Gaming News

CD Projekt Red Is Going to Put Hundreds of Developers on Cyberpunk: Orion

CD Projekt Red appears to be ramping up its development capabilities in a big way as it prepares for Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, codenamed Orion, as it looks to create a new studio and put hundreds of staff on the project. Speaking during an investors' call after announcing Orion alongside several Witcher games, CD Projekt Red CFO Piotr Nielubowicz said he expects 350 to 500 developers will be necessary to create the game. It's also creating a brand new, primarily Boston-based studio for Orion, which will combine with its current Vancouver office and be known as CD Projekt Red North America. Though talent from its Polish studios will also be assisting with the game (including Cyberpunk 2077's lead quest designer Paweł Sasko, who is...

View full article »

The Invincible Hands-On Preview: For The Love of Sci-Fi

The greatest compliment I can give the developers of The Invincible is that this feels like walking into the worlds imagined by mid-century sci-fi authors. Based on the novel The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem, I spent an hour with a development build of Starward Industries' upcoming sci-fi adventure and fell into a vibrant wonderland rife with adventure, danger, and discovery. I took control of Yasna, a crewmember from the ship Invincible trying to find out what happened to some prior explorers on a remote, desolate planet. I wandered through the branches of a mountain pass, finding dead, lost crewmates in narrow ravines and twisting passages. Her slow, plodding space-suited bootsteps and labored breathing as she climbed rocks and dealt...

View full article »

Disco Elysium: Ex-Developer Doesn't Think ZA/UM Will Make a Sequel

Martin Luiga, the ex-developer of Disco Elysium that brought attention to key figures being 'involuntarily' forced out of the studio, says he thinks it's unlikely that ZA/UM Studio will make a sequel to the modern classic RPG. Speaking to GamePressure, Luiga was somewhat cagey about the circumstances of the departures of Robert Kurvitz, Helen Hindpere and Aleksander Rostov, but said he doen't believe the remaining developers at the studio will make a Disco Elysium 2: "I think ZA/UM Studio in its current form will not be developing the sequel and I am unsure of the number of people that left in the company who also worked on the original Disco." ZA/UM's own response to the news did mention a new project in development, but pointedly...

View full article »

Exclusive: Need for Speed Unbound Has Finally Been Revealed, And It Looks Very Different

A new Need for Speed will be arriving on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC this December, featuring the return of Criterion as the lead developer for the first time in close to a decade. Titled Need for Speed Unbound, Criterion's long-awaited return to the racing scene will utilize new-gen consoles and the Frostbite Engine to deliver 4K 60fps visuals in a free-roaming open world called Lakeshore. The physics will run at a high frame-rate as well, offering "more control and nuance to...the physical movement of the cars," creative director Kieran Crimmins says. A trailer released Thursday offered fans their first look at the newly-revamped art style, which is meant to reflect the franchise's return to its street racing roots as...

View full article »

Moonbreaker Removes Controversial Feature a Week After Early Access Launch

The developers behind Moonbreaker have released an update that removes the Cargo Run Contracts system from the game, giving players unlimited access to the PvE mode. The update was announced in a post on Moonbreaker's Steam page, where the team extended their gratitude to the community for their support during the game's Early Access launch. They assured players that they were making adjustments to address some of the initial concerns that had been raised, specifically the use of Contracts to play Cargo Run. "While our intent was always for players to be able to earn enough Blanks during Cargo Run to continually unlock additional Contracts to play, we understand the community's collective frustration that this mode felt gated and...

View full article »

Five Nights At Freddy’s Movie Finds New Director, Starting Production in 2023

The upcoming Five Nights at Freddy’s movie has found a replacement director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming video game adaption has put Emma Tammi at the helm following the exit of Chris Columbus. Blumhouse, who is producing the horror thriller, has already tasked Jim Henson’s Creature Shop with bringing the beloved, yet creepy, animatronic horrors to the big screen. Blumhouse boss Jason Blum tweeted (below) to add that filming on the movie will begin in February 2023. Tammi is perhaps best known for directing her 2018 feature film debut, The Wind – a supernatural horror set within the 1800s Wild West. She replaces Chris Columbus, who took the job of directing Five Nights at Freddy’s back in 2018 before leaving...

View full article »

Genshin Impact Fans: Show Off Your Art and Win

In celebration of Genshin Impact Genesis Crystals and the Blessing of the Welkin Moon now being available for purchase on Codashop in the U.S., Coda Payments (“Coda”) and IGN are announcing the first-ever Codashop Fan Art Fest that will award talented artists a range of prizes, including one US$5,000 cash prize. Coda will be marking the Codashop Fan Art Fest kick-off with a Genshin Impact art gallery experience in New York City on October 8. Minutes from the Javits Center at Hudson Mercantile from 12:00-5:00 p.m., fans can enjoy specially-curated Genshin Impact art along with a special guest appearance by popular U.S.-based cosplayer Zekia (@aru.rinh). The Codashop Fan Art Fest is set to run from October 8th to the 20th, 2022, and...

View full article »

Metro Exodus Developers Pay Tribute to Colleague Killed in Action in Ukraine

Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind. Metro Exodus developers have paid tribute to Andrii Korzinkin, a colleague who was reportedly killed in action while fighting in the Ukraine war. As reported by PC Gamer, Andrii Korzinkin was an animator at Kyiv-based developer 4A Games before joining the Ukrainian army following the Russian invasion in February 2022. Former colleague Leonid Stepanov shared news of his death on Twitter (below), saying that Korzinkin died during a combat mission. "Andrii 'Nizrok' Korzinkin died while performing a combat mission in the...

View full article »

Hitman 3's Freelancer Mode Pushed to 2023, Roadmap Revealed

IO Interactive has delayed Hitman 3's roguelike Freelancer mode again, this time to January 26 next year. Announced in a dedicated blog post, the developer revealed a full roadmap for the long-awaited mode, which also includes further progress updates and a closed technical test that arrives in November. "We’ve decided to push beyond our original scope for launch and include almost all locations from the World of Assassination from day one," IO Interactive said in the post. "We’re continuing to work on making the launch experience as frictionless as possible for all players. We’ll have more to say about that in future Road to Freelancer posts." The closed technical test will allow select Hitman 3 players on Steam to play Freelancer...

View full article »

How a Plants vs. Zombies Game Died so a Star Wars Game Could Live (and Then Also Die)

In the second half of 2016, a small team of developers at PopCap Vancouver were gearing up for a presentation that would determine the future of their team, their project, and potentially an already-beloved franchise: Plants vs. Zombies. For the past year, they had been working on a brand new Plants vs. Zombies adventure that would take the series in a very different direction. Though they had EA’s blessing for their work to that point, it wasn’t a guarantee the project would ultimately see the light of day, especially given how ambitious it was. It was called Project Hot Tub, a humorous but vague reference to 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine. It was to be an action-adventure game with the ‘open corridor’ progression of an Uncharted...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: A Free Shadow of War, $17 Deathloop and Historic Lows on Elder Scrolls and Fallout!

.Let's get to the (literal) prime deal of the day. If you sign up for a free Amazon Prime account you can get access to 7 free games and the utterly superb Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Pro tip: Don’t forget to grab the high-res texture DLC and 4K Cinematics DLCs on GOG.com as well (also for nada). Until tomorrow, have an orcsome time. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGO Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Legit LEGO Bargains Great Deals From Yesterday...

View full article »

Cult of the Lamb Wins Big at the Australian Game Developer Awards

Hit roguelite dungeon crawler Cult of the Lamb has enjoyed a successful evening at the 2022 Australian Game Developer Awards overnight, winning Game of the Year, plus three additional awards for Excellence in Gameplay, Excellence in Music, and Excellence in Art. Developed by Melbourne-based independent studio Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital, Cult of the Lamb was released in early August 2022 and sold a million copies during its first week. IGN’s review called Cult of the Lamb “as adorable as it is unsettling” and noted its eclectic mix of genres and themes come together extremely well. “After experiencing our success overseas, it was an amazing feeling to see our game really resonate with Australians as well,” said...

View full article »

The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2: What We Think of CDPR’s Bold Roadmap – Unlocked 564

We kick off this week's show with our hands-on impressions of Gotham Knights. Then, we spend the bulk of the show discussing the 10-year roadmap released by CD Projekt Red – five Witcher games, a new Cyberpunk, and a new IP. Was it a good idea for them to be THIS transparent? What do we want out of new Cyberpunk and Witcher games? We talk about all that 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 recent interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase: For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review...

View full article »

Slime Rancher 2 Early Access Review

After dozens of hours dedicated to wrangling balls of living goop in developer Monomi Park’s previous life sim, it feels great to be back with Slime Rancher 2 – a sequel that retains all of the original’s stickiness (in more ways than one) and ridiculous charm. It may feel like more of a Slime Rancher 1.5 at its early access release, but its presentation is still a night-and-day improvement over the original, the new slimes and areas are wonderful and unique, and movement and exploration both feel much better. All those upgrades combine to create a satisfying and zen-like adventure that made me want to retire from the rat race of battle royales and action games to settle down on a sticky pasture and live a simple life among the slimes...

View full article »

Overwatch 2: Blizzard Scrapping a Phone Number Requirement for 'Majority' of Players

After negative feedback, Blizzard is scrapping Overwatch 2's requirement for a non-prepaid phone for most players. The change should come into effect this Friday, October 7. In a forum post, Blizzard community manager Jodie wrote: "We designed Overwatch 2 to be a live service, which enables us to be responsive to a variety of player feedback. We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players. Any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021, will not have to provide a phone number to play. We are working to make this change and expect it to go live on Friday, October 7. We will update players once it is in...

View full article »

Best 2-in-1 Laptops 2022

Not long ago, touchscreen laptops were considered pretty out of place. But a lot has changed over the last few years, specifically because Microsoft has made vast improvements to Windows to improve the overall touchscreen experience. Before it was just using your finger to scroll through a long web page, which wasn’t a real benefit. Now, thanks to the combination of a touch-friendly interface and stylus support throughout Windows 11 and in apps, 2-in-1 laptops are becoming more common – and more attractive. The 2-in-1 idea is simple; it’s a laptop with a touchscreen that either detaches or rotates 360-degrees, morphing the device into a faux-tablet. In theory, this gives you the best of both worlds; a laptop and a tablet in a single...

View full article »

Bayonetta Voice Actress Replaced By Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale

Bayonetta voice actress Hellena Taylor won’t be returning for Bayonetta 3. A statement from PlatinumGames to Game Informer (via Nintendo Everything) has confirmed that Taylor, who voiced Bayonetta in the first two games, won’t be back. “Various overlapping circumstances made it difficult for Hellena Taylor to reprise her role,” they confirmed. “We held auditions to cast the new voice of Bayonetta and offered the role to Jennifer Hale, whom we felt was a good match for the character.” Hale is perhaps best known as the female voice of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series, as well as voicing Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime series. “I understand the concerns some fans have about the voice change at this point in the series...

View full article »

Supercomputer Simulations Just Gave Us a New Explanation for How the Moon Was Created

The Moon may have formed almost immediately following a devastating impact between Earth and a Mars-sized world in the ancient past, according to the results of a new supercomputer study. Earth’s moon is a silent witness to the history of our entire species. Its gravitational influence is responsible for the tides, and its simple presence in the night sky has profoundly influenced humanity’s cultural development. Yet despite its ever present nature, the scientific community have yet to come to a consensus on how exactly Earth’s largest natural satellite came to form. It is widely agreed that the Moon was created when a roughly Mars-sized solar system body — which has been dubbed Theia — collided with Earth roughly 4.5 billion years...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: $350 off an Assassin's Creed Mega Bundle, Cheap Joy-Cons, Discounted Consoles and More!

I've got quite the eclectic list of bargains for you today. Let's highlight some of the better ones. Now is the time to think about replacing any drift-happy Joy-cons or to scoop up 7 free* games with an Amazon Prime membership. It's also a fine day to be leaping into a bunch of Assassin's Creed bundles. You might also want to acquire the all-time Fallout 4 GOTY and give Monster Hunter 2 a shot. All those tasty deals and more await you sub-level... Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation LEGO Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Product...

View full article »

Hermen Hulst Talks PlayStation's Future: More Live Service, More PC, More New Franchises

For a while now, the PlayStation brand has been evolving. No longer simply meaning the console that sits under your television, the word "PlayStation" now applies to movies, television shows, or even the brand's console exclusive games appearing on PC. Now, speaking to a handful of media outlets, Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst has outlined a bit more of what's in store for PlayStation's expanding future. One clear pillar of PlayStation's business strategy moving forward is live service games, as previously proven by Sony's $3.7 billion acquisition of Bungie. According to Hulst, Bungie's role in the PlayStation family will partially be to serve as an example of how to handle the live service model. “I've been a long-time...

View full article »

Company of Heroes 3 Delayed to 2023

Sega and Relic Games have announced that Company of Heroes 3 is being delayed to February 23, 2023. “As we approach the November 17th launch for Company of Heroes 3, our team has decided the game is not quite up to our players’ or our own high standards. There are still bugs to squash, pixels to polish, gameplay to adjust, and feedback to address,” the development team explained on Twitter. They continued, “As a result, we’ve decided to move the launch date to February 23, 2023. While we know many of you are itching to get your hands on the game, we believe this to be the best decision for CoH3, our players, and our studio. This provides our hard-working team and partners with the necessary time to deliver CoH3 in a better overall...

View full article »

Overwatch 2 Under DDOS Attack on Launch Day

If you're struggling to find a match in Overwatch 2, Blizzard shared that it is currently under a mass distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, preventing successful matchmaking. Blizzard president Mike Ybarra shared that the Overwatch 2 servers are under a mass DDoS attack and that the teams are working to mitigate the damage. It's unclear how long it will take for the servers to be fully functioning, but it is marring the launch of Overwatch 2 which Blizzard has been planning for months. Social media is full of players sharing their failed matchmaking attempts and extended queues, which are partially related to the DDoS attack. According to the Overwatch 2 official issues page, players on both PC and consoles are...

View full article »

Dead Space: Here's What Comes in Each Edition

A top-to-bottom remake of Dead Space is set to release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on January 27, 2023. It finds the engineer Isaac Clarke among the last survivors of a deep space catastrophe. The game is available to preorder now in several editions and from a variety of retailers (see it at Amazon). Read on to find out what comes in each edition, how much it costs, and more. Preorder Dead Space Physical Version PS5 Get it on Amazon - $69.99 Xbox Series X Get it on Amazon - $69.99 Digital Version Get it for PS5 - $69.99 Get it for Xbox Series X|S - $69.99 Get it for PC - $59.99 The standard edition just comes with the game itself, but that’s all you really need. Dead Space Digital Deluxe Edition Get it for PS5 -...

View full article »

Forever Skies Hands-On Preview: A Toxic But Relaxing Flight

Soaring above the clouds in an airplane – or, if you’re extra adventurous, a hot air balloon – is often a joy for anyone inclined toward the excitement of travel. You get to see the world from up above, and not to mention, airline food isn’t always half-bad. Now imagine the very same experience, but the world is absolutely and utterly destroyed. Welcome to Earth in the future: a total garbage pile where the sky is bright green and poisonous. Oh, and don’t forget the brutal thunderstorms and the ravenous roving swarms of giant moths. And that’s saying absolutely nothing about what lives beneath the giant dust storm blanketing the Earth’s lower atmosphere. It all seems so interesting that I can’t help but wonder – and fear – what I might...

View full article »

Ravenbound Mixes Open-World Action with Roguelike Punishment to Satisfying Effect

In the sea of roguelites at our fingertips today, it’s pretty easy to get lost among the procedural tides. Luckily, Ravenbound seems to have found a unique and ambitious take on the genre with an open-world action-adventure that’s filled with clashing blades, incredibly nasty bosses, and, of course, birds – because if I can’t turn into a bird and back into a human at-will, what even is the point? The massive map filled with optional random encounters to tackle and loot to claim is a gimmick that helped break up some of the more familiar roguelite elements, like repeatedly confronting bosses and steadily unlocking upgrades after each attempt. After several hours running around the massive, Scandinavian fantasy-inspired world and getting...

View full article »

Valkyrie Elysium Review

Reviving a much-loved series can be a gamble. Stick too close to the original, and the project can feel like a retread. On the other hand, reinventing it completely can alienate stalwart supporters. Over a decade after the last chapter of Square Enix’s Norse-themed JRPG series, Valkyrie Elysium departs from its predecessors’ turn-based roots in favor of a new action-heavy, hack-and-slash direction. In that transition, Elysium has established a fun and flashy combat system but sacrifices part of what made the original PlayStation game memorable: a focus on the characters and worldbuilding. In many ways, Valkyrie Elysium feels like a Square Enix take on Falcom’s Ys RPG series rather than a return to Valkyrie Profile’s original...

View full article »

Dead Space Remake Shows Off Its First Gameplay

EA Motive has unveiled a new trailer for its Dead Space remake, teasing some of the nightmarish horrors that await players in the sci-fi survival horror game. The terrifying teaser follows Dead Space protagonist Isaac Clarke as he navigates the eerie, echoing corridors and workspaces aboard the mining ship, USG Ishimura, where something has gone horribly wrong. He is shown sidling around the vessel to investigate the situation while fighting off any Necromorphs that come into his seemingly treacherous path. The game features a new damage system called peeling, which actually allows players to shoot the flesh off of Necromorphs. It's a grotesque visual treat that also serves as a sort of diegetic health bar for enemies, much like...

View full article »

High on Life: 12 Minutes of Zephyr Paradise Gameplay – IGN First

Our October IGN First "cover story" is with High on Life, the upcoming Xbox and PC comedy first-person shooter from Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and his Squanch Games development studio. To kick things off, we sat down with executive producer Matty Studivan and chief design officer Erich Meyr and roamed around the previously unseen Zephyr Paradise biome. We discussed Roiland's comedic influence and how there's so much funny dialogue in the game that not even Matty and Erich have heard it all, the unique talking guns and their abilities, and much more. Take a look in the video above, and check out some screenshots in the gallery below. We'll have exclusive coverage of High on Life all month long through IGN First, including...

View full article »

Tattoo Artist Wins Court Case Over WWE 2K Reproducing Their Work In-Game

The tattoo artist who designed wrestler Randy Orton's tattoos has won a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive for recreating her artwork in the WWE 2K video games. As reported by Reuters, tattoo artist Catherine Alexander received $3,750 in damages after her designs being used without her permission in WWE 2K16, 2K17, and 2K18. WWE and Take-Two had claimed the artwork was recreated in fair use but a jury voted in favour of Alexander, whose lawyer said the verdict set an important precedent in protecting tattoo artists' copyrights. Orton features as a playable character in WWE 2K meaning his entire likeness has been recreated in-game. This includes body art designed by Alexander - tribal tattoos, skulls, a bible verse, and a dove and...

View full article »

Bloober Team's The Medium Is Becoming a TV Show

The Medium is heading to TV as a new psychological horror series. A statement from developer Bloober Team has confirmed that its 2021 horror game The Medium is being adapted for TV, in a partnership with Platige Image. “Both the film industry and the video game industry are close to my heart,” said Bloober Team president, Piotr Babieno. “I am very happy that there is finally an opportunity to bring them both together… The story we told in the game was appreciated by players, and now more people will be able to hear about it.” Oscar-nominated Polish director Tomasz Bagiński will act as creative supervisor for this project. “Connecting the world of movies and games is a huge, but also fascinating challenge,” said Bagiński. “I am glad...

View full article »