Gaming News

You never quite know what you're going to find on the other side when you step through the stargate, and when it came to Stargate: Timekeepers, I certainly wasn't expecting a very competent stealth tactics game. All the same, slinking across varied alien worlds and setting up well-timed tactical ambushes ended up feeling like a natural fit for the types of budget-constrained capers SG-1 got up to in earlier seasons of the show. The story isn't anything to report back to command about, but the vibes and presentation hit the spot.Timekeepers definitely takes its cues from the Stargate: SG-1 television show – though it focuses on a completely new team of quippy characters. The slightly campy tone is pleasantly reminiscent of an era...

Netflix Games is doing better than ever, says Netflix. But that may not be saying much, given past data on the streaming service's gaming offering.Today, Netflix reported its full-year earnings for fiscal 2023, during which it reported that gaming engagement "tripled" last year. This was in part due to the release of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy on the service near the end of the year. Netflix calls the GTA Trilogy its "most successful launch to date in terms of installs and engagement, with some consumers clearly signing up simply to play these games."But while that's all well and good for Netflix, don't expect to see the streaming service competing with Sony and Xbox anytime soon. CNBC reported data from Apptopia back in October...

The world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 might seem strangely familiar, even if you never played the original. A lush, forested terrain speckled with hidden caves and cobblestone ruins; inhabited by beasts and creatures you could probably name on sight. That’s because director Hideaki Isuno intended to create a high-fantasy world that looks and feels like one that everyone would imagine a real-life fantasy world to look like.This intention has carried over from the original Dragon’s Dogma, and is why they focused on creating a European and northern English feel, down to the vegetation and structures. The creature design has also remained grounded – as grounded as a fantasy creature can be.“Our approach to design is to think about what a...

Palworld – the brand new, sort-of-Pokémon, open-world, third-person, shooting, action adventure, crafting, survival, animal collecting, and other popular buzzwords – game launched on Steam and Xbox on January 19. It immediately blew up, selling six million copies in four days and instantly becoming a force to be reckoned with while simultaneously opening the floodgates of discourse surrounding intellectual property theft in video games. Since being revealed two years ago, Palworld – created by a developer named Pocketpair – has been commonly referred to as “Pokémon with guns” by anyone who has looked at it for more than three seconds. But as people dig deeper, they are discovering that Palworld is both a game that does enough to...

Solid Snake from the Metal Gear franchise is now available in Fortnite.Fortnite's V28.10 update introduces the iconic character into Epic's widely popular free-to-play battle royale game. Players who own a battle pass subscription will be rewarded with the skin after they complete Snake's quests. Snake is equipped with all his well-known gear, including his iconic cardboard boxes, allowing him to evade enemies.If you complete all the Page 2 Quests, you’ll unlock Solid Snake’s Old Snake style. (The Quests will remain available until March 8, 2024, at 2 AM ET.)Prior to Snake being playable in Fortnite, many were quick to criticize his design. Specifically players were criticizing the character's lack of plump to his rear end...

Activision has released an update for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 that makes significant balance changes to weapon customisation.The target here is to balance the Aftermarket Parts feature, which gives players a way to interact with weapons they've already mastered. It lets players convert weapons into entirely new guns, a step beyond the capability of regular attachments. To access the kits, you’ll need to complete in-game challenges that become available once the supported weapon reaches max level.In a post on the Call of Duty website, co-developers Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch said the design team aimed to create Conversion Kits “that offer players fun and unexpected experiences with familiar Weapons.”“A part of this goal...

After missing its initial release window last year, publisher 505 Games announced today that Death Stranding is coming to Apple devices on January 30.Death Stranding: Director's Cut will arrive on January 30 for the iPhone 15 Pro series and Apple Silicon-powered iPads and Mac computers (e.g., devices with an M1 series chip or newer). The biggest takeaway is that Death Stranding will be available natively on iPhone 15 Pro thanks to the smartphone's A17 Pro chip.Like Resident Evil 4 Remake's Apple devices port, Death Stranding: Director's Cut will be a universal purchase; if you buy it once for one device, you can access the other versions, too, so long as you have a compatible device to run the game. The game will retail for...

As a longtime fan of the series, 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon came as a bit of a shock to my system. Fun as it was, the sudden switch to stop-start, turn-based JRPG attacks was a lot to get my head around after more than a decade of enjoying the series’ signature combo-based beat ‘em up action – a bit like spending over 10 years getting really good at thumb wrestling and then being asked to play chess. Thankfully its follow-up, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, substantially retools the combat system: it’s still turn-based, but the tactical decision-making introduced by its predecessor is enhanced with more flexible movement and proximity-based attacks that better reflect the rough-and-tumble tactility of the traditional Yakuza street...

Nier mobile game Nier Reincarnation shuts down in April, Square Enix has announced.Nier Reincarnation is a 2021 free-to-play role-playing game for Android and iOS that spun off from the main Nier series.The Nier Reincarnation story concludes with the release of the Finale: Reincarnation update on March 28, with the app service itself going dark on April 29.“We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our players for your patronage over the 2.5 years since we launched on July 28, 2021,” Square Enix said.Square Enix said it will continue to add content and characters, as well as hold various events and campaigns, “so we hope you will continue to enjoy Nier Reincarnation until the end.”Blockbuster hit Nier: Automata is...

Palworld’s astonishing launch success has grown further: it’s now the second most-popular game ever on Steam.Palworld posted an incredible 1,853,216 concurrent players on Steam today, January 23, a figure that sees Pocketpair’s controversial 'Pokémon with guns' crafting and survival game overtake Valve’s own Counter-Strike, according to SteamDB.Palworld, then, is second only to PUBG, whose remarkable Steam concurrents peak of 3,257,248 was set during the game’s glory days amid the battle royale boom.It seems unlikely that Palworld will hit those heights, although its increasing sales success suggests a bigger concurrents peak is still to come. And let’s not forget Palworld launched in early access form, where Pocketpair said it...

The Tekken series is steeped in legacy. From the mechanical skills and knowledge needed to compete at the highest levels, to its iconic music and characters, to inside jokes spanning three decades and an ongoing story dating back just as far, each new entry has a heavy burden to bear. How do you honor that legacy without being chained down by it? That is the question Tekken 8 thoughtfully considers, and the answer it comes up with is a simple, yet profound one: you accept what’s come before, but you don’t let it stop you from moving forward. Whether it be a literal dash forward using the powerful new Heat system, impressive training tools, or the compelling story of a man trying to break generational shackles to create a brighter...

WB Games Montréal’s Damian Wayne Batman game was canceled following a series of leaks that revealed much about the unannounced project, a voice actor who worked on it has said.In a Twitch livestream, voice actor Josh Keaton said he almost played Damian Wayne in the Batman game, but it was canned after the details emerged online.Keaton, who voices Warcraft’s Anduin Wrynn, said he’d taken part in three or four sessions as Damian Wayne before the project came to an end.“It was a bummer,” Keaton said. “But they leaked everything, the whole plotline, not only the enemies and villains and the rogues gallery, but also the concept art for them. They were doing such a different take on so many of the rogues gallery it gave away everything...

Palworld developer Pocketpair has released an update for the Xbox and Windows PC version of the game that addresses some of the issues players are having.The smash hit ‘Pokémon with guns’ survival and crafting game launched in early access form on January 19 on Steam as well as Xbox consoles and Windows PC, but the Xbox version lags behind the Steam version in a number of key areas.For example, Palworld players can create and join dedicated servers that enable up to 32 players to play in the same world and create guilds together. But on Xbox and Windows PC (so, everyone playing on Game Pass), Palworld players cannot create or join dedicated servers, which means online co-op is limited to 2-4 players. Crossplay between Xbox and...

The modder who put Pokémon into Palword has claimed “Nintendo has come for me” after a takedown of a tweet.Creator Toasted Shoes took to X/Twitter to tease a Palworld mod with a clip showing Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum in place of the player character, as well as famous Pokémon such as Pikachu replacing Palworld’s Pals.Palworld is a crafting and survival game dubbed 'Pokémon with guns'. It features monsters called Pals, which some people have said “rip off” Pokémon.Palworld developer Pocketpair has insisted Palworld is more akin to survival crafting games such as Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokemon, but that hasn’t stopped people from continuing to hit out at the game.Within 24 hours of Toasted Shoes’ tweet going live it...

Riot Games is laying off roughly 530 people, or about 11% of its global workforce, in a move the company says is "a necessity" and not "to appease shareholders."In a letter to staff shared publicly, Riot Games CEO A. Dylan Jadeja explained that the layoffs are occurring because since 2019, the company has been making "a number of big bets," "broadening our portfolio," and growing "quickly," with the company size doubling in "just a few years."However, those big bets do not seem to be paying off in the way Riot hoped:Jadeja goes on to explain the plan for the layoffs rollout, which will begin over the next hour and finalize in the coming weeks depending on local laws. Riot is offering six months of salary minimum to all laid...

Joker, the infamous clown prince of chaos, is confirmed to not only appear in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. But he will also be a playable character.Announced in the third and final developer diary series for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady Studios revealed the post-launch content plans for its upcoming game ahead of its release date. The studio detailed the roadmap for the first season of DLC, which will be released sometime in March.Some additional content in season one includes new boss fights and enemy variants, a new playable environment based on Joker, and two new episodes with new activities, missions, and strongholds to partake in.Three additional seasons of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice...

Nintendo fans have been spoiled in the last several years with love from the Persona series, which after a long history married to PlayStation consoles has finally been creeping onto the Switch, game by game. Which is why fans felt snubbed after Persona 3 Reload, a remake of Persona 3, was announced for basically every major platform except Switch. But while a Switch announcement still hasn't happened, the game's director and producer are hinting that the idea hasn't been fully abandoned.Though the series has largely been the beloved child of PlayStation over the years, Persona 5 Royal made it to Switch in 2022, and Persona 4 Golden arrived this time last year. Nintendo players also got spinoffs Persona 5 Strikers back in 2020 and...

Tekken 8 releases January 26 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The latest in a long line of fighting games from Bandai Namco Studios, this eighth mainline installment includes new game modes, a new mechanic called the “Heat System” that rewards aggressive play, and more. It comes in a variety of editions, each of which gets you a handful of extras beyond the game itself. Plus, you can take your pick of preorder bonuses depending on which retailer you choose (see it at Amazon). There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in.Preorder Tekken 8 (Standard Edition)PS5Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 Get it at GameStop - $69.99 Get it at Target - $69.99 Get it at Walmart - $69.99 Get it at PS Store (digital) -...

RoboCop: Rogue City just received a major update that adds New Game Plus as well as a new, harder difficulty.Teyon’s launched last year and was well-received by fans of the iconic sci-fi movie. IGN’s RoboCop: Rogue City review returned a 7/10. We said: “RoboCop: Rogue City is the video game equivalent of a B movie in the best way, with the look and over-the-top action to capture the essence of the series.”Now, a new update gives players a reason to jump back in. New Game Plus lets you start over with all of your previously unlocked skills and Auto-9 upgrades, for the full "invincible robotic law enforcement officer" experience, Teyon said in a post on the game’s Steam page.To unlock the mode, finish the game after the update is...

After announcing the series nearly two years ago, Apple has finally provided the first trailer for Constellation, an upcoming sci-fi thriller series hitting its streaming service Apple TV+ next month.The first trailer is full of suspense and hallucinations, perfectly aligning with Apple's previous explanation that the series will be a "conspiracy-based space adventure." Constellation's plot focuses on an astronaut named Jo, played by actress Noomi Rapace, who returns to Earth following a space mission only to realize that she is missing key parts of her life.Other cast members confirmed in the series include Jonathan Banks, James D'Arcy, Julian Looman, William Catlett, and Barbara Sukowa. Constellation was created and written by...

With the Xbox version of smash hit Palworld lagging behind the Steam version in terms of features and updates, developer Pocketpair has moved to explain the situation.Writing in the Palworld Discord, Pocketpair community manager Bucky moved to clarify a “common misconception” after Xbox players had suggested they were playing an older build of Palworld compared to the Steam version.It’s worth noting that on Steam, Palworld players can create and join dedicated servers that enable up to 32 players to play in the same world and create guilds together. But on Xbox and Windows PC (so, everyone playing on Game Pass), Palworld players cannot create or join dedicated servers, which means online co-op is limited to 2-4 players. Crossplay...

As CD Projekt staffs up for its various projects in development, the boss of the company has said it is considering adding multiplayer to the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.The Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, codenamed Orion, is currently in the conceptual phase. Speaking to Reuters, joint CEO Adam Badowski said CD Projekt expects to have about 80 people working on it by the end of the year. Co-CEO Michal Nowakowski said CD Projekt is considering including multiplayer in Cyberpunk 2, but wouldn’t divulge details.Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer mode was cancelled due to the game's turbulent launch, with development shifting focus to turning the embattled project around following its disastrous launch. It's easy to imagine a Cyberpunk multiplayer mode...

The Day Before is now dead, its servers closed to players from today, January 22.Servers for The Day Before, one of the most controversial and catastrophic games in recent memory, shut down just 45 days after the game launched in Early Access.Publisher Mytona had signalled the end of The Day Before, with developer Fntastic allegedly closed down.Last month, The Day Before became no longer purchasable. Now, while those with The Day Before still clinging on to their hard-drives can launch the game and create a character, IGN has verified that no servers appear upon search in any region.Last month, Mytona said all Steam players would be refunded automatically. "We regret to inform you that the development company Fntastic has...

Palworld now has a Pokémon mod from the same creator who hit the headlines recently for adding famous Disney characters to Mortal Kombat.Palworld is a crafting and survival game dubbed 'Pokémon with guns'. It features monsters called Pals, which some people have said “rip off” 'Pokémon.Palworld developer Pocketpair has insisted Palworld is more akin to survival crafting games such as Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokemon, but that hasn’t stopped people from continuing to hit out at the game.Now, Palworld is about to get its first Pokémon mod, courtesy of creator Toasted Shoes. Toasted took to Twitter / X to tease the mod with a clip showing Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum in place of the player character, as well as famous Pokémon...

Amid the explosive launch of Palworld, its developers have taken to social media to say they have received death threats.Last week, IGN reported on how Palworld, aka ‘Pokémon with guns’, had sparked a vociferous debate online about whether it had “ripped-off” Nintendo’s famous franchise.Some Pokémon fans say Palworld’s Pals are too similar to Pokémon, with a number of social media posts that place Pals next to Pokémon going viral.Palworld developer Pocketpair has insisted Palworld is more akin to survival crafting games such as Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokemon, but that hasn’t stopped people from continuing to hit out at the game.Pocketpair community manager Bucky, who has been active on Twitter / X and Palworld’s...

WWE 2K24 launches on March 8, 2024 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.Publisher 2K confirmed Cody Rhodes as the cover Superstar on the Standard Edition. The WWE 2K24 Deluxe Edition features Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair, making it the first dual women cover, with Bianca being the first woman of color to ever be featured on the cover of WWE 2K.There’s also a WWE 2K24 40 Years of WrestleMania Edition, designed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of WrestleMania. The cover features a collage of superstars from the past and present along with the iconic WrestleMania marquee.Developed by Visual Concepts, WWE 2K24 features a WrestleMania mode that lets users play through iconic...

Fast travel is a contentious issue within open world games. Make it too easy, and you risk trivializing the world; make it too hard, and players may find travel tedious. Weighing in on the debate, Dragon’s Dogma 2 director Hideaki Itsuno explained why he is keen to avoid the former, preferring that players travel normally and experience the world around them.“Just give it a try. Travel is boring? That's not true. It's only an issue because your game is boring. All you have to do is make travel fun,” Itsuno told IGN in a new interview, part of our the exclusive month-long IGN First coverage of Dragon’s Dogma 2. “That's why you place things in the right location for players to discover, or come up with enemy appearance methods that...

While Palworld has enjoyed an enormous launch, there are a number of serious bugs affecting players. Developer Pocketpair said it’s working on issuing fixes, including for players who are unable to enter servers, unable to play multiplayer, and a dreaded lost saved data bug.In a post on the Palworld Discord, community manager ‘Bucky’ said the developer had received over 50,000 inquiries since the game went on sale on January 19. “We sincerely apologize for the delay in response from our support team,” Bucky said.Bucky said save data from single-player and co-op “may be able to be restored”, and pointed to a Google Doc with instructions to help. “We apologize for any inconvenience caused," Bucky continued. "Thank you for your...

Palworld’s astonishing success swelled over the weekend, with the ‘Pokémon with guns’ survival and crafting game shooting up Steam’s most-played games list and selling millions more copies.Palworld launched on January 19 in early access form on Steam as well as on Xbox and Windows PC, day-and-date with Game Pass. Palworld overtook CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077 to set Steam’s fifth highest peak concurrent player count with 1,291,967 online at the same time on Valve’s platform. Palworld is currently the most-played game on Steam, ahead of behemoths Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG. It is just the sixth game ever to hit one million concurrents on Steam.There are a number of Steam records that go along with this success on Steam...

When it comes to premium controllers, I’ve been to the top of the mountain many times. I know those first-party ranges well, having twice hiked the Elite trail Microsoft blazed back in 2015, right up to the Edge of not too long ago (DualSense, that is).Clearly, I’m a man of fine taste and poor impulse control, so I’m always keen to treat my mitts a little more if a third-party peripheral maker can point me toward some new peak of luxury. Even if said provider is relatively new to this category of product and thus seems like an unlikely competitor.Because that’s the thing, isn’t it? When one hears the words Turtle Beach, thoughts turn to eardrums, reasonably priced aural pleasures, or some sort of tropical getaway overrun by...