Gaming News

Aussie Deals: 69 Buck Dead Space, $147 off Watch Dogs Legion, a Reduced Switch Bundle and More!

For many of you, it's the darkest of times—back to school o'clock. That said, let's stack you up with an armful of cheap video games instead of textbooks. Why? Because the only education you truly need is the tutorial section of your favourite AAA title. Do enough of them, and it'll look great on a resume, too. The first one in your mitts ought to be Dead Space. I'm later to the punch than my learned local colleague (who scored it a 9), but a weekend's worth of play has impressed the hell out of me. Put it in your tractor beam sights immediately. Set your faces to stunned. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC...

View full article »

Annie Wersching, The Last of Us Game and 24 Actress, Dies at 45

Acclaimed actress Annie Wersching has passed away at the age of 45 after a prolonged battle with cancer. As reported by Deadline, Wersching was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, yet continued her acting career, appearing in both Star Trek: Picard and The Rookie. Wersching is best known for her roles as Renee Walker in the show 24, as well as Leslie Dean in Marvel's Runaways. She is also well-known for her outstanding performance as Tess Servopoulos in the 2013 PlayStation game The Last of Us. Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us, posted on Twitter saying, "Just found out my dear friend, Annie Wersching, passed away. We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones." He...

View full article »

WWE Star Zelina Vega Joins Street Fighter 6 as a Commentator

WWE's annual Royal Rumble event had plenty of exciting moments as wrestling's biggest superstars fought for a title match spot at this year's WrestleMania 39. One notable moment was Zelina Vega's entrance during the women's event where it was revealed that she will be lending her voice as a guest commentator in the upcoming Street Fighter 6. Vega's energetic entrance at the event saw her dressed as Juri Han from Street Fighter. You can watch the entire moment in the WWE tweet below. Vega is no stranger to cosplay, having dressed up as a number of pop culture icons such as Mortal Kombat's Kitana and Mileena, Nurse Joy from the Pokemon anime series, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Overwatch's D.Va, Starlight from The Boys, and many more...

View full article »

Daily Deals: Forspoken Already Discounted on PlayStation 5

Today, you can already save $10 off the recently-released PlayStation 5 exclusive Forspoken. Today's other daily deals include a powerful AMD Radeon RX 6800 GPU (RTX 3080 equivalent), the top-of-the-line AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPU (RTX 4080 equivalent), the diminutive Cooler Master NR200P mini ITX case, an Alienware m15 R7 RTX 3070 equipped gaming laptop, and more. $10 Off Forspoken for PS5 Forspoken was released earlier this week and already we're seeing a discount for it. Pick it up from Amazon for $59.99, a $10 discount from it's original $70 MSRP. Forspoken is a current-gen only game that's not available for the PS4. That means it was built from the ground up to take advantage of the PS5's hardware. It features impressive visuals...

View full article »

Marvel Snap Player Hits Max Collection Level in What Dev Calls a 'World First'

A Marvel Snap player has achieved a truly Marvel-ous feat by reaching the end of the Collection Level track and seemingly becoming the first player in the world to do so. Spotted by @SnapDecks on Twitter, a player by the in-game name Aaron has reached the end of his progression in Marvel Snap, halting his progress and gaining the attention of the development team at Second Dinnner. In the short video posted with the tweet, we can see Aaron has maxed out at CL 22,366, a number the vast majority of Marvel Snap players will likely never reach. Aaron created a post in the official Marvel Snap Discord to bring attention to the issue, as he is no longer able to earn in-game rewards simpy by playing to increase his Collection Level...

View full article »

A Space for the Unbound Took Me on an Emotional, Nostalgic Anime Pilgrimage

Since late 2021, I’ve been tinkering away at a little column here on IGN.com highlighting indie games I thought were neat. It’s been running quietly away on Saturday afternoons, throwing spotlights on little games and developers that weren’t otherwise getting a lot of attention from mainstream gaming sites like ours. I’m proud of that coverage up to today, but today I’m extra proud, because my quiet year-plus efforts are about to get much, much louder. My little column today joins a much larger IGN initiative to bring editorial columns of all varieties into the spotlight. Which means I get to take a moment to wax poetic about what my corner of this initiative is actually all about. Indie game coverage is always a tricky question to...

View full article »

Tomb Raider TV Series in the Works at Amazon from Fleabag Writer

After a long break, Lara Croft is on the comeback trail. THR reports that a television show about the famous video game adventurer is in development at Amazon, with Fleabag writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge attached to pen the scripts. Amazon did not immediately respond to IGN's request for comment. Not much is known about the new project, which Waller-Bridger is also set to executive produce. It's not known who will play the role of Lara Croft, who has been previously portrayed by Angelina Jolie among others. Waller-Bridger rose to prominence thanks to Fleabag, an acclaimed BBC sitcom based on her one-woman show of the same name. The success of Fleabag earned Waller-Bridger an overall deal at Amazon Studios, which also includes another...

View full article »

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer on Activision Blizzard Takeover: 'It's Been a Learning Experience for Me'

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer admits that Microsoft's $67.8 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been a learning experience, but he remains confident in it going through. Speaking with IGN, Spencer said he "didn't know anything" about this type of acquisition when it was announced in January 2022, but having undergone the process and having conversations with key players, he's more confident now than he was last year. "The fact that I have more insight, more knowledge about what it means to work with the different regulatory boards, I'm more confident now than I was a year ago, simply based on the information I have and the discussions that we've been having," Spencer said. "When we announced a year ago, we talked about an...

View full article »

Phil Spencer Interview: Xbox Was 'Too Light on Games' in 2022, But a Big 2023 Could Await

Xbox couldn't have imagined it would be where it is right now when it first laid out its roadmap for the current generation. Led by Xbox Game Pass and massive acquisitions, the Xbox Series X|S was supposed to reverse Microsoft's dire fortunes from the previous generation while changing how we play games. But while the Xbox Series X|S has certainly been a marked improvement, other factors have made this generation more than a struggle for Xbox than expected. Speaking with IGN in a brand-new interview following this week's Developer Direct, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer addressed many of those troubles, including recent layoffs and the uncertain status of 343 Industries. He also acknowledged Xbox's disappointing 2022, which saw virtually no...

View full article »

Phil Spencer on Halo's Future: 'The Heart and Soul of Halo Is with 343'

After a mass wave of 10,000 layoffs at Microsoft that impacted, among other Xbox teams, 343 Industries, there have been a number of concerning reports and rumors surrounding the future of the Halo series in the hands of a significantly downsized team. In response to these concerns, Xbox head Phil Spencer has reassured that 343 remains "critically important" to the success of Halo. Speaking to IGN, Spencer first celebrated Halo's initial launch, saying 343 "did a really good job delivering a great Halo game." But he followed up by acknowledging they "didn't hit our own bar" for content update timing and quality. "What we're doing now is we want to make sure that leadership team is set up with the flexibility to build the plan that...

View full article »

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for January 27-31

The loot fairy, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further. Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians. We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP. Where Is Xûr Today? Xûr's location can be found at The Tower...

View full article »

Naughty Dog Is Done With Uncharted, But There’s Still So Much Potential With the Series

This piece contains spoilers for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann confidently said the studio is “Moving on” from the Uncharted series saying, “Uncharted was insanely successful — Uncharted 4 was one of our best selling games — and we're able to put our final brushstroke on that story and say that we're done.” If Naughty Dog is done with the Uncharted series, they ended it about as perfect as they could have. After decades of exploring, Nathan Drake settles down with the love of his life, and together with their daughter, can enjoy peace and retirement. Only, why does it feel like there’s a missed opportunity still? In the first Uncharted game, Nathan Drake was the...

View full article »

What Dead Space Gets Right That The Callisto Protocol Got Wrong

You know how it is – you go years without a sci-fi survival horror game set in the distant depths of space, and then two arrive in consecutive months. The first, The Callisto Protocol, a spiritual successor to the Dead Space series helmed by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield and reportedly endowed with a monster development budget, released this past December with notable performance issues and ultimately failed to hit its sales targets. The second, a remake of the original 2008 Dead Space crafted with considerable care and creativity by Motive Studio, arrived this past week and managed to outdo the original in almost every way. Earlier in 2022, Schofield was quoted as being “kind of bummed” about not having any involvement in remaking...

View full article »

Like a Dragon: Ishin - The Final Preview

Like A Dragon: Ishin! was originally released during a very different era for the Yakuza franchise. It hit shelves in 2014 as an offbeat launch title for the Playstation 4, when only the most diehard aficionados of Japanese imports were playing Yakuza games in the West. Ishin! positioned itself as one of the strangest entries in the canon, trading in the rain-slicked noir of the mainline succession for a samurai-western mashup set in the 19th century that's totally disconnected from the prodigal sagas of Kiryu and Majima. Sega never bothered to localize the game for English speakers, probably because they deemed it too frivolous compared to the rest of the Yakuza lineage. But American gamers are currently in the midst of an ongoing...

View full article »

IGN UK Podcast 681: Shadow Drop It Like It's Hot

There are suddenly a lot of very good games to play. To talk about them, Cardy, Emma, and Mat have convened in a post-lunch haze to discuss Fire Emblem Engage, Persona 3, Hi-Fi Rush, and The Case of the Golden Idol. Emma has also had the chance to go hands-on with the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy and Cardy tells you why you should go and watch The Fabelmans. Got a game for us to play or just want to tell us the weirdest thing you've eaten for breakfast? Why not email us: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast 681: Shadow Drop It Like It's Hot IGN UK Podcast #680: Dead Space and Other Games We Want Remade IGN UK Podcast 679: The Last of Us is Very Good IGN UK Podcast #678: Wot We Did Over Christmas IGN UK Podcast 677: The Big 2023...

View full article »

Hogwarts Legacy: 9 Magical New Details

Hogwarts Legacy promises us the opportunity to return to the Wizarding World and explore the iconic school during a previously unseen period of Harry Potter history. Set in the late 1800s, the upcoming open-world action RPG lets us step into the shoes of a fifth-year student, mysteriously gifted with the ability of harnessing ancient magic. From catching up on classes and combing every nook and cranny in the school grounds, to investigating a goblin rebellion brewing on the horizon, Hogwarts Legacy promises a dangerous term ahead. While we expect to find many more secrets tucked away in Hogwarts’ historic halls when the game launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on February 10, here are nine magical details we spotted during our...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe Discounts, Switch OLED Game Bundles and More!

Thank your own personal deity—possibly Janus—it's Friday! Speaking of Alec '006' Trevelyan, this is a good time to remind you that GoldenEye 007 is finally coming out. Owners of Rare Replay can score this seminal shooter for free on Xbox (buy that here). It's also imminent on Nintendo Switch Online. Until Monday, stay safe, save often, and mercilessly gang up on whoever picks Oddjob in multi. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGO 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 Back to top...

View full article »

Star Wars: The Bad Batch — Are the Ancients Tied to the Jedi?

This story contains spoilers for The Bad Batch. If you're not caught up yet, check out our spoiler-free The Bad Batch Season 2 review. There’s a blast from the past in the latest episode of The Bad Batch Season 2. Diving into the history of the Jedi Order and those that came before, fans are rightly asking who the “Ancients” are and what they could mean for the wider mythos of the galaxy far, far away. “Entombed” wasted no time making Wanda Sykes’ Phee Genoa the star of the show, with this treasure-hunting pirate filling that Doctor Aphra-shaped hole in our lives. Much like that morally ambiguous archaeologist, Phee gives us some insight into the state of the galaxy in years gone by. Alongside mentions of the Grand Pearl of Novak and...

View full article »

Naughty Dog Under 'No Pressure' to Make Another Uncharted: 'We're Moving On'

Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann has said the studio has officially moved on from Uncharted and is now focusing on the next chapter of The Last of Us through the new multiplayer game. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Druckmann explained that Sony doesn't pressure Naughty Dog into creating a sequel just because a game is successful, and that the publisher has been very supportive in letting the studio follow its own passions. “That's not the case. For us, Uncharted was insanely successful,” Druckmann said. “Uncharted 4 was one of our best-selling games, and we're able to put our final brushstroke on that story and say that we're done. We're moving on.” Druckmann didn't elaborate on whether he was referred to Nathan Drake's...

View full article »

The Day Before Devs Say Delay Was Planned Before Trademark Dispute

The Day Before developer Fntastic has said it was planning a delay even before a trademark dispute pushed the game back eight months. Speaking to IGN, Fntastic co-founders Eduard and Aisen Gotovtsev decried any allegations of scamming after several The Day Before community members grew concerned that the game was delayed for so long just a few weeks ahead of its planned launch date on March 1. Fntastic released a statement on January 25 (below) claiming that a trademark dispute had forced the delay of both the game and its first major gameplay trailer in over a year. "We planned to move the game's release before and plan to announce it with [publisher] Mytona in a 10-minute gameplay video," Fntastic told IGN. "And then you all know...

View full article »

Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Stray Lead Finalists for Game Developers Choice Awards

Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Stray, and Pentiment are leading the finalists for 2023's Game Developers Choice Awards, the video game awards voted for by developers. All four of these games feature in the Game of the Year category, alongside Sam Barlow's Immortality and Tunic. Elden Ring and Stray have a total of six nominations each while God of War: Ragnarok has five. The results of the awards will be announced at 2023's Game Developers Conference on March 22, held alongside the Independent Games Festival Awards - the nominations for which were announced yesterday. The full list of nominees can be seen below: Best Audio Elden Ring God of War Ragnarok Horizon Forbidden West Metal: Hellsinger Stray Best Debut Neon White...

View full article »

Redemption Reapers Hands-On Preview: Tactical Medieval Warfare

Imagine Fire Emblem went through kind of a moody, emo phase and started reading a lot of dark fantasy novels and you'll have some idea what to expect from Redemption Reapers. This turn-based tactical RPG, from the developers of the excellent and unsung side-scrolling 2021 Soulslike Ender Lilies, puts you in command of the moody Ashen Hawk Brigade. Your task is to fight back against the Mort, an army of mysterious and murderous humanoid fiends who seem to care for nothing but the constant slaughter of innocent people. So, you know, you should probably do something about that. Admittedly, I didn't get too much of a sense for the shape of the world or what the larger arc of the story is going to be after playing through the first seven...

View full article »

How Battlefield 2042 Is Returning to Its Classic Class System in Update 3.2

The Class System is back in Battlefield after Battlefield 2042 launched without the classic system in place. With Battlefield’s 3.2 update launching next week, the 2042 Specialists will be organized into four classes and the equipment they’re able to use are being redistributed and adjusted. Battlefield’s four returning classes are Assault, Recon, Support, and Engineer. Unlikeat launch where you could play any Specialist and use any equipment you liked, the classes will now assign you gear to use in these specific classes. You can still use any weapon you like but each class has a different proficiency in weapon types. Assault Specialists: Mackay, Dozer, Sundance, Zain Weapon Proficiency: Assault Rifles with three extra magazines...

View full article »

Dead Space Review

Never mind the numerous necromorphs, the tortured torsos sprouting out of walls, or the terrifyingly towering space sphincter – the thing I was most scared of going into the Dead Space remake is that it wouldn't live up to my fond memories of the fantastically horrific 2008 original. After just over 12 hours spent stalking through the revitalized USG Ishimura I’m happy to report that of the many things to legitimately fear about this haunted space hulk, that was not one of them. This new Dead Space enhances the original in almost every way, using a Plasma Cutter to drop its ugliest appendages on the cutting room floor while preserving the essence of what made its distinctly dismemberment-heavy shooting so special, and grafting on...

View full article »

Redfall: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

It’s official: Redfall is set to release for Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 2. It’s a vampire-themed first-person shooter made by Arkane Austin, the same team that made Prey and the Dishonored games. Redfall is available to preorder now (see it at Amazon). The rollout is a little strange, with “collector’s edition”-style extras like a steelbook and additional digital content being made available as a separate physical purchase. Alternately, the standard edition of Redfall will be available on Xbox Game Pass. We have all the details below, so let’s dive in. Where to Preorder Redfall Xbox Series X|S Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it on Xbox Store (digital) - $69.99 PC Get it at Amazon - $69.99 Get it at GMG (DRM: Steam) - $57.39...

View full article »

AEW Wrestler Kenny Omega Gets a Cameo in Like a Dragon: Ishin! as the One-Winged Angel

If you somehow thought the Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) series wasn’t over-the-top enough already, a new addition to the upcoming remake of Like a Dragon: Ishin! might just turn the tables…or flip them. Developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed that wrestler Kenny Omega will be making a cameo appearance in Ishin as a summonable character to aid in battle, complete with a wondrous crossover of a move: One-Winged Angel. He’ll be joined by Midnight Mass star Rahul Kohli. Omega and Kohli’s appearances will take the form of a “Trooper Card,” effectively a summon similar to the Poundmates used in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Trooper Cards are a feature new to the remake that allows players to summon other characters to aid them in battle...

View full article »

The Xbox Direct Delivered the Optimism Xbox Fans Have Waited For

I went at Microsoft pretty hard for the company’s baffling no-show at December’s massive Game Awards event. As such, it’s only fair I give them credit where credit is due: its first-ever Developer_Direct – aka Xbox Direct for those of us who don’t have the patience to type that damn underscore every single time – was a success. The 40-minute broadcast wisely mimicked the hostless format that Nintendo pioneered and Sony smartly stole, and as a result we saw five games, got four release dates, and perhaps most of all, took away some optimism for the months to come. Microsoft managed to pleasantly surprise everyone by dropping a new Tango Gameworks rhythm-action game on us called Hi-Fi Rush. It immediately looked like a delightful...

View full article »

Xbox Direct Reactions and Analysis – Unlocked 579

We recorded Unlocked immediately after Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct presentation this week, so these are our in-the-moment reactions to the excellent presentation, from the deep-dive on Redfall (including a May 2 release date to look forward to) to another look at the gorgeous Forza Motorsport (though it came without any release date attached) to the surprise new game from Tango Gameworks, Hi-Fi Rush, that's available right now! And in our final segment, we spent some time discussing the current uncertain state of Halo in the wake of the layoffs at 343 Industries. 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...

View full article »

Forspoken PS5 Performance Review

What do you get when you cross Alice in Wonderland with Iron Man? Square Enix’s latest action-RPG Forspoken aims to answer that question, with a fish out of water plot as the protagonist Frey is thrown into a world of dragons and sorcery. Built on the same Luminous Engine that powered the team's last game, Final Fantasy XV, it has a similar open world design, with animation, art, creature design and more that will feel familiar. Resolution Modes The game has three resolution modes, Quality, Ray Tracing, and Performance, each of which also has a 120Hz mode. Quality targets 3840x2160p with dynamic resolution scaling (DRS) engaged, which can scale by 75% in total down to a low of 1920x1080. Ray Tracing mode reduces the ceiling to...

View full article »

Elder Scrolls Online is Returning to Morrowind and Embracing Cosmic Horror in 2023

Heading into its ninth year, the Elder Scrolls Online will be taking a turn for the forbidden and cosmic in 2023. In a storyline called Shadow over Morrowind, we'll be visiting a new area of the Dark Elf home province and lending a hand – or tentacle, perhaps – to the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. You may remember him from Skyrim's Dragonborn DLC as the giant eyeball guy who lives in a fortress made of banned books. And he might be letting us borrow a bit of his weird magic, too, in the form of the Arcanist: ESO's first new class since 2019. The setting for these ethereal intrigues will be Hermaeus Mora's plane of Apocrypha, which will include both smaller story areas, a larger free-roaming one, and a part of Eastern Morrowind called...

View full article »