Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ Tops PlayStation 5’s UK Sales Charts

    ‘Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ Tops PlayStation 5’s UK Sales Charts

    The numbers are finally in. After a long wait in a rough year, the newest console generation has launched worldwide. Now, we all wondered if the game would dominate the sales charts. Well, it looks like the next-generation wallcrawler managed to top the charts for the PlayStation 5’s launch titles in the UK. Spider-Man: Miles Morales managed to beat out tough competition that included Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The PlayStation 5-only release Demon’s Souls nagged the fourth spot. Keep in mind that these are only physical sales. So, once online distribution numbers are released, we could potentially see a shift in their positions. Still, it is great to see the latest entry in Insomniac’s Spider-Man line-up perform well.

    In general, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War saw a slight drop in launch week sales in comparison to its predecessor, which can easily be explained by the current conditions influencing in-store sales. FIFA 21 was the second-best-selling game in the UK, which was discounted as part of the Black Friday sale and saw an increase in sales by 121%. Miles Morales did see a weaker launch than its 2018 predecessor, as it was 57% smaller within the same two-week time frame. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla dropped to the fourth position with a 70% sales drop from last week. Nintendo’s Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity held the sixth spot with 324% higher sales than the original Hyrule Warriors Switch title. Yet, it sold 43% less than last year’s The Legends of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

    Source: Games Industry

     

  • What To Expect From the Future of ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ And When To Expect It

    What To Expect From the Future of ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ And When To Expect It

     

    Marvel’s Avengers released in September with quite a bumpy start. Yet, it isn’t the end, as the Games-as-a-Service concept will see it grow over time. They confirmed that we will get free additional characters in the future that will round out the cast and continue the story. We are still waiting for an official roadmap, so here is a makeshift one based on the little information we have gotten so far. Later on, you can also find further details on the various confirmed and leaked characters, as well as a closer look at the various operations.

     

     

    Marvel’s Avengers released with a core roster of six heroes. As the game is based on the Games-as-a-Service concept, we will slowly be introduced to new heroes throughout the game’s life. Crystal Dynamics teased a five-year plan of continuous content that would make up their Avengers Initiative. Since we have also gotten our hands on a variety of leaks that teased who may be joining the game in the near future. Here is an overview of what characters have been confirmed so far.

     

     

    The leaks early on have also confirmed around 12 additional characters are in some stage of development. Keep in mind, this is just based on data available in the game, which doesn’t mean that any of these characters would release within the first year.

     

     

    You can click on the operation icons to get more details on the story, cast, and promotional material:

    Here a shoutout to some from the Avengers community

    that helped me out with some of the research, so here is a thank you to @woffen, @CalexStreams @SonicPhoto, and TonyStank13.

     

  • Square-Enix’s ‘The World Ends With You’ Sequel Announced

    Square-Enix’s ‘The World Ends With You’ Sequel Announced

    I spent a lot of time when I was younger playing games on my Nintendo DS. I am a big fan of Role-Playing Games, and the handheld console was a haven for a variety of new entries into the genre. One action-RPG stood out among the rest The World Ends With You. The game released back in 2007 and featured some stunning artwork by Tetsuya Nomura, who many might recognize as the mind behind Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII. It was a unique entry that played out like an urban fantasy, where a bunch of kids had to survive a dangerous game in the shopping district of Tokyo. Now, after almost 13 years, we got the announcement to a sequel titled NEO: The World Ends with You.

     

     

    NEO: The World Ends with You is the follow-up to the hit action role-playing game The World Ends with You.

    NEO: The World Ends with You transports players to the streets of the Shibuya, where they will take part in the “Reapers’ Game,” a life-or-death battle for survival. Players will take on the role of Rindo as they explore the heart of Tokyo to uncover the mysteries behind the sinister Game in which they have been forced to take part.

    NEO: The World Ends with You brings a re-creation of modern Shibuya to life in a unique and comic-inspired style. Players can explore and enjoy the sights, sounds, and culture of this bustling city, fight monsters alongside their ally companions in fast-paced action battles, and complete missions as they seek to change the fate they’ve been handed.

    The Reaper’s Game returns with a brand new group of teenagers having to survive Shibuya. The biggest surprise is that the game retains its original art style, but most of the gameplay has moved from 2D to the third dimension. It seems like they managed to translate the visuals from the original, but it will be interesting to see how they implemented the gameplay. In the original, you moved and fought using your stylus pen. The timing of this announcement is also to build up hype for next year’s anime adaptation of the original game. It is great to see this iconic franchise make a return, as the only reference we got was the appearance of Neku and the gang in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. It’ll be interesting to see how this game will work in a new dimension for a new generation.

    Source: Gematsu, YouTube, IGN

  • Disney Preparing for Disney+ Star Announcement

    Disney Preparing for Disney+ Star Announcement

    A while back, we got the news that Disney was looking into expanding into European territories with a brand new brand. In their acquisition of Fox, they also gained the brand Hotstar, which is an Indian streaming service. Instead of having to establish Hulu outside of the U.S., they seemed to decide to use an existing streaming service branding to offer content for 18+ audiences. Disney+’s biggest issue is that it is purely restricted to PG-13 as it has a family-friendly focus. You can actually check their official site hotstar.com which confirms that they are expanding into Europe.

    This expansion was teased by CEO Bob Chapek a while back, but it was uncertain if Hotstar would just be known as “Star” and act as an independent streaming service. Yet, the question got answered once Disney+ Hotstar became the new branding for the original service. We were waiting for some announcement as most hints pointed to the upcoming Investor’s Day event being their target. Well, it looks like they are already preparing for the upcoming event. They have already set-up their Social Media accounts, our very own John Sabato found it on Instagram.

     

     

    It is great to see this story finally pan out. We first heard the news of this development back in August. We put together some of the pieces of the puzzle, as Disney+ was implementing a PIN code of some kind. This development also confirms that Star will potentially replace Hulu in non-US territories. The only question remains if this is a unique streaming service or something you can access as someone who owns Disney+. There is still a good chance they are just preparing everything for Investor’s Day, so we won’t have an official word until then. It’ll be really interesting to see what this means for the streaming service’s future. It has seen exponential growth with 73 million subscribers, which is beyond their early estimates. Once they add a new layer of content for older audiences, they might see another push. It will all depend on how exactly they market it, and if you have to pay extra to access it.

    Source: Hotstar, The Verge, TechCrunch

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Eyeing March Production Start

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Eyeing March Production Start

    Just recently, news broke about Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler tackling a live-action adaptation of The Pink Panther. It made us wonder what this could mean for the sequel featuring the blue blur. Well, luckily the preliminary production details have been released via the British Columbia Film Commission to tease what is to come. It looks like the film is scheduled to film between 15th March until 10th May 2021. So, we can expect some casting details earlier next year as the film enters production. It will film under the codename Emerald Hill with the in-house production company being given the title Red Energy Films. The first film had the codename Casino Night. The in-house production at the time was Hedgehog Films.

    There isn’t too much to go on for the upcoming production, but the naming choice of the in-house production company is rather interesting. Red Energy doesn’t give anything away but could tease the focus of the sequel. The color red is strongly associated with Knuckles the Echidna, whose race we saw briefly in the opening of the first film. It is the biggest mystery that hasn’t been answered, so there is a good chance this sequel will follow-up on it.

    Tails’ arrival at the end of the first Sonic the Hedgehog film could be a tease of the worlds colliding. I am curious which direction they will take, as they can either be inspired by Sonic Adventure‘s storyline that heavily featured the Echidnas or focuses on the Archie Comic storylines. There is also the question of how or if Robotnik will return as well. There are a lot of potential story directions they can take, so we’ll hopefully get some glimpses with future casting announcements.

    Source: Deadline, BCFC via Tails’ Channel

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Teases New Game+, Kate Bishop And More

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Teases New Game+, Kate Bishop And More

    After a short hiatus, we finally got a brand new Marvel’s Avengers developer stream. This time, they didn’t host it on their own Twitch channel but together with up-and-coming streamer Laajune. It is part of their new direction to work together with people from the community, which is a great move. Of course, this stream is right after the reveal of Kate Bishop, so a lot of people were wondering what is new and what can be expected from the game’s future. Of course, here is another quick rundown of the stream highlights:

     

    • They confirmed that New Game+ isn’t too much longer, as it is currently in bug testing. Now, keep in mind there is no real release date but, hopefully, we could see its addition around the same time Kate Bishop is released in December.
    • AIM Cloning Labs are sadly still in bug testing. The reason it is taking time is that it is a very complex system, so they want to make sure it works once they release it.
    • The reason they chose the Omega-Level threat naming is that they don’t believe it is complex enough to be called a raid.
    • Yes, AIM Labs and Kate Bishop will feature brand new and unique Exotics.
    • Speaking of Bishop, her Quantum abilities are not a new status effect on weapons. It is an element unique to her, but they did tease that new ones are going to be included in future content drops.

     

     

    • Her focus remains on ranged attacks, so she is comparable to Iron Man.
    • Kate’s DLC will expand existing hero‘s stories, which will evolve throughout the various expansions. It sounded like we can expect some unique heroic mission trees that follow-up on the Reassemble campaign.
    • Multiplayer Mega Hives are still in development.
    • They have been looking into concepts like leaderboards and clan creations. They are excited about playing with them in the future. Reworks are underway for the star rating to optimize it.
    • They acknowledge the game’s repetition and set it as their mission to change that with future content. Hawkeye’s DLC will include brand new environments that were teased in the trailer.
    • There was a mention of Hulk potentially being able to throw objects in the future.

     

     

    • The roadmap is waiting for internal approval so that they can release it. Crystal Dynamics confirmed that their teams have adjusted to having to work from home, so they are at a rhythm to get more precise with their work. They are also getting support from their companies to work from home.
    • They teased that there might be more to the short shot of the Circe Q drink at the end of the Kate Bishop Deep Dive.

    Ever since I saw the latest War Table, I have been excited to replay the campaign again. There was a brief question if we could replay the new missions, which hopefully will be confirmed. It would be a waste not to revisit these stories in the future, as they bring a lot of life and unique aspects to the game. We still have some time until Avengers’ first big character update is released, but I do hope we get some minor updates until then. There won’t be an official stream next week during Thanksgiving but we can expect more in the future. These are a great way to get a small look into what they are working on, as well as see what new projects they might be interested in tackling.

    Source: Twitch

  • Scott Cawthon Offers ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Film Update

    Scott Cawthon Offers ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Film Update

    Five Nights at Freddy’s is a fascinating franchise. The first entry started as the final project that Scott Cawthon wanted to do before leaving the franchise behind. Suddenly, the game was a massive success, and it started getting one sequel after sequel. Now, the franchise includes merchandise and even a long list of books that take place in a different canon. There was only one thing many of us were waiting for the announced Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. Well, ScottCawthon was working on a new script after the rights were passed on to Blumhouse Studio. We heard nothing on it for years until he suddenly took to Reddit to reveal some details on the script and project. It is quite a long update so don’t let the title mislead you, the film has not been canceled but is entering production soon.

    Bad news about the FNAF movie. 🙁
    byu/animdude infivenightsatfreddys

    Have to give it to him, the title is wonderfully misleading. So yes, the FNAF film is finally going to start shooting in Spring with Scott combining his various story ideas in one. The “Mike” naming of the screenplay is also interesting as Mike Schmidt was the name of the first game’s protagonist. It looks like he went through nine different scripts with some spinning off from the novel series. It is uncertain how the film will tie into the games or novels. They may be trying to set-up a third canon that isn’t bound by the game’s overall lore but will have similar elements.

    I think focusing on something closer to the first game would be a great way to introduce filmgoers to the franchise. Hopefully, they will also be using actual animatronics and not CGI, as it would add a great and unique element to the film. There is still a lot of hype around this franchise, as its next game Security Breach will be a PlayStation exclusive. I cannot wait to see Freddy and the gang in live-action in the coming years.

    Source: Polygon, Reddit

  • Marvel Studios Eyeing Tenoch Huerta for ‘Black Panther 2’

    Marvel Studios Eyeing Tenoch Huerta for ‘Black Panther 2’

    Black Panther is one of Marvel Studios’ biggest franchises from a financial and cultural standpoint. It was gearing up for the second entry before suddenly tragedy hit. T’Challa Chadwick Boseman has tragically passed away. It hit many that were involved with the project by surprise, as Boseman kept it very close to the chest. Of course, it opened up the question if they would postpone production until they can decide how to move forward. Well, it looks like they are still eyeing to start production next year. According to Hollywood Reporter, Black Panther 2 is preparing to shoot in Atlanta by July with around six months planned out.

    That is not all, as they also seem to be eyeing Tenoch Huerta to play one of the main villains. The Narcos: Mexico star would play one of the antagonists that will terrorize Wakanda. We still know nothing about the story currently, so it is difficult to pinpoint which character he might be playing. THR did highlight that Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett are all set to reprise their roles. There was an emphasis on Wright‘s role being expanded. There is currently still no set plan on how to move forward without Boseman.

    There was an interesting statement regarding their focus on Disney+. After all these years, they have their systems down for film production, but a lot of priority is set on the new streaming shows to adjust to this new extension of the franchise. The pandemic has certainly changed the company’s priorities as most of their film line-up was postponed by an entire year. It has been a heavy year and we will see what the future of the MCU brings, as they move forward with their projects.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • How Deadpool Could Enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    How Deadpool Could Enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    After many rumors circulated on the web, we finally got the official word that Marvel Studios is moving forward with Deadpool 3. Now, the news hit that they have hired the Molyneux Sisters to write the upcoming threequel. Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin are well-known for their work on Bob’s Burgers, as well as the Fox series The Great North. The great thing is, Marvel Studios is involved in the project, and it isn’t by 20th Century. So, the gates have opened for the iconic Merc with a Mouth to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, the question remains: how will he be introduced into the MCU?

    It doesn’t look like this will be a reboot. The film is called Deadpool 3, so it will take place shortly after the second. Wade Wilson has played around with continuity in his films, such as the X-Men showing up that shouldn’t be around during his time. He even references that the whole timeline makes no sense, especially after X-Men: Days of Future Past. So, in a way, Wilson is quite flexible and doesn’t care how or where he shows up. I mean, he is known for breaking the fourth wall frequently, so he might be the easiest to add to the franchise’s roster. He probably would only allow it if his beloved Colossus joins, so that may be a sticking point.

     

     

    The ending of the second film could handwave away how Deadpool lands in the MCU. The last time we saw him, he used Cable’s time travel technology to save Vanessa. Yet, he went a few steps too far and kept alternating history. At one point, he lands in the real world and kills Ryan Reynolds before he can read the Green Lantern script. Hell, he even kills off the terrible Deadpool version that we saw during X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So, he has been breaking the barriers between dimensions throughout this small trip. Of course, it was mainly for comedic effect, but at the time it opened up a lot of questions of how it would tie into the third film. Now that the character might be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they have the best way to introduce his transition.

    WandaVision will end up opening up the MCU to the multiverse, which will be the main focus of the Doctor Strange sequel. So, Deadpool ended up screwing up his timeline so badly that Strange pulls him out, and he ends up destroying the device. He briefly is stuck with the chatty mercenary, who might even add a few jabs at Benedict Cumberbatch‘s past roles, such as asking if he should call him Sherlock. At one point, their paths cross. At the end of the film, if Strange has fixed the multiverse tear, he fuses aspects of other dimensions into our own. He takes it easy in the Sanctum Sanctorum before suddenly hearing a familiar voice calling out to him. Yes, in his work to finally fix the multiverse, he also brought Deadpool and his gang into the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hopefully, we get a short cameo by Kevin Feige at some point regretting the addition.

  • Empire Reveals New ‘WandaVision’ Covers

    Empire Reveals New ‘WandaVision’ Covers

    We still have about two months to go until WandaVision is finally released. Marvel Studios’ first Disney+ series will focus on the suburban life of Wanda and Vision. We still know very little about what would turn the small town of Westview into a gateway to an alternative dimension. Whatever may be the reason, it will be quite interesting to see Marvel Studios play around with classic sitcom clichés as both slowly unravel what is happening around them. Now that the series has a premiere date, it means that Marvel and Disney can start promoting the show more. Empire has an exclusive story coming for the show and shared it with two amazing looking covers.

    I really have to say that the cover by Max Löffler looks amazing. It also may be quite a big tease for what we can expect in the story. Vision was killed by Thanos and was just an empty husk. Now, she is trying to piece him back together so he can be brought back to life. Her action has unleashed chaos upon the small suburban area, which could be the cause of some external forces playing with her abilities for personal gain. Our very own Edward Rose created a theory around the latest teaser, which you can check out right here. We are so close to finally seeing something MCU related, especially now that Black Widow was delayed by an entire year. This Disney+ show will start a brand new era for the franchise, so we will see just how crazy the show truly will go once the strange couple is stuck in a crazy alternative dimension.

    Source: Twitter