Gaming News

Pacific Drive: The First Preview

Our first look at Pacific Drive in Sony's September 2022 State of Play left us with more questions than answers: what is going on in this spooky forest, what is up with this station wagon, and most importantly, what is this game about? After a short hands-off demo session of the upcoming first-person driving survival game with the developers at Ironwood Studios, I came away intrigued to see just how crazy this survival road-lite game will be. I sat in the passenger seat while Pacific Drive's developers took the wheel to show me what to expect from this quirky car game. I got to see the world, its dangers, and, most importantly, the station wagon. Pacific Drive’s anomaly-filled version of the Pacific Northwest will take you deep into...

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Hogwarts Legacy Has One of Steam's Biggest Early Access Launches

Hogwarts Legacy has had one of the biggest early access launches in Steam history for a paid, single player game. As spotted by VGC, analyst Benji-Sales tweeted that Avalanche Software’s wizarding RPG has already achieved an all time concurrent player peak of 474,144, which has since risen by over 15,000 to 489,139. Benji-Sales noted that the pre-launch figure represents the second highest player peak for any paid, single player game in the history of the Steam platform according to SteamDB. The success bumped Fallout 4's concurrent player record of 472,962 down into third place, with Hogwarts Legacy now trailing just Cyberpunk 2077, which despite its rocky launch was able to achieve a staggering concurrent player count of...

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Aussie Deals: $110 Off a Switch OLED, RRP on PS5 + God of War Gets Axed, and More!

If you've been holding of on upgrading your old console to the latest thang, now's your window of opportunity. The handheld with the most sensual screen in ages is way, way below its $539 RRP today. Likewise, there's a PS5 bundle which may not Ragnarok your world on paper — but hey, 9% off represents a historical low on these. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Recent Deals Expiring Soon Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays at ludicrous difficulties on...

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Our Titanfall 3 Dreams Might Be Dead – Unlocked 581

A busy week of Xbox news has us discussing the recent cancellation of a secret Titanfall single-player project at Respawn and why we sadly may never see Titanfall again. Plus: live-service multiplayer games are getting shut off left and right, so what does it mean for the industry? Also: how will DC's plan to integrate video games into the DCU go over with developers, MLB The Show 23 adds a wonderful new feature that celebrates a key part of baseball history, Tim Schafer heads to the Hall of Fame, 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...

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Nintendo Switch Online Adding Game Boy and Game Boy Advance Games

Nintendo has announced that it is adding Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, and they're coming later today. Revealed as part of today's Nintendo Direct event, Nintendo said that classic Game Boy games will be available as part of the basic Nintendo Switch Online subscription, while Game Boy Advance games are coming as part of the premium Expansion Pack upgrade for Switch Online. Game Boy games included at launch include Tetris, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Gargoyle's Quest, Game & Watch Gallery 3, Alonme in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Wario Land 3, and Kirby's Dream Land. You can use the Game Boy, Game...

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New Don't Nod Game Harmony: The Fall of Reverie Coming in June

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, a new game from Life Is Strange developer Don't Nod, was announced during today's Nintendo Direct. The game is a narrative adventure, set in a world where the mystical "Reverie" plane has intersected with the real world. Players will step into the shoes of Polly, "an upbeat young woman who can travel between our world and Reverie." When a megacorporation theaters the balance between these two worlds, Polly must use the power of "divine clairvoyance" to travel between worlds, see the future, and "decide humanity's fate." The game features many branching narrative paths, with the player ultimately deciding to side with one of the six different god-like "Aspirations." Harmony features a beautiful...

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Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Port is Coming to Switch

A port of the Nintendo DS title Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, a detective game where you solve crimes as a spirit named Sissel, was announced by Capcom during today's Nintendo Direct. The port will be available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. It will also come with higher gameplay quality, adapted for 1080p/60fps visuals; optimitized UI features; three new languages (Korean, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese); new challenges; and fresh music and illustrations. The game follows Sissel, a brace phantom who's been unexpectedly stranded in the afterlife and lost his memory. The players helps Sissel solve the mystery behind his death by using his newfound supernatural abilities. Ghost Trick was...

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Nintendo Direct February 2023: Everything Announced Including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

It's the best kind of day because a brand-new Nintendo Direct has arrived. It was an exciting show that gave us a brand-new look at The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a shadow drop of Metroid Prime Remastered, the reveal of today's launch of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games on Nintendo Switch Online, a Pikmin 4 release date, and so much more. There were a TON of other big announcements, and we've gathered each and every reveal and trailer for all the games headed soon to Nintendo Switch to ensure you don't miss a thing. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Gets a New Gameplay Trailer, Collector's Edition, and Link amiibo The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the final game featured in the Nintendo Direct and...

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Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection Brings Original 3 Games to Nintendo Switch and PC

Atlus has announced that the first three Etrian Odyssey games are coming to Nintendo Switch and Steam in a remastered collection on June 1. Revealed as a surprise announcement during the February 8 Nintendo Direct, the Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection will include HD versions of the original trilogy alongside several other improvements, and can be purchased as one package or separately. Changes include a remastered soundtrack to go alongside the remastered graphics, various quality of life improvements including difficulty selection and save slots, easy access to the monster compendium, skill tree, and quest log, plus 24 new character portraits. The Nintendo Switch version will also have touch screen functionality that lets players...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone Season 2 Roadmaps Revealed

Following a two-week delay, Activision has fully revealed the Season 2 roadmap for both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and its free-to-play companion game, Warzone 2.0. The extensive list of updates includes new maps for both games, the return of popular modes, and even a new watercraft vehicle. More importantly, it will add ranked play to multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2, which will offer "plenty of rewards and bragging rights." Season 2 is currently slated to launch for both games on February 15 at 9am PT. In a blog post detailing the updates, Activision laid out the changes while revealing Warzone's new Japanese-themed Ashika Island map. Here's the official description. The island is suited for Resurgence Mode, Activision says...

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Forspoken Director Promises Patch to Improve Performance and Playability

Square Enix's Forspoken can be deciedly mixed when it comes to performance, but the game's director says some fixes are on the way. On Twitter, Forspoken director Takeshi Aramaki didn't provide a timeline for upcoming performance updates, but said the developers are working hard at it now. "We've been listening to all your feedback and are hard at work on an upcoming patch that will include improvements to overall performance, graphics, playability, and general updates and fixes to the game content across PS5 and vartious PC hardware configurations," Aramaki wrote. "We are committed to making Forspoken the most enjoyable experience possible and will provide an update about the timing of the next patch as soon as possible." In IGN's...

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Overwatch 2: New Set of Funko Action Figures Revealed

Overwatch 2 had an enormous launch last year, seeing 35 million players try the free-to-play game in its first month alone. Now, IGN can exclusively reveal four new Overwatch 2 toys from Funko, including three action figures and a new Funko Pop. The three action figures are Tracer, Genji, and Reaper. The action figures stand at 3.75 inches tall, and will retail for $12.99. Each figure comes with alternate hand and weapons attachments, while Genji and Tracer also come with an alternate head attachment. The newly-revealed Pop is of Echo in a Hot Rod skin. The Pop stands at 5.05 inches tall. You can take a look at all four newly-revealed products in the gallery below. You can order the new products beginning today at Funko's website...

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Apex Legends Season 16 ALL Class, Legend, and Weapon Reworks Explained

Apex Legends Season 16 Revelry is just around the corner launching February 14th and there are a lot of changes coming for Apex’s fourth anniversary. There’s a big rework coming to the Legends Class system and rebalancing along with a new weapon, new limited time modes and permanent playlist, and the farewell of Arenas. Here’s an in-depth look at everything changing in Apex Legends Revelry. Reworked Class System The Legend Classes were implemented before but didn’t really have much to offer the Legends in each category. So the rework focuses on 5 new classes - Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, Support. Each class has individual gameplay perk for strategic gameplay value not combat. Assault Focus: Assault Legends are the...

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Sony's Old Mascot Lives With Xbox Now

After Microsoft’s shopping spree of studio acquisitions over the last few years, there’s a long list of video game licenses that are now technically first-party Xbox properties – but possibly the weirdest is that PlayStation’s biggest competitor is now the home of its original mascot, Crash Bandicoot. If you grew up in the ’90s, Crash and PlayStation were almost synonymous. Not only were the first few crash games amazing tech demos of what Sony’s first console could do, Crash himself was an extremely vocal hype-man; the mascot platformer became a literal mascot for the PS1 and millions of people likely heard about Sony’s new console from a guy in a fur suit yelling through a megaphone about it in TV commercials. The first three...

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Aussie Deals: Save Serious Galactic Credits on Jedi Survivor and Skywalker Saga, Reduced Resi 4 and More!

It's a fine day to save on sabering. As you probably already know, LEGO Skywalker Saga is the business, but did you also catch the 9 mins we showed of Jedi Survivor? In the race for GOTY 2023 it's looking like a contender strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark. The Resident Evil 4 remake is no slouch either. I have discounts here to ensure you aren't left with not enuff cash, stranger. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Recent Deals Expiring Soon Adam Mathew is our...

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Amazon Is Running a Buy 2, Get 1 50% Off Sale

Amazon is running another of its excellent buy one, get one 50% off deals. Now I will admit, I was thrown a bit by the "Buy 2, Get 1 50% Off" phrasing, but according to the sale page, that just means if you buy two items, one of them will be half-priced. Specifically, the lower-priced of the two items you buy. But holy crap is there a lot to choose from, including new release games like Dead Space and board games galore. Amazon Buy One Get One Half Off Sale This is but a tiny sliver of what's available on the sale. Note: the items change quite frequently, so if I were you and I saw something I liked, I'd scoop it up. Also, if you've never had an Audible subscription before, you can get 3 months of Audible Plus Premium for free...

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Atari Is Releasing a $1,000 Boxset for Its 50th Anniversary and It's Only Making 100 of Them

Atari is celebrating its 50th anniversary in style with a $999.99 collectible boxset that features 10 Atari 2600 cartridges with reimagined artwork, acrylic toppers that light up when inserted into the console, and more. Oh, and there will only be 100 of them available worldwide. As detailed by Atari, these cartridges — which hold Adventure, Missile Command, Warlords, Super Breakout, Crystal Castles, Haunted House, Yars' Revenge, Centipede, Asteroids, and Gravitar — also feature a remastered version of their original key art. Also included are cardstock posters, instructional manuals with bonus material, hard enamel pins, patches, certificates of authenticity, and a digital copy of each game that can be played on the Atari VCS. If...

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - 9 Minutes of Gameplay | IGN First

February's IGN First is all about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the hotly anticipated sequel to 2019's Jedi Fallen Order. We've got a whole month's worth of exciting coverage, but to kick things off, we wanted to start with an introduction to a brand new planet in the Star Wars universe: Koboh. Not too far into the game, Cal crash lands onto Koboh after a secret mission goes awry, and must seek out assistance in repairing his ship, The Mantis. This gameplay picks up soon after Cal lands and goes through a number of new combat techniques, force powers, and enemies that players can expect once Star Wars Jedi: Survivor releases on April 28, 2023. Stay tuned for more coverage all throughout the month of February right here on IGN. Mitchell...

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Veiled Experts: The First Preview

Veiled Experts is quite the mysterious name for a game that is filled with mechanics and game modes that are commonplace in multiplayer shooters these days. Being familiar isn’t a bad thing here, though. The team-based tactical shooter is easy to pick up and play competently, as demonstrated in the short time I had to preview it. Its two modes – a standard deathmatch with a little twist and a more tactical bomb defusal – were a bombastic good time. But without much depth outside of the running and gunning, the future for a game like this in today’s tough games-as-a-service climate seems cloudy. Before you jump into either game mode, you’re introduced to the cast of contractors that you can take the field with. A surprising nine of...

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Dwarf Fortress Sells 600,000 Copies in Two Months

Dwarf Fortress has sold over 600,000 copies in its first two months on the market according to a new post from publisher Kitfox Games on Medium. “In the first two months, which ended yesterday, we’ve now sold exactly 606,342 copies of Dwarf Fortress, almost exactly 5,000 of which are from itch.io,” wrote Kitfox Games co-founder Tanya X Short on behalf of the development team. Prior to release, Kitfox Games posted the projections of an analyst who used the Steam wishlist numbers of previous titles to forecast that Dwarf Fortress would sell around 160,000 units in its first two months. According to Short, that same number of games were sold within 24 hours of its December 6 launch. The success of Dwarf Fortress reportedly netted the...

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Mario Kart: Home Circuit Developers Are Now Making a Hot Wheels Version

If you liked the idea of mixed reality kart game Mario Kart Home Circuit but felt like it could use fewer red-clad plumbers, the same developers are on the cusp of releasing a very similar game... but with Hot Wheels. It's called Hot Wheels: Rift Rally, and it's coming to iOS, PS4, and PS5 on March 14, 2023. Hot Wheels: Rift Rally is, similarly, a mixed reality game that involves a Chameleon RC car and tracks that players can set up around their homes using "Rift Gates" - basically gates the car can drive through that denote where the track is. Then, players drive the tracks they've set up using the in-game screen, with the RC car digitally changing into one of over 140 different variations of Hot Wheels car on-screen. Rift Rally...

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Hogwarts Legacy: Harry Potter Movies vs Game Comparison

Check out our Hogwarts Legacy vs Harry Potter movies comparison. Hogwarts Legacy lets us walk around the iconic magical school from the Harry Potter series, but just how accurate are its ancient passageways and sprawling towers compared to the movies? From Hogwarts’ familiar grounds to the quaint Hogsmeade Village, and even the depths of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, we’ve visited various locations from the Harry Potter films and compared them with the new action RPG. We also ran into some familiar magical creatures along the way! For more on the Wizarding World, check out our Hogwarts Legacy review, or the first 25 minutes of the game. Emma Matthews is IGN's Junior Syndication Editor. Continue reading...

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Metal Gear Solid: Preorder the Metal Gear Rex Model Kit at the IGN Store

Attention, Metal Gear Solid fans! Right now on the IGN Store, you can preorder a Metal Gear Rex model kit. The model kit costs $99.99 and is expected to ship in August of this year. The preorder is open now at the IGN Store, and you can check out the listing below. This iconic mech from Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid comes in black to allow for easy painting. It also comes with decals like caution marks that add detail to the model. Plus, it comes with four minifigures: Solid Snake, a Cyborg Ninja figure, a damaged version of Cyborg Ninja, and Liquid Snake. Take a closer look at the model kit in our gallery below. Continue reading...

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Aussie Deals: 20 Bucks off Must-Own Switch AAAs, Cheapest Hogwarts Legacy Enrolment Fees and More!

Take it from a guy who's clocked the 23-hour main quest as a Slytherin. Hogwarts Legacy is indeed a 9/10. In fact, I'd go so far as to say its more disarmingly charming than a well-cast Expelliarmus. That being the case, I've gathered all the lowest prices of admission for it. Start your school years cheaply. Use the Galleons saved to buy (potentially) snot-flavoured jellybeans for that long journey to the titular castle. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Recent Deals...

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Take-Two CEO Doesn't Think Artificial Intelligence Will Ever Make a Better Grand Theft Auto

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is known for being very upfront with media and investors about where he thinks technology, especially around games, is heading. And during today's earnings call, Zelnick made his thoughts clear on a subject that's recently been popular in tech circles: artificial intelligence, and whether or not it will transform game development. Zelnick offered a lengthy response to a question about AI technology like ChatGPT, opening by noting his own historic skepticism around overwrough technology hype and saying that while AI stands for artificial intelligence, "there is no such thing as artificial intelligence." That said, he's "really excited" about the current leaps being made by AI and machine learning, and...

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World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Sales Have Yet to Outpace Shadowlands

For the first time since 2012, the new World of Warcraft expansion has not performed as well commercially as its predecessor. In Activision Blizzard's Q4 2022 financial results, the company said "early Dragonflight sales have not reached the level of the prior expansion". The new World of Warcraft expansion failing to meet or exceed sales of the previous expansion is a rarity for the franchise. 2020's Shadowlands sold over 3.7 million copies on its launch day, which outpaced 2018's Battle for Azeroth. That expansion sold over 3.4 million copies on launch day, which was a record for the franchise at the time. 2016's Legion sold 3.3 million on day one, matching the previous record. You have to go all the way back to 2012's Mists of...

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Ghost Story Games' Judas Is Currently Planned for Release By March 2025

After years apparently in development hell, Ghost Story Games appears to finally be ready to show us more of its mysterious FPS, Judas. We got our first real look at the next game from BioShock creator Ken Levine at The Game Awards last December, and according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, we'll get to actually play it for ourselves...sometime before the end of March of 2025. This comes from Take-Two's quarterly earnings report, which outlines that it has 87 total games planned for release between fiscal 2023 (the fiscal year we're in now, which concludes at the end of March) and fiscal 2025 (which ends at the end of March 2025). Speaking to IGN ahead of the earnings release, I asked Zelnick if Judas was included in that 87 number...

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Portkey Games Addresses Hogwarts Legacy's Transgender Character

Warning: The below contains some vague details about an early Hogwarts Legacy mission, but no major spoilers. Adding a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate over the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy, IGN has learned that a transgender woman features prominently in an early mission. The character, Sirona Ryan, runs the Three Broomsticks tavern and is first encountered in the second main story quest. Sirona's inclusion in Hogwarts Legacy is particularly notable given the controversy surrounding the game, which has ignited debate because of Harry Potter author and primary rights holder J.K. Rowling's consistent anti-transgender rhetoric for the past few years. Many Harry Potter fans have vowed not to buy Hogwarts Legacy as not to benefit Rowling...

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Take-Two CEO Says GTA 6 Leaks Didn't Impact Business, But Were 'an Emotional Matter'

It's been a tricky quarter for Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive - its earnings today fell short of its guidance, the company's planning for cost reductions that may include "modest" layoffs in the workforce, and its biggest potential blockbuster on deck, Grand Theft Auto 6, suffered a massive leak last quarter. On the final point, at least, CEO Strauss Zelnick isn't concerned that the leaks might impact the business. But speaking to IGN ahead of Take-Two's earnings release today, he called them an "emotional matter" and focused on the impact to developers working on the game. "We take leaks very seriously indeed and they disappoint all of us, it's really frustrating and upsetting to the team," he said. "However as a...

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YouTube Horror Series The Backrooms Is Getting Turned Into a Feature Film

Get your hazmat suits ready; the Backrooms are coming to the big screen. A24 is teaming up with Kane Parsons to create a feature film adaptation of his viral YouTube horror universe, with Atomic Monster, Chernin Entertainment and 21 Laps Entertainment also producing. The film will be directed by Parsons, who is 17 years old, and written by Roberto Patino. Parsons' original short followed a young filmmaker in the 1990's that finds himself transported to another dimension. Here, in the harshly yellow and labyrinthine walls of this new dimension, otherworldly creatures threaten the safety of all who enter. The short drew heavy inspiration from a creepypasta published to 4chan in 2019. It's found-footage style, eerie mood, creepy imagery...

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