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Apex Legends players just got a closer look at the game's upcoming collaboration with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth via a new trailer for the event. The Apex Legends & Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Event was initially announced at 2023's The Game Awards on December 7, though the presentation didn't include many details, leaving fans of both games wondering what exactly the event would entail. According to the new trailer, the new event will give players access to a new limited-time mode, tons of Final Fantasy-themed cosmetic skins, and a new Buster Sword Heirloom Weapon that can be equipped by any legend, making it the first of its kind.

The event, which begins on January 9, will feature a new LTM that will replace unranked battle royale mode for the three-week duration of the event. Known as Final Fantasy Takeover, the new mode will see the game's maps littered with Cactuar-themed "Cacticks," special Loot Ticks that provide Materia Hop-Ups when destroyed. Materia Hop-Ups give players access to special buffs, including lightning AoE damage, HP absorption, and an AI-controller SOLDIER Nessie who will aid players in battle. The Final Fantasy Takeover mode will also give players the ability to wield Cloud's Buster Sword, which can be used to deflect bullets, dash, and even perform special Limit Breaks.

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth's release is right around the corner and we recently got invited to get some early hands-on time with many different parts of the game. Gripping emotional story? Check. Animal Crossing-inspired life sim mode that's going to take up countless hours of my time? Big check. A wild boss battle with a monster shark the size of a boat? You better believe it, fellow crime pals. Infinite Wealth is already my most anticipated game for 2024 so I was excited to dive right in.

Also, a small spoiler warning, there are going to be some story things mentioned in here for the series. Much like Gaiden before it, Infinite Wealth is a game that you should not jump into as your first game in the series as it relies heavily on knowing these characters. With that heads up out of the way, let's talk about Ichiban and Kiryu's Hawaiian adventure.

We began our day sitting down and getting an overview of everything new in Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. Ichiban and his found family crew are back along with some new faces, including a taxi driver named Eric Tomizawa and a mysterious housekeeper named Chitose Fujinomiya. Ichiban has made the trip to Hawaiii to find his biological mother Akane, who was originally thought to be deceased, but is apparently alive and somewhere on the islands. This revelation sets our adventure in motion and allows Ichiban to come into contact with the legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu.

Larian Studios is looking into reports that Baldur's Gate 3 players on Xbox have had their accounts banned for uploading nude and explicit media of the game onto Xbox Live, namely the intimate scenes with party members that you've built up romantic relationships with.

"We've seen the reports that some players got banned or otherwise faced issues on Xbox having uploaded screenshots/videos of their 'gameplay content'," said Larian director of publishing Michael Douse on Twitter. "We're in discussion with Microsoft, and we’re looking into it. Annoying and uncool."

While simply recording scenes doesn't get players banned, many Xbox players may have automatic uploads enabled on their consoles, so recording those scenes may accidentally upload them to Xbox Live. Some other players may record and upload these scenes intentionally for the sake of their own gameplay.

It's unclear if and when those banned will be able to play their games online again. However, it looks like Larian is taking action now.

Baldur's Gate 3 is out now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. In GameSpot's Baldur's Gate 3 review, we said, "Baldur's Gate 3 is a sprawling, dense RPG backed by fantastic characters, an excellent combat system, and an impressive co-op mode." Baldur's Gate 3 is also GameSpot's 2023 Game of the Year.

Following the Xbox mini-fridge comes yet another official Xbox appliance: the Xbox Series S Toaster. This very real product aims to offer its user the "Optimal Carb Experience" with a number of nice-sounding features.

The two-slice toaster is designed to look like an Xbox Series S, and as a neat touch, it also imprints the Xbox sphere logo on your bread product. "It's the next generation toasting console," Microsoft said.

The toaster also has a "shade selector dial" that allows users to toast their goodies to their liking. What's more, the toaster has multiple profiles, so family members or roommates can quickly toast their bread to whatever level of toastiness they want each time without dialing in the settings again. It also has a "countdown timer" so you know when your bread product is done and ready.

"No more breakfast-induced jump scares or trying to spread butter on bread that's already gone cold because you were trying to find a good save point," Microsoft said.

If you missed watching Miles go toe-to-toe with every Spider-Person in the multiverse on the big screen, don't worry because Sony's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is returning to IMAX theaters on January 19.

On X/Twitter, Spider-Verse writer and producer Christopher Miller wrote that fans of the movie will be able to watch it again in theaters. The tweet reads:

"If you didn't get a chance to catch ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE on the big screen - where you can see the jaw-dropping level of detail & innovation lovingly put into every frame - you've got another chance! It's returning to IMAX for a limited release on January 19. Don't miss it!"

The prototype development kit for the original Xbox looks like an old desktop PC from the 1990s, which makes sense for Microsoft because the company is also the creator of Windows.

Original Xbox creator Seamus Blackley responded to a post on Twitter showing a user having a wrap on their Xbox Series X that made the console look like an old desktop PC from three decades ago. Blackley showed a picture of what the prototype development kit looked like for Microsoft's first console.

It's shaped like a silver desktop PC with the words "Xbox development kit" on it, along with a power button and DVD drive. The middle of the prototype development kit sports a big green X logo, and the bottom has a small engraving that says "Alpha II."

This isn't the only Xbox development we've seen. The Xbox One X's development kit was shown off in a video a few years ago.

The first Humble Choice games lineup of 2024 is now live, offering eight awesome PC games for subscribers to download and keep forever. Humble is starting the year strong, packing this month with tactical strategy games, Marvel superheroes, fast-paced action games, and story-focused adventures. There's even some bonus DLC included this month as well.

The biggest Elder Scrolls to date, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, has now been completely remade in Unity thanks to a group of dedicated fans. It features a number of quality-of-life improvements and graphical updates to the classic 1996 RPG that make it well worth diving into for Bethesda RPG fans, as well as extensive mod support.

A group of fans known as the Daggerfall Workshop began development on Daggerfall Unity over a decade ago, with the goal being to provide an open-source recreation of the game in a more modern engine. That goal has now become a reality with Daggerfall Unity's 1.0 release. All of Daggerfall is included, but with new bells and whistles to make the game more accessible for modern audiences, including revamped first-person controls, support for high resolution monitors, more translation options, enhanced draw distances, and modern lighting that makes the game's retro visuals feel new.

Tetris, one of the most popular and recognizable games of all time, has finally been "beaten." The person to do it more than 30 years after the game's release? 13-year-old Willis Gibson from Oklahoma.

Gibson uploaded a video of his achievement to YouTube, and it's quite a sight to behold. He is demonstrably overwhelmed with excitement and astonishment. He exclaims, "Oh my god," before saying, "I can't feel my fingers."

As you can see in the video, Willis reaches level 157 (the video labels it as level 18, though). At this point, the game freezes. Willis reached the "kill screen," which is the point at which Tetris is no longer playable because it was not designed to reach that level. Technically speaking, Tetris is unbeatable because it could theoretically go on forever. But Willis is believed to have just set a world record.

Tetris expert Vince Clemente told The New York Times that no human has ever gotten this far in Tetris before. Clemente said Willis did what was thought to be impossible. People have used AI to test the limits of Tetris and have gone further, but Willis stands alone in his achievement as a human in the game of Tetris.

His mother bought him a RetroN console and a CRT TV, and Willis plays about 20 hours of Tetris per week.

Willis is also a professional Tetris competitor and is one of the United States' most accomplished players. He placed third at the Classic Tetris World Championship in October 2023, and he's gearing up for another event in Waco, Texas later this month. Willis has earned around $3,000 from competing in Tetris tournaments so far.

In Lego Fortnite you will unlock many recipes as you play. These recipes can be used at different crafting machines to build various items, with more recipes being unlocked as you find new materials. Once you have found all of the needed materials for a craft, the recipe is automatically unlocked. Some recipes are locked behind certain upgrades and milestones, like upgrading the crafting bench or upgrading your village ranking. Below you can find every recipe in Lego Fortnite, sorted by the crafting machine the item is made at.

Building Recipes

While you can build custom structures using individual pieces, you can also unlock prebuilt structure recipes. These structures require a large amount of materials, but you don't have to do the work of making a unique structure.

To kick off the new year, Activision has launched a new event in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. The Vortex event, as it's called, introduces spooky versions of classic maps, as well as a camo reward for people who complete all of the event's assignments.

The maps, which you can see below, are called Tetanus, Satan's Quarry, and Sporeyard. These are remixed versions of Rust, Quarry, and Scrapyard. Each has an eerie sci-fi vibe. The maps have a special and powerful Ray Gun that players can fight to control to get an advantage.

Microsoft has confirmed the Game Pass removals for the first half of January 2024, and there are five titles exiting the catalog, including Grand Theft Auto V. This was previously reported and now it's confirmed.

Rockstar's popular open-world game leaves the catalog on January 5. The game has been added to and removed from the Game Pass library on multiple occasions, dating back to its original arrival into the subscription catalog 2020. Take-Two, the company that owns Rockstar and the GTA series, has said it has issues with the subscription model but will still bring games to services like Game Pass on a case-by-case basis.

On January 15, four other games will leave Game Pass, including Garden Story, MotoGP 22, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 3 Portable.

Fans of the Person series still have access to Persona 5 Tactica on Game Pass, while Persona 3 Reload is coming to Game Pass in February.

Microsoft typically removes titles from Game Pass in two waves, so check back with GameSpot later in the month to see what other games are getting dumped this month.

In terms of additions to the Game Pass library for January 2024, Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Resident Evil 2 are headed to the catalog this month.

The first wave of new additions to the Game Pass catalog for 2024 has been announced, and the library is adding eight titles in the first half of the month. These include games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Resident Evil 2, and Super Mega Baseball 4.

Available today, January 3, is the narrative-driven steampunk adventure game Close to the Sun. Then on January 4, the Game Pass catalog adds the World War II game Hell Let Loose. After that, January 9 sees the Game Pass debut of titles like the aforementioned Valhalla and the action-adventure game Figment.

The Game Pass library then adds Super Mega Baseball 4 on January 11, along with We Happy Few, which makes its return to the library. We Happy Few is developed by the Microsoft-owned developer Compulsion Games, and many wondered why it was removed a year ago this month. That's not exactly clear, but the game will be back on Game Pass quite soon.

Resident Evil 2's remake launches on January 16 into Game Pass, while the horror game Those Who Remain arrives that day as well. The first half of January 2024's Game Pass launches do not include any day-one new releases.

Microsoft typically announces monthly Game Pass additions in two waves, so check back later in the month for a second wave of additions to the catalog.

In terms of titles leaving Game Pass in the first half of January 2024, GTA V, Garden Story, MotoGP 22, Persona 4 Golden, and Person 3 Portable are all getting dumped from the library soon.

Game Pass January 2024 wave 1 additions

January 3

• Close to the Sun -- cloud, console, PC

January 4

• Hell Let Loose -- cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S

January 9

There may not be thousands of Uruk-hai ready to knock down the walls, but a resourceful Lego Fortnite player has constructed a virtual Helm's Deep inside the game. The location serves as the setting for one of the most famous battle scenes in cinema history in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Dexerto posted a clip from Lego Fortnite on X (formerly known as Twitter) showcasing the refuge for the people of Rohan in the The Lord of the Rings universe. The person behind the digital recreation is Reddit user Crownedpepper, who's also built the Eye of Sauron inside the game. Crownedpepper stated that Helm's Deep was "made with mostly the castle building parts from the desert area village upgrade."

The age-old question of what Pokemon would look like in the world of Halo has finally been answered in a video where Pokemon Snap meets Halo.

Thanks to YouTuber Hat-Loving Gamer (via GamesRadar), we now know how many guns a Machamp can hold and what a Togepi's weapon of choice is. The video shows the photographer talking to Professor Oak before being transported to Coagulation, a multiplayer map featured in Halo 2. Once the photographer loads into the map from the safety of their pod, they're greeted by a Dodrio losing one of its heads as soon as the battle starts.

As the video goes on, we're shown various things, such as how the original three starter Pokemon would look like in a Warthog, a Psyduck falling from a Banshee after being shot down, and perhaps most importantly, how a Cubone and Clefairy look as Master Chief and Cortana.

This video captures the chaotic charm of what made Big Team Battle in Halo so much fun, with multiple characters meeting untimely deaths and vehicles blowing up every other second. But simultaneously, it captures that childhood innocence that Pokemon has always had.

Disney Dreamlight Valley entered early access at the end of 2022, and the Animal Crossing-meets-Mickey Mouse gameplay immediately caught on in my house. The light and easy gameplay paired with soft music and the presence of some of the world's most family-friendly characters made for low-stakes gaming sessions that served as a nice break from whatever review was on my slate.

I honestly didn't expect much from the game; Animal Crossing never leaned heavily into its story so I didn't expect Disney Dreamlight Valley to do more than roughly as much as Nintendo's hit franchise. However, throughout the past year, the writers at Gameloft not only exceeded that expectation, they did so with a real and raw look at childhood, adulthood, and the transition between the two. It was a bold choice--and definitely one that flies in the face of "life simulator starring Mickey Mouse and friends"--but it's a tale I've routinely thought about since completing it.

SPOILERS for Disney Dreamlight Valley's first year of content is below, proceed with caution.

I knew that I would love Thirsty Suitors from the moment it was first unveiled. If I had to pick a moment where it clicked into place, it'd have to be when the protagonist, Jala, summoned her mother in battle. Early in the game, you encounter Sergio, Jala's third-grade ex, who has been working deceptively hard in her absence to ingratiate himself in her family and life. As you battle in a diner, Sergio becomes invulnerable to your "thirsty" skills, backing Jala into a corner. With no moves left, she conjures the one thing that can tear a person down in an instant: her own mother. A projection of her mother towers over the arena before slamming Sergio with a chappal. The psychic damage is done, he is emotionally scarred and vulnerable enough to be defeated in battle.

At first glance, the trio of MLB The Show 23, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage share very little in common. Sure, all three games launched in 2023, and both Spider-Man 2 and Assassin's Creed Mirage feature dense open worlds, but other than what you might call broad similarities, they're almost entirely disparate from one another. That is, except for one surprising commonality: They all taught me something new about the past.

From a packed ballpark in 1920s Kansas to the comic-book streets of New York City and a bustling ninth-century Baghdad, each game adopts a different approach toward educating its players on specific people, moments, and places from human history. When I look back on 2023--a year stacked with exceptional video games--this unlikely trio of AAA games stands out because of the various ways in which they use the art form to shine a light on underrepresented cultures and the pivotal impact they had on our history--doing so in a way only an interactive medium like video games can.

In MLB The Show 23, this takes the shape of a new mode called Storylines. Many sports games have ventured into the past before, but none have done so in such a lovingly crafted way as San Diego Studio's ode to the Negro Leagues. Storylines is essentially a series of playable documentaries, with each one combining archival footage, eye-catching hand-drawn art, and the spellbinding narration of Bob Kendrick--president of the Negro League Baseball Museum--to explore the lives and careers of eight legendary baseball players from an era before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. It's impossible to be a fan of baseball without knowing the story of Robinson and his iconic 42, but MLB The Show 23 taught me about other incredible players I knew next to nothing about, including Satchel Page, Hilton Smith, and Hank Thompson.

Last year, Valve irreversibly changed PC gaming with the launch of the Steam Deck. The portable PC platform was certainly not the first attempt of its kind, but with the experience of Valve's engineering and the tight integration with Steam, it quickly became the de facto device to recommend for a powerful and reliable gaming experience on the go. The timing couldn't have been better, too, with the Nintendo Switch only seeing an OLED upgrade the year prior and its heavily rumored specification bump reduced to another lengthy wait for a successor. As a result, the Steam Deck satiated the desire for more demanding gaming in a portable frame, so much so that we suggested it was an inflection point for the market as a whole. But it probably came as a surprise still at how quickly competitors reacted, with 2023 offering a glimpse into a future laden with compelling PC gaming handhelds, each experimenting in eye-catching ways.

There were a lot of moments that made me stop and say, "Wow, that was awesome," in Remnant 2, but the one that shoved it to the top of my list of favorites for the year came during one of its many excellent boss fights.

I'd worked through one of the three strange locations that make up Remnant 2's campaign. This one was a wrecked derelict spaceship the size of a moon that had once been inhabited by an advanced race on a quest to find, more or less, god. That plan didn't really pan out, and their ship's interior had changed over eons from a contained facsimile of their planet into a desolate, post-apocalyptic waste. Through the course of exploring, I'd cleared one of Remnant 2's dungeons and found what was essentially a weird alien USB drive. Now I was carrying it around, waiting to figure out what to do with it.

We eventually reached the final boss of the area, a huge blue alien named Sha'Hala with a ton of eyes and enormous hands. We'd dealt with this guy before in a friend's playthrough, fighting through by the skin of our teeth to defeat him. But when I reached the console to activate the fight with Sha'Hala, I noticed another interactable spot on the bottom we hadn't seen before: a second control point, out of the way and easy to miss. I hit the interact button and was offered the opportunity to use a quest item from my inventory.

Xur has arrived in the solar system as the Dawning continues to for one more week in Destiny 2. If you're looking for new builds to take advantage of its new weapons (or that new Exotic Strand bow, Wish-Keeper, from the Warlord's Reign dungeon), you might want to check out Xur's slate of Legendary and Exotic gear. Here's where to find Xur and what he's selling this weekend.

This week you can find Xur in The EDZ, in the Winding Cove area.

Xur is offering Coldheart for his Exotic weapon this week. Hunters can snag the Celestial Nighthawk helmet; Titans have the Synthoceps gauntlets; and for Warlocks, Xur offers the Felwinter's Helm helmet.

Xur Location

Use the Winding Cove transmat zone in the EDZ to find Xur this week. When you spawn in, hop on your sparrow and head north along the highway that loops along the left side of the area. When it bends to the right, hop off and head to the cliff wall ahead. You'll find a cave you can enter, which will twist up to the cliffs above where a Fallen skiff has crashed. Xur hangs out beside it, standing near the edge of the cliff.

More than just the way they approach narrative, level design, and gunplay, there is one constant throughout every single one of Remedy's titles: they will always have the perfect song for the perfect occasion. While Alan Wake 2 is certainly their magnum opus in that regard among several contenders, it's about time we took a look back at the best needle drops in the studio's long history.

Max Payne Theme - Kärtsy Hatakka/Kimmo Kajasto (Max Payne)

The original Max Payne's legacy is very much tied to the time of its release. It was the first video game to fully implement the slo-mo gunplay John Woo and the Wachowski Sisters had been trying to make into a Thing. But all that felt rather passe the more other games came and diluted the formula. The bullet-time may have been what got players in the door. But it was the neo-noir graphic novel vibes that have endured over the years. The constant leitmotif of those vibes is that theme, a grim piano undercurrent that gave even more depth and gravitas to James McCaffrey's jagged, self-deprecating, hard-boiled detective narration, and would be the constant reminder of Max's escalating failures as time went on, with the fully string-based rendition of the theme representing absolute rock bottom for our hero in the Rockstar-developed third game.

Forspoken got off to a rough start even before the game launched back in February. Certain early trailers featured a few awkward, out-of-context lines from the protagonist, Frey Holland. Those became a major talking point online, drawing attention away from what the focus should have been on: the terrific parkour.

Forspoken could never quite shake that initial negative impression, but despite what the internet would lead you to believe, the game deserves a lot more praise than it received, especially when it comes to its unique, magical movement.

Frey gets transported to a fantasy world shortly after the story begins, and once tutorials end, the land of Athia is yours to explore. The map is much larger than you'd expect, and Frey has nothing but shoes on her feet and a bit of magic to help her get from place to place. The wide-open areas aren't exactly littered with buildings or closely built structures to latch onto, which rules out any kind of Spider-Man-like movement system. Instead, developer Luminous Productions decided to go for fancy footwork with stylistic flourishes.

It may sound simple, but, essentially, Frey just sprints and hops across the giant map. These little marathons only get better as the game progresses, as she gains access to speed boosts, quadruple jumps, wall-scaling techniques, a flaming grappling hook, and even a magical surfboard made of water and ice.

As 2023 winds to a close, one of the most common refrains from those in and around the video game industry is how this year was one for the history books, and gave us one of the very best game release calendars we've ever seen. While this is true regardless of genre, with highly anticipated sequels like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 being some of this year’s best-reviewed games on Metacritic, it's especially true for horror games.

It wasn't that long ago that horror fans didn't have a lot to get excited about--I recall the Xbox 360/PS3 era being particularly barren, with only a few notable exceptions. But as major studios learn to make the age of high-fidelity gaming work for the genre and indie studios continue to innovate in haunting new ways, 2023 will go down as perhaps the best calendar year for horror video games we've ever seen.

Don't believe me? Just crunch the numbers. Looking at the top of Metacritic's aggregate scores for 2023, three horror games boast 90+ scores, with nine total games garnering scores of 73 or higher. I've tried to find a year that competes with that and I came up empty. That's because not only were this year's horror games really good, but there were also many of them. Horror is not a tentpole genre the way shooters, action-adventure games, and sports are. It's more of a dressing for some major genres, which usually means only a handful of horror games rise to the middle or top each year. Yes, Steam is loaded with new horror games every single month, but many of those are games churning through early access and often aren't ready to be enjoyed yet, if ever.

Xbox owners haven't had many wireless controller options in the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One eras. Microsoft's wireless protocol has largely been limited to standard first-party controller and high-end Elite Series 2. Great third-party wired controllers exist for Xbox, but we're only now starting to see officially licensed wireless controllers from manufacturers outside of Microsoft. PowerA released a solid mid-range Xbox controller earlier this year, and now Turtle Beach has joined the party with the officially licensed Stealth Ultra, a premium alternative to the Elite Series 2. Turtle Beach's Stealth Ultra is pricey at $200, but it's an incredible controller that's worth your consideration.

The Stealth Ultra retains the conventional Xbox controller layout. Though it doesn't have the same heft to it as the Elite Series 2, it has superb ergonomics with textured grips and a premium finish. As far as inputs go, I actually prefer the Stealth Ultra to the Elite Series 2, which was a surprise since the Elite Series 2 has long been my favorite controller. Buttons, triggers, and sticks are a cut above their Elite Series 2 counterparts (and most controllers in general).

As was originally reported close to two years ago, Activision Blizzard CEO and founder Bobby Kotick is officially leaving the company following Microsoft's buyout of the Call of Duty giant. When Microsoft closed the deal in October, it was reported that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer asked Kotick to stay on for the time being, and now he's officially leaving as many expected he would.

"Phil shares our values and recognizes our talents. He is passionate about our games and the people who make them. He has bold ambition," Kotick said in a memo to staff.

Kotick is reportedly leaving Activision Blizzard with a gigantic pay package in the area of $400 million.

According to The Verge, Kotick is officially stepping down on December 29. He may not be replaced directly, but Microsoft is putting Blizzard president Mike Ybaara, Activision Publishing president Rob Kostich, and Activision Blizzard vice chair Thomas Tippl in a new organization chart that reports to Xbox executive Matt Booty.

Bethesda's Fallout 76 may not have debuted to a fantastic critical reception back in 2018, but the developer has steadily supported and expanded upon the game over the years. To date, it's reached more than 17 million people, so it's not a big surprise to learn that Bethesda is planning even more updates to the online RPG for 2024.

In a blog post, developer Jon Rush said, "We're not done yet." In Spring 2024, Bethesda will launch another update, Atlantic City -- America's Playground, which features a new mission. Players will take on the Jersey Devil in a main mission and dig into other story-driven quests and reach new areas of the world to explore and earn rewards.

Later in 2024, Bethesda will add new locations to the map in the south, into the Shenandoah woodlands. "This uncharted, once-tranquil expanse in the heart of Virginia will bring a new questline, factions, and rewards," Bethesda said.

Additionally, 2024 will see Bethesda do more with Fallout 76's seasonal events. These will be run more frequently than before and they will each have new rewards to collect.

"Among all this exciting new content, we're planning to release several additional features and improvements that benefit our avid builders and adventurers alike," Bethesda said. "Whether you've roamed Appalachia's wilds since day one or are still adjusting to the natural light outside the fluorescent halls of Vault 76, next year marks an exciting time to adventure into Fallout 76 and make friends in Wasteland."

Beyond the new updates for Fallout 76, 2024 marks the debut of the Fallout TV series on Prime Video, which arrives in April. The show is canonical to the Fallout universe.

Who would have thought that one of the most expensive games of the year The Day Before? Reseller sites have the game listed for between $233 to $304 according to Green Man Gaming (via Kotaku), several times more than what The Day Before cost when it was briefly available. It's worth noting that while these sites are free to set their own prices for these games, it's going to be a hard sell to convince people to buy the game at that price.

There is some precedence for this scenario, as in the years since Hideo Kojima's PT was removed from the PlayStation Store, PS4 consoles loaded with that game have sold quite well through markets like eBay. The Day Before might become a sought-after piece of gaming history in the months to come, and key reseller sites--some of which have a spotty history due to how they do business as unauthorized sellers of games--are banking on the game's short-lived post-launch history to be worth a hefty asking price.

There are better ways to spend $300--like 100 cups of coffee--especially when The Day Before will likely be inaccessible once its servers are taken offline soon. Launching in early access on Steam earlier this month, The Day Before had a lifespan of mere days before it was pulled from Steam. Even in its early state, the game was notoriously buggy and players would often run into game-breaking issues.

Due to a patent dispute, Apple is gearing up to remove select devices in its Apple Watch lineup from the marketplace. The electronics giant will be pulling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from its official website on Thursday, and major retailers could follow suit after December 24. Put simply: Finding an Apple Watch could become a lot more challenging very soon.

If you have an Apple Watch on your wishlist, you need to start shopping ahead of these inventory pulls, as it's unclear when they'll return to store shelves. There's a silver lining, however, as you'll find a bunch of great deals available for the smartwatch as part of various holiday sales. Here's a look at where you can find a discounted Apple Watch ahead of its removal from the market.

Note that some of these may even arrive in time for Christmas--though shipping times vary by location.

The Last of Us Part 2 is one of the best PlayStation games in recent memory, and it's officially getting the remaster treatment in 2024. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is now up for preorder ahead of its January 19 release exclusively on PS5. Eager to dive into the post-apocalyptic action? Here's a look at where you can preorder the game, along with any eligible preorder bonuses. Side note: If you want to play The Last of Us Part I ahead of the sequel's launch, the remake of the original is discounted to only $40 at Amazon right now.

The Last Of Us Part 2 Preorder Bonuses

There are currently no preorder bonuses for reserving a copy of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. However, the game is more than a simple graphical overhaul; the remaster comes with a new roguelike survival mode, exclusive developer commentary, enhanced accessibility features, and new unlockable character and weapon skins.

2023 is coming to a close. To mark the end of the year, Valve has rolled out a "year-in-review" tool that allows players to review their 2023 stats and find out which games they played the most, their top genres, number of achievements unlocked, and lots more.

The Steam Year-in-Review page also allows players to see how their results compare against the wider community and share their results around the internet. Valve created a pretty funny video, too, to promote the Steam Year in Review--check it out below.

The Steam Year-in-Review page follows similar wrap-ups from Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo. You can use the links below to find your 2023 stats on those platforms.

The Indigo Disk, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, has introduced a new evolution for Dipplin, the evolution of Applin. The new evolution is Hydrapple, and you will need to advance through the first few story quests of the new DLC to get access to their evolution. Applin cannot be caught in the Terarium in The Indigo Disk, you will need to catch Applin and evolve them into Dipplin in Kitakami--the area from the first DLC--using a Syrupy Apple. Once you have a Dipplin, here's what you need to do to evolve them into Hydrapple.

How to evolve Dipplin into Hydrapple

To evolve Dipplin into Hydrapple you will need to teach them the move Dragon Cheer and level it up. The move Dragon Cheer will need to be taught using TM 226, which is awarded for beating Drayton of the Blueberry Academy Elite Four. Drayton is the dragon-type user located in the Polar Biome. To beat him you will need to take down his trial, which requires you to beat three trainers using only Pokemon caught in the Terarium. After that, you have to beat Drayton in battle. Upon beating him, you will unlock TM 226, Dragon Cheer, which can be crafted at the TM maker in the Central Plaza. If you don't have access to the elite four battles, you need to progress further in the main story.

Milcery, the ice cream fairy-type, has returned in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, The Indigo Disk. Milcery has a unique evolution method and has a variety of different forms they can take, depending on how you evolve them. Evolving them requires a specific held item, in addition to the unique method. Here's where you can catch Milcery and how to evolve them into Alcremie.

Where to catch Milcery

Milcery can be found pretty much anywhere in the Polar Biome. They are pretty common throughout the entire region, with the only exception being the inside caves, where they appear less frequently.

How to evolve Milcery into Alcremie

To evolve Milcery into Alcremie, they need to be holding a specific item while in your party and then you must spin around in the game. There are multiple different items that it can hold, with each one impacting the decorations on its evolution. All of these items appear randomly in the Terarium as sparkling ground pickups. Those items are:

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, The Indigo Disk, adds Duraludon and gives them a new evolution, Archaludon. Duraludon is a steel/dragon type, which makes it resistant to dragon-type attacks, which most dragon-type Pokemon are weak to. This dual type is pretty powerful and their evolution makes it even stronger, but you will need a special item to evolve them. Here's how to evolve Duraludon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Where to catch Duraludon

Duraludon can be found in the Polar Biome, primarily in the southern half. It appears pretty frequently and seems to be most common in higher-elevation areas. They aren't too difficult to find, but you can always eat a sandwich that boosts dragon-type or steel-type encounters if you are having trouble.

Three classic fighting type Pokemon return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as part of The Indigo Disk DLC. Those Pokemon are Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, and Hitmonlee, all three of which evolve from Tyrogue. The requirements for evolving Tyrogue are simple, but there is a specific method to get each of the different versions. Here's how to evolve Tyrogue in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Where to catch Tyrogue

Tyrogue can be found on the eastern border of the Canyon Biome, in addition to the southern part of the area. Tyrogue is a fairly common Pokemon in this area, so finding one isn't too difficult.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, The Indigo Disk, adds a number of new Pokemon to the game. Included in that list is Cottonee, a grass/fairy from Gen 5, which requires a special method to evolve them. Considering that fairy-type Pokemon are pretty powerful and one of the elite four in the new DLC uses dragon-type Pokemon, this is one Pokemon you might want to have. Here's where you can catch Cottonee and how to evolve them into Whimsicott.

Where to catch Cottonee

Cottonee is found in the Coastal Biome, specifically in the northern section of the area. It can be found pretty much anywhere on the island where the Coastal Plaza is located.

The Indigo Disk, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, adds a bunch of new Pokemon, including a few regional variants. One of those is the Galarian Slowpoke, which is only psychic as opposed to their normal version, which is psychic/water. Evolving Galarian Slowpoke requires a special item for both of their evolutions. Here's where you can catch Galarian Slowpoke and what you need to evolve them.

Where to catch Galarian Slowpoke

Galarian Slowpoke can be found on beaches in a few sections of the Coastal Biome. However, you want to go to the beach in the northern part of the Coastal Biome, near the border to the Polar Biome. The reason for this is that there is an item there that you will need to collect a bunch of, and it only spawns there.

One of the first workstations you will build in Lego Fortnite is the Crafting Bench. The Crafting Bench is where you will make tools and weapons, both of which are important for gathering resources and battling enemies in the world. As you gather more resources and build bigger villages, you will need to make better tools to harvest more valuable resources, which requires upgrading your Crafting Bench. Here are the materials you will need to upgrade your Crafting Bench.

How to upgrade the Crafting Bench

To upgrade the Crafting Bench you need to approach it and open the crafting menu. From the crafting menu, you need to tab over to the upgrade screen. Each upgrade will unlock higher rarity tools for you to craft, as long as you also have the necessary resources to make them. Below are the necessary resources needed for each of the three Crafting Bench upgrades, along with links to GameSpot's guides for most of the resources.

Lego Fortnite became an instant hit when it launched in December 2023, as the free-to-play game combines two massive brands into one experience that rivals the likes of Minecraft and other family-friendly survival-crafting games. Lego Fortnite also benefits from Epic's spread of parental control features aimed toward parents who may be wary of letting their kids loose in a new game without setting and understanding their limitations. With this guide, we'll walk parents through how to download and play Lego Fortnite, as well as what kind of parental controls you may want to set up once you get going.

What is Lego Fortnite?

A completely free game, Lego Fortnite is a survival-crafting game much like Minecraft and played exclusively within Fortnite. Players can play alone or join up to seven others to explore a world, build houses and other items, defeat AI enemies such as skeletons and wolves, and invite AI allies into their villages who will then help improve the space. The endgame varies from player to player, with some seeking to beautify their island, while others may want to go on adventures for loot, build vehicles, or just hang out with friends.

Each saved game in Lego Fortnite uses a unique island that is semi-randomly generated, meaning no two worlds are exactly the same. Players can play in survival mode, which may account for things like resource scarcity, temperature, hunger, and player health, or they can create a world in sandbox mode, which removes these elements and simply lets players build to their heart's content. Even in survival mode, those aforementioned features can be toggled on or off individually, giving each player some freedom in how they set up their world.

Tons of video games are on sale for the holidays, including hit titles across PS5, Xbox, and Switch. Whether you're trying to clear your backlog or pick up this year's hottest releases, there's bound to be something with a discounted price tag that catches your eye. A handful of games could also be in your hands before Christmas--though some of these deals will arrive closer to the beginning of January. A good number of the offers rival Black Friday prices, so you have a second chance to pick up games you missed out on last month.

From Final Fantasy 16 and Resident Evil 4 to Street Fighter 6 and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, here's a look at the best game deals ahead of the holidays. But before we dive in, here's a quick look at the incredible console deals available now--in case you need to pick up a PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch for the holidays.