343 Industries recently showed off some more multiplayer action for Halo Infinite ahead of the game's back-to-back multiplayer tech previews starting this weekend. PC gameplay of a Big Team Battle CTF match on Fragmentation showed a little more of what fans can expect from Infinite when it launches later this year as well as an introduction to the game's very own loot cave – seemingly a reference to Halo creator Bungie's Destiny.

As broadcast from Halo's official YouTube channel, community director Brian Jarrard was joined by Fernando Reyez Medina to speak about some of the gameplay elements shown off in Big Team Battle. During the match, (starting at around the 9:17 in the video below), the pair come across a large fortified door protecting what Medina says the team internally refers to as the "loot cave" – a seemingly quiet nod to a similarly named area removed from Destiny.

Medina explains that accessing the cave's huge vault is something of a sub-objective during a match. For the team that does so first, powerful weapons and items can be found inside for the taking. In order to gain access to the loot cave, players must set their AI to work hacking through its entrance while they fend off enemy assaults.

As opening the loot cave isn't strictly part of a team's main objectives during the game, players will need to consider whether losing squad members to the loot cave cause is a worthwhile investment in their overall pursuits for victory. Either way, the area around the cave's entrance is almost sure to see its fair share of gunfire when Infinite launches later this year as teams look to wield its powerful treasures. It's a nice risk-reward feature, designed to bring players together in one small area in a large map.

The term "loot cave" very much comes with its own associations beyond Halo. Located behind Skywatch on Earth, Destiny's original loot cave was a respawn zone in which players would exploit the game to farm enemies for drops and experience. Patching the loot cave into a haunted Easter Egg was one of the first of many changes made to Destiny after it first launched. Bungie explained at the time that it made changes to the area in order to improve Destiny's standard progression for players. Given that Bungie created the Halo series, 343's use of the term – even if it isn't officially called a loot cave in the game – is a nice nod to the connection between the companies.

Halo's Big Team Battle is set to feature in the second week of the game's upcoming technical preview. For more on Infinite, including how 343 believes that bots will improve its multiplayer experience and a look at its new training mode, make sure to check out our dedicated page for the game.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Star Wars: Visions producer Kanako Shirasaki and executive producer James Waugh have confirmed that the animated anthology series is definitely not canon—at least not yet.

Shirasaki and Waugh weighed in on the highly debated topic during an interview with CNET, in which they were asked about Visions place in the Star Wars timeline, particularly whether certain elements of the series could work their way into the canon. Shirasaki initially dismissed the idea, saying, "Not immediately, but it might influence the next generation of creators."

Waugh also supported that notion, recognizing the potential for Visions to impact and evolve into other Star Wars projects, even though the current stories are not connected to the rest of the franchise. He acknowledged that some parts of the show could serve as touchpoints for future storytellers and influence things that are yet to come.

"Every piece of Star Wars influences future Star Wars storytellers in some form or the other," Waugh said. "So are there plans to integrate Visions into the timeline saga storytelling? Not currently, but I have no doubt that we will see things that were in Visions become part of the fabric of Star Wars over the next decades."

When Waugh spoke to IGN's Jesse Gill (video above), he explained how his approach to Visions had been less timeline orientated and more about finding a framework that actually freed them from it, so they could tell original tales set against the backdrop of Star Wars. However, despite standing on their own, these stories are already inspiring other works.

"Right now you can continue the storytelling," Waugh told CNET. "There's a novel [Star Wars: Visions: Ronin] coming out by Emma Mieko Candon, who's a really talented author. Like everything Star Wars, we'll want to build an ecosystem of storytelling around Visions and these characters. We'll have to see what people fall in love with."

The collection of tales in the new Disney+ anthology series showcase everything from Samurai-esque Jedi and Sith battling it out in The Duel, to an electric rock opera featuring Jabba the Hutt for Tatooine Rhapsody, and The Ninth Jedi, which tells the first new Star Wars story set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, even though it isn't canon.

Star Wars: Visions is now available to stream in its entirety on Disney Plus. IGN praised the animated series for delivering "an action-packed jaunt through the Star Wars universe that puts a new spin on the well-worn franchise," complete with "breathtaking animation in a wide variety of visual styles," which should please "both avid anime watchers and casual fans."

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

I'm Your Man hits theaters on Friday, Sept. 24.

What if you could design your perfect match from scratch? A person who is customized to be just your type, programmed to shower you with compliments, built to fulfill your every need, be it breakfast in bed, a shoulder to cry on, or great sex. The only catch is that they’re a robot. Would that be a dealbreaker? That’s the question at the center of the high-concept German comedy I’m Your Man, which stars a perfectly cast Dan Stevens as a dream guy with a few glitches. While this critically heralded leading man brings plenty of personality to the role of a robot, this fascinating film’s greatest asset is how it transforms from a cheeky rom-com into something more philosophical but no less fun.

With a bot-meets-girl plotline, I’m Your Man begins with a familiar rom-com dynamic. Alma (Maren Eggert) is a career-driven single woman, an academic who is not interested in love. Besotted Tom (Stevens) is a dashing man who aims to change that and only has eyes for her. He can dance, quote poetry, and literally sweep her off her feet with ease. However, Alma knows from the start that Tom is an android operating on an algorithm aimed to please. She’s been asked to test him out for three weeks, then provide an evaluation that could determine whether artificial intelligence automatons might be given the rights to marry, work, and live in the world alongside humans. So, his attempts to woo her are met with a clinical side-eye.

Such a Dream Guy seems a throwback casting for Stevens, who first broke through as the romantic hero Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey. However, Stevens fled that wildly popular series to plunge himself into far riskier projects, like the kaiju comedy Colossal, the grisly horror thriller The Guest, the madcap spoof Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, and the undersung animated fantasy series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, (on which he plays a deranged and tyrannical mandrill known as Scarlemagne). That’s all to say that the moment Stevens shows up with a guileless smile and breezy banter, fans should suspect something stranger is coming. Stevens is too daring a performer to play a pat dreamboat. Indeed, his Tom becomes a sly critique of this very concept. He is charming, smart, and giving. However, his charm is a program. His smarts come from wifi access to the internet. His generosity is not a choice, but a command: Make Alma happy. But what does it mean if happiness comes through a simulation?

Alma immediately resents the idea that any human — though perhaps her especially — could be so easily sated. Tom insists he wants to be her partner, but also casually mentions he is incapable of wanting anything. He cannot feel and so cannot love. He is an advanced app meant to plug a deeply human need and a million complicated wants. But even as she loathes what Tom’s existence might mean for mankind, Alma yearns to be held, to be seen, to be told she is loved. Even as she swoons, however, I’m Your Man never lets us forget that Tom is not the man of her dreams, but a robot.

The movie doesn’t employ noticeable sci-fi spectacle, like sparks or Ex Machina-style metal limbs to make this clear. Actually, Tom’s appearance is so human, so placidly but pleasantly so, that you might begin to suspect that he’ll pull a Short Circuit and reveal he’s been upgraded to having a soul! But co-writer/director Maria Schrader won’t let us off so easy. Stevens’ performance steadily but subtly reminds us of Tom’s falseness. His movements are a touch too polished to feel natural. Whether he’s tidying up in a bathrobe or lounging on a sofa, Tom seems posed yet effortless, like a mannequin masterfully displayed. Meanwhile, Alma struggles with her desire for what Tom could be and the reality of what he is. Eggert embodies this internal conflict with a palpable anxiety and low-boil rage. By portraying Tom as blithe and inhumanly patient in the face of her wrath, Stevens proves her perfect partner. This dynamic is funny on its face — a kind of stooge and straight-man chemistry — but it’s troubling on reflection. For instance, when a drunken Alma demands that Tom drop his trousers, her jibes at his nakedness are meant to mock him. However, these barbs hit her harder, because this is what she’s supposed to want. And this is how she’s treating something that is only trying to be exactly what she wants.

Shrewdly, the screenplay by Schrader and Jan Schomburg uses this unlikely romance to touch on topics like professional jealousy, ego, mortality, grief, regret, and — most powerfully — what human connection means in a world where technology might fulfill every desire. With such richness, it’s little surprise Germany has picked I’m Your Man for its Oscar submission. Yet, despite its potentially grim content, I’m Your Man never sinks into dourness. Schrader maintains an intoxicating exuberance by relishing in the moments of wonder, be it enjoying a convoluted coffee drink, running barefoot in a field of grass, or sharing a laugh with a lover by watching “epic fail” videos together. Refreshingly, this film about what it means to be human refuses to take itself too seriously. Humor is found in silly dances, awkward exchanges, and the occasional wicked burn. In this blend of joy and pain, Schrader and her stars scratch at the experience of existence, for better and worse. Through every step, Eggert is leading, captivating and confident — even when her character is castigating or confounded. Stevens supports her by being sharply focused, slyly funny, and quietly unnerving.

Football gaming is perhaps the most stagnant of all sports genres. FIFA’s pay-to-win, arcade hegemony lords it over PES’ clunky menus, but realistic gameplay. Rinse, reskin, and repeat.

But this year that’s all changing. And when I went to Konami’s Windsor HQ for a hands-on event for eFootball – yes, the PES, aka Pro Evolution Soccer moniker is dead – I was intrigued as much by the gameplay as by their vision to make this bold experiment the future of sports games.

Happily, the pre-release build I got my mitts on was excellent fun. That build was a hybrid of pre- and post-release. So some advanced gameplay mechanics that won’t be coming to the game until later this autumn (essentially, variations of shots and passes) were included, but other key features, such as PS5 haptics, were missing.

Devs mentioned the words “simulation,” “intensity,” and “physicality” multiple times. And I think that, based on what I’ve played so far, Konami has largely delivered. Each one-on-one feels like a chess match in miniature. eFootball invites you to get your shoulders – even elbows – stuck into the opposition to battle for possession, with this year’s ball feeling pleasingly untethered to your player’s foot. Football games have historically had a tendency to ‘lock on’ to the ball when at your control, but here the ball feels like a volatile, independent object that needs to be taken care of or hunted down – much like the real thing.

This invites the defending player to press high and hard, referencing modern football nicely. Jurgen Klopp would be proud. I actually think pressing is slightly overpowered in the build I played – but I expect a lot of balancing tweaks will be applied in eFootball’s weekly updates after launch. Think of pressing as a slightly overpowered SMG on Warzone. Hopefully it doesn’t get nerfed entirely, just brought down a touch.

A new feature much vaunted by Konami is the ability to quickly recycle the ball after going out for a throw, including the addition of ballboys. This is hardly ground-breaking (FIFA has had quick throws for years now) but eFootball’s quick goal kicks specifically are an exciting new weapon to exploit an opponent’s limited attention span. I myself nearly got caught out from a quick CPU restart, meaning the ball was already bypassing my midfield before I had turned back to the screen. It’s a fun system that might truly allow us to live out our Trent Alexander-Arnold/Divock Origi quick-set-pieces of dreams.

eFootball also takes aim at some of the series’ historical failings. PES 2020 (and the reskinned 2021) had particularly painful commentary, menus, and refereeing. Pleasingly, all three are much improved. While not flawless, commentary is much more invisible and immersive. Referees can still frustrate, but are much fairer than last year’s officials, who were intensely relaxed about on-pitch assault and battery.

But the big win here is in the menus. Konami has finally binned PES’ teeth-gnashingly awful aesthetics for a modern and clean system. Changing players, kits, and the weather and time of day is far less taxing than before. At their best, some menus were actually downright pretty. Again, I played a very limited demo build, so this will be put to the test when it comes to more complex game modes and team management. But so far, so good.

Another area that the eFootball team have overhauled is the camera, creating a new ‘duel’ camera system, dynamically zooming in to isolate key on-the-ball battles, before zooming out to show the full tapestry for those raking, cross-field passes. I expected this to become frustrating quickly – and if it is, you can turn it off. But I was pleasantly surprised by how refined this camera system is already. It’s a promising new tool.

Intrigued to see how all this combined into one cohesive, competitive experience, I quickly jumped into matches against the devs and got a sense of how eFootball plays in a competitive context. My possession tactics and high line were punished by my counter-attacking opponents – but, conversely, I could inventively invite their pressure and punish them. It was fun and, crucially, fair.

Questions do linger though. While this was a gameplay event, the new F2P model was the large elephant-as-service in the room. The initial offering is sparse, launching with the game on the 30th of September with just a handful of teams and a pinch of modes. The major fall update, which sees the game launching on mobile and offering a more fleshed out suite of modes, has to create a moreish offering that keeps players coming back across all major platforms (which sadly doesn’t as-yet include Switch).

Clearly, the idea is to foster the kind of competitive, cross-platform infrastructure only seen thus far in the battle-royale format. But that ambition leads to questions of its own. This is a “console-first” experience, but it seems like the PS5 is particularly favoured – especially the DualSense controller. Haptic implementation was a feature that the devs seem particularly proud of, mentioned several times. Will Xbox and last-gen players be left behind?

This could be a new dawn for football games – I really respect the ambition of the team behind the gameplay, and they’ve hit upon a core loop that hooked me in the session, and has left me wanting more. So that’s half of the job well done. But with FIFA still ever dominant, and new upstarts like UFL waiting in the wings, eFootball’s success ultimately lives or dies based upon its post-launch appeal and support. Time will tell.

Daniel Curtis is a freelance writer, producer and filmmaker. He’s also a long-suffering Chesterfield FC fan. Say hi to him on Twitter @danielpdcurtis.

When Konami’s eFootball launches in full later this year, the football sim will feature cross-play between PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and mobile devices – but cross-save and cross-progression between these systems won’t be supported. Hopefully, that won't always be the case.

Following IGN’s two-hour hands-on preview of eFootball, Konami confirmed to IGN that “eFootball does not currently support cross-progression or cross-save between different platforms, however we aspire to include this in future.”

Cross-save and cross-progression would mean that you could carry your eFootball profile, saves and associated purchases across various platforms. So before heading out, you could upload your Creative League progress from your PS5, for example, and continue that on eFootball on mobile. Sadly, that's not going to be possible, seemingly for some time.

eFootball won’t include full cross-play at its initial launch on September 30 (although players within console families will be able to match up), but a major update is scheduled for this fall, and will see the feature introduced alongside the addition of Android and iOS versions of the game. Cross-play won’t be totally mandatory, though – Konami says console players can opt out of playing with mobile gamers.

eFootball is Konami’s free-to-play successor to Pro Evolution Soccer, and will launch in limited form on September 30, featuring 9 teams and no microtransactions. Alongside a lack of full cross-play, it will also be missing some key gameplay features, such as ‘sharp kicks’ and haptic feedback. The fall update should add much, much more, including paid content.

While you wait for launch, you can read why Konami's rival FIFA 22 is looking promising, and learn more about the new football game on the scene, UFL, in our developer interview.

Daniel Curtis is a freelance writer, producer and filmmaker. He’s also a long-suffering Chesterfield FC fan. Say hi to him on Twitter @danielpdcurtis.