January 2023

A few days ahead of visiting EA Motive for our Dead Space-focused IGN First, I played the original game for the first time since 2008. I only intended to play the first hour or so, but seven hours later I found myself still battling through the rusted corpse of the USG Ishimura. I always knew Dead Space was a modern classic, but I was surprised just how well it stood up all these years later. And so I headed to meet the developers with a slightly cynical mindset: what was the point of remaking something that remains so brilliant?

After playing the same seven hours of the remake, I think I may have been convinced. In many ways Dead Space is a purist’s remake; I’d estimate that around 85% of what I experienced was identical to the original game, just with vastly superior visuals. But it’s the other 15% that has me quietly wondering… could this remake genuinely be better than its progenitor?

Many of these changes are gameplay improvements, several of which are drawn directly from Dead Space 2. The zero gravity sequences now allow you to move freely in all directions, rather than hop from surface to surface. This obviously allows for a better sense of freedom, but segments redesigned around this ability are notably more interesting than their original counterpart. The centrifuge generator puzzle in chapter three is now a genuine spectacle, while the ADS cannon repair job has been completely changed to be a dangerous space walk that amps up the tension.

Paradox Interactive and developer Triumph Studios have announced Age of Wonders 4 nine years after the previous game was released.

A launch date of May 2, 2023 was also announced, with Age of Wonders 4 coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

Combining strategy RPG combat with turn-based combat, players can create the empire of their choosing by blending different cultural traits into their people that later manifest in combat.

Triumph also promised an intense level of choices and consequences that may even have implications in later games. Random events and world configurations have also been added to try and keep things fresh, with the intention of making Age of Wonders 4 endlessly replayable.

“For 25 years now, Triumph has been exploring new places to take our original fantasy strategy series, and the fans who have taken the journey with us have made it a rewarding endeavor,” said co-founder of Triumph and director of Age of Wonders 4 Lennart Sas.

“Even after all this time, we’re still adding amazing new ideas to Age of Wonders, and whether you’ve been playing since the beginning or ready to visit our worlds for the first time, you’re about to experience something special.”

In our 7/10 review of the previous game, IGN said: “It does all the little things right with its fantasy tactical battles, but it struggles to find its footing on the larger, strategic scale.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Trophies may not be for everyone, but for me and many others Trophy hunting is fun method of achieving that sweet, sweet 100% completion on a game. A much-deserved prize for doing everything there is to do. Lots of games have easy requirements for Platinum Trophies, and often certain quests or challenges associated with them will reward you with cool stuff for going the extra mile. But while collecting Trophies is mostly a lot of fun, sometimes one comes along that makes us question our choices in life. To those we say, "F This Trophy".

This week's 'F this Trophy' is the DMW Master Trophy from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. The DMW is a strange slot machine-style mechanic that constantly ticks over during battles, its three reels displaying the faces of characters you have met across the story. When those reels align and display three of the same character, it triggers a Limit Break; a powerful ability associated with that character.

The DMW Master Trophy requires you to achieve 100% completion for each of the 18 Limit Breaks in the game. Now you might be saying 'Hey, Jada, that doesn’t sound so bad – Limit Breaks are awesome! Channeling Sephiroth's Octaslash, Aerith's Healing Wave, and all the other character's special abilities in battle can help turn the tide, so you want to use them whenever possible.'

Following Microsoft’s extremely frustrating no-show at The Game Awards last month, the folks at Team Xbox kicked off 2023’s events calendar by announcing its first-ever Xbox Developer_Direct, aka Microsoft Is Finally Stealing the Nintendo Direct Format Just Like Sony Did With State of Play Because This Format Just Works. The broadcast is next Wednesday, January 25, at 12pm PT/3pm ET, and we’ll have it live on all of IGN’s channels. Four games will be highlighted, and one will not: Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Elder Scrolls Online are in, and Starfield is out – with the latter getting its own separate Direct sometime in the future.

First, I must commend Microsoft for messaging Starfield’s absence up front. The company has a history of tarnishing its otherwise-good showcases by failing to properly set the Xbox community’s expectations up front. They have done so here, though they would be wise to make sure that the same message is communicated directly in the, um, Direct itself, to ensure fans who aren’t on social media or reading sites like IGN don’t end up disappointed.

On that note, my first prediction for the Xbox Direct, as I and everyone else is going to call it forever, is that we’ll get a date for the Starfield Direct in this upcoming showcase. Xbox desperately needs release dates right now and if we’re not going to get that for Starfield at this event, then a date for a dedicated Starfield broadcast – where we probably will get the release date – is the next best thing.

Accessibility is not a trend. With over 400 million disabled players globally, studios are actively working to ensure their games include features and design practices that benefit disabled individuals. From changing key bindings to adjusting subtitle size, accessibility understanding continues to grow with each passing year and 2022 was no exception.

Last year saw the release of multiple titles that put accessibility at the forefront, not only revolutionizing the industry but demonstrating that not every option needs to be innovative. Part of the reason why 2022 was so successful for disabled players was because developers refined many of the tools that are now commonplace across genres and systems. Not every game needs to reinvent the accessibility wheel, but rather keep polishing and improving current options and designs. For me, 2022’s accessibility offerings proved that a single setting or design decision could open entire worlds. Let’s examine some of my favorites and explore what made them so entertaining and accessible.

Elden Ring

FromSoftware titles are notorious amongst the disabled community for being inaccessible nightmares. Even me listing this as one of my favorites has the potential to draw immense criticism from my disabled peers. In terms of options, Elden Ring’s selection is relatively bare. There are no settings aside from brightness adjusters for blind/low vision players, subtitles are only available for spoken words, and physically disabled players like me can’t even rebind every key. But the levels of choice people have within The Lands Between are so vast that Elden Ring perfectly encapsulates the notion that a game can be accessible without extensive menus.

Blizzard Entertainment is being investigated by a law firm after it allegedly misrepresented the effects of the purchasable Blessing of the Worthy gem in Diablo: Immortal.

This legendary item now lies at the heart of a potential class action lawsuit from the firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, which is investigating Activision Blizzard on the basis that it misrepresented the effects of the Blessing of the Worthy gem.

As reported by Polygon, the description of this gem - which has since been changed to accurately reflect the item’s capabilities - stated that the gem would grant a 20% chance to deal damage to enemies that amounted to 12% of the player’s maximum life.

But the damage dealt by the gem is actually equivalent to 12% of the player’s current life, which means the gem becomes less effective the lower the player’s health gets.

The legendary gem was available to purchase either by itself or as part of various bundles, some of which cost over $100. Members of the Diablo Immortal community have since voiced their anger at the misrepresentation in a reddit post announcing an update to the item's description. The developer also gave players a set of free gems by way of an apology for the error.

Ubisoft has confirmed that one of the games it cancelled last week was the mysterious Project Q, its online battle arena game.

Speaking to Eurogamer, a Ubisoft spokesperson said it was cancelling development on the game, which was only announced in April 2022, to focus on other projects.

It was one of three games cancelled by the Assassin's Creed publisher last week to counter what it called "major challenges" of the industry, in a move that also saw Skull and Bones delayed for the sixth time.

"We can confirm we will no longer support the development of Project Q in order to focus on priority projects, to which our teams are being reallocated," the spokesperson said.

Project Q was a "team battle arena" game that had several public testing periods planned that of course never came to fruition. A single image of the game was shared alongside its announcement, showing a handful of cartoon characters battling in what looks like New York City's Central Park.

Very little else was known about the game, though it appeared to look somewhat similar to Fortnite despite Ubisoft making clear it wasn't a Battle Royale.

Skybound Entertainment is returning to the world of the popular mobile game Summoners War. Skybound is teaming with publisher Com2uS to release a second spinoff comic called Summoners War: Awakening.

Summoners War: Awakening is a direct sequel to the original Summoners War: Legacy comic. Awakening reunites writer Justin Jordan (whom you may also recognize from the Luther Strode franchise) and artist Luca Claretti, with Igor Monti (Radiant Black) coloring the series this time.

Season 2 of both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 have been delayed while Activision makes several changes in response to player feedback.

As reported by Eurogamer, Call of Duty announced the two week delay in a tweet (below), meaning Season 2 will now launch on February 15 instead of February 1.

"Our studio teams have been making several changes based on what we heard from our player community," Activision said.

Season 2 will be launching on February 15.

Stay tuned for additional intel. pic.twitter.com/Ro68oGmcM5

— Call of Duty UK (@CallofDutyUK) January 18, 2023

Season 2 will see the return of fan-favourite Resurgence mode and also add a brand new small map for Warzone, and Activision has also made changes to the Gulag, looting, and loadouts.

As for Modern Warfare 2, Activision is add several multiplayer maps, new modes, and weapons, and Ranked Play is also returning.

All of that time away has taken its toll on the Croft Manor, and now the iconic Tomb Raider locale needs a scrub down. To restore Lara Croft's lavish dwellings, PowerWash Simulator will crossover with Tomb Raider later this month in a free DLC for all players.

On January 31, the bizarre crossover from Square Enix Collective and FuturLab brings a free Tomb Raider Special Pack to PowerWash Simulator owners on consoles and PC. The trailer shows off a few familiar places around Lara's home, including an outdoors obstacle course reminiscent of her earliest PlayStation adventures.

Grapple with grime at Lara Croft’s stately Manor home in the PowerWash Simulator Tomb Raider Special Pack DLC.

Launches Jan 31, same day the game hits PS5 and PS4: https://t.co/MR8XEjrVFA pic.twitter.com/xOSzowE78a

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) January 18, 2023

It looks like the inside has plenty to tidy, too. The PowerWash Simulator footage teases a few clean-up jobs around the Croft Manor, where layers of grime and dirt cover everything from the walls to ancient artifacts.

It's not her most thrilling gig, but it at least looks satisfying. In a press release for the special Tomb Raider DLC, FuturLab lead designer Dan Chequer added, "We can’t wait for players to get up close and personal with Croft Manor and explore its many secrets!”

After today's announcement that Microsoft will lay off 10,000 people, details on how internal restructuring will hit its gaming divisions continue to emerge, with Halo Infinite's 343 Industries among the studios impacted.

According to Bloomberg, Joseph Staten, a Halo veteran who began his career with Bungie in 1998, will transition from his Halo Infinite creative director role and rejoin Xbox's publishing division. Staten joined the team at 343 Industries in 2020 as the campaign project lead on Halo Infinite and later saw a title change to Head of Creative.

Bloomberg's report includes an email from 343 Industries head Pierre Hintze, who explained the studio "made the difficult decision to restructure" and that support for Halo Infinite's live service features will continue. Details on Staten's new role and the exact degree of impact at 343 Industries remain unclear for now.

Spawn on Me host/creator Kahlief Adams returns to Unlocked to tell us all about Spawn on Me's upcoming awards show, The Spawnies. He then sticks around as we all make our predictions for next week's big Xbox Developer_Direct event. We predict release dates and a whole lot 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 our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase:

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

While there are clearly many millions of players who have secured their own PS5 and Xbox, lots are still looking. Whether you are trying to figure out which outlets have them available, which console and accessories you should actually buy, and what the pros and cons for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are, we've got you covered. Read on to find all that and more.

Where to Buy a PS5

Walmart has PlayStations available right now, while Amazon is still requiring you to apply for an invitation. However, the turnaround for those invitations is getting faster and faster.

Where to Buy Xbox Series X

Should I Buy a PS5 or an Xbox?

That's a complicated question that has a lot of answers. First, what types of games do you like? If you like single-player games with more serious tones, PlayStation arguably has the lead (at least right now), although some feel that there is a degree of "same-ness" to them, which is something to keep an eye on.

Xbox currently has what some consider to be less compelling single-player exclusives, but Xbox is arguably better for those who love multiplayer games, with better chat integration, cross-platform functionality with PC, and several exclusive games that feature multiplayer prominently. PlayStation 5 has some of the most celebrated and popular exclusive franchises, like Last of Us and God of War, while Xbox has heavy hitters like Halo, Forza and Flight Simulator, to name a few.

Ubisoft is facing turbulent times financially and in-house, and CEO Yves Guillemot was forced to reckon with recent comments he made shifting the blame to the staff.

After cancelling three unannounced games and delaying the release date of Skull and Bones for a sixth time, Guillemot told employees “the ball is in your court” to help get the $3 billion company back on track.

The changes at Ubisoft were scrapped up to "major challenges" in the industry, the underperformance of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023, and an upcoming "restructuring" for the publisher. On Wednesday, a new report from Kotaku revealed that Ubisoft had a company-wide Q&A to address the news of the restructuring. There, the CEO apologized for his previous comments.

“I heard your feedback and I’m sorry this was perceived that way,” Guillemot said, according to sources present. “When saying ‘the ball is in your court’ to deliver our lineup on time and at the expected level of quality, I wanted to convey the idea that more than ever I need your talent and energy to make it happen. This is a collective journey that starts of course with myself and with the leadership team to create the conditions for all of us to succeed together.”

Amidst news of a mass layoff of 10,000 people at Microsoft, a number of employees at Xbox Game Studios The Coalition, 343 Industries, and Bethesda are learning their jobs are being impacted.

According to reports at Bloomberg and Kotaku, a number of developers at the three Xbox studios were informed today that their positions were being elimintated. In total, 878 positions are being impacted immediately in Washington across all of Microsoft, while further layoffs are expected through March.

Specifically, layoffs hit The Coalition (which is responsible for the Gears franchise as well as an upcoming new IP), 343 Industries (which has been working on ongoing support for Halo Infinite), and Bethesda (working on the upcoming Starfield). It is not yet clear specifically how the layoffs impacted any of these projects, or how many people from each studios were affected.

IGN is pleased to exclusively reveal the five playable classes in Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, the upcoming horror multiplayer title from the executive director of Friday The 13th: The Game.

In the video above you can meet the five playable Klowns: the Trapster, Tracker, Scout, Fighter, and Tank. A team of three of these Klowns will be able to cause chaos in multiplayer matches versus seven other players taking the role of humans in the town of Crescent Cove. Each Klown is equipped with a raygun that can encase humans in a cotton candy cocoon, the Klown Jump ability that allows them to jump to any point on the map previously discovered by the team, and the all-important healing laughter ability. In addition, each Klown has their own signature set of skills that makes them unique.

Trapster

Based on Rudy from the Killer Klowns film, the Trapster is a trap-laying class designed to lock down humans and help other Klowns find them. His main weapon is the Jawbreaker Mace, which causes an explosion of popcorn on contact. When popcorn sticks to humans, all Klowns are able to see them through walls and on the map, and so the Trapster is able to tag enemies with every strike of the mace. He also has a deployable Popcorn Mine, which will also tag any human that runs over it. For a more grotesque trap option, he also has the Baby Klown, a disgusting larvae-like creature that latches on to humans and holds them in place.

The New York Game Awards 2023 have arrived and, alongside honoring CEO of Microsoft Gaming and head of Xbox Phil Spencer with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award, the show saw Elden Ring walk away victorious with the Game of the Year and the Best World awards.

The New York Video Game Critics Circle hosted the 12th annual New York Game Awards tonight, January 17, and it honored the best games, actors, esports athletes, and journalists of 2022.

Elden Ring was the only game to win multiple categories, meaning a ton of games were given the spotlight they deserve, including Vampire Survivors, God of War Ragnarok, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Immortality, and more.

As we previously mentioned, Phil Spencer won the Andrew Yoon Legend Award at the show, and it is "presented by the New York Videogame Critics Circle to recognize people and organizations that have exhibited a significant, sustained body of work that shows exceptional artistic achievement and innovation."

“Phil and I have been a part of this industry together for many years and I’ve always admired his ability to find new, creative ways to serve gamers,” said Reggie Fils-Aimé, former industry and COO and board member, NYVGCC. “Phil isn’t just an executive in games, he is a gamer himself and because of that he knows exactly what fans want when it comes to the Xbox brand. I am thrilled to have him join the prestigious ranks of Andrew Yoon Legend Award winners and look forward to celebrating his illustrious career at the New York Game Awards this January.”

The NPD Group has released its analysis of US game sales for the month of December and for the full year 2022, and while the full-year results aren't shocking, December specifically has some interesting tidbits in the game sales charts that shed a bit of light on how well two supposedly "underperforming" games have done lately: Callisto Protocol, and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.

First, Callisto Protocol. It debuted in December at No.17 on the US sales charts (ranked by dollar sales), reaching No. 10 on the PlayStation charts and not cracking the top 10 on Xbox at all. That's not bad in and of itself, to be clear: Callisto is a brand new IP by a brand new studio, after all. It was never going to beat out giants like Elden Ring or Call of Duty.

But it's a little bit surprising it didn't do better than some of its competition. For instance, it was beaten out by the nearly nine-year-old-and-only-on-one-major-platform Mario Kart 8 (which admittedly had some DLC recently that likely bolstered sales), the even-older Minecraft, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - another console exclusive that had no meaningful updates in December.

And it's notable too that reports have indicated Callisto Protocol didn't meet the company's sales expectations after being billed as a "quadruple-A" game and having an absolutely massive budget. Given that context, a multi-platform game with essentially an entire month of sales included in the report debuting at No.17 isn't great news.

It seems Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could feature live service elements including a store and a battle pass. This information comes from a leaked screenshot of the game four months ahead of its release.

VGC reports that the leaked image originated on 4chan, and the outlet says it confirmed with its own sources that the image is real. The screenshot shows what looks like the game's main menu, where we can see all four playable characters lined up.

First look at the Suicide Squad game menu. Mentions Battle Pass, Loadout, Missions based structure. #Batman #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/t3vmHmjQ8k

— Andrew Marmo (@the_marmolade) January 17, 2023

The left side of the screen shows a chapter select menu, while the bar on the top of the screen shows options including Looks, Loadout, Social, Store, and Battle Pass. This indicates that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could contain live service elements.