Gaming News

Not many things are better the smaller they get. Mortgages? Certainly. Golf scores? Sure. Kidney stones? Okay, yes. But video games? That’s more of a grey area. For The Crew Motorfest, developer Ivory Tower has chosen to give its chunky interpretation of the entire continental USA the chop in favour of something far more concise: a scaled-down riff of the single island of O’ahu, Hawaii. The result is better in some ways and worse in others, but overall it’s actually an experience that sometimes feels like it’s trying harder to emulate Forza Horizon than its own predecessors. I can’t say I blame them considering how much I loved Horizon 5, and they’ve done a good enough job at it that I’ve had many great moments in Motorfest over the...

Ascendant Studios, the developer behind the recently released Immortals of Avenum, has laid off nearly half its staff. The news was first reported by Polygon, and confirmed by CEO Bret Robbins shortly after.In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Robbins stated that 45% of the team had been laid off in a "difficult, but necessary" decision following the release of Immortals of Aveum. He added that the studio is supporting those impacted in "every way we can" including severance packages, job placement assistance, and support services for those who are still at the studio. He also indicates that those impacted were largely Unreal Engine 5 artists and engineers.Polygon's report indicates that this layoff impacted around 40 people total...

PlayStation held its latest State of Play Showcase, where Sony's gaming arm focused on upcoming indie and third-party games on the way to PlayStation consoles as well as the PlayStation VR2 headset.If you missed the event, don't worry, this roundup covers all the announcements that appeared during the September 2023 PlayStation State of Play showcase.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is Out on February 29, 2024The last (but biggest) announcement coming out of today's State of Play was the release date for the second part of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will released exclusively on PS5 on February 29, 2024. More interestingly, the end of the trailer unveiled that Rebirth will be released on...

Starfield is out now, and what good sci-fi western is complete without a charming robot buddy? Starfield's version of that is Vasco, and the bi-pedal robot has a new 1/6 scale figure available to preorder today at the IGN Store. You can move Vasco's legs, arms, hands, and fingers into tons of different poses, and the highly-detailed, scuffed paint job gives Vasco an in-game feel.Check out the figure for yourself at the IGN Store through the link below.You can preorder the figure beginning today for $369, and it's expected to ship beginning in Q3 2024.For more, check out the rest of our Starfield products at the IGN Store, including zipper hoodies, adjustable Constellation caps, t-shirts, and more.Continue reading...

Avatar, the upcoming adaptation of James Cameron's popular franchise, received a new gameplay during Sony's State of Play in September.The narrated trailer shows first-person views of its Na'vi character leaping off cliffs, battling the RDA's familiar mechs, and generally looking pretty cool. The new trailer offers a fresh glimpse at Ubisoft's upcoming open world game, which has been described as Far Cry on Pandora.A follow-up post on the PlayStation Blog elaborates further on what's shown in the trailer, revealing that the hero is one of the remaining members of the Sarentu clan who was put into cryosleep following the Battle of the Hallelujah Mountains from the first movie. When you awaken 15 years later, you are a stranger to...

Here's one that wasn't on the bingo card: Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco's 2021 RPG hit, is getting an unexpected expansion two years after the game first came out.Announced at today's State of Play, we got a look at the expansion, which will include what seems like a pretty hefty chunk of new content. It is set after the original game and features the return of the original game's cast as well.Tales of Arise was the winner of our award for the best RPG of 2021, with our review praising its "beautifully realized world" and "story that isn't afraid to tackle heavy subjects." Here's hoping the DLC can live up to the praise the base game garnered at the time.The new expansion will be out November 9. You can read our full recap of...

Following a brief tease earlier this year, we finally have a better look and a release date for Helldivers 2 courtesy of today's State of Play. It's coming out on PS5 and PC on Feb. 8, 2024.Helldivers 2 was first announced in May as a sequel to top-down shooter Helldivers, and is planned for release on PS5 and PC. IGN gave the original game a 9/10, saying it "isn’t the prettiest game you can play on PS4, PS3 or Vita, but Helldivers is one of the most exhilarating" and that it was "brutal, focused, and mechanically rich." Developing...Continue reading...

The Resident Evil 4 Separate Ways DLC launches September 21, Capcom has announced.A fresh look at the add-on was unveiled during Sony's State of Play broadcast, with an additional gameplay trailer due out September 18.Separate Ways tells the story of Ada Wong and her parallel journey through the events of Resident Evil 4, filling in unanswered questions from the main story. The full story will be revealed as you view both sides of events from both Ada and Leon’s viewpoints, Capcom producer Edvin Edsö said in a post on the PlayStation Blog.Here's the setup, according to Capcom: "Before Leon S. Kennedy had even set foot in that cursed village, she was there. Her mission? The retrieval of the cult’s darkest secret — the Amber...

The next game from the Ape Out creators, Baby Steps, just got a narrowed release window for next year during today's State of Play - it's coming out in the summer of 2024.Baby Steps is the most literal interpretation of a walking simulator possible: you play as Nate, a man who, well, walks. And wears a onesie? The game features "fully-simulated physics-based walking" where you control every aspect of Nate putting one foot in front of the other in minute detail as he puts one foot in front of the other. Everything he does is fully physically simulated though, so he'll probably fall down a lot as you take Nate on a trek up a "mountain-sized mountain" with a dynamic soundtrack and "soilage system" ensuring your onesie gets fully and...

Amid an avalanche of quirky simulators that ask us to do everything from drive bus routes to powerwash dirty grills in the backyard, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to discover the upcoming AirportSim just straight up had me work a job at an airport. And yet, this seemingly benign 9-5 shift put me through a whole host of emotions, from wondering if I’d been tricked into doing someone else’s work to laughing hysterically when everything went horribly wrong. Although this early look at a game that’s still not finished sometimes made me wonder if it was tragically broken in the worst kind of way, it also provided more than a few moments where the clouds parted to reveal a potentially awesome new sim game. After more than a dozen hours...

Hades II will be released in Early Access next spring.Supergiant Games announced in a blog post today that the sequel to the award-winning 2020 indie roguelite dunegon crawler will be released in Early Access exclusively on Steam and Epic Games Store in Q2 of 2024, so sometime between next April and June. The anticipated sequel released its first trailer during its reveal announcement at last year's Game Awards and in its blog post today, Supergiant anticipated responses along the lines of "the game looked pretty far along in the first trailer!""The reason [for the wait] is, Hades II will have at least as much content from day one in Early Access as the original game did back when it launched in Early Access on Steam," Supergiant...

Dark Horse continues to be one of the best outlets for Mass Effect fans hungry for new collectibles. IGN can exclusively reveal a set of three new figures inspired by the popular sc-fi gaming series.Head down to the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at all three figures included in this new wave:Featured in this line are figures of both Liara T’Soni and Garrus Vakarian, as well as a ship replica of the Reaper Sovereign. The latter marks the third time Dark Horse has tackled this iconic sentient villain, following the original 14-inch Reaper Sovereign statue and the scaled-down silver rerelease.All three figures are actually non-posable statues cast in PVC. Liara and the reaper Sovereign measure 8 inches tall, while...

Indie hit Dave the Diver is coming to Nintendo Switch this October.Revealed during today's Nintendo Direct, it won't be a long wait for Switch owners to try out Dave the Diver, as it's coming to the platform on October 26. And, a free demo will hit the eShop later today. This marks the first console Dave the Diver will be available on after officially releasing on PC earlier this year.Dave the Diver is a casual adventure RPG where players explore the deep sea and manage a sushi bar. But the game is constantly mixing things up with minigames and side quests that always keep players on their toes.We awarded Dave the Diver a 9 in our review, saying, "Dave The Diver is a tremendous and unforgettable RPG adventure that I can’t put...

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, the spiritual sequel to Suikoden, finally has a release date. Announced during today's Nintendo Direct, it's slated to release April 23.First announced back in 2020, Eiyuden Chronicle is a lovely-looking 2D RPG in which you can recruit a large number of characters. It's being developed by a team led by Yoshitaka Murayama, who was one of the chief architects of the original Suikoden — a beloved series of Japanese RPG known for their sweeping war epics, numerous characters, and one excellent cooking mini-game.Eiyuiden Chronicle sparked tremendous excitement when it was first announced and quickly reached its various crowdfunding goals. It was subsequently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but...

The first three Tomb Raider games are being remastered for Nintendo Switch and they are set to arrive on February 14, 2024.Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft will not only feature updated visuals, but they will include all of the expansions and secret levels for each game. Players will also be able toggle between the original polygon look of the games and the updated visuals whenever they desire.The original Tomb Raider was released in 1996 and Tomb Raider 2 and 3 followed in 1997 and 1998, respectively. These games kicked off one of the most iconic franchises and characters in gaming history.There have since been many new entries and spin-offs, and the series got a reboot trilogy beginning in 2013 that brought...

Today is a special day for Nintendo fans, marking the date the company held its September 2023 Nintendo Direct. The latest show lasted about 40 minutes, filled with exciting announcements on games coming to Nintendo's hybrid console this winter.There were a ton of announcements, and if you missed today's broadcast, fear not. This roundup goes over all the biggest news and reveals that came from the September 2023 Nintendo Direct.Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door HD AnnouncedAnother beloved game from Nintendo's portfolio is getting the remastered treatment. This time, it's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. We did not get a ton of information outside of updated visuals and the fact that it will be out next year on the Nintendo...

Phantom Liberty, the first and only major expansion for Cyberpunk 2077, is nearly here. The highly anticipated DLC, which adds new quests, stories, locations, characters, and abilities, will be accompanied by a major update to the base game that adds all-new, highly requested gameplay systems.In anticipation of the expansion and base game update, we’ve compiled this overview of everything we know about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, including its release date, platforms, price, gameplay updates, story details, and more.You can also check out our preview of Phantom Liberty for an extended demo.Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Release DateCyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be released on September 26. You can see the full list...

Starfield has a quite remarkable glitch that lets you take everything a major vendor has and sell it back to him for infinite money.The glitch, spotted by redditor Heretic0 and verified by IGN, revolves around the small puddle outside Shepherd's General Store in Akila City. Here’s how it works:Shift into third-person Crouch Move to the small puddle directly outside Shepherd's General Store ProfitIncredibly, this puddle grants guilt-free access to what appears to be the Shepherd's General Store vendor chest hidden underneath the map. You can grab all the many items within (watch out for encumbrance!), then sell them for money. Adding insult to injury, you can sell the items to Emerson Shepherd himself. Perhaps that’s why he...

The creator of popular Steam survival game Rust has hit out at Unity amid the ongoing furore around new charges.Unity sent shockwaves through the video game industry when it announced a new policy that means some developers will have to pay a small fee every time someone downloads a game built on Unity's game engine.The Unity Runtime Fee, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024, was universally panned by developers on social media following the announcement. Unity later walked back some aspects of the policy amid escalating anger from developers, insisting the fee would only apply to the initial installation of a game, and that developers would not be on the hook for installations through subscription services such as Xbox Game...

Baldur’s Gate 3’s third major patch launches September 21, developer Larian has announced. Patch 3 launches alongside full support for Baldur’s Gate 3 on Mac.The hope with Patch 3 is Larian is able to address ongoing performance issues, particularly with Act 3, across PC and console now the sprawling Dungeons and Dragons-themed role-playing game is out on PlayStation 5.As IGN reported, Baldur's Gate 3’s split-screen mostly works fine, but performance tanks when two characters explore different parts of a city, with the frames per second fluctuating especially in the densely populated Act 3.Split-screen has proven to be a pain point for Baldur's Gate 3, particularly on Xbox. Larian compromised by removing split-screen from the...

Well, it's a particularly notable day for Resi Evil fans. In 2002, the remake train started with a GameCube reimagining of 1996's Resident Evil. On the same day one year previous, PS2 folks got a taste of Code Veronica—a brilliant entry that was the first to include a real-time 3D environment. I humbly invite Capcom to remake it at their earliest possible convenience.This Day in GamingAussie birthdays for notable games and hardware- Mario Golf (N64) 1994. Sequel- Omega Boost (PS) 1999.- Resident Evil Code: Veronica (PS2) 2001.- Resident Evil (GC) 2002. Sequel- Dead Rising (X360) 2006.- Yakuza (PS2) 2006. Remake- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (PSP) 2006.- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PC,PS4,XO) 2018.Table of Contents...

A busy week sees us digging into a number of topics, including our hands-on impressions of Forza Motorsport, Gearbox reportedly being put back up for sale by the financially wobbly Embracer Group, saluting Epic Games Chief Creative Office Donald Mustard upon his retirement as we remember his three awesome Xbox exclusives from the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 days, the Xbox MasterCard and why you should be careful with it, and more!Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out IGN racing game guru Luke Reilly's recent in-depth Forza Motorsport hands-on preview in the video below!For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox...

Unity caused a firestorm of backlash from game developers on social media yesterday following its announcement that it would begin charging developers a small fee every time someone downloads a game built on Unity's game engine.Even though Unity has already walked back some aspects of the Unity Runtime Fee, the controversial policy is still scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024. This is causing many developers to contemplate the future of their games — including both titles built on Unity that are already released and games currently in development with Unity's game engine.So, what does this all mean for you, the player? Right now, it's all up in the air. Some developers are seriously considering de-listing their games from...

Game developers are still furious about Unity's planned install fees, but the platform holder is holding fast to its new policy, arguing that "90 percent of [Unity] customers will not be affected by this change.Ackowledging the "confusion and frustration" stemming from the proposed runtime fees, Unity sought to clarify questions about how the company defines and counts installs — one of the major sticking points around the new policy. Unity has previously said that it will charge $0.20 per install for any game with more than 200,000 installs, raising questions about multiple installs, Game Pass, and other issues.Unity claims it will only count "net new installs" on any devices starting January 1. It also says developers won't pay...

Those looking for more information about Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will want to mark their calendars for Sept. 19, as SEGA has announced a RGG Like a Dragon Direct for that day.The stream, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s first dedicated Western broadcast, promises to share "the latest news, trailers, and more" for aforementioned titles and will serve as the dev team’s counterpart to the RGG Summit airing from Japan. It will air on SEGA’s Twitch and YouTube channels at 9 p.m. PT on Sept. 19.Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is just a few months from release, hitting Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on Nov. 9. We have less information...

I just got my hands on Mortal Kombat 1 a few days ago, so a full review won’t be ready for a little bit, but it’s already making a strong impression.If there’s one thing you can applaud Netherrealm for with regards to the gameplay system of each new Mortal Kombat game since MK9, it’s that each one plays dramatically different from the last without sacrificing that very distinct Mortal Kombat feel. So it’s not surprising that, even before we get to the crazy Kameo system, Mortal Kombat 1 makes some drastic changes from MK11 that really set it apart. For starters, it returns the meter management to just one meter that governs enhanced special moves, breakers, and now jump cancels out of uppercuts; fatal blows are still around, but are...

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen is leaving Electronic Arts, Bloomberg reports."After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck," an EA spokesperson said. "Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor."Asmussen has been a director at Respawn Entertainment since 14. Before that he worked at Sony Interactive Entertainment, where he worked primarily on the God of War series, including helming God of War III. Asmussen has not disclosed his next destination.The Star Wars: Jedi series has been a notable success story for EA...

Among Us could be another major casualty of Unity's new installation fee, which has sparked chaos throughout the games industry since its announcement yesterday. Speaking with IGN, Innersloth programmer Forest Willard confirmed that "pulling Among Us for a while" is on the table while the developer looks for a solution."We're lucky to have the resources that we could swap engines and I see no reason to pay Unity for nothing while we do it," Willard said. "I'm really hoping they'll just walk it back, but they should honestly be afraid of how much trust they're burning with whatever this maneuver is."Willard has been among the most vocal detractors of the new policy, which will seek to charge developers a nominal fee for each install...

Sega announced that it will be bringing over Demon Slayer - Sweep the Board to Nintendo Switch in 2024.It’s a board game that looks to be similar to that of Mario Party and allows up to four people to play together, either locally or online. There will be several characters from the Demon Slayer cast that players can choose from, including Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Unosuke Hashibira, and nine other Hashiras. Additionally, Nezuko Kamado will be in the game as a support character.Players will participate in a variety of mini-games and the game board will switch between day and night. As players move forward on the board, different events will trigger and they must work together to bring down demons in their way.It’s...

There’s an old joke about 4X games that goes something like this: after you spend several hours on YouTube watching tutorials, you get to fumble your way through a playthrough with a vague idea of what you’re doing before you inevitably make some fatal mistake you don’t recognize until much, much later. Then you restart and do a little better. Star Trek: Infinite isn’t interested in re-inventing the galactic wheel - this is a 4X game’s 4X game - but it does do a good job of bringing Trek into the space that publisher Paradox Interactive has boldly charted over the years.From the jump, Star Trek: Infinite lets you choose from four factions: the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, and the Cardassian Union. The...