The BAFTA-winning fantasy will be adapted by the acclaimed Chernobyl and The Last of Us writer Craig Mazin into a HBO series

HBO has announced it will be bringing a much-loved fantasy video game franchise to television screens after the success of The Last of Us. The American broadcaster is developing an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3, which takes place within the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy universe. At the 2024 BAFTA Game Awards, Baldur’s Gate 3 claimed game of the year alongside four additional accolades, solidifying its position within the gaming industry, reports the Mirror.

Since its release, the title has received widespread acclaim from gamers, with the HBO adaptation anticipated to expand its audience even further. On Metacritic, one enthusiast left a glowing assessment: “Absolutely beautiful game.” They continued in their review: “I have around 200 hours now spent on this game and i’m still discovering more on my 3rd and 4th play throughs.”

Meanwhile, another user shared similarly positive feedback: “The best new age RPG ever made. It perfectly encapsulates the scenery and feel of DND on the scale of a major video game release. The sheer amounts of decisions, both big and small, a player can make is both overwhelming and beautiful.”

A third player proclaimed: “Masterpiece, best CRPG in the history of gaming, even so as we didnt have a great CRPG since Dragon Age 2 o Mass Effect 2 [sic].” Another contributor remarked: “Despite the odd bugs and broken quests, an exceptional game. This player of video games for 5 decades waited so long for something so rich and realistic.”

The upcoming drama series will be helmed by The Last of Us‘ co-creator and Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin, who is set to write, showrun and executive produce the television adaptation. In a statement reported by Deadline, Mazin expressed his excitement: “After putting nearly 1000 hours into the incredible world of Baldur’s Gate 3 , it is a dream come true to be able to continue the story that Larian and Wizards of The Coast created.”

He added, “I am a devoted fan of DandD and the brilliant way that Swen Vincke and his gifted team adapted it. I can’t wait to help bring Baldur’s Gate and all of its incredible characters to life with as much respect and love as we can, and I’m deeply grateful to Gabe Marano and his team at Hasbro for entrusting me with this incredibly important property.”

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The Baldur’s Gate TV series is expected to pick up where the games left off, focusing on the aftermath of Baldur’s Gate 3, with both existing and new characters grappling with the events of the latest game.

This suggests that the series won’t be strictly tied to the video games, allowing it to carve out its own narrative direction.

This approach stands in stark contrast to The Last of Us, which directly adapted the video game’s storyline while also expanding upon the existing universe.

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Indeed, the second season of The Last of Us received a more subdued response compared to the universally acclaimed first season, led by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

The Last of Us is set to conclude with its third and final season, during which Mazin recently honoured the late Catherine O’Hara, who portrayed therapist Gail in the post-apocalyptic drama.

In 2025, HBO confirmed that showrunner Neil Druckmann would be stepping back from the series to concentrate on his ongoing commitments to his video game company, Naughty Dog.

Police and two ambulances were called to the scene between Monks Cross and Clifton Moor at 4.30pm on Thursday (February 12).

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said two people were taken to York Hospital by ambulance.

“We received an emergency call just after 4.30pm on Thursday afternoon to report a collision on the York Outer Ring Road (A1237) near Earswick,” the ambulance service said in a statement.

“Two ambulances were dispatched to the scene and two patients were conveyed to York Hospital.”

An eyewitness reported a heavy presence from the emergency services with traffic building.

“There were five police cars and an ambulance,” she said shortly before 5pm. “It’s causing absolute chaos.”

The AA said traffic was building between the Hopgrove Roundabout on the A1237 Westbound and Haxby Road.

It comes as spectators of the first 2026 Super League flock to York’s LNER Community Stadium to watch the match between York Knights and Hull KR.

With kick-off starting at 8pm, some fans have been left in standstill traffic.

A teenage girl will become the next leader of North Korea, with Kim Jong Un set to confirm his daughter as successor, spy chiefs believe.

The announcement could come at party congress, the country’s largest political gathering, which is set to be held later this month after a five-year hiatus.

Ahead of the conference, Mr Kim seems to be taking steps to consolidate his daughter‘s position as successor, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency (NIS).

Believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, the girl has become increasingly prominent in North Korean propaganda and even seems to have an input on policy, the NIS said.

Intelligence officials briefed members of the South Korean parliament on the child’s evolving status in a closed-door session this week.

Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party said: “In the past, the NIS described Kim Ju Ae as being ‘in study as successor’.

“But today the expression used was that she ‘was in the stage of being internally appointed successor’.”

Park Sun-won of the Democratic Party said the girl was already being treated as the second-in-command, pointing to her public profile.

He said the NIS would closely monitor whether she attends this month’s congress, where the regime will set out its major policy goals for the coming years.

Kim Ju Ae first stepped on to the public stage when she attended a missile launch with her father in November 2022.

South Korean officials were initially sceptical about her status as successor, given North Korea’s conservative, patriarchal culture.

But recent appearances have forced a reassessment, with the girl accompanying her father to a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last year.

She was also photographed with her parents at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of her grandfather and great-grandfather are displayed.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said the girl could be appointed first secretary of the ruling party at congress.

Read more:
Who is the North Korean girl who may take over as leader?
North Korea ‘executes schoolkids for watching Squid Game’
Ukrainian children ‘sent to abusive camp in North Korea’

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Il-yong Ju recounts his experiences

But Koh Yu-hwan, former president of South Korea’s Institute of National Unification, said her elevation could be signalled more subtly.

For example, he said it might be claimed that North Korea had survived thanks to “successful inheritance of the revolution”.

“If you see comments like that, it would be reasonable to think that Ju Ae has been cemented,” he said.

Sony has announced two brand new God Of War games at the Thursday State of Play but neither of them are what fans were expecting.

You’re probably not shocked to hear it but the State of Play on Thursday did not, in fact, involve a suite of new first party Sony announcements. In fact, technically it didn’t announce anything new made by an internal studio, even if Santa Monica Studio is overseeing two new God Of War titles.

The first of these is described as a remake of the original three God Of War games but no footage was shown and it’s only just entered development – so it won’t be out for years. It’s also unclear who’s making it, with the only real detail being that original voice actor TC Carson (who seemed over the moon that Sony still has his number) is returning to the role of Kratos.

There was no indication of when a new mainline God Of War game might be released or what Santa Monica Studio is working on, if it’s not the remake trilogy. But another new game was also announced, in the form of 2D Metroidvania title God Of War: Sons Of Sparta.

Sons Of Sparta had been leaked before the State of Play, including the fact that the developer is the virtually unknown Mega Cat Studios, whose greatest claim to fame is Five Nights At Freddy’s: Into The Pit.

That’s not terribly encouraging but the game looked fine, although the 2D pixel art means it looks very similar to other indie Metroidvanias.

The story is set back when Kratos was a young man, training in the agōgē with his brother Deimos. Santa Monica Studio will not only be overseeing the game but also writing it, so it should at least sound authentic in terms of dialogue.

Sons Of Sparta will also feature TC Carson as the voice of Kratos, who will wield a spear and shield and use magic artefacts called the Gifts of Olympus.

There’s not much more information than that, but the big surprise is that the game’s out now, for £24.99, on the PlayStation Store. There’s also a Digital Deluxe Edition for £32.99. It’s only on PlayStation 5 though, with no PC version – it’s also not on Nintendo Switch 2, despite the rumours.

Why Sony thought a shadow drop was a good idea is unclear, but it does mean it’ll be a while until any reviews start to appear.

It may also be a while before we find out what Santa Monica Studio’s main development project is. Obviously, there’ll be a new mainline God Of War entry at some point but rumours have pointed to them working on a new sci-fi IP first.

They’re a big enough studio that they could be working on multiple projects at once, but at the moment there’s really no clue as to what’s going on.

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Saber Interactive has unveiled a new big budget John Wick game and it’s not just for PS5 – even if it doesn’t have a release date yet.

Technically this new John Wick game wasn’t a surprise. The head of film studio Lionsgate said last month that a ‘major’ new John Wick game would be announced and he wasn’t lying, as anyone that watched last night’s State of Play will know.

The new game, which doesn’t yet have a name, is a multiformat title, and will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC at an unspecified point in the future – but seemingly not this year.

Most of the reveal trailer seems to be pre-rendered, but there’s what appears to be actual gameplay towards the end, and it looks very good.

The authenticity of the action is no doubt due to the involvement of series creator Chad Stahelski, with the game featuring an original story set before the Impossible Task. In other words, it’s a prequel that takes place before the events of the four films.

Whatever the game ends up being called, it will be developed by Saber Interactive, who have a number of very different studios – and it’s not clear which one is making this. But the publisher’s biggest hits include World War Z and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, so they’re used to working with other people’s IP.

According to the trailer blurb the game will feature, ‘a hard-hitting gun-fu combat system, jaw-dropping camerawork, intense driving experiences, cinematic storytelling, and a bold range of atmospherically immersive environments.’

As you can see, the game does feature the likeness of Keanu Reeves but whether he’ll be providing the voiceover is unclear. There’s a good chance he will though, as he’s no stranger to the world of video games, given his sterling work on Cyberpunk 2077.

This will not be the first John Wick game but unfortunately the excellent strategy action game John Wick Hex was delisted last year and is now all but impossible to acquire.

It’s a shame, because while it’s one of the ugliest games we’ve ever played – and does not feature Keanu’s likeness – it is one of the most original turn-based strategy titles of recent years.

Turn-base strategy is not the obvious way to go for a property like John Wick though and it’s only a surprise it’s taken this long for a big budget triple-A game to be announced.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

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The collection includes Dame Vera’s personal diary from her 1944 tour of India, the contract for her BBC radio show Sincerely Yours, 160 wartime contracts for more than 200 engagements, letters from Dame Vera to her husband Harry Lewis, and items of clothing from her Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) tropical uniform.

The Bolton Food and Drink Festival will be running from Friday August 28 to Monday August 21 and promises four days of food, family fun, headline acts and top‑quality entertainment.

Fan favourite, celebrity chef James Martin, is once again topping the bill at what he calls “the best festival in the world.”

On Saturday, James will take to the stage in the Albert Halls for live cooking demonstrations of some of his favourite dishes whilst chatting with the audience, plus a special birthday treat. 

Council leader Cllr Nick Peel said: “Bolton Food and Drink Festival is very much our flagship event and eagerly anticipated by thousands of visitors and hundreds of traders every year.

“The influx of visitors into Bolton over the four days is a huge economic boost to the town as well as festival stall holders.

The Bolton Food and Drink Festival (Image: Paul Heyes)

“Our traders are really at the heart of the festival and it’s always a pleasure to see their stalls packed with visitors enjoying a huge variety of delicious dishes and treats.

“Every year we welcome back some festival favourites as well as new and exciting businesses so keep an eye out on announcements in the coming months.”   

This year will be the TV favourites 16th visit to the festival, and his appearances are always a programme highlight, drawing huge crowds eager to pick up tips, tricks and inspiration.

Alex Thomas, owner of Totally Baked, a local cake business and Bolton Food and Drink Festival Trader, Cllr Nadeem Ayub, Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr Nick Peel, Leader of Bolton Council and the 21st birthday cake. (Image: Paul Heyes)

Demonstrations take place at various times throughout the day but are strictly ticket only and likely to sell out quickly, so it is advisable to secure your seats and book today.  

This year’s festival will feature hundreds of traders, offering everything from mouth‑watering dishes from around the world to home‑baked brownies and artisan treats.

With a mix of local talent and regional businesses, visitors can expect a vibrant offering with something for every taste.

Bolton Food and Drink Festival is one of the borough’s most popular events (Image: Henry Lisowski)

Families will be well catered for too, with a programme of free family activities running throughout the weekend, making the festival a great day out for all ages.

An amazing line‑up of free live music is also planned on the two stages across the four days, with full details including headline acts to be announced soon.

The festival launch comes just after the Bolton Food and Drink Festival won Best Speciality Market at the 2026 National Association of British Market Authorities Awards.     

Council cabinet member for culture Cllr Nadeem Ayub said: “This year is an extra special one as we are celebrating 21 years of the festival which is a fantastic achievement and each year the four-day event is bigger and better than the last.

“James Martin fans should book their tickets early to avoid disappointment as his cooking demonstrations are sure to sell out. 

“Keep an eye out for more details soon on family activities, live music line up and traders and we’ll see you in August!”

James Martin tickets and further information can be found at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival website.   

President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked the 2009 endangerment finding, which has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

But in making the announcement, Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin made false claims regarding the government declaration, climate change, and energy.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

___

TRUMP: “Known as the endangerment finding, this determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and it had no basis in law.”

THE FACTS: This is false. The endangerment finding was adopted in 2009 by the EPA after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

“The idea that the endangerment finding has no basis in law is ludicrous,” said Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA specifically directed the Environmental Protection Agency to determine whether greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The endangerment finding is the result.”

Scientific evidence to support the endangerment finding was provided by the EPA at the time of its inception and is still available on the agency’s website today.

Multiple federal courts have upheld the endangerment finding since it was adopted 16 years ago. ___

TRUMP: “We’ve basically stopped all windmills in this country. It’s the most expensive energy you can get.”

THE FACTS: Onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity generation, with new wind farms expected to produce around $30 per megawatt hour, according to July estimates from the Energy Information Administration.

This compares to a new natural gas plant, around $65 per megawatt hour, or a new advanced nuclear reactor, which runs over $80. Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the most to build and operate, at $88 per megawatt hour, the EIA said in July.

___ TRUMP, asked about the cost to health and the environment: “It has nothing to do with public health. This is all a scam, a giant scam. This was a rip off of the country by Obama and Biden, and let’s say Obama started it and got it rolling and a terrible rip off.”

THE FACTS: Thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies connect health harms to climate change. They find increasing deaths from heat waves, extreme weather such as hurricanes and floods and air pollution from worsening wildfires. A 2021 study in Nature Climate Change calculated that globally about 9,700 people die a year from heat-related deaths attributable to human-caused climate change, based on data from 732 cities, including more than 200 in the United States.

A separate study last year listed dozens of climate change health harms and concluded, using the EPA’s own calculation method, that the health costs are at least $10 billion a year, probably much more.

The science of climate change dates back nearly 170 years to studies done by American Eunice Foote showing that carbon dioxide heated cylinders with thermometers inside more than ambient air. The first national climate assessment, done in 2000, before Obama and Biden, “concluded that climate variability and change are likely to increase morbidity and mortality risks.”

___

ZELDIN: “The Obama and Biden administrations used the endangerment finding to steamroll into existence a left-wing wish, including electric vehicle mandates.”

THE FACTS: Trump has made this claim before. There was no federal mandate to force the purchase of EVs.

“If you looked at some of the tables that were in the Biden rules, you could see that there were a variety of different ways that companies could comply with the standards,” said Carrie Jenks, the executive director of Harvard Law School’s environmental and energy law program. “The endangerment finding nor the regulations mandated a shift from one type of vehicle to another.”

Former President Joe Biden did set up a non-binding goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office revoking that goal.

Biden’s policies tightened restrictions on pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks in an effort to encourage Americans to buy EVs and car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars. ___

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

Grantchester is back on ITV for season 10 and fans can’t get enough of the detective drama but what do we know about where its brought to life?

Grantchester, ITV’s much-loved detective drama, has captivated audiences not just with its dashing vicars but also its picturesque locations.

DI Geordie Keating (portrayed by Robson Green) returns once more to unravel further mysteries in Grantchester, this time alongside the parish’s newest arrival, Reverend Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair), in the show’s tenth series on ITV.

This evening’s (Thursday, 12 February) instalment will see the duo probe the death of a photographer who had been assisting Cathy (Kacey Ainsworth) and Mrs Chapman (Tessa Peake-Jones) with their fledgling fashion boutique venture.

Where is Grantchester filmed?

The series is chiefly shot in the actual village of Grantchester from which it takes its name, situated just a short distance from Cambridge.

Key filming spots include the Church of St Andrew and St Mary, the village centre, and Grantchester meadows, alongside other locations across Cambridge, West Sussex, and Hertfordshire.

Speaking to PBS, the programme’s location manager David Halstead revealed: “It’s a small, very pretty, quiet little village, probably about 300 houses and a church. It doesn’t even have a shop, actually.

“[Even so] it did have four pubs-down to three now-and its own gin distillery, which has come in handy!”.

A substantial amount of filming also takes place in Cambridge itself, with production frequently based at King’s College campus. Fortunately, Cambridge boasts numerous streets that require minimal alterations to transport viewers back in time.

Halstead elaborated: “We change some shop frontages, put in our own phone box, cover the yellow lines in the road, but it’s not massive.

“I mean there are great streets in Cambridge that you can make feel like the 1950s in minutes. We use King’s Parade quite regularly. Also, Trinity Lane and Senate House Passage.”

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However, the Grantchester production team does encounter one recurring challenge during filming: cyclists.

“You nearly get killed every time you try to film there,” Halstead remarked.

“They refuse to stop for anybody. They just ring a bell and charge at you. Happens every time we go there!”.

When is Grantchester set?

The drama has predominantly been set in the 1950s, with the first series beginning in 1953.

As the programme has progressed, the timeline has advanced accordingly, with Grantchester’s tenth series now taking place in 1962.

The show’s 11th and final series is anticipated to conclude in 1963.

Grantchester continues every Thursday at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.

Europe must take the lead in defending itself as the world becomes more militarised, but the US is not abandoning its NATO allies, a top American official has said.

Elbridge Colby, the US Under Secretary of War, said the alliance must be prepared for potential enemies to strike simultaneously in different parts of the globe.

This was why European members of NATO must take the “primary responsibility” when it comes to defending their homeland – as US forces are focused elsewhere.

Ultimately, he said the alliance needs to become a modern version of its original Cold War status – defined by hard and credible fighting strength.

Mr Colby, who was representing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, made the comments at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday.

Allies have tried to play down his boss’s absence as not signalling a reduction in US prioritisation of NATO.

“The world that shaped the habits, assumptions, and force posture of NATO during the so-called ‘unipolar moment’ following the Cold War no longer exists,” Mr Colby said, according to a transcript of his remarks that were published by his department.

“Power politics has returned, and military force is again being employed at a large scale,” he added.

This meant that the United States, under Donald Trump, was prioritising the biggest threats to US interests – especially the defence of the US homeland and its interests in the Western Hemisphere.

“At the same time – and critically – the United States and its allies must be prepared for the possibility that potential opponents will act simultaneously across multiple theatres, whether in a coordinated fashion or opportunistically.”

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Nato chief: ‘Having US in room with Greenland is added value’

Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, has previously raised the possibility of China making a move on Taiwan, which may draw in US forces, at the same time as Russia seeks to test NATO’s Article 5 principle of collective defence by attacking a European member of the alliance.

This could leave the Europeans and Canada to tackle Russian aggression alone or with only limited US support.

Mr Elbridge said his message was about giving a reality check to his partners, not the US turning its back on NATO – something that allies have fretted about ever since Mr Trump returned to the White House.

“This is not an abandonment of NATO. To the contrary, it is a return to and validation of its foundational purpose,” the official said.

He recalled how the alliance, when it was established in 1949, was defined by “a hard-nosed, realistic, clear-eyed approach to deterrence and defence. Allies from the beginning were expected to pull their weight”.

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UK to give half a billion to aid in Ukrainian defence

This discipline was lost after the Cold War ended as priorities shifted to fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – outside NATO territory.

Mr Elbridge said the alliance must now become what he called NATO 3.0 – which was more akin to its original purpose.

“This ‘NATO 3.0’ requires much greater efforts by our allies to step up and assume primary responsibility for the conventional defence of Europe,” he said.

Read more on Sky News:
NATO should ‘be more European’
New threat of Putin’s hypersonic missile
UK ‘must step up’ to deter Russian threat

The Under Secretary of War praised allies for heeding Mr Trump’s calls to commit to increase defence and wider security spending to 5% of GDP – up from an original goal for defence spending of 2%.

But he said European leadership on defence must be durable.

“Europe must assume primary responsibility for its own conventional defence. This is not a matter of ideology or rhetorical flourish. It is a conclusion grounded in a clear-eyed and rigorous assessment of the strategic environment we face as well as a pragmatic evaluation of the capabilities at our disposal.

“At the same time, the United States must – and will – prioritise those theatres and challenges where only American power can play a decisive role.”

He said the move was “not a retreat from Europe. It is, rather, an affirmation of strategic pragmatism and a recognition of our allies’ undeniable ability to step up and lead on Europe’s defence in a way that leaves all of us stronger and safer”.