Jedi)

~200 BBY – The Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order are at their zenith. This is the golden age of the Jedi. (The High Republic novels and comic-book series)

Emerging dark-side powers soon take hold within the Jedi, as the Sith come to power. (The Acolyte, Disney Plus series)

41 BBY – Anakin Skywalker is somehow conceived by the Midichlorians and his mother, Shmi. (referenced The Phantom Menace) 

Also around this time, a young Yoda-like creature is born to mystery parents. (referenced in The Mandalorian)

32 BBY – The Trade Federation escalates a scintillating trade dispute by blockading Naboo. C-3PO and R2-D2 meet for the first time. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi discover Force-sensitive Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine and save him from slavery. Yippee! 

Queen Padme Amidala leads the liberation of Naboo, where Obi-Wan slices Darth Maul in two – sending him tumbling to his apparent death. Palpatine is elected Chancellor of the Republic, while Anakin starts his Jedi training. Galaxy watches both their careers with great interest. (The Phantom Menace)

Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas commissions Kaminoan cloners to build an army for the Republic. (mentioned in Attack of the Clones)

Young Grogu trains with the Jedi. (mentioned in The Mandalorian)

22 BBY – Separatists make a couple of attempts on Senator Amidala’s life. Obi-Wan’s investigations into the assassin’s identity lead him to Kamino, where he discovers a fully-fledged Clone Army. Anakin slaughters an entire village of Tusken Raiders (men, women and children) in revenge for the death of his mother. Padme becomes strangely attracted to him.

Naboo Senate Representative Jar Jar Binks calls for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to be given emergency powers to bring the Clone Army into service – those Clone Troopers subsequently follow the Jedi into action against Separatist forces on Geonosis. Jango Fett killed in the battle. Separatist leader Count Dooku is revealed to be Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, and chops off Anakin’s arm in a lightsaber duel. Geonosian leader Poggle the Lesser hands the Separatists’ Death Star plans to Count Dooku. Anakin and Padme marry in secret. The Clone Wars begin. (Attack of the Clones)

22 BBY – Anakin takes on Ahsoka Tano as his apprentice. (The Clone Wars)

21 ABY – The young Boba Fett infiltrates a Republic Star Destroyer in an effort to take revenge on Mace Windu for dad Jango’s death. (The Clone Wars)

~21 BBY – Brilliant energy scientist Galen Erso is captured by Separatist forces and subsequently rescued by Orson Krennic (at this point a Republic officer) – it will later turn out Krennic has an ulterior motive involving a certain planet-killing superweapon… (Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel)

20 BBY – Darth Sidious orders Count Dooku to eliminate Asajj Ventress, the Dark Side apprentice Dooku’s been training in secret. Presumed-dead former Sith Lord Darth Maul is discovered – half the man he used to be – by his brother Savage Opress on Lotho Minor. Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan meet and train future insurgent Saw Gerrera to fight against the Separatists on Onderon. Construction of Death Star begins above Geonosis. (The Clone Wars)

19 BBY – Maul and Opress join forces with criminal gangs and Mandalorian hardliners Death Watch to overthrow and kill Mandalore’s peaceful leader (and Obi-Wan love interest) Duchess Satine Kryze. Darth Sidious clears up the mess, killing Opress and capturing Maul. 

Wrongly framed for murder, Ahsoka quits the Jedi Order and disappears. She later ventures to Mandalore to battle Maul, where the Siege of Mandalore takes place. She manages a lucky escape from Order 66 with the Clone trooper Rex. (The Clone Wars) 

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine kidnapped by Separatist forces, Count Dooku executed by Anakin during the rescue. Obi-Wan kills the Separatists’ cyborg military commander General Grievous. Palpatine is revealed to be Darth Sidious. Anakin seduced by the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. Palpatine declares himself Emperor and the Galactic Republic becomes the Galactic Empire. Order 66 prompts the Clone Troopers to turn on the Jedi and all-but wipe them out. Darth Vader slaughters the remaining Separatist leaders on Mustafar. Obi-Wan defeats Vader in a duel, critically injuring him and leaving him dependent on an iconic cybernetic life support suit. Padme dies giving birth to twins. Luke is left with his step-uncle/aunt Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine, Leia with Senator Bail Organa on Alderaan. Obi-Wan and Yoda go into hiding, on Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively. (Revenge of the Sith)

Following Order 66, a rogue bunch of defective Clones – called The Bad Batch – are told to hunt down the padawan in training Caleb Dume (later known as Kanan Jarrus). However, the team’s leader, Hunter, goes against orders. The Bad Batch are then commanded to kill Saw Gerrera. They refuse to do so and head off on their own adventure. (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)

17 BBY – Galen Erso, forced to work on the Death Star, does a runner with wife Lyra and daughter Jyn from their home on Coruscant, with help from Saw Gerrera. (Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel)

13 BBY – Krennic tracks down Erso family on Lah’mu. Lyra dies, Galen goes back to work on the Death Star, leaving Jyn to get an, er, unconventional upbringing with Saw. (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Han Solo escapes captivity on Corellia, enlists in the Imperial Navy and bags himself a surname. (Solo: A Star Wars Story)

10 BBY – Han Solo meets hairy BFF Chewbacca, defects from the Empire and joins Tobias Beckett’s criminal gang. Rebellious L3-37 initiates a droid uprising on Kessel. Solo completes a Kessel Run in the Millennium Falcon in a record-breaking 12 parsecs – he’s so impressed he later wins the Falcon from Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabacc. Solo helps out Enfys Nest’s proto-Rebels, but declines to join the cause. Qi’ra assumes day-to-day control of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, answering directly to Maul. (Solo: A Star Wars Story)

9 BBY – On the orders of the Inquisitor Reva, a young Princess Leia is captured. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes out of hiding on Tatooine to find her, and clashes lightsabers with Darth Vader once more on the planet Mapuzo – though Obi’s badly burned in the process. Leia is taken to Fortress Inquisitorius, and with the help of a woman named Tala, Obi-Wan rescues her. After the pair escape, Vader tracks Obi-Wan to a nearby planet and they clash. Reva tracks Luke down on Tatooine, but can’t bring herself to kill the Skywalker boy. After departing the Lars homestead, Obi-Wan sees a vision of Qui-Gon Jinn. (Obi-Wan Kenobi).

5 BBY – Force-sensitive Ezra Bridger joins the crew of Rebel vessel the Ghost. Fugitive Jedi Kanan Jarrus takes him on as his Padawan. (Star Wars Rebels)

4 BBY – Rebel informant Fulcrum revealed to be Ahsoka Tano. Empire commences Siege of Lothal. The Emperor unleashes Darth Vader to sort out growing Rebel problem. Former Clone Troopers Rex, Wolffe and Gregor join Rebel cause. (Star Wars Rebels)

3 BBY – Maul blinds Kanan Jarrus in battle. Ahsoka faces Vader for the first time since she was Anakin’s apprentice. (Star Wars Rebels)

2 BBY – Obi-Wan Kenobi belatedly finishes the job of killing Maul on Tatooine. Mon Mothma resigns from Imperial Senate, and calls for the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic (aka Rebel Alliance). Chopper Base on Atollon destroyed by Admiral Thrawn’s forces, forcing the Rebels to relocate to Yavin 4. (Star Wars Rebels)

1 BBY – Kanan Jarrus killed, sacrificing himself to save the rest of the Ghost crew. Ezra Bridger has an audience with the Emperor, before he and Grand Admiral Thrawn go missing in action. Bo-Katan Kryze takes Mandalorian throne, after Sabine Wren gives her the ceremonial Darksaber. (Star Wars Rebels)

0 BBY – Rebels secure their first significant victory over the Empire at Scarif – though in the ultimate downer, everybody involved in recovering the Death Star plans dies. (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)

Princess Leia Organa is eventually captured by Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker meets C-3PO and R2-D2, and takes Death Star plans hidden in R2 to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke begins Jedi training, meets Han Solo and Chewbacca. Alderaan destroyed by Death Star. Leia rescued. Obi-Wan Kenobi dies. The Death Star destroyed. (A New Hope)

0-3 ABY – Darth Vader recruits Boba Fett to help hunt down the Force-sensitive young pilot who blew up the Death Star. (Darth Vader comic)

Rebel Alliance relocates to Echo Base on the distinctly chilly Hoth. (The Empire Strikes Back)

Han Solo runs into an unknown bounty hunter on Ord Mantell. (referenced in The Empire Strikes Back)

3 ABY – The Rebels evacuate Hoth after the Empire discovers Echo Base. Luke Skywalker begins formal Jedi training with Yoda on Dagobah. Darth Vader captures Han, Leia and Chewbacca at Bespin. Han frozen in Carbonite and taken to Jabba the Hutt by Boba Fett. Luke faces Darth Vader, loses a hand and learns the Sith Lord is his father. Noooooooo! (The Empire Strikes Back)

3-4 ABY – Many Bothans die getting information on Death Star 2. (mentioned in Return of the Jedi)

4 ABY – Han Solo rescued from Jabba the Hutt – with Leia killing Jabba in the process. Boba Fett is thought dead. Yoda dies. Luke learns that Leia is his twin sister – awkward! Imperial forces intercept Rebellion’s secret assault on Endor – it’s a trap! Luke faces Darth Vader again, this time in the presence of the Emperor. Vader turns back to the good side and kills the Emperor. Death Star destroyed – despite Ewok involvement. Yub nub! (Return of the Jedi)

5 ABY – Han Solo helps Chewbacca to liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule. The New Republic secures a final victory over the remains of the Empire at the Battle of Jakku. Mon Mothma signs the Galactic Concordance and the Empire is dissolved. A faction of top Imperials, led by Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and General Hux’s dad Brendol, travel through the Unknown Regions to start the First Order. Ben Solo is born. (Star Wars: Aftermath novel trilogy)

5-9 ABY – Boba Fett emerges from the Sarlacc pit after being eaten alive. He is captured by Tusken Raiders, but the bounty hunter wins their favor and is immersed in their culture. The Tuskens are eventually wiped out by a rival biker gang. He meets and helps the injured Fennec Shand. Together, they search for whoever took Boba’s armor from the Sarlacc.

9 ABY – A lone gunfighter – Din Djarin – makes his way through the outer reaches of the galaxy where he stumbles upon a young-ish green creature. The warrior goes on the run, hoping to keep the creature away from harm, and ends up adopting the young creature as his own. 

Din hopes to reunite the creature with the Jedi. He eventually meets Ahsoka Tano, who is on the hunt for General Thrawn. She tells Din to head to Tython and use a special stone to call to any Jedi who may be out there. Ahsoka also reveals the creature’s real name: Grogu.

Grogu calls to the Jedi but is then captured by the evil Moff Gideon, who holds the Darksaber blade. Din is helped by Boba Fett – who is on the search for his armor – and the former heiress of Mandalore, Bo-Katan to beat Moff Gideon. They almost succeed, when a battalion of Dark Trooper droids arrive. Grogu’s call to the Jedi is heard and Luke Skywalker saves the day. Skywalker then takes Grogu away to be trained as a Jedi. (The Mandalorian)

Boba Fett heads back to Tatooine with Fennec Shand to take over the planet’s criminal underworld. Their plans are thwarted by Tatooine’s mayor, the Hutt twins, and the Pyke Syndicate. Boba assembles a team – including Din Djarin – to take on his enemies. Cobb Vanth is shot in a showdown with Cad Bane. 

Luke Skywalker is training Grogu and trying to establish a new Jedi temple. He gives Grogu a choice between remaining a Padawan and becoming Skywalker’s first student, or returning to the Mandalorian. Grogu chooses to go back to Djarin, so the Jedi sends him to Tatooine, where the Child and Mando are reunited.

Fett kills Bane and defeats the Pykes and the other crime syndicates to regain control of Mos Espa. Vanth spends time in a bacta tank to heal from his clash with Bane. (The Book of Boba Fett)

21 ABY – The First Order starts using crime syndicates to fund its increasing military activities. (Star Wars: Bloodline novel)

28 ABY – The truth about Leia’s Sithy parentage is leaked by political enemies, engulfing her in a scandal that forces her to resign from the Senate. Sensing the threat of an increasingly active First Order, she forms the Resistance to keep them in check. (Star Wars: Bloodline novel)

28 ABY-34 ABY – Ben Solo is persuaded by Supreme Leader Snoke to turn to the Dark Side. He trashes Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi school, kills most of his fellow students (unknown whether Grogu is here), and renames himself Kylo Ren. Luke goes into exile on Ahch-To and switches himself off from the Force. (Mentioned in The Force Awakens)

Kazuda Xiono goes undercover as a Resistance spy at the Colossus outpost. (Star Wars Resistance)

34 ABY – Poe Dameron finds map containing details of Luke Skywalker’s whereabouts. Trooper FN-2187, AKA Finn, defects from First Order, gets Poe’s jacket and meets Rey on Jakku. The pair steal the Millennium Falcon, and hook up with Han Solo and Chewbacca. The First Order uses Starkiller base to destroy the entire Hosnian system, wiping out the whole of the New Republic’s government. Kylo Ren kills Han Solo. Starkiller base destroyed. Rey tracks down Luke on Ahch-To. (The Force Awakens)

The Resistance evacuate their base on D’Qar and go on the run from the First Order. Kylo Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke and declares himself Supreme Leader. First Order flagship the Supremacy destroyed when Vice-Admiral Holdo pilots the Raddus through it at hyperspace. Luke creates a Force projection of himself to face Kylo Ren and dies in the effort. The last few survivors of the Resistance escape on the Millennium Falcon. (The Last Jedi)

35 ABY – With Snoke vanquished, an old evil returns… Palpatine. The Emperor has been building a huge Sith army all these years, and they have been awoken on Exegol, a Sith stronghold in the uncharted area of the galaxy. 

The Resistance has made some headway in their fight back against the First Order, who have now rebranded themselves the Final Order under Palpatine’s leadership. Kylo goes on the hunt for Rey, the granddaughter of Palpatine. When they meet, Rey stabs Kylo with a lightsaber but uses the Force to keep him alive. General Leia passes as she helps keep Kylo, her son, alive. 

After Rey discovers the location of Exegol, she travels there in Luke Skywalker’s old X-Wing. She lays trackers so that the Resistance can follow her there. She then confronts her grandfather, while the Resistance, who – with the help of Lando – have brought together an army filled with people who despise the Final Order.

Palpatine soon has the upper hand on Rey, wanting her to “strike him down” so the Sith can live on in her. However, Kylo Ren comes to help, and the pair attack Palpatine. The Emperor overpowers them and takes their life-force. All the fallen Jedi then come to Rey and help her overthrow Palpatine, and he is disintegrated.

The galaxy celebrates victory over the Final Order. Rey buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine. The two suns set. Balance is restored. (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)

What comes next?

While what comes next in the Star Wars timeline remains unconfirmed, it’s believed that the upcoming (but delayed) movie, Rogue Squadron, could take place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. For all the latest, you can read our article on all the upcoming Star Wars movies (opens in new tab) and TV shows.

If you want to catch up with the Star Wars story so far, getting a Disney Plus sign-up is the easiest way (all the films and canon TV shows are available there). Because the Disney Plus free trial is no longer available, don’t forget to check out the Disney Plus bundles in your area.

The post Star Wars timeline: Every major event in chronological order appeared first on Game News.

Since the initial reveal, we’ve seen more of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starters, the introduction of new Legendaries, and part of the Gen 9 Pokedex, including the much-admired pig critter Lechonk, new professors. We also got confirmation that the latest entry will support four-player multiplayer, so there are plenty of reasons to get hyped about new Pokemon games.  

We’ve even finally gotten an official November release date for what has easily become one of the most anticipated upcoming Switch games. If you’re looking forward to what looks set to be an exciting evolution for the series, read on below to find out everything we know so far about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release date 

We were surprised in more ways than one when the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet reveal trailer landed. Not only do we get to go on a new adventure in the world of Pokemon, but we won’t even have to wait that long to experience it. Despite Legends: Arceus already launching this year, Nintendo has now confirmed that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are set to release on November 18, 2022. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Gen 9 starters are adorable 

As is tradition with the core games in the series, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will introduce us to three new Gen 9 starters we can choose between at the beginning of the adventure. And as we saw at the end of the trailer in a delightful picture surrounded by a golden frame, the three critters are all very adorable in their own way. The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starters include the Grass type cat Sprigatito, the Fire type croc Fuecoco, and the Water type duckling Quaxly. 

The official website (opens in new tab) for the games also reveals little tidbits about their characteristics. The little croc, Feucoco, for example, is said to be laid back and does things at its own pace, while the grass kitty is capricious and the little duckling is earnest and tidy. Now the only question is: Which will you choose? 

• Here are all the Pokemon confirmed for the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex so far

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an open-world adventure

Pokemon Sword and Shield gave us the chance to run around certain wild areas, which was then expanded upon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The latter release had several big open areas across a world map to explore, but it still wasn’t truly open-world. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet looks set to take this an evolutionary step further with an open world that features towns that “blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders”. We’ll once again be able to see Pokemon out in the wild, with the freedom to explore this new region in the skies, seas, streets, and forests. The trailer showed off various locales that we can’t wait to see for ourselves. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will support four-player co-op 

The second trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet confirmed that the adventure will allow up to four players to explore the world together, along with returning features such as a trading and battling against your pals. We got a little taste of this in Pokemon Sword and Shield where you can traverse around the wild areas with a pal. Being able to explore the open-world of Scarlet and Violet with fellow trainers certainly sounds magical.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Legendaries

The latest trailer gave us our first look at the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Legendaries that will be featured in the new adventure. The impressive-looking Koraidon is the Legendary Pokemon of Pokemon Scarlet, while the equally eye-catching Miraidon will be the Legendary Pokemon in Violet. Fittingly, they both sport the colors of their respective versions. While there’s a lot of mystery surrounding these two Pokemon, they’re naturally said to have power that surpasses those of other critters. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduces a new friend

During our adventures in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, we’ll be meeting a new Pokemon trainer friend by the name of Nemona. We get to see a glimpse of this fresh face in the most recent trailer, and the official site says this new pal of ours has a “sunny and energetic disposition” with a fondness for Pokemon battles. As an experienced trainer, Nemona will act as a our guide. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet version differences

Different versions are another returning tradition for the series, and historically they will offer different Pokemon and legendaries. Alongside revealing the two new Legendary Pokemon that will be in either version, Game Freak has also confirmed some other differences between Scarlet and Violet. 

For one, your player character will be sporting a different kind of outfit depending on the version you choose. Two new professors will also be introduced in the upcoming Pokemon adventure, and who you’ll meet will depend on the version you’ve chosen. 

Trainers who choose Pokemon Scarlet will meet Professor Sada (left), while those who pick up Pokemon Violet will instead encounter Professor Turo (right). According to the official website for the game, each professor is said to be carrying out research into “certain lore passed down” in the new region. How mysterious. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s region could be based on Spain 

In the past, we’ve seen how real-world locations have served as inspiration for regions in the series. The Galar region, for example, is based on the UK, while the Kalos region in Pokemon X and Y is inspired by France. We’ve yet to learn officially where Scarlet and Violet are set, but there’s a lot of interesting details fans have been picking up on in the trailer that could hint towards it being based on Spain. In one Twitter thread by Antonio Demico, the architecture and names of the starters are highlighted among other details.  

Stay on top of all of the most exciting new releases coming to Nintendo’s console with our roundup of upcoming Switch games. 

The post Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Everything we know so far about the new adventures appeared first on Game News.