Gaming News

F1 23 Launches In June With Upgraded Handling and Story Mode

EA has announced that EA Sports F1 23 will release on June 16 later this year. Coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, the latest game in the F1 series features the return of the Braking Point single player story mode alongside a range of gameplay, and quality of life improvements. This latest chapter of the Braking Point story mode will follow the careers of protagonist Devon Butler and teammate Aiden Jackson as they struggle to compete with real world racing legends as part of the Konnersport Racing Team. “The return of Braking Point allows players to immerse themselves in a racing story, which provides a unique look at F1 alongside the authentic race features our players know and love,” commented Lee Mather, senior...

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World of Warcraft Leads Explain How Faster Release Cadence Helps Development Team Avoid 'Heroics'

World of Warcraft’s community has been rather high on the latest expansion, Dragonflight, for a number of reasons. Among them is the general feeling that – contrary to the previous expansion, Shadowlands – there’s always plenty to do. And yet, World of Warcraft leads say that while the release cadence is faster than ever, shifts in how they pace and announce these updates are helping the team avoid crunching to make them happen. Speaking to IGN, game director Ion Hazzikostas says that the team heard the “tremendous amount” of feedback about content drought in Shadowlands, and began work to retool its public test realm (PTR) so the company could have two PTR builds running at the same time. World of Warcraft’s public test realm is...

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Immortals of Aveum Is Out in July - Here Are the Preorder Bonuses

If you’re looking for a new first-person shooter to get your hands on this summer, Immortals of Aveum is here with a spin on the genre that replaces a trigger with magic at your fingertips. The new game from Ascendant Studios is out on July 20 of this year and is currently up for preorder. We’ve gathered all of the important details on it for you to know ahead of its release below - from where you can preorder the game to bonuses included with a preorder. Preorder Immortals of Aveum PS5 Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 Get it at Walmart - $69.99 Get it at GameStop - $69.99 Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99 Xbox Series X|S Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 Get it at Walmart - $69.99...

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New Xbox Games Showcase Announced for June With Dedicated Starfield Direct

Microsoft has announced that a new Xbox Games Showcase will be livestreamed this June, and will once again include reveals of upcoming Xbox games from both first and third-party studios. In addition there will also be a Starfield Direct; a whole show dedicated to a deep-dive on Bethesda’s upcoming space-faring RPG. As detailed on the Xbox Wire blog, the Xbox Games Showcase will be livestreamed on Sunday, June 11 at 10am PT (6pm UK, 5am AEST). No specific developers or games have been teased, but naturally whatever is shown will be our first look at what’s coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass in the future. Starfield Direct, which will be aired immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase, will feature “tons of new gameplay, developer...

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Xbox Game Pass in May 2023: Redfall, Weird West, Ravenlok and More

Microsoft has officially announced its first wave of games hitting Xbox Game Pass in May. The latest blog post includes a handful of new games coming to the service in the following weeks, including the likes of Weird West, Shadowrun Trilogy, Amnesia: The Bunker, and more. Redfall is also now available for those on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and cloud gaming (see our review-in-progress here). You can see the current list of games that are on Xbox Game Pass this month, just below. But, remember there will also be another set of Game Pass annoucements in the latter half of the month. Everything Coming to Xbox Game Pass in May 2023 This is everything so far confirmed to be hitting Xbox Game Pass this month. Stay tuned for more updates on the...

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The Last Case of Benedict Fox Review

2.5D Metroidvanias are hardly thin on the ground, but The Last Case of Benedict Fox has a striking sense of style and some truly stimulating puzzle solving to help it stand out from the side-scrolling platforming pack. Unfortunately it doesn’t quite have all the fundamentals covered, with sluggish controls that weigh heavily on combat and platforming, and a lack of story objective signposting that makes navigating its expanding rabbit warren of wonders far more mystifying than it should be. As a result, it’s a disappointingly uneven adventure that’s just as likely to engage as it is to enrage, and there were lengthy stretches in its back half where Benedict’s last case started to feel worryingly like a lost cause. The case in question...

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PS5 Console Bundle Leviathan Axed to $799, Twenty Bucks off Switch Must-Owns, and More Aussie Deals!

Today is a day for God of War, past and present. In contemporary terms, you can score this Spartan's latest and Krato-est adventure and a PS5 for a top price. In ancient terms, it's been 16-years to the day since God of War II (PS2) landed on our sunny shores. Amazing sequel. Greeks of quality still. This Day in Gaming Sonic Adventure 2 (GC) launch, 2002. -50% Wave Race: Blue Storm (GC) launch, 2002. Elite Beat Agents (DS) launch, 2007. God of War II (PS2) launch, 2007. Sequel Final Fantasy III (DS) launch, 2007. Remaster Valkyrie Profile (PSP) launch, 2007. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGO Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring recent deals Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring recent...

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Marvel's Midnight Suns Switch Version Officially Canceled

Marvel’s Midnight Suns won’t be coming to Nintendo Switch after all. 2K and Firaxis Games have officially confirmed that Midnight Suns won’t be released on Nintendo Switch, despite the game’s impending PS4 and Xbox One release. “We're excited to announce that digital versions of Marvel's Midnight Suns on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are scheduled to launch on Thursday, May 11,” they confirmed. “Note that a Nintendo Switch version of Marvel's Midnight Suns is no longer planned.” Obviously, that’s bad news for Nintendo Switch fans. But thankfully, it’s not a long wait for PS4 AND Xbox One players, with Midnight Suns heading to digital on both platforms in just over a week – that includes all 4 DLC instalments, too. “This coincides with...

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Titanfall Series Director Working on New IP for Respawn

Titanfall and Titanfall 2 director Steve Fukuda is working on “something new” for Respawn Entertainment. During an interview with Axios Gaming, Respawn director Vince Zampella revealed that Fukuda is currently leading a “very small” team that’s exploring new IP. “The mission is to find the fun in something new,” said Zampella. Fukuda is perhaps best known for his work on the Titanfall series, as director of the popular FPS franchise. Titanfall began as an online multiplayer game, with Titanfall 2 building upon this with a thoroughly enjoyable solo campaign. Since the sequel’s release in 2016, fans have been dying to see another installment in the Titanfall franchise. Although, there are apparently no plans to make Titanfall 3...

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World of Warcraft Director Says ChatGPT Told Him to Revisit One of WoW's Least Loved Expansions

With AI technology increasingly in the news, more and more game developers have been examining how much, if at all, they want to integrate artificial intelligence into their development pipelines. And while much of this discussion is taking place amid real fears that AI will replace real human beings in developer jobs, World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas isn’t concerned about that happening to him after a recent encounter with ChatGPT. Speaking to IGN ahead of the launch of the latest major patch, Embers of Neltharion, Hazzikostas says that one of the first things he did when he first gained access to AI chatbot ChatGPT was ask it what the next World of Warcraft expansion should be. And its answer was uniquely terrible on...

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Best Video Game Deals: PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC Games and More

There are two camps when it comes to buying video games: those who want to join the conversation immediately, and those who don't mind waiting a bit and grabbing a great video game deal. In the complex and gigantic world of video game deals, sometimes those two needs converge into one: game preorders, for example, will often see discounts or other enticements ahead of release. But generally speaking, the best way to get a deal on a video game, whether it's for your PS5, your Xbox, your Nintendo Switch or your PC, is to just wait. It's no secret the best time to buy an Ubisoft game, for example, is a few weeks after launch. Ubisoft is often generous with its video game deals, so if you don't absolutely need to play the newest...

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Xbox Launches Game Pass Friend Referral Program For PC

Xbox has announced a new PC Game Pass referral program that lets existing members gift a free trial of the subscription service to a friend. Every Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass holder will be able to send a total of five friend referrals by clicking the “Give PC Game Pass” button located on your Game Pass home screen menu. Each trial can be redeemed to grant access to a 14-day PC Game Pass trial, as long as the target of your generosity is new to the service. Microsoft has launched the program to coincide with the release of Arkane’s first-person action horror shooter Redfall, which was released earlier today on Game Pass for Xbox consoles and PC. Beyond Redfall the trial unlocks all of the content usually contained in...

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Apex Legends Season 17: Ballistic Abilities and All Patch Notes Explained

Apex Legends Season 17, or Arsenal, is coming May 9th and brings in a brand new Legend, major map changes to World’s Edge, new Firing Range, Weapon Mastery, and an overhauled Rank System. Every season, Respawn aims to improve and bring meaningful updates to Apex and Season 17 is looking to be an especially ambitious one. Here’s everything you need to know about everything coming to Apex Legends Arsenal on May 9th. Let’s go over the new Legend, Ballistic, first. I have a separate lore video for him that you can watch on this channel. Ballistic is an Assault Legend so he gets the passive benefits of unlocking the class specific Assault bins throughout the maps and can additionally carry more ammo per stack in his inventory. Here’s how...

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Fans Love New Froggy Character Turgle

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor fans have fallen hard in love with an unlikely character - a strangely charismatic frog-boy called Turgle. Fans first encountered Turgle on the planet Koboh, where protagonist Cal Kestis intercedes to save the alien’s life from an electrifying end at the hands of the Bedlam Raiders - a criminal group intent on terrorising the system under the leadership of the Gen’dai Rayvis. Though some gamers low-key wish that Cal had left Turgle to the predations of the Bedlam Raiders, others immediately fell for the comedic character’s open naivety and ineffable big frog energy. Whilst Turgle appears generally upbeat during his interactions with Cal, players can find hints of the amphibian’s deeply-rooted self doubt and...

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Ukraine's Army Has Found a Novel Use for the Steam Deck

The Ukrainian army is using the Steam Deck as part of its military operations, but not as a method for soldiers to unwind with video games during downtime. Instead, the handheld PC is being used to remote control machine gun turrets deployed on the frontline. As reported by PC Gamer, a video from TRO Media has demonstrated Ukrainian soldiers working with the “Shablya” turret (Ukrainian for “saber”), which is operated remotely by a Steam Deck. As we’ve learned from a whole bunch of Tom Clancy and Call of Duty games, remote controlled turrets are very useful in warfare since they allow fire to be laid down without directly exposing a gun operator to enemy shots. The video offers a quick glimpse of how the Steam Deck interfaces with...

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Street Fighter 6 - The Final Preview

I can’t think of another game I’ve put more time into pre-release than Street Fighter 6. Between time spent playing the game at the Capcom booth at Summer Game Fest Play Days back when it was first announced last year, to the late nights grinding through ranked matchmaking across two betas, to the times I’ve been fortunate enough to play it through special events at IGN, I feel like I can pretty confidently say that the core fighting of Street Fighter 6 is going to be excellent. But that’s just one piece of the pie, and while the recently released demo has given us a small taste of everything else the full game will have to offer, I recently visited Capcom to play an updated build and delve even deeper. So, here are my final...

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A Mario and Splatoon Title Drop Below $50, Save Hundreds on LEGO Star Warring, and More Aussie Deals!

Welcome to a week of cost effective Star Warsing. For starters, Steam has made like Han and shot way too prematurely with its May The 4th discounts. (I'm totally ok with the moral implications of this scoundrel act.) Next, we have the continuance of me finding you the lowest prices for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Finally, LEGO has a somewhat convoluted promo that can potentially lightsaber lop serious bucks off selected sets. This Day in Gaming NBA Street Vol. 2 (GC, PS2, XB) launch, 2003. Skullgirls (PS3) launch, 2012. Soul Sacrifice (PSV) launch, 2013. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGO Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring recent deals Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring recent deals...

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Redfall Review in Progress

With Redfall arriving at IGN just a couple of days ahead of its official release date we haven’t had enough time to complete a final review yet – certainly not without becoming a nocturnal monster myself and staying awake all weekend. However, after several sessions – solo, co-op with a friend, and also in a group of three – I must admit I’m thoroughly underwhelmed by Redfall’s vanilla missions and lifeless world, and very disappointed at its lengthy list of display issues and bugs. Redfall is a distinct departure from the likes of Deathloop and Dishonored. Certainly some of that Arkane DNA has sidestepped its way into the finished product – chiefly in the magical abilities of the four available powered-up protagonists – but Redfall’s...

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Brings Back The Original Game's Most Infamous Foe

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Star Wars Jedi: Survivor features many connective threads and deep cuts to the established lore of the decades-spanning sci-fi/fantasy franchise. Throughout Jedi Knight Cal Kestis's journey across the galaxy, he'll encounter familiar enemies to battle and overcome. However, one particular foe from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order made quite an impact on players who were brave enough to fight it, and it's now back with a vengeance in the sequel. In Survivor, players can get a rematch against the oddly named, but totally dangerous, Oggdo Bogdo -- which was an original creation from Fallen Order. When most players first encountered the foe in Fallen Order, many were...

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How Honkai: Star Rail Is Using AI Technology to Supplement Development

More and more game studios are actively discussing and considering the implications of new AI technologies in development, and Honkai: Star Rail developer miHoYo is among them. The fourth entry in the Honkai series launched last week for PC and mobile, bringing gacha and other systems familiar from its prior open world hit Genshin Impact to a classic RPG format with familiar nods to prior Honkai games. And like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail is a massive game, with plans to continue growing over time. It’s made by a development team of over 500 people, but even with so many on board its scale makes it unsurprising that the developers used at least a couple AI techniques to polish off certain otherwise-handcrafted design elements...

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Is $10 Off on Amazon

It’s only been out for a weekend, but already Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is on sale for $10 off at Amazon. The deal applies to physical copies of the game on Xbox Series X and PS5, and you do have to clip the on-page coupon to get the discount. It’s rare these days to see a discount so early on a game this good (see our 9/10 review). If you pick it up, make sure to clip the on-page coupon, or you’ll end up paying full price. Get Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for $59.99 at Amazon Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after the events of Fallen Order. It puts you back in the shoes of Cal Kestis as you re-assemble your squad and take on the Imperial threat. Unlike many games of this type, you get to keep the abilities Cal learned in...

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CMA Says Microsoft Would Lose 'Substantial' Money By Making Call of Duty Exclusive in 'All Plausible Scenarios'

Among the many findings in the more than 400-page report released by the UK's Competitions and Markets Authority blocking the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, the agency concludes that the fears put forward by Sony regarding Call of Duty exclusivity are unwarranted. In fact, the UK regulator determines that Xbox would lose "substantial" money if it ever tried to keep Call of Duty all to itself. While the exact numbers have been redacted to protect the privacy of the third-parties involved (Sony, Xbox, and Activision Blizzard), the report specifically models two theoretical scenarios where Microsoft could attempt to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation platforms, before concluding that "it would not be financially...

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Has a New Performance Patch for PC, PlayStation and Xbox Update Arriving Soon

A new update for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has rolled out today, May 1, for PC players that addresses some of the game's ongoing performance issues, and an even more extensive update is planned for console versions tomorrow, May 2. EA took to Twitter to announce that PC players can now download an update that brings "performance issues for non-raytraced rendering." Meanwhile, an update for consoles on Tuesday packs a massive slate of improvements expected to rectify many of the woes players have experienced since the game's launch last week. It's important to note that the PC version has already received these other updates. The patch offers fixes for a multitude of crashes and glitches that have caused problems throughout Respawn's...

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PSA: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Spoilers Have Begun to Leak

It may be hard to believe, friends, but we are one week away from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's launch week! While that is undoubtedly very exciting, leaks have unfortunately started to happen online and we're here to remind you to stay safe out there. We here at IGN won't be sharing any of these spoilers or links to them, but there are threads on Reddit's r/GamingLeaksAndRumours and others that have started to share some screenshots, gameplay footage, and more. These appear to be from 4Chan, Discord, and other places. We've also confirmed that art from what appears to be The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's art book have also leaked to some who may have gotten their hands on a copy of it early. There was a leak...

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Skyrim Mod Uses ChatGPT and Other AI Tools to Give NPCs a Memory and Endless Things to Say

A Skyrim modder named Art From The Machine has shown off a mod they're working on that uses ChatGPT and other AI tools to give NPCs a memory of your adventure, endless things for them to say, and a way to ask them questions with your voice. As reported by PC Gamer, this mod uses ChatGPT in concert with xVASynth for text-to-speech that lets NPCs speak these new answers with an AI version of their voice and Whisper for speech-to-text so players can use their own voice via a mic to ask questions to them. As you can see in the video here, the new responses from the NPCs aren't quite natural as of yet and can be a bit slow, but it shows promise of a world where NPCs can comment on nearly everything you do and even answer questions...

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Face-Off: Who Is the Most Powerful Jedi?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is finally here and we are all once again able to join Cal Kestis on his quest to stop the Empire from destroying everything in its path as it tries to bring about a new future that really isn’t so wonderful. In honor of this long-awaited release, we thought we’d look at who the most powerful Jedi is in current Star Wars canon. However, we need your help to answer this question. Do you think Cal Kestis is more powerful than Luke Skywalker? Is Ahsoka actually more powerful than Anakin Skywalker before he turned to the Dark Side? We’ve selected 63 Jedi from the Star Wars universe to “Face-Off” against each other two at a time, and it’s up to you to choose who the most powerful is. Will you pick Plo Koon over...

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PSA: Don't Miss Jedi Survivor's Very Easy to Miss XP Boosts

With upwards of 75 Skills to unlock in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, gathering enough experience to comfortably earn enough Skill Points for all the necessary skills needed -- such as Split Reflections, Maximizing your Force and Life, and Wrenching Pull -- won't be an easy challenge to accomplish. Thankfully, if you know where to look, two easy-to-miss Perks can be obtained before the halfway point of the main story. These Perks can be a complete game changer, as they'll make gaining experience and earning Skill Points much easier. So, here's everything you need to know: Wisdom Perk - Best Overall XP Perk Wisdom Perk Cost: 3 Perk Slots Description: Gain more experience from defeating enemies. Prerequisites: Completion of the fifth...

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How to Pair a PS4 Controller to a PC

The Sony DualSense controller for PS5 may be the latest and greatest, but outside of a few games that take advantage of its extra features, it didn’t add all that much to the already great DualShock 4 controller that came with the PS4. Since the PS4 controller is now a generation in the past, it should be easier than ever to pick up for a steal. And, since it can be set up to work with PC, it works great as one of the best PC controllers. See also: How to connect a PS5 controller to PC Items You’ll Need to Pair a PS4 Controller With PC: Data-enabled Micro-USB cable Bluetooth adapter for PC To get your PS4 controller working with your PC, you’re going to need to decide how you want to connect. You can pair it over Bluetooth if...

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7 Games Like The Sims Worth Playing in 2023

The Sims franchise has been an incredible success since its release in the early 2000s and to this day there haven't been any real competitors. Despite The Sims being truly one of a kind, the life simulation genre is alive and well. In The Sims, you can create your own character (known as a "Sim"), build a home for your Sim, interact with other Sims, and live out the life you want-the possibilities are endless. Players orchestrate the mundane daily activities of their Sims and their success is dependent upon the players' decisions. While nothing can truly match the full Sims experience, here are just a few games we think you'll enjoy if you like The Sims. It's also worth noting that you can play The Sims 4 for free, so if you're just...

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How Dead Island 2 Was Brought Back From the Dead | IGN Inside Stories

Dead Island 2’s development cycle is infamous at this point. Initially revealed in 2014, its journey has been almost as treacherous as a runner trying to make it along Venice Beach in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Two studios tried to put a sequel together but were met with little more than a gory disaster. But while those projects died, hope did not. And so, the reins were handed to the team at Dambuster Studios. Over the course of nine years and three developers, the long-awaited zombie-killing sequel has kept running (or walking) on. And now, it is finally at the finish line. This is the Inside Story of how Dead Island 2 was brought back from the dead. The Dead Island 2 we’re playing today is unapologetically pulpy - a...

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