Gaming News

Palworld on Xbox Doesn’t Have Dedicated Servers, Limiting Co-Op to 2-4 Players While Steam Gets Up to 32 Players

'Pokémon With Guns' survival game Palworld is currently blowing up on Steam, where players can create and join dedicated servers that enable up to 32 players to play in the same world and create guilds together. On Xbox however, co-op is much more limited. Speaking in the Palword Discord, developer Pocketpair said those playing on Xbox console or Xbox PC through Game Pass or the Microsoft Store cannot create or join dedicated servers, which means online co-op is limited to between two and four players. “We’d like to have dedicated servers on Xbox but it’s unfortunately not up to us and is quite difficult to negotiate at this time!” a Pocketpair representative said. “But… we are trying!” It's unclear what Pocketpair means when it...

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IGN UK Podcast 732: Indiana Jones and the Fantastic Triangle

Cardy, Emma, and Jesse are ready to be excited about the promising-looking Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. They discuss that, as well as other highlights from the Xbox Developer Direct including Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Avowed. Cardy's also had the chance to play a few hours of Foamstars which is surprisingly fun. But that isn't all, there's also time to talk about two very different, but two very good films in the shape of The Zone of Interest and The Holdovers. What are you most excited about watching or playing in 2024? Get in touch at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast 732: Indiana Jones and the Fantastic Triangle IGN UK Podcast 731: The Big 2024 Preview IGN UK Podcast 730: Flo Rida's Christmas Catch-Up IGN UK...

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Games Leaving PS Plus Extra in February Revealed

Sony has revealed the games leaving PlayStation Plus Extra later in February via the 'Last chance to play' section of the PlayStation 5 dashboard. According to the PS5’s Last chance to play PS Plus tab, 10 PlayStation 4 games are set to leave the subscription catalogue, probably on February 20 when the next round of games are set to be added. Here’s the list: Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Hue I Am Setsuna Lost Sphear Lost Words: Beyond the Page Oninaki Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Tacoma Tekken 7 Thomas Was Alone With Tekken 8 nearly upon us, it makes sense Tekken 7 would be pulled from PS Plus Extra. You now have a month to play these games before they’re removed. The full line-up of PS Plus Games Catalog additions for January...

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Indiana Jones Steals the Show at the Xbox Direct

Microsoft’s second (hopefully annual?) Xbox Developer Direct went, like the first, exceptionally well. While we didn’t get a shadow-dropped killer exclusive – and let’s be honest, that’s not an expectation that Team Xbox probably wants to set – we did still get the surprise of a behind-the-scenes look at Square Enix’s upcoming Visions of Mana. Better yet, we got a good look at gameplay from Obsidian’s upcoming first-person RPG Avowed, we got the Hellblade 2 release date we’ve been waiting for, and best of all, we got the proper reveal of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the new first-person (!) action/adventure/puzzler/whip-simulator that’s being executive produced by Elder Scrolls and Fallout director Todd Howard. I’m extremely...

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Dev Explains Decision to Go First-Person Over Third-Person

Following the reveal of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, developer MachineGames’ decision to go predominantly first-person for the game has become perhaps its biggest talking point. Indiana Jones and The Great Circle is first-person for the bulk of the action, with the camera pulling back to go third-person for parts of traversal and cutscenes. Given the player assumes direct control over Indiana Jones himself, not seeing the iconic character on-screen has come as something of a surprise to some. But for developer MachineGames, which is famous for its in-your-face first person-shooters such as Wolfenstein, first-person was the correct move. In an interview published on the Lucasfilm website, MachineGames game director Jerk...

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Palworld Is Already Off to a Huge Start on Steam

Palworld has launched big on Steam, where it’s already one of the most-played games. At the time of this article’s publication, Palworld, which has been described as "Pokémon With Guns”, was just shy of 200,000 concurrent players on Valve’s platform, making it the fourth most-played game on Steam behind only PUBG, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2. Palworld is also the top-selling game on Steam by revenue, outperforming the likes of Warframe, Baldur's Gate 3, and FC 24. Palworld’s popularity on Steam will no doubt increase throughout the day and into launch weekend, when it may well break concurrent records. Palworld has also launched straight into Game Pass, which will increase player figures further. Ahead of Palworld’s launch...

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Call of Duty Developer Explains What Went Wrong With Warzone’s Busted Season 1 Reloaded Update

The main developer of Call of Duty Warzone has explained what went wrong with this week’s Season 1 Reloaded update, and issued an apology to players. Following the mid-season update’s release, players ran into intense visual and gameplay glitches that made the battle royale pretty much unplayable. The problems were so bad that Raven had to pull the Champion's Quest feature, which tasks players with winning five Warzone matches in a row or 30 total in the season. Activision developers worked through the night to get on top of the problems, issuing a raft of issues that look to have sorted Warzone out for the most part. Champion's Quest has now returned, and players have already managed to complete it. Now, Raven Software has tweeted...

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Square Enix President Says the Company Wants to Release Fewer, More Diverse Games

Square Enix appears to be on the verge of shaking up its development portfolio. According to its president, we may soon see fewer titles, but a more diverse array of genres coming out of a developer and publisher traditionally known for its massive RPG franchises. In an investor Q&A that took place back in November but which was only recently published in English, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu addressed multiple questions from investors about the company's portfolio going forward. In response to a question about what Square Enix was lacking that it needed to achieve sustained growth and meet its business goals, Kiryu cited two points: the limited diversity of the company's portfolio, and a lack of strong marketing. On the...

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Historic Low on a Bat-tastic Bundle, Mortal Kombat 1 Torso Ripped to Half-Price, and More!

Thank your own personal deity—possibly Zodiark—it's Friday! You've just about made it through the grind of the working week, so pat yourself on the back. Better yet, reward yourself with some good old-fashioned escapism from the lists below. Because, hey, it's probably gonna be too bloody hot to do anything on the weekend anyway. Staring down the barrel at 36°C+ over here. Awesome. In retro news, we're celebrating the big two-three for cult classics Armored Core 2 and Tokyo Highway Challenge 2. The former was largely unappreciated outside of Japan in its day, though the series is now bona fide AAA with its seventh iteration. The latter—which copped the suckiest EU market renaming since 'Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles'—garnered an IGN...

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Troy Baker Is Playing Indiana Jones in Upcoming Game The Great Circle

We now know who is voicing Indiana Jones in Bethesda/MachineGames' upcoming game - and it's not Harrison Ford, although it sure sounds like it. EW confirmed shortly after the Xbox Developer Direct on Thursday that it's Troy Baker, best known for originating the role of Joel Miller in The Last of Us, who'll be playing Indy in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The report put to bed immediate speculation about who might be taking on the iconic adventurer, as the clips shown in the Developer Direct featured a darn good Ford impression. Notably, the EW story also confirms that Candyman's Tony Todd, fresh off his role as Venom in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, will voice a mysterious character named Locus. While Baker's portrayal of Joel may...

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Elder Scrolls Online Reveals Next Expansion, Gold Road, Coming Out in June 2024

Another year, another annual 30+ hour Chapter to further expand the already mind-bogglingly expansive RPG universe of The Elder Scrolls Online, which is now steadily approaching its 10th anniversary (coming up on April 4). This special occasion calls for a long-awaited classic TES feature to finally make its way into Zenimax Online Studios’ massively multiplayer online spinoff when the newly announced Gold Road expansion becomes available later this year. And for what it’s worth, that classic feature is indeed spell crafting in the form of Gold Road’s new Scribing system, as some theorized on Reddit following an unintentional leak of Gold Road’s introductory videos on YouTube via Zenimax itself. Gold Road will release in June on all...

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MachineGames Unveils First Look at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Xbox Direct 2024

It's official: we've finally gotten our first look at the upcoming Indiana Jones game from Wolfenstein developer MachineGames: it's called Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and it's out later this year. Our first real look at the game opens with Indy in a bit of a tight spot, buried up to his shoulders in the desert. While we never see exactly how he wiggles out of that one, that's only the start of the trailer. Indy seems to very much be in actor Harrison Ford's likeness, though voiced by Troy Baker, as he explores temples, trips up enemies with his characteristic whip, shoots Nazis, and finds secrets buried in tombs and behind statues. And yes, he has his iconic whip, which can be used for combat, traverse, and as a distraction...

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Dragon’s Dogma 2: How Pawns Are Getting Better – IGN First

Dragon’s Dogma was always envisioned as a single player game that gave off the impression of a multiplayer one, or a “Single-Player Online Party Action Game” in Director Hideaki Itsuno’s own words. And one of the key elements of driving that feeling home are the AI-controlled Pawns that make up 3/4s of your party. Pawns were a fascinating inclusion in the original game – at times endearing with their amusing (and frequent) comments on whatever was happening, other times bewildering with some of their behaviors in battle, and very often a great source of humor and levity. That system is largely the same in Dragon’s Dogma 2 – you still create your own Pawn with their own Vocation that you can gear up however you like, and that Pawn will...

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Ara: History Untold, Xbox's New Civ-Like, Reveals Release Window and New Details - Xbox Direct 2024

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we got a second look at the publisher's upcoming tap into the grand strategy genre, Ara: History Untold. And we now know it's coming out in Fall 2024. During the look, the devs revealed some important new details, saying that they wanted to "challenge pre-conceived notions of the genre." For one, they dove into their simultaneous turn system, which aims to eliminate the downtime in between turns that happens in other turn-based strategy games. They also showed a bit of their "living world," which is procedurally generated to reflect players' choices. The Prestige System, meanwhile, is what will prove the players' "worth as a leader," allowing them to build up their score through several different...

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Visions of Mana Will Let You Ride a Big, Cute Dog Around in Summer of 2024 - Xbox Direct 2024

At today's Xbox Developer Direct, Square Enix made a surprise appearance to show off Visions of Mana, its upcoming action RPG that will bring the Mana series to Xbox for the first time in the franchise's over 30-year history. And Square Enix brought a new release window with them: summer of 2024. New footage shown today gave a longer look at Visions of Mana's creatures, exploration, and combat. Series creator Koichi Ishii came on screen to talk about the game's roster of returning fan-favorite monsters, such as the Rabite. He also introduced a new creature: A Pikul. Conceived as a cross between a Yorkshire Terrier and a pangolin with some elements inspired by the mythological Anubis, Pikuls are big fluffy dog creatures that the...

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Xbox Developer Direct 2024: Everything Announced

Microsoft is starting the year with its 2024 Xbox Developer Direct, where we're expecting to see more on Indiana Jones, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, and a lot more. Xbox's first Developer Direct took place last January, and that presentation was highlighted by the surprise shadow drop of Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush. While we know not to expect any shadow drops for today's presentation, we're still hoping for some solid details about Xbox's upcoming 2024 slate. Read on to learn about everything announced during today's Developer Direct, live as it happens. And, to tune in for yourself, check out our article on how to watch the Xbox Developer Direct and what to expect. Obsidian Gives a Deep Dive on Avowed, Release Window Revealed Avowed...

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Avowed New Gameplay Shows Off Choice, Combat, Fall Release Window - Xbox Direct 2024

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we just got another in-depth look at Obsidian's upcoming RPG Avowed, alongside a release window of this fall. The new footage we saw today shows off more of Avowed's combat, specifically focusing on customizable loadouts and speedy swapping between them to adapt to different situations. Players will be able to move quickly between spellcasting, sharpshooting, and melee combat as necessary to tackle enemies with different specializations. Some are healers, some have defensive focuses, and some are incredibly challenging, per Obsidian. We also got a look at some of how Avowed will handle choice and consequences, via a quest where the player finds the bodies of fallen soldiers. Players can confront...

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Nightingale’s Ex-Bioware Devs Say They Never Want to Return to 'Old School' Game Development

Nightingale wasn’t always a shared-world survival crafting RPG. Though it’s always retained its gaslamp fantasy flair during its nearly five years in development, at one point, Nightingale could have been an MMO. That change came from the natural progression of developer Inflexion’s preferences and vision, but much more has changed because of consistent, constructive feedback from thousands of players during closed alpha playtests over the last year. Inflexion CEO Aaryn Flynn has been so impressed by the experience he said, “I don’t know how you go back and do it more old school like we used to do it.” Where the traditional way of game dev includes getting plenty of smart, creative people in a room, doing their best with what they...

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GTA Online Is Ending Support for Rockstar Editor on PS4 and Xbox One

Rockstar is looking to the horizon as it begins to “approach the limits of what’s possible” on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and it’s starting by removing the Rockstar Editor from those versions of Grand Theft Auto Online. The Grand Theft Auto maker announced plans to make a shift toward the future in a news post on its website. It says that, while the Rockstar Editor will survive on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S, players on last-gen consoles will lose access come February 20, 2024. The editor’s removal is said to be part of the “necessary steps” that Rockstar is taking to ensure GTA Online additions continue to roll out on PS4 and Xbox One. “This update will help to ensure the stability of these platforms and keep them...

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Bethesda Reveals Full Patch Notes for Starfield's Big 1.9.47.0 Update

Bethesda has released Starfield's first major update in 2024 into beta, with "over a hundred fixes and adjustments" introduced, most of which address fixing quests and adding quality-of-life improvements to the company's space RPG. In a blog post, Bethesda detailed every change coming to Starfield as part of update 1.9.47.0. Some of the tweaks that immediately stand out include improved widescreen support, allowing for the game to now support 32:9, 21:9, and 16:10 aspect ratios, and fixes to the Eye of the Storm Quest. The latter has been one of the quests some have been unable to complete, most notably when the player reaches the data transfer section. Bethesda further reiterated that it will "continue to have a steady stream of...

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Palworld Early Access Review in Progress

Nothing about what Palworld attempts to do seems like it should work in the slightest. A thinly veiled Pokémon clone where you and your collectible monsters shoot people in the face with literal guns? A base building survival game where you use your kidnapped creatures as laborers, and are then forced to cook and eat those unpaid employees when times get tough? An open-world co-op adventure where you and your friends thwack helpless sheep over the head with a baseball bat to harvest their wool? Defying the odds, this wholly irreverent, gun-toting take on the creature collection genre has proven unrelentingly fun for the 15 hours I’ve binged so far. Its survival mechanics are intuitive and deep, its action-packed combat is silly and...

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Potentially Dangerous Tekken 8 Demo Accessibility Features Being Removed

Potentially dangerous accessibility features present in the Tekken 8 demo will be removed both there and in the full game, seemingly by launch on January 26. As reported by PC Gamer, Tekken 8 director Katushiro Harada said at the Tekken World Tour 2023 Finals that the accessibility features had been tweaked "quite a bit" to address concerns. As Harada spoke about these changes in past tense, changes will seemingly be ready for launch, though the demo update isn't available yet. A now deleted Twitter/X post initially flagged the dangerous settings, where a player had combined striped black and white characters with a mostly white background. Accessibility experts were quick to point out the dangers of such settings, with consultant...

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Hogwarts Legacy Beats Modern Warfare 3 as Best-Selling Game of 2023 in the U.S.

Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling video game in the U.S. in 2023, the first time a non-Call of Duty or Rockstar game was best-selling game of the year since 2008’s Rockband. Mat Piscatella, executive director of video games at Circana, noted Hogwarts Legacy was the best selling game of the year in the U.S. by dollar sales on PlayStation platforms, ranked second on Xbox platforms, and placed fifth on Nintendo platforms. Hogwarts Legacy beat Activision’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 to the top spot. EA’s Madden NFL 24 came in third, Sony’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fourth, and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is fifth. Circana’s report does not include download sales from some publishers, including Nintendo...

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Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games Lays Off 10% of Staff

Lords of the Fallen and Sniper: Ghost Warrior publisher CI Games has laid off 10% of its workforce, with the developers behind the games reportedly affected. Speaking to GI.biz, CI Games said it made the job cuts "to preserve business strength and stability." Though it didn't confirm how its developers were affected directly, sources told GI.biz that Lords of the Fallen developer Hexworks was affected by the layoffs. "To preserve business strength and stability, CI Games has made the tough but necessary decision to implement a targeted round of redundancies, affecting approximately 10% of employees across the company," said CEO Marek Tymiński. To preserve business strength and stability, CI Games has made the tough but necessary...

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Turnip Boy Robs a Bank Review

The problem with 2021’s Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion was definitely not its name. In fact, I’d argue it has one of the greatest game titles ever, but its absurd sense of humor and cutesy style could only carry its repetitive three-hour campaign so far. Its 2024 sequel, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, may not have as memorable of a name, but it’s somehow even more ridiculous than its predecessor. See, in order to rob the bank, Turnip Boy gets a gun! A lot of guns in fact! And he’s ready to mow down so many cops and monsters on his way to riches, acceptance, and something far more mysterious. This follow-up may not be much longer, but some much-needed quality of life improvements and cleaned up combat make its more fast-paced action and...

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Microsoft Can Now Be a 'Good Publisher on Sony and Nintendo and PCs and Xbox’, CEO Says

With the acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, Microsoft can now be a “good publisher” across all platforms, including rival consoles, the boss of the company has said. Speaking to Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said: "We love gaming. In fact, Flight Simulator was created before even Windows. But, we were number three, number four. And now with Activision, I think we have a chance of being a good publisher — quite frankly — on Sony and Nintendo and PCs and Xbox. We’re excited about that acquisition closing and I’m glad we’ve got it through.” Nadella’s comments echo those he made last month, when he similarly said Microsoft plans to release games across all platforms: “We think that now we have the ability to...

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Founders of Batman Arkham Developer Rocksteady Start New Studio

The people who founded Rocksteady Studios have started a new development studio. As reported by Polygon, Rocksteady founders Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker started a new London-based studio called Hundred Star Games, which aims to make AAA games with “only 100 industry veterans and emerging talents”. Polygon found that a number of former Rocksteady staff have joined Hundred Star Games, according to LinkedIn profiles. Rocksteady’s first game was 2006’s Urban Chaos: Riot Response but found critical and commercial success for its Batman Arkham series, which includes 2009’s groundbreaking Batman: Arkham Asylum, 2011’s Batman: Arkham City, and 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight. Batman owner Warner Bros. bought Rocksteady in 2010. Hill and...

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Best Hogwarts Legacy Deals in the UK: Best Price on PS5, Switch, Xbox, and More (Updated)

Hogwarts Legacy sold 22 million copies last year, approximately 2 million copies were sold during the December holiday season alone. It's clear to see that the game is incredibly popular, becoming one of the best-selling games last year, even striking up a close contest with serial best-sellers Call of Duty and EA Sports FC (formally the FIFA series). If you're still seeking out a copy of the game, then you've come to the right place, as we've found all the best deals for Hogwarts Legacy in the UK for 2024. This includes a monumentally good deal at Argos, where the game can be purchased on PS5 for just £28.99 (see here) (that's £41 off the RRP of £69.99). See the best price on every console just below as well. Its sales numbers...

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Payday 3 Dev 'Well Aware' Fans 'Aren't Satisfied', Creates a Team Dedicated to Turning Things Around

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze has said it's "well aware" fans still "aren't satisfied" with the heist shooter so have created an internal team dedicated to turning things around. Revealed in a blog post, Starbreeze said this "strike team" is currently planning and deciding which changes are necessary to create the experience fans expected. This dedicated team arrives almost four months after Payday 3 launched with several issues. "We’re well aware that many of you aren’t satisfied with the game the way it is in its current state," Starbreeze said. "Since launch, we’ve been reading your valuable feedback in forums, social media, and in video comments in addition to the Feature Upvote page. This helps us massively and is crucial to the...

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Call of Duty Dataminers Discover Surprise Potential Warhammer 40,000 Crossover

Here’s a potential crossover we didn’t expect: Call of Duty and Warhammer 40,000. Dataminers did their thing following the release of the troubled Season 1 Reloaded update for Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone, and discovered artwork that reveals the collaboration between Call of Duty and Games Workshop’s grimdark universe set in the far future is potentially on the way. It's worth noting this crossover remains unannounced, so may not happen. But it looks likely given the extent of the files found within the game. The artwork, revealed across varioius accounts including @CODWarfareForum, @SemtexLeaks, and @FumoLeaksMk1, depicts the mysterious Dark Angels chapter of the Space Marines, and the Sisters of Battle. The Dark Angels are...

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