This feature is part of AI Week. For more stories, including How AI Could Doom Animation and comments from experts like Tim Sweeney, check out our hub.
"You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here."
Will you open the mailbox, or head for the house? The choice was yours in the opening scenario of Zork, a 1977 text-based adventure game that's one of the most famous examples of the genre.
Choices are at the foundation of the text-based games. However, there are usually only a few possible paths to take based on how the creator has written the scenario. But what if your choice was truly limitless, because the story hadn't been written yet?
That's the power of...
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Gaming News
Everyone can post news here.
The news posted here could be anything from gaming to world news.
This section will be monitored fairly heavily.
Filters
Show only:
Loading…
Even as a big fan of tactics games, I missed out on 1999's Jagged Alliance 2, which is often talked about as a high point in the genre. So going into Jagged Alliance 3, the upcoming sequel landing almost a quarter century later, I wasn't too sure what to expect. What I found in the first several hours, though, is a rewarding, squad-based battlefield with tense resource management – and deliberately schlocky throwback humor that sometimes clashes with the tone of the gritty, grounded conflict that serves as its backdrop.
The mission starts off pretty simple. You're the leader of a mercenary unit hired to drop into a hot zone in a fictionalized African country where the sitting government is in conflict with a paramilitary led by a...
Like an Orange County socialite, Dead Island 2’s great looks and seemingly ideal first impression belies a striking lack of imagination. On one hand, Dambuster Studios has delivered a charming and hilarious apocalyptic sequel to the 2011 original that’s littered with great one-liners and dismembered body parts in equal measure. But aside from its balls-to-the-wall silliness and considerable comedy chops, there just isn’t much to it that hasn’t been done better in a dozen other zombie-filled games since the original Dead Island came out more than a decade ago, including and especially Dying Light 1 and Dying Light 2 (which, notably, were made by Techland, the studio that created Dead Island). But even though it lacks originality, Dead...
This might be the absolute best Star Wars Jedi Survivor deal we see before release day on April 28, but you've only got the rest of the day to secure it (April 18). You can currently get 15% off select purchases from trusted retailers at eBay, and this includes the Star Wars Jedi Survivor listing at The Game Collection.
Down to just £53.51 after using the promo code APRIL15 at checkout, you're saving a total of £16.49 on your preorder. This is an awesome deal on one of the most anticipated games of 2023, and well worth checking out before the promo code expires today.
It's a big few weeks for games as well, as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is also out on May 12; preorders are also down to £44.99 at Currys with code...
Pokemon Go developer Niantic and Capcom have announced Monster Hunter Now, a real-world action RPG mobile game that is set to be released in September 2023 on iOS and Android devices that will allow you and your friends to take down iconic monsters like the Rathalos and Great Jagras on your next walk around the neighborhood.
IGN and other members of the press were able to attend a hands-off presentation of Monster Hunter Now and the team made it very clear that they want to keep the best parts of Monster Hunter intact during the transition to the mobile space. Additionally, Monster Hunter Now is meant to be accessible to newcomers and veterans of the franchise alike.
Some of these veterans and newcomers will be able to test that...
Alien has a long history with shooters, but not so much with RPGs. Obsidian tried to change that in the 2000s with Aliens: Crucible, an early Onyx engine game published by Sega described as "Mass Effect but more terrifying." It was ultimately shelved with little explanation and subsequently forgotten until this past weekend, when Pentiment director Josh Sawyer talked about some of what he described as the "dysfunction" around the project.
"I got to work on an Aliens RPG for SEGA from 2006-2009. Obsidian didn't have directors at that time, just leads who were all considered peers. It resulted in a lot of dysfunction when the leads didn't agree on how to do something," he explained.
In the thread that followed, Sawyer said that...
For reasons I can't discern, JB Hi-Fi is clearing stuff out cheaply today. Not going to lie to you, a lot of it is crap — things that deserve to rot in a bargain bin until the end of time. That being said, I've spotted some gems here too. Games whose only crime was being ordered in far too large an amount. Get 'em before they're gone.
This Day in Gaming
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4, XO) launch, 2017.
- FFX/X-2 HD Remaster (NS) launch, 2019.
Table of Contents
Nintendo Switch
PC
Xbox
PlayStation
Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch
Expiring recent deals
Back to top
Purchase Cheaply for PC
Expiring recent deals
Back to top
Exciting Offers for XO/XS
Expiring recent deals
Back to top
Product Savings for PS4/PS5...
Frank O'Connor is the latest longtime Halo developer to depart the series, with Xbox confirming to Axios in a statement that the longtime franchise director has departed after two decades with the series.
"We thank Frank for his numerous contributions to the Halo franchise and wish him well going forward," Microsoft said in a statement.
Rumors of O'Connor's departure began when fans noted a Linkedin update showing that he was no longer with the company. He began as a content manager for Bungie in late 2003, where he wrote the Bungie Weekly Update. He joined Microsoft Studios in 2008, which allowed him to stay with the franchise even after Bungie split.
He was a familiar figure among Halo fans, appearing in Halo 4: Forward Unto...
"I feel like it's been long enough now to come out and say Star Wars Battlefront III was gonnae [sic] be legit incredible and the fact it got cancelled 2 yards from the finish line is an absolute crime," former Star Wars Battlefront 3 developer Michael Barclay tweeted over the weekend.
Barclay was referring to Free Radical's Star Wars Battlefront 3, which was in development until it was canceled in 2008. His statement came in response to a simple question posed at developers: "Alright #gamedev folks, what's your 'one that got away?' It can be an IP you wanted to work on, a studio you wanted to work for, anything of the sort."
Barclay, who now works as a lead designer at Naughty Dog, shared his own story and added, "Gamers don't know...
Diablo 4 has gone gold, but there are currently no plans for a quality-of-life feature that's been a series staple. On Twitter, the official Diablo account confirmed that the game has gone gold ahead of its June 6 release date.
However, it seems the launch of Diablo 4 won't include a fan-favorite feature that makes exploring more convenient: An overlay map. When asked on Twitter if a TAB overlay map will eventually get added to Diablo 4, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson simply replied, "No plans at the moment."
Overlay maps allow players to look at the map while still maintaining control of their character. They're perfect for a top-down multiplayer game like Diablo where you'll likely want to examine your surroundings without...
Warner Bros. Games has announced a "standalone Quidditch experience" called Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, and playtest signups are now open.
According to the game's FAQ page, Quidditch Champions is will allow players to partake in the Wizarding World's iconic sport and "other broomstick adventures alongside friends in a competitive, multiplayer setting." Playing the game requires constant internet connection, hence Warner Bros. Games is holding a limited playtest for people to try out the new Harry Potter title.
During the playtest, you can either play the game by yourself or you can team up with friends and other people online. You'll also be able to create and customize your character to your liking.
Quidditch Champions has...
Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, has promised he'll deliver new content in the Version 1.6 update.
The developer announced on Twitter Monday saying he's working on the new update, and that he's pausing development on Haunted Chocolatier in order to do so. The update will mostly come with features that allow modders to mod elements of Stardew Valley more easily. The game will also receive other new content, but the package will be smaller than it was in the Version 1.5 update.
One of the fans replied to ConcernedApe's tweet asking about the type of other new content that will be added with the Version 1.6 patch, specifically whether the characters will have more dialogue. He confirmed that "the new...
Wuthering Waves is a multi-platform free-to-play action RPG by Kuro Game. Wuthering Waves emphasizes freedom and exploration in its fast-paced Player-versus-Enemy (PvE) combat. If you're a fan of free-to-play games that offer deep gameplay mechanics, you should keep an eye on Wuthering Waves' upcoming closed beta.
A Story of Catastrophe and Recovery (and Catastrophe)
The world of Wuthering Waves was bombarded by an apocalyptic event called the "Calament" over a century ago. Strange beings arrived and sowed havoc and violence across the lands, leaving the dregs of civilization to tremble on the edge of annihilation.
But peace was forged between the surviving peoples, all of whom pitched in to rebuild cities, homes, and factories...
Joseph Staten, one the original architects of Halo who came in late in Halo Infinite's development process to help land that very important plane for Microsoft, has joined Netflix as the creative director of Netflix Games. He is building a new AAA multiplatform game and original IP.
"In my work life, there's nothing I love more than collaborating with others to build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures," Staten told IGN. "So today, I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let's go!"
This comes after Staten first shifted back to the Xbox Publishing role he'd been at prior to joining 343 Industries as...
Since its initial launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite the turnaround. So much so that it actually gave developer CD Projekt Red its second-best revenue year ever in 2022. And with the game’s brand new expansion, Phantom Liberty, on the horizon, the developer is sure to see even more success. Not only because it cost more to make than The Witcher 3's massive Blood and Wine expansion, so surely a lot of love has gone into it, but also because of the addition of exciting new faces as Idris Elba jumps into Night City's action.
And with all of that love for Cyberpunk comes a desire to deck out your space with fun merch and collectibles for it, and we’ve got an excellent selection of gift ideas to choose from. No matter if you got hooked...
While it may seem like all the fuss about artificial intelligence is a recent phenomenon thanks to endless commentary shared daily on social media about ChatGPT and similar chatbots, the concept has been around for nearly 70 years. Originally coined by computer scientist John McCarthy in 1956 during his tenure at MIT, the term has since inspired researchers, scientists, writers, and creators of every kind of entertainment imaginable. The notion of machines being able to “think” goes back even further, with its first appearance in cinema being German director Fritz Lang’s 1927 depiction of a dystopian future in his movie Metropolis.
Given its apparent ubiquity in current popular culture, and its longstanding ties to the ways we’ve...
Naughty Dog has finally released The Last of Us Part I onto PC. The launch did not go without a hitch, but is this really as bad of a port as the internet would lead you to believe?
Crashing onto PC
Context first: the game & engine were designed around the unique architecture of the PlayStation 3, a powerful yet complex piece of hardware with unique requirements. Although it was ported to the PS4, the core engine underneath was a modified version of that same PS3 design, based on mass Asynchronous work. Even Naughty Dog itself had severe issues getting the game to run at 60fps, which required maximizing the CPU and GPU with a triple buffered rendering pipeline, and suffice it to say that porting to PC is an even greater challenge than...
All anyone wants to talk about in the games industry is AI. The technology — once a twinkle in the eye of sci-fi writers and futurists — has shot off like a bottle rocket. Every day we're greeted with fascinating and perturbing new advances in machine learning. Right now, you can converse with your computer on ChatGPT, sock-puppet a celebrity's voice with ElevenLabs, and generate a slate of concept art with MidJourney.
It is perhaps only a matter of time before AI starts making significant headway in the business of game development, so to kick off AI week at IGN, we talked to a range of experts in the field about their hopes and fears for this brave new world, and some are more skeptical than you'd expect.
What do you think the...
I can’t think of a worse environment for Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle to exist in than firmly in the long shadow cast by its inspiration, the Resident Evil series. Everything about the demo I played, from its bland corridor crawling exploration to its trivial run and gun action, feels like a cheap imitation of some of the greatest survival horror games of all time, maybe even more so these days in a post-Resident Evil 4 Remake world. What's worse, there's almost nothing differentiating it from Capcom’s zombie-horror masterpieces save for the setting, which is understandably undercooked as my 20-minute demo was not nearly enough time to build a world or establish likable characters. Nothing about my time with this slice left me with much...
Dark and Darker developer Irongate is being been sued by Nexon for copyright infringement following a DMCA takedown in March.
As reported by Eurogamer, Nexon's lawsuit highlighted similarities between its own P3 and Dark and Darker, and also claimed some of Irongate's employees, who previously worked for Nexon, had signed a one-year-non-compete clause that stopped them from taking "Nexon's trade secrets" straight to a new developer.
The lawsuit added that "condoning the defendants' conduct would threaten Nexon, the video game industry, and all of the consumers who enjoy playing sophisticated video games. Video game developers would not be able to invest years' worth of person-hours in developing video games if their employees could...
Aussie Deals: Catch Pokémon Scarlet for $56, FIFA 23 for $38, and FFXVI for the Least Amount of Gil!
Let's kick off another week of savings by paying 65% less for FIFA 23. Not into sportsballin'? Other AAA pursuits have dropped as well. Stuff like Call of Duty MW2 being at a historical low, not to mention GTA V and RDR 2 slipping into the $20 range. They're all great companions to have if you want to burn through some school holiday hours. Or to come home and unwind with after yet another shift at the salt mines.
This Day in Gaming
- Wild Arms 5 (PS2) launch, 2008.
- Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC) launch, 2008.
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (PS3, WiiU, X360) launch, 2013.
Table of Contents
Nintendo Switch
PC
Xbox
PlayStation
LEGO
Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch
Back to top
Purchase Cheaply for PC
Back to top
Exciting Offers for...
Minecraft is a game that has been taking the world by storm for well over a decade now, yet it feels as though it has been a part of our lives and our gaming histories for as long as we can remember. With the new release of Minecraft Legends, the latest action strategy spinoff from Mojang, it’s worth taking a trip down memory lane to take a look at exactly where this industry-changing saga began. How did this sandbox game become one of the best-selling games of all time?
Who Created Minecraft?
Minecraft was initially created by Markus “Notch” Persson, a Swedish game programmer. Markus Persson had worked for King for over four years until 2009, when he began full-time development on Minecraft. His idea brewed from a game he was...
Some gaming gems get forgotten over time, some never get the chance to be discovered in the first place. Out of all of the games that instantly impressed me when I first played them and frustratingly faded into obscurity, Split/Second surely takes the pole position. Welcome to the third installment of my ongoing column, Forgotten Gems!
Black Rock Rocked
If you’ve never played Split/Second and you’re into arcade racers, know that it’s not too late. Largely forgotten -- or rather, unknown -- it may be, but it’s still easy to find and play (see bottom of this article). Split/Second was the brainchild of Black Rock Studio, a company formerly known as Pixel Planet, then Black Rock Studio, then Climax Brighton, then Climax Racing, then…...
“Greatness from Small Beginnings.” Engraved in Latin on the ring that hangs around the neck of series protagonist Nathan Drake, these four words have come to define Naughty Dog’s immensely popular Uncharted series. It’s a rather fitting catchphrase considering the franchise itself has grown significantly since its debut in 2008.
Whether it’s battling pirates in the depths of the Amazon Jungle or exploring hidden cities in the center of the Rub’ al Khali desert, Nathan Drake has had no shortage of daring adventures in the years following his PlayStation 3 debut. With so many entries in its universe, it’s easy to get lost deciphering Uncharted’s lengthy timeline. To help make sense of it, here’s a chronology of the full Uncharted game...
Sega is reportedly close to acquiring Angry Birds developer Rovio Entertainment for about $1 billion.
According to Wall Street Journal, the deal between Sega and Rovio Entertainment is expected to finish early next week, provided that discussions between the two companies don’t fall apart or prolong.
Neither Sega nor Rovio has made an official announcement yet. Rovio was previously in talks to be acquired by Israeli mobile company Playtika for $800 million, but those negotiations ended last month. Sega has acquired a few companies over the past few years, including Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment, Two Point Campus developer Two Point Studios, and most notably Persona developer Atlus.
There have been many...
Just before the upcoming dungeon crawler Dark and Darker was slated to launch a playtest, its team was served a cease and desist letter and a DMCA takedown in March. Now, development team Ironmace is going ahead with another playtest as originally scheduled, albeit via an interesting method.
Today, Ironmace began encouraging people to participate in Dark and Darker's playtest through torrents made available in a message in the game's Discord server. The playtest will be available until April 19.
"Rest assured that we are working around the clock to safeguard the continuance of Dark and Darker," the team's Discord message, which was reposted on Reddit, reads. "Unfortunately, due to the complexities of our situation, especially across...
While smartphones are getting better every day with computational photography and crazy telephoto lenses, dedicated cameras still produce images you just can get on your mobile device. Cameras give you so much more flexibility with your changing your focal length, bokeh, and tweak your exposure. Not to mention dedicated cameras are far more capable for shooting sports, landscapes, video, and almost anything you throw their way.
TL;DR - These are the Best Cameras:
Fujifilm X-T5
Sony A7 IV
Panasonic Lumix S5 II
GoPro Hero 11
DJI Mini 3 Pro
Fujifilm X-T5
Best Camera
See it on Best Buy
Sensor Size: APS-C) CMOS | Resolution: 40.2MP | Viewfinder: 3,690K Dot | Screen: 3” 1,084K Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD | Autofocus: 425-point...
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare 2 Season 3 is now out, and it introduces quite a few cosmetics and a new battle pass. However, a few of the update's paid cosmetics grant players advantages in Warzone's DMZ mode, and some fans aren't happy.
On April 12, Activision introduced a new cosmetic bundle to Warzone 2.0. In what Activision referred to as a "DMZ boost," the game's new $12 Bomb Squad bundle gives players a skin for Fender, a SAKIN MG38 LMG blueprint, an active duty slot, a sticker, and an emblem.
But, as PC Gamer pointed out, the boosts that this bundle provides in DMZ, the game's extraction mode, are quite valuable. Players who equip Fender's skin are given a medium backpack, and the LMG has a cooldown that's much...
The iconic personification of a bowl of soup, 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...
Blizzard is making a ton of changes to Diablo 4 based on feedback provided by players who participated in its two betas.
Combining this feedback with actual gameplay data allowed Blizzard to review and make changes to Diablo 4 in time for its official launch on June 6.
Minimizing backtracking
The first thing changing is dungeon layouts, with Blizzard saying one of the most common pieces of feedback it received was around backtracking within certain dungeons. Multiple dungeons have since been optimized to reduce this, including Caldera Gate, Defilied Catacombs, Derelict Lodge, Forbidden City, Hoarfrost Demise, Immortal Emanation, Kor Dragan Battacks, Maulwood, and Rimescar Caverns.
"Our primary goal with the layout changes was to...