Gaming News

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Upgrade Delayed Again as CDPR Takes Over Development

CD Projekt Red announced it is delaying the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt indefinitely, and will no longer be releasing the upgrade in Q2. Part of the delay may have to do with the change in the developer. Previously, the update was being developed externally by Saber Interactive, but CD Projekt Red has elected to bring the remainder of the game's development in-house “We have decided to have our in-house development team conduct the remaining work on the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” a recent Tweet on The Witcher’s account reads. “We are currently evaluating the scope of work to be done and thus have to postpone Q2 release until further notice. We'll update you as soon as we can. Thank you for your...

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QuakeCon Will Be a Digital Event Again For 2022

QuakeCon 2022 will once again be a digital-only event when it returns from August 18 to 20. The yearly celebration of id Software games like Quake and Doom (and often their Bethesda stablemates) will mark its third anniversary as an online event, but organisers said they're fully committed to returning in-person next year. They added: "An event of this size required months of planning, and in this case, we had to make decisions when there was still too much uncertainty to commit to successfully executing an in-person QuakeCon." Organisers said that, while they're disappointed to remain online for another year, the digital event will feature the full programming of an in-person version including online meet-ups, giveaways, charity...

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Destiny: Bungie Says It's Committing to Remote Work In Seven Approved States

Destiny developer Bungie has said that it is committed to remote working for "most current and future roles". Announcing its intentions on Twitter (below), and spotted by Kotaku, Bungie said it would be adopting a "digital-first" approach for future job positions. California, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington are the "approved" states that are fully remote eligible. It's currently unconfirmed why fully remote roles are only available in these seven states, or if Bungie plans on extending the offerings to other parts of the U.S., but IGN has reached out for comment regarding these matters. Bungie has become the first major AAA video game company to declare a near-fully remote approach indefinitely...

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Hello Games Says New Project Is So Ambitious It Would 'Seem Impossible' Even With a 1,000 Person Team

Hello Games' new project would feel impossible to create even with 1,000 people behind it, the developer has said. Speaking to IGN, studio co-founder and managing director Sean Murray said that, while it's not a sequel to No Man's Sky, the new game is just as ambitious. He said: "For a while now we've been working on something pretty ambitious in the background. It's a small team but we like it that way. "Similar to No Man's Sky, it's the kind of project that even if we had a thousand people working on it, it'd still seem impossible." The game was in "very early" development as of September last year but Murray reassured that, while No Man's Sky is still receiving regular updates and isn't finished by a long shot, the two games...

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Some of The Absolute Best PS4 Games Are Now $10 For a Limited Time

There are some absolutely incredible PS4 games on sale right now, with the vast majority dropping to just $10 in the latest spring sales. From God of War to The Last of Us Remastered, Until Dawn, Ratchet & Clank, The Nathan Drake Collection, and more. There are so many great games here, and they've all been discounted. If you've been playing Elden Ring recently, and want to get even more of what developer FromSoftware has to offer, then should definitely check out Bloodborne as well. It's also down to just $10 at Best Buy, and I promise you won't be disappointed with your purchase. Greatest Hits PS4 Games on Sale Right Now for $10 Sure, some of these games are available via the PS Plus Collection, and that means likely a part of PS...

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PS Plus Was ‘Devastating’ for Oddworld: Soulstorm Sales Says Developer

Oddworld: Soulstorm being a free game on PlayStation Plus was "devastating" for sales according to its creator. Lorne Lanning, founder of Oddworld Inhabitants, said the game was downloaded close to four million times through PS Plus, significantly more than the studio's expectations of 50 to 100,000. Speaking on the Xbox Expansion Pass podcast, spotted by Video Games Chronicle, Lanning said there was nothing malicious about the deal on Sony's end but circumstances made it "a double-edged sword". Soulstorm was free to download in April 2021, the same month it launched, and while Sony has never made clear how it comes to this agreement with developers, it's understood that a one-off payment is made. Lanning explained that Oddworld...

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No Man's Sky: Outlaws Update Adds Space Pirates

Space pirates are coming to No Man's Sky today with the Outlaws update. Developer Hello Games announced that, while the previous Sentinels update focused on ground combat, Outlaws will overhaul space combat and add other new features. These are headlined by the introduction of a pirate underworld that lets players embody Han Solo in new rebellion and smuggling missions. Outlaws have taken over space stations across the galaxy and turned them into dangerous, lawless places where players can purchase illegal goods and smuggle them out for a considerable cash reward. The update also adds the speedy Solar Starship, the first new ship type in more than two years, and for players worried about giving up a previous vessel to make room...

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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 6.1 Full Patch Notes Available Now

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.1 is finally live, and so are the patch notes for the newest content drop. Alongside a new story questline, Patch 6.1 also includes a new 24-player Alliance Raid, housing options, and much more. As always, Final Fantasy 14 Patch Notes are quite in-depth, but you can read below for a summary of some of the biggest new content and changes. Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 6.1Patch Notes - Newfound Adventure 10 New Main Scenario Quests starting with Newfound Adventure 4 new Chronicles of a New Era quests starting with A Mission in Mor Dhona 4 new Role Quests starting with Bitter Snow New chapters have been added to New Game+ Certain main scenario quests for A Realm Reborn have been revised Operation Archon The...

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Halo Infinite Season 2 Might Have Some Tricks Up Its Sleeve - Unlocked 539

This week the Unlocked crew are joined by a very special guest host, Adam Cole! Discussions include speculation about what we can expect from Halo Infinite Season 2, the Kingdom Hearts 4 reveal, and Cyberpunk 2077's upcoming story expansion. Also, have you guys tried Destin's cookies yet? Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. If you missed any of the news featured this week, you can read more about them here: Halo Infinite Multiplayer - Season 2 Cyberpunk 2077 Story Expansion Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveal You can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan! Miranda Sanchez is the...

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Game Scoop! 670: Game of the Year Watch 2022 Begins

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Justin Davis, Mark Medina, and CJ Gibson -- are beginning the Game of the Year Watch 2022 discussion. Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Tunic, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher Find previous episodes here! Continue reading...

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Beamdog Reveals MythForce In a Big Departure From Its Usual RPGs

Beamdog, the studio best-known for remastering 90s BioWare classics like Baldur's Gate, has officially revealed its next project, and it's definitely not an RPG. Instead, Beamdog is making MythForce, a first-person roguelite meant to evoke the spirit of Saturday morning cartoons. Launching into Early Access next week, the new title draws inspiration from 80s animated classics like Dragon's Lair, Thundercats, and He-Man. It is being built in Unreal Engine, with characters who steadily level up and gain new abilities as they explore procedurally-generated maps. MythForce director Luke Rideout cites Deep Rock Galactics and Vermintide as key influences on the gameplay. "It's definitely not a Baldur's Gate," Rideout says. While...

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Hironobu Sakaguchi 'In Planning Stages' For New Projects After Receiving Multiple Offers

Despite numerous hints over the years that he might be slipping into something that looked like retirement, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi appears to be far from done making games. In an interview with IGN, Sakaguchi confirmed that he's been approached with one or two offers for new projects that he's currently considering... in between sessions of Final Fantasy 14. "They're still in the planning stages, where we're deciding on how the business will work and putting together contracts, so it's not as if we've started on actual development, but I do think I'll be working on something," he said. "Of course, the more concrete those plans start to look, the more I feel like I need to play FF14 while I still can." Sakaguchi...

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Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising Has a Release Date

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising will launch on May 10 and arrive on Xbox Game Pass the same day. The action-RPG will also be available for $14.99 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC, as per the game's official Twitter. Rising was announced at E3 last year as a spin-off to Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (which releases in 2023 and is the Suikoden spiritual successor). It's a 2.5D town-building and dungeon crawling RPG that sets up the story of the main release. Its official story synopsis states: "What begins as a simple treasure hunt turns into a dark conspiracy that will shake the world and plant seeds that carry over into the main story of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. "The game will introduce a portion of Eiyuden...

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Scientist Uses Facial Reconstruction Technology On Skyrim Skeleton

A scientist has used facial reconstruction technology on the skeletons from Skyrim. Twitter user Sulkalmakh, who's part of the Ancestral Whispers cranial reconstruction research team, posted (below) what appeared to be another normal project but a deeper look revealed its nerdy origins. This particular specimen was an "ancient Atmoran from Saarthal, dated to the late Merethic Era," they said. In other words, it's the skeleton model from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, revived into a grumpy looking cave man. The tweet was then noticed by Jonah Lobe, who wasn't just a Bethesda developer who worked on Skyrim but the actual designer of the skeleton. "You did an awesome job with the reconstruction," he said. "I wanted them to look...

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Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1+2 Developer Vicarious Visions Has Merged With Blizzard Entertainment

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 and Skylanders developer Vicarious Visions has merged with Blizzard Entertainment. The developer was previously tied to Activision but has moved across to the Blizzard side of the partnership after it most recently worked on Diablo II: Resurrected. While the 200 or so employees will remain in their Albany-based studio they will now solely work on Blizzard games, meaning Vicarious will no longer be the lead developer on any project but instead a supporting studio. This is nothing new for staff at Vicarious - they were important support during the development of Destiny 2's PC version - but this official merge signals the end of lead development, such as that on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. A Blizzard...

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Final Fantasy Clothing Line Leaked From Uniqlo

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo has accidentally leaked an upcoming Final Fantasy clothing line. While not announced officially, the series of t-shirts appeared on the company's Vietnamese website before being quickly taken down, as noticed by Kakucho Purei. The collection features 16 unique shirts, one for every mainline game in the series and the upcoming Final Fantasy 16, created to celebrate Final Fantasy's 35th anniversary this year. There's no real consistency to the collection, with some featuring modern artwork, others logos, and the ones based on older titles showing off the games' pixel art. A price-tag wasn't revealed but Uniqlo's Pokémon series of t-shirts retail at $19.90 for adults and $14.90 for children. Given...

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What Final Fantasy 14 Taught Hironobu Sakaguchi About the Series He Helped Create

Hironobu Sakaguchi knew what he was getting into the first time he picked up Final Fantasy 14. An avid gamer himself, he had once forced members of Final Fantasy’s development team to play EverQuest under the guise of doing research. “My first [MMORPG] was EverQuest. I got absolutely addicted to it and forced a dozen or so SquareSoft staff members at the time to play as well, telling them it was required knowledge. Incredibly, most of them got hooked too, which led to [Final Fantasy 11],” Sakaguchi remembers. “Actually,” he laughs, “some of the staff never made it back to the real world.” Sakaguchi knew that would be his fate if he were to ever play Final Fantasy 14, which has steadily grown in popularity since its 2014 reboot...

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Bugsnax Coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox This Month Alongside Isle of Bigsnax Expansion

Bugsnax, which originally debuted on PS4, PS5, and PC in November 2020, has been announced for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One, including a Game Pass release for console, PC, and cloud. Developer Young Horses has announced Bugsnax will arrive on these new platforms April 28, which will also mark the release of the anticipated Isle of Bigsnax expansion, both on all of these platforms as well as via a free update for PC and PlayStation players. The expansion will come with additional trophies on PlayStation platforms, as well as additional achievements to the base list on Xbox. For new players, Bugsnax is a first-person adventure game that sees you explore a colorful island full of the titular Bugsnax, helping the...

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Elden Ring Player Beats the Game Using Only the Ground Slam Ability

An Elden Ring player has beaten the game using only the Ground Slam Ash of War. For those unfamiliar, this is basically the ground pound from Mario, where players jump into the air before slamming to the ground on their butt. YouTube user Distortion2, an Elden Ring speedrunner who currently holds the world record for beating the game in under nine minutes, uploaded a two-hour highlight reel of his Ground Slam-only run, as spotted by Games Radar. Unlike his speedruns, Distortion2 does defeat a number of bosses in this playthrough, and while he doesn't take on all of them, he does make his way through all Remembrance bosses (which are the main, tough ones). This feat is also achieved from a completely fresh character, meaning it's...

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Halo: Master Chief Collection Adds Crossplay To Halo 3 and ODST

Halo 3 and ODST can now be played crossplay through the Master Chief Collection. Developer 343 Industries released a new update to the eight year old game (or 15 for Halo 3 and 13 for ODST) that adds a number of new features. Namely, players can now play the campaigns of Halo 3 and ODST cooperatively with other players whether they're on Xbox One, Series, or PC. Doing so may not work perfectly straight away, 343 Industries warned, as "the team requires additional insight from real players with different networking setups," they said in a blog post. The update adds several other features to the Master Chief Collection and weighs in at 21.56GB on Xbox, 26.5GB on the Xbox PC app, and 11.2GB on Steam. A new mode called Flood...

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'No Guarantee' League of Legends MMO Gets Released, Riot Executive Producer Says

The League of Legends MMO may never be released according to the game's executive producer, but he remains "optimistic" that it still probably will. Speaking on Twitter (the same way he announced the game in December 2020) Executive Producer of the MMO project at Riot Games, Greg Street, said there's "no guarantee this game will ship". Street later clarified this is largely the case with any game though: "Until a game ships, you don't know it will ship", he told a fan. "We wouldn't be dedicating so much time to it if we thought the chance of shipping was low." The only reason it wouldn't be released, he said later, is if it's not up to Riot Games' standards. A fan asked why, if a lot of players wanted to play a League of Legends...

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Activision Blizzard's New Diversity Chief Wants to Expand Diversity in the Office, and In Games

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.Activision Blizzard’s new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer has some lofty ambitions. Kristen Hines will join Activision Blizzard from April 25, 2022, and already has her sights set on increasing the number of women and non-binary employees by 50%. “I’m excited to join a company that is prioritizing its commitment to [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion], and making progress on the ambitious goals it has set for itself,” she said in an official statement. “In an industry with historical underrepresentation, I’m...

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Halo Infinite Has Dropped to Just $20 For a Limited Time

There are plenty of great gaming deals going on at the moment across the spring sales, and a certain notable Xbox game has surfaced at a rather good price. Halo Infinite is now available for just $19.99 at Best Buy, a massive drop from its $60 retail price. Not only that, but this copy still also includes the Halo Infinite Steelbook, which is worth $10 alone. Just for clarity, it's worth noting that this deal is for Halo Infinite's campaign, not to be confused with the Halo Infinite Multiplayer, which is still free-to-play and about to enter its Season 2 of content. So overall, it's a pretty impressive deal for what is considered one of the best games of 2021. Halo Infinite Drops to Just $20 at Best Buy If you're not on Game Pass...

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Aussie Deals: Switch Lites for Less, Hot Deals in Holiday Sales and More!

Let's do two things: roll out some tired, '80s gaming clichés, and level-up your school holidays by (hi-)scoring you some deals! You know what? My apologies. Deliberately awful wordplay that was uncalled for. Please accept reparations in the form of some actually decent discounts... Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s our Aussie deals wrangler. You can watch him game on YouTube. Continue reading...

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Cyberpunk 2077 Is Far From Finished: "We Are All Aware There Is Work To Be Done"

While Cyberpunk 2077 has significantly improved from its notoriously difficult launch, a developer from CD Projekt says the game still has a long way to go. In a video posted on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, Quest Director Paweł Sasko shared some behind-the-scenes information about Cyberpunk 2077. When asked if CD Projekt is planning to deliver a DLC expansion this year, Sasko explained the studio's priorities. "I can assure you that we are working [on an] expansion, we're working [on] stuff for you guys besides that," Sasko said. "That didn't change, we are still improving the game because we are all aware there is work to be done." Sasko also expressed appreciation for the positive feedback they've received about Cyberpunk 2077's...

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Sony And LEGO's Parent Company Are Investing Billions Of Dollars in Epic Games

Sony is investing a further $1 billion in Fortnite publisher Epic Games. The investment is intended to deepen Sony's investment in the metaverse, adding to the $450 million it invested in Epic Games last year. CEO of Sony Group Corporation Kenichiro Yoshida said: "As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time. "We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives." Epic Games CEO and founder Tim Sweeney...

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Dungeons & Dragons Strategy Game to Add Characters from the Classic 1980s D&D Cartoon

A classic Dungeons & Dragons character from the 1980s cartoon is coming to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, the officially licensed D&D strategy game. Developer Codename Entertainment is gearing up to release the game's 100th Champion, and to celebrate, they're bringing the Dungeon Master from the 1983 D&D cartoon into the fold. Idle Champions is a free-to-play D&D strategy game available on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC, iOS, and Android. The game brings together characters from different novels, campaigns, and shows into one large D&D crossover. The developers work with D&D content creators to bring popular characters into the game, including contributions from content creators like Mark Meer, Anna Prosser, B. Dave Walters...

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Rogue Jam 2022: How to Watch and What to Expect

IGN and Rogue Games have partnered up to produce Rogue Jam, a brand-new game jam that not only offers publishing deals to indie developers, but also $800,000 in total prize money that will be used to bring their game to life. Devs from around the world submitted their unreleased games late last year, and the Rogue Jam panel of judges that includes IGN EVP and CCO Peer Schneider and former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé have spent the last couple months picking the best of the best. The winning games and developers will be announced beginning April 18, and this watch guide will help ensure you don’t miss a thing and can see some of the biggest and brightest indie games that may one day just become your new favorite...

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Watch Dogs is Getting an Official Manga

Ubisoft's Watch Dogs is getting an official manga set in Tokyo. The manga will debut in Japanese on April 12 and is simply called Watch Dogs Tokyo, as spotted by manga news feed Manga Mogura RE (below) and shared by Games Radar. It will feature the evil Bloom Corporation from the Watch Dogs games — which have so far been set in Chicago, San Francisco, and most recently London — as it extends its reach to Japan. Manga Mogura RE also shared a plot synopsis, saying: "It will be about a special new infrastructure system from a company called Bloom Japan used by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to change people's lives. However this new system does in fact also harbour a great darkness. Not much else is know other than it will be...

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Elden Ring Once Had a Mechanic For Peeking Into NPCs' Dreams

Elden Ring seemingly once featured items and quests that focused on exploring NPCs dreams. Lance McDonald, a prominent dataminer who's previously revealed secrets in Demon's Souls and Bloodborne, explored the mechanic using 2021's network test version of Elden Ring (spotted by Eurogamer). Though cut from the final game, the content had a unique, fully voiced and animated character called Monk Jiko who requested the player bring him Dream Mist - an item acquired from the dreams of certain NPCs. Exploration was limited in the early version of Elden Ring but McDonald showed two sleeping characters, a Wolf and Land Octopus, with a "dense fog of sleep" floating around them, indicating that Dream Mist could be extracted. These were...

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