Game Of Thrones Season 8 Is A Mystery To George RR Martin

With the final season of Game of Thrones ready to premiere on HBO, fans are dying to know how the epic series will come to an end. If they’re expecting to find out from George RR Martin, author of the A Song of Fire and Ice novels, though, they’re out of luck.

“I haven’t read the [final-season] scripts and haven’t been able to visit the set because I’ve been working on [The Winds of Winter],” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I know some of the things. But there’s a lot of minor-character [arcs] they’ll be coming up with on their own. And, of course, they passed me several years ago. There may be important discrepancies.”

As for the show ending as a whole, Martin explained that he has “mixed feelings about that.” While the adaptation of his novels has become one of the biggest TV shows of all time, the screen version of the story has gone further than the events of the novels. “Obviously, I wished I finished these books sooner so the show hadn’t gotten ahead of me,” he said. “I never anticipated that.”

That said, though, Game of Thrones isn’t necessarily ending. As Martin explained, “It’s not the end for me. I’m still deeply in it. I better live a long time because I have a lot of work left to do.” In addition to The Winds of Winter, a seventh novel–A Promise of Spring–was previously announced. Beyond that, there’s also a prequel in the works.

And if you’re worried that the final season will spoil how the books will end, that shouldn’t be much of a concern. “Now that the show is ahead of the books, it seems the show could ruin the books for people,” co-showrunner David Benioff said. “So one thing we’ve talked to George about is that we’re not going to tell people what the differences are, so when those books come out people can experience them fresh,”

The final season of Game of Thrones premieres Sunday, April 14 on HBO. Make sure to check out the trailer for the new season and our deep dive breakdown into all of the secrets it holds.

Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson to Star in, Produce Apple’s CIA Drama Series

Oscar winner Brie Larson will be starring in the untitled drama series based on real-life CIA undercover operative, Amaryllis Fox, reported by THR.

Fox is releasing her memoir, Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA, which the series is based off of, with a release date of October 15, 2019.

Larson will also produce the drama series for Apple, who picked it up as a straight to series deal after a multiple-outlet bidding war.

The show is described as the journey of a young woman in the CIA, told through the viewpoint of her closest relationships. Megan Martin, known for The Following and Animal Kingdom, is reportedly in final negotiations to write the script, according to Variety.

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Destiny 2 Gambit Prime And Reckoning Guide: How To Win The Drifter’s New Game

PS4 Deals: GTA5 for $15, Plus Save on Resident Evil 2 and More

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

PS4 owners who enjoy saving a few bucks can find deals on a number of big games right now at Amazon, including remarkable price drops on games like GTA5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, along with more modest discounts on newer titles like Anthem and Kingdom Hearts III. Let’s take a look at what PS4 games and hardware you can save cash on today.

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Valve Blocks Release Of Explicit Sexual Assault Game On Steam

(Content warning: sexual assault.)

Valve has announced it will block the release of a controversial game that was to be distributed through its service. In its statement regarding the decision, it said the game poses “unknown costs and risks” and that the “chosen content matter and a way of representing it” render the distribution platform unable to work with the developer.

The game, titled “Rape Day,” is a visual novel set during a zombie apocalypse in which the player character can harass other survivors, kill people, and sexually assault women. It has been listed on the Steam marketplace with an impending release date, but Valve has now removed the listing. The company issued a statement through its Valve blog explaining the decision. You can read it in full below.

“Over the past week you may have heard about a game called ‘Rape Day’ coming soon to Steam. Today we’ve decided not to distribute this game on Steam. Given our previous communication around Who Gets To Be On The Steam Store?, we think this decision warrants further explanation.

“Much of our policy around what we distribute is, and must be, reactionary—we simply have to wait and see what comes to us via Steam Direct. We then have to make a judgement call about any risk it puts to Valve, our developer partners, or our customers. After significant fact-finding and discussion, we think ‘Rape Day’ poses unknown costs and risks and therefore won’t be on Steam.

“We respect developers’ desire to express themselves, and the purpose of Steam is to help developers find an audience, but this developer has chosen content matter and a way of representing it that makes it very difficult for us to help them do that.”

The reference to its previous blog entry was one that issued fairly loose policies and a general hands-off approach from Valve regarding what the company would allow on its platform. This led to an open question about whether a game like Rape Day would be allowed to be sold. This statement blocks this particular game but does not offer clarity on what similar types of content would not be allowed in the future.

The game had been set for release in April. The developer had informed customers that the approval process was taking longer than usual due to graphic content that was illegal in some countries, but said that it had marked the game as adult and issued thorough content warnings. The studio said that if Valve did prevent release of the game, it would seek out an alternate distribution platform.

WWE’s Tommaso Ciampa Out For Surgery: What Does This Mean For The NXT Championship?

One of the recent NXT callups, as well as the current NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa has made waves on the main WWE roster, only to have it taken away so quickly.

Ciampa will have to undergo neck surgery on March 7, putting him out of action, according to WWE. He has been scheduled for an anterior cervical fusion, which is a surgery to remove a herniated disc from the neck, through the front of the neck, in the throat area. Recovery time for a procedure like this is around three to six months for the patient to return to normal. WWE did not set a timetable for his potential return or how long he could be out.

This could explain why the focus on Ciampa and Johnny Gargano as a tag team on Raw quickly switched over to other NXT newcomers Ricochet and Aleister Black, who now have a Raw Tag Team Championship match at Fastlane, this Sunday.

With Ciampa out, this throws a few wrenches in WWE’s plans. Wrestlemania and NXT Takeover is right around the corner, and Ciampa is the NXT Champion. So what’s next? Ciampa for sure won’t be at WWE’s biggest PPV of the year, and while he may show up to Takeover, he probably won’t be competing. It’s more than likely we’ll see him vacate the NXT Championship, which isn’t a huge deal, since he’s moving up to the main roster anyway.

However, Ciampa undergoing surgery won’t affect his role in the upcoming NXT tag team event. Starting on March 6, the Dusty Rhodes Classic kicks off and Ciampa and Gargano have reteamed up for the event. Seeing as it’s pre-taped though, fans won’t miss anything.

It’s a bummer for NXT and WWE fans, as Raw was just getting a taste of DIY (Ciampa and Gargano), and they could really have helped put the tag team division there back on top. We wish him a speedy recovery.

While DIY won’t be competing at Fastlane this Sunday, their NXT peers Aleister Black and Ricochet will be, and we have predictions for that and all the matches for the WWE PPV.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu Cards Offer Fantastic Looks at Mewtwo, Arcanine and More

Thanks to the reveal of some new Pokemon: Detective Pikachu trading cards, we now have our first look at how Ditto will appear in the live-action world of the movie. The cards also offer a fantastic look at some Pokemon only seen in the background of the trailer, like Arcanine, Charmander, Magikarp, and Slaking, not to mention some sweet looking shots of Mewtwo in all of its psychic glory.

Check ‘em out:

For more on Detective Pikachu, check out our breakdown of the new trailer where we analyze what Mewtwo has to do with the plot and point out over 40 Pokemon we found.

Joshua is Senior Editor of IGN Comics. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

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Nintendo Is Wary Of How It Handles Mobile Microtransactions

Despite its initial reluctance to bring its properties to smartphones, Nintendo has been slowly expanding its reach into the mobile market. The company has a couple of new smartphone games on the way this year, including the recently announced Dr. Mario World. But while mobile games will remain a component of Nintendo’s business, it seems the company doesn’t want players to spend too much on them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has had its development partners adjust their mobile games so that players don’t spend an excessive amount of money in them. Like many other smartphone titles, most of Nintendo’s mobile offerings are free to download and feature optional in-app purchases, but WSJ reports that Nintendo is wary of being perceived as greedy for these microstransactions and potentially tarnishing its brand.

Nintendo’s most recent smartphone venture is Dragalia Lost, an action RPG co-developed by Granblue Fantasy studio Cygames. The game launched back in September and has proven to be a modest success, surpassing $75 million in revenue worldwide according to Sensor Tower. However, Cygames parent company CyberAgent has had to cut its earnings forecast–the first time it has done so in 17 years–because the title has underperformed.

Dragalia Lost features a gacha summoning system, through which players can acquire new characters and other items by exchanging in-game currency, which can most easily be obtained by spending real-world money. After the game’s release, however, players complained that it was too difficult to acquire rare characters, prompting Nintendo to approach CyberAgent to adjust the game.

While this philosophy is undoubtedly beneficial for consumers, it has affected the bottom line of Nintendo’s partners. “Nintendo is not interested in making a large amount of revenue from a single smartphone game,” WSJ quotes one CyberAgent official as saying. “If we managed the game alone, we would have made a lot more.”

Nintendo has two new smartphone games announced for this year. The aforementioned Dr. Mario World, which is co-developed by LINE, is slated to launch early this summer. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s mobile Mario Kart game, Mario Kart Tour, was originally scheduled to release in March but has now been delayed to summer.

Devil May Cry 5: How Long The Story Takes To Beat

Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5 is almost here, releasing on March 8 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The newest entry to the Devil May Cry franchise further evolves the series’ staple over-the-top action and ridiculous style.

If you’re planning on picking the game up, you don’t have to worry about it taking over too much of your life. After playing through Devil May Cry 5, GameSpot editors Matt Espineli and Alessandro Fillari both said it took them about 15 hours to complete the main campaign. So if you want to, it’s plausible to finish Capcom’s new game in a weekend. For those who want a bit more out of the game, new difficulties unlock in Devil May Cry 5 after you complete it the first time.

In our Devil May Cry 5 review, Matt Espineli gave the game a 9/10, writing, “DMC5 thrives on the stylistic and mechanical prowess of its predecessors. It sticks to tradition above all else, pursuing a few ambitious new ideas along the way, but mostly maintaining the series’ focus on intricate fighting systems and campy bravado. Rarely does the game stumble, consistently leveraging its spectacle and mechanical depth to push aside any small frustrations. All the while, the story exudes a charismatic charm that keeps you constantly intrigued as you’re refining your skills. DMC5 proves the series can still be brilliant and imaginative without compromising its longest-held traditions.”

If you still need some more information before you decide whether you want to pre-order Devil May Cry 5, we’ve compiled everything there is to know about the game. Pre-ordering Devil May Cry 5 nets you a handful of in-game bonuses which is dependent on which edition you buy. The standard edition comes with five alternative costumes for the game’s characters. You’ll get those costumes plus 100,000 Red Orbs–Devil May Cry 5’s in-game currency that can be earned or bought with microtransactions–with the Deluxe Edition. Regardless of which edition you buy, pre-ordering either one on PS4 gets you a Devil May Cry 5 PS4 theme.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered And The Witness – PS Plus March Free Games

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