Gaming News

Grand Theft Auto 5 Loads Over Twice as Fast on PS5 Than PS4

One of the key features of the new-gen consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is the faster loading times, and this key benefit is coming to Grand Theft Auto 5 when it’s re-released on the newest systems. According to tests we ran here at IGN, Grand Theft Auto 5 loads lightning fast on the PlayStation 5, especially compared to the PlayStation 4 version. Replay Mission take around 5 seconds to load, nearly 75% faster than on the PS4. Particularly striking is how fast autosaves load on the PS5 versus the PS4. On Sony’s newest console, GTA 5 loads save files at around 20 seconds while it takes over two minutes to load the same file on PS4. Check out the load time comparison below for the full results of our tests. Alongside...

View full article »

Intel Will Soon Reveal Its New Line Of Arc Laptop GPUs

Intel announced today that it will be hosting a digital broadcast later this month focusing on its first-generation Arc series graphics cards. The broadcast will air on Wednesday, March 30 at 8am PT / 11am ET and will provide viewers with a "first look" at Intel's new discrete graphics for laptops. While the company has announced intentions to release its Arc GPUs in laptops, desktops, and workstations, the company's upcoming broadcast will focus solely on the laptops. Earlier this year, the company announced that its Arc series would arrive first on laptops with a Q1 release window, with the Arc series arriving on desktops and workstations to follow in Q2 and Q3, respectively. Intel, which has previously been known for its laptop...

View full article »

Matrix Reloaded's Iconic Agent Smith Battle Recreated In Sifu

While we won't be getting a brand new Matrix video game any time soon, you'll be able to feel like you are playing one. A fan-made mod for Sifu has appeared online, where players can fight as Neo from The Matrix Reloaded. Over at Nexus Mods, a user named Halfmillz has created a skin mod that replaces the player with Mr. Anderson, otherwise known as Neo, from The Matrix Reloaded. In this mod, Neo is wearing The One's famous outfit, complete with realistic cloth physics. This particular mod replaces the male player character. Additionally, the mod pack also reskins all enemies to look like the Matrix franchise's main antagonist, Agent Smith. There is also a shade mod that makes the game have the signature Matrix green hue, as well as...

View full article »

Why Games and Entertainment Companies Are Pulling Support in Russia

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been almost universally condemned by the international community. Sanctions from around the world mount by the day, the Kremlin's financial system has been utterly ostracized by global financial institutions, and the Biden administration recently unveiled a fresh, axis-tipping embargo on Russian energy imports. These are unprecedented efforts, and they haven't been limited to the crucible of Capitol Hill. In fact, video game and entertainment companies, many of which often remain apolitical in their messaging, have either halted sales or service in Russia or made changes to their offerings around the world. Microsoft has suspended all new sales of products and services in Russia in accordance with the...

View full article »

ID@Xbox and /twitchgaming Indie Showcase March 2022: How to Watch and What to Expect

Microsoft and Twitch are once again teaming up for a new ID@Xbox Showcase with /twitchgaming that looks to highlight some of the most exciting indie games from developers all around the world. From Tunic to Trek to Yomi to other surprises, there should be plenty to look forward to. IGN is carrying the stream and as usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the show, including when it starts, a list of places you can watch it with us, and what you can expect to see at the show. ID@Xbox and /twitchgaming Indie Showcase March 2022 Date and Start Time The newest ID@Xbox Showcase with /twitchgaming will take place on March 16, 2022. The stream is scheduled to start at 10am PT/1pm ET/5pm GMT. If...

View full article »

New Sonic 2 Movie Poster Is a Tribute To the Classic Boxart

Whether because of its simple but iconic style, or because it marked the moment that Sonic the Hedgehog truly exploded in popularity, Sonic 2's original boxart remains lodged in gaming's collective consciousness even today, 30 years after its original release. Apparently aware of this, the upcoming Sonic 2 movie has released yet another poster, this one aimed at squarely at fans who still have fond memories of the beloved sequel. Voice actor Ben Schwartz, who will reprise his role as Sonic in the upcoming film, shared the new poster on Twitter. The poster is a clear homage to the original boxart, with Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik grinning over a giant number denoting the sequel. The tagline — "Welcome to the Next Level" — is a...

View full article »

Infamous Dark Souls Hacker Is Now in Elden Ring, Says He Wants to Be Caught

An infamous hacker is invading Elden Ring players and soft-banning them for sport. Malcolm Reynolds, who's been hacking FromSoftware games since Dark Souls 3, invades worlds before killing players with hacked, practically undefeatable spells. The overwhelming power isn't the issue though. As Kotaku reports, these spells also add "illegal" items into the defending player's inventory that were only intended to be used in the development process. When the defeated player comes back to life, Elden Ring detects they have these illegal items and soft-bans them, meaning they can only play online with other cheaters going forward. Reynolds said he's forcing players into digital exile to make a point to FromSoftware. Telling Kotaku that he...

View full article »

Arcane: League of Legends Creator Buys a Stake in Animation Studio

Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends, has bought a "significant, non-controlling stake" in the animation studio behind Netflix's Arcane. Riot Games has strengthened its longtime partnership with Fortiche Production, the studio handling animation duties for Arcane, through a new equity investment that will see the League of Legends developer and publisher taking a "non-controlling stake and board advisory role" in the company, following a recent collaboration on the hit Netflix series. Under the terms of the investment, which closed earlier this year, the board advisory roles at Fortiche will be headed up by Riot's Director of Corporate Development, Brendan Mulligan, and Riot's Chief Content Officer, Brian Wright. Wright is a...

View full article »

System Shock Co-Creator's Studio Definitely Won't Be Working on System Shock 3

Despite speculation, System Shock co-creator Warren Spector – and his studio Otherside Entertainment – hasn't been working on System Shock 3 since 2019. While Otherside announced that the long-awaited sequel's development had transferred over to Tencent in 2020, it was unclear at the time whether Otherside would remain involved in the project in some respect. However, speaking to GamesBeat, Spector confirmed that Otherside is totally divorced from the project and Tencent is now its only developer."There’s not much more to say at this point," he said. "Tencent is taking the franchise forward. It’ll be up to them to say what they want to say. There’s not much clarification I can give you." Spector made clear that Otherside only...

View full article »

Hogwarts Legacy Will Get a State of Play Broadcast This Week

Hogwarts Legacy, the upcoming open world game set in the world of Harry Potter, will get a PlayStation State of Play broadcast this Thursday, March 17. The broadcast will include "an extended first look at gameplay", and begins at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 9pm UK (that's March 18 at 8am AEDT). It will be shown on PLayStation's Twitch and YouTube channels. The show will run for around 20 minutes, 14 minutes of which will be made up of gameplay captured on PS5. The rest of the show will be made up of "insight from a few members of the team at Avalanche Software who are bringing the Wizarding World to life." After being leaked in 2018 and announced in 2020, the game was delayed to 2022. Since that delay, we've heard very little...

View full article »

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn Announced

Publisher Kepler Interactive and A44, the developers of the well-received 2018 action-RPG Ashen, have announced their next project: Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. It is an open-world action-RPG due out later this year for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (on both Steam and Epic Games Store). It will launch straight into Xbox Game Pass as well. You'll combine guns and magic in Flintlock's combat, along with an AI-controlled magic-canine companion (who you can get a look at in the cinematic reveal trailer at the top of this page), in order to vanquish the undead hordes that threaten humanity. As A44 describes the story, "The door to the Afterlife has been opened, allowing the old god’s army of the undead to escape from...

View full article »

Ghostwire: Tokyo - The Final Preview

When there’s something strange in the Shibuya neighborhood, who you gonna call? Nope, not those guys. I’m talking about Akito and his supernatural sidekick KK, the superpowered ghostbusting buddies that share the same body like Eddie Brock and a considerably less hostile version of Venom. I recently had hands-on with the first four hours of Ghostwire: Tokyo, in which I got to step into Akito’s shoes and explore a large chunk of its Tokyo-inspired open world, sniff out several spooky side missions, and indulge in numerous showdowns with its malevolent mobs of spectral assailants. It was an eerie and consistently engaging outing, and one that left me intrigued as to what other surprises lie waiting in its rain-slicked city streets. If...

View full article »

Elden Ring: George R.R. Martin Seemingly Hid His Initials In Plain Sight

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin appears to have hidden his initials across Elden Ring's world, by way of many of its characters. The game's opening cutscene introduces one of Elden Ring's gods, Queen Marika, and players eventually meet her various relatives and offspring. Spoiler warning: This story going forward contains several names and relationships of Elden Ring characters from deep into the game. But the main four, as noted by PC Gamer, are Godfrey, Rennala, Radagon, and Marika. Their initials combine into G.R.R.M, not unlike George Raymond Richard Martin. In fact, all of Elden Ring's gods and demigods have names beginning with these three letters: Godfrey, Godwyn, Godrick, Rennala, Radagon, Radahn, Rykard, Ranni...

View full article »

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Review

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin asks and answers the question of what the world of the first Final Fantasy, which came out in 1987, might look like in 2022 if it were reimagined with a modern action combat style. Its overly complex story and one-dimensional NPCs don't pay off until the final hours, but the freedom available in its challenging combat and extensive character customization is consistently rewarding from the start until – and after – the credits roll. It's a love letter to its own source material, filled with references and homages to the series’ history that seem designed to give fans of any Final Fantasy something to enjoy. Like the show Lost and other stories that revolve around some grand mystery, Stranger...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: A Bunch of $49 AAA Switch Titles, An Unmissable RPG Sale and More!

If you've been waiting for cheap Nintendo games, Amazon has flicked the Switch switch this morning. It's also time to clean up on a surprisingly large array of RPG titles (hardcore and games with "lite" sprinklings of) via Humble. All these deals await you sub-level. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s our Aussie deals wrangler. You can watch him game on YouTube. Continue reading...

View full article »

Perfect Dark Game Director Dan Neuburger Seemingly Leaves The Initiative

Perfect Dark game director Dan Neuburger has seemingly left The Initiative after working with the company for nearly four years. As reported by VGC, ResetERA user Klobrille noticed the change on Neuburger's LinkedIn profile that shows February 2022 was his last month at The Initiative. Furthermore, his profile page says that he is "open to work" immediately and is looking for a position as a game director, creative director, or design director. Neuburger had worked at Tomb Raider's Crystal Dynamics for over 12 years before his time with The Initiative - the same studio that has teamed up with The Initiative to help finish development on the reboot of Perfect Dark. This isn't the first high-level departure from The Initiative, as...

View full article »

EA, Gearbox, and Microsoft Sign Open Letter Opposing Texas' Anti-Trans Bill

Following Texas Governor Greg Abbott's order in February 2022 that called for child protective services to investigate families of transgender children who were receiving gender-affirming healthcare for child abuse, 65 companies have signed a letter asking for Abbot to abandon these anti-LGBTQ+ efforts. As reported by Kotaku, these 65 companies - a list that includes Electronic Arts, Gearbox Entertainment, and Microsoft - signed the letter that was organized by the LGBTQ+ organization the Human Rights Campaign and was posted in the Friday edition of the Dallas Morning News as a full-page advertisement. The ad copy was shared by Rebecca Marques, the Texas director of HRC, on Twitter. "Our companies do business, create jobs, and...

View full article »

Video Game Accessibility Awards 2021 - All the Winners

The second annual Video Game Accessibility Awards have arrived and they have honored the games that have gone above and beyond to push forward the bar of accessibility by making their games available to so many more. The winners were announced in a livestream hosted by Accessibility Awards co-creators Steven Spohn and Alanah Pearce. IGN alum Alanah Pearce is a writer at Sony Santa Monica and Steven Spohn is a Senior Director at AbleGamers, and the awards show was founded in partnership with AbleGames to highlight these games doing incredible work in the field of accessibility. The judging panel is made up entirely of disabled gamers and the categories are based on accessibility guidelines that AbleGamers created as tools for game...

View full article »

Aquamarine Is a Mysterious, Aquatic Adventure for 70s Sci-Fi Lovers

You know that feeling of finding an old, yellowing sci-fi novel from the 70s at a used bookstore, with some once-bright planet on the cover alongside a weird, alien creature? If you love that vibe, you might be interested in climbing into the spherical, seafaring pod of Aquamarine to check out its mysterious, dream-like planet. Aquamarine is a beautiful, turn-based adventure about a spacefaring woman who crash lands on an aquatic world. She must survive by studying and coexisting with the local ecosystem, and eventually find a way home. It's slow paced; everything you do is turn-based, with movements consuming the fuel of your survival pod and your own energy as you search for more resources and your crashed ship. In between, you'll...

View full article »

Star Wars' Sith Inquisitors Explained: Who Are the Villains of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Series?

The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series may feature the grand return of Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader, but he's far from the only villain headlining the latest live-action Star Wars project. Obi-Wan is also butting heads with the Sith Inquisitorius, Vader's elite, Jedi-hunting assassins. The series will feature multiple Inquisitors who originally appeared in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, along with brand new villains like Moses Ingram's Reva. If you haven't watched Rebels or played Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you may be unfamiliar with the Inquisitors and how they fit into this particular era of the Star Wars timeline. But fear not. We're here to break down everything you need to know about the Inquisitors and the role they'll...

View full article »

Dead Space Remake: Isaac's Dialogue Will Change Based on How Tired He Is

EA Motive has just completed another developer update for the upcoming remake of Dead Space. Aside from showing off some new early footage, the latest developer livestream focused a lot on the audio improvements, including how Isaac's dialogue can vary depending on how tired he is. During today's livestream, the developers announced a new system titled "A.L.I.V.E.," which E.A. Motive says will encompass "all components of Isaac's breathing and heart rate, vocal excursions, and dialogue influenced by a variety of driving gameplay features." While elaborating further on A.L.I.V.E., the studio broke down what each letter in the acronym stood for: Adrenaline, Limbic System Response, Intelligent Dialog, Vitals, and Exertions. While each...

View full article »

Dead Space Remake Is Targeting Early 2023 Release Date

The Dead Space Remake is coming along, and according to the developers, the team is now targeting an early 2023 release window for its ambitious survival horror game. Following the latest developer update which did a deep dive into the realistic audio systems in Dead Space Remake, the developers announced that they are targeting an early 2023 release window for the remake. “We want to make sure that we are in a place where the game we’re going to deliver is going to be building upon the expectations of fans,” the developers said in today’s stream. “So right now, we’ll say early next year. We have a date in mind and we want to make sure that everything converges for this.” Motive says the team is just a couple of weeks away from...

View full article »

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for March 11

The shady pasta-faced trader, 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 can be found at Winding...

View full article »

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Downloaded 20 Million Times

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel has been downloaded more than 20 million times barely two months after its release on January 18. In a tweet, noticed by Nintendo Everything, Konami Europe announced that the virtual card game simulator had hit the impressive milestone, doubling the ten million downloads it achieved on February 7. Konami is giving away 1,000 free gems to players in celebration of the achievement. Gems are the game's main currency and are used to buy new packs, decks, and accessories. The 20 million downloads is spread across all of Master Duel's platforms, including PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Master Duel is the most extensive and accurate representation of the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game...

View full article »

Elden Ring Has Had a Huge Launch in the US

Elden Ring is officially the United States' best-selling game of 2022 so far, with a huge launch according to the latest NPD data. FromSoftware's latest is the second best launch of the last twelve months, falling short of only Call of Duty: Vanguard. That means its sales in February performed better than Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, and the other best games of 2021. Elden Ring is also already the fifth best selling game of the past twelve months, despite only being released two weeks ago on February 25. PlayStation players still favoured their latest exclusive, Horizon: Forbidden West, as Elden Ring placed second on Sony consoles. It still secured the top spot on Xbox, however, and on Steam, where it grew in popularity day by...

View full article »

Ewan McGregor Says There's Now a 'Wave of Positivity' About the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor thinks opinions of the Star Wars prequels have shifted, and admitted that the original reception to the movies was hard for him to take at the time. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 50-year-old Star Wars actor explained that he sees a new “Wave of positivity” when it comes to the prequel trilogy. “Now I meet the people who we made those films for, who were the kids of the time, he said. “And our Star Wars films are their Star Wars films. In the way that Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford's films were ours, we're theirs. And that's beautiful that they were important to the kids who we made them for. It's just so nice to finally get that wave of...

View full article »

Elite Dangerous Ends Development on Consoles

Elite Dangerous on console won't receive any new content, including the Odyssey expansion, as developer Frontier Developments has chosen to focus on improving the PC version. Frontier CEO and founder David Braben announced in a blog post that console versions will now only receive "critical updates" following a "less than ideal" launch of the major Odyssey update on PC last May. Odyssey was set to be a major step forward for Elite Dangerous but soon gained a "mostly negative" rating on Steam after thousands of players reported performance issues, problems with the UI, and several other bugs and game-breaking glitches. The game has received a number of major updates to fix the issues on PC, but Braben said there was still a lot of...

View full article »

Call of Duty: Warzone Is Officially Coming to Mobile

Activision is developing a brand new, AAA mobile version of Call of Duty: Warzone. In a blog post on the Call of Duty website, the company encouraged developers to join its in-house team to build a version of Warzone from the ground up for mobile. As the game isn't just a straight port and Activision is still hiring developers to make it, Warzone on mobile likely won't release for a while yet. When it does arrive, however, Activision promises it will "bring the thrilling, fluid, and large-scale action of Call of Duty: Warzone to players on the go. "This large-scale, battle royale experience is being built natively for mobile with cutting-edge technology designed to entertain gamers around the world for many years to come." It's...

View full article »

IGN UK Podcast #635: More Decent Chat

Spring has arrived and so have Cardy, Matt, and Dale. This week is a little bit of a mish-mash of Overwatch 2 news, WWE 2K22, the Kirby demo, and yes, more Elden Ring. Plus, right at the end, we have a spoiler-filled Batman discussion for anyone who’s seen it. A twist on a familiar Endless Search game makes an appearance as well as your feedback. Want to get in touch to talk about things you’ve eaten that you shouldn’t have or maybe even video games? Feel free to send us an email at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #635: More Decent Chat IGN UK Podcast #634: The Batman, Elden Ring, and Sausages IGN UK Podcast #633: Elden Ring and Building Our Dream Open World Games IGN UK Podcast #632: I Ain't No Rollerback Girl IGN UK...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: A Great Thrustmaster Wheel Deal, Reduced Switch OLEDs & Lites, Plus More!

Thank your own personal God—possibly Hades—it's Friday! Firstly, today is all about the obvious stuff you ought to buy—no brainers, like Elden Ring, Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West. I'm also including personal picks in the form of the still brilliant Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV, Disney's Lion King, Planescape Torment and BioShock. Consider them all to be your Gaming History Homework for the weekend. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam’s our Aussie deals wrangler. You can watch him game on YouTube. Continue reading...

View full article »