Gaming News

Kingdom Hearts Switch Cloud Versions Coming in February

Square Enix has announced that the Switch versions of the Kingdom Hearts games will be released this February. The cloud-based games can be purchased individually, or as part of a bundle priced at $89.99. The trio of Kingdom Hearts games will be available from February 10. The first is a dual pack of the first two games, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, priced at $39.99. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue comes in at $49.99, and Kingdom Hearts 3 + Re Mind DLC is also $49.99. The entire collection can be bought as part of the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece, priced $89.99. Pre-orders are currently subject to a 20% discount, so you can currently grab the full series for $71.99 from the Nintendo store. If you’re unsure...

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God of War Has Passed Horizon Zero Dawn and Is Now Sony's Biggest PC Launch

God of War on PC is off to a strong start and has passed Horizon Zero Dawn to become Sony's biggest launch on the platform with an all-time peak of 73,529 players so far, The stats were revealed by SteamDB, a site that tracks Steam's data, and it revealed God of War reached that number on January 15 - one day after the once-PlayStation exclusive arrived on PC. Furthermore, God of War was the best-selling game for the past week that ended on January 16, and it held off Monster Hunter Rise, Ready or Not, Elden Ring (pre-order), and more. Prior to God of War's arrival on PC, Horizon Zero Dawn had the highest all-time peak for a Sony first-party game at 56,557 players. Days Gone, Sony's second first-party release on PC, topped out at...

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Aussie Deals: Sizeably Reduced OLED Switches, Shredded Riders Republics and More!

As I've said many times before, the power of escapism in video games is invaluable during times like these. For example, you could forget your worries by booking an advance ticket to go enslaving Sinnoh region critters in Pokémon Legends Arceus. Alternatively, you could go bomb the virtual outdoors as a gnar-seeker in Riders Republic. Or maybe you could just take your mind off things by grabbing a Steam deal like ... oh. Purchase Cheaply for PC Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch 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...

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Ubisoft Developing a Firefighting Game About the Notre-Dame Blaze

Ubisoft has partnered with Pathé to develop Notre-Dame on Fire, a location-based VR escape game based on Jean-Jacques Annaud's docudrama of the same name that will put players in the shoes of the Parisian fire brigade as they try to save the world-famous cathedral from the fire that broke out in 2019. As reported by Variety, this one-hour experience will take players through the events of April 15, 2019, when flames nearly destroyed Notre-Dame. Ubisoft is no stranger to working with the cathedral, as a detailed model of it appears in Assassin's Creed Unity and in its short immersive VR experience Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time. During the production of Annaud's Notre-Dame on Fire film, he reached out to Ubisoft to help...

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Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Multiplayer Has Been Broken on PC for a Long Time, But 'It Will Be Fixed'

In October, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 players began mass-reporting an issue that made entire lobbies of characters unkillable. By December, the problem was widespread enough that many declared the game unplayable. Now, a community manager from developer DICE has promised fans "it will be fixed." The issue appears to affect multiple Battlefront 2 multiplayer modes on PC only, and sees full matches of players rendered unable to be reduced below 1HP - effectively making games pointless, ending only after a timeout or, more likely, after every player quits. The problem has seemingly persisted for months, and has potentially gotten worse over time. An EA Forums post made on October 19, 2021 titled "Nobody can die" has since garnered 1,497...

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Aussie Deals: Horizon Forbidden West for $79 and Last-Gen Must-Owns for Over 70% Off!

Start your week by dino-sorting yourself out with the cheapest price yet for Horizon Forbidden West. Alternatively, if you're a connoisseur who knows how to appreciate games of an older vintage, scoop up the discounts on the "bestest" editions of RDR 2 and Doom Eternal. 2018's Red Dead still looks and plays phenomenal, and Doom is...well, eternal. 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...

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Awesome Games Gone Quick 2022 Sets a New Record By Raising Over $3.4 Million for Charity

Awesome Games Done Quick, the video game speedrunning marathon that raises money for charity, has set a new record for a single Games Done Quick event by raising over $3.4 million. Games Done Quick shared the news on Twitter following the week-long 24-hour AGDQ 2022, confirming the event had raised a total of $3,416,729 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and "is officially the most we've ever raised in the history of @GamesDoneQuick - ANOTHER WR." Additionally, AGDQ 2022 reached the first $1 million in donations in the shortest amount of time in Games Done Quick history. Throughout the event, which ran on Twitch from January 9-16, speedrunners from around the world showed off their incredible skills for a good cause. There were even...

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Halo Infinite Developer 343 Industries Is 'Focused on Reducing Pricing' for In-Game Items

343 Industries has confirmed that it is gearing up to make some changes to Halo Infinite's in-game store, including reducing prices, improving bundles, putting individual items outside of certain bundles, and much more. 343's Head of Design Jerry Hook shared the news on Twitter, saying that the team is going to begin implementing these changes on Tuesday, January 18, and they will continue to monitor and try new things throughout the remainder of Halo Infinite mutliplayer's first season. "We’ve been monitoring the discussions on the Shop, bundles, and pricing closely since launch," Hook wrote. "Using data and community feedback, we’re going to begin rolling out changes to how we package and price items in @Halo Infinite – and it all...

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Several PlayStation Studios Asked to Put Their Games on PC, God of War Director Says

Following the launch of God of War on PC, Sony Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog has revealed that many PlayStation studios feel that having their games on PC is "a really good idea." Speaking to Game Informer, Barlog - who served as game director on 2018's God of War - was asked what insight he may have into Sony's decision to put a greater focus on porting some of its biggest exclusives to PC. "I think it was the collective of studios all over saying this is a really good idea," Barlog said. "We should be looking into this. Eventually, I think it reached that tipping point. When we had sent so many suggestion box suggestions that they were like, 'I’m tired of hearing all this. Fine, we’ll do this.' It’s a process. We’re...

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Pupperazzi's Adorable Dogs Will Follow You Until You Love Them

If you're feeling bummed out at the general state of the world going into 2022 and need a pick-me-up, here's an idea for you: how about taking a bunch of photos of cute dogs? Specifically, the dogs in Pupperazzi, the latest game from indie studio Sundae Month. It is for the most part, per lead developer Isobel Shasha, what it says on the tin. "It's a game where you're taking pictures of dogs, and I think people might really connect with that." Popping into Pupperazzi myself the other day, I find that Shasha is exactly right. I emerge in front of a beach shack where a chill pup named Sea Dog instructs me on how to use my camera and demands a photo of himself, before unleashing me on a dog-covered beach to take photos to my heart's...

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Far Cry 6: Control DLC Review

I never really considered Far Cry a series that was ripe for the roguelite treatment, and Far Cry 6’s Control DLC doesn’t do much to convince me otherwise. This looping gauntlet provides an interesting exploration of one of its more complex villains, Far Cry 4’s pink-suited Pagan Min, but Control’s small-scale open world doesn’t deliver the same free-form fun as the base game (or even other expansions from Far Crys past). The concept will be familiar to anyone who’s seen Inception, Dreamscape, or really any even mildly sci-fi-adjacent TV show or movie in recent memory – you take control of Pagan while trapped in a prison of his own mind and must complete a series of trials to help restore his "sanity" (or, perhaps more accurately, his...

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Video Game CEOs Made Tens of Millions of Dollars in 2020

Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick's salary has been in the news on multiple occasions over the last year. And while he certainly makes significantly more than most, a new report shows that he's in good company, with other gaming CEOs bringing in tens of millions of dollars per year. Games One has compiled a rundown of video game executive pay in the year 2020 based on company filings, including salary, bonuses, stock, and other monetary benefits. The report reveals that Bobby Kotick was actually not the highest-earning CEO of 2020 — that prize goes to Robert Antokol, CEO of Israel-based Playtika, which makes free-to-play mobile games. In 2020, Antokol made $372 million in total compensation, while Kotick brought in $154.6 million...

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Game Scoop! 658: Xbox's Incredible Comeback

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing the Xbox vs. PlayStation console race, flipping through the January 2001 issue of GamePro, and observing some important gaming anniversaries. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher Find previous episodes here! Continue reading...

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Dying Light 2 Will Get At Least Five Years Of Post-Launch Content

Just a week after Dying Light 2 developer Techland said the game will take "at least 500 hours" to fully complete, we're now learning that the game will get at least five years of post-launch content with new stories, areas, in-game events, and more. Techland announced its post-launch plans on Twitter, guaranteeing support for years to come. We don't know how much of the update plans will be free content, or how much will come in the way of free DLC. However, Techland also supported the original Dying Light with a lot of free content and multiple major paid expansions, so we can likely expect to see the same type of support with the sequel. Last week, Dying Light 2 was in the news for another tweet from the developers, where they...

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Next-Gen Versions of Apex Legends Could Be on the Way Soon

A next-gen version of Apex Legends may be just around the corner, with reports suggesting that a native PS5 version of the game has been found on PSN. A recent tweet from the PlayStation Game Size Twitter account (below), which reports findings from across the PSN database for new game additions and file sizes, suggests that a PS5 version of the game is now in the backend of the service, weighing in at an initial 80GB. The current forwards-compatible PS4 version of the game is around 55GB for a first-time download. A next-gen release for Apex Legends is known to have been in the works for some time now with Respawn having spoken openly about the idea in multiple Reddit AMAs last year. In February, the developer noted that it was...

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After Being Literally Too Popular to Handle, Final Fantasy 14 Is Going Back on Sale Later This Month

After being literally too popular to handle following the release of the game's Endwalker expansion, Final Fantasy 14 is set to go back on sale on January 25. In an update post by Naoki Yoshida, the Final Fantasy 14 game director explained that "after due consideration", Square Enix has decided to resume digital sales. Sales for Final Fantasy 14 were suspended back in December, following the overwhelming popularity of the game's Endwalker expansion. At the time, Yoshida explained that due to the sheer amount of people playing Endwalker, Square Enix had taken the decision to temporarily stop selling Final Fantasy 14 in order to try and combat the long wait times that players who already owned the game were facing. However, in a...

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PUBG Developer Suing Multiple Companies, Including Apple, Over Copycat Games

PUBG developer Krafton has filed a lawsuit against mobile developer Garena, as well as both Apple and Google, over two mobile games that the developer believes copy its popular online shooter. As detailed in a lawsuit filed by the company (and spotted by The Verge), Krafton has accused Apple and Google of distributing a "blatantly infringing mobile version of Battlegrounds" developed by Garena on their mobile app stores. Krafton is currently seeking damages from Garena (and the other companies involved) over what it describes as "rampant, willful copyright infringement" surrounding the release of two Garena-developed games, Free Fire and Free Fire Max. Garena describes Free Fire as "the ultimate survival shooter game available on...

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Aussie Deals: 99 Buck Horizon Forbidden West, $20 Watch Dogs Legion and More!

Thank your own personal God—possibly Kratos—it's Friday! Speaking of, the most terrifying dad in gaming makes his debut on PC tomorrow and I've found you a deal below. Other than that, I'm probably going to buy Shenmue 1 + 2 again (for, like, the third time in my life) because $9.99 is a great price for this touchstone series. Stay safe, save often and see you all on Monday. 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...

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The Secret-Best Games Coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022 - NVC 594

What are the most under-the-radar games coming to Switch in 2022? Find out on this week's NVC, where Seth Macy, Peer Schneider, Kat Bailey, and special guest Dan Ryckert talk TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, Metal Slug Tactics, Triangle Strategy, and other upcoming titles they're looking forward to. Plus, the crew dives into the latest Mario Kart rumors, the new Kirby and the Forbidden Land release date news, and more. Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Welcoooome! 00:00:41 - Mario Kart rumors 00:08:29 - The secret best Switch games of 2022 00:36:37- Kirby release date news 00:44:48 - News rundown 00:49:07 - Kat Take 00:57:27 - Best wrestling games 01:03:54 - What we’re playing Linktree! For an easy way to find NVC on your favorite platform, check...

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It Looks Like the Steam Deck Will Release On Time

Valve has announced that its Steam Deck handheld is on track to ship on time in February, following its previous delay late last year. Additionally, Valve is sending out more developer kits to studios to help test their games for Steam Deck. "First and foremost, we’re on track to ship Steam Deck on time. Global pandemic, supply issues, and shipping issues notwithstanding, it looks like we'll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February," Valve said in a statement. The Steam Deck Verified program has already started and it allows players to know which games will be playable on Steam Deck. The list of Steam titles with the Deck Verified status will continue to grow as Valve has been approving more dev kits to...

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God of War on PC: How Santa Monica Studio Made Its Epic More Accessible

God of War is hitting PC on Jan. 14, allowing for players to re-experience IGN’s Game of the Year 2018, while a potentially brand new audience will also be able to jump into Sony Santa Monica’s evolution of the long-running series ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s planned 2022 release. While it’s the same game feature-wise as what players enjoyed on the PS4 and PS4 Pro (or even backward compatible on the PS5) - there’s no additional DLC campaign being introduced or anything like that - it’s a chance for Santa Monica to take advantage of the increased power of PC’s to allow for better graphical fidelity and variety. And, just as importantly, it allows the developers to expand upon the ways players can actually interact with God of War...

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You Will Soon Be Able to Play Fortnite on iOS Again Thanks to GeForce Now

iPhone gamers haven't been able to access Fortnite for some time now after Apple banned Fortnite on the App Store, but that looks like it might be changing thanks to a new update from Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service. Epic Games and Nvidia have teamed up to put Fortnite on GeForce Now, streaming via the Safari browser on iOS, starting with a closed beta test sometime next week. The test will only be available to GeForce Now subscribers. Nvidia has also worked with Epic Games to implement a new type of touch-based controls for Fortnite. Touch controls were previously part of Fortnite's mobile version, but, presumably, these new controls will be more friendly for streaming the game from the cloud. Fortnite was previously...

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God of War PC Vs PS5 Performance Review

“A little far from home, aren’t you?” Kratos most certainly is! One of the biggest anti-heroes in the PlayStation family has moved home twice in the past four years. First, Kratos left the ancient Greek climes and mythology behind and hit the colder and harsher environment of the Nordic mythology. But by far the bigger move, though, is that he’s no longer a PlayStation-exclusive character, with PC players now invited into the fold ahead of the PS4 & PS5 release of the concluding chapter in this tale, God of War Ragnarok. The question left to be answered is: Is Kratos sorry or is he better? It is fair to say that PlayStation Studios has been at the forefront of gaming technology and quality for the past couple of generations. This is...

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15 Best R-Rated Superhero Comic Book Movies

Despite rumors that said otherwise, Matt Reeves’ The Batman will not be rated R and will instead have a rating of PG-13. While that may be disappointing for some who were hoping for a much darker and grittier version of Batman, it bears mentioning that The Dark Knight was also PG-13 and is considered one of the superhero movies of all time. Even still, those who were hoping for a new R-rated superhero comic book movie can always fall back on the various films in the genre that are available to watch right now and which carry with them a more adult edge. From Joker to Zack Snyder’s Justice League to Watchmen and many more, here are the best R-rated superhero comic book movies. Birds of Prey In terms of sheer fun, Birds of Prey (and...

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Hitman Trilogy Is Coming Next Week, and It's On Xbox Game Pass

IO Interactive has announced that the Hitman Trilogy Collection will be launching next week, and it's coming straight to Game Pass. IO Interactive is combining all three of its Hitman games into one single package that fans will be able to get their hands on next week. Officially launching on January 20, the collection will be available for fans on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. However, that's not all. For those of you currently signed up for Xbox Game Pass, there will be no need to purchase the game separately, as the studio has also announced that the trilogy will be coming to the service on day one. January 20 marks the first time that Hitman 3 has been made available to...

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Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Leads DICE 2022 Awards Nominations

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has revealed the nominations for its 25th annual DICE awards, and Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart leads the pack with 9 nominations. Arkane's Deathloop follows closely behind with 8 nominations, while inscryption and It Takes Two earn 6 each. All four of those games are up for Game of the Year, as well as Housemarque's Returnal – meaning three of the five GOTY contenders are PlayStation exclusives. The awards will be held on February 24 in Las Vegas, and IGN will be the official media partner, meaning you'll be able to stream the entire event live right here with us. You can check out the full list of nominees below: Game of the Year Deathloop Inscryption It Takes Two Ratchet &...

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My Hero Academia Is Becoming a Battle Royale

Bandai Namco has announced My Hero Academia: Ultra Rumble - a new free-to-play battle royale game headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. As reported by Gematsu, Bandai Namco revealed the game in the latest issue of Weekly Jump magazine and, while a release date wasn't shared, the magazine does tease that players will get to "team up to win a 24-player rumble in multiplayer action!" Prior to launch, My Hero Academia: Ultra Rumble will have a closed beta test for a select few to try out the game and some of what it has to offer. When they become available, all the details on the closed beta and how to sign up will be available on the game's official website. My Hero Academia is no stranger to the video...

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Starfield Collector's Edition Watch Possibly Leaked

A Starfield-themed watch has seemingly leaked online, and some fans think it might be set to arrive as part of the game's Collector's Edition at launch - or could even appear in the game itself. The watch itself was actually spotted for the first time in a behind-the-scenes trailer last year (you can see it at 1:33 mark here), but new images have been posted on the Starfield subreddit by user SquiddyVonn, who found the images alongside a draft user manual by manufacturer The Wand Company. Like many smartwatches, the timepiece appears to come with a number of added features beyond simply telling time. In addition to sporting various designs, images of the device suggest that wearers will be able to use it for a number of purposes...

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Someone Built a Whole New Doom Game in Minecraft and It Looks Wild

While we may have now entered 2022, that doesn't mean that fans will stop going to extreme lengths to ensure that you can play Doom on pretty much anything you'd like. Doomed: Demons of the Nether is the most recent fan-made project to successfully translate the franchise – this time by way of a Minecraft map that looks absolutely wild. The map itself was created by modder Sibogy and even has its own trailer (which you can watch below). According to a post made by the fan-developer on Reddit, the adventure map took two years to create, uses data packs, command blocks, and a custom resource pack, and will be completely free for anyone to download. While the game is based on the recent Doom games by id Software, it isn't an exact...

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Final Fantasy XIV Director Pleads For Fans To Be Kinder To Developers

We've all heard the Golden Rule since kindergarten: treat others how you want to be treated. Now, Final Fantasy 14 Director Naoki Yoshida is urging fans to follow this rule, speaking out against verbal abuse directed towards developers and other players. In a YouTube video translated on Reddit, Yoshida addressed fan feedback, saying while he supports constructive criticism from fans, verbal abuse should not be tolerated. "Of course I'm thankful and grateful for players to tell us that 'we should do this, or this should be that' and whatnot, but verbal abuses are [something we wish could stop]," Yoshida said. Last month, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, the latest expansion for the immensely popular MMO set in the...

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