Summer of Gaming 2024 is here, and IGN Live is bringing fresh surprises and reveals for some of the hottest upcoming games, movies, and shows. While Xbox, Summer Game Fest, Sony, and more are taking the time to show off what they’ve got in store for players in the near future, we’re digging into the details with developer interviews and first-look trailers to learn more about what makes the future of gaming brighter than ever.
This article shines a light on the biggest moments from IGN Live days one, two, and three to make sure you don’t miss even one highlight. You can read the full weekend schedule here.
IGN Live Day 1: The Biggest Announcements
IGN Live kicked off with sneak peeks at the next season of The Legend of Vox Machina, Nightdive Studios’ The Thing video game remaster, the upcoming Borderlands film, and so much more. Plus, we got to sit down with some of the creators and cast members behind a few upcoming projects.
The Legend of Vox Machina cast talks Season 3
Crtical Role’s Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey, Marisha Ray, Ashley Johnson, and Travis Willingham stopped by IGN Live to talk about The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 and how it evolves on the Dungeons & Dragons show’s first two seasons. After IGN exclusively revealed that the show will return on October 3, 2024, the crew told fans can expect the series to stay fast paced as the story continues to unfold.
Ludwig announces Offbrand Games
Twitch streamer and YouTube Ludwig is opening up Offbrand Games, a video game publishing company, and took the time to talk about it at IGN Live. He says the company gives him an opportunity to work with developers, treat them fairly, and get even more great games out into the hands of gamers.
“There’s absolutely a space for mutual benefit there,” director of strategy Jason “Thor” Hall said. “What comes first is the players every single time. You can’t run a studio, you can’t run a publisher without the players. They’re what matters the most.”
Alien: Rogue Incursion developer talks true VR terror
Chief product officer at Survios, TQ Jefferson, had a few words to share on his upcoming Alien VR game, Alien: Rogue Incursion. At IGN Live, the developer spoke about how important it is to deliver on an Alien experience that lives up to the decades-long franchise while offering gaming fans something they’ve never seen before. Will it make you want to rip your VR headset off? Probably, but that’s kind of the point.
An interview with the Borderlands movie cast and a sneak peek
IGN Live gave us the opportunity to speak with a lot of great game developers and some of the cast members behind your favorite movies and shows, but it also allowed us to reveal some sneak peeks at upcoming projects, too. Today, we revealed a one-minute clip from the upcoming Borderlands movie that shows off actors like Kevin Hart and Cate Blanchett as they explore the world of Pandora and deal with a few Psychos along the way. Then we had the opportunity to learn even more about live-action Pandora during our conversation with he cast.
Playing Borderlands 2 with the cast of the Borderlands movie
The Borderlands movie is the latest video game adaptation set to come to the big screen, so naturally, we had to play Borderlands 2 with some of the cast. Director Eli Roth, Tiny Tina actress Ariana Greenblatt, and Krieg actor Florian Munteanu all joined us on stage to loot and shoot, all while Claptrap watched.
Taking a closer look at McFarlane Toys’ Batman Forever set
McFarlane Toys’ Brian Walters dropped by IGN Live to show off a collection of new toys based on 1995’s Batman Forever. Then, the Wand Company CEO Chris Barnardo unveiled a handful of new collectibles inspired by Bethesda Fallout series, including a wearable Pip-Boy.
Talking to the crew behind Netflix’s Exploding Kittens animated show
Netflix is turning the classic game, Exploding Kittens, into an animated show, so we caught up with co-showrunner Matthew Inman and the voice of God Cat, Tom Ellis, to talk about how things are going. During our eight-minute chat, we learned about the tone the series is going for and even managed to get an early look at a trailer before its premiere later July 12, 2024. You can also check out a batch of exclusive posters for Exploding Kittens above.
Nightdive Studios’ next remaster is The Thing
Nightdive Studios has proven to be an expert at breathing new life into classic video games, and this time, the studio is setting its sights on a remaster for the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 spinoff, The Thing. The first trailer for this suffocating body horror game reveals that the experience fans know in love truly is back, and this time, it’s got a new coat of bloody paint.
Talking all things Middle-earth with the cast of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power returns for Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video this August, so we took the time to learn more from some of the faces featured on the show. During our time with Arondir actor Ismael Cruz Cordova and Isildur actor Maxim Baldry, we got a better understanding of their characters and what to expect from the next batch of episodes.
Matthew Mercer explores Nibelheim in Final Fantasy 7 Playthrough
Matthew Mercer is best known for voicing all of your favorite video game and TV show characters, but he’s also something else: a big fan of Final Fantasy 7. We sat down for him at IGN Live and learned more about how he came to love the series and what it’s like working on Critical Role.
Squirrel With a Gun locks and loads with August release date trailer
You probably don’t need to know much about Squirrel With a Gun to understand what it’s going for, but we’ll explain anyway. This creative third-person shooter comes from developer Dee Dee Creations and sees players using, well, guns to fight off and escape evil, suit-wearing humans. It’s coming to PC via the Epic Games Store and Steam on August 29, with console versions set to arrive later this year.
An exclusive look at The First Descendant gameplay
The First Descendant is Nexon’s upcoming free-to-play third-person shooter that sees players looting and shooter while using stylized exo-suits. While the studio was busy announcing its release date of July 2, 2024, at Summer Game Fest, we had the pleasure of debuting a new look at some of its fast-paced gameplay.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
