Gaming News

Aussie Deals: 60% off Ultimate Editions and It Takes Two, Last Chance Sonic Delistings too!

As the headline states, SEGA has plans to Robot-nix four classic Sonic games on various platforms. Lace up your red shoes and grab 'em before they're gone (in standalone form, at least). Today is also a great day to spinball into the best versions of Borderlands 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Stone cold must-owns, the both of them. 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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Overwatch Hits Peak Twitch Viewership After Overwatch 2 Beta Opens

The long-in-development Overwatch 2 finally went live with a PvP beta this afternoon. Soon after launch, the first Overwatch broke its previous record of total Twitch viewership in mere hours. In honor of the sequel beta, several high-profile twitch streamers such as Lirik, Myth, and most notably, xQc streamed the first Overwatch. The game peaked at around 450,000 views today, and xQc's amassed over 150,000 views of Overwatch on his own. Overwatch fans have been dying to see if they were selected for the Overwatch 2 PVP beta. The only way of accessing a beta key is to watch partnered streamers for a certain length of time while having their Blizzard battle.net account linked on Twitch. Lucky users can pick up a PC beta key only...

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Xbox Makes Bank in Latest Sales Figures – Unlocked 541

The Xbox has its best March since the Xbox 360 era, and IGN's Xbox crew discusses the ins and outs of the numbers. Plus: Gearbox is bringing back Tales from the Borderlands itself – and Ryan has a bone to pick with them – 343 Industries details Halo Infinite's 2022 roadmap, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our latest IGN Unfiltered interview, where Joseph Staten – one of Halo's original creators and now the head of creative on Halo Infinite – discusses his fascinating career: Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at...

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Sifu Is Getting Difficulty Modes

Players turned off by Sifu's unrelenting difficulty can give the game another go thanks to an easier difficulty mode coming next week. Sloclap, developer of the martial arts beat-em-up, has revealed the roadmap for Sifu for the remainder of 2022. The first major update for the game, coming next Tuesday, May 3, includes advanced training, outfit selection, and most importantly of all, difficulty options. The three options are Student, Disciple, and Master, with Student presumably offering an easier road for players want to experience the world, combat, and story without the brutal learning curve. On the flipside, players looking to challenge themselves can look forward to Master difficulty. The Spring update is just the first of four...

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The Gears 5 Map Builder Is Being Removed

The Coalition announced that it will be removing the Map Builder from Gears 5 so that the team can focus on future projects. However, the studio says it will also unlock the Achievements related to the mode for players so that they don't become unobtainable. The Map Builder is used to create custom Escape Hives for Gears 5's Escape Mode, which will still be available. For Achievement hunters, the two Achievements related to the Map Builder are "I Made It By Myself" and "Homegrown Hive." These two Achievements are relatively easy to unlock. The former requires players to simply create and publish an Escape Hive map, and the latter just requires players to complete a featured community build Escape Hive. Those who've already unlocked...

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Sonic Games Are Being Delisted Ahead Of Sonic Origins Release

Sega is delisting individual versions of the included classic Sonic games from digital storefronts in anticipation of Sonic Origins. Sega announced in a press release that Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD will not be available as standalone titles as they will be a part of Sonic Origins which compiles the Blue Blur's earliest adventures in one collection. The press release says Sega plans to remove the digital versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD from digital storefronts on May 20. There are a couple of exceptions, as Sonic 1 and 2 will still be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop through the Sega Ages collection, and Sonic 2 will remain on the Sega Genesis Nintendo...

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GTA 5 Next-Gen Patch Adds A Host Of Highly-Requested Improvements

Grand Theft Auto V might be nearly 10 years old, but Rockstar Games is still working on the game. Today, the publisher introduced long-awaited improvements for the next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto V via Update 1.56. Update 1.56, which quietly released for PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, hosts a variety of improvements and bug fixes detailed on Rockstar’s website. While most of these tweaks simply fix minor glitches, the update also includes some highly-requested quality of life improvements, including: Even shorter load times Music now continually plays while in an Xbox Live party Tweaked adaptive trigger feedback on PS5 Perhaps the most exciting addition for players, however, is the newly added option to turn motion...

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Galactic Civilizations 4 Review

I’ll be blunt: if I were to rank prominent space 4X games of the past decade, Galactic Civilizations IV would come in near the bottom of the list, even behind Galactic Civilizations III. It’s not a disaster – like the previous three Galactic Civilizations games, this is a decent, functional 4X space game – but its predecessors were good for at least a round or two before they wore thin due to the lack of an “X factor” to really keep me hooked. None of them stacked up to Endless Space 2, Stellaris, or even 1996’s Master of Orion 2, which each deliver more substantial variety, flair, polish and creative identity than any GalCiv game managed for me. I had hoped that GalCiv’s fourth iteration would finally find and deliver the spark that...

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The Quarry: How to Write a Story with 186 Different Endings - IGN First

The Quarry has, to be precise, 186 different ending variations. The ending you get depends on the choices you make with nine different playable characters; some of your camp counselors will be forever changed by their experiences at Hackett’s Quarry, while others may not even make it to see the new dawn. A story that shifts and changes depending on your choices is nothing new for developer Supermassive Games, but creating The Quarry was a “mathematical nightmare” that resulted in a script longer than a thousand pages. As part of IGN First, we spoke to The Quarry’s director, Will Byles, about the challenges involved in creating a choice-driven horror game. “Writing a branching narrative is a really interesting exercise,” Byles tells...

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Call of the Sea Developer Reveals Truman Show-Like Game, American Arcadia

Call of the Sea developer Out of the Blue has revealed American Arcadia, a '70s retro-futurist game that promises to mix 2.5D platforming and first-person puzzling. The game has a Truman Show-like concept, in which a whole metropolis is unknowingly part of a 24/7 TV show – and those who fall out of favour with the viewing audience are killed off. The story follows Trevor Hills, whose uninteresting life is interrupted by a mysterious voice seemingly helping him escape backstage. Players will take the role of two characters – presumably Trevor and his guiding voice – one of whom will play in a chase-filled 2.5D platformer, and the other in a first-person puzzler featuring hacking, exploration, and stealth. The voice cast is made up...

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World Famous Classical Music Concerts to Feature Video Game Songs for First Time

The BBC Proms, an annual series of classical music concerts, will include video game music for the first time. Music from Kingdom Hearts, Shadow of the Colossus, Battlefield 2042, and Dear Esther will feature in the concert, revealed by the BBC and spotted by Eurogamer. The gaming Prom, From 8-Bit to Infinity, takes place on August 1 in London's Royal Albert Hall - which will be decorated to represent the history of gaming - and is being performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Robert Ames - who's previously conducted a sci-fi themed Prom with music from Interstellar, Alien: Covenant, and more - will conduct the event, with the longest performance of 14 mins coming from Battlefield 2042's "suite" composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir...

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Starfield’s Music Reflects Its Gameplay Loop

Starfield’s composer has explained how Starfield’s music reflects what you do in the game, with a flowing signature theme that's inspired by heading out into the stars and then returning home. Talking as part of the latest Into The Starfield developer diary, composer Inon Zur said “ The way I looked at Starfield is what I call ‘The Sanctified Triplet’. Which is, everything is streaming, right? Everything is changing and everything is returning back.” Zur used the signature theme of Stafield, heard in the trailer and the dev diary, as an example. “So basically it presents itself, it develops, it goes back. Some sort of circular journey. There's always this drive to go back home. And that’s what feels so complete for us, right? We...

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Telltale's Walking Dead Was Originally Pitched as a Left 4 Dead Spin-Off

Telltale's The Walking Dead was originally pitched as a Left 4 Dead spin-off game, before the team took the idea to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. In a documentary celebrating the game's tenth anniversary, as spotted by Eurogamer, the game's original developers revealed they were at first in talks with Valve about a Left 4 Dead narrative-led spin-off. A simple prototype was made but the plans fell through, and only later did Telltale approach The Walking Dead's creator Robert Kirkman about setting a game in his universe. "The very first Walking Dead prototype, which actually was for a different zombie thing that ended up turning into the Walking Dead, the first conversation was actually with Valve," said season design and...

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Steam Deck Update Adds Lock Screen and Window Switching

Valve has released a hefty update for the Steam Deck that adds a lock screen, window switching, and more. The changes were revealed in the latest patch notes, but Valve also released a deep-dive into the more significant features, first showing off the new lock screen (below). The optional feature lets users set a PIN when the Steam Deck wakes or boots up, or when logging in or switching to Desktop mode. Window switching can now be used on any software that already supports the feature and essentially brings up a handy quick select menu that lets users move swiftly between their games and apps. Valve also updated the achievements page to make it load faster and easier to navigate, and added the option to compare your achievements...

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Vampire Survivors' Latest Character Is a Dog That Farts Flowers

The latest addition to the Vampire Survivors roster is a dog that farts flowers, part of an update that also adds a new challenge map called The Bone Zone. The game's most recent patch notes revealed the addition of O'Sole Meeo the dog, whose weapon of choice is an array of really quite beautiful flowers that come in all shapes and sizes. You can check out O'Sole Meeo in glorious action in the tweet below: The patch also adds a hard Challenge Stage called The Bone Zone – in which hundreds of skulls will come after you – a new weapon, one more rank for the Reroll and Skip power ups, two Arcanas, and a handful of minor tweaks and bug fixes. Developer Poncle announced in March that it would be adding five more levels, nine more...

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Aussie Deals: More Than Half off Ghostwire, Tiny Tina's and a Bunch of Switch Must-owns!

Sometimes you gotta cut the crap and write a really fast intro. Why? Because the awesome deals you're trying to list keep selling out. Today is one of those days, my friends. Good hunting and get amongst the bargains! 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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Gayming Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List

The winners of the Gayming Awards 2022 have been announced, with Life is Strange: True Colors beating out Boyfriend Dungeon, Psychonauts, and Unpacking to win Game of the Year. The winners of the first ever live Gayming Awards were announced via a stream from the Troxy Theater in London on April 25. The biggest winner of the night was Life is Strange: True Colors, which triumphed in all three categories that it was nominated in, comprising Game of the Year, Authentic Representation, and Best LGBTQ Character. In total, there were 11 categories honoring a selection of video games, tabletop games, comic books, and esports players that have championed diversity and inclusivity globally in 2022. Additionally, Tanya DePass picked up the...

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Best Laptops For College 2022

Whether it's taking notes, working on your latest research paper, or binge-watching Netflix, the biggest necessity for any college student is a laptop. You'll want one that's easy to tote around from class to class, has solid battery life, and packs a powerful enough processor to keep up with your workload, even when you're struggling to do the same. And, let's not forget an SSD so you can boot up quick at the start of class. We're sure there's a long list of criteria for your dream laptop, and we want to be sure you choose the one that makes the grade. There are plenty of great-quality, long-lasting machines to get you through the next few years, so it would take a while to research exactly which models are best for you. So, we've...

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Best Micro ATX Motherboard 2022

When you're picking out a gaming motherboard that will serve as the backbone of your gaming PC, it's worth thinking about whether or not you need all the extras that come with a full-size ATX motherboard. Unless you're planning to load up on PCIe add-in cards or do some wild overclocking, you'll likely find that a Micro ATX motherboard has everything you need to complete your build while also costing a good deal less than an ATX board. The smaller size also affords you the opportunity to build a more compact gaming PC. This means you can go for a sleeper or a more portable design. We've picked out a variety of Micro ATX motherboards, giving you options for AMD and Intel CPUs. You can even find boards with multiple PCIe x16 expansion...

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Call of Duty: Warzone 2 Will Reveal 'Groundbreaking Innovations' This Year

Activision has very high expectations for Call of Duty: Warzone 2. The publisher said in its first quarter financial results that the sequel to its 2020 Battle Royale will feature "groundbreaking innovations" that will be revealed later this year. "Development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences, led by Infinity Ward, is proceeding very well," Activision said. "The new free-to-play Warzone experience, which is built from the ground-up alongside the premium game, features groundbreaking innovations to be revealed later this year." The report didn't indicate a release date for Warzone 2 but at least said that fans will hear more about it relatively soon. Activision announced the sequel in February, saying it would be...

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Dune: Spice Wars Early Access Review

It's been a while since we've visited the Dune universe in a real-time strategy game – I thought the iPod was basically sorcery when Emperor: Battle for Dune came out in 2001 – but even in its early access form, Dune: Spice Wars is shaping up to be a triumphant return. Four distinct factions that all engage a little differently with interesting combat, politics, and exploration make for an exciting time on the beautifully deadly world of Arrakis. And more impressive still, it never made me feel like I need to be a highly trained Mentat mastermind to keep track of it all. Spice Wars is a bit more of a traditional RTS than developer Shiro Games' last project, Northgard, which shared a lot of elements with worker placement tabletop...

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Elden Ring Dataminer Gets Inaccessible Colosseum Area Actually Working

An Elden Ring dataminer has managed to get the game's inaccessible colosseum content actually working. Back in March, Souls game hacker Lance McDonald managed to look around the game's locked colosseum locations, speculating that they'd be used for DLC. Now, YouTuber Sekiro Dubi has uploaded a video that seemingly reveals the colosseum's hidden Sites of Grace, location names, and even battling NPCs. Sekiro Dubi used a map editor called DSMapStudio to effectively break into the colosseum in the Leyndell area, see what was cut, and then piece it all back together, revealing that developer FromSoftware seemingly intended it to be used for actual gladiator fights. The video shows a giant lion fighting a knight in the colosseum, whose...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Announcement Teased as Infinity Ward's Twitter Goes Dark

The official reveal of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 appears to be imminent as Infinity Ward's Twitter has gone dark. Furthermore, its header image appears to feature Ghost lurking in the shadows. If you head to Infinity Ward's Twitter, you will notice that its profile picture is all black, which companies have done before ahead of a big reveal. IW's header image also appears to be a black image, but you can see the faintest image if you look close enough. After IGN brightened up the image, it sure looks like fan-favorite Ghost is hiding in the dark waiting for his next move. You can see the brightened-up image below and compare it to Ghost and his iconic skull mask in light. Infinity Ward working on Modern Warfare 2 is no...

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Baldur's Gate 3 Will Officially Leave Early Access and Be Released in 2023

Larian Studios has revealed that Baldur's Gate 3 will officially leave early access and be released in 2023. Larian shared the news during 2022's D&D Direct in a dev diary that was focused on "the journey so far." While it features some glimpses of the game, a tiefling cosplay, and a doctor who may or may not be a doctor, the big news from the video was the confirmation that Baldur's Gate 3 will not make it out of early access in 2022 and will instead officially be released in 2023. "By the Nine Hells, we've added a lot of great stuff already, and there's more where that came from," Larian said. "So, join us in early access on our journey to Baldur's Gate 3, or come along in 2023 when the game releases." In February, Larian...

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Halo Infinite Reveals 2022 Roadmap, Campaign Network Co-Op Targeting Late August

343 Industries has revealed its planned 2022 roadmap for Halo Infinite, and it includes a late August release window for the long-awaited campaign network co-op. All the details were revealed by Halo Infinite's head of creative Joseph Staten on Halo Waypoint, and while they are subject to change, they give a good picture as to what Halo Infinite fans can expect for the rest of the year. 343 also notes that the timeframe will "expand as we announce longer-term initiatives" and that the "roadmap is an evolving document." The roadmap begins by focusing on Season 2 "Lone Wolves", which will run from May 3 to November 7. We already knew that Season 2 would launch with a new 100 tier Battle Pass, two new maps in Catalyst (Arena) and...

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Game Scoop! 672: This Podcast Has a Zero Tolerance Policy

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Sam Claiborn, Justin Davis, and Colin Stevens -- are discussing Elden Ring, Unpacking, a Sega Genesis FPS, Sonic Origins, 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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Dying Light 2 Sold 5 Million Units In Its First Month, Dying Light 1 Has Crossed 20 Million Units Sold

Techland has announced that Dying Light 2 officially sold over 5 million units in its first month. Furthermore, it was also revealed that the original Dying Light has crossed 20 million units since it was released in 2016. The news was shared in a press release and Techland also confirmed that the sales of Dying Light 2 are "significantly growing each month," although it gave no other details as to how much. It did tease, however, that it will be debuting new content for Dying Light 2 alongside some "highly requested features" next week. "The success of the Dying Light franchise is a great example of the unforgettable experiences we create for our players," Techland's CEO Paweł Marchewka said. In our Dying Light 2 review, we said...

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Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for April 22

The Agent of the Nine himself, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further. Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians. We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP. Where Is Xûr Today? Xûr's location can be...

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Gayming Awards 2022: How to Watch and What to Expect

The Gayming Awards are back for the second time in 2022 to celebrate LGBTQ+ video gaming and queer geek culture and honor the video games, tabletop games, comic books, and esports players that best championed diversity and inclusivity globally in 2022. IGN will be hosting the Gayming Awards 2022 livestream, and this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to watch the show, including when it starts, where you can watch it with us, and what you can expect to see from the award show. Gayming Awards 2022 Date and Start Time The Gayming Awards 2022 will stream live from the Troxy Theater in London on Monday, April 25, 2022, at 11:45am PT/2:45pm ET/7:45pm BST. If you live in Australia, that translates to Tuesday, April 25...

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IGN UK Podcast #641: Grave Digger 4000

Joe’s been putting his fingers all over another brand new handheld console - the Playdate. He tells Cardy and Emma all about it before they delve into the worlds of Lego: Builder’s Journey, Better Call Saul, Windfall, and Vampire Survivors. There’s also a hotly contested Endless Search and plenty of chocolate and grave digging business Want to get in touch to talk about digging graves? Or maybe about chocolate? Feel free to send us an email at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #641: Grave Digger 4000 IGN UK Podcast #640: The 2013 Build-a-Game Workshop IGN UK Podcast #639: Three Bunged Up Boys IGN UK Podcast #638: The Steam Deck Is a Big Boi IGN UK Podcast #637: Ghostwiring and Smelly Feedback IGN UK Podcast #636: GTA V is...

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