Gaming News

Phasmophobia Developer Working 'Really Closely' With Blumhouse On its Big Screen Adaptation: 'It Will be a Phasmophobia Film, It Won't Just be a Ghost

Phasmophobia developer Kinetic Games is working "really closely" with Blumhouse on its upcoming movie adaptation. In an interview with IGN to discuss this week's launch of the Grafton Farmhouse map rework, we asked art director Corey J. Dixon for his thoughts on how horror production company Blumhouse will translate Phasmophobia's genre-defining gameplay to the big screen. While you would be forgiven for presuming this adaptation could end up feeling like any old ghosthunting film, Dixon is clear: this will be very much a "Phasmophobia film" that "fans will want to watch." "We've got a really good partnership with Blumhouse. It's brilliant," Dixon said. "It will be a Phasmophobia film, it won't just be a ghost hunting film — we're...

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PUBG Has Decided It's Finally Time to Leave PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Behind

PUBG has announced it will ditch support for the aging PlayStation 4 and Xbox One beginning this November, following eight years of service. The veteran battle royale game previously said it would transition its console version to supporting just the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S later this year. Now, we know when. In a statement to the game's playerbase, the game's development team said this decision "weighs heavily" after so many years, but was now a "necessary step" in order to better support the game's PS5 and Xbox Series X/S builds, and ensure they were not being held back any further. "This shift is a necessary step toward aligning PUBG Console with current-gen consoles," the game's development team wrote today. "To...

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Has Dropped to Just $20 on Switch Today

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection for the Nintendo Switch is down to $19.99 at Amazon today, a fairly significant 60% off the original list price of $49.99. It features a compilation of 14 retro games based on the popular trading card game, many of which are available in the West for the first time within the bundle release, alongside a unique collectible card (Harpie's Feather Duster). At $19.99, this matches the price we last saw during the Amazon Prime Day sales a little over a month ago. Here's every game you get in the bundle: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (GameBoy, 1998) Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories (GameBoy, GBC, 1999) Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule (GameBoy, GBC, 2000) Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories (GBC, 2000)...

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Into the Unwell Is Like a Chaotic 3D Cuphead in Roguelite Form

I think fans of combat-dense action-roguelites will have to splash around when they dive Into the Unwell. Its elasticky, sometimes grim slapstick humor brings a one-of-a-kind energy to a familiar-playing game, but looks aren’t the only thing that makes it stand out. Combat has a distinctive weight that translates the old-timey animation style into gameplay well. Mix that with the myriad ways you can customize your run, from individual perks and traits for both weapons and characters, and overarching upgrades that give you a sense of overall progression, and this peculiar brawler becomes surprisingly difficult to put down. A regular round of Into the Unwell is pretty recognizable to anyone who’s played a run-based roguelite before. You...

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Stalker 2 Development Roadmap Includes Unreal Engine Upgrade, As Well as PS5 and PS5 Pro Release

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl's roadmap for the latter half of this year is now available, and it includes changes to both the base game and the Zone Kit Modifications Tool, as well as plans for its previously-confirmed release on PS5 and PS5 Pro. "Our main mission in the near future is upgrading the game to Unreal Engine 5.5.4," GSC Game World explained. "This will bring new features and tools to make the Zone an even better place, but more importantly — bringing the latest Unreal Engine 5 optimizations will lead to better stability and performance." However, by doing this, GSC acknowledges it may "shake up the timing of other updates," adding: "We’re taking this risk — like true stalkers would — and will do our best to hit...

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Assassin's Creed Shadows Developers Discuss Series' Modern Day Future, Basim, and Why There's No New Isu Artifact

The Assassin's Creed Shadows development team has answered fan questions on the future of the franchise's modern day storyline, as well as various lingering plot threads left unanswered in the series' recent blockbuster. Shadows is designed as something of a soft reboot for the series, with no playable modern day section and a strong focus on the real-life historical elements found in its version of feudal Japan. Little mention is made of events from previous games — something that ensures new players don't feel like they need to head to Wikipedia and catch up. The game's story reintroduces the Assassins and Templars slowly, and makes no mention of Basim — a major character seen within Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Assassin's Creed...

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Crimson Desert Delayed to 2026 Due to 'Unavoidable' Issues Scheduling Voiceovers, Console Certification, And 'Other Launch Preparations'

The developer of upcoming open-world action fantasy game Crimson Desert has revealed its single-player open world adventure game has "unavoidably" slipped from a Q4 2025 release to Q1 2026. In its latest call with investors, Pearl Abyss said this was due to "longer than expected timelines arising from schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners for offline distribution, voiceovers, console certification, and other launch preparations." The company said a firm release date will be announced "at a more appropriate time based on business considerations," but did not specify what those "business considerations" would be. Players can still expect to see Crimson Desert at Gamescom and PAX West, however, as well as...

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Monster Hunter Wilds' Update 1.021 Gets Off to Terrible Start as Capcom Fights to Fix Crashing Issue

Capcom is "aware" of crashing issues introduced to Monster Hunter Wilds via today's crucial 1.021 update, and stressed it is now "working on the issue." It's dreadful timing for Capcom, which has been struggling to keep the beleaguered RPG on track so much that yesterday, August 12, the team released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game. However, it now appears that the new patch has introduced a fresh bug that sees your game "crash" should you "faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions." It doesn't seem to matter what platform you're playing on, either. "We are aware of the following issue being reported in Monster Hunter Wilds on all...

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AU Deals: Love is a Battlefield Bargain, Plus Some Nice Prices on the Best AAAs You Must Own

Some sales are good, and some are the kind I instantly DM my dudes about to become The Voice of Unsolicited FOMO. Today’s spread falls firmly into the latter, with discounts on games that blend brilliant design with genuine replay value. There are big-name blockbusters, genre-defining indies, and a few hidden gems that deserve the spotlight. This Day in Gaming 🎂 In retro news, I’m using a rusty shiv to cut a 21-candle cake baked for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a mouthful of a stealth shooter that proved movie tie-ins didn’t have to be shovelware. Back in 2004, equipping the goggles and gravel voicebox of Vin Diesel's Furyan felt like nothing else. Unfortunately, the hype surrounding the launch of Halo 2...

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GTA Actor Says Disastrous Florida Gaming Convention 'Put the Con in Comic-Con'

Last weekend, a number of gaming fans traveled to Tampa, Florida to attend the National Gaming Expo. The convention, in its first year, promised encounters with actors such as the casts of Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mortal Kombat, as well as the former voices behind Nintendo's Peach and Bowser, Donkey Kong composer Grant Kirkhope, and a lot more. Instead, convention attendees were treated to empty halls, missing talent, a no-show photographer, and...camels? The National Gaming Expo took place from August 8 through 10 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. The official website claims it expected around 30,000 people in attendance, and promised talent signings, photograph opportunities, vendors, and a cosplay...

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Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development Team Votes to Unionize

Blizzard's Story and Franchise Development team (SFD) has voted in favor of unionization with the Communications Workers of America, according to a press release shared today. SFD consists of Blizzard workers producing in-house cinematics, animation, trailers, promotional videos, in-game cutscenes, and other narrative content across Blizzard franchises, in addition to archival workers and historians. These workers join thousands of others at Microsoft and specifically within Activision Blizzard who have voted to unionize with their departments and teams under Microsoft's labor neutrality agreement in the last few years. Just last year, the entire World of Warcraft team unionized, and the Overwatch developers followed just this past...

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Krafton Responds to Ex-Subnautica 2 Leads' Lawsuit, Saying They 'Resorted to Litigation to Demand a Payday They Haven't Earned'

Krafton has issued a response to a recent lawsuit filed by the former leads of Subnautica 2, offering rebuttals to the developers' claims and alleging they "resorted to litigation to demand a multimillion-dollar payout they haven't earned." This comes in reply to a legal complaint filed by former Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, and fellow co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, last month. In it, the former leads alleged that Krafton went out of its way to hinder Subnautica 2's development, delay the game, and ultimately fire them from their roles all in an effort to stop them and other employees from collecting a $250 million bonus payment that would have kicked in if the game's early access released on time later this year and...

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TMNT: Empire City – New Dev Diary Gives First Look at Traversal/Parkour Gameplay

As we exclusively announced earlier this year, we're finally getting our first first-person Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game – and first TMNT game in VR to boot. It's called TMNT: Empire City, and in the new developer diary video above, you'll get a look at some first-person parkour/traversal gameplay in this early look at the upcoming co-op action-adventure starring your favorite heroes in a half-shell. Creative director Ace St. Germain gives some insight on the first-person VR parkour mechanics of Empire City: "Movement through sewers is slower and stealthier, while above-ground movement emphasizes parkour, allowing for fast and vertical exploration. We’re not recreating the full New York City but are focusing on key areas. The...

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Helldivers 2 Teases Halo: ODST Crossover Ahead of Xbox Release

Helldivers 2 looks set for an unlikely Halo crossover after a new trailer teased the arrival of the ODST. The hugely successful third-person shooter launches on Xbox Series X and S on August 26 as the first Sony-published game on Microsoft’s console. The trailer, below, ends with what looks like the arrival of an ODST on the battlefield, alongside the iconic music from the game. The Bungie-developed Halo 3: ODST came out exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2009. You play as an Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or ODST, during and after the events of Halo 2. So, this is not the chance to play as what would be an over-powered Master Chief in Helldivers 2, rather a pretty powerful standard soldier. The next obvious question is whether this ODST...

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Phasmophobia 2 Is 'Definitely Not Off the Cards,' Dev Says, Original on Track to Finally Exit Early Access in 2026

Phasmophobia maker Kinetic Games has revealed it "wouldn't write off" a sequel to the viral hit ghost-hunting game, but is keen to keep working on the current version "until we're really happy with it." In an interview with IGN to discuss today's launch of the Grafton Farmhouse map rework, art director Corey J. Dixon suggested the five-year-old game might finally exit early access next year alongside its well-publicized Horror 2.0 update, which is currently slated for 2026. "We definitely have plans for 1.0, probably in line with our Horror 2.0 update, where we feel the game is feature-complete," Dixon said. "It doesn't mean we'll stop working on it — we still want map reworks and new maps and stuff in the future, so there'll be more...

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Phasmophobia: The Big Interview With Kinetic Games as Revamp for Fan-Favorite Grafton Farmhouse Map Goes Live

2025 has already been a productive year for Phasmophobia maker Kinetic Games, not least because though it's only August, we've already seen a major overhaul of the in-game journal, the release of the (terrifying) reworked Bleasedale Farmhouse, and now a revamp for the fan-favorite Grafton Farmhouse map has just gone live. As we dive into the final half of the year — and get ever closer to spooky season — we sat down for a chat with art director Corey J. Dixon to talk about what's new, when Phasmophobia will finally feel finished, the possibility of Phasmophobia 2, and what it's like working with Blumhouse Films on a movie adaptation. IGN: Tell us about the reworked maps. Why rework them at all? Corey J. Dixon: [Creator] Dan [Knight]...

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Capcom Releases Patch Notes for Monster Hunter Wilds' Big 1.021 Update, Adds Endgame Expansion, Reveals Fixes for 'Mostly Negative' Steam Version

Monster Hunter Wilds’ crucial update 1.021 goes live tomorrow, August 13 (Tuesday August 12, 2025 7.30pm PT), and ahead of that Capcom has released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game. Director Yuya Tokuda confirmed update 1.021 expands the endgame, adds 9★ Monsters and Talismans, and makes improvements to weapon balance, quality of life changes, and optimizations. Monster Hunter Wilds update 1.021 Required Space (Current Update Only) PlayStation 5: Approx. 3 GB Xbox Series X|S: Approx. 2 GB Steam: Approx. 2 GB (With High Resolution Texture Pack: Approx. 6 GB total) Of particular interest to PC players will be Capcom’s effort to improve “stability.” Monster Hunter Wilds has a...

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Remedy Admits FBC: Firebreak 'Underperformed' — 'Commercially, We Were Unsatisfied'

Developer Remedy believes the release of its first self-published game and Control spin-off, FBC: Firebreak, "succeeded technically," but acknowledged it "underperformed" on Steam, admitting that "commercially, we were unsatisfied." In a statement to investors, the studio reiterated Firebreak topped 1 million players. However, the majority of those players were on console — via PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscription — even though PC was "planned as the primary consumer sales channel." "The game’s initial onboarding experience and mission structure resulted in high early player drop-offs and an influx of negative reviews," the financial statement said. "As players spent more time in the game and we released updates improving the game...

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Battle Train Mini-Review: Like A Board Game In The Best Possible Ways

The world of roguelikes is a broad one. It’s less a strict genre and more of a flexible framework – one that many games use to deliver quick, rewarding gameplay, even in short bursts of 20 minutes or so. Battle Train takes that familiar structure, fuses it with railway-building mechanics, and turns it into something deeply satisfying on just about every level. Each match places you on one side of the battlefield and your opponent on the other, with cards drawn to lay down tracks toward key resources, falling special items, and enemy depots. The goal is to guide your train through these targets, because while Battle Train does feature life totals, it doesn’t rely on traditional attacks. Instead, your offence is all about driving your...

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AU Deals: Big Digital Discounts and Quietly Brilliant Gems Across All Platforms Today

Sometimes a bargains haul comes along that perfectly aligns with my bad habit of adding more to my backlog than I clear. This idle Tuesday's mix is an irresistible blend of heavy hitters and cult curios that deserve a spot in anyone’s library. As per always, I’ve found myself revisiting old favourites and even picking up a few oddities I’d somehow missed. This Day in Gaming 🎂 In retro news, I'm celebrating the 42nd birthday of Mario Bros., the arcade cabinet that launched a plumbing empire. Partially inspired by some of Joust's mechanics (and an Italian-American landlord hounding Nintendo for rent), Mario Bros. was a non-scrolling arena affair that was quite addictive, especially in simultaneous two-player. Interestingly, it was made...

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Game Fans (And Trolls) Are Racing To Claim Pixels in Wplace

I'm looking at a map of my city, Kansas City, right now, and wondering what I should do for fun this coming weekend. Should I visit the giant purple Zoroark stomping over downtown? If I want to see the Superman with the glowing red eyes in the suburbs to the south, I first have to pass Ralsei Deltarune sitting atop the highway, smoking an enormous blunt. I could go visit the Northland, but there is an enormous United Airlines plane straddling the Missouri River, which might make transit a bit confusing. Hmm. Options, options. That probably sounded like nonsense if you're not aware of wplace, a delightful new time waster in the form of a world map where users can draw a single pixel in a color of their choice, wherever they like, once...

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23 User Mods Competing for $50,000 in NVIDIA’s RTX Remix Mod Contest

NVIDIA RTX Remix is a modding platform for RTX AI PCs that allows modders to remaster classic games by adding full raytracing, enhancing textures, adjusting lighting, moving environmental objects, and adding DLSS 4 to improve image quality and performance. RTX Remix released in March this year, and there are already more than 350 active projects using it and more than 100 released mods. To showcase the improvements this technology makes possible, NVIDIA is hosting a competition featuring 23 user-created mods for a wide range of classic titles, including BioShock, Portal 2, and multiple Need for Speed, Star Wars, and Call of Duty games. These mods will face off in four categories with a grand total of $50,000 up for grabs, with winners...

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Oh No, Everyone in World of Warcraft Is Falling for the Hot, Evil Lady Who Will Definitely Try and Kill Us Later

Oh no, the latest World of Warcraft patch has us teaming up with an evil cosmic void being who has tried to kill us many times already and will definitely stab us in the back later...but we're all kind of okay with it? Partially because we have no choice but also because she's hot and sarcastic? I'm talking about Xal'atath. You know, this lady. Heads up, I'm going to talk in this article about spoilers for World of Warcraft: The War Within leading up to the events in Patch 11.2, Ghosts of K'aresh that dropped last Tuesday. If you haven't started playing the patch yet and don't want to know what's happening, maybe don't keep reading. Even if you're a lapsed World of Warcraft player, you might know this lady if you've dipped in as...

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Pick Up the Slim Anker Ace 45W USB Type-C Wall Charger for Just $12 at Target

Need a backup wall charger for your Apple iPhone 16 or Nintendo Switch 2? Target just dropped the price on the Anker Ace 45W USB Type-C wall charger to just $11.99 (it's normally $20). Target offers free shipping on orders over $35, or you can simply buy online and pickup in-store for free. This is a very inexpensive price for an Anker branded charging brick with enough power output to fast charge most portable electronics. Note that no cables are included. Anker Ace 45W USB Wall Charger for $11.99 The Anker Ace is about as tiny as you can get with a wall charger thanks to its use of gallium nitride (GaN) instead of the more common silicon for its semiconductor material. This makes the charger smaller, faster, and more...

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After Warhammer 40,000 Fans Complained About the Removal of a Space Marine Scream From Dawn of War's Beloved Intro Cinematic, the Developer of the Upc

The Space Marine scream is back! Back where it belongs, according to many Warhammer 40,000 fans who had complained about its removal from Dawn of War’s iconic intro cinematic for the new version released to promote the upcoming Definitive Edition. Deep breath… last month developer Relic Entertainment released an "enhanced" version of Dawn of War’s intro cinematic to accompany the announcement of the August 14 release date of the Definitive Edition. The video, below, reveals the insertion of dialogue from the 2004 Dawn of War real-time strategy game into its intro cinematic, replacing some of the original audio along the way. Chief among the changes was the removal of an “iconic” (at least, for Warhammer 40,000 fans!) guttural scream...

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Save 33% Off the Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller

Walmart is offering a steep discount on one of the most recently released themed Xbox Series X wireless controllers. For a limited time, the Xbox Wireless Controller Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition is on sale for $54 with free shipping. It is sold by Walmart directly and not a marketplace vendor. Even if you don't own an Xbox, this is still a great deal, since it's also one of the best PC gamepads for the price. Get Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Xbox Controller for $54 This Xbox controller is themed after the new Doom: The Dark Ages, which we recently reviewed. Specifically, it's modeled after the Doomslayer's blood-splattered matte green armor with 3D elements like silver helmet spikes and plated sheathing across the top...

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Arrowhead Says Fortnite's New Alien Bug Season Is Very 'We Have Helldivers at Home'

The latest season of Fortnite sees you and your squad fending off insectoid alien enemies nicknamed Bugs while levelling up your battle pass — and if that sounds familiar, well, you aren't the first to notice. Arrowhead Game Studios, developer of Helldivers 2, another shooter where you squad up against insectoid alien enemies nicknamed Bugs, has now commented on the similarities — and suggested it was a case of imitation being a form of flattery. "Hmmm... it's giving 'we have Helldivers at home,'" community manager Katherine Baskin wrote on the game's Discord (thanks, Videogamer), before adding: "I'm not worried." "Fortnite is Fortnite, Helldivers is Helldivers," Baskin continued. "If the kings of video game drip think our drip is...

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Whipping Up a Storm: How Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Took Big Last-Minute Changes on the Chin To Become a Hit With Critics and Players

At the Develop Conference in Brighton, MachineGames’ Design Director Jens Andersson and Audio Director Pete Ward told an audience how the Swedish studio approached making Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the well-received return of the adventuring archaeologist to the world of video games. Their talk revealed a number of insights into the stresses of the game's development, how it all came together pretty late in the day (as video games tend to), and the audio quirks that threw more than a few spanners in the works. But what shone throughout was just how much effort the developers put into recreating the world of Indiana Jones as authentically as possible. Everything from the iconic sound of the whip to how market stalls would have...

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Why Has There Never Been a Dragon Age: Origins Remaster? BioWare Exec Explains Past Plans and Continued Difficulties

Former Dragon Age franchise boss Mark Darrah has discussed BioWare's difficulty getting a remaster of the series' first game off the ground, and why it would be a much tougher project than Mass Effect's trilogy re-release. Firstly, speaking about the future of the Dragon Age series after the mixed response to last year's Veilguard, Darrah told YouTube channel MrMattyPlays that he was "not sure" how a new entry in the series would get started. Darrah has spoken in the past of how BioWare is now a single-project studio, and with the company now slimmed-down in size and solely focused on Mass Effect 5, that leaves Dragon Age on pause for the forseeable future. Instead, Darrah said, he believed BioWare should next focus on remakes of the...

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Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick Insists Projections for the 'Lifetime Value' of Civilization 7 Are 'Very Consistent With Our Initial Expectations for the

We’re now half a year since the troubled launch of Civilization 7, which has fewer players on Steam than both Civilization 6 and the 15-year-old Civilization 5. But according to the boss of Take-Two, Civ 7 is projected to meet the company's initial internal expectations over the course of its lifetime. Civilization 7 has had a rough launch on Steam and has struggled for players on Valve’s platform ever since its launch in February. Reaction is ‘mixed,’ according to Steam user reviews. Civ 7’s Steam performance does not paint the entire picture, of course. The strategy game also launched on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (the Nintendo Switch 2 version and a VR version recently launched, too). But Civilization’s bread and butter...

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