Gaming News

Crimson Desert PS5 and Xbox Specs Finally Confirmed, Following Complaints Developer Was Hiding Console Versions

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has finally detailed how well the game will run on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, just over a week before its launch date. As you'd expect, there's a wide range of performance benchmarks across the console spectrum, from the lesser-powered Xbox Series S right up to the beefy PlayStation 5 Pro. For each machine, including the base PS5 and Xbox Series X, the developer has also included details for up to three modes (Performance, Balanced and Quality), and there are details of both resolution and "target performance" in terms of frame rate, as well as the quality of raytracing enabled. But while Pearl Abyss has now confirmed these performance figures for consoles, there's no new footage of the...

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‘Anything Can Change’ – Battlefield 6 Dev Says It Plans to Listen to Community Feedback for ‘a Very Long Time’

Disclaimer: This article contains comments from an interview conducted before EA announced layoffs across Battlefield Studios. Battlefield Studios says it plans to listen to and work with the Battlefield 6 community for “a very long time” as it continues post-launch support with Season 2: Nightfall while dealing with an unsatisfied fanbase. IGN caught up with Ripple Effect studio design director Justin Wiebe to learn more about how the team is adapting to feedback in response to mixed opinions from fans. And as it and the rest of the four-studio group that makes up BF Studios prepares to launch Season 2 Phase 2: Nightfall on March 17, there’s one thing Wiebe said he wanted fans to know: “We're listening, and we're reacting, and it's...

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Battlefield 6 Studio Design Director Talks Night Maps and the Need to Work With Fans as Season 2: Nightfall Looms

Disclaimer: The following interview was conducted before EA announced layoffs across Battlefield Studios. Just two months into 2026, Battlefield 6 has had a rough year. As players returned from the holidays, hoping to see sweeping changes with the launch of Season 2, publisher EA and the four-studio team that makes up Battlefield Studios – Criterion, DICE, Motive Studios, and Ripple Effect – announced that their second season had been hit with a delay. It's an announcement that only made the sixth mainline Battlefield game's future murkier following a disappointing end to Season 1. Now, following the loss of series lead Vince Zampella, the Battlefield 6 team is pressing forward as it attempts to recapture the audience that had once...

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Forza Horizon 6’s Open World Supports Time Attacks, Drag Races, and…Vibe Driving – IGN First

They say every day is a school day. Today I learned a new term; one I’ve never heard in 23 years of writing about racing games, and nearly 40 years of playing them. The term? Vibe driving. The meaning? Well, for Playground it describes the actions of players who just hop in a car, plant their foot on the pedal, and cruise through the open world. “We know from multiple games now that there are so many players who just vibe drive; they just go from place to place in their car experiencing the world,” explains design director Torben Ellert. “So making a world that was both authentic to what Japan feels like, but was also rewarding for players to drive around in, was something we really wanted to do this time. We know from multiple games...

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'The Cost of Running Fortnite Has Gone Up a Lot and We're Raising Prices to Help Pay the Bills,' Epic Games Says, Announcing V-Bucks Changes and More

Epic Games has announced a major change to the prices and distribution of Fortnite's in-game V-Bucks currency, and blamed the cost increases on the need to "help pay the bills." Fortnite's billion dollar-grossing battle royale mode launched back in 2017, and has frequently found itself as part of the cultural zeitgeist. But while recent years have seen ever-bigger collaborations with movies and pop stars, its player numbers have been dwarfed by third-party game platform Roblox. Earlier this year, Fortnite began allowing its own third-party game creators to begin selling microtransaction items (while Epic Games took a cut), a move that Epic itself previously said it wouldn't entertain. The wider company has also been busy spending big...

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The Internet Is Discussing Pickmon, a New Pokémon, Zelda and Palworld Rip-Off That Doesn't Hide Its Obvious Influences

Featuring a character dressed like Link and a creature that looks like Pikachu, upcoming Steam game Pickmon isn't afraid to hide the games it's clearly, er, inspired by. A initial trailer for Pickmon, below, begins with Link, or whoever the main character is supposed to be, leaping from a clifftop that's clearly a riff on Breath of the Wild's Great Plateau, while familiar-sounding piano notes tinkle away in the background. Not-Link deploys his glider, and is shown to have a not-Pikachu clinging onto his shoulder. A dragon-like creature definitely not based on Rayquaza then also drifts past — and this is all in the trailer's first two seconds. The next few minutes of Pickmon footage offer much more of the same, with creatures...

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Marathon’s Fiddly Quests Need To Stop Getting in the Way of the Fun

Boring filler quests, often of the "fetch" variety, used to be derided – but in extraction shooters nobody seems to mind that they're rampant. Go here, scan this terminal, collect ten wotsits, find five doodads, spin around three times and return to base. Of course, extraction shooters don't stand on the strength of their quests, and these objectives are welcome excuses to explore the map. I don't mind trekking to reach a quest marker if I find something surprising on the way, or an enemy team to fight when I arrive. But these quests cannot get in the way of the looting and shooting. In Marathon, sadly, they sometimes do. Not only are Bungie's quests, called "contracts", boring and fiddly, but they're at the heart of the game...

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Resident Evil Requiem Story Expansion and Additional 'Mini Game' in Development, Director Confirms

Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has confirmed plans to launch a major story expansion for the game, following other additions planned over the coming months. In a video message to fans posted on social media this morning, Nakanishi once again thanked players for Requiem's huge success so far, which has resulted in 5 million copies already sold as of last week and stock issues for physical copies. But Capcom now has much more in store for the game, too — including that story expansion, the addition of a "mini game" in May, and the upcoming arrival of a photo mode. "[We're] planning to add more add-on content," Nakanishi said in today's video. "First, the much-awaited photo mode. On top of that, there's another surprise...

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Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake Review

Since the earliest cave paintings, human beings have used art to recreate the world around us. But while the painter’s limit is imagination, the photographer can only capture what actually exists. They can use their tools to increase exposure, change framing, or apply filters, but they cannot create something entirely new; only preserve a moment in time. It’s telling that Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is getting its moment now. A game about twin sisters haunted by the past with a camera as their only salvation, Crimson Butterfly Remake is similarly bound to its predecessor while also being charged with modernizing it. In many ways, it succeeds. I cannot deny that I enjoyed revisiting Minakami Village, but I also fear that constantly...

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Get a 2-Pack of 6.6ft USB Type-C Cables for $5.60 ($2.30 Per Cable)

USB Type-C has become the standard for charging and data cables alike, so it's good to have extra on hand. Amazon is offering a two-pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C cables for just $5.60 after you apply coupon code "LISEN240W". That averages out to $2.80 per cable. USB-C cables typically go for about $10 each at your local big box store. Use these to charge or sync any device with a USB-C port, including your Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone 16, or even a laptop. 2-Pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C Cables for $5.60 Keep your cable collection simple. These cables measure 6.6 feet in length, which is a great general purpose length: long enough to still be able to use your device while the cable is plugged in, but not so long as to be an...

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The Anker Prime 26,250mAh Power Bank With 300W Max Output Drops to $125 at Woot

Woot, which is owned by Amazon, is offering a big discount on one of Anker's biggest and most powerful TSA-friendly travel-sized power banks. The Anker Prime A110A 26,250mAh 300W USB Power Bank is available for just $124.99 if you select the "bulk packaging" option (the retail packaging one is $139.99). Shipping costs an extra $5, but it's free for Amazon Prime members. This is for a brand new, not used item which normally retails for $230. Anker Prime 26,250mAh 300W Power Bank for $125 The Anker Prime is a hefty power bank, measuring 6.3"x1.5"x2.5" and weighing in at 1.3lbs. It has two USB Type-C ports and one USB Type-A port. The maximum total output is 300W: 140W for each USB-C port and 20W for the USB-A port. That's powerful...

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Resident Evil Requiem Director Warns of 'Edited Messages' After Screenshots Initially Appear to Confirm Leon S. Kennedy's Love Interest

Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has warned fans over screenshots that supposedly show him confirming (or at least, strongly hinting) who Leon S. Kennedy has picked as his long-term partner. Unlockable concept art found in Requiem confirms that the series' most eligible bachelor is now married, while the game's ending sequence subtly seems to show Leon putting his wedding ring back on at the conclusion of his time in the field. It's a detail that has drawn huge interest from fans, and particularly those who believe Leon has wed one of two potential love interests from earlier games: either Ada Wong, or Claire Redfield. Exactly who he has married, however, Requiem leaves frustratingly unclear. In the hunt for clues...

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Why Fatal Frame II Deserves a Modern Comeback

Few survival horror games have made an impression like Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Released in 2003, it quickly became known as one of the most unsettling horror experiences ever made. Instead of relying on heavy combat or explosive action, it built its fear through atmosphere, storytelling, and a unique mechanic. With the upcoming Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, a new generation of players will get to explore one of gaming’s most haunting worlds. Long-time fans can revisit a cult classic, while newcomers will find a great introduction to one of survival horror’s most distinct series. So why does Fatal Frame II deserve a modern comeback? Let’s take a closer look. A Horror Story That Still Haunts Players At the...

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EA Lays Off Staff Across All Battlefield Studios Following Record-Breaking Battlefield 6 Launch

EA has laid off an unknown number of individuals from across its Battlefield teams, including workers at Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios, IGN understands. Individuals are being informed that the layoffs are taking place as part of a "realignment" across the Battlefield studios, as the team continues its ongoing, live service support for Battlefield 6 following launch. All four studios will remain operational, though the layoffs seem to be impacting a variety of teams across multiple studios and offices. IGN has reached out to EA for comment on total number and types of roles impacted, as well as for the specific reasons for the layoffs. Battlefield 6 was the best-selling game of 2025 in the United States. It sold a...

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Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Review

It’s hard to even know where to start with an RPG as deep as Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. I reviewed both Monster Hunter Stories in 2017 and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin in 2021 and, maybe unsurprisingly, so much of what I said about the first two carry over into my thoughts on the third. Monster Hunter Stories 3 has so much to do, all of it is rewarding, and I adored the every one of the 75 hours I happily sunk into it. Smart changes have also made it easier than ever to dig into all its different systems without watering them down in the process, making for a beautiful package that feels like a logical evolution of an already great series. Twisted Reflection is another turn-based monster collecting RPG...

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Fortnite Explains Where The Rock's Character has Been All These Years, And Begins an Avengers: Doomsday Countdown to His Return

Fortnite has confirmed that The Foundation, its heroic character voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, will return next season - and begun an Avengers: Doomsday-style countdown for his reappearance. A cinematic teaser trailer released today shows The Foundation currently frozen in ice, captured by The Ice King (another important character in Fortnite lore). Still, players expect they'll be able to break out The Rock's character in the battle royale mode's next season, which begins in shortly over a week's time. Indeed, today's teaser reveals the official name for Epic Games' next slice of Fortnite, and riffs on the wording seen in recent Avengers: Doomsday teasers (not that they're actually teasers, apparently) to confirm the return of...

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Big Walk Preview: An Even Sillier Game from the Makers of Untitled Goose Game

If the absurd silliness of 2019’s Untitled Goose Game is the type of thing that floats your boat, then the upcoming multiplayer puzzle game Big Walk by the same developer should rank pretty high on your list for 2026. This wacky adventure occupies the growing number of games lovingly dubbed “friendslop,” in the same vein as Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., and most applicable here, Peak, making use of proximity chat and goofy gameplay to create memorable times with friends. And if the opening hour is any indication, then Big Walk stands a strong chance of capturing the attention of those, like myself, who will happily jump online to joke around with their buds during some low-stress shenanigans. Big Walk is a cooperative puzzle game meant to...

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'We'll Getcha One Day Silksong' — Slay the Spire 2 Dev 'Blown Away' by Enormous Launch as It Joins Steam Top 20 Club

Slay the Spire 2 has enjoyed an enormous early access launch on Steam, breaking into the top 20 most-played games of all time on Valve’s platform. Mega Crit’s sequel had already become the most-played roguelike ever on Steam after it launched last week, but now, after hitting an astonishing 574,638 peak concurrent players over the weekend, it’s joined the special top 20 club — and there are some big hitters within its sights. Chief among them in the indie space is Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong, which hit a peak of 587,150. And it’s that game the developers at MegaCrit cheekily pointed out as its target in a social media post celebrating their success. “Our team is TOTALLY blown away by the amount of people who have been...

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Marathon’s Absurd Pickpocketing Drone Shows How Bungie Is Doing Extraction Shooters Differently

My early days with Marathon have reminded me of how I fell in love with Apex Legends. Respawn's battle royale famously dropped out of nowhere in early 2019 and I was instantly in awe of its maps, its guns and, above all, its heroes and their unique abilities. Marathon is an entirely different genre but its own hero classes, called "shells", elicit that same wonder. They feel fresh and flexible, deep and customizable, and as I play I'm constantly discovering new wrinkles in their skills. I know it's early days but these shells feel like they set Marathon apart from Arc Raiders and other extraction shooters: you get the underlying tension, joy and despair of the genre with a pungent hero shooter smeared on top. The Thief shell is...

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‘It Would Shock the World’ — John Wick and Space Marine 2 Dev Teases ‘Coolest IP Ever’ It’s Had to Turn Down Twice

“If I could tell you the game that I turned down twice, it would shock the world,” claims Tim Willits, chief creative officer of Saber Interactive. The multi-studio developer has become famous of late for its impressive collection of existing IP video game adaptations, primarily taking the form of playable versions of popular film series such as The Evil Dead and upcoming John Wick, Hellraiser: Revival, and Jurassic Park: Survival, but also tabletop games in the case of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Saber is an incredibly busy, and productive, company, seemingly suffering from its own success to a certain degree, inasmuch as it can’t take on all of the dream projects it would like to. As Willits told IGN in a recent interview, “I...

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Master Chief Actor Steve Downes Hits Out at the White House for Use of His Voice in ‘Disgusting and Juvenile' Social Media Video

Steve Downes, who plays Master Chief in the Halo series, has demanded the White House remove his voice from a social media video he described as “disgusting and juvenile war porn.” In a video published to the official White House X / Twitter account, now viewed over 63 million times, Master Chief is seen and heard issuing his iconic line, “Finishing this fight.” But Halo is not the only world-famous intellectual property used in the video, which was published last week amid the war in the Middle East alongside the text, “Justice the American way.” Also included are clips of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Keanu Reeves as John Wick, and many more, all...

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Project Motor Racing: ‘We Let You Down, and We Let Ourselves Down’

The team behind Project Motor Racing has acknowledged the game did not meet expectations upon its initial release in November. The admission comes via a new newsletter update from developer Straight4 Studios, which also announced a major update is set to arrive at the end of March. “When we launched Project Motor Racing in November, we set out to build a racing sim that captured the intensity, immersion, and discipline of real motorsport,” the studio wrote. “So let’s start with the simple truth: we didn’t hit the mark. Not on the stuff that mattered most. We let you down, and we let ourselves down.” Conceding “more than one thing” went wrong, the studio explained it has been focusing on working “tirelessly to right the ship.” “Patch...

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Nagoshi's Gang of Dragon May Never Come Out After Investor NetEase Cut Funding When It Realized an Extra $44 Million Was Needed to Finish the Game

Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi’s new game is now in doubt after investor NetEase warned the studio that it plans to cut off funding. Gang of Dragon was meant to be the debut game from Nagoshi Studio, the developer formed by Nagoshi in 2022 under NetEase after he departed Ryu Ga Gotoku a year earlier. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it looks an awful lot like Yakuza. Bloomberg reported that Chinese megacorp NetEase told Nagoshi Studio employees that it will stop financing the studio from May, which in turn will likely mean Nagoshi’s studio will have to shut down. NetEase is currently in the process of cutting its video game investments, which have already led to studio closures and layoffs. According to Bloomberg, NetEase made the decision...

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Bungie Responds Quickly to Marathon Microtransactions Backlash, First Patch Will Make the Game Slightly Easier

Bungie has revealed plans to change Marathon in some key ways just a few days after launch, outlining early patch notes for an update due out next week. In a tweet, the developer said that “in the near future” it will adjust the amount of Lux, Marathon’s in-game currency, you get for the $10 bundle so that it grants 1,120 Lux, up from 1,100. This is important because currently a runner skin costs 1,120 Lux, but you can’t buy 1,120 Lux exactly from the store. Instead, you have to spend $10 to get 1,100 Lux (just 20 Lux shy of what you need), and then another $5 to get 500 Lux on top, which in total dollar terms matches the price of the $15 bundle available from the store. As IGN has reported, this had caused a stink within Marathon’s...

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Slay the Spire 2 Early Access Review So Far

On its Early Access launch day, before I'd unlocked anything, I was struck by how much Slay the Spire 2 felt more like a remake of the original Slay the Spire than a sequel. The tutorial didn't tell me – someone with over 1,000 hours in the original – anything I didn't already know. The map where you choose your path and whether to aim for riskier battles with higher rewards or potentially lower-stakes encounters (which can still turn wild on you) is exactly the same, and the turn-based combat follows basically all the old rules of how you spend your allotted energy points to play cards that build up your armor and hack away at the enemy's defenses and health until one side or the other is dead. That's not a bad thing when your...

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Valve Suggests Steam Machine Could Be Delayed Into 2027, Blames 'Memory and Storage Shortages'

It sounds like bad news for those who want to get their hands on Valve’s upcoming new hardware. The company suggested Steam Machine, Steam Controller, and Steam Frame could all be delayed even further, potentially into 2027. Valve announced all three products late last year, with the aim of releasing them at some point in the first quarter of 2026. In February, Valve signalled a delay was coming as a result of AI shortages that are causing PC hardware to spike in price. This had made it difficult for Valve to pin down a price and release date for the Steam Machine and Steam Frame. But at the time (early February), Valve still planned to release its hardware in the first half of this year. Now, in a just published ‘Steam Year In Review...

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WWE 2K26 Review So Far

If it’s Wrestlemania season, that means it’s time for a new WWE 2K game. 2K26 came in hot, a little too hot to get a comprehensive look at the entire thing before the “pay more to play early” period opened up today. But I've spent a good chunk of time running the ropes in this year’s ring, and so far it’s been a solid next chapter in what has been this series’ most impressive run to date. That said, with another milquetoast showcase mode and the growing presence of monetization wrapping itself around the experience like an anaconda vise, it’s starting to feel like the golden age for 2K wrestling games might be coming to an end. 2K26 hasn’t learned many new moves since last year, mostly just tweaking existing base mechanics. The biggest...

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From GoldenEye to 007 First Light: The Rise, Fall and Return of James Bond Games

In a fashion not entirely dissimilar to the iconic films that inspired them, it’s fair to say the many video games based on the adventures of James Bond have had a rather uneven batting average over the years. With that in mind, and as we approach the release of what looks to be the most ambitious 007 game in years – 007 First Light – it’s worth revisiting the major digital adaptations of Britain’s most famous spy. GoldenEye 007 (1997) Before GoldenEye 007 arrived in 1997, there had been a handful of Bond titles across the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, but none came remotely close to the standard set by Rare’s Nintendo 64 classic. A bona fide masterpiece, GoldenEye 007 followed the plot of the 1995 film while whisking players across the...

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The Witcher Comics Come to WEBTOON on March 9

The Witcher franchise has always been a natural fit for the comic book medium (see our review of 2014's The Witcher #1 for more). Now those stories are being brought to an entirely new audience, as WEBTOON reveals it's acquired the rights to Dark Horse's back catalog of The Witcher comics. This is the latest collaboration between WEBTOON and Dark Horse, with the latter's Cyberpunk 2077, Critical Role, and Avatar: The Last Airbender comics also appearing on the platform. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see how the series will look in the WEBTOON format: WEBTOON is kicking things off with The Witcher: House of Glass, which was written by Paul Tobin, drawn by Joe Querio, and colored by Carlos Badilla. House of Glass is set in...

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Resident Evil Requiem Is Suffering an Idenitiy Crisis

Warning: this opinion piece contains spoilers for Resident Evil Requiem. For three decades, players have been going toe-to-toe with zombies and other monsters in the Resident Evil series. This year’s latest mainline entry, Resident Evil Requiem, marks the beloved franchise’s 30th anniversary by being a love letter to the series’ entire past, from its early days of creepy, puzzle-filled survival horror to its adrenaline-fuelled action horror era. But while this approach has been praised almost unanimously across the board – we awarded Requiem 9/10 and its Metacritic score stands at 89, the highest of any modern, non-remake Resident Evil – I feel that its attempt to mix both of the series’ historic styles together creates a clash...

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