Gaming News

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A former Bungie lawyer has commented on upcoming improvements to embattled live service looter shooter Destiny 2, saying the role of parent company Sony in “forcing” through these changes is very much a good thing. Last week, Bungie unveiled what it called “major changes” to Destiny 2 that it hopes will win back players. Bungie has reportedly struggled to meet key financial targets, with Destiny 2 significantly underperforming last year. The Final Shape expansion reportedly sold less at launch than last year's critically panned Lightfall. Destiny 2 will now adopt a new model that includes the release of two medium-sized expansions and four major free content updates annually. “This evolution aims to enhance the player experience...
A Baldur's Gate 3 modder has taken the first step in adding brand new, custom levels to the beloved Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game by creating new maps including the much sought after Avernus. Dexerto spotted a handful of Reddit posts from katszenBurger who has so far created two new Baldur's Gate 3 areas using an unlocked version of the official modding tool released by developer Larian Studios. The first area is centred around a castle on the shore and the second takes players to Avernus, the first layer of hell in the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse that players were desperate for Larian to include itself. As the developer has confirmed it's not working on any full expansions for Baldur's Gate 3, however, nor a full sequel...
A rating for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide on PlayStation 5 suggests Fatshark’s co-op focused looter shooter is finally coming to Sony’s console. Darktide launched on PC first in November 2022, before coming out in October 2023 on Xbox Series X and S and straight into Game Pass. Perhaps a PS5 release is set for October 2024, which, if true, would come one year after the game’s launch on Microsoft’s subscription service. Gematsu spotted the Darktide rating in Taiwan. While Darktide launched with a number of problems, Fatshark has continued to update the game and on Steam it now sits on a ‘mostly positive’ recent user review rating, with an overall rating of ‘mixed.’ Improvements were made to everything from progression to performance...
It's Monday again, which means welcome back to the salt mines (but also a ton of savings with yours truly). Personally, I'm gravitating to that ongoing PS Publisher on PC sale and a new Penguin/Batman-centric one that popped up over the weekend. Beyond that, I'll leave you to dig through my very eclectic, but most definitely curated, list of stuff worth scoring. In retro news, I'm breaking out the fairy bread Jill sandwiches for the 22nd birthday of Resident Evil [remake] on GameCube. One of the first reduxings of its kind, this set the bar for what the modernisation of a game ought to be. I day-one adored it for a bunghole puckering "One Dangerous Zombie" mode, which only unlocked after clocking it twice with Chris and twice with...
I'm always looking for a new excuse to glove up, grip some wheel, and get back into my favourite racing sims. The other week, the universe handed me two compelling reasons to do so. For starters, Thrustmaster asked if I wanted to put its T818 setup through its paces. For seconds and as if on cue, Sony also had the good sense to release an adapter to allow my PlayStation VR2 headset to work on PC. As we all should know by now, racing games + any VR helmet placed upon one's petrolhead = a match made in heaven. With the phantom jolts of a recent Moza R12 Wheel experience still ringing faintly in my forearms, I cleared my test desk and set to building a whole new endorphin-delivering ecosystem. The list of the specific components I...
The weekend is officially here, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for Sunday, September 15, below: Save $450 Off This ASUS ROG Strix Gaming Desktop Walmart has a great deal this weekend on this ASUS ROG Strix Gaming Desktop. Packed in is the Ryzen 5 7600X, alongside the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti DUAL. Additionally, you'll have access to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe G4 SSD, and more. One of the best features of this desktop is the case, which has a built-in handle just in case you need to transport it somewhere. With the very expensive PS5 Pro just announced, this can be a great option for just a few hundred dollars more. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for $29.99 Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is...
This is the first in a series of regular guest columns from Push Square, the world’s biggest independent PlayStation website. We’re the voice of the PlayStation community, offering passionate, in-depth coverage and insight into the world of Sony. Our goal is simple: to keep you informed, engaged, and part of the conversation surrounding all things PlayStation. Launching at an astonishing $700 on 7th November, the PS5 Pro already faces significant scrutiny from fans: an enormous 89% of Push Square enthusiasts deemed the mid-gen machine “too expensive” in a poll this week. Sony now faces the unenviable task of convincing its most engaged consumers that the console is worth the investment. But with many feeling the PS5 generation has yet...
Let’s be honest: quidditch is not a good sport – or at least it’s not one that was ever designed to actually be played. Its role in the Harry Potter series was just to show off how special Harry is, to the point where you might as well call it “Harry Potter the Seeker and Some Other People on Broomsticks, I Guess.” So the team at developer Unbroken Studios had their work cut out for them with Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, having to both honor the source material while also adapting quidditch into a real game. Surprisingly, they’ve done a pretty good job at that, with moment-to-moment action on the quidditch pitch that’s actually pretty great. But once you land between matches, Quidditch Champions doesn’t have much off the pitch to...
Nearly 10 years ago, former Need for Speed developer Ghost Games copped a kicking for making its 2015 series reboot online-only, even in single player. In response, its 2019 follow-up Need for Speed Heat did not require a persistent online connection. Earlier this year, Ubisoft decommissioned The Crew, making it impossible for owners to play from now on – even by themselves. The move wasn’t received well. This very week Ubisoft has confirmed The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest will now get offline modes. In contrast to these course corrections, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown arrives in 2024 as another online-only racing game that seems to have little interest in being something that’s satisfying to play solo. It’s a baffling start and...
Spoiler warning: This review contains spoilers for the story of the base game, Persona 3 Reload, but avoids spoilers for the DLC itself. What does it feel like when grieving the loss of someone you loved? Or when trying to move on from someone important who’s no longer in your life? For one, it’s painful. In its seemingly infinite emotional complexity, you perpetually mull over what you could have done differently or how great things would be if they were still around. In the constant cycle of getting lost in your thoughts while trying to go about your normal life, it’s as if you’re reliving the same day over and over again. In the best moments of Episode Aigis: The Answer – the epilogue DLC for the RPG Persona 3 Reload – it portrays...
In inZOI, Krafton’s ambitious all-in-one life simulator, you aren’t a God but rather an omnipotent office worker performing HR for miniature worlds under the tutelage of an adorable cat overlord. In addition to managing the needs and relationships of customisable avatars called Zois, you can build a metropolis with bespoke homes, businesses, and public parks. A slew of complications, like citywide mood sliders, weather conditions, and the potential for wild animals, juice up your all-seeing agenda, leading to a sumptuous simulation full of moreish chaos. It’s a gorgeous, formidable, system-filled world that, as of right now, still feels a little hollow. Before jumping into the deep end on my first day on the job, inZOI ushered me in...
A group of around 20 developers formerly of Ascendant Studios, including its former CEO, have joined Dan Houser's Absurd Ventures to form a new studio in San Rafael, California: Absurd Marin. In a press release today, Absurd Ventures announced its new studio would be led by Ascendant Studios founder and former game director on Immortals of Aveum Bret Robbins. The team will work on a "story-driven action-adventure" game that will be separate from Absurd Ventures' other projects, which collectively take place in the A Better Paradise universe. Absurd's addition of around 20 Ascendant employees comes after Ascendant was hit with dramatic layoffs last fall, following the launch of Immortals of Aveum. Nearly half the studio was let go...
At this point it almost seems that licensed Funko Pop figurines are being birthed into the world at a greater rate than actual human babies, so it makes sense that someone finally scooped up a bunch of these block-headed bookshelf warmers and stuck them in their own video game. Funko Fusion structures its campaign around seven beloved TV shows and films, including Masters of the Universe and Jurassic World, and stuffs it with iconic pop culture cameos from everyone from Marty McFly to Mega Man. However, despite the fact it certainly appears faithful to the distinctive Funko style at first glance, its meaningless story, mind-numbingly repetitive mission design, and maddening game-breaking bugs cause the whole thing to topple over like a...
No More Heroes developer Goichi Suda, aka Suda51, believes the gaming community “cares too much” about review scores on sites like Metacritic. The Grasshopper Manufacture CEO opened up about his grievances during an interview GamesIndustry.biz conducted with him and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Suda explains he’s concerned that game creation is becoming formulaic as a result of desires to reach higher scores, adding that many companies might not be interested in projects that don’t fit in with that formula. “Everybody pays too much attention to and cares too much about Metacritic scores,” he said. “It's gotten to the point where there's almost a set formula – if you want to get a high Metacritic score, this is how you make...
Enotria: The Last Song is quite like most games inspired by From Software-style action RPGs. You patiently adventure through dungeons, put weapons of various shapes and sizes into monsters, and try not to die terribly in the process. It’s all pretty familiar by now, but all the other stuff around that core is where developer Jyamma Games really tries to spice up this recipe. The ideas that work, like taking the setting out of dank caves and swampy bogs into the shimmering light of sunny mountainsides and colorful cities, really work. The things that don’t, like the overwhelming amount of unintuitive things to unlock and equip and the janky performance issues, keep Entoria’s name from gracing the growing list of games that become more...
With Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 now over a week old, players have completed its campaign and started to get to grips with the co-op Operations mode and the PvP mode, Eternal War. But already fans are speculating about which enemy faction they’ll go up against in the seemingly inevitable Space Marine 3 — and based on hints in the game, there can be only one pick. Warning! Spoilers for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 follow. Space Marine 2 sees Titus of the Ultramarines go up against the Tyranids and the Thousand Suns Traitor Legion in a campaign that ends up with a massive battle against a demon army and even a trip to the warp. With the aid of Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, Titus successfully fends off both enemy...
The Communication Workers of America (CWA) has heavily criticized Microsoft’s announcement of a further 650 layoffs from its gaming business, with one union formed to represent Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft team calling the cuts “heartless.” Yesterday, September 12, Xbox chief Phil Spencer sent a memo to staff, obtained by IGN, outlining plans to let 650 staff go, mostly from Activision Blizzard’s corporate and supporting functions, while confirming no games or devices were canceled and no studios were being closed. However, two Activision Blizzard development teams were also hit: Activision’s Call of Duty Warzone Mobile team, and Blizzard’s Warcraft Rumble team. These latest layoffs mean Microsoft has cut an eye-watering...
Cardy, Matt, and Emma are here to discuss Sony's unveiling of the PS5 Pro and whether it's worth the high price that's been set. Then they chat about their time with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta, as well as thoughts on new movies Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Rebel Ridge. There's also plenty (probably too much) chat about biscuits and the best way to consume them. Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you're enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast 765: PS5 Pros and Biscuit Pockets IGN UK Podcast 764: Bots, Bolters, and Blood IGN UK Podcast 763: Star Wars Outlaws, MGS Delta, and Alien: Romulus IGN UK Podcast 762: The Best of gamescom 2024 IGN UK...
Eve Online developer CCP has announced Eve Frontier, a spin-off of the much-loved MMO that adds controversial blockchain and cryptocurrency elements. CCP describes Eve Frontier as an online space survival game with an open and persistent sandbox that focuses on “self-reliance, tactical and emergent gameplay, and third-party development.” Here’s the official blurb: On the face of it, Eve Frontier sounds like an exciting alternative to Eve Online that could scratch a hardcore space survival itch, but the inclusion of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology that has sparked a backlash from Eve Online players, some of whom have let CCP know how they feel across social media and subreddits. CCP explains its use of crypto as...
4A Games, the developer of the Metro series, is set to remain within Embracer Group after Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive declined to exercise its option to buy the studio. When Saber spun out of Embracer via Beacon Interactive, a company controlled by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch, it had the option of bringing 4A Games along with it. That is no longer happening, Embracer announced. Now 4A Games, as well as Zen Studios, the Hungarian studio responsible for Pinball FX and Zen Pinball, will remain at Embracer. In a statement, Embracer’s controversial co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors said: “We are satisfied with the conclusion of this transaction and very glad to see the great teams and assets of 4A Games...
The developer of Palworld has revealed a conundrum it faces as it looks to the future: take the game free-to-play and live service, or stick with its current pay-to-play model. Palworld is the phenomenally successful multiplayer survival crafting game that's been dubbed ‘Pokemon with guns’ for its inclusion of creatures called Pals. It launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC earlier this year, breaking sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Japanese developer Pocketpair has said the game was so popular, it couldn’t handle the massive profits the game generated. While player numbers have declined somewhat since Palworld’s explosive launch, it remains one of the most-played games on...
Tales of the Shire is delayed to early 2025, its developer has announced. Tales of the Shire is a cozy life sim set within The Lord of the Rings universe originally due out this fall across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Netflix Games. It’s developed by Wētā Workshop and published by Private Division, the embattled subsidiary of Take-Two. Ahead of a deep dive on the game set for September 22 (the annual Hobbit Day celebration for The Lord of the Rings fans because it marks the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins), Wētā Workshop said it delayed the game to ensure it delivers its vision. “All of us here at Weta Workshop are excited to have you join us in the Shire, a peaceful corner of J.R.R...
Annapurna Interactive's entire gaming staff has resigned from the company following a leadership dispute, according to a Bloomberg report. The report, which IGN can confirm based on conversations with our own sources, states that Annapurna Interactive president Nathan Gary had recently been in negotiations with Annapurna founder and billionaire Megan Ellison to spin the gaming segment off as its own company. However, Ellison eventually pulled out of negotiations, at which point Gary resigned. Almost 30 other individuals, including division co-heads Deborah Mars and Nathan Vella, as well as the entire remaining staff of Annapurna Interactive, joined him. While negotiations were still ongoing, Annapurna Interactive re-hired former Epic...
If you're an IGN Plus member, a new game is available to claim now with IGN Rewards. You can claim a free Void Bastards Steam key with your membership while supplies last. If you're a fan of System Shock 2 or BioShock, this is the perfect game for you to try out. Claim a Free Void Bastards Steam Key! Void Bastards throws everything you know about first-person shooter titles and throws it on its head. This is a roguelike with all sorts of fun elements thrown in. Here, you'll need to take charge, decide where to go, who to fight, and more. Strategy is key, and one wrong turn can lead you quickly down a path of demise. Multiple systems are available throughout the game to master, including scavenging. One of the most beloved aspects of...
Remember when Chewbacca died? In the 1999 book The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore, Han Solo’s faithful Wookiee partner, Rebel Alliance fixture, and big walking carpet Chewie bought the moisture farm. Not surprisingly, he died a hero, saving thousands of lives. It was a pretty big deal, even for those Star Wars fans (like me) who didn’t read the Expanded Universe books and comics at the time. Vector Prime got a big promotional push, including a commercial featuring Mark Hamill doing voiceover as Luke Skywalker, and the book even made it to the New York Times Best Sellers list for four weeks. But that was then and this is now, where the EU is known as Star Wars Legends and “doesn’t count” anymore, and a character...
If you grew up as an arcade lover in the ’90s, chances are you logged countless hours playing Capcom’s Marvel games. They were a staple of arcades around the world and helped define the fighting game genre. And now, a selection of those classic games have been brought back as part of one package, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. It brings these games to modern consoles (which is particularly notable for one of the games) and adds lots of new features, some of which make them more accessible to new players than ever before. Here are what we think are the top 5 features of this collection: A Journey Across Time The collection consists of seven games from throughout the ’90s and early 2000s: The Punisher...
It’s been ten long years since Dragon Age: Inquisition and the expectations for the next game in the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, seem impossible. A full decade, a bevy of behind-the-scenes changes, cuts at BioWare, and a somewhat divisive start when its unveiling began in earnest in June made me a little worried for my most highly anticipated game of the year. But one of my biggest concerns was my impression, based on early previews, that it was headed in the direction of being a linear action game rather than its more open-world predecessor. While Dragon Age is known for changing its style with each installment, I hoped dearly that it wouldn’t lose too much of the DA DNA I fell in love with. After hours of hands-on time spread...
EA developer Respawn has released Patch 9 for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, its single-player romp in the galaxy far, far away. The patch notes, below, outline significant performance upgrades to the 2023 game, but only on PC. First and foremost, some fans will be pleased to hear EA has removed Denuvo DRM, meaning digital rights management some believe affects performance. Other performance improvements include framerate upgrades, ray tracing optimization, and improvements to keyboard and mouse gameplay. Several bug fixes have been made too. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launched last year to positive critical reception and commercial success but some users were left with a buggy, broken version of the game, even after a big day one...
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has revealed the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op shooter's next Premium Warbond, dubbed Chemical Agents, alongside a September 19 release date. While Chemical Agents does not include any new weapons, it adds two stratagem variants — the TX-41 Sterilizer, which lets you spray a gas at the Terminids and Automatons, and the Guard Dog's ‘Dog Breath,’ which is a corrosive gas sprayer — and, in keeping with the alien exterminator theme, the G-4 Gas grenade, which covers the whole area in a cloud of noxious fumes. Explaining the decision to include new stratagem variants but no new weapons, Katherine Baskin, social media and community manager at Arrowhead, said in a post on the PlayStation Blog: “Adding stratagem...