Gaming News

Steam Bans Blockchain Games That Issue NFTs or Cryptocurrency

Games that feature blockchain technology that allows for the exchange of NFTs or cryptocurrency will no longer be allowed on Steam. According to a new rule on Steam's partner onboarding page, Valve says distributors shouldn't publish, "applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs." Age of Rust, a game that involves players collecting in-game NFTs, says Steam informed them that they're kicking "all blockchain games off the platform, including Age of Rust, because NFTs have value." NFT stands for "non-fungible token," and they are digital assets that are sold and bought online. NFTs can take many forms, but they have become increasingly popular as digital art. Artists can create...

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Back 4 Blood Review

Amid a sea of seemingly endless looter-shooters, Back 4 Blood bucks a lot of trends in favor of something old-fashioned. After spending 25 hours with this four-player cooperative first-person shooter, I came to love its glorious white-knuckle tone, clever card-based progression, and varied, fist-pump-worthy campaign. An awkward difficulty curve and a stale versus mode prevent Back 4 Blood from moving into a full-blown sprint, but it still provides an exciting mix of new and old ideas as you mow down shambling legions of the undead. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where popping zombies (called “Ridden” here) in the head is as ordinary as brushing your teeth, Back 4 Blood follows a community of survivors trying not to get their jugulars...

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Game Scoop! 647: Favorite Game of All Time - That Isn’t a Sequel?

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Mark Medina, and Justin Davis -- are discussing more Far Cry 6, our favorite games that aren't sequels, the GTA Definitive Trilogy, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, and more. 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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We Sent a Virtual War Reporter Into New World

The knight storms forward, hammer swinging on his back, armor gleaming in the sun. He barrels through the crowds in Windsward, a village bustling with arrivals every day, just one of the million people clamouring to start a life on the lush island of Aeternum. This is New World, the new massively multiplayer RPG from Amazon Games. The knight's name is 'Judge's Verdict' and he is on the warpath. "How are we doing on the fort?" he shouts into the chat. "Do I need to come over?" He doesn’t wait for an answer. He's already running. Judge is a disciple of a grand religious sect whose uniforms are dyed a zealous yellow. But this holy order, called Covenant, is not above violence. When I see Judge lumbering out the town gates, I stop dead...

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Spelunky's World Record Holder Exposed As a Cheater

In 2012, a player going by the name of BarryMode completed the original version of Spelunky in 2 minutes and 30 seconds — setting a speedrunning record for the game that lasted almost a decade. Now, however, following efforts from the game's community it has been revealed that the player's blistering time was only made possible through cheating. As reported by Waypoint, BarryMode's record-setting time had long since raised suspicions from members of the speedrunning community with doubts being raised for several reasons. Not only was BarryMode an unknown player to the speedrunning community — raising questions over who he was in the first place — he also opted to take a number of routes in the run that seasoned speedrunners felt were...

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Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps

Beloved horror novelist R. L. Stine is best known for two long-running book series; Fear Street and Goosebumps. Where Fear Street can be grisly and gory, Goosebumps tames and reinvents horror tropes for a younger audience. If Dead by Daylight is Fear Street, then, Propnight is Goosebumps. Its skeleton is identical to the Twitch-favourite, but it wears a very different, much more vibrant skin suit. And beneath that skin is a new collection of guts and organs, freshly transplanted from shapeshifting hide-and-seek game, Prop Hunt. Created by FNTASTIC, the developer behind upcoming zombie MMO The Day Before, Propnight is an asymmetric multiplayer PC game in which four teenage survivors must escape from a nightmare while being stalked by a...

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IGN UK Podcast #614: (Star) Lord, Help Us!

We're very sorry, we truly are, because two thirds through this week's podcast Alex and Jesse make the biggest mess of the Endless Starch. Honestly, it's embarrassing. Thankfully, there's plenty of other good stuff to fill you ears with, from the latest info on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Ted Lasso season 2 thoughts and The Definitive Review of Far Cry 6. Want to submit your own Endless Search, food opinion, or a bit of other nonsense? Feel free to get in touch with the podcast at: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #614: (Star) Lord, Help Us! IGN UK Podcast #613: Metroid Dread IGN UK Podcast #612: Finally, Time to Die IGN UK Podcast #611: New Spicy Arrakis Flavour IGN UK Podcast #610: Deathloops and Toffee Hoops IGN UK...

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Elements of Call of Duty's New Anti-Cheat Have Reportedly Already Leaked

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject. Call of Duty's new anti-cheat system, Ricochet has reportedly already seen elements leak. Theoretically, this could allow cheatmakers to circumvent the system before it's released – although it may not be as serious a problem as that seems. Ricochet was formally announced yesterday, and aims to provide more sophisticated anti-cheat solutions using kernal-level monitors – essentially, tools that give Ricochet the ability to scan applications other than the game itself, and prevent code manipulation. According to Anti-Cheat...

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Aussie Deals: Priced to Collect Platformers for Your Weekend, and More!

Thank your own personal God—possibly Raiden—it's Friday! To be honest, I haven't shot for a specific deals theme for today. This is an eclectic mix of the best preorder bargains going, and sweet deals on some classic stuff that deserves a spot in your collection. 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 Sign up to get the best Aussie gaming deals sent straight to your inbox! Adam's an Aussie deals stalker who's slapping together an arcade cabinet. Understandably, his happy place is Rainbow Islands. Continue reading...

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Deathloop Gets a Major Update That Improves its NPCs

Deathloop's first major update has been released for PlayStation 5 and PC. Jumping into the game, players should notice several improvements including better NPC behavior, added Nvidia DLSS support on PC, and an increase in overall stability when ray tracing is on. Bethesda announced the details of the update on its website. Arkane's first update for Deathloop weighs in at a reasonable 5GB for PS5 players and 11GB for those on PC. Along with fixing several issues that have been known to cause the game to crash, the developer has also made some other changes sure to please its fans. Perhaps the most notable of these changes is for Deathloop's NPCs. Arkane says that its first patch of the game has improved NPCs behavior, which should...

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Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: How Combat Works

Guardians of the Galaxy does plenty to help ease you into your adventure early on, but there’s still a lot to get to grips with when it comes to fighting as Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians. Now that I’ve played through the entire game, here’s everything you need to know about how the combat works in Guardians of the Galaxy, from how to make the most of the Guardians when in battle and what perks to focus on. Whether you’re facing deadly gelatinous cubes or taking on the wild beasts of Seknarf Nine, you’ll soon get used to holding the bumper down to activate Guardians Mode whenever your fellow teammates are with you. Although Star-Lord is a capable fighter, even superheroes don’t leave their team behind in the name of a solo...

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Battlefield 2042: Hazard Zone Is a Squad-Based PvPvE Mode

DICE has finally revealed Battlefield 2042's new Hazard Mode, which is a squad-based PvPvE experience about collecting data drives and getting out of the map alive. Hazard Zone is a squad-based mode that sees groups of players vying to collect and extract data drives that have been scattered around smaller arenas after satellite crashes. Each player squad is made up of 4 players, with the objective being to collect as many drives as possible before extracting ahead of a storm becoming too intense for aircraft to get to you. Those efforts are hampered further by enemy AI forces, and the game's extreme weather conditions – and there are only two time-limited opportunities to extract during a match, meaning only two squads can get away...

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Battlefield 2042: Hazard Zone Mode - First Look

Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone aims to squeeze down the margins of the franchise. If you’ve grown tired of Battlefield's all-encompassing chaos — if you no longer want to dodge helicopter strikes, artillery blasts, and tank shells like gristle in a meat grinder — here is a new game mode that places you in a tight, tiny squad of four. Together, you’ll venture into terrain that no Battlefield has gone before; a world bereft of infinite respawns, control points, or the reassurance that a whole army always has your back. I wasn't afforded the opportunity to play Hazard Zone, but from a brief keynote delivered by Senior Design Director Daniel Berlin, the third major pillar in Battlefield 2042 seems to be an interesting hybrid between...

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EA Madden to Remove Ex-Raiders Coach Jon Gruden

EA has announced that it will be removing ex-Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden from Madden 22 following his resignation over homophobic and misogynistic emails. The publisher shared the news of Gruden's removal on its Madden NFL Twitter account, where a statement from the company reads: "EA Sports is committed to taking action in maintaining a culture of inclusion and equity. Due to the circumstances of Jon Gruden's resignation, we are taking steps to remove him from Madden NFL 22. We will replace him with a generic likeness via a title update in the coming weeks." Gruden's resignation from the Raiders came after The New York Times unveiled a number of emails written by the coach in which, "He denounced the emergence of women as...

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As Magic: The Gathering Grows, Fans Aren't Sure What Its Future Holds

It’s hard to name many modern games that have endured as long as Magic: The Gathering. For nearly 30 years, the trading card game that started them all has been releasing new sets, telling new stories, introducing new locations to its multiverse, and even cameoing in other classic tabletop games. More recently, though, Magic hasn’t just been surviving – it’s been thriving like never before. Amidst waves of new players, well-received new sets, and unprecedented financial success, there’s also a lingering anxiety permeating the conversations of its fans about what the future might hold. Magic is growing, but it’s also changing. In late August, Magic developer Wizards of the Coast laid out its 2022 plans for Magic in a showcase video...

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Exclusive: Stranger Things’ Hopper and Eleven Magic: The Gathering Cards Revealed

IGN is excited to share an exclusive sneak peak at two cards from Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Stranger Things Secret Lair set: Chief Jim Hopper and Eleven, The Mage. Hopper and Eleven are both legendary creatures, each with the “Friends Forever” ability, which allows you to use them partnered with one another to simultaneously lead a Commander deck. Here’s what they look like: The Stranger Things Secret Lair will have a total of eight mechanically unique cards (as well as a Stranger Things-themed Clue token) with full details set to be revealed on an official Wizards of the Coast livestream at 2:30pm PT today. The set will be released alongside six other Secret Lairs as part of Magic’s “October Superdrop,” which kicks off...

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Call of Duty: Vanguard Developer Wants To Make 'Iconic' Characters On the Level of Master Chief

During a recent New York Comic Con panel, one of the writers behind Call of Duty Vanguard spoke about the team's desire to make more 'iconic' characters within the franchise, similar to the likes of Halo's Master Chief. As reported by VGC, Call of Duty: Vanguard writer Sam Maggs opened up about the team's hopes for Vanguard and how they would like to create more prolific standout characters within the franchise. “We came into this process saying, ‘how do we make the iconic CoD characters?’ because you don’t really have that in Call of Duty right now,” she stated during the panel. “You know when you think about a game like Halo, you think of Master Chief, but when you think of CoD there’s not really those standout characters." While...

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Skyrim Anniversary Edition Could End Up Badly Hurting the Game's Mod Scene

The upcoming release of Skyrim's Anniversary Edition could end up hurting the game's modding scene, and will likely mean a considerable amount of work for modders on the game. If you've been adding mods to your version of Skyrim over the years, then it's quite likely that you might have come across the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) plugin, which is used to help run a number of different popular mods for the game. It's also likely that you'll have adjusted your update settings for the game on Steam and use a separate mod manager to launch the game. If you don't do this, then there's a risk that the SKSE can break every time that the Bethesda Creation Club receives a new update. As reported by PC Gamer, when Skyrim's Anniversary...

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Aussie Deals: Up to 40% Off Headsets, Yesteryear Gems, and More!

It's always a good idea to squirrel away cheap games, but how about treating your ears for a change? A primo set of cans can elevate even the most average experience into something quite a bit more engaging. That being said, I've tracked down some of the best headphone bargains going for each system, plus my usual curated picks of gems worth plucking. Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Purchase Cheaply for PC Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Sign up to get the best Aussie gaming deals sent straight to your inbox! Adam's an Aussie deals wrangler who's swimming in review unit headphones. No more, please. He's @Grizwords. Continue reading...

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PlayStation All-Stars 2: Our Dream Roster List - Beyond Episode 721

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation podcast, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Matt Kim and Mitchell Saltzman to discuss the latest in the world of PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation VR. The panel dives into some of the latest PlayStation news, like PlayStation's mobile games interest and Jim Ryan's recent comments about wanting to expand the PlayStation player base, the 5th anniversary of PSVR and some of our favorite PSVR games, and a little bit about what we hope to see in the updates made to PSVR 2 next-gen hardware. But the trio, emboldened by the end of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC fighters, and the release of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, dives into our dream roster list for PlayStation...

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The 12 Best Horror Games on PC

PC is the evil lab where new horror games are grown and tested. Some of the greatest modern horror games are word-of-mouth hits and some of the most popular horror games of the last decade began as PC exclusives. To that end, we’ve selected the top 12 horror games you can play on PC right now. While some of these aren’t exclusive to PC, they either got their start on the platform or live and breathe there. Some of these are horror classics that have influenced countless imitators, while others are still hidden gems that deserve to keep you up at night. Here are our picks for the 12 best horror games on PC. 12. IMSCARED IMSCARED: A Pixelated Nightmare is the only game on this list that breaks through its .exe boundaries and carries...

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Inside the Always-Escalating War Against Gaming Cheaters

For as long as there have been games, there has been cheating. In Norway, for example, archaeologists discovered a 600-year old wooden dice carved without the numbers “1” or “2.” Nicknamed the “cheating dice,” you can imagine why such a wooden thing was carved by ye olde dice throwers. Nowadays, games are a bit more sophisticated than six-sided dice, but so are the cheats. Some of the world’s biggest games today – Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Destiny 2 – are almost exclusively played online, and are inviting targets for enterprising cheaters. But in the era of live-service games, fighting cheaters is more important than ever. As cheats continue to proliferate and impact the most popular online games, developers have begun...

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FIFA Reportedly Wants To Charge EA $1 Billion Every Four Years For Name

We now have a clue to why EA Sports is considering changing the name of FIFA, its giant football franchise. The New York Times reports that there's a dispute between EA, the developer of the FIFA games, and FIFA, the worldwide football organization. The disagreement is reportedly over cost and new revenue streams. According to the report, FIFA wants to charge EA $1 billion every four years to use the FIFA license within its game. Additionally, the organization wants to limit EA's monetization of the game. FIFA wants to limit EA's moneymaking opportunities to strictly what can be found in the game. EA wants to explore monetizing, "highlights of actual games, arena video game tournaments and digital products like NFTs," the New York...

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Call of Duty: Warzone Will Get a Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Called Ricochet

Call of Duty has officially announced the name of its upcoming Anti-Cheat initiative developed specifically for its popular shooter. Called Ricochet, this is a "multi-faceted approach" designed to combat cheating using kernel-level monitors. Going forward Ricochet will be required to play Call of Duty: Warzone on PC. As the intensity of cheating grows, games like Call of Duty: Warzone and even the Call of Duty: Vanguard beta have been victims of cheats. During a media tour for the upcoming Vanguard, Activision announced a new dedicated anti-cheat solution for Warzone and Vanguard. That solution now has a name and additional details. Ricochet utilizes a kernel-level driver, similar to Riot's Vanguard technology (unrelated to the Call...

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles Review

Fighting games and story modes can be like oil and water. They’re a tricky thing to mix properly, probably because it’s hard to tell a story well when your main method of conversation is two characters punching each other in the face. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is no exception to this problem, with a single-player mode that never quite nails the balance between telling its excellent story and making that story fun to actually play. But fortunately, its arena-based combat is fast, satisfying, and strikes a nice balance between approachability and depth, especially in multiplayer. The Hinokami Chronicles follows the same plot as the manga and anime it’s adapted from, starting from the beginning and then...

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Ghost Recon Frontline Was Announced Last Week, and It's Already Seen a Delay

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Frontline, a new free-to-play FPS from Ubisoft, was announced last week. A Closed Test for the game was meant to begin today, but it's already been delayed. Announced on Twitter, the Frontline team explained, "We have decided it is best to postpone the Closed Test for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Frontline. The development team is dedicated to creating the best experience possible. We'll share details on the new date for the Closed Test as soon as we can. Thank you for your ongoing support." No specific reason has been given for the delay. We were introduced to the game last week, which will offer a free-to-play framework for 102-player battles. It's a spin on the expected battle royale format, with a focus on...

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System Shock Live-Action TV Series in the Works

Binge and Nightdive Studios are teaming up to produce a live-action series based on the critically acclaimed System Shock franchise. IGN has decrypted a message in cyberspace and discovered that System Shock is being adapted into a live-action TV series that will be produced by Allan Ungar, who directed and co-wrote the Uncharted fan film that went viral a few years ago. Nightdive Studios' Stephen Kick and Larry Kuperman will both serve as executive producers on the project. The original System Shock game drops players into Citadel Station, where an indentured hacker wakes up from a coma only to find themselves plunged into the twisted aftermath of a mutiny and immediately confronted by armies of cyborgs, robots, and a corrupt AI...

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Disney Teases a Star Wars Video Game Announcement for December

Disney and Lucasfilm have teased a Star Wars video game announcement for December as part of a publishing campaign that will reveal new Star Wars products every Tuesday for the rest of the year. As announced in an article on the official Star Wars website, the companies have launched their "Bring Home the Bounty" campaign, which will see "new Star Wars toys, collectibles, books, apparel and more" revealed on a weekly basis from now until the end of December. Disney has given fans a glimpse into what they might expect from potential announcements across the campaign through an interactive poster on its site. Each week on the poster details different characters and memorabilia from across the franchise. However, on December 14, Disney...

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Quake Remaster Now Supports Mouse and Keyboard Controls on Console, Even Switch

A recent major update for the enhanced version of Quake brought a number of changes to the game, including improved analog input on controllers, aim smoothing, and various other general tweaks. However, one detail that wasn't highlighted is that it's now possible to play the game using mouse and keyboard controls on consoles, including Nintendo Switch. As tweeted by idTechpics (below), one Reddit user showed the Nintendo Switch version set up to fully support mouse and keyboard controls via the dock's USB ports. In the image the Switch is docked, with the player trading out a Pro Controller in favour of the game's original control scheme. We've tested this ourselves with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and it works pretty seamlessly...

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Everything We Learned From the Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker Preview

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is set to conclude a decades-long storyline that began at launch. Aside from hours and hours of new story content, the next expansion, Endwalker, will include several new areas and two new job classes: the healer-class Sage, and melee DPS Reaper. IGN was given hands-on time with both of the new classes, an opportunity to try out a new dungeon, as well as a tour of three of the six new areas coming to Endwalker. Here is everything we saw during our preview with the upcoming expansion. What’s New in Endwalker? As far as MMORPG expansions go, Final Fantasy 14 keeps things relatively simple. Each new chapter adds a few new classes, new areas, and tentpole content like dungeons and raids. This makes Final...

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