Gaming News

Doom: The Dark Ages - Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on May 13 if you buy one of the more expensive editions, or May 15 if you buy the standard edition. The latest in a long line of heavy-metal-infused, demon-slaying first-person shooters, Doom: The Dark Ages promises to offer plenty of pools of blood and gore as you blast your way through the hordes of hell. Fun times. It’s available to preorder now in handful of editions (see it at Best Buy). Below, you’ll find details about what comes in each edition, where it’s available, and more. Put on your Slayer suit and let’s dive in. Doom: The Dark Ages - Standard Edition PS5 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 Get it at Target - $69.99 Get it at Walmart - $69.99 Get it at PS...

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Every LEGO Game on the Nintendo Switch in 2025

The collaborative relationship between LEGO and Nintendo, two world leaders in family-friendly entertainment that operate in the adjacent realms of toys and games, began with the 1999 release of LEGO Racers on N64. At least one LEGO game has been released on a Nintendo platform nearly every year since, and multiple Nintendo-themed LEGO sets have been released each year since they debuted in 2020. The LEGO-Nintendo synergy has persisted through the Switch era, and with the Switch 2 officially due out this year, we’re looking back on the legacy of LEGO on the Switch. How Many LEGO Games Are There on Nintendo Switch? As of January 2025, 17 LEGO games have been released on Switch, from LEGO Undercover City in 2017 to the PlayStation...

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AU Deals: Under the Hood of Assassin's Creed Shadows and Killer Deals on the Cheapest Copies

When this 18-year AC fan was told he’d be spending time in Shadows, that's exactly what happened. Literally, shadows. My preview build was set darker than an Abstergo CEO’s soul, and a unique quirk of it was a lack of brightness settings. Compounding the issue: my choice to use the nocturnal ninja deuteragonist, Naoe, exclusively. I was soon tested by bandit ronin, angry samurai, and those big-boned gits game designers love to roll out as Heavies. My greatest enemy, however, was the Stygian darkness around me. Trying to fight silhouetted foes by their UI flourishes and navigating intricate castle battlements using controller vibration braille? Challenging. It dawned on me that I’d simply have to wait until the sun came up, in-game...

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Doom: The Dark Ages – The First Preview

After id Software’s brilliant revival of Doom in 2016 and its even tighter 2020 sequel Doom Eternal, it’d be hard for Doom to soar any higher. So it isn’t. Instead, it’s keeping both feet planted firmly on the ground and bringing the high-speed, high-skill-ceiling first-person shooter even closer to the scores of Hell’s minions in the medieval-tinged prequel, Doom: The Dark Ages. Yes, the new Doom pivots from Eternal’s platforming and instead literally grounds its combat in strafe-heavy gameplay with an emphasis on power. Sure, the great guns are still there – this is Doom, after all! – and that very much includes the new Skull Crusher that stood out in the reveal trailer. You know, the one that eats the skulls of your fallen enemies...

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Doom: The Dark Ages Has a Release Date and an Explanation for Why It’s Single-Player Campaign Only

Doom: The Dark Ages was one of the stars of Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025 showcase, with confirmation of a release date, new gameplay footage, and plenty more. First up, the release date. Doom: The Dark Ages launches May 15, 2025 across Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC. As a Microsoft-owned game, Doom: The Dark Ages launches day one on Game Pass. The Collector’s Bundle includes up to two days of early access. There is no mention of a release on the just-announced Nintendo Switch 2, although Microsoft is reportedly bringing many of its games to the next-gen console once it comes out later in 2025. We also have confirmation that Doom: The Dark Ages is single-player campaign only. Both 2016’s Doom and its sequel...

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Doom: The Dark Ages Soundtrack Composer Revealed

The composer of Doom: The Dark Ages’ soundtrack has been revealed to be Finishing Move, the music production team behind the award-nominated Borderlands 3 and Halo Wars 2 original scores. Formed by the duo of Brian Trifon and Brian Lee White, Finishing Move has been closely aligned with Microsoft’s games over the past decade, with credits on Halo 2: Anniversary Edition, Grounded, and Microsoft Flight Simulator to their name, as well as recently crafting the score for survival horror The Callisto Protocol. During Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct, Doom: The Dark Ages game director, Hugo Martin, announced Finishing Move’s creation of the soundtrack, describing it as “a metal soundscape that’s loaded with guitars, medieval vibes, and...

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gets a Release Date

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we got another look at upcoming Xbox RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with a release date of April 24, 2025. In a new trailer, we got more info on the game's story, which we're told doesn't focus on good vs. evil. Rather it focuses on a group of complicated, messy people who all are brought together to defeat that which is a threat to all of them. There's a focus on the relationship between the characters, and while it can get introspective, there are also NPCs whose stories and mechanics are somewhat lighter. As we've seen in past trailers, the UI and battle menus are exceptionally stylish, channeling Persona a bit in their big energy. The world itself is inspired by French art deco style...

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South of Midnight Release Date Revealed at Xbox Developer Direct

During today's Xbox Developer Director, we saw a new trailer for South of Midnight complete with a release date of April 3, 2025 for those who purchase the premium edition, and April 8, 2025 for everyone else. South of Midnight is a third-person action-adventure game set in a fantastical version of the American Deep South. In the trailer, we saw a good look at main character Hazel's powers, which blend the traditional craft of weaving with magic to allow her to fight, conjure things, and overcome environmental obstacles. As she fights, Hazel "unravels" enemies to destroy them in action combat, and has some elements of customization in her fighting style that can help her counter different types of enemies. Hazel's story starts with...

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Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Announced — and It’s Out Now

As well as announcing Ninja Gaiden 4, Koei Tecmo has announced a remake of 2008 Xbox 360 action game Ninja Gaiden 2 — and it’s out now. Announced during Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black shadow-dropped across Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC via Steam and Microsoft Store, and with Game Pass on console, PC and cloud today, January 23. For more, here's everything announced during Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025. Here's the official blurb on Ninja Gaiden 2 Black: In a post on Xbox Wire, Team Ninja boss Fumihiko Yasuda explained the decision to remaster Ninja Gaiden 2. “This simultaneous announcement and same-day release alongside Ninja Gaiden 4 might have caught some people by...

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Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced at Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct 2025

Ninja Gaiden is back in a big way, with Ninja Gaiden 4 revealed as the mystery fourth game shown at Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025. It's due out fall 2025 for Xbox Series X and S, PC via Steam, and PlayStation 5 and is a day one Xbox Game Pass launch title. Ninja Gaiden 4 is published by Xbox Game Studios and in development at PlatinumGames, creator of Bayonetta and Nier: Automata, with Team Ninja collaborating. Expect a new main playable character, a young ninja prodigy called Yakumo, although previous protagonist Ryu Hayabusa does appear in the story. It's a direct sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, but set a significant amount of time since the events of that game in a "gruesomely transformed" Tokyo, Microsoft said. Meanwhile...

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Turn-Based RPG King Arthur: Legends Rise Launches on Steam

King Arthur: Legends Rise is a turn-based squad RPG from Netmarble that launched for free this week on Steam. You play as the legendary King Arthur in a fantasy world where mankind and the gods are at war. To gain the power necessary to fight back against the gods, Arthur seeks out the fabled blade Excalibur. Trapped within the sword is the dragon Caliburn, with whom Arthur makes a dark pact to gain the ability to wield it. With blade in hand, you’ll embark on a mission to unite Britain and restore the kingdom of Camelot to glory. To carry out that mission, you’ll summon allies pulled from the pages of Arthurian legend — iconic characters like Morgan le Fay, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and more. Each character has their own...

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Xbox Developer Direct 2025: Everything Announced

Xbox's big Developer Direct has arrived for 2025 and features some big games headed to Xbox players later this year, including Doom: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the surprise reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4. You can check out all the news from the Xbox Developer Direct below, and be sure to let us know which game you are most excited for in the comments below! Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced From Team Ninja and PlatinumGames for Fall 2025 Team Ninja and PlatinumGames have announced Ninja Gaiden 4, which will be the first entry in the beloved franchise in over a decade. While Ryu Hayabusa will play an important role in the story and will be playable, Ninja Gaiden 4 will star Yakumo, a new character from the...

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Tim Sweeney Says Epic Can Afford to Keep Spending Billions Fighting Apple and Google for the Future of Fortnite on Mobile for Decades to Come

Epic boss Tim Sweeney has spent quite a lot of money fighting Apple and Google over the way they run their app stores. How much? Billions of dollars. That, you’d think, would be unsustainable for most companies. But for Sweeney it’s an investment — a long term investment. Sweeney’s ongoing battle to get Fortnite back on iPhones and Android phones while avoiding paying store fees is well-documented. The gist is this: Epic doesn’t want to pay the now standard 30% store fees on revenue made on mobile games. Instead, it wants to run the likes of Fortnite through its own mobile store, the Epic Games Store, without Apple and Google getting in the way and gobbling up its profit. Back in 2020, this dispute ended up with Fortnite blocked from...

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Assassin's Creed Shadows Director Says Recent Delay was to Polish Parkour, Especially on 'Super Complex Roofs'

Assassin's Creed Shadows is expected to launch March 20, 2025, after multiple delays. The most recent was only by a month, which doesn't seem like much time to change anything significant. So why did Ubisoft push the game? According to the game director: roofs. At a recent preview event for Shadows, we spoke with game director Charles Benoit, who confirmed that the month delay was "mostly about polishing" and did not change any big systems. The team did update "a couple of things in progression to make it more engaging, also balancing a bit more." But the main feature that needed extra tweaking was the parkour system, which Benoit says was running up against an obstacle unique to Feudal Japan. "The Japanese architecture, the roofs...

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We Finally Know What Assassin's Creed's Mysterious 'Infinity' Is

Alongside previews for Assassin's Creed Shadows going live today, Ubisoft offered detail on a new feature for all future Assassin's Creed games called the Animus Hub, which seems to be the previously-reported Assassin's Creed: Infinity. In a presentation from Ubisoft that IGN attended, Ubisoft revealed the Animus Hub, effectively a starting point from which games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows can be launched. However, Ubisoft was adamant that this was not simply another game launcher, but rather a feature embedded in Shadows that will also be integrated into future games such as the upcoming Codename Hexe or Codename Invictus. The Animus Hub will be split into a number of sections, one of which will include direct paths to opening...

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Assassin's Creed Shadows: The Final Preview

In many ways, Assassin's Creed Shadows has been a long time coming. The setting of feudal era Japan has been one of the dream locales that fans and even Ubisoft developers have had for the franchise's jaunt through humanity's secret history, and it's finally serving as the backdrop for the next entry. But Shadows has also been a game that has seen some notable delays to ensure the developers stick the landing. Simply put, there's a lot of anticipation for what's in store for Ubisoft's big return to a massive Assassin's Creed RPG. After spending several hours playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, the next entry keeps up with the satisfying action and traversal that the series is known for, but it also showcases a sharper eye for...

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Warner Bros. Games Boss David Haddad Is Leaving the Company, a Year After Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s Disastrous Launch

Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad is set to leave the company, according to a new report. Variety said Haddad will leave his role as president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment after 12 years of leading Warner Bros. Games. The company has had a troubled 12 months, first with the catastrophic release of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, then the disappointing release of Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus. Warner Bros. Discovery has said Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s failure contributed to a $200 million hit to its business, and MultiVersus added another $100 million on top. Warner Bros. Games' only new game release during the third quarter of 2024 was Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions...

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Capcom Experimenting With Generative AI to Create 'Hundreds of Thousands of Unique Ideas' Needed to Build In-Game Environments

Capcom is experimenting with generative AI to create the "hundreds of thousands" of ideas needed for in-game environments. As video game development costs rise, publishers are increasingly looking to controversial AI tools to speed up work and cut costs. Call of Duty reportedly sold an "AI-generated cosmetic" for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in late 2023, and fans accused Activision of using generative AI again for a loading screen last year. EA said in September that AI was "the very core" of its business. In a new interview with Google Cloud Japan, Kazuki Abe, a technical director at Capcom who has worked on huge titles like Monster Hunter: World and Exoprimal, explained how the company is experimenting with implementing AI in...

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Is the Best-Selling Game of 2025 in the U.S.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the best selling game of both December 2024 and the full year 2024 in the U.S., returning to the No.1 spot after Hogwarts Legacy took the crown in 2023. This is according to Circana data and analysis by Mat Piscatella shared with IGN. The annual Call of Duty release historically is almost always the No.1. best-selling game in the U.S. each year by dollar sales going back to 2008, with a few exceptions. Both Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption II beat it out in their respective release years, and in 2023, Hogwarts Legacy took the crown. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was back on top this year, though it's possible that victory is short-lived given Grand Theft Auto VI's expected release late this year...

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Palworld Developer Pocketpair Moves Into Publishing to Release Tales of Kenzera Dev's Next Game

Palworld developer Pocketpair is moving into the publishing business to release Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studio's next game. The newly formed Pocketpair Publishing said on X/Twitter it will support "a brand new horror game" from Surgent Studios, which released Tales of Kenzera: Zau as its debut title in April last year. The horror game published by Pocketpair won't be a continuation of that universe, however. "We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it," said Surgent Studios CEO Abubakar Salim. "Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what...

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Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 2.21 Adds DLSS 4 on PC and Additional Fixes

CD Projekt has announced that patch 2.21 for Cyberpunk 2077 is rolling out to players on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The brunt of the changes are largely fixes for photo mode, as well as DLSS 4 support for PC players. While patch 2.2 added a much deeper look at customization in photo mode, 2.21 adds heaps of fixes for the mode. One of the most notable is the ability to finally save characters and V’s rotation and position within your Photo Mode presets. There are also fixes present for “texture and color inconsistencies for vehicles that have CrystalCoat applied,” in addition to several other menu fixes for the vehicle customization system added in patch 2.11. For those looking at creating a character in future runs...

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AU Deals: Mad Deals on Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come 2, and a Bunch of LEGO Must Owns!

Today, I've got an eclectic gaggle of deals for you to play through over the weekend. There's a VR-y decent BYO Bundle for the headset-inclined, an Erdtree Edition for the masochists among you, and a bunch of CoDs (old and new) worth catching. Failing that, score some cut-price LEGO, because I'm obsessed with that also. In retro news, I'm celebrating the 28th birthday of Kirby Super Star, a SNES...er, super...star that we called Kirby's Fun Pak down under. The inclusion of two-player co-op was an uncommon feature in platformers of this age, so a neighbourhood pal and I were all about slowly unlocking and smashing through this eight-game omnibus at launch. In particular, we had a blast in Spring Breeze (Kirby's Dream Land abridged) and...

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Save on the Monster Hunter New Year Hunting Collection at Humble!

Monster Hunter is one of the biggest game franchises out there right now, with the highly anticipated release of Monster Hunter Wilds set for next month. If you've ever wanted to square up with towering beasts and monsters, this is the perfect series for you. Right now, Humble is offering the Monster Hunter New Year Hunting Collection, which packs in ten total items for only $25. This is a great starting place for beginners, as it gives you the biggest Monster Hunter games available on PC with their expansions. Check out the details below, and don't miss out on this incredible bundle! Monster Hunter New Year Hunting Collection at Humble This bundle is the ultimate deal if you've yet to purchase any Monster Hunter games on Steam...

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Celeste Teams' Next Game, Earthblade, Canceled

For fans of the 2D platformer Celeste, you'll be sad to hear that the developers' next game, Earthblade, has been canceled. In a blot post titled "Final Earthblade Update," Extremely OK Games announced that its follow-up to the award-winning game Celeste has been canceled. In the post, EXOK Director of R&D Maddy Thorson detailed the reasoning behind the decision, and what's next for the studio. "Lat last month, Noel [Berry, EXOK Computer Programmer] made the difficult decision to cancel Earthblade... We made this decision in December and felt it best to wait until now to announce it." Thorson's post details that at some point last year a dispute arose between Thorson and Berry and Earthblade art director Pedro Medeiros over the IP...

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard Had 1.5 Million Players in First Two Months, EA Expected 3 Million

EA has announced today that it is revising its outlook for the fiscal year after a slowdown in Global Football net bookings growth, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard missed the company's internal targets by nearly 50%. In a press release, the company said it was reducing its expectations for the fiscal year ending March of 2025 from mid-single-digit growth to mid-single-digit decline. The largest culprit, EA says, was global football, aka EA Sports FC, which it says experienced a slowdown last year in Q3 after two consecutive fiscal years of double-digit net bookings growth. In the press release, EA CEO Andrew Wilson specifically pointed to EA Sports FC 25 as underperforming. But in addition to global football, EA also mentioned that...

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Monster Hunter Wilds Developers Talk Weapon Changes – IGN First

Players prepare themselves each time a new Monster Hunter is released, wondering how their favorite weapon will feel in their hands in the upcoming game. Each of the 14 weapon types displays its own unique characteristics while still changing to fit the design of each new title. Monster Hunter: World did away with segmenting off each area during a quest, while Monster Hunter Rise is notable for its Wirebug action. The weapons that feel at home in the hunters' hands show a new side of themselves in line with a game's design. So, what kinds of concepts guided the tuning of each weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds, a game that aims to create a seamless hunting experience? To hear about these weapon details that act as determining gameplay...

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Terminator Crossover Brings the T-800 to Season 2

Activision and Treyarch have revealed more Call of Duty crossover content in the form of a Terminator event and themed cosmetics for Black Ops 6 Season 2. The developers behind the long-running first-person shooter franchise detailed its plans for the upcoming seasonal content drop in a blog post on its website. It comes with news about all the maps, modes, guns, and changes set to arrive when Season 2 starts next week. Included in the rundown is information about how The Terminator will make its Call of Duty debut with a special limited-time event that comes with unlockable rewards and in-game store skins that look like they were cooked up in a Skynet factory. The Terminator Tracer Pack is the real headline here, as it comes with...

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Tempest Rising Preview: An RTS That Takes Me Back to the ‘90s

As soon as I fired up the Tempest Rising demo for the first time, I had a good feeling. Watching the opening cinematic, which set the tone with cheesy dialogue from bulky armored soldiers and a reedy scientist, I couldn’t help but smile. The music, UI design, and units seem tailor-made to take me back to high school, when I’d stay up late playing Command & Conquer with my friends, hopped up on Mountain Dew, taco-flavored Pringles, and sleep deprivation. Recapturing the feeling through a new game in the modern era is a blast, and I’m excited to see what else the developers at Slipgate Ironworks have in store at launch and beyond. Whether I was jumping into Skirmish to play against bots with clever AI, or Ranked Multiplayer, playing...

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Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 21. The latest in a long line of Sega games about Japanese organized crime, it brings the beloved character of Goro Majuma to Hawaii. Where he becomes a pirate. It’s all there in the title, see? The game is available to preorder now (see it at Amazon) in a variety of editions. Read on to see what comes in each. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - Standard Edition PS5 Get it at Amazon - $59.99 Get it at Best Buy - $59.99 Get it at GameStop - $59.99 Get it at Target - $59.99 Get it at Walmart - $59.99 Get it at PS Store (digital) - $59.99 PS4 Get it at Amazon - $59.99 Get it at Best Buy - $59.99 Get it at GameStop -...

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Synduality Echo of Ada Review in Progress

The first time I lost my mech in Synduality Echo of Ada was on my second sortie, and lot of things went wrong. I didn’t buy insurance beforehand and I took way too much stuff out with me because I hit the wrong button, and then I chose not to take a moment to repair right before I got into the encounter that killed me. I made a series of avoidable mistakes followed by a bad decision, and this mech-flavored extraction shooter made sure I lost everything I had for it – so it’s a good sign that, after I was done cursing Synduality and then myself, I was immediately excited to try and get it all back. I have much more to do and see before I am ready for a final review, but that trial by fire will certainly stick with me until the end...

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