Gaming News

Warner Bros. Confirms Price and Date for Mortal Kombat 1's Controversial Seasonal Fatality Bundle

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Mortal Kombat 1's monetized Fatalities, Warner Bros. Games has confirmed the price and release date for its Seasonal Fatality Bundle, which will feature unique Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Winter Fatalities. In a statement to IGN, a Warner Bros. Games confirmed that the seasonal bundle will cost 1,200 Dragon Krystals. Currently, Dragon Krystals — Mortal Kombat 1's premium currency — can only be purchased in packs of 1,250 and above, which means the bundle amounts to about $9.99. It'll be available on November 17. You can see the Thanksgiving Fatality included in the bundle, which was uncovered by a dataminer, below (warning, it's quite disgusting). The announced price of the bundle is...

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Black Friday GPU Deals: What Sales to Expect in 2023

Buying one of the best graphics cards is already an expensive endeavor, but thanks to Moore's Law having one foot in the grave, there are a lot of hidden costs to upgrading your gaming PC, thankfully Black Friday GPU deals are right around the corner. While you're probably not going to see any super-flashy 50% off deals for a graphics card like the RTX 4080, you'll be able to find offers that cut a good $100-$200 off of its steep asking price, especially if you know where to look. And even if you don't feel comfortable digging around the guts of your computer to make the upgrade, you should be able to find plenty of Black Friday gaming PC deals that also use these shiny new GPUs. When Do Black Friday GPU Deals Start? Black Friday...

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Nintendo Indie World Showcase for November 2023: Everything Announced

Happy Indie World Showcase day! We just saw a Nintendo Indie World Showcase that included over 12 indie games coming to Nintendo Switch in 2023 and 2024, including several brand-new game announcements. Major reveals include the reemergence of a lost Shantae game, Outer Wilds' long-awaited Switch debut, and much more. If you missed it, here's a quick rundown of everything we just saw at Indie World: Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution Announced earlier this year, Shantae creator WayForward has reached deep into its vault of canceled titles and brought back something we never thought would see the light of day. Back in 2001, WayForward was working on a GBA Shantae game called Shantae 2: Risky Revolution. The game was never finished...

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Mass Effect: Dark Horse Reveals New Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah Figures

Another N7 Day has come and gone, and with it the first tease for BioWare's Mass Effect 5. But that's not the only piece of good news for Mass Effect fans this week. Now Dark Horse has revealed the next two figures in its ever-growing lineup of Mass Effect collectibles. Next up in the Mass Effect figure line will be Urdnot Wrex and Tali'Zorah. Get a closer look at both figures in the slideshow gallery below: Both figures are actually non-posable statues cast in PVC. Urdnot Wrex measures in at 9.75 inches in height, while Tali'Zorah is 8.5 inches. Both figures are slated for release in August 2024. Urdnot Wrex is priced at $69.99, while Tali'Zorah is priced at $59.99. You can find preorder links for both figures in the IGN Store...

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Persona 5 Tactica Review

Persona 5 Royal is the kind of complete experience that left me wanting for nothing, and so I have some mixed feelings about its spinoff games. And Persona 5 Tactica, which moves the groovy action to a satisfying grid-based combat system, doesn't fully succeed in making me feel the way the original, epic JRPG did. But still, it's nice to get to see some of my favorite characters again. And Atlus' combat designers have shown that their skill at making fast-paced, punchy battles that reward clever planning translates nicely to the turn-based tactics genre.In terms of the timeline, Tactica takes place between the second and third semesters of Persona 5 Royal. And I definitely would not recommend picking it up if you haven't played at least...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Performance Review

Activision’s yearly festive treat is back. The IW engine, now in its ninth iteration, remains relatively static since the start of the current generation. There has been some regression on consoles at least, with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s ray traced shadows no longer present. The PC offers DLSS and FSR options, which are necessary, even on my RTX 3080, if you want to hit 4K/60fps on Extreme settings. All three consoles offer two performance modes: a high resolution 60fps mode and a reduced quality 120fps mode. The real difference between the modes are as follows. Xbox Series X and PS5 are identical in their base 60Hz modes. They both output at a full 3840 x 2160 with identical settings, and this is reconstructed from a base...

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Baldur’s Gate 3 Dev Teases ‘Next Big Game’ as Xbox Announcement Nears

Fresh from receiving a number of The Game Awards nominations and off the back of hit game Baldur’s Gate 3, developer Larian Studios has teased its next project. In a X/Twitter post quoting Larian’s call for The Game Awards votes, boss Swen Vincke said “seeing our little niche RPG make such waves is very motivating”, before going on to talk in vague terms about the studio’s next project. “I wish I could tell you about our next big game but this is really encouraging us to ensure it pushes many boundaries,” Vincke teased. “I’m very excited about it.” That’s not much to go on, but Baldur’s Gate 3 fans have already started speculating about what’s next for Larian. Will Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC or even an expansion follow? Given the huge...

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Xbox Game Pass November Wave 2 2023 Lineup Announced

Microsoft has announced the second wave of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in November 2023, taking subscribers up to the end of the month. Available today, November 14 is Coral Island (Cloud and Xbox Series X|S), a farm sim game about island living from Stairway Games. Here’s the official blurb: “Coral Island is a vibrant and laid-back reimagining of farm sim games. Be who you want and experience enchanting island living at your own pace — live off the land, nurture animals, build relationships with a diverse cast of townsfolk, and make the world around you a more vital and harmonious place.” Persona 5 Tactica (Cloud, Console, and PC) launches day one into Game Pass on November 17. This tactical spinoff of Persona 5 was briefly made...

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Ark: Survival Ascended Xbox Series X and S Release Date Delayed Last Minute

Ark: Survival Ascended’s Xbox Series X and S release date has been delayed once again, this time just a day before it was due to come out. Developer Studio Wildcard had already delayed the console version of the dinosaur-themed survival game following its Steam launch, with the Xbox and Windows PC version set to come out today, November 14, and the PlayStation 5 version due out at some point later this month. In a post on X/Twitter, however, Studio Wildcard said the Xbox and Windows PC version of Ark Survival Ascended “is still going through the certification process”, which means it will not come out as planned today. Studio Wildcard said it expects the game to come out on Xbox and Windows PC “later this week”, but it sounds like a...

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Player Unlocks Most Coveted Camo After Near 76-Hour Grind

A Modern Warfare 3 player has unlocked the most coveted weapon camo in the game after a near 76-hour grind following the game’s launch. Call of Duty streamer Reidboyy unlocked the Interstellar camo live with 75 hours and 46 minutes on the clock and after an eye-watering 14,000 kills — all while wearing Call of Duty’s premium Nicki Minaj character skin. The Interstellar camo, considered the hardest to obtain in Modern Warfare 3 due to the sheer amount of time and effort it takes to unlock, involves the completion of all the game’s Priceless camo challenges. That means completing all the camo challenges for all 36 weapons (pistols, grenade launches, melee weapons, the lot) currently in the game. Some of these challenges are...

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Cities Skylines 2 Dev Delays Mod Support, Slows Down Patch Releases, Updates Console Release Date

The developer of Cities Skylines 2 has issued an update on the game, confirming a significant delay to a key feature and the slowdown of patch releases. The city builder, which launched on Steam to a ‘mixed’ user review rating last month, does not currently have official mod support or the expected in-game editor. Without an asset import feature, mod makers are unable to import their own assets into the game. The original Cities Skylines enjoyed strong support from the modding community. In a blog post, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen said the studio’s goal is to release the editor “as soon as possible”, but expects it will take a couple of months to get into “a shape where we can release it”. “We don’t have a concrete...

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Six Bucks for an All-Time Arkane Bundle, 75% Off PlayStation Titles, and a New Low for Starfield!

Welcome to another day of percolating pre-Black Friday bargains. For whatever reason, those fund-saving festivities have kicked off way earlier than usual. I'm seeing a bunch of Amazon AU scores on my radar, and the PlayStation Store has fired the first holiday season salvo with an Up To 75% Off Essentials Sale. Obviously, the term 'essentials' gets stretched pretty far there, but I did cherry-pick some actual gold for you... This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware - Daytona USA: CCE (SAT) 1996. - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (PS2) 2002. - Beyond Good & Evil (PS2) 2003. Get - WoW: Wrath of the Lich King (PC) 2008. - DuckTales: Remastered (PC) 2013. Get - This War of Mine (PC) 2014. Get Table of Contents...

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The Best Times to Buy Video Games Every Year

With Black Friday on the horizon, it’s a great time to start looking around for deals on video games, hardware, and accessories. When it comes to the former, you can find an excellent variety of games discounted during this sale event. But what happens if you miss your shot to pick up a game you wanted while it was discounted or it ran out of stock? Don’t worry, sale events actually happen all throughout the year, so there are plenty of other opportunities to get games at a cheaper price. No matter which platform you prefer to play on, there’s always a deal to find somewhere, whether that’s during a sale event or at a retailer. Retailers like Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target usually offer discounts on games throughout...

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Inside PlayStation's Big Push Into India's Burgeoning Gaming Market

PlayStation has revealed some new details of its India Hero Project – the company’s big push into the exploding India game market. First announced in May 2023 as a followup to the successful China Hero Project, the new initiative aims to support game developers in India to bring their games to PlayStation 5. The gaming market in India is currently worth an estimated $868 million in 2023 according to analyst firm Niko Partners, which is expected to nearly double by 2027. Recent advances in affordable high-spec smartphones coupled with the Indian government’s investments in affordable high-speed mobile internet has made mobile platforms more easily accessible to gamers in India. And while console and PC platforms are currently a tiny...

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Amazon Has Laid Off 180 Workers From Its Games Division

Technology and e-commerce giant Amazon has laid off 180 workers from its video game division. First reported by Aftermath and independently confirmed by IGN, layoffs included Game Growth and the Crown Channel, an original program on Twitch that launched in 2020. Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartman addressed the layoffs in a memo to employees on Monday. "It never feels good to say goodbye to colleagues. This isn't a decision the leadership team came to quickly; it was the result of extensive considerations and road mapping for our future," he wrote. "We are proud of the work the teams have been doing, pushing into new areas with weekly content on Crown Channel and finding more ways to help publishers reach new audiences with Game...

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The Game Awards 2023 Nominations See Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 Leading With 8 Nods Each

Nominees for The Game Awards 2023 have been revealed, with Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 leading the way with eight nominations each. Alan Wake 2's nominations include Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Sound Design, Best Performance (from Melanie Liburd), and Best Action/Adventure Game. Baldur's Gate 3 saw a number of similar nominations including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, Best Performance (from Neil Newbon), Best Community Support, Best RPG, and Best Multiplayer. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 received seven nominations, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received five alongside Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and...

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Alan Wake 2 Dev Remedy Ditches Free-to-Play for Its Co-Op Multiplayer Game

Remedy Entertainment has issued an update on one of its four in-development games, confirming it has ditched the free-to-play model in the process. Codename Vanguard was set to be a free-to-play co-op game, but it’s now described as “a premium game with a strong cooperative multiplayer component”. This “reboot” has resulted in a new codename: Kestrel. Remedy signed a publishing deal with Tencent back in December 2021 to develop Vanguard but both companies have now agreed to the change in direction. “Due to uncertainties in creating a successful game to the rapidly changing free-to-play market and associated risks, the parties have discussed a new direction for the game project, which will be given the new codename, Kestrel,” Remedy...

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PlayStation Portal Review

I did not think for a second I was going to be impressed by the PlayStation Portal, Sony's small-screen Remote Play solution for the PS5. With Remote Play already working great on tablets and phones, and controller solutions like the Backbone designed specifically for playing console games remotely, the Portal seemed like a solution to a problem no one had. Why spend $200 on a single-purpose device when there are much cheaper solutions already available? And yet, after spending time with the PlayStation Portal, I gotta say… this thing rules. That's not to say I wouldn’t change anything about it. In fact, it has some missing features that make me scratch my head, but my initial skepticism has been replaced by enthusiasm. Bigger Is...

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The Rock’s Cousin, a Navy SEAL Veteran, Is a New Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Operator

Call of Duty’s latest operator is a decorated Navy SEAL veteran and the cousin of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Johnson’s cousin, Benjamin F., is a 16-year Navy SEAL veteran with multiple Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. In Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Ben’s operator handle is Koa King. Koa means warrior in Samoan. Koa King is available as part of the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Warrior Pack, which raises money to help place unemployed and underemployed veterans in the U.S. and UK into high-quality jobs. The eldest of eight, Benjamin F. was born in American Samoa. Over his 16 years of service, he deployed to Europe, Africa, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and received two Bronze Stars, both with Valor; the Purple Heart; the Navy...

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Baldur’s Gate 3’s Inevitable Bear Sex Speedrun Is Finally Here

The Baldur’s Gate 3 sex speedrunning community has turned its attention to the game’s infamous horny bear after a previous tactic was patched out. Developer Larian’s sprawling Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game has spawned a vociferous Sex% speedrun category in which players try to bed a companion in the quickest time possible. The current world record, set by speedrunner Mae, comes in at under two minutes and uses the previously established strategy of gaining enough early approval with Githyanki fighter Lae'zel that she agrees to spend the night. Lae'zel was the perfect companion for this strategy because she was relatively easy to impress right at the start of the game by bullying a Tiefling in Silvanus' Grove, an area players...

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In Stars and Time Looped Me In, and Didn’t Let Go

I’ve written about a lot of games in this column in the last year, all of which I’ve loved very much. But I don’t think I’ve been totally obsessed with any of them in the way I’ve been obsessed with In Stars and Time. For a week, I stayed up late every night because I couldn’t put it down. I dreamed about it. I sat at my desk at work, watching the clock, eager for the hour when I could finally get home and try again to unravel the mystery of what was really going on in the hearts and heads of protagonist Siffrin and his companions. In Stars and Time fits into a lovely mental box I have going of RPGs that riff on the Earthbound tradition by contrasting themes of earnestness and joy with an unsettling metanarrative that riffs on the...

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Mortal Kombat 1’s Omni-Man Is Cheaper Than the Halloween Fatality and Even His Own Announcer Pack

Mortal Kombat 1’s aggressive monetisation has once again come under fire from players after Nintendo spilled the beans on the standalone price of the Omni-Man DLC character. The Nintendo eShop currently displays the $7.99 price of Omni-Man, who arrives in Mortal Kombat 1 as a standalone purchase later this week after his early access arrival as part of Kombat Pack 1. Players of the full-price, $70 fighting game were quick to point out that Omni-Man’s price, which cements publisher Warner Bros. Games’ strategy of setting characters at $7.99, is further evidence of Mortal Kombat 1’s "wild" monetisation. Omni-Man, who of course comes complete with eye-catching Fatalities lifted from the Invincible Amazon Prime series, is cheaper than...

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Nintendo Indie World Showcase Announced

Nintendo has announced a new Indie World Showcase airs on November 14, and features roughly 20 minutes of updates and announcements focussed on indie titles coming to the Switch. The presentation starts at 12pm ET on Tuesday, and can be streamed live on the Nintendo website and on the company’s official YouTube channel. Within minutes of going live, the X post was inundated by comments from fans hoping to see an update, or even a potential release date, for Hollow Knight: Silksong, while others implored fans of the franchise to keep their enthusiasm in check with the liberal use of memes. The last Indie World showcase took place in April earlier this year, and gave us our first glimpse at Blasphemous 2, along with updates on highly...

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Yakuza Fans Are Getting Major Persona 5 Vibes From Like a Dragon Gaiden

This article contains minor spoilers for a scene and location featured in Like a Dragon Gaiden Chapter 3. Yakuza fans are getting some major Persona 5 vibes from Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. The latest Yakuza/Like a Dragon entry seemingly takes inspiration from the beloved role-playing game with fans noticing some music and user interface elements bearing resemblance. One scene in particular really drove the idea home though, in which protagonist Kiryu Kazuma swings around a bright and colourful casino area in what could be a tribute to Persona 5's opening. Kiryu, under his new guise as a secret agent Joryu, gets several gadgets to play with in Like a Dragon Gaiden including the Spider, which ejects a thin...

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Elden Ring's Latest Hero LetMeSoloThem Beats Final Bosses for Others 5,000 Times

Spoiler Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Elden Ring, with mentions of its final bosses. Elden Ring's latest hero LetMeSoloThem, the Nightwing to Let Me Solo Her's Batman, has now helped 5,000 fellow Tarnished defeat the games final bosses. As reported by PCGamesN, LetMeSoloThem shared footage of their 5,000th victory on YouTube and thanked fans for their support throughout the long journey. "Today I've reached the goal I set for myself a year ago: I've finally helped 5,000 people become Elden Lord," LetMeSoloThem said. "So I really just wanted to make this video to say thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you guys. I've had so much fun, truly. This has been such an amazing experience." Elden Ring's...

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Warzone’s Infamous ‘Groot’ Skin Already Causing Carnage in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is the first game in the long-running shooter series to carry forward cosmetics from a previous game, and while on paper this means welcome continued use for virtual items players have bought, out on the battlefield it’s causing a few problems. Warzone and Modern Warfare 2’s Gaia operator skin, dubbed ‘Groot’ by the community because it is made up of twisting roots much like the Marvel superhero, went live as part of the premium battle pass for the recently released Season 6. At the time, fans were quick to call Gaia pay-to-win because of how hard it is to see in-game. Last month, Activision adjusted the Gaia skin to improve visibility, acknowledging the problem in the process. But now Modern Warfare 3...

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Tekken 8’s Final Character Reveal Is Reina, Perhaps the Spiritual Successor to Heihachi

Tekken 8’s roster of playable characters is now complete with the announcement of Reina, the final launch character. Reina, aka the Purple Lightning, is “surrounded by mystery”, but we do know she is a student at the Mishima Polytechnical School, and is particularly interested in fighting Jin. Check out Reina in the screenshots below: Potential Tekken 8 story spoilers are ahead. Reina may in fact be the spiritual successor to Heihachi, who is dead in the ongoing Tekken story. She uses an acrobatic fighting style rooted in Taido, and plays a “vital” role in Tekken 8’s story mode, The Dark Awakens. Reina even uses some classic Mishima moves, including Wind God Fist and Spinning Demon, and the Heaven’s Wrath stance once used by...

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The Boys Actor Antony Starr Says He Isn’t Voicing Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1

Antony Starr, who plays Homelander in Amazon Prime show The Boys, has said he is not voicing the famous supervillain in fighting game Mortal Kombat 1, much to the disappointment of fans. Instagram user @vaguelyokay asked Starr: “Are you voicing Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1?” And Starr’s response was crystal clear: “Nope.” The news comes as a surprise given Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm has secured Starr’s likeness for Homelander, who is set to hit the game as part of Kombat Pack 1. NetherRealm did get Invincible actor JK Simmons’ voice and likeness for the recently released Omni-Man character. And NetherRealm chief Ed Boon has confirmed in interviews that actor John Cena provided voice work for Peacemaker, who is also an...

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Early Aussie Black Friday Deals for 2023

Black Friday seems to start earlier every year, and honestly, I'm of two minds about this phenomenon. The part of me that's a stickler hates how a literal one-day event has morphed into a two-week season that spans either side of Fri, 24 Nov. That said, the insatiable deals-hungry bargain hunter in me cares not for accuracy. He just wants cheap things. All day. Every day. With this being the case, it's time to zero in early on the hottest deals between now and the "official" Black Friday season. For the record, retailers like Amazon Australia consider that to be Friday, November 17 all the way through to Friday, November 24 in 2023. Also, may I suggest you Xmas shoppers start now because some Aussie ports are predicting shipping...

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Hades Is Headed to Apple Devices via Netflix in 2024

Hades, the beloved rouge-like from Supergiant Games that has you attempting to escape the Underworld of Greek myth, is headed to Apple devices via Netflix in 2024. When Hades arrives on iOS, it will do so without any in-game ads, no extra fees, and no in-app purchases, much like other Netflix games. It will simply be available to play as it always has, just now on more devices that have Netflix! We here at IGN are obviously happy more people will get a chance to play Hades as we awarded it our Game of the Year award in 2020. "Hades is a one-of-a-kind rogue-lite that sets the bar for creatively combining wildly different genres and using their strengths to complement each other in unexpected ways," We wrote of Hades. "Satisfying...

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