Month: September 2021

A new month and a new batch of games coming to different services. PlayStation announced its September 2021 PS Plus lineup, and now Xbox has announced what games are coming to Xbox Game Pass this month also.

Leading the charge on September 2 is Craftopia, an ID@Xbox game about living on a small island by hanging out, fighting bosses, crafting items, really whatever you want. Or if you want to try out something completely different, Final Fantasy 13 is also heading to Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC.

Square Enix’s RPG has something of a mixed reputation, but it’s undeniably one of the best-looking Final Fantasy games even over a decade after it was first released in 2009. There are also new indie releases coming out day-and-date this month including Surgeon Simulator 2 and The Artful Escape.

What’s Coming to Xbox Game Pass in September 2021

• Craftopia (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – September 2

• Final Fantasy XIII (Console and PC) – September 2

• Signs of the Sojourner (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 2

• Surgeon Simulator 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – September 2

• Crown Trick (Console and PC) ID@Xbox – September 7

• Breathedge (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – September 9

• Nuclear Throne (Console and PC) ID@Xbox – September 9

• The Artful Escape (Console and PC) ID@Xbox -September 9

Here’s What’s Leaving Xbox Game Pass in September 2021

• Red Dead Online (Cloud and Console) – September 13

• Company of Heroes 2 (PC) – September 15

• Disgaea 4 (PC) – September 15

• Forza Motorsport 7 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 15

• Hotshot Racing (Cloud and Console) – September 15

• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (Cloud, Console, and PC) – September 15

• Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (Cloud and Console) – September 15

If you missed it, a bunch of Quake games including the newly announced Quake Remaster also went up on Xbox Game Pass in August. The collection was announced at, where else? Quakecon.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

In NBA 2K22, gone will be the generic public-address announcer from past games. 2K is emphasizing the local flavor of NBA games by including every team’s specific PA announcer–people who are often beloved by their teams’ communities.

Sports stadiums aren’t just characterized by their architecture, but also by the sounds, style, and people who make them unique. This includes PA announcers, the people who commentate over the speaker system at a stadium while a game is going on. Much like TV commentators, PA announcers can become local legends based on particularly memorable calls in big games. You can see some of how the announcers will be incorporated in the game in the video below.

The inclusion of local PA announcers is just one of the changes that 2K is implementing for the next entry in its basketball series. Gameplay is also getting a variety of additions, changes, and improvements. For example, every shot meter now has dynamic resizing, meaning that it rewards players for taking smart shots with strong shooters. On defense, 2K has overhauled shot blocking and changed stealing to better emphasize a particular NBA player’s attributes.

NBA 2K22 launches on September 10 across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch. As with past NBA 2K games, there are a few different editions you can purchase. Check out GameSpot’s NBA 2K22 coverage for more on preorders and the game’s new social spaces.

DICE’s new military shooter Battlefield 2042 releases in October, but you’ll be able to get a crack at the game ahead of time through a public beta. Now that the calendar has flipped over to September, which is when the beta is rumored to begin, EA has begun to tease the trial–and troll fans, too. While we wait for official word on the beta, here’s what we know so far.

What We Know So Far

The Battlefield 2042 beta was announced back in June when Electronic Arts revealed the game itself. At the time, EA confirmed the existence of a beta, but stopped short of sharing any concrete specifics. What we do know is that EA Play members who preorder the game will get early access to the open beta, but it’s unclear how much sooner subscribers will get in.

A tweet from Battlefield Bulletin in July that has since been deleted outlined all the key timing details for the Battlefield 2042 beta. According to the Battlefield Bulletin, the Battlefield 2042 open beta will begin on September 4 for those who preorder, with everyone getting in on September 6. The beta will then wrap up on September 11, according to the report. The tweet with all this information was deleted, so this information should be taken with a grain of salt.

If history is any indication, the Battlefield 2042 open beta will offer a glimpse at some of the game’s maps and modes, and you shouldn’t expect progress to carry forward to the full game. You should also expect to encounter bugs, issues, and other oddities, given it’s a pre-release product.

If the Battlefield 2042 beta does indeed begin this week, it’ll do so just ahead of rival Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer reveal event on September 7. Activision is planning an open beta as well, slated for multiple weekends in September. If everything here comes to fruition, fans of both franchises will get to try each game this month ahead of launch. And with another Halo Infinite multiplayer beta coming too, it could be a very busy time for FPS fans.

We’ll update this story with more details on the Battlefield 2042 beta as they become available.

Battlefield 2042 is a multiplayer-only game that has three main modes: All-Out Warfare, Portal, and Hazard Zone, the latter of which hasn’t been revealed at this stage. For more, check out GameSpot’s recent preview of the ambitious mash-up mode, Portal.

Battlefield 2042 is scheduled to release on October 22. Not long after, Activision will release Call of Duty: Vanguard on November 5, and then Microsoft will launch Halo Infinite on December 8. Get your wallets ready.

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Stephen Ddungu didn’t know much about TikTok at all when a clip of his upcoming game project, Sword of Symphony, started circulating on the video platform last month.

A clip of a young boy attacking an enemy using musical combos that Ddungu had previously posted on other social channels was reposted on TikTok by an account called @gamedevblaster on August 2. As of the publication of this piece, it has gotten over 335,000 views, and the comments are full of praise and excitement.

Ddungu tells me he was alerted to the sudden popularity of his clip by a friend, so he made an account and posted his own video, introducing himself to his newly-found fans. That video has now been watched 1.6 million times, and a second follow-up he posted later has been seen nearly 3 million times.

“It’s crazy how fast stuff gets out there and gets popular so quickly on TikTok,” Ddungu says. “And just the kind of things that get popular; weird things get so many views. Other people are working for content and only get a few views here, and then you get someone doing a random, weird-looking dance and it’s getting millions of views. I guess people like what people like.”

Ddungu has always been a musician, and loves to both play and compose. He has a music channel on YouTube where he posts orchestral covers of video game songs, and its success directly led to his eventual work on Sword of Symphony.

In 2018, Ddungu’s channel reached 1000 subscribers, and he wanted to do something special to celebrate the milestone. So he made an animation to go with his latest composition, despite never having animated anything before. He admits that this first foray into animation wasn’t incredible, but he enjoyed the process of experimenting in the new medium. And he got a lot of constructive feedback on his work, inspiring him to do better. So Ddungu kept working at it.

You never really know the extent of your potential unless you dive in. And then you surprise yourself.

“All my decisions are down to me just believing that I can do it,” he says. “Just jumping in and making the leap, because you never really know the extent of your potential unless you dive in. And then you surprise yourself.”

Ddungu took his newfound interest in animation to incredible lengths. He worked on it alongside his school studies in music technology, and eventually made his own animation project called Purpose: VERSA, inspired by game series he loved like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Nier. Then, once again, as he was working on one type of project, a new idea manifested itself. What if he used a different medium to support his existing animation work? So he started dabbling in game creation through Blender, and eventually spun off Purpose: VERSA into an action-RPG video game project, called Purpose: VERSUS.

But as hard as Ddungu worked on all of this, his timing was off. He finished a cinematic trailer for Purpose: VERSUS just before he was given his final school assignment, and thus wasn’t able to turn that in. So he started sketching out Sword of Symphony, a little game idea he had about using music as magic.

“I wanted to just do something small, like a little prototype that was just a hand-in assignment and then forget about it,” he says. “I was about to scrap the project afterwards, because there was no need for it.”

But then, Ddungu made a social media page for Sword of Symphony, which he connected to the existing accounts for Purpose VERSA — just to let people who had been interested in his other work know that he was still working on projects. Unexpectedly, Sword of Symphony began gaining traction much, much faster than either of the Purpose titles.

So Ddungu kept uploading new footage as he went. When he reached 1000 followers, he decided he’d write a story for Sword of Symphony instead of limiting it to the combat prototype. Interest only kept growing.

Though Ddungu originally started Sword of Symphony in 2020, he had to rush his work on it to make school deadlines. So in June of this year, spurred on by the project’s popularity and conversations he’d already had with potential publishers, he scrapped the entire thing and started from scratch. Now, Sword of Symphony is four to five years away (though hopefully sooner, he says), but it has a clear direction.

I wanted to just do something small, like a little prototype that was just a hand-in assignment and then forget about it.

The original pitch for Sword of Symphony was a game where you fight with the power of music, and that’s still the case. Now, though, it follows the story of a young man named Stefān, a wielder of musical magic, who lives in a magical world called Sonata styled after 18th century London. Stefān is a member of a group of genius detectives who are hired by a royal council to solve musical mysteries, many of which Ddungu says will subtly teach music theory as players try to solve them.

Ddungu is tight-lipped about much else, as Sword of Symphony is still so early in development, so it’s not quite clear how the combat factors in just yet. But factor in it does, with the musical combos shown off in Ddungu’s TikToks functioning a bit like “rhythmic phrases,” where you can do more damage to enemies by tapping buttons in time with the rhythm of the combo.

He also tells me about a group of friends he’s a part of that calls itself the “Inner Circle.” The group consists of seven creatives all working on projects they hope to link together, crossover, and cross-promote once they’re ready to launch them. Ddungu says he’s invested in not just the success of his own project, but the success of the group — he wants them to thrive together.

TikTok success hasn’t changed much for Ddungu, he says, though he acknowledges a lot more people now know about the game than he expected. He runs a Discord for Sword of Symphony, that he says got around 800 new members on the day his TikTok blew up, and then around 400 the following day. He ran it alone at the time, so for a while he was struggling to approve all the new members individually, and eventually had to ask a friend for support. He expects that things like Discord community management and social media management will now take up more of his time, which he thinks will force him to develop better time management skills.

What I love doing is teaching me to be a better person.

“It’s actually good, in the sense of character development, learning new things…getting into this system of being a better person,” Ddungu says. “I’m happy that this has come from something that I love doing. What I love doing is teaching me to be a better person.”

With school completed and a new project beloved by a growing community, Ddungu is now committed to making games. He reiterates to me his earlier comment about how he — and anyone — never know what skills they might possess until they dive in and try, which can often result in discovering hidden, unexpected talents and passions.

“You’ve got to focus and put in the effort and the work and hustle and stuff, even if it means sacrifices here and there, but it’s really like a test of strength,” he says. “That kind of lets you know whether this is for you or not…But once you dive in, if you feel that you’re inclined to be committed despite the sacrifices, that’s when you know it’s for you. I’ve tried other things in the past but never really got that [feeling] but with [Sword of Symphony], I know that this is something I want to do long term. I feel so encouraged right now.”

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

This article was amended after publication to correctly identify Ddungu’s field of study as music technology.

Full spoilers follow for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 3.

The MCU-based What If…? animated series is finally here, and it features many of the actual MCU actors from the movies voicing their iconic characters. At the same time, some actors aren’t back to reprise their roles as part of the What If…? cast…

In the fourth episode, What If…? delivered its darkest and most shattering story yet as Doctor Strange, having saved the world from Dormammu, found himself traveling down a forbidden path in order to change an Absolute Point in time and reclaim his lost love, Christine. Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Tilda Swinton all reprised their MCU roles for this one – as did Rachel McAdams, marking her first return to the saga since 2016’s Doctor Strange!

Each episode will feature new and returning characters from the MCU, and we are here to gather each one so you can keep track of which voice actors are returning to their roles, which aren’t, and what these new versions of our favorite heroes look like. We will also be updating this article throughout the season so be sure to check back each week!

What If…? Episode 4 Cast: What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

Doctor Strange – Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch returned to play Dr. Stephen Strange M.D. — aka Sorcerer Supreme for Earth — in this twisted tale of obsession and regret.

Christine Palmer – Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams once again played Christine Palmer, Stephen Strange’s love interest, marking her first return to the MCU since 2016’s Doctor Strange. McAdams will be back as Christine again in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The Ancient One – Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton reprised her role as The Ancient One, once again attempting to guide Doctor Strange through obstacles and temptation that could lead to ruin and cosmic devastation.

Wong – Benedict Wong

Benedict Wong was back as Doctor Strange’s trusty Sanctum Sanctorum sidekick, Wong, though ultimately no one would be spared in Strange’s dark and warped quest to reclaim the love of his life.

O’Bengh – Ike Amadi

A new character in the MCU, O’Bengh was the guardian of the Lost Library of Cagliostro. He eventually died of old age after Strange spent centuries learning forbidden knowledge and absorbing the energy of other magical beings.

In the comics, there is speculation that Cagliostro’s real name was O’Bengh.

Christine Everhart – Leslie Bibb

Leslie Bibb can be heard briefly as reporter Christine Everhart, who appeared in both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (as well as a viral videos released by Marvel preceding Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War).

What If…? Episode 3 Cast: What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Fury takes center stage in the third episode of Marvel’s What If…?, and Samuel L. Jackson returns to voice the MCU character he’s been playing since 2008’s Iron Man. Unfortunately for this version of Nick Fury, his idea to form the Avengers didn’t go quite as planned.

Hank Pym / Yellow Jacket – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas returns to play Hank Pym, but in this alternate universe he ends up becoming one of the episode’s true villains after his daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly/The Wasp in the MCU!) passed away on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission. Instead of becoming Ant-Man, he becomes Yellow Jacket, as he did in the comics.

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow – Lake Bell

Scarlett Johansson, who is currently in a legal battle with Disney over a Black Widow contract breach, did not return to play Black Widow in this show. Instead, actress and comedian Lake Bell lent her voice to the iconic role. Bell and her voice have appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, the Harley Quinn TV series, Cryptozoo, and much more.

Tony Stark / Iron Man – Mick Wingert

Much like Black Widow, Iron Man also has a new voice actor as Robert Downey, Jr. did not return to play the character that kicked off the entire MCU. Instead, Mick Wingert took up the role. Wingert has played Tony Stark in a ton of Marvel shows, including Marvel Future Avengers, Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.

Agent Coulson – Clark Gregg

Clark Gregg once again becomes Agent Coulson in Marvel’s What If…? and is rightfully very impressed with Thor and his hair.

Brock Rumlow – Frank Grillo

Frank Grillo is back as Brock Rumlow and adds Marvel’s What If…? to the list of his MCU appearances that also include Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Clint Barton / Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner, who already appeared in the first episode of Marvel’s What If…? alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, returns for a bigger role in episode 3. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have quite a happy ending. Luckily, he will reprise the role once more in his own Disney+ show later this year.

Betty Ross – Stephanie Panisello

The role of Betty Ross has changed once more as Hulk’s Jennifer Connolly nor The Incredible Hulk’s Liv Tyler returned to reprise their role. Instead, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness’ Stephanie Panisello makes her MCU debut in Marvel’s What If…?

Bruce Banner / Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Bruce Banner and The Hulk make their Marvel’s What If…? debut in episode three. Although it’s always great to see Mark Ruffalo take on the role again, he returns for a story that sees an unfortunate end to his character.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Hot off the season finale of Marvel’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston appears again in the MCU as Loki in Marvel’s What If…? In this alternate universe, he comes to get his vengeance after the fall of Thor, and also takes the opportunity to become the ruler of Earth. Not bad for a day’s work.

General Ross – Mike McGill

Although William Hurt played General Thunderbolt Ross in Black Widow, Mike McGill was the one who voiced the short appearance by the general in this episode. McGill was recently seen in Bosch, Grace and Grit, Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, and more.

Lady Sif – Jaimie Alexander

Much like Loki, Lady Sif returns to the MCU after making an appearance in Marvel’s Loki. Even better, Jaimie Alexander returns to lend her voice. Alexander is also set to be a part of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel – Alexandra Daniels

Although she is only seen for a brief moment at the very end, Captain Marvel answers Nick Fury’s call and heads to Earth to help her old friend. Instead of Brie Larson, Mothers and Daughters’ Alexandra Daniels plays the hero also known as Carol Danvers.

Thor

Thor and his majestic hair appeared in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but the God of Thunder had no lines, so there was no chance for Chris Hemsworth to return… yet.

What If…? Episode 2 Cast: What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?

Star-Lord T’Challa – Chadwick Boseman

Before his death in 2020, Chadwick Boseman recorded his final lines for T’Challa for Marvel’s What If…?, but in this version he plays Star-Lord T’Challa instead of Black Panther. While he made his debut as this alternate version of his character in the second episode of the series, there are still more episodes with his character in them.

Nebula – Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan returns to voice Nebula, and this time she is sporting some flowing blonde hair and, thanks to T’Challa becoming Star-Lord and helping turn Thanos into a “good guy,” she is free to live another life that is not helping her adopted father balance the universe.

Yondu – Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker once again becomes Yondu in this episode of What If…? and sees first-hand what happens when he leaves important jobs to other people. Since his Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of Peter Quill, the trajectory of his life has changed greatly as well.

Korath – Djimon Hounsou

In a hilarious twist to the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, Djimon Hounsou returns to play Korath, who is this time a huge fan of Star-Lord and ends up joining his team of Ravagers.

King T’Chaka – John Kani

The life of King T’Chaka is altered when his son goes missing one day, but that doesn’t stop him from searching the stars for T’Challa in the years that followed. John Kani returns as the voice of the king, and we get to see younger and older versions of him in the episode.

Thanos – Josh Brolin

In perhaps the most shocking twist of all, Josh Brolin returns to play a Thanos who has decided to give up on his idea of wiping out half of all living things in the universe. He has joined Star-Lord T’Challa and the Ravagers and, while he still jokes about his original plan being efficient, he has turned into a much more friendly Mad Titan.

The Collector – Benicio del Toro

Benicio del Toro once again plays The Collector, a character who has seen his stock rise after not having to deal with Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones. He is a force to be reckoned with in this alternate timeline, but ultimately is no match for T’Challa and his friends.

Ego – Kurt Russell

While it is but a brief cameo, Kurt Russell once again becomes Ego and decides to pay a visit to his son Peter Quill at a Dairy Queen. Quill of course never ended up becoming Star-Lord in this reality, though what this meeting with Ego means for him is unclear (for now).

Kraglin – Sean Gunn

Hot off his role as Weasel in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, the director’s brother Sean Gunn lends his voice once more to Kraglin.

Taserface – Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan is also back as the Ravager Taserface, joining Star Lord T’Challa and the rest of their crew across the stars.

Howard the Duck – Seth Green

Howard the Duck, who makes his fourth MCU appearance following the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Endgame, is once again voiced by Seth Green and looking classy as ever.

Okoye – Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira has only one line, but it’s always a treat to hear and see Okoye – the general of the Dora Milaje – get more screen time.

Carina – Ophelia Lovibond

In this alternate story, Carina was never killed as she never tried to use the Power Stone against The Collector. What’s more, she gets some karmic justice against her captor.

Proxima Midnight – Carrie Coon

Carrie Coon once again plays Proxima Midnight, who joined forces with The Collector after Thanos had a change of heart.

Ebony Maw – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

As with Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw was on the look-out for new work following Thanos joining the Ravagers, and he joined The Collector just as the other members of the Black Order did.

Drax – Fred Tatasciore

Drax the Destroyer shows up in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but now he is… Drax the Bartender? While it’s great to see Drax again, he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore instead of Dave Bautista, who has said he was not asked to return to play his MCU character.

Corvus Glaive – Fred Tatasciore

Fred Tatasciore also plays Corvus Glaive from the Black Order, replacing the original voice actor Michael James Shaw.

Young T’Challa – Maddix Robinson

Young T’Challa only showed up in a deleted scene in Black Panther, but he gets a bigger role in Marvel’s What If…? In this episode, he was played by Maddix Robinson instead of Ashton Tyler.

Peter Quill – Brian T. Delaney

Peter Quill’s destiny was changed the most when the Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of him. While we only see him for a brief moment, we see that his new fate was to work at Dairy Queen until his Dad pays him a visit. Chris Pratt did not return to voice this version of Peter Quill, and he was instead voiced by Brian T. Delaney.

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian

Queen Ramonda of Wakanda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian all make an appearance in this episode of Marvel’s What If…? but they have no lines so there were no returning or new actors for their characters.

What If…? Episode 1 Cast: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?

Captain Carter/Peggy Carter – Hayley Atwell

Hayley Atwell voices Peggy Carter in a story focusing on what would happen if she was the one who became a super soldier. Steve Rogers still joins the fight with a suit made by Howard Stark. Chris Evans did not return for this episode of What If…?, and instead Josh Keaton lent his voice to Skinny Steve Rogers.

Skinny Steve Rogers – Josh Keaton

Despite many of the other MCU characters returning to reprise their roles, Chris Evan did not return for What If…? to voice Skinny Steve Rogers. Instead, Josh Keaton became this alternate version of Steve. This voice actor is also known for his roles as Peter Parker in the animated The Spectacular Spider-Man series, Tony Stark in Marvel’s Iron Man VR, and many other projects.

Dr. Erskine – Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci voices Abraham Erskine, the only scientist to perfect the Super Soldier Serum. In this version of the story, he lives!

Howard Stark – Dominic Cooper

Dominic Cooper is back as (the younger version of) Howard Stark, who is the father of Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. In this story, Howard Stark created the first Iron Man armor in the Hydra Stomper.

Colonel Flynn – Bradley Whitford

While Bradley Whitford’s Colonel John Flynn has not been in a big MCU film, he was part of the Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, which was one of a series of shorts that expanded on the MCU world.

Johann Schmidt / Red Skull – Ross Marquand

Hugo Weaving did not return in What If…? to reprise his role as Red Skull, and instead Marvel brought back Ross Marquand, who played Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Dum Dum Dugan – Neal McDonough

Neal McDonough is back to voice Howling Commando Dum Dum Dugan from The Winter Soldier (and Agent Carter).

Bucky Barnes – Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan voices Bucky Barnes. In this alternate tale, Bucky was not experimented on by Arnim Zola and therefore never became The Winter Soldier.

Arnim Zola – Toby Jones

Toby Jones has returned to the MCU to voice Arnim Zola, and his fate is still very tied to Bucky Barnes, even if he isn’t as successful in this timeline.

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson returns to play Nick Fury and make a brief appearance at the end of the episode.

Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner once again become Hawkeye in Marvel’s What If…?

The Watcher – Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright plays The Watcher, a celestial being assigned to watch over Earth and its surrounding solar system. He’ll serve as the narrator for the series each week.

MCU Characters Confirmed for Future Episodes

Thor – Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth will voice Thor in a story that might be Ragnarok focused, considering some of the other casting news revealed.

Grandmaster – Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum will voice Grandmaster, the ruler of Sakaar.

Korg – Taika Waititi

Ragnarok (and Love and Thunder) director Taika Waititi will be voicing a character — probably (hopefully!) Korg.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Tom Hiddleston will return to Disney+ to voice Loki. A Variant Loki, probably!

Jane Foster – Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman returns to voice Jane Foster. Will she somehow figure in a Ragnarok-era story, even though she was absent from that film? Time will tell!

Ant-Man – Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd will voice Ant-Man.

Kurt – David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian will voice Kurt, the hacker member of Scott Lang’s crew.

Hank Pym – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas will voice Hank Pym, creator of the Ant-Man suit and tech.

Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan will voice T’Challa’s cousin N’Jadaka – aka Erik Killmonger.

Bruce Banner/The Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo will voice Bruce Banner and/or The Hulk.

For even more on the show, check out our article on how to watch Marvel’s What If…?, get the lowdown on these nine crazy What If…? comics storylines, or catch up on how Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa becomes Star-Lord in the series.

August 18, 2021: This story has been updated with the latest information about Marvel’s What If…?

All nine seasons of Seinfeld will be available to stream on Netflix on October 1 — and in 4K. This will mark the first time that every episode of the NBC series will be available to stream on a single service globally.

To accompany the announcement, Netflix released a video on Twitter touting the show’s arrival on the streamer as a “180 episode premiere.”

All 180 episodes of Seinfeld hit Netflix on October 1 pic.twitter.com/H73RZvNUw9

— Netflix (@netflix) September 1, 2021

“[Seinfeld co-creator] Larry [David] and I are enormously grateful to Netflix for taking this chance on us. It takes a lot of guts to trust two schmucks who literally had zero experience in television when we made this thing,” said Jerry Seinfeld in a press release. “We really got carried away, I guess. I didn’t realize we made so many of them. Hope to recoup god knows how many millions it must have taken to do. But worth all the work if people like it. Crazy project.”

Netflix acquired the rights to stream Seinfeld in 2019. Hulu had held the exclusive streaming rights to Seinfeld until last June. This new deal will see Netflix house the NBC sitcom for five years. While financial details of the agreement were not disclosed at the time, it was reported that Netflix paid “far more” than $500 million — the total that NBCUniversal paid to bring The Office to Peacock.

“This is the first time we’ve taken a risk of this nature, going all in on 9 seasons at the jump. But Jerry has created something special with this sitcom that nobody has ever done,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement.

In other Seinfeld news, a fan-designed LEGO set of Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment in the show hit the market last month, complete with Minifigs of the show’s main characters (and Newman). And if you really can’t wait to see some Seinfeld on Netflix, Bee Movie is currently available to watch on the streaming service in the US.

J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

The best racing games on Xbox One are almost as varied as the fast cars you drive in them. Want to cruise around a gorgeously rendered take on the English countryside in a rambunctious open-world adventure? Forza Horizon 4 has you covered. Eager to simulate the racing thrills of regulated sport? F1 2021 and MotoGP 21 have dials to fiddle with and switches to flick. Want a bright and shiny take on an arcade classic? Burnout Paradise Remastered and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered are for you. Or maybe you just want to be an anthropomorphic mascot hurling blunt objects at friends and enemies alike? Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled brings the wumpa while Sonic Team Racing scarfs down a chili dog.

Last generation, Microsoft often struggled to produce major AAA exclusives for the Xbox One. The biggest exception, though? Racing games. With two spins on Forza–one of the studio’s biggest franchises–both devoted to burning rubber, Xbox has become a racing game powerhouse (as reflected in the impressive selection of driving games on Xbox Game Pass). And, as we’ll see in this list, even outside the Forza stable of racers, Microsoft’s consoles may well be the best place to put tires to virtual pavement. These are the best racing games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Many of the games listed below have free Xbox Series X enhancements.

For more Xbox game suggestions, check out our lists of the best Xbox Series X games and best Xbox One games. And if you happen to own a PS4 or PS5, make sure to take a look at our best PS4 racing games list, too.