Gaming News

Destiny 2: Renegades Review So Far

Destiny has always been the “we’ve got Star Wars at home” looter shooter, and with Destiny 2: Renegades, Bungie has decided to lean into that directly with a crossover expansion. Weirdly enough, so far that decision seems to have kinda worked out alright! Renegades doesn’t solve many of Destiny 2’s longstanding issues, including the fact that it’s been awkwardly spinning its wheels for over a year now (reminiscent of the MCU post-Endgame), but embracing the cheesiness and over-the-top drama of Star Wars is at the very least a surprisingly nice change of pace in what has become quite a predictable universe. The story is silly, to be sure, but introduces a few new mechanics and weapon types that are a welcome change, and there’s an...

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Fortnite Really Does Seem To Have Changed Its Nipple Policy — And Now It's Not Just Homer Simpson's Chest That's in the Game

Fortnite fans believe developer Epic Games has indeed relaxed its rules around the depiction of male nudity, as the game's first fully detailed areola have now been spotted. A shirtless style for the game's new Chapter 7 battle pass skin Carter Wu shows a relatively detailed nipple present and correct on the character's chest — the first in almost a decade of Fortnite history. The development comes just weeks after fans spotted two telltale dots on the chest of Fortnite's underpants-wearing Homer Simpson skin, and wondered whether the game's long-term decision not to show nips had been reconsidered. At the time, Homer's design featuring nipples was debated as potentially being an exception to Fortnite's no-nips rule — perhaps due to...

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Total War: Medieval 3 Announced as the 'Rebirth of Historical Total War,' New Total War Game to Be Revealed at The Game Awards

Creative Assembly has announced Total War: Medieval 3, the next mainline game in its long-running strategy series. Unveiled at Creative Assembly’s 25th anniversary showcase, Total War: Medieval 3 is a return to the franchise’s historical roots, but, according to the developer, it is also a “bold revolution.” No release window was mentioned, but it sounds like a way off as Creative Assembly said the project was in early pre-production. “Built as the ultimate medieval strategy sandbox, it will empower players to shape realms, rewrite history, and immerse themselves in the Middle Ages like never before,” Creative Assembly said. “Combining meticulous historical authenticity with unprecedented player agency, this is more than a sequel...

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Cast Outs: Making Co-op Magic in a Modern Day Fantasy London Playground

If you love PvE co-op games but murderous robots are giving you low level PTSD, Cast Outs is here to stir up the genre with a modern take on fantasy. Designed from the ground up for co-op, it takes the usual Dungeons & Dragons tropes of goblins, elves and magic spells, and turns them into a 2-4 player playground to battle in. It's got pedigree too, because while it's the first game from UK studio Twisted Works, that studio is home to veterans who have worked on games like Horizon Forbidden Resident Evil 7, Killzone, and the Total War series. "Left 4 Dead was one of our early inspirations as one of those games where you had to just realize that you're not going to do this alone," explains James Brace, Twisted Works CEO and the Cast Outs...

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Everything Announced at Creative Assembly's Total War 25th Anniversary Showcase

Creative Assembly’s Total War 25th anniversary showcase featured a number of major announcements in the strategy series, including a brand new game, a significant update to an existing game, and the tease of a new game announcement at The Game Awards. Total War: Medieval 3 announced First up, Creative Assembly announced Total War: Medieval 3, the long-awaited return to the franchise’s historical roots, with a live-action reveal trailer. Here’s the official blurb: Total War: Warhammer 3 - Lords of the End Times announced Next came Total War: Warhammer 3 - Lords of the End Times, which coincides with the subseries’ 10th year. The Lords of The End Times Pack adds four new Legendary Lords into the Immortal Empires campaign experience in...

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High on Life 2: Boss Fight Gameplay – IGN First

Our IGN First "cover story" game for December is High on Life 2, the upcoming comedy first-person shooter sequel to the 2022 original breakout hit from Squanch Games. We got our coverage warmed up with the funny in-universe ad for Humanzapro, and then we posted ten minutes of exclusive new gameplay from early in the campaign set in Pinkline Harbor, one of three in-game hubs you'll explore. And today, we've got a boss fight reveal, showing off a battle against Kreg Button, a pirate-themed bounty hunter. High on Life 2 aims to double down on what worked in the original, with new and returning talking guns voiced by the likes of JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm), among others. It also adds plenty of new gameplay, such as skateboarding...

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Samsung 9100 Pro SSD Review

The Samsung 9100 Pro is a big, powerful, flagship SSD from one of the biggest names in the game. It brings high-end performance, pushing the limits of its PCIexpress 5.0 interface– on paper, this should be one of the best SSDs ever made, accelerating file transfers and game load times like never before. But Samsung wasn’t first to market with a top-tier PCIe 5.0 SSD, and there is stiff competition for the kind of cutting-edge performance that Samsung has historically been known for. Still, it is very fast on paper, with a strong endurance rating, five-year warranty, and the option of an attractive, low-profile heatsink for a few dollars extra. Purchasing Guide The 9100 Pro is available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, priced at $170...

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The Fallout: New Vegas: 15th Anniversary Bundle for PC Is Now Up for Preorder at Amazon

Fallout: New Vegas turned 15 this year, and to celebrate, Bethesda announced a Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle back in October. For those who simply can't wait to get their hands on a bundle of their own, preorders are now finally live at Amazon (as well as at the Bethesda Gear Store) for $154.99. Unfortunately, there's still a little ways to wait before fans will be able to boot it up in their PCs, as it's currently set to be released on June 30, 2026. So it'll have to be a slightly delayed anniversary celebration, but a fun one nonetheless. Preorder the Fallout: New Vegas: 15th Anniversary Bundle This looks like the ultimate bundle for New Vegas fans to enjoy, too. First and foremost, it comes with a PC digital code...

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Fallout Season 2 Takes the 'Fog of War Approach' to Avoid Making Any New Vegas Ending Canon, Creators Say

The creators of the Fallout TV show have confirmed Season 2 avoids making any New Vegas ending canon by taking what they call "the fog of war approach." Fans of the Fallout video games had wondered how Season 2 might reflect the endings of Obsidian’s much-loved Fallout New Vegas, given the show is canon and is set 15 years after the game. A quick reminder of where we’re at in the Fallout timeline: the Fallout TV show is set in 2296, nine years after the events of Fallout 4 and 15 years after the events of Fallout: New Vegas. We’ve already seen a debate about which Fallout 4 ending should be considered canon, if any. Based on already released trailers, we know Mr. House is in Season 2, so does that suggest a canon ending is being used...

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The 7 Signs of an Arc Raiders Traitor: How To Spot the Folks Who Will Shoot You in the Back

"Don't shoot!" Forget Wolfpack grenades and Snaphooks: those two words can be your most powerful tool in Arc Raiders. My favorite runs have all started with that voice line, such as the time when I spent 15 minutes hunting an espresso machine in Buried City with a South African guy who loved talking about rugby, or when I teamed up with four other solos on Spaceport to destroy dangerous ARC and debate the best pizza topping. But when uneasy alliances break, it feels horrible. If you've played for more than a few hours, particularly as a solo player, then you've likely been betrayed by somebody who seemed friendly right until they shot you in the back and feasted on the tasty loot you'd plundered alongside them. It feels like players...

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Greedfall 2: The Dying World Is an Old-School RPG That Harkens Back to KOTOR and Dragon Age 1

The golden age of the BioWare RPG may be past, but there are still developers willing to go the distance with a genre that begs for good fantasy worldbuilding, good game mechanics, and interesting well-written stories all in one. Spiders is one of them, and Greedfall 2: The Dying World is their sequel to the colonial fantasy RPG that was a very welcome and pleasant surprise back in 2022. That said, there are a few big changes to how it plays that might put some people off the trail—but after a few hours with advanced portions of the game's storyline I saw the makings of another success. Kicking it Old School Greedfall 2 takes cues from the early-2000s era of roleplaying games. It's more like Dragon Age: Origins or Knights of the Old...

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Russia Blocks Roblox, Says It Contains 'LGBT Propaganda'

Access to Roblox has been banned in Russia, as the country's authorities have deemed it a host of "LGBT propaganda." Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor announced the move last night, news agency Reuters has reported, blocking the giant gaming platform to Russian citizens. In a statement explaining its decision, Roskomnadzor said it had removed the ability to access Roblox as it was "rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children." By many measures the biggest game in the world, with more than 151.1 million daily active users, Roblox hosts countless player-made game experiences — including breakout hits such as Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot that enjoy player...

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Everything You Need To Know About The 2025 Delta Force Invitational: Warfare

Delta Force is set to end the year with a bang as the 2025 Delta Force Invitational: Warfare will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 11th December to 14th December, 2025. This marks the first championship dedicated to the game’s Warfare mode, where teams from around the world will battle it out in 20 vs 20 warfare for a share of a $200,000 USD prize pool. Developer Team Jade has emphasised that this year is only the beginning, with the aim to grow Delta Force into a globally recognised esports title. In September, the Delta Force Operations Invitational put the extraction format in the spotlight, with Chinese powerhouse team Q9 emerging victorious. Now, the competitive scene shifts its focus to the high-stakes Warfare mode, where fans...

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AU Deals: Great Games Go Cheap as Bargain Season Continues to Refuse To Die

As I said yesterday, Black Friday is cactus, Cyber Monday has come and gone, and yet the shelves are still groaning under the weight of tasty discounts. It's that weird, magical pocket of the year when retailers refuse to give up the ghost, and anybody with a wishlist can quietly scoop up wins before stockists remember to raise prices again. If you have even a hint of FOMO, now is the time. Go get amongst it. Contents Retro Nintendo Xbox PlayStation PC PC Gear LEGO This Day in Gaming 🎂 In ye olde gamer news, I'm using Elika's sun magic to light a 16-candle cake baked for Prince of Persia (2008), a stylish reboot that basically paired a cocky, parkouring Nolan North playing Nolan North with a magical partner in a corrupted kingdom...

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Steam Machine vs. PlayStation 5: Is Valve’s Gaming PC a Console Competitor?

There’s a new block on the block, or at least there will be soon. The Steam Machine, Valve’s new cuboid mini gaming PC disguised as a game console is coming early next year. And that’s exciting! I mean, when was the last time anybody had a shot at squeezing into this market lorded over by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo for more than two decades? And how will it fare, specifically, against the PlayStation 5? I wish I could say this is a straightforward choice, but it’s just not. The Steam Machine will come with all of the full richness of the Steam game library, and it will have certain capabilities beyond what Sony offers for the PS5 – it is a full-on Linux computer, after all. Yet it’s likely that the PS5 will be the cheaper, more...

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MOBA Project ZETA Announces Signups Are Open for Final Closed Beta

Upcoming multiteam MOBA game Project ZETA announced today that signups are open for its next beta test, which will begin on Steam on December 12. This final closed beta will be the last chance to jump in early before the game goes public, and the developers have asked for opinionated players to help shape its future. If you’re not already familiar with Project ZETA, we can catch you up to speed. Developed by Nirvanana, a team built of former Eternal Return devs, it mixes up the traditional MOBA formula in two key ways. First, instead of the standard of having two teams go head-to-head, it pits five teams against each other at the same time in a race to capture Prisms, the game’s most precious resource. There are multiple ways to get...

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Girls’ Frontline 2: Exilium Unveils the Overhauled Crew Deck and Anniversary Rewards

Girls’ Frontline 2: Exilium is celebrating its first anniversary, introducing a major update with brand-new Crew Deck gameplay. Now there are more ways than ever to interact with your T-Dolls, with exclusive animations and story content for nearly 40 characters. Each Doll has unique behaviors that come out as you spend more time with them, and there are interaction scenes between certain Dolls when they show up together. New Features Land in Crew Deck Upgrade With the Crew Deck open, Commanders will find fully realized 3D versions of the collectible cabinet and armory in addition to the new interactive story moments. Commanders should have received mail with an item that lets them unlock the interactive story scene for the hard-eyed...

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Battlefield 6 Devs Outline Upcoming Audio Fixes and Multiplayer Mode Adjustments Ahead of Update 1.1.3.0

EA and Battlefield Studios are preparing Battlefield 6 players for Season 1: Winter Offensive with a community letter with a list of changes set to be introduced with the upcoming 1.1.3.0 update. The message, which aims to roll out the welcome mat for what will be yet another feedback-driven update, was posted on the official Battlefield 6 website today. It comes with a breakdown for some of the community talking points BF Studios has attempted to address so far, while giving fans a closer look at what’s to come when Winter Offensive launches December 9. With anticheat, challenge/progression, and Escalation updates topping the list of recent highlights, BF Studios is turning its attention to a number of key issues across combat...

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wasn't Just An Enormous Sales Success, It Was Also The Biggest New Third-Party Launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2025, Despite L

The highly-acclaimed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just added yet another accolade to its name — as it's now the biggest new third-party game launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2025. Microsoft announced the news today after examining data from every day one Xbox Game Pass launch this year, and ranking every third-party game by the number of unique users during its first 30 days of availability. It's a hugely impressive achievement for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the debut game from French studio Sandfall Interactive, for several different reasons. Firstly, because the game arrived just two days after Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (which itself also launched via Game Pass). And secondly, because we already know that...

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Final Fantasy 7's Aerith Has Had Enough of 'Creeps' Tagging Voice Actors With 'Smut' Featuring Their Characters

Briana White, the actress who portrays Aerith in Final Fantasy 7, has called on fans to stop tagging voice artists in spicy material featuring their characters. The discussion began after White saw KPop: Demon Hunters actor Rei Ami discovering adult fanfiction featuring her character Zoey. In response, White suggested fans in general had "forgotten the meaning of the word inappropriate." "Maybe let's normalize not tagging voice actors in smut of their characters," White wrote in a series of posts on X. But many fans responded by saying Ami had gone on to look for the content purposefully — to which White then suggested it was all a matter of "consent." "It's really a shame when VAs want to interact with the people who love the...

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Geoff Keighley's Mysterious The Game Awards Statue Reportedly Isn't Teasing The Elder Scrolls 6, Diablo, or God of War — So What Is It Teasing?

Geoff Keighley’s mysterious The Game Awards teaser statue has sparked rampant speculation about which video game announcement it relates to, but so far the internet is stumped. Keighley kicked off The Game Awards hype train last week by tweeting a picture of a demonic monolith located in the Mojave Desert alongside the confusing caption "regal.inspiring.thickness." Windows Central reporter Jez Corden took to social media to say the tease related to an expansion for Blizzard’s action role-playing game, Diablo 4. Blizzard had said Diablo 4 was set to get an expansion in 2026 (alongside a new ranking system and leaderboards), so an appearance at The Game Awards later this month would make sense. But Corden’s claim was debunked by...

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Arrowhead CEO Responds to Call for the Helldivers Movie Director to Play the Game at Least Once

The CEO of Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has responded to fan concern about the choice of Justin Lin as the director of the Helldivers movie, after it emerged he leaned into not being a gamer for his pitch. Helldivers 2 is an explosive co-op focused action shooter that’s a lot like a video game version of cult sci-fi classic Starship Troopers. You play as a disposable soldier in an ongoing galactic war, defending a fascist Super Earth regime against alien robots called Automatons and bugs called Terminids, all the while preaching "Managed Democracy." (Incidentally, Sony is also working on a new Starship Troopers movie, which should make for a somewhat bizarre one-two punch of sci-fi satire.) This week, The Hollywood Reporter...

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Resident Evil Requiem Gameplay Snippet Shows Fresh Area That Sure Looks a Lot Like Resident Evil 1

New gameplay footage of Resident Evil Requiem has teased a glimpse at a fresh area in the game filled with classic zombies — and it all looks very Resident Evil 1. The snippet comes from a special Resident Evil program that aired recently on Japanese TV, shared online by long-time Capcom leaker DuskGolem. Within the footage, we can see Requiem's lead character Grace Ashcroft approaching a staircase in a dimly-lit mansion, and taking aim at a shuffling zombie. Ashcroft's shots miss, and the zombie lunges forward to grab the character. It looks like the undead enemy manages to gnaw her arm, before she eventually fights it off — only to find another zombie waiting for her down the corridor. It's only a short clip, but fans are...

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'Joke's on Them' — No Man's Sky Creator Ridicules 'Extremely Similar' Once Human Premium Cosmetic Item, Says It Was Unfinished Anyway

No Man's Sky fans have claimed that an asset from the sci-fi sandbox game has been repurposed for sale in Once Human without permission — and now the boss of Hello Games has gotten involved. This week, No Man's Sky fans on reddit flagged an "extremely similar" cosmetic item in Once Human that's now being sold within the post-apocalyptic surival title as a high-tier lootbox reward. The object, No Man's Sky's circular Base Teleport Module, looks to have been repurposed as some kind of sci-fi exercise bike, with the addition of a simple bicyle frame and a fresh paint job. Now, the controversy has stretched beyond the realm of reddit and reached Sean Murray, the head of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, after fans flagged their...

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Elden Ring Nightreign Update 1.03 Out Now Ahead of The Forsaken Hollows DLC — Check Out the Patch Notes

FromSoftware is pushing out a new patch for Elden Ring Nightreign, introducing a raft of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and improvements ahead of The Forsaken Hollows DLC. The Forsaken Hollows is Elden Ring Nightreign's first meaty, proper, named DLC. It drops tomorrow (December 4) and includes new bosses, new shifting earth, and new playable Nightfarers. Today's patch adds support for the DLC, but it also adds a number of new features and important balance changes for all players. The patch notes, below, apply to all versions: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Elden Ring Nightreign update 1.03 patch notes: New features Added support for The Forsaken Hollows. If you own the DLC The Forsaken Hollows, it will be...

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Someone Actually Just Escaped From Tarkov — and Now the Floodgates Are Open

Brace yourself: someone has finally actually Escape(d) from Tarkov. As posted on Escape From Tarkov's Instagram feed, streamer Tigz has somehow actually managed to… well, escape, making them the first player to do so in the eight years the game has been live. "Congratulations to Tigz on being the first to Escape From Tarkov," the post reads. "You survived. But at what cost." Nikita Buyanov, director of the ultra hardcore extraction shooter, also celebrated the achievement, albeit confirming poor Tigz secured the "worst ending though… not cool." To be fair to other players, escape was only possible since the 1.0 version of the game went live last month, ushering in the crucial final map, Terminal. Nonetheless, it's an incredible...

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'Of Course We're Not Going to Stop Here' — Monster Hunter Developers Talk About the Future of the Series at PlayStation Awards

At the PlayStation Partner Awards 2025 Japan Asia held in Tokyo on December 3, Monster Hunter Wilds won the Grand Award and the User's Choice Award. In an interview held before the award ceremony, Ryozo Tsujimoto, the producer of this work, and Yuya Tokuda, the director, answered questions from local media. IGN Japan was in attendance. When Monster Hunter Wilds was first released on February 28, some players left harsh feedback, but Tokuda said the team worked to improve the game by taking advantage of that feedback. "Immediately after the release, we apologized for the inconvenience caused by the volume of content and the difficulty level. Despite this, we were delighted to receive various awards, including Users' Choice awards. We...

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Octopath Traveler 0 Review in Progress

Lengthy RPGs are one of the great joys in my life, but it can sometimes feel a bit daunting to pack one into just a few weeks for the review process. As of writing this, I have played just over 70 hours of Octopath Traveler 0 and am nearing the final few chapters in its main questline – and having played these kinds of RPGs most of my life, I already know those "final few chapters" will be anything but short. However, I'm eager to wrap them up in the coming days because it's been a worthwhile journey so far. Between the new wrinkles in its dynamic combat system and some fantastic music that uplift its big battles, Octopath Traveler 0 is hitting the right notes and delivering the things I seek from RPGs. The tales told within its various...

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Artist Who Said Bungie's Marathon Had Assets 'Lifted' From Poster Designs She Made in 2017 Confirms 'The Issue Has Been Resolved'

Fern "Antireal" Hook, the artist who found her own designs and graphics in Bungie's Marathon, has confirmed she has "resolved" the issue with the studio and its parent company Sony. In a brief update posted to X/Twitter, Hook wrote: "The Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction." She did not provide details of any settlement. Destiny 2 developer Bungie found itself battling accusations of plagiarism back in May after Hook accused the studio of lifting aspects of her artwork for its upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon. In screenshots taken from Marathon's alpha playtest accompanying the tweet, Hook alleged she could see distinct icons and graphics she designed, some of...

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The Physics Inside a Black Hole Are Still a Mystery in the 41st Millennium, According to a New Warhammer 40,000 Novel — Even to the Necrons

The Warhammer 40,000 setting contains some pretty advanced technology. Blackstone Fortresses can destroy entire solar systems. The Aeonic Orb contains the power of an entire sun. And — get this — the Speranza, a massive vessel the size of a continent, can actually manipulate a black hole and fire it. Ouch! So yeah, the Warhammer 40,000 setting has galaxy crushing might under its belt. But, it seems, the various races of the 41st millennium still don’t know what’s going on inside a black hole. And that’s not just the Imperium of Man letting the side down, either. It seems no-one — not even the incredibly advanced Necrons — have managed to work it out. Confirmation comes from one of the latest Warhammer 40,000 novels, Guy Hayley’s...

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