Gaming News

The Five Accessibility Successes of 2023 So Far

May 18 marked the 12th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day to celebrate and raise awareness for accessibility across varying industries. Not only does it help to highlight new innovations, it also continuously reinforces the notion that disabled people need assistive tech to thrive. For games, studios regularly refine and create new options and design practices seeking to eliminate as many barriers as possible. 2023 is already off to a strong start, with options and design practices pushing accessibility beyond some of last year’s biggest hits. It’s quickly becoming apparent that disabled players no longer need to hope for accessibility to be included in a game, but rather can comfortably join in the excitement of...

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Street Fighter 6 Partners With Chipotle to Give Out Fighter Coins, Chips, and Guac

Street Fighter 6 and Chipotle announced that they have formed an official partnership to bring players exclusive rewards and prizes in the game starting on June 2. Later in the year, the game will also add Chipotle Daily Brackets, Battle Hub signage, and Chiptole-branded avatar items. Those who place qualifying digital orders through the Chipotle app and the chipotle.com website using the promo code HDKN236* will receive a code for 250 Fighter Coins, Street Fighter 6’s in-game currency. These coins can be used to purchase characters, outfits, alternative colors, stamps, avatar emotes, and gear in the in-game shop. Additionally, Chipotle Rewards members can redeem 250 points in exchange for 250 Fighter Coins. “Our FGC partnerships...

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AMD Announces Radeon RX 7600 Desktop Graphics Card

After launching a new generation of desktop graphics cards last December, AMD has officially announced the third GPU in the Radeon RX 7000 line — the RX 7600, succeeding the Radeon RX 6600. The Radeon RX 7600 features 8GB of GDDR6 memory, a board power of 165 watts, and 32 unified RDNA 3 compute units. AMD's latest GPU is designed for players that prefer gaming at 1080p resolution. AMD claims the Radeon RX 7600 touts that the RX 7600 performs 34 percent better on average than Nvidia's RTX 3060 8GB model and 17 percent better than the RTX 3060 12GB model for 60+ FPS and 1080p resolution. Here's a highlight of the specs: AMD RDNA 3 Architecture 8GB of GDDR6 Memory 2.25GHz Game Clock Up to 2.66GHz Boost Clock 32 Compute Units & Ray...

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What Xbox’s Fall 2023 Looks Like So Far – Unlocked 596

Mortal Kombat 1 has been announced, and it's bringing its unexpected title to next-gen consoles in September. Meanwhile, Alan Wake 2's voice actor may have just spoiled the release date for Remedy's upcoming survival-horror sequel. We discuss these two games, along with the Fall release calendar for Xbox that's now starting to come into focus. Plus: we're not buying the idea that GTA 6 might be out next year, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase: For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out...

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The Entirety of Lord of the Rings: Gollum Leaks on YouTube Ahead of Release

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum launches this Thursday, May 25, but the entire game has been leaked online ahead of release. We won't share or link to any spoilers here, but someone posted a video walkthrough of the whole game on YouTube. The video has since been taken down, but it stayed online for several hours before it was removed. There are threads on both Reddit and resetera discussing the leaked footage. IGN has reached out to developer Daedalic Entertainment for comment. On Thursday, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will launch on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. A Nintendo Switch version is scheduled for sometime later this year. Players will sneak around Middle-earth while making choices to align with...

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Streeties 6 RRPs Punched Down to Size, Ultimate Editions for Way Below Standard, and More Aussie Deals!

Welcome to yet another hump day of humongous savings. More specifically, this is a damn fine day to scoop up a bunch of fancypants editions for way less than the price of the standard edition. That's right, fellow patient one—it's time for you to swan into these games with extreme style and minimum expense. Well done, you. This Day in Gaming Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP) launch, 2007. Dragon’s Dogma (PS3,X360) launch, 2012. Get Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PS3,X360) launch, 2012. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Multi) launch, 2018. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring recent deals Hardware Watch How much to make the switch to Switch? Back to top Purchase...

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Destiny 2 Reveals God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon Outfits for New Season

PlayStation and Bungie are bringing new armor cosmetics and content to Destiny 2's Season of the Deep, which launched earlier today. The content, which is available on all platforms, was inspired by some of the company's most popular IP, including The Last of Us, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Horizon franchise. Each of Destiny 2’s three classes will receive a new armor ornament set. The hunter class will get the “Annointed” cosmetic set inspired by Aloy from the Horizon series, while Titans can look forward to equiping the “Godsbane” ornament set based on Kratos from Santa Monica Studio’s God of War series. Warlocks, meanwhile, will be able to acquire the “Ancestral” ornament set, which is based on the samurai style of Jin...

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Save Zaun as Ekko in CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story

CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story is newly released 2D action platformer from Double Stallion and Riot Forge that stars a young Ekko, the so-called “boy who shattered time,” as he uses parkour, advanced combat, and time abilities to defeat all the enemies that threaten the future of Zaun and all of its people. CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story is all about utilizing Ekko’s abilities to take advantage of a ton of exciting options provided to the players throughout the story-based platformer. When we find Ekko, he is a young inventor who has a device that can rewind time and must work with his friends to keep his city, Zaun, safe. However, he soon realizes he can’t even trust those he holds most dear, including himself. In...

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Total War: Pharaoh Announced, Arrives October This Year

Sega and Creative Assembly have announced Total War: Pharaoh, the next instalment in the long-running strategy franchise, with an October 2023 PC release window. Total War: Pharaoh will take players to the turbulent Egyptian New Kingdom period where they'll determine the fate of three great cultures as they fight for survival amid the Bronze Age collapse. "There are few periods more iconic than Ancient Egypt; fraught with political intrigue, cataclysmic events, and grand war campaigns, it's the perfect setting for a Total War title," said game director Todor Nikolov. "As Pharaoh, you must save Egypt from the cusp of destruction and guide your people through the calamitous Bronze Age collapse. It is up to you to either survive or...

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Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Review

Perhaps the ultimate dream of a ‘90s Metalhead nerd, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is the fusion of retro-style first-person shooters with the beloved sci-fi universe that birthed the term "grimdark." It gets a lot of fun mileage purely from combining the aesthetics, sense of story, and level design of a game like Duke Nukem 3D or the original Doom with the rich library of character designs that 40K has built up in its 35 or so years of history. You're a Space Marine Sternguard, a decorated elite who doesn't say much, and you're on loan to the scary and very mean imperial Inquisition. Your job is to kill everything between you and… whatever objective you're currently after. Don't think too hard – there's not much of a plot here, just a...

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After Us Review

The pitch for After Us sounds like a perfect blend of post-apocalyptic restoration, a la Terra Nil, and classic, story-driven 3D platforming in the vein of Psychonauts. In reality, this lumbering beast is often a bit too directionless for its own good, leaning heavily on unwieldy platforming and mind-numbing combat to pad out the time between tearful but brief reunions with the various spirits of the forest you’ll need to restore before you reach the credits. In theory, that kind of light, wordless storytelling is forgivable for a game like this – assuming its platforming is tight enough to carry it. But in this case, it’s aggressively inconsistent. The premise of After Us is pretty simple: You play as an extra-powerful forest spirit...

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Lords of the Fallen: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Lords of the Fallen is set to release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 13. A spiritual successor to the 2014 game of the same name, this new installment promises a lot more of the Soulslike action-RPG gameplay that the first one offered. The game will be released in a handful of editions, with a collection of in-game bonus items for those who preorder. Though you may want to preorder at Best Buy, because you'll get a free steelbook case. Below, we have full details about what comes in each edition, along with pricing and availability. Let's dive in. Preorder Lords of the Fallen (Standard Edition) PS5 Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 (free steelbook) Get it at GameStop - $69.99 Get it at PlayStation Store - $69.99 See it at...

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All 19 Games Revealed at NetEase Connect 2023: Justice Mobile, Ashfall, and Beyond!

In 2023, E3 was canceled, leaving gamers hungry for news of what’s on the horizon. What games should we be looking out and preparing for? What should we make room for on our must-play lists? NetEase, a leading force in the gaming industry, has answered these questions with their NetEase Connect 2023 Annual Product Launch event. Whether you're a hardcore gamer seeking intense shooters, strategic masterminds yearning for immersive experiences, or casual gaming fans looking for engaging multiplayer adventures, NetEase has delivered an array of thrilling announcements to satisfy gamers everywhere. Bring On the Games! The event featured an impressive lineup of 19 games, including several we were excited to get more details on. We’ve...

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Halo Infinite Is Finally Getting Infection Mode Next Month

Fan-favorite Halo multiplayer mode Infection is coming to Season 4 of Halo Infinite. The mode will drop the same day the next season kicks off on June 20, developer 343 Industries has announced. Infection is the Halo series' take on a zombie mode, which first debuted in Halo 3. Since then, the mode has returned in Halo Reach, Halo 2 Anniversary, and Halo 5: Guardians, with an altered version of the mode titled Flood taking Infection's place in Halo 4. 343 shared a piece of new concept art for Halo Infinite's Infection mode alongside the announcement. Traditionally, Infection pits two teams against each other: A team of Survivors equipped with shotguns, and a team of Infected wielding Energy Swords. When a zombie eliminates a...

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Mortal Kombat 1 Will Perform a Fatality on Your Hard Drive

You may want to clear out some old games from your PC's hard drive because Mortal Kombat 1 will come packing a fatal 100GB of data. NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games announced the reboot of the 1993 game last Thursday, and a peek into the game's listing on Steam has revealed that it will require you to have 100GB of storage space available on your PC in order for you to install it without issues. And that is provided you have the correct operating systems and don't have any other games with nearly as much or equal to the amount of data Mortal Kombat 1 has. Here are the PC specs for Mortal Kombat 1. Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-6600 | AMD Ryzen™...

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Star Trek Resurgence Review

Star Trek and a Telltale-style adventure game seems like a match made in heaven. The two just fit; Star Trek’s best and most beloved stories are about dialogue. Not just two characters talking to each other, but about how people relate to one another and the world around them. It’s about the choices we make when faced with tough decisions, what we could be if we learned from our past mistakes, and the strength gained by uniting diverse peoples and cultures. All of that can be hard to do in a video game, which are typically too busy firing phasers and torpedoes to get more than a few words in edgewise. Star Trek: Resurgence’s conversation-heavy approach doesn’t always work, but it never loses sight of what makes Star Trek, well… Star...

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Experts Explain Why So Many Games Are Launching Broken on PC

PC releases are under scrutiny as of late. When compared to their console counterparts, PC games more frequently experience anything from immense graphical glitches to game breaking bugs regardless of an individual’s specific build. And since many high-end rigs cost upwards of thousands of dollars, questions often arise as to why so many titles launch in unplayable states. Games like The Last of Us Part 1 Remake, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Redfall, and even Final Fantasy 7 Remake recently suffered from ports that required extensive post-launch patches to fix. Speaking with IGN, three experts familiar with porting games to PC discuss the challenges of porting, the complexities behind changing control methods, and how studios can work to...

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Miles Morales Swings Into Fortnite to Celebrate Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

To celebrate the upcoming release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales will be swinging into Fortnite on May 23. Epic Games shared a short video announcing the update on Fortnite's official Twitter account. The teaser shows Morales' Spider-Man bursting through a skyscraper and swinging out of sight. Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 then steps forward and peers out of the smashed window. The two new character skins will arrive in Fortnite with the next update. They will be available to purchase from the in-game item store, giving players a chance to pick them up and swing into action before the hotly anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse arrives in theaters. Miguel showed up in a post-credits scene for...

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How to Watch Warhammer Skulls' 2023 Announcement Showcase

Calling all Warhammer fans! Actor and Warhammer aficionado Rahul Kohli will host 2023's Warhammer Skulls event on May 25. This will be Games Workshop's seventh Warhammer Skulls celebration, and as always, fans can look forward to world premieres, reveals, and tons more. Warhammer Skulls 2023 Announcement Showcase Start Time This year's Warhammer Skulls announcement showcase kicks off on May 25 at 5 p.m. BST / 9 a.m. PST. That's 12 p.m. EST for east coast folks, and May 26 at 2 a.m. AEST for Australians. (Brew that coffee extra strong.) Where to Watch Warhammer Skulls' 2023 Announcement Showcase If you're game for watching the Warhammer Skulls festivities, be assured IGN will make tuning in a breeze. You can catch the stream on...

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AEW: Fight Forever Launches Next Month

THQ Nordic and Yuke's Media Creations have announced that AEW: Fight Forever, the officially licensed All Elite Wrestling game, will be available on June 29 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Announced in a new trailer (above), the long awaited wrestling game finally got its release date after being revealed two and a half years ago. AEW wrestler and executive vice president Kenny Omega took centre stage in the trailer to announce the June 29 date and that pre-loading is now available. "Thank you so much for your patience and being awesome fans," he added. AEW: Fight Forever promises to bring easy to pick up but difficult to master arcade wrestling gameplay alongside a full campaign mode...

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Testament: The Order of High Human, a First-Person Metroidvania, Announced for PC and Consoles

Developer Fairyship Games has announced a new PC and console game called Testament: The Order of High Human, an upcoming first-person Metroidvania action-adventure/RPG set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. It has no announced release window as of yet. Players suit up as the guardian of the realm, a man named Aran, who is also the king of High humans in the land of Tessara. A betrayal by his brother Arva has left Aran stripped of his powers and the land plagued by monsters. Check out the debut trailer for Testament above, and the first screenshots in the gallery below. Testament promises to offer 15 unique magic abilities, a bow with four different types of arrows, an XP and upgrade system, sword combat, 15 different potions with...

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Natalie Portman Is Up for Returning to Star Wars as Padmé

Star Wars prequel trilogy star Natalie Portman is up for returning to Star Wars as Padmé Amidala if Lucasfilm asked her to. Responding to fan questions for GQ's Actually Me series, Portman replied to a Reddit post that asked if the character could ever return. "I have no information on this," she said. "No one's ever asked me to return, but I'm open to it." Though her character's main story was completed in Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, the potential return of Padmé would follow in the footsteps of co-stars Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, who played Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi respectively. The following paragraphs feature mild spoilers for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. Both actors returned in the...

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ARC Raiders Has Changed From a Co-Op PvE Game to a 'PvPvE Survival Extraction Shooter'

Following ARC Raiders' delay from 2022 to 2023, Embark Studios has now confirmed the game has undergone a shift from a co-op PvP game to a "PvPvE survival extraction shooter." Aleksander Grøndal, ARC Raiders' executive producer, took to Medium.com to share the update to the game and also confirm that signups for the Closed Alpha test that will take place this summer are now open on Steam. When Embark delayed ARC Raiders, it said the delay would not only allow them to let the game reach its "fullest potential," but also that it would allow the team to add a new PvP mode to it before launch. As it turns out, the team had so much fun implementing this new mode that the game underwent a "fundamental" change that would shift the genre of...

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10 Games Like Genshin Impact to Play Next

HoYoverse released Genshin Impact in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly three years ago, and it has become a major hit in the gaming industry. This free-to-play anime RPG from China allows players to explore the vast world of Teyvat as a traveler separated from their twin in another world and interact with — as well as play as — a wide variety of characters whose combat moves are based on elements, like earth, wind, fire, water, and electricity. Although the story is about a traveler (male or female, depending on your choice) working to find their sibling, Genshin Impact becomes more about exploring the seven nations of Teyvat, learning of their cultures and customs, and fighting the monsters that reside in those nations and...

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Alan Wake Voice Actor Says Alan Wake 2 Is ‘Supposed to Come Out in October’

Alan Wake voice actor Matthew Porretta appeared on Monsters, Madness, and Magic and said Alan Wake 2 is "supposed to come out in October." While we know Alan Wake 2 has a 2023 release window, Porretta may have narrowed down that window around the 16:37-minute mark of the latest episode of Monsters, Madness, and Magic. "I've been working on it," Porretta said of Alan Wake 2. "That's supposed to come out in October. We're in the middle of working on it now. In fact, I was just in Finland last week, that's where the company is from... Remedy, they're amazing people." It's important to remember this is not an official announcement and may not be in line exactly with the release date planned by Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy...

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The Nier: Automata Mod That Fooled the World | IGN Inside Stories

In June 2022, a new Reddit user named SadFutago joined the Nier Automata subreddit to ask what might seem to outsiders a fairly innocuous question: "How do you open the church?" Their post was short and sweet, seemingly coming from a confused, not-exactly-internet-savvy gamer who wanted to know how to access a building in Nier: Automata that, they claimed, was closed off for their friend, but open for them. The problem? There was no such church in Nier: Automata, to anyone's knowledge. Dataminers had never heard of it. It didn’t exist in any guide, or video, or older build known to anyone in the audience. And as more information, and later images and clips came out of this location no one had ever seen before, the Nier subreddits...

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Blizzard Reveals Diablo 4 Will Have Over 50 Individual Accessibility Features

Blizzard has revealed that over 50 accessibility options will be available in Diablo 4 and how making this latest entry in the legendary franchise as accessible as possible was a "flame that guided them all through development." Some of Diablo 4's accessibility options were shared on a blog from Blizzard, and the post began with lead accessibility designer Drew McCrory stating that, "the only limitation to adventuring in Sanctuary should be interest, not capability." The team began their accessibility journey in Diablo 4 by building off the foundation created with Diablo 2: Resurrected and ensuring they make the game open to as many people as possible while also "being careful not to mar gameplay for others." As previously...

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Steam Deck vs. Gaming Laptop: Which Should You Buy?

The Steam Deck lobbed an unexpected grenade into the PC gaming world, distilling the handheld PC gaming experience into a simple, approachable, and affordable device. Gaming laptops are versatile but expensive and lack the ultra-portable handheld convenience of Steam’s device. That may sway you towards Valve’s handheld, but the Deck’s shortcomings shouldn’t be overlooked. We compare the Steam Deck and gaming laptops with the following in mind: Game Performance Compatibility Portability and Form Factor Battery Life Extra features Value Verdict Steam Deck vs. Gaming Laptop: Performance Gaming laptops are available in numerous configurations and sizes that range from bottom-barrel budget devices with AMD or Intel integrated graphics to...

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China Approves Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

China's State Administration has approved Microsoft's attempted $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, joining a total of 37 regulators including the EU and Japan. The news was first surfaced today on SeekingAlpha via a Dealreporter item, and has since been confirmed via a statement from a Microsoft spokesperson sent to IGN: This news comes just a few days after the European Commission approved the deal in the EU. The one opposing voice thus far remains the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which blocked the deal on the basis of its potential to let Microsoft monopolize a nascent cloud gaming market. Microsoft has stated its intent to appeal the UK's decision. The deal has yet to be approved in the US, where...

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New Steam Deck Third-Party Screen Boosts Resolution All the Way to 1200p

If you're bummed that the Steam Deck's display caps at 800p, you may have a solution. FX Technology Limited is looking to fix that problem with its own third-party display that provides a much-needed resolution boost to Valve's portable gaming PC. DeckHD is a 7-inch IPS display, with a refresh rate of 60Hz and 400 nits of screen brightness, the same as the Steam Deck. But the biggest difference is that it is a Full HD+ display (1920x1200 resolution) and it has a 95 percent sRGB coverage as opposed to the Steam Deck's 67 percent sRGB coverage. And just like the high-end Steam Deck model, it includes an anti-glare coating. Though there are some concerns regarding the battery life, one of the moderators for the DeckHD Discord server...

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