Gaming News

Ayaneo, the company known for making a slew of handheld gaming PCs, has announced its latest product: the Next Lite, another portable gaming PC that is the first non-Steam Deck handheld to run Valve's Linux-based operating system SteamOS.Announced in a press release, Ayaneo revealed the Next Lite, revealing that the device will be a "value-for-money option" for someone who wants a handheld gaming PC running SteamOS but may not want to buy a Steam Deck for whatever reason.It is an odd pitch from Ayaneo, considering the company did not disclose how much the Next Lite will retail for. However, the company said it is opening "subscriptions" for the Next Lite on Thursday, January 11th, at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET.Ayaneo notes that the...

After being shut out at The Game Awards, Spider-Man 2 will hope to have better luck at the upcoming DICE Awards, which it leads with nine nominations.The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced the awards nominations on January 10, with Spider-Man 2 leading and Alan Wake 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 close behind with eight nominations and seven nominations respectively. COCOON was another standout, joining the aforementioned games and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the Game of the Year category.The full list of nominees follows below.Outstanding Achievement in AnimationFinal Fantasy XVIHi-Fi RUSHMarvel's Spider-Man 2Mortal Kombat 1Super Mario Bros. WonderOutstanding Achievement in Art Direction...

Team Fortress: Source 2, a fan project seeking to port Valve's classic shooter to the Source 2 engine, is officially dead. The news was announced following a DMCA takedown demand from Valve that blocked the group's GitHub repositories. It joins Portal 64, which was also canceled less than a week after the release of its "First Slice."The takedown was the "nail in the coffin" for the project, the announcement read, which had already have been on shaky ground before Valve stepped in."While we were discussing the project's future internally recently, we already came to the conclusion to stop the development of the project due to the current state of the code being unusable anymore with s&box's recent major engine changes, and that we...

Diablo IV's next season is starting on January 23 according to an update on the game's login screen.Even though it doesn't have a title, Blizzard has seemingly confirmed that Diablo IV Season 3 will be launching later this month. Many players have noticed that a banner on the game's login screen, which used to read, "Season of Blood Ends January 23, 2024," now reads, "Next Season Begins January 23, 2024," indicating that not only will the seasons apparently change over immediately, but that Season 3's right around the corner.With less than two weeks (and fewer business days than normal) until the apparent launch date, this will be a significantly quicker turnaround than the transition from Season 1 to Season 2 late last year. For...

Max Evry, the author of "A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History," has found a half-written script for the sequel, he revealed in WIRED on Wednesday.Despite minor cult status, it's no secret that many felt Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune missed the mark. But before its release and subsequent critical panning and flop at the box office, there was a plan to turn Lynch's take on Frank Herbert's space opera into a major movie franchise.Evidence for this mysterious half-script has been floating around since 1984, when Frank Herbert revealed that he was working with and advising the writer-director on a script for the sequel in an interview with Prevue Magazine. Since then, little bits of information have come out...

Poncle, the studio behind the award-winning horde-defense game Vampire Survivors, has shared some of its future goals for the surprise hit in a new Steam post.The UK-based indie studio has big plans for 2024 and beyond. Although most of what's included in this preview of what's to come addresses stuff we already knew about (like online co-op, cross-platform saves, the upcoming animated TV series), Poncle's post also teases loose plans to work on other games.After thanking players for sticking with and supporting Vampire Survivors and recapping everything Poncle accomplished in 2023, studio head Luca Galante dove into specifics about what's down the pipeline. Details like a firm roadmap or release dates for any of these updates are...

Call of Duty: Warzone is introducing a feature, one that has the community feeling a bit perplexed about the overall direction of Activision's flagship battle royale amid questions about whether or not it will actually be a win condition.Called "Covert Exfil," the new ability will allow players to escape the map early and will include its own leaderboard. Here's the description on the official Call of Duty blog.It's a significant addition, and it has some fans saying that it makes Call of Duty: Warzone even less of a battle royale. Many are comparing it to the extraction shooter genre, which has recently grown in popularity thanks to the success of Escape from Tarkhov and other games like it."Doesn’t that completely destroy the...

David Benioff and Dan Weiss, creators of the Game of Thrones HBO show, have explained more about their scrapped Star Wars film, saying "we weren't the droids [Lucasfilm] were looking for".Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the pair also confirmed reports from 2019 that their film would essentially be "The First Jedi", telling the story of how the Jedi Order, first lightsabers, and so on came to be.Lucasfilm hired Benioff and Weiss to direct a series of films in 2018, with the first premiering in 2022, though this was scrapped in 2019 due to scheduling conflicts, the pair said at the time. The split appeared amicable, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also said she hopes Benioff and Weiss would return to Star Wars one day...

Mojang has announced the end of development on Minecraft Legends less than a year after the game came out.Minecraft Legends is an “action strategy” spin-off that launched in April 2023 courtesy of Mojang owner Microsoft. It fuses real-time strategy gameplay with traditional Minecraft action and adventure. IGN’s Minecraft Legends review returned a 7/10. “Minecraft Legends is an engaging strategy game that capably combines the established Minecraft world with a streamlined RTS structure,” we said.In a blog post, Cristina Anderca, Senior Creative Writer at Mojang Studios, said the developer is “now going to take a step back from development.” The announcement comes just nine months after Minecraft Legends’ release date.This means...

We love an eBay promo code deal here at IGN. It can be so easy to get bogged down in the ocean of online retailers to spare a moment's thought for the OG. Well, you should pay them special attention at the moment, because it's the last day (January 10) that you can use their JANJOY15 code to get 15% off from select trusted sellers.One of the better January sales events this year, the JANJOY15 gives you up to £75 discount if you spend £15 or more with selected sellers. All you've gotta do is enter the code at checkout to get the discount. There are some cracking deals that you can get with this code, one of the best being the fact that you can get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for just £42.46. Grab it through the verified seller The...

Xbox racing fans were left questioning myriad elements of Forza Motorsport upon its launch in 2023 and, following a blog post from developer Turn 10 Studios designed to address these complaints, have only grown more frustrated.A "message to the Motorsport community" was posted on Forza's website by game director Andy Beaudoin, creative director Chris Esaki, and executive producer Trevor Laupmanis to "thank you for your support and feedback since launch, reflect on some of the things we have learned, and share what you can expect from us in the coming months."In what it said would be the first of quarterly updates on hot topics within the community (to go alongside various other forms of communication), the Forza team addressed the...

No matter your opinion on Bethesda's latest game Starfield, which has turned out to be quite the controversial RPG, the game has still had over 12 million players and should be considered at least a moderate success for Xbox for the time being. Especially since more regular updates are coming starting in February this year, alongside the first expansion pack, and the highly anticipated launch of the Creation Kit and mod support for PC and consoles.We can rattle on all day about the reception of Starfield, but here's the crux of this latest offer available. Starfield's Premium Edition Upgrade was notable for its 'up to' 5 days early access. While this early access period has since expired, there are still a few other goodies up for...

It looks like Marvel Snap is secure after its developer, Second Dinner, secured a $100 million investment.In November, Second Dinner was forced to reassure concerned players of the well-received online card game after its publisher ran into trouble.Reports indicated TikTok maker ByteDance planned to wind down its Nuverse gaming brand and retreat from mainstream video games, and was looking for ways to sell off launched titles. That included Marvel Snap, Second Dinner’s Marvel-themed Hearthstone-a-like that launched in 2022. Nuverse published Marvel Snap across mobile and PC.But now, Second Dinner has secured $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners, which means the developer will continue to...

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has said Microsoft plans to release a firmware update to fix the pesky save bug that has plagued the game’s release on Xbox.In a tweet, Larian said Microsoft had identified the cause of the save bug on Xbox and will issue a firmware update to fix it. Users can update their console manually on January 16 or wait a week longer for the update to roll out globally, Larian added.“Although we haven’t been able to independently verify this fix, we’re optimistic that Microsoft have gotten to the bottom of it,” the developer said.Larian boss Swen Vincke had tweeted to say Microsoft had “found the firmware issue that cause save games to go missing” and that a fix was coming out. “In the end, all...

A new Apex Legends and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth crossover event launched January 9th — a first for EA's free-to-download battle royale — and it’s been a big source of criticism from players due to the high price of its microtransactions.Respawn recently launch a new collaboration with Square Enix as part of the run-up to the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The event brings with it a new category of cosmetics, and it has the potential to cost players hundreds of dollars.Previously, each Event Pack cost 700 Apex Coins, or around seven dollars. In this event, the price for one event pack is 1,000 Apex Coins, or about $10. With that change alone, this is the most expensive event to date for Apex Legends, with Milestone Rewards...

Today's the day to swoop down on the "bestest" version of a game you've been discount-stalking from afar. Premium editions, bundles, definitives, whole shebang collections—not many of them have been spared the bargain man's axe. So do get in quick.In retro news, the system-selling Rogue Squadron turns 25 today! Being one of the first titles to utilise the Expansion Pak, which added a whopping 4MB of extra RAM (!!!), it delivered a star war way better than the previous N64 title holder, Shadows of the Empire. It's also been 27 years since Square released Tobal No. 1, a cult-hit 3D fighter featuring a robot who could commit suicide by turning himself off. I still couldn't tell you why.This Day in GamingAussie birthdays for notable...

VALORANT Episode 8 Act 1 is dropping January 10th and brings, for the first time since launch, a new gun. The Outlaw is the new weapon in the latest season that brings a new sniper rifle into play. Here’s everything you need to know about the Outlaw and the newest season of VALORANT.OUTLAWThe Outlaw is a brand new double-barreled sniper rifle made to fit somewhere between the Marshal and Operator sniper rifles in the roster. The Outlaw can fire two shots in succession very quickly without zooming out. Depending on how many shots you’ve fired, one shot or two, the reload times will vary and are overall a bit longer than the other sniper rifles to compensate for the fire rate.Nick Smith, Game Designer II and Sal Garozzo, Game...

Nearly 13 years after the debut of Portal 2, fans of the beloved first-person puzzle game were supposed to be rewarded with the Jan. 5 release of a prequel campaign from Second Face Software. The fan-made mod, dubbed Portal: Revolution, will add over eight hours of gameplay and 40 new test chambers to the sequel game.Instead, those who opened Steam today were met with a disappointing announcement from the game's devs in lieu of new Portal content."Right off the bat, I want to say that the game is done," the message reads. "We could ship at any moment, but Valve has yet to review and accept the game for release."The note continues on to explain how all games on Steam are beholden to a review process by Valve before developers can...

Some 22 years after it first released, the cast of Max Payne recently reunited for a strange but brilliant Alan Wake 2 moment, absent one key member.Remedy co-founder Sam Lake captured the moment in a photo posted to X/Twitter, referring to the cast as "family and friends." The group included Jani Niipola (Alex Balder), Carol Kiriakos (Mona Sax), Lake's mother and father (Nicole Horne and Alfred Woden respectively), Aki Järvilehto (BB), and of course Lake himself, who was the original face of Max Payne.Absent from the gathering was James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne, who died in December. His final role was Alan Wake 2, where he played Alex Casey. Lake paid tribute to McCaffrey at the time, calling him a "lovely man and a...

As I settled back into the day-to-day work routine at IGN to start 2024, it randomly occurred to me that Halo 2 will turn 20 years old later this year – specifically, on November 9. That got me reminiscing about one of my favorite games ever – and probably my single favorite multiplayer game ever – a little bit early, so I thought I’d put those thoughts to virtual paper and share them with you because, quite frankly, there’s never a bad time to talk about the glory days of Halo 2 multiplayer.I'm so grateful I got to be in the right time and place in my life, professionally and personally, to have soaked up that experience to the absolute fullest. I was 24 with no spouse, kid, or dog, thus allowing me to spend most of my free time...

City of Heroes is making an official return as a fan server dedicated to keeping the superhero multiplayer game running has been granted an official license by publisher NCSOFT.Revealed in a forum post, a representative of the fan server, titled Homecoming, announced their hard work paid off. City of Heroes was shut down more than a decade ago in November 2012, but fan servers kept players entertained and now its biggest has officially revived the massively multiplayer online role-playing game."We’d like to thank you all for your patience over the past few years, and we’re incredibly thrilled to announce that it’s paid off," the post said. "NCSOFT has officially granted Homecoming a license to host City of Heroes."We’d like to...

Surgeon Simulator and Lost Skies developer Bossa Studios has become the latest affected by the sweeping lay-offs hitting the video game industry.As revealed by GI.biz, the UK developer laid off almost one third of all staff as 19 employees lost their jobs, caused by what co-founder Henrique Olifiers called a "perfect storm of events". The lay-offs came at the end of 2023, with 40 employees remaining at the studio.This "perfect storm" was, according to Olifiers, caused by the number of high profile triple-A games launching after September that took attention from smaller studios, increasing operational costs, and delayed funding decisions across the industry."Resulting from this blue moon situation, we had to make the difficult...

Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games is releasing a ship bundle for its controversial space simulator that costs an eye-watering $48,000.Revealed on its website, the Legatus 2953 pack will arrive in the first quarter of 2024 and cost $48,000 despite the game not having officially launched yet."Ahead of all others, this definitive armada is an equal match to the noble title of Legatus Navium," the Legatus 2953 item page reads. "Comprised of over 175 vessels from every manufacturer of note, this perfect collection, including all ships released and concepted through 2953, empowers every fleet commander to forge a lasting legacy, leading humanity towards a brighter future."Update 1/5/2024 11:20 am: Adding even more to the...

Content Warning: The following article contains mentions of themes some readers may find distressing, including those of self-harm and suicide.Atlus has released the super stylish opening cinematic for Persona 3: Reload ahead of its February 2 launch.The two minute movie, which can be viewed below, is everything you'd expect of a Persona game, featuring a bright and colourful aesthetic over some incredibly dark themes.Persona intros, which appear before the main menu when booting up the games, usually feature an upbeat pop track too, and Persona 3: Reload's is no different. Protagonist Makoto Yuki even boots the tune up on an MP3 player in the beginning of the cinematic, which also acts as a quick reminder that Persona 3: Reload...

Thank your own personal deity—possibly Kaheva the Blacksmith—it's Friday! This is gonna be a short intro because I'm far too busy smashing through review code of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I'm only three hours in so far, which is about as deep as I was allowed to go during my recent hands-on (and my positive impressions of that experience have not changed, obviously). Anyway... stay safe, save often, and catch you Monday!This Day in GamingAussie birthdays for notable games and hardware- X-Men: Children of the Atom (ARC) 1995.- Super Smash Bros. (N64) 2000.Table of ContentsNintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGONice Savings for Nintendo SwitchExpiring Recent DealsHardware WatchHow much to make the switch...

MapleStory developer Nexon is being hit with a sizable fine by the Korean Fair Trade Commission over what the body says are deceptive loot box practices.As reported by the Korean Times and Business Korea, Nexon is being fined some $8.85 million (about 11.6 billion won) for allegedly lowering the probabilities of some loot box items capable of upgrading player equipment,, known as Cubes, without telling players According to the Korean Times, it is the largest fine of this type levied to date.The judgment claims that Nexon engaged in these practices for more than 10 years in a period dating back to 2010, including secretly lowering the loot box odds for some items to near zero. The findings were reportedly based on internal...

The actor behind Michael in Grand Theft Auto V, Ned Luke, openly endorsed Lucia, the playable female protagonist, in the highly anticipated GTA 6.As part of our IGN's GTFM video series, Luke was seen chatting with my colleague Akeem Lawanson. During the interview, Luke described the significance of Lucia as one of the two playable protagonists in GTA 6 while also addressing the claims that Rockstar has gone "woke" for adding her as one of the playable characters."Lucia's hard, man. In the trailer, she looked good. You get a lot of these clowns out here going, 'Rockstar's going woke, they're caving into the wokeness of the world,'" Luke said. "First of all, there's been other female protagonists in the past, but not in something as...

Since long before it left early access in August, players have jumped into modding Baldur's Gate 3, adding everything from 54 new races to new controls. However, one recent modding trend has shed light on one thing: players really, really want Astarion to have a gun.Earlier this week, Nexus Mods user Palmaman33 uploaded several different gun mods to the site's Baldur's Gate 3 section, letting players bring guns to knife (or mace/staff/sword/anything) fights. These guns can be equipped by any character, but in almost every screenshot of these different mods shared by players on X/Twitter, however, the gun wielder always seems to be Astarion.Normally, Astarion is a hedonistic High Elf Rogue who has a secret vampiric past, but players...

With countless different endings and around 100 hours per playthrough, Baldur's Gate 3 is jam-packed with rooms, lines of dialogue, and characters that players might miss. However, one player has shared their especially meaningful experience with one of the game's lesser-known NPCs, and their story is now resurfacing thanks to a recent post from a developer.In 2020, Larian forums user Solfalia shared a post thanking Larian Studios for releasing Act I of Baldur's Gate 3 in early access — the game's early release enabled them to play with their father, who played previous Larian games with them but had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease."This Early Access means that this Xmas I'll be able to go on an adventure with him...

PlayStation has listed the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, officially Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (the Δ is pronounced delta), as a 2024 game.A trailer advertising various PlayStation 5 games coming in 2024 (below) includes lots of entries with established release dates (like The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth), but also quietly listed the release window for the highly anticipated remake.Publisher Konami is yet to confirm any sort of release date or window itself, though given it was announced by PlayStation in 2023 and is coming to the PS5, it likely knows it's stuff. IGN has reached out to Konami for comment.Not stopping there, the PlayStation trailer also listed the Silent Hill 2 Remake as a...