Gaming News

Naughty Dog Developers Name Their Games of the Year for 2021

Some of the developers at Naughty Dog - the game studio behind such series as The Last of Us and Uncharted - have revealed their favorite games of 2021. Naughty Dog shared their list of favorite games that "inspired, excited, and -- above all -- entertained us" in a blogpost, and it all began with Bugsnax, where vice president Christian Gyrling said it was "a unique game that my 7-year old daughter and I bonded over." Deathloop was the favorite of three devs at Naughty Dog, including game director Matthew Gallant, development director Waylon Brinck, and game director Kurt Margenau. "Setting an immersive sim in a time loop was a brilliant idea," Gallant wrote. "Every space you visit and revisit becomes richer as you gain new tools...

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Guillermo del Toro Doesn't Think He'll Ever Develop a Game Again

Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro, who was once attached to Konami's Silent Hills project with Hideo Kojima, has said he doesn't think he will ever try to develop a game again. As reported by GameSpot, del Toro appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and confirmed that he was not working on any Silent Hill-related projects. This question arrived after del Toro made an appearance at The Game Awards 2021 and playfully said that he loved the art direction in Silent Hill and hoped that we all get a new one soon. The way he delivered the message made many believe he knew more than he was letting on, but it appears this is not the case and that del Toro may be done exploring the world of video games... at least for now...

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New World Community Challenges the Devs to Play Their Own Endgame - and the Devs Accepted

A few New World players unhappy with the MMO's endgame issued a challenge to the developers at Amazon Game Studios to stream themselves doing a Myrkguard chest and portal run to show they actually play the game - and they accepted. As reported by GameSpot, New World players started this petition after recent changes made high-level elite zones a lot more difficult than they were before. They wanted Amazon Games Studios to do this run to show a viable way to complete this tough endeavor. To the community's surprise, Amazon accepted their challenge and posted a 55-minute "New World - Myrkgard Dev Run" that sees 10 developers - including game director Scot Lane - working their way through the requested run. At the start, the devs...

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Aussie Deals: Last Minute Xmas and Early Boxing Day 2021 Deals

I'm not one for long intros—I'm a discounts and deals oriented individual. That being the case, let's dive right into some coverage (mostly based) on Amazon's colossal 5-day Boxing Day Sale. Be sure to bookmark and check back as this is a living list of the best bargains out there! Boxing Day Sales: Our Fave Deals Boxing Day Consoles & Devices Deals Boxing Day Game Deals PlayStationNintendoXboxPC Boxing Day Controller Deals Boxing Day Headphone Deals HeadsetBuds Boxing Day Gaming Monitor Deals Boxing Day Micro SDXC Memory Cards Boxing Day SSDs and HDD Deals SSDs HDDS Boxing Day Toys Deals Boxing Day Mouse and Keyboard Deals Adam's an Aussie deals wrangler who loves Christmas almost as much as he does Festivus...

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Rats are Being Taught to Run Around Doom Maps

You've heard the concept of the "rat race," but how about a literal rat, racing through the hallways of Doom? One researcher named Viktor Toth ran an experiment over nearly six months, seeing if he could train a rat to run down a straight hallway in Doom by using a VR rig he built himself. As Toth explained on Mindsoft, It took him about four months to build the VR rig for the rats, using a 3D printer, an iron, a drilling machine, and a set of screwdrivers. The main part of the rig is a large, round ball sitting on a base that allows the ball to rotate in place. There are also motion sensors taken from computer mouses that track the movement of the ball. The rat is then strapped into a harness on top of the ball, facing a large...

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Xbox Games with Gold for January 2022 Revealed

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Games with Gold for January 2022 are NeuroVoider, Aground, Radiant Silvergun, and Space Invaders Infinity Gene. As detailed by Xbox Wire, these games will be available to all Xbox Live Gold members and those who are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. NueroVoider and Radiant Silvergun will kick off the month on January 1, with Radiant Silvergun staying on the service until January 15 and NeuroVoider staying on until January 31. On January 16, Aground and Space Invaders Infinity Gene will join Xbox Games with Gold, with Space Invaders Infinity Gene sticking around until January 31 and Aground staying on until February 15. Originally released in 1998 in arcades and on SEGA Saturn, Radiant...

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GTA V Was the Most-Watched Game on Twitch in 2021

What were people watching on Twitch in 2021? Certainly not a whole lot of brand new games, apparently. In fact, the most popular game on Twitch this year by hours watched was Grand Theft Auto V. GTA V had a total of 2.1 billion hours watched in 2021 according to Rainmaker.gg and StreamElements' State of the Stream 2021 year in review report. That's 1.3 billion more hours than last year, when it only reached 764 million hours watched. Overall, GTA V was the second most-watched category on Twitch, following top category "Just Chatting," which broadly features streamers talking to their audiences without playing games. In second place this year was last year's No. 1 gaming category, League of Legends, with 1.8 billion hours watched up...

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Best Nintendo Switch Games

With nearly 93 million units sold, Switch is on pace to overtake Wii as Nintendo's best-selling home console of all time. If Switch has proven anything, it’s that a console is truly defined by what you can play on it, and with such a vast library of excellent games, choosing only 25 of the best Switch games has proven to be difficult. This list was assembled by the entire IGN content team — including our resident Nintendo experts, the NVC podcast crew — and represents what we think are the best games to enjoy on the Switch right now, whether you're picking one up for the first time or have been a platform enthusiast since day one. So without further ado, these are our picks for the 25 best Nintendo Switch games. More on the Best of...

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Aussie Deals: The Hottest Deals Plucked From a Storm of Winter Sales!

It's almost that time again, folks. Festivus. Time to get that aluminum pole out of the crawl space, tell your loved ones how much they've disappointed you and then pick a fight with them for The Feats of Strength. It's also the time to take advantage of a ton of "Winter" sales in order to score great games for bugger all. Oh, and be sure to circle back for my deals guide on Amazon's forthcoming Boxing Day deals! Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam's an Aussie deals wrangler who thinks it's beginning to look a lot like Festivus. Continue reading...

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Treyarch Says There's 'No Room' for Sexism, Racism, Bullying in its Culture

Call of Duty: Vanguard studio Treyarch has issued a statement saying that its culture has "no room" for sexist, racist, and bullying behaviors following months of reports about a toxic culture spanning the entirety of Activision-Blizzard. The full statement follows below: The statement comes months after the initial lawsuit filed by the state of California over allegations that Activision-Blizzard had a "frat boy culture" rife with sexual harassment. Since then, dozens of reports of a toxic, sexist culture have emerged, including allegations that former Treyarch studio head Dan Bunting sexually harassed a female employee in 2017. He has since departed the studio. On Twitter, Treyarch associate producer Miranda Due said that the...

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The Biggest Video Game News Stories of 2021

It was a busy year for video game news here at IGN. In addition to the regular release date announcements and new game reveals, 2021 featured an unprecedented amount of game delays and extended coverage of PS5 and Xbox Series X|S throughout the consoles’ first full year on the market. As we move into 2022, we’re looking back on the biggest news stories of the past year, as determined by IGN page views. Click through the gallery below or continue scrolling for our full list of the 20 most-read gaming news stories of 2021. Data based on IGN page views as of December 10. 20. Microsoft Not Changing Xbox Live Gold Pricing, Free-to-Play Games Unlocked On January 22, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Microsoft announced it was...

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Game Scoop! 656: PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo -- Who Had the Best Year?

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop! (and Unlocked and Beyond and NVC), IGN's podcast series! This week Daemon Hatfield is joined by Ryan McCaffrey, Jonathon Dornbush, and Seth Macy to discuss Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and everything that went down in 2021. Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, Deathloop, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, Metroid Dread -- all will be discussed! 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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Publisher of Chicory, Tunic Says Indie Games Are Getting Absurdly Expensive to Make

Rebekah Saltsman loves making games. Enough so that even though she and her husband Adam have a successful indie publishing business in Finji, they still want to make time and space for their own projects where they can. Even in spite of an industry that’s growing increasingly complex, busy, and wildly, wildly expensive. For instance, in 2019 they released post-apocalyptic strategy game Overland across mobile, PC, and console, all while juggling the publishing of Wilmot’s Warehouse, various platform releases of Night in the Woods, and presumably hashing out the terms that would see them publishing Chicory: A Colorful Tale — announced early the following year. And now, in 2021, with Chicory out the door, Tunic on its way in March, and...

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PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, the Original Battle Royale Game, Will Be F2P in January 2022

PUBG: Battlegrounds, the game that kicked off the rise of the battle royale genre, is officially going free-to-play on January 12, 2022. This means that anyone who has ever wanted to shout out, “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner,” can now do so without so much as pulling out their wallet. This is obviously a big change for PUBG, and we’re here to break down what exactly this means for new and existing players. From pre-registration rewards to what exactly the BATTLEGROUNDS Plus account offers players, here are six things you need to know about PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Free-to-Play. The BATTLEGROUNDS Plus Account Unlocks XP Boosts, Ranked Mode, and More Everyone who starts playing PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS Free-to-Play will have a Basic account...

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Halo Infinite's Holiday Event Is Basically a Gaming Advent Calendar

Halo Infinite's Winter Contingency event has officially launched and it features holiday-themed rewards for players to unwrap each day. The "in-game Halo advent calendar" is rolling out at just the right moment, as the days are quite literally numbered on everyone's traditional Christmas calendars. Halo's virtual alternative will offer an exciting boost to those final days, with daily rewards up for grabs from December 21 through to December 30, per Halo Waypoint. There are 10 unique Holiday-themed rewards to collect in total, which can be unlocked by jumping into Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer and completing a match of Arena or Big Team Battle. The daily treats include festive "Peppermint Laughter" coatings for your armor...

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Why 2021 Was The Year of the Multiverse

2021 was a little bit… different. Wait, is that what I mean, “different?” Largely horrible. Actually, come to think of it, so was 2020. Wait a minute, what if this isn’t different, and this is just how years are now?! Speaking of disturbing patterns, maybe that desire for escape from our own bleak reality into one familiar yet different enough is one of the factors that fueled the abundance of Multiverse stories in 2021. Did you notice that? The Multiverse as a concept was huge this past year, not just within the MCU, which is getting even more Multiverse-y next year, but in everything from gaming to Star Trek to DC to goddamn Phineas and f***ing Ferb. Okay, that actually happened in 2011, and I probably shouldn’t swear so much about...

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Best Mouse 2021

Unless you're a hot-key wizard, odds are you're going to need a mouse or trackpad to get a lot of things done on your computer. Even if you have a keyboard shortcut for almost everything, there's still going to be plenty of times that a mouse would serve you better. And, let's not conflate a trackpad for a mouse, as in most cases it simply serves as the next best option. So, when it comes time to get some work done, browse the web, or hunker down for some gaming, you should make sure you've got a good mouse in your hand. In most cases, the best gaming mice could do the job, as they tend to be loaded with features that can be handy in any situation, and they have amazingly accurate sensors. But, sometimes a simpler, work-oriented mouse...

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The Best Games to Play on Xbox Series X|S Right Now

Microsoft has continued to improve the value of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S since launch. In addition to implementing Dolby Vision Gaming and Xbox Cloud Gaming, the company has made great advancements in gaming accessibility and has promised future support for new AMD tech. It's an exciting time for Xbox owners, and to help you get the most out of your new console, IGN has curated this list of the best Xbox Series X|S games you can play right now. With the consoles' first full year behind us, we've updated our list to feature only games with dedicated Xbox Series X|S enhancements — no more Xbox One backward-compatible games. Whether you're diving into an all-new adventure, getting the most out of your gaming TV with 4K 120Hz...

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Forgotten Myths Is a Comic Book Prequel to Dawn of Ragnarok

Assassin's Creed Valhalla may have released in 2020, but the original game continues to inspire a wealth new content. And not just video game expansions. IGN can exclusively reveal Assassin's Creed Valla: Forgotten Myths, Dark Horse's latest comic book spinoff. Forgotten Myths is a follow-up of sorts to Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory, a book which acted as a direct prequel to the main game. This story, however, is specifically a prequel to the upcoming DLC expansion Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, which thrusts main protagonist Eivor into the mythological realm of Svartalfheim to live out the exploits of the Norse gods. In short, this isn't your typical Assassin's Creed adventure. Here's Dark Horse's official...

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Grab Deathloop At Its Lowest Price Yet

One of the best sales from the weekend is still going on now. You can pick up a copy of Deathloop on PlayStation 5 right now for just $22.99. If you missed out on one of the highest-rated games of the year, it's not too late to snag a copy for yourself at an absolutely excellent price. Unfortunately, your copy won't arrive until after Christmas, but you should absolutely still pick one up now that it's going for its lowest price yet. That's $37 off $59.99, and even cheaper than Deathloop's previous Black Friday price. Now's the time to go ahead and get your copy. Deathloop Deathloop is more than just a shooter. It's rife with interesting twists interspersed with an exciting narrative. You take control of assassin Colt, who (you may...

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Seamus Blackley Reacts To Twitch Harassment: "This Wasn't the Future For Xbox Live We Envisioned"

2021 has spotlighted harassment on Twitch, particularly for women. Now a new clip from streamer Grenade Queen is drawing industry attention, with Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley saying the harassment it depicts "wasn't the future for [Xbox Live] we envisioned." The video shows Grenade Queen being harassed as she is playing Halo Infinite, on which she comments, "No woman should have to deal with this if they're having 1 rough game against decent people... this was only part of it." Her comments drew numerous responses women who say they've suffered the same behavior. "My Xbox name is my irl name," one user wrote. "They see it and they immediately attack me. Just bc I'm a girl. I can never enjoy pvp. Even bot matches. My team mates...

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Aussie Deals: Over Half Off FC6, Ghost of Tsushima, BF 2042, Plus 9 Buck PlayStation Hits!

I have a confession to make. I'm that guy. The lazy weirdo who secretly derives endorphins from madly rushing around to find presents for people at the last minute. Below are some quality products that I've been eyeballing for myself. Fortunately, many of them are digital (instant delivery and the 'gift to user' function FTW). Christmas: saved with minimal effort. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Adam finds deals, lives in terror of that Halo Infinite save bug. Screw replaying Legendary again. Continue reading...

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Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster Finally Has a Release Date

The most anticipated of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster releases finally has a release date, though unfortunately for Final Fantasy fans, it won't be out until 2022. In a social media post, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster will be launching early next year. The release was pushed out of 2021 in order to apply additional polish. "In order to bring you the best experience possible, we're allowing the necessary time to apply final polish while finishing development on the game," the social media post says. The delay appears to be drawing lessons from the previous Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, which were generally well-received but nevertheless required several patches to deal with various bugs. This is on...

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The Final Fantasy 14 Community Is Mourning the Loss of Low-Poly Grapes

Square Enix has launched Patch 6.01 for Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker. The update contains content like new items and a new raid series, Pandemonium. But one aspect that the game's community has been mulling over is that the polygons of some of its grapes have been upgraded. Yes, you heard that right. In the Endwalker expansion, the grapes in the Labyrinthos area were graphically low-polygon. According to Square Enix's patch notes, the company referred to the grapes as "an issue" where the polygon count of grapes in Labyrinthos was reduced in excess to "alleviate system memory usage in the area." As such, the grapes have been adjusted to be comparable to those found at the Crystarium. This particular aspect has become a meme within the...

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GTA Trilogy Owners on PC Can Claim Another Rockstar Game for Free

The release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition proved to be so maligned that Rockstar Games is now offering PC owners a free copy of one of its other games as a make-good. Eurogamer reports that Rockstar is giving PC owners of the GTA trilogy remaster one of the following games for free: Grand Theft Auto 5: Premium Edition Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition Max Payne 3 LA Noire Bully: Scholarship Edition You have until January 5, 2022, to claim one of the above games if you already own the GTA Trilogy Remaster on PC. You can redeem the offer here on the Rockstar Games shop, or accept an alternate offer of a Great White Shark card in GTA Online or 55 Gold Bars in Red Dead Online. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy...

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GTFO Review

At the end of C1, one of the many brutal missions currently available in GTFO, your expedition team will be trapped at the bottom of a long-forsaken botany lab. An orange circle appears on the floor, and everyone needs to stand in it at the same time to fill up a bar at the top of the screen. The circle lazily paths through the damp corridors and stairwells, and the party of four crams together in its borders, staring down iron sights, shooting at anything that moves. An absolute onslaught of horrific aberrations lays siege to your defenses as GTFO demonstrates just how mean it can be. I have watched my comrades crumble at the 98th percentile as a final wave proved too much for our dwindling ammunition. I have watched a friend get...

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Best Wireless Gaming Headset 2021

A wireless gaming headset is one of the most freeing accessories you can get for your gaming PC. Right next to a wireless gaming mouse, a wireless gaming headset will let you stay in the action of your favorite games while moving freely. You can lean in to get a closer look, recline in your seat to relax between games, or even walk into the other room to grab a drink – all through that, a good wireless gaming headset will keep you connected to the audio coming from your game – no cables getting snagged and yanking your headphones off. You don't need to worry about audio quality or performance here either. The best wireless gaming headsets rely primarily on high-bandwidth, 2.4GHz connections that can deliver full-quality audio with...

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2021: The Year in Tech

When it comes to tech, the major trends of 2021 were as much about what didn’t happen than what did. A year into the ninth generation of gaming consoles, the top story of the year is a chip shortage that’s continued to cause headaches and supply strains (with no sign of relief for at least another year). Even so, we’ve seen some exciting announcements and advancements that lay the groundwork for next year and beyond. Here are the biggest tech stories of 2021. The Chip Shortage If you have been trying to purchase any of the most popular gaming gadgets this year, you’re probably familiar with these two words: “semiconductor shortage.” Global supply chain problems stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have limited the supply of the...

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Praey for the Gods Review

There are few more appealing game premises than slaying a series of giant monsters by climbing them like moving mountains to deal a death blow from above. And yet, there are also few more disappointing experiences than having that premise come up so woefully short as it has in Praey for the Gods. This giant-slaying adventure tries to capture the magic of the PlayStation classic Shadow of the Colossus, but misses the mark with sloppy controls, cheesy deaths, and bugs that manage to squander some otherwise solid boss encounters. The inspiration taken from Shadow of the Colossus isn’t hard to spot: in Praey for the Gods you’ll travel through a desolate open world, scale giant monsters, and probably be pretty confused by the story. Where...

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Best CPU Coolers 2021

Your processor may be at the heart of your computer, but in order to let your gaming PC truly run at its maximum potential, you need need to keep it properly cooled. As your processor works, it can start to get incredibly hot. Once it reaches a high enough temperature, it will dial back its performance levels to cool down. A good CPU cooler ensures your processor stays cooler for longer, so it can run at its fastest speeds as much as possible. That means programs and games that can benefit from your processor ramping up to its clock speeds for maximum performance. With a robust enough cooling solution, you can even keep running at those high speeds indefinitely or push your processor beyond its factory settings. Some can even keep...

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