Popverse's top stories

• DC has unveiled a major new Wonder Woman villain over two years in the making, co-created by one of James Gunn's top writers
• Simon Kinberg on writing X-Men movies, producing Glenn Powell's The Running Man remake, and co-creating Star Wars Rebels [Popversations]
• Livestream Monster Hunter Wilds, Borderlands 4, Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man, and more PAX West 2025 panels live

We are big fans of Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI, and Clive Rosfield here at Popverse. And it's simple: when we see that Ben Starr is involved in a project, our interest is piqued (see: Clive Rosfield and Ben Starr joining Tekken 8). Now imagine our joy when we heard that Ben Starr was returning to the Final Fantasy franchise for Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles. 

At PAX West 2025, Starr opened up about the trepidation he felt initially about returning to the franchise that helped launch his career as a voice actor. "I was quite nervous about agreeing to be a part of Final Fantasy Tactics, because I was really happy with my contribution to the Final Fantasy franchise as Clive. And I didn't really want to maybe kind of soil that. I didn't want to come back in and do something badly, because I was so happy... But when I was given the opportunity to do Dycedarg, he's so textually different from Clive, very, very different," Starr said. 

Starr then proceeded to do a series of live readings of his lines as Dycedarg, a villain in the game, showcasing the conniving and sinister nature of the character. While Starr does use his signature husky voice for Dycedarg, his portrayal of the character has a completely different effect than his role as Clive, the most emotional man in all of Final Fantasy's history, whom we were all ready to go to war for within the first 5 minutes of meeting him. Starr's turn as Dycedarg showcases his range as an actor, and I hope that other Final Fantasy fans enjoy his Dycedarg just as much as we already love his performance as Clive. 

Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles will be released on all platforms on September 30, 2025. 

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
• Popverse Picks: The best Assassin's Creed protagonists
• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.