Lionsgate decided to pull down the trailer for their new film, Megalopolis after fans figured out the trailer quoted falsified reviews for the Director’s previous films.

To say Megalopolis had a rocky production is putting it mildly. Director Francis Coppola (known for award-winning films like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now) has been trying to get the film made for many years, even fronting $120 million to foot the production costs. But today, Lionsgate has decided to pull the new trailer off the internet due to reports suggesting the trailer used fake quotes coming from Coppola’s earlier films.

The trailer was released Wednesday morning, and it didn’t take long for people to figure out that the ‘bad reviews’ quoted in the trailer from films like The Godfather were fictional, it’s also worth mentioning a critic themselves noticed they didn’t write what was quoted in the trailer.

This is after the film has gotten questionable attention, specifically from The Guardian where Coppola himself suggested he was going to make “a really s*****, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it,” and the report further alleges the Director mismanaged time and wasted a lot of production hours. The report continues with allegations the Director acted inappropriately with female extras on set, claiming he was “trying to get them in the mood.”

The trailer could have been meant to show former bad reviews for Coppola masterpieces, to insert Megalopolis into the same camp as the films that were shown to have said bad reviews. Variety critic, Owen Gleiberman, was cited in the trailer as saying Bram Stoker’s Dracula is “a beautiful mess” where he himself suggested that wasn’t the case.

Gleiberman said “Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths. Then again, the trivial scandal of all this is that the whole Megalopolis trailer is built on a false narrative,” continuing with the notion he wishes he said Dracula was ‘a beautiful mess,’ as it “sounds kind”.

Lionsgate has also issued an apology via Variety, saying “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process.  We screwed up.  We are sorry.” after the trailer’s removal today.

Megalopolis hits theatres on September 27.

Krafton, the developer and publisher behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, shared a trailer for its upcoming life sim game, Inzoi, as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday. The developers describe Inzoi as a game where players “have full control” and the power to change “everything as they wish” in their virtual lives. The new trailer shows some of the scenarios players can expect to simulate, like getting married, partying, and even getting into a car crash.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

Krafton shared a gameplay reveal trailer for Inzoi in November 2023. It’s one of two games the Korean developer showcased at Gamescom this year; the other is a fantasy extraction game called Dark and Darker Mobile. Although this trailer doesn’t include a specific release date for Inzoi — though the game is scheduled to be released on Windows PC by the end of 2024 — Krafton is offering one small treat to interested players: Starting Aug. 21 and running until Aug. 26, players will be able to download the character creator for Inzoi for free to try it for a limited time.

The new trailer shows a lot of gameplay you would see in any other life sim, like The Sims franchise. Your character can get married, babble at other characters in a gibberish language, and even set their kitchen on fire. However, other aspects of the game, like its realistic art style and urban city setting, appear to add just a dash of Grand Theft Auto vibes. As shown in the trailer, your character can get into car accidents and experience road rage. Or if you’re the partying type, you can make it rain cash while you’re dancing on the beach — your choice.

The developers have emphasized in previous updates that the team wants user-generated content to play a large role in this game. A development roadmap said that the team plans to add plugins to support mods and an in-game UGC platform called Canvas. As the developers explained in the FAQ, they want the game to be a “tool for creativity” where players can share and discuss their creations on Canvas.

Inzoi might not be the only reason you’ve heard Krafton buzz lately. In August, the company announced that it acquired Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks. The news came as relief to many fans after the beloved games studio was shuttered by Microsoft and ZeniMax Media in May.

Developer Funcom released an in-depth look at Dune: Awakening game as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday. It’s a survival MMO game set in the desert world of Arrakis and its larger sci-fi universe. So far, it’s looking like a sleek, but gritty take on Dune that’s all about working your way up the ladder of the world and fighting off other players for spice and other resources.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

According to the trailer, Dune: Awakening is coming to Windows PC in early 2025 and will get release dates for PlayStation and Xbox consoles later down the line.

As shown in the presentation, you start as a nameless poisoner who must survive the scorching dessert heat and monstrous sand worms. The stream showed a scenario where a player made a deal to help another person take out a rival encampment in exchange for some vital resources in the early game. Once you establish a rapport with people, you can form a group and build a base of your own design and craft tech that allows you to drink the blood of your enemies — yummy! After that, your group can even form a guild and you can pledge your allegiance to one of the three houses of Dune.

Just like with anything Dune, spice is the name of the game. It’s a precious commodity and the key to power in the larger world of the game. Because of this, you’ll be constantly at war with hundreds of other players as everyone fights over spice. As far as warfare goes, it looks like anything from flamethrowers to mischievously summoning sand sand worms is fair game.

Other features of gameplay include exploration of the planet via ornithopters and building bases, but unfortunately, none of the gameplay showed any scenarios where you could overthrow Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides.

Firaxis Games gave Civilization fans their first real look at Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 at Gamescom on Tuesday, showing off an impressive globe- and history-spanning new take on the turn-based 4X strategy game series. Firaxis and publisher 2K Games also had some good news for fans itching to get their hands on Civ 7: It’s coming pretty soon, with a release date of Feb. 11, 2025 revealed at Opening Night Live.

Firaxis promises that players’ decisions will shape the unique cultural lineage of their evolving empires as they take on the roles of legendary historical leaders. “Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world,” Firaxis said in an official game description. “Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.”

More details on Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 are coming soon as part of an official gameplay showcase.

Firaxis will dive deeper into Civ 7 later this week, as part of Xbox’s Gamescom presence, which is streaming from Aug. 21-23.

Civilization 7 will be released simultaneously on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, and Firaxis promises to empower players “to build the greatest empire the world has ever known.”

Don’t Nod, creators of Life is Strange, announced Tuesday at Gamescom Opening Night Live that Lost Records: Bloom & Rage will be released in two parts — called tapes — on Feb. 18, 2025 and March 18, 2025, respectively, on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

The independent developer shared the first gameplay trailer during the event, following the announcement back in 2023. Bloom & Rage is about four teenage girls in a punk band, set in both 1995 and 2022. Like Life is Strange, the game appears to be focused on relationships and narratives between characters, and how those relationships play into the larger, magical realist narrative. Visually, it looks a lot like Life is Strange, too.

“Navigate between dual timelines and shape both narratives – in 1995 and 2022 – with each offering a piece of the larger puzzle: the life-changing secrets they uncovered back then and why they’re reuniting now, after all these years,” Don’t Nod wrote on its website. “Together, in this place, they’re forced to try and remember clearly the fateful memories that have eluded them for the past 27 years.”

The trailer shown Tuesday includes a bit of the gameplay, including a camcorder to film what your friends are up to. There’s a lot of classic coming-of-age shots in the trailer, including the naming of the girls’ band, Bloom & Rage. But that’s where things get weird: Purple lights flicker in 1995, signaling something’s amiss, before cutting to 2022, where something (in a mysterious box) about their past has come back to haunt them.

Bloom & Rage was first announced at The Game Awards in 2023 with an expected release date in late 2024. Don’t Nod narrative director Luc Baghadoust wrote on the Xbox Wire in 2023 that Bloom & Rage is the first game in what will be the Lost Records universe.

Gearbox Software and 2K Games announced that Borderlands 4 will be released in 2025. It’s Geoff Keighley’s first big ol’ world premiere at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live on Tuesday.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

The one-minute, 29-second teaser trailer is quite vague, first showing a planet seemingly bursting at its seams with a purple glow, then crashing into a crystallized atmospheric shield. As carnage happens on the ground, the camera zooms into a fiery pile — with a robotic hand reaching out to grab an iconic Borderlands mask.

“In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet,” Gearbox wrote in the YouTube trailer’s description.

When it’s released in 2025, Borderlands 4 will come to PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Borderlands 4 will be the latest mainline game since Borderlands 3 in 2019 — but two spinoffs, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and New Tales from the Borderlands were released in 2022. Notably, the Borderlands movie — called Borderlands — was released in August and landed on “the border between good and bad,” according to Polygon’s review.

Krafton, the developer and publisher behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, shared a trailer for its upcoming life sim game, Inzoi, as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday. The developers describe Inzoi as a game where players “have full control” and the power to change “everything as they wish” in their virtual lives. The new trailer shows some of the scenarios players can expect to simulate, like getting married, partying, and even getting into a car crash.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

Krafton shared a gameplay reveal trailer for Inzoi in November 2023. It’s one of two games the Korean developer showcased at Gamescom this year; the other is a fantasy extraction game called Dark and Darker Mobile. Although this trailer doesn’t include a specific release date for Inzoi — though the game is scheduled to be released on Windows PC by the end of 2024 — Krafton is offering one small treat to interested players: Starting Aug. 21 and running until Aug. 26, players will be able to download the character creator for Inzoi for free to try it for a limited time.

The new trailer shows a lot of gameplay you would see in any other life sim, like The Sims franchise. Your character can get married, babble at other characters in a gibberish language, and even set their kitchen on fire. However, other aspects of the game, like its realistic art style and urban city setting, appear to add just a dash of Grand Theft Auto vibes. As shown in the trailer, your character can get into car accidents and experience road rage. Or if you’re the partying type, you can make it rain cash while you’re dancing on the beach — your choice.

The developers have emphasized in previous updates that the team wants user-generated content to play a large role in this game. A development roadmap said that the team plans to add plugins to support mods and an in-game UGC platform called Canvas. As the developers explained in the FAQ, they want the game to be a “tool for creativity” where players can share and discuss their creations on Canvas.

Inzoi might not be the only reason you’ve heard Krafton buzz lately. In August, the company announced that it acquired Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks. The news came as relief to many fans after the beloved games studio was shuttered by Microsoft and ZeniMax Media in May.

Developer Funcom released an in-depth look at Dune: Awakening game as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday. It’s a survival MMO game set in the desert world of Arrakis and its larger sci-fi universe. So far, it’s looking like a sleek, but gritty take on Dune that’s all about working your way up the ladder of the world and fighting off other players for spice and other resources.

Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event.

According to the trailer, Dune: Awakening is coming to Windows PC in early 2025 and will get release dates for PlayStation and Xbox consoles later down the line.

As shown in the presentation, you start as a nameless poisoner who must survive the scorching dessert heat and monstrous sand worms. The stream showed a scenario where a player made a deal to help another person take out a rival encampment in exchange for some vital resources in the early game. Once you establish a rapport with people, you can form a group and build a base of your own design and craft tech that allows you to drink the blood of your enemies — yummy! After that, your group can even form a guild and you can pledge your allegiance to one of the three houses of Dune.

Just like with anything Dune, spice is the name of the game. It’s a precious commodity and the key to power in the larger world of the game. Because of this, you’ll be constantly at war with hundreds of other players as everyone fights over spice. As far as warfare goes, it looks like anything from flamethrowers to mischievously summoning sand sand worms is fair game.

Other features of gameplay include exploration of the planet via ornithopters and building bases, but unfortunately, none of the gameplay showed any scenarios where you could overthrow Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides.

Tim Miller, co-founder of Blur Studio and director of Deadpool (2016), took the stage at Gamescom Opening Night Live to show off the first trailer for Secret Level, a 15-episode anthology of video game adaptations coming to Prime Video on Dec. 10.

Miller also managed to bring quite a bit of personality and emotion to the otherwise cut-and-dry event — as he geared up to announce Secret Level, which he’ll executive produce, Miller’s eyes brimmed with tears and his voice cracked. “We fucking love video games,“ he said before diving into details on the show, which will include narratives inspired by games like Concord, Dungeons & Dragons, Pac-man, Sifu, and The Outer Worlds, among others. Like Blur Studio’s popular Netflix anthology, Love, Death, + Robots, each episode will stand on its own.

The announcement was refreshing in several ways, and not just because the show looks more promising than the Borderlands movie that came out earlier this month. The animation looks like classic game cinematics, the trailer was well cut, and it gives fans who really don’t want to see their favorite thing go the Borderlands route.

It also included a man not so different from all of the other men we see on stage at events like Gamescom, but this time, he was crying. He stopped his speech multiple times to collect himself, and honestly, who wouldn’t? Miller said his team’s been working on Secret Level for three years, so the emotion is understandable if not commendable — but we rarely see figures like him getting emotional on stages like Geoff Keighley’s. His reverence for his team’s work is appropriate and welcome, and it makes me all the more excited to watch Secret Level when it premieres.

Maybe Miller will chock the emotions up to the high pressure of speaking to a crowd of thousands of people when he has a chance to reflect — Polygon couldn’t reach him for comment after his speech — but as someone who watches every minute of events like this, I found Miller’s emotion was profound and, hopefully, speaks to the care with which Secret Level was made.

The Blur Studio and Amazon MGM Studios-created series will premiere on Prime Video on Dec. 10.

Gamescom’s Opening Night Live showcase is once again here to highlight games coming your way in the near future (and beyond). Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the creator of The Game Awards, the stream primarily focused on new or first looks at previously announced games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Sid Meier’s Civilization 7, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Dune: Awakening.

But there were more than a few surprises, including new game announcements and reveals, at Gamescom ONL. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest trailers and announcements that were shown.

Borderlands 4

Gearbox Software is officially back in the Borderlands business. At Gamescom ONL, 2K games and Gearbox announced Borderlands 4 in the form of a cinematic teaser. The new Borderlands game is out sometime in 2025 and, according to an official description, “players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet.”

Mafia: The Old Country

Developer Hangar 13 is returning to the Mafia franchise in 2025. The studio, and publisher 2K Games, revealed Mafia: The Old Country, a new entry that will send the series back to Italy. Mafia: The Old Country promises to “uncover the origins of organized crime” with a “gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily.” Hangar 13 promises the “authentic realism and rich storytelling” the Mafia series is known for. Details are scant, but expect more in December, the game’s makers say — probably at The Game Awards, if we’re guessing.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Bethesda not only gave us a new look at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, we also (finally) got a release date: Dec. 9 on Windows PC and Xbox Series X. But PlayStation fans can also get their hands on Indy, with a PS5 version announced for spring 2025. For more on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, read Polygon’s preview of the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty fans got a lengthy look at new gameplay from Black Ops 6, which ran the gamut from political blackmail to stealthy close-quarters gunplay to a gunfire-and-explosion-filled street chase through Washington, D.C. on the back of a motorcycle. More to come at Call of Duty Next.

Dying Light: The Beast

Techland revealed a new game in its zombie adventure franchise at Gamescom with Dying Light: The Beast, which the developer describes as a “thrilling standalone zombie adventure set in a tightly-crafted rural region.” Players take on the role of Kyle Crane, who breaks free after years of brutal experiments and seeks revenge. Dying Light: The Beast is coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms

Directive 8020

A new entry in the The Dark Pictures anthology, Supermassive Games’ Directive 8020 stars Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel, The Woman King) in an all-new sci-fi survival horror adventure. Lynch plays the ground-breaking astronaut, Young, in what Supermassive describes as “an immersive cinematic horror experience that blends intense survival gameplay with a branching narrative storyline.” Directive 8020 is out in 2025.

Goat Simulator Remastered

For the 10th anniversary of Goat Simulator, Coffee Stain Publishing is bringing back the original in remastered form with upgraded graphics and lighting, as well as “many intentional features that definitely aren’t bugs, and fan-favourite DLC, all in one package.” Goat Simulator Remastered drops in 2024.

King of Meat

Geoff Keighley himself starred in the reveal trailer for King of Meat, a four-player hacking, slashing, co-op combat game from Amazon Games and studio Glowmade in which players fight through “ridiculous” user-created dungeons. King of Meat is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Lynked: Banner of the Spark

Developer FuzzyBot announced Lynked: Banner of the Spark at Opening Night Live. It’s an “arcade-inspired co-op adventure that blends hack and slash combat with roguelike and town-building elements.”

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Life is Strange developer Don’t Nod revealed new gameplay and a release date for its next game, the ’90s-set narrative adventure Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. The episodic game will launch in two parts on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on Feb. 18 and March 18, 2025.

ARC Raiders

Embark Studios, creator of The Finals, brought its long-delayed shooter ARC Raiders to Gamescom for a re-reveal. The PvPvE action survival shooter is now coming in 2025 to PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. ARC Raiders’ first public tech test is now scheduled for Oct. 24-27.

Infinity Nikki

Infinity Nikki, the cozy, open-world adventure game fueled by the power of dressing up, got a new look at Gamescom — and news of an upcoming closed beta on mobile platforms.

Dune: Awakening

Funcom showed actual gameplay from its open-world survival MMO set in the Dune universe, detailing the journey from “survivor to spice hunter.” Players will expand their influence on Arrakis through combat, spice, building, and trade when Dune: Awakening arrives in early 2025 on PC. PS5 and Xbox versions are due later.

Reanimal

Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios revealed its next game, a terrifying new adventure called Reanimal. Described as a co-op horror adventure game, players take on the roles of brother and sister who “go through hell to rescue their missing friends.” Reanimal is playable solo or in local and online co-op, and it’s coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Capcom showed off more from its impressively open-world new Monster Hunter game at Gamescom ONL, covering the new area the Scarlet Forest, new monster Lala Barina, and Windward Plains apex predator Rey Dau. Monster Hunter Wilds also has some tasty looking meat — increasingly a Capcom specialty.

Sid Meier’s Civilization 7

Firaxis Games showed off first gameplay from Sid Meier’s Civilization 7, but the depth of the next Civ will warrant much more than that. Expect gameplay deep dives and interviews from Gamescom throughout the week. Firaxis also announced a release date of Feb. 11, 2025.

Marvel Rivals

Marvel and NetEase Games’ kinda-Overwatch-y team-based game, Marvel Rivals, has two new heroes: Captain America and The Winter Soldier (aka Bucky Barnes). And it has a release date: Marvel Rivals is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X on Dec. 6.

Prime Video’s Secret Level

Secret Level is a new animated anthology series from the creatives behind Love, Death + Robots. It will feature original stories set in the worlds of Armored Core, Dungeons & Dragons, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Sifu, Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, Unreal Tournament, Warhammer 40,000 and more.

Starfield

Bethesda Game Studios showed up with some Starfield content, including a look (and imminent release) of the REV-8 land vehicle and a tease of the Shattered Space DLC coming on Sept. 30. The free REV-8 update gives players the freedom to explore new frontiers and reach new heights, Bethesda said.

Monument Valley 3

A new Monument Valley game is coming. Monument Valley 3’s gorgeous, mind-bending puzzles will arrive exclusively on Netflix Games on Dec. 10, along with both Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2. 

Batman: Arkham Shadow

The next Batman Arkham game is for VR. Set between the events of Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Asylum, players will step Batman’s cape and cowl as he takes on the Rat King and reunites with familiar faces Harleen Quinzel, Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Dr. Crane — before some of them become villains — in Batman: Arkham Shadow.

Masters of Albion

Fable, Populous, and Black & White creator Peter Molyneux is back and making a new game for consoles and PC. Masters of Albion will tap into some of Molyneux’s most beloved games, giving players godlike control and letting them possess characters for direct, third-person action.

Squid Game: Unleashed

The deadly survival games of Netflix’s breakout hit Squid Game are coming to mobile with a new, even deadlier series of challenges. Squid Game: Unleashed is (of course) coming to Netflix, but does not have a release date.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

Players won’t go it alone when Diablo 4’s first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, goes live on Oct. 8. They’ll be joined by members of the Pale Hand, a group of mercenaries that got an introduction from Blizzard Entertainment at Gamescom ONL.

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