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Sony has revealed that God of War: Ragnarok is the fastest selling first-party game launch in PlayStation history.

Revealed in a tweet (below), 5.1 million copies of God of War: Ragnarok were sold during its debut week. As the post points out, this naturally means it set a God of War franchise record as well.

The figure presumably includes both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 copies, as well as physical and digital sales, but several games spread across two platforms have come and gone before it without hitting such a record.

Congratulations to @SonySantaMonica for making God of War Ragnarök the fastest-selling first party launch game in PlayStation history! 🪓 pic.twitter.com/NPgN6YHRnQ

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) November 23, 2022

In comparison, God of War (2018) passed 23 million copies sold on PlayStation 4 and PC as of November 2022. Back in October 2021, it was reported that the game sold 19.5 million copies, but its launch on PC pushed it to a new audience.

It was also Sony’s biggest launch on PC to date, and it’s certainly possible that Sony could bring God of War: Ragnarok to PC and boost its sales there as well.

Update (11/23/22) - Striking Distance Studios CEO Glen A. Schofield took to Twitter to confirm that the team isn’t “holding anything back from the main game for the season pass.” This means that there will be no death animations locked behind the season pass for the main story.

He confirmed the new death animations will be brand-new ones and they will arrive as part of the Contagion Bundle and Riot Bundle. Schofield also shared that the team hasn’t even begun work on them yet and that “fans have asked for EVEN MORE deaths, so we’re making it a priority next year.”

To be clear: We’re not holding anything back from the main game for the season pass. We haven’t even started work on this content yet. It's all new stuff that we’ll be working on in the new year. Fans have asked for EVEN MORE deaths, so we’re making it a priority next year.

— Glen A. Schofield (@GlenSchofield) November 23, 2022

The original story follows.

Striking Distance Studios has announced the contents of The Callisto Protocol's Season Pass, revealing that several player death animations are locked behind the additional purchase.

If you're a Nintendo stan, you know that big titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons rarely go on sale. This Black Friday you can save 52% on this iconic game that kept everyone company while the world was falling apart in 2020. We don't have to talk about it.

But we do have to talk about you not owning this game already. It's filled with endless hours of nostalgic crafting, foraging, and fishing as you work to make your island the best it can be. The residents on your island aren't as savagely mean as the old Animal Crossing games, but honestly, that's a welcome change in today's climate.

At just $29.00, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is bound to sell out at Walmart, so act fast. This game makes a great gift for gamers young and old. Check out more Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $29

Black Friday Nintendo Deals

Black Friday Nintendo eShop Deals

The Best Black Friday Sales and Deals

Black Friday is here and Walmart has a sale on a ton of Switch games for the occasion. If you like partying with your friends and family, digital board games are a great, low-stakes way to have fun (so long as you can keep your competitive friends in check). Mario Party has long been one of the best, and right now you can grab a physical copy of Mario Party Superstars, the latest Switch version, for just $29.

If you need a little convincing, check out our Mario Party Superstars review, which calls this entry "the best Mario Party has been in at least a decade." For more discounts, check out our hub of all the best Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals.

Mario Party Superstars Switch Deal

Other Black Friday Sales and Deal Hubs

Stay tuned to our Twitter account for all the IGNDeals, as well as this article (and all the others we post), which we'll be updating so long as the best Black Friday deals keep rolling!

Black Friday Xbox deals are now underway. Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart and GameStop are repping Black Friday pretty hard, and with Xbox coming in second place for October 2022 sales, there are more and more Xbox consoles in peoples' homes than ever before.

The full force of Black Friday is already starting to be felt, with $60 off the Xbox Series S, $20 off Xbox controllers, alongside plenty of video game Black Friday 2022 deals already, and even a few brilliant PS5 and PlayStation deals if you like to fraternize with the enemy as well (I'm joking, play games in peace). See below for all the very best early Black Friday Xbox deals, and make sure you're following @IGNDeals on Twitter for more updates.

TL;DR - Best Xbox Black Friday Deals

Best Xbox Black Friday Console Deals

Netflix appears to be developing a AAA PC shooter at its new Los Angeles studio led by former Overwatch producer and Blizzard vice-president Chacko Sonny.

As reported by mobilegamer.biz, the aptly named Netflix Games Studio is looking for a game director with experience in shooters to work on "a brand-new AAA PC game". Akin to Overwatch, it will seemingly be a live-service game as Netflix asks for "extensive experience" in this department.

In a similar vein, the candidate must have a "deep understanding of highly engaging content and how to deliver it" and be "deeply passionate about social systems and gameplay, both cooperative and competitive".

The job listing also demands the future director to develop a world, characters, and narrative "that are worthy of a Netflix film or TV series", and build the game within Unreal Engine.

The job listing doesn't give too much else away, other than that Netflix is seeking someone with at least ten years of game design experience including time spent as a director. As this appears to be the initial hiring wave of a brand new studio, however, it will likely be years before we find out more on what Netflix's AAA game is.

Crystal Dynamics has decided that Marvel's Avengers lead designer will no longer be a spokesperson for the company after fans uncovered several offensive tweets from before his time working there.

Previously one of Avengers' most public-facing figures, Brian Waggoner was found to have tweeted several racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and ableist comments ranging from around 2010 to 2017.

As reported by PC Gamer, Waggoner has deleted most of the tweets, apologised for his actions, and said they no longer reflect his personal opinions.

pic.twitter.com/qgq5bwvfpD

— Happy Wagsgiving (@HeyItsBWags) November 22, 2022

The tweets included jokes based on racist stereotypes, far-right wing talking points such as former U.S. President Barack Obama's citizenship, insults aimed at people with disabilities, and more.

"Over the weekend, old tweets I wrote from before my time at Crystal resurfaced and I apologise and take full accountability for the hurt they caused to my followers, the community, and those I work with," Waggoner said in a tweet (above).

"Since that time, I have learned and grown and the content I posted doesn't reflect who I am today. I understand if you cannot accept my apology because of the pain I have caused. I will continue to listen, learn, and work to improve myself."

Nioh developer Team Ninja has responded to rumours that it's planning to reboot the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises, indicating that we probably won't see a revival anytime soon.

Speaking to VGC, Team Ninja's creative director Tom Lee said that, despite showing both franchises at a conference under the heading "Reboot of popular series", the studio has nothing to announce regarding new entries.

"Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden are both long-standing pillar franchises for Team Ninja. These celebrated titles are synonymous with our studio history and reputation," said Lee.

If you've been on the hunt for a new 4K TV then Black Friday has come at the right time for you. There are some incredible deals going on for your next gaming TV but few models rival the LG OLED 4K Smart TVs at the minute. These TVs are absolutely perfect for next-gen gaming and you'll struggle to find a better picture or refresh rate anywhere else. You don't want to miss this deal (I've also left some even cheaper deals down below for those who want 4K 60Hz instead).

You can choose from the new CS or the new C2 model. Both are very similar, but the C2 is LG's flagship model and comes with the special OLED Evo panel, with an additional price tag to match. Still, you can get a 55" model for just £1049 right now when using the voucher at Amazon.

The CS series on the other hand, is pretty much just the incredible C1 TVs we saw on sale last year, but with a brand new coat of paint and a better internal chip. Not only that, but it's actually cheaper than the deals we saw last year for the C1. Right now you can pick up the 55" LG CS OLED 4K TV for just £849 when using the voucher at checkout.

Top Deal: LG 4K UHD Smart OLED TV (CS and C2 Model)

Our top pick for 4K TVs this Black Friday is this incredible OLED CS Series TV from LG. The 4K self-lit OLED screen allows for infinite contrast and the best colour fidelity you're likely to find anywhere this Black Friday.

The company formerly known as Square Enix Montreal, Studio Onoma, announced that it will be removing several games from the App Store and Google Play Store, including Deus Ex Go, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, Arena Battle Champions, and Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes.

The games will be delisted from storefronts on December 1 and players will not be able to access the games after January 4, 2023. In-game purchases have also been suspended immediately, but players can still use in-game purchases they have already bought. If they go unused, however, they will not be refunded.

pic.twitter.com/JJx0GWdIfe

— Onoma (@StudioOnoma) November 22, 2022

Earlier this month, it was reported that Onoma’s parent company, Embracer Group, would be shutting down the studio and its staff would be transferred to Eidos Montreal. Onoma was formerly known as Square Enix Montreal and was purchased by Embracer Group back in May, along with the rest of Square Enix’s western studios.

However, it was only renamed to Onoma last month, which makes the studio closure seem all the more puzzling. Onoma is best known for its mobile games of popular franchises like Deus Ex and Tomb Raider, which spawned titles such as Deus Ex Go and Lara Croft Go, the former of which is shutting down in January.

As Ubisoft Toronto developers discuss their design philosophy behind the Splinter Cell Remake and show off a bit of concept art, we react to their plans for Sam Fisher's long-awaited return. Plus: Dead Island 2 gets delayed again, Sonic the Hedgehog's co-creator gets arrested, Phil Spencer's "Call of Duty on PlayStation" press tour continues, 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 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.

The most wonderful time of the year is happening right now: a Steam Sale. Specifically, the Black Friday Steam Sale, and there are a whole lot of great games discounted quite heavily. Probably the most notable of them all is Half-Life: Alyx, which is maybe the best VR game ever made?

Half-Life: Alyx Steam Black Friday Deal

Half-Life: Alyx at 60% off is absolutely the best deal at the Black Friday Steam Sale. Not only is the price oh-so-right, but the game is a masterpiece. No, seriously. Don't believe me? Check out our Half-Life: Alyx review.

If there's one downside, and I say that pretty lightly, it's that Half-Life: Alyx is designed and intended specifically for VR, so if you don't have a VR set, you're pretty much out of luck. There are some mods allowing you to play without VR, but come on now. Half-Life: Alyx was SPECIFICALLY designed to take advantage of VR. Thankfully there are some actual Black Friday VR deals happening. What luck!

Meta Quest 2 Black Friday Deals

If you have a Meta Quest and a qualifying USB-C cable, you can use it as a tethered VR helmet with your PC. In fact, the Meta's controllers are pretty excellent and work amazingly well for Half-Life: Alyx, so you've got that going for you. Which is nice.

Sony is investing more resources in Chinese video game developers and is planning to re-launch the China Hero project that was paused for the time being due to COVID-19.

According to Reuters, Sony is going to expand its program to incubate game development in China in order to beat out other competitors such as Microsoft. Sony director of Chinese game production Bao Bo notes that the program will invest more than 1 million yuan, or approximately $140,080, into each game and fund development teams of all sizes.

As part of the China Hero Project, Sony will be publishing the Final Fantasy XV-inspired action RPG, Lost Soul Aside, as well as the multiplayer third-person shooter title Convallaria. Both games will be available for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

Outside of the China Hero Project Sony found a smashing success in Genshin Impact, which it received an exclusivity deal with. Microsoft reportedly regretted missing out on making Genshin Impact an Xbox exclusive, so in response, Microsoft now has reportedly been trying to scout for more Chinese video game developers to work with and is looking to entice them with large Xbox Game Pass offers.

Some games from the China Hero Project have already been released, such as Anno Munitionem and F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch.

Atomic Heart wears its influences on its sleeve. It’s a graphic first-person shooter packed with superpower-like abilities and owes a lot to classics of the genre, Bioshock and Half-Life. However, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t got many of its own unique ideas and surprises also hidden up that same sleeve, and from playing a considerable amount of Mundfish’s debut, I’ve found there’s a lot to be excited about.

Atomic Heart lulls you into familiar territory straight off the bat, albeit in a very unfamiliar world. Its opening takes obvious cues from Bioshock Infinite’s masterful introduction to Columbia as you take a leisurely trip through a peaceful alternate-history Soviet city. Thanks to the big brains at the fictional Facility 3826, robots have been integrated into society and help relieve the public from everyday stresses and labour. The calm is short-lived, however, as – inevitably – the AI turns not so friendly and the game begins in earnest. From there I’ve jumped around to several different points in Atomic Heart to get a proper feel of what it has to offer, consistently being surprised by what came next. It’s not the straight-up corridor shooter some may envisage, nor a sprawling open-world full of nooks to explore, or a puzzle-filled brainteaser. It’s all of those things and more. The scope of Atomic Heart is impressive, and seemingly unfolds and builds as you make your way through its many distinct and large sci-fi complexes over the course of its 20-hour-plus campaign.

A newly discovered glitch in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet allows the player to very simply duplicate Pokémon, including the incredibly rare shiny ones.

As reported by Nintendo Everything, YouTuber Austin John Plays uploaded a video detailing the glitch and how it lets players clone any wild pocket monster in the game.

To trigger the glitch, simply catch the Pokémon you want to clone and head directly to the nearest open town that doesn’t require a loading screen to enter. Once the town name appears, save the game and close the software.

How to Duplicate Wild Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet https://t.co/LFBA5EPTBC pic.twitter.com/hw0Sg7rQ5j

— Austin John Plays (@AustinJohnPlays) November 21, 2022

Upon starting back up and reloading, the game should have respawned the Pokémon in the same location at which you caught it the first time around. The glitch only works if used on a proper town that you can walk straight into, and won’t trigger if tried with Team Star compounds or the random Pokémon Centers that you can travel to out in the open world.

Looking to finally get a Nintendo Switch or trying to get a great deal on a Nintendo Switch to give as a gift this year? Well friend, Nintendo Black Friday deals are well under way, with the return of the $299 Black Friday Nintendo Switch console deal. The deal is live and in stock everywhere, with no membership or other restrictions. If you want to get it, just order it, and someone you probably don't know wearing some manner of uniform will deliver it to your house.

I want to reiterate how is the best choice for anyone looking for the perfect Nintendo Switch gift this year. For $299.99, you get a neon Nintendo Switch console, a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a single-user subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. It's the whole package.

Nintendo Switch Black Friday Bundle Deal

How to Get the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe New Tracks

With the 3-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, you get access to online play and a collection of Super NES and NES games as part of the subscription. However, if you want to access the new Mario Kart 8 tracks, you'll need to upgrade to the NSO Expansion subscription. That tier entitles you to the extra Mario Kart 8 tracks, Animal Crossing DLC, the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion, as well as access to a selection of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games.

When Does the Nintendo Switch Black Friday Bundle Go on Sale?

EA has announced that its highly anticipated EA Sports College Football won't be released until summer 2024.

Speaking to ESPN, EA vice president and general manager Daryl Holt said the long wait from College Football's announcement in early 2021 is due to them building the game from scratch.

"That's the best date for us to bring the game that we think is going to meet or exceed our player expectations and cover the breadth and scale of what we want in the game," Holt said. "We're trying to build a very immersive college football experience."

He also assured to ESPN that College Football won't just be a re-skinned version of EA's Madden NFL series. "We want to make sure that it is distinctly uniquely college football," Holt said. "If someone's worried about it being a clone of Madden or something else, that's not our intent and not the way we're approaching this."

Though no release date or window had been announced previously, internal documents reportedly revealed that EA was targeting a July 2023 launch, meaning the 2024 announcement will likely cause disappointment among fans who've been waiting for a new entry since 2013.

The critically acclaimed video game Cuphead and its animated series spinoff The Cuphead Show are both a visual feast for classic animation fans. So it seems only fitting that the series is now the latest addition to Dark Horse's ever-growing library of gaming art books.

The Art of The Cuphead Show is written by Deeki Deke, who also serves as lead writer on the animated series. The book aims to give fans a much closer look at the making of The Cuphead Show. It features a mix of concept art, character designs and creator commentary from various artists who worked on the series.

The Art of The Cuphead Show is a hardcover volume priced at $49.99. The book is slated to hit bookstores and online retailers on June 27, 2023 and comic shops on June 28. Preorders should open shortly, but in the meantime, you can also order Dark Horse's previous The Art of Cuphead book, which focuses on the original game.

Cross-play and cross-progression are coming to Rainbow Six Siege on December 6 as part of the upcoming season Operation Solar Raid, which also brings a new map, operator, and more.

As reported by Eurogamer, Rainbow Six Siege PlayStation and Xbox gamers will automatically matchmake together and should benefit from lower wait times as a result, but the setting can also be turned off if a player wishes.

PC and streaming platforms such as Luna will be kept in a separate matchmaking pool, and Ubisoft currently has no intention of merging the two.

Players can invite friends through both PlayStation and Xbox platforms, as well as through the Ubisoft connect overlay. Voice communications will also work in the new console cross-play system, assuming voice comms are enabled and, of course, you’re on the same team.

Player rank history will also be shared between Xbox and PlayStation consoles when using the same Ubisoft Connect account but will again remain separate from PC and streaming platforms. The player's highest rank will also be transferred to each console alongside the furthest Battle Pass progression.

Credits and Renown will be pooled across all platforms, as will packs, operators, boosters, and cosmetics. Penalties for problematic online behaviour will also be shared. In-game options, operator loadouts, and equipped cosmetics meanwhile will remain specific to each console and platform.

To commemorate the 17th anniversary of the release of the Xbox 360, video game peripheral maker, Hyperkin has officially announced today that it is resurrecting the iconic video game controller.

As noted in a press release, the Hyperkin Xenon is an officially licensed, wired gaming controller replicating the iconic controller that served as the primary gamepad for Microsoft's second home gaming console. The device is named after the codename used for the Xbox 360 ahead of its official unveiling at E3 2005.

The Xenon will be compatible with the Xbox Series X/S and Windows 10 and 11 devices. As you can see from the images below, the Hyperkin Xenon is a slightly modernized take on the Xbox 360 controller. The most notable changes are the dedicated Menu, View, and Share buttons commonly found on the latest iteration of the Xbox Series X/S controllers. Xbox

The Steam Autumn Sale returns today, November 22, and brings with it early Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that see the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Stray, and more discounted.

Kicking off Nov. 22 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6PM UK (so 4am on November 23 AEST), the Steam sale will run for exactly one week and end on November 29.

Valve's announcement trailer features its usual long list of heavily discounted games, spanning a library of new and old hits, major publishers, and smaller indie projects. Alongside Cyberpunk 2077 and Stray, Hitman 3, Hades, V Rising, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Slime Rancher 2, and Satisfactory were also shown off to tease the sale.

IGN has reviewed several of these games, saying of CD Projekt Red's latest that "Cyberpunk 2077 throws you into a beautiful, dense cityscape and offers a staggering amount of flexibility in how you choose to take it from there."

Gungrave G.O.R.E has exactly one mission objective, three words that flash across the screen at the beginning of each level and every time you die: Kick their ass. For the 12-15 hour campaign, you’ll do exactly that – shoot, slash, blow up, and otherwise execute thousands of enemies and bosses on your quest to eradicate the Raven Clan and save the world from an evil drug called SEED. When it works, which is often, Gungrave G.O.R.E is a captivating ballet of blood and bullets that merges Gungrave’s signature style with the best aspects of modern action games. Unfortunately, for everything Gungrave G.O.R.E does right, there are an equal number of frustrations and missed opportunities, making it difficult to recommend to anyone outside of action game aficionados or hardcore Gungrave fans.

Gungrave G.O.R.E picks up where Gungrave VR and Gungrave VR U.N left off. You don’t have to have played any previous Gungrave games or seen the anime adaptation to pick up what G.O.R.E is laying down, though it will definitely help – if you’re new to the series, there’s a short video explaining its history to help you along. The setup is a bit goofy: SEED, a drug with a knack for transforming its users into monsters that was thought to be eradicated, has actually survived. This time, it’s being sold by the Raven Clan, so Mika, Beyond the Grave (Grave to his friends, and your main protagonist), Dr. Aso, newcomer Quartz, and the rest of the rather forgettable El-Al Canhel head to Scumland to stop SEED production and take the Raven Clan, and its four bosses, down.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 launched just last week, but the battle royale sequel has already surpassed the 25 million player milestone.

The official Call of Duty series account thanked Warzone 2.0 players for the achievement on Twitter, where some users met the announcement with a mixture of fanfare and complaints over unstable server connections.

Thank you Call of Duty #Warzone2 players 💚 pic.twitter.com/gShG9I1fZl

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) November 21, 2022

While the milestone seems to demonstrate that early hiccups haven't slowed Warzone's momentum, the battle royale has experienced several frustrating glitches. Shortly after its debut, some players took to Reddit to report a strange error locking them out and asking them to buy Modern Warfare 2 even if they already own it.

If you're hoping to buy a PS5 or PS5 bundle, Walmart has them in stock right now. Unlike earlier today, you don't need to be a Walmart+ members. Anyone can get one! Well, kind of. When you click on the links, you're immediately put into a line to get your chance at a PS5.

Get a PS5 Right Now at Walmart

• PS5 God of War: Ragnarök Bundle for $559.99
• PS5 Digital God of War: Ragnarök Bundle for $459.99
• PS5 Console for $499.99
• PS5 Digital Console for $399.99

As mentioned before, earlier access required Walmart+, but that's no longer the case. You can still sign up for Walmart+ for future benefits, but for the time being, PS5 is open to everyone willing to wait in a virtual line.

Walmart+ is $12.98 for a single month or $98 annually.

Does Amazon Have PS5 In Stock?

This is an interesting question. For Black Friday, Amazon doesn't have anything up its sleeve as far as the PS5 is concerned (at least, not that we know of). However, you can sign up for a PS5 invitation on several different PlayStation 5 SKUs listed below. From what we've seen through IGNDeals on Twitter and our own reporting, these invitations have been going out pretty quickly.

Amazon PlayStation 5 Invitations

Sony and Honda may have a solution for more entertainment on the go, a plan that includes integrating PlayStation 5 support in future electric cars.

In an interview with the Financial Times, president and COO of Sony Honda Mobility Izumi Kawanishi said it's possible to integrate the PS5 into cars. The console and other Sony services are part of a greater vision to make a more entertainment-driven vehicle, competing with other electric models like Tesla.

"Sony has content, services and entertainment technologies that move people. We are adapting these assets to mobility, and this is our strength against Tesla,” Kawanishi told the Financial Times.

Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno explained future hardware "will cater to the entertainment and network we would like to offer."

The Financial Times also notes these new models, expected to launch in 2025, will make entertainment content part of the production process.

Sony and Honda established their joint venture earlier this year, and Kawanashi said part of their plan includes advancements in "autonomous driving." The COO acknowledged fully autonomous driving isn't quite there yet, and the technology "will have to evolve considerably" to achieve their vision.

Ubisoft’s PC games are starting to come back to Steam next month. On December 6, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Anno 1800, and Roller Champions will be available on the PC storefront.

A Ubisoft representative wrote in a statement to Eurogamer:

We’re constantly evaluating how to bring our games to different audiences wherever they are while providing a consistent player ecosystem through Ubisoft Connect. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Anno 1800, and Roller Champions are among the Ubisoft titles that will be releasing on Steam.

Ubisoft stopped putting its PC games on Steam back in 2019 in favor of placing them on its own PC launcher as well as the Epic Games Store. Some of Ubisoft’s last releases on Steam were Trials Rising, Far Cry New Dawn, and Starlink: Battle for Atlas.

It’s possible that more Ubisoft titles could make their way toward Steam in the future. But for right now, the aforementioned three are the only ones confirmed so far. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will also receive its final DLC update in December, the same day it becomes available on Steam.

IGN can reveal that Guilty Gear Strive's next Season Pass 2 DLC character will be returning favorite Sin Kiske, who arrives in the game on November 24.

Sin made his debut back in 2007's Guilty Gear 2: Overture and returns to Strive with his signature flagpole weapon and childish charm. Not everything is business as usual, however, as Sin's calorie meter mechanic is changing a little.

Developer Arc System Works' eSports manager Riku Ozawa and Guilty Gear Strive's producer Ken Miyauchi explained to IGN in a gameplay reveal livestream that eating food is no longer a one of Sin's key mechanics.

His stamina meter, which allows Sin to perform special moves and go beyond what is normally possible for a fighter, is now a simpler energy bar that refills over time. In previous games like Guilty Gear Xrd: SIGN, Sin would need to eat food to restore his stamina, but here it just refills naturally and the player can't speed up this process at all.

The benefits of the stamina meter come with downsides too, of course, as when Sin's bar is empty he's unable to perform these special moves. Players therefore need to manage the stamina bar and time their attacks accordingly to avoid being left vulnerable.

It looks like an internal logo for Nintendo Switch’s codename, “NX,” has been discovered and leaked online.

The NX logo was found through a prototype build of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe dated October 18, 2016, two days before Nintendo officially revealed the name of the Switch.

The logo itself features a circle with a blue dot that rolls counter-clockwise and features the letters “NX” right next to it. It also sports a similar light blue color as the Wii U’s logo did rather than the Switch’s red color.

The Nintendo Switches Codename was the NX and this was an early Logo / Boot Up animation used during development of the Console ( It was found in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Prototype ) This was never seen outside Nintendo pic.twitter.com/B1bS5zCKOu

— Paul Kelly (@PaulFelixKelly) November 20, 2022

While we can't fully verify the legitimacy of the boot up sequence, and given that it's Nintendo we will likely not get an official confirmation. But this is a rare glimpse of an early prototype from Nintendo.

When I think about what the real world would be like if it were overrun by vampires, werewolves, and zombie-like shambling corpses, that imaginary apocalypse doesn’t evoke nearly as much maniacal cackling from me as the one in Evil West. From the Tesla-inspired electricity weapons to the gratuitous gore and bloodshed, this old-school action game was some of the most fun monster murdering I’ve done in a while – unfortunately, its formulaic structure also make it some of the most repetitive.

Evil West’s roughly 12-hour linear campaign is spread across 16 different missions that all follow the same format. Each level has a clear start and end point with collectibles sprinkled along the way, broken up by throngs of enemies that assail you until you get a dialogue break during the next cutscene. While you’re technically free to explore levels a bit to find lore items or gold pouches, aka “bucks” for purchasing upgrades, the crux of your adventure is walking from one fight to the next and eventually capping missions off with a boss battle. Fortunately, the environments between each combat encounter are truly sights to behold with enough picturesque backdrops that range from the outlandish to the beautiful to make even the grumpiest cowboy shed a tear.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are full of technical problems, and the community has uncovered a hack that lets your Trainer sprint across the Paldea region at double speed.

First discovered on Reddit, players discovered that you can run twice as fast simply by connecting two controllers at once and holding both left joysticks down.

IGN's Rebekah Valentine tested the hack by using the two Joy-Con controllers attached to the Nintendo Switch and a wirelessly connected Pro Controller, confirming that the exploit does work. According to IGN's findings, it only seems to work for us when we run diagonally and in handheld.

Tested and confirmed the two controllers making you run double fast thing. Wow!!! pic.twitter.com/eHWUmrHPv7

— Rebekah Valentine (@duckvalentine) November 21, 2022

This exploit could definitely change the speedrun game for Scarlet and Violet, although it's very possible it could be removed in a post-launch patch. It's also somewhat cumbersome to pull off, as playing in handheld mode with an extra controller connected appears to be the only way to access the higher speed.

Every cat owner knows the feeling: you’re tidying your desk, everything is in order, and then suddenly in a floof of fur, the cat flounces in to wreck your neatness paradise.

In A Little to the Left, Annie Macmillan and Lukas Steinman have wonderfully encapsulated the elation of tidying a space to a level of aggressive order, contrasted with the occasional dose of cat chaos. It’s a delightful puzzle game encompassing numerous little neatness challenges, where you adjust picture frames, stack books, and sort colored pencils into perfect position to continue. Playing it feels like bathing your brain with a gentle, warm sponge.

Macmillan and Steinman’s organizational puzzle game has its roots in their relationship: their studio, Max Inferno, is named after a corner they used to meet at when they were first dating. The corner had a garage with a flame mural on it; hence the name. “It’s just a really sincere, sweet thing, but I just love how tough it sounds,” Macmillan says.

But before they thought of becoming game developers, they were art students. They met in school, where they signed up for a game jam together with the theme “out of control.” And A Little to the Left was born.

“We immediately thought of somebody who was coping with the feeling of being out of control by trying to have extreme control over minute details in their environment,” Macmillan says.

Steinman adds: “And it was something that we had noticed in our own behavior as well. It was relatively early on in the lockdown from the pandemic. And so we were stuck at home and we were dealing with our anxieties by reorganizing furniture and stuff and just being really aware of what was around us.”

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 players have become frustrated at a glitch that turns some enemies completely invisible.

As reported by PCGamesN, several players including YouTube user SuperEvan are sharing gameplay on Twitter (below) that shows them being shot and killed in Warzone 2, seemingly from nowhere, before the opponent's Kill Cam shows them standing in what should be plain sight.

There isn't a known reason for the glitch or way to trigger it, or even if it's an intentional move from players or completely random, and Call of Duty's official channels are yet to acknowledge the issue.

🚨INVISIBLE PLAYERS!🚨 pic.twitter.com/bS1zabafEq

— XSET SuperEv (@SuperEvan__) November 20, 2022

It's not a camouflaging ability deployed in games like Overwatch 2 either, but seemingly just a blatant glitch that removes the opponent's model from sight completely.

Bayonetta 4 has been casually announced in a tweet from PlatinumGames senior vice president and chief game designer Hideki Kamiya while discussing the previous game with fans.

As reported by Eurogamer, Kamiya admitted that Bayonetta 3's ending may have been unexpected for some fans, but said that Bayonetta 4's story will follow on from that point.

"I didn't think it was unexpected at all, but it seems that the ending of Bayo 3 wasn't conveyed correctly to everyone," Kamiya said in the tweet translated by Eurogamer, "so I think Bayo 4 will be an unexpected development. After all, when Bayo 4 comes out, I'm sure there will be people who say, 'You added that as an afterthought', so I'll say it now."

（´-`）.｡oO（別に予想外でもなんでもない…と思ってたんだけどベヨ3のラストが誰にも正しく伝わってないっぽいのでベヨ4は皆さんにとって予想外の展開になると思います…ベヨ4が出た時に「お前それ後付けしたやろ」というアレが必ず出てくると思うので今のうちに言っておきます…）

— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) November 18, 2022

Bayonetta 4's development has therefore been confirmed, at least as far as Kamiya is concerned, though it will likely be some time before an official announcement is made given that Bayonetta 3 was only released on October 28.

Though it was generally well received, the game's ending proved controversial amongst fans of the series, though we won’t go in to why here because, well, spoilers.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for God of War Ragnarok

Eagle-eyed players could potentially spot a major plot twist in God of War Ragnarok fairly early on.

The big, late-game plot twist in God of War Ragnarok is that Týr, the one you rescued early in the game, is not actually the Norse god of war but rather Odin in disguise. While the trickery was caught when Týr kept calling Atreus, Loki, the developers hid a tell the moment you meet him.

“I saw someone finally figure it out the other night,” Williams says about one early Odin tell which is hidden in the subtitles. “When Odin as Týr speaks, there’s no accent on the ‘Y’ in the subtitles.”

So in the subtitles, when Odin speaks it is simply “Tyr,” but when the real Tyr is found in the post-game it’s correctly spelled as “Týr.”

Williams revealed when the team first thought of the idea of having Odin disguise himself as Týr. “We were in a meeting one day, we were talking about the Týr prison and all that, and I said to the writers, I was like, ‘What if Týr’s Odin?’ And they were like, ‘What?’”

After the idea the writers left for a week to see if the plot twist could work and came back to Willaims. “They were like, ‘I think we can pull it off.’”

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for God of War Ragnarok

According to God of War 2018’s director Cory Barlog, the sequel God of War Ragnarok needed to have these three things, without fail.

This article contains details from an interview in a special spoilercast episode of Beyond. Spoilers for the ending of God of War Ragnarok below.

In an interview with IGN on a Beyond spoilercast, God of War Ragnarok director Eric Williams shared that Barlog said three things “had to be done” for the sequel to not only work but conclude the Norse saga for Kratos.

“[Barlog] gave me three things that had to be done, and I said okay,” Williams recalled. “And I was like, ‘What are the three things?’ [and] he’s like, ‘Well, Ragnarok’s going to happen. The kid’s got to leave, and Brok’s going to die.”

Barlog then asked Williams if he knew why Brok had to die and Williams shared that this topic was discussed between the two of them previously some years ago. “He’s the family dog,” Williams responded.

Ragnarok happening, Atreus leaving, and Brok dying indeed all happen in the God of War reboot sequel, making for some of the most emotional moments in the game. According to Williams, these three things would ensure that Kratos’ Norse story could play out in two games instead of three.

This article contains late-game spoilers for God of War Ragnarok.

In the final third of God of War Ragnarok you obtain the Draupnir Spear, the third and final weapon in Kratos’ Norse adventure arsenal. Creating a new weapon for Kratos was naturally a major task for the development team at Santa Monica Studio, and game director Eric Williams has revealed just how the spear became a reality, what ideas were cut, and why they didn’t just let players wield Thor’s hammer.

Talking to IGN’s Beyond podcast, Williams said “When we started early on, in I would say the fall of 2018, people were pitching everything [for a new weapon]. Obviously Mjölnir was on the table, but I really wanted to go back and show who [Kratos] really was, and if he was going to lead these people to this war, I wanted to see that guy, the guy we never really get to see.

“We saw a little bit of it in Ghost of Sparta,” he explained. “The Spartans bring him his weapons. They bring him the arms of a Spartan with his spear and his shield, and you get to see that general a little bit, but we wanted to see that in the Norse mythology [setting].”

So Ragnarok sees Kratos get a Norse-variant of the iconic Spartan weapon. But the physical form of a God of War weapon is just the start. Like the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, the Draupnir Spear has a fully developed gameplay style and upgrade tree. All of that started with a phrase that would shape the team’s goals for the weapon.

Neural Cloud is a sci-fi strategy card game that's set in the popular Girls' Frontline (GFL) franchise. You're tasked with building teams based around GFL's iconic Dolls—Androids designed for war, labor, and entertainment—and guiding them out of a ruined virtual world.

The dystopian world of GFL is owned by private militaries and corporations that clamber over each other for power, and things aren't any different in Neural Cloud. The Neural Cloud, which was born in 2060 to store cloud backups of Dolls and other kinds of AI, was ground zero for a failed experiment that seemingly caused several Dolls (and the professor behind the experiment) to vanish. You take on the role of the lost professor and assemble a team of fellow "Exiles" in hopes of getting everyone out of the virtual limbo.

A Side-Story in a Huge Franchise

The Neural Cloud is a mysterious location in GFL, which in turn is a hugely successful franchise around the world, and especially in Asian countries. The games have ranked consistently as a top download across China, Korea, and Japan since the first GFL title came to the App Store in 2016. GFL has had crossover events with games and other anime, including BlazBlue and Gunslinger Girl. It's also been the basis for merchandise and symphonic concerts.GFL's world is complex and detailed, but Neural Cloud is as friendly to GFL newcomers as it is to established fans.

Succeed with Skill (and a Little Luck)

Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers for God of War Ragnarok

If you've reached the point where you meet Heimdall in God of War Ragnarok, you'll know that he's kind of insufferable. Even God of War Ragnarok director Eric Williams thinks so, calling the Norse God of Foresight a "d*ck."

Speaking with IGN's Podcast Beyond for a special spoilercast interview of God of War Ragnarok, Williams explained the decision to make Heimdall so annoying. According to Williams, it started with his power, which is to be able to anticipate an opponent's every move.

"So we try to look at all these gods where they have these abilities, but they're not always good. You know what I mean? And I don't mean that in a sense of their nature. The ability's not always a good thing," Williams explains.

He points to Baldur, better-known as The Stranger in the original 2018 release, noting that the pair are similar. In God of War, Baldur is invulnerable to all threats thanks to a spell from his mother Freya, but it also means that he can't feel anything.

"Imagine what that would do to you as a person if you can't feel anything at all. It's going to drive you crazy at some point. You're going to be a little messed up," Williams explains. "So we were like, 'Well, if you could always see what people's intentions are, what would that do to you?' And he's just like, you can't be around people," He's like, 'Everybody's gross. They always want something or there's a reason behind it.' So he's just kind of shut off."

Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass Wave 3 will bring eight new tracks to the game on December 7.

Revealed in a new trailer (below), Nintendo shared the release date alongside confirmation of which tracks would join the previously announced Merry Mountain from Mario Kart Tour and Peach Gardens from Mario Kart DS in the Rock and Moon cups.

Also included in Wave 3 is Maple Treeway from Mario Kart Wii, Rainbow Road and Rock Rock Mountain from Mario Kart 7, Boo Lake from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Berlin Byways and London Loop also from Mario Kart Tour.

The eight tracks will only be available as part of the $24.99 Booster Course Pass and not as an individual add-on, though purchasing the DLC also grants users to the 16 previously released courses and another 24 in 2023.

The Booster Course DLC kicked off in March with Wave 1 bringing Paris Promenade, Toad Circuit, Choco Mountain, Coconut Mall, Tokyo Blur, Shroom Ridge, Sky Garden, and Ninja Hideaway to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

It’s been over two and a half years since we first parachuted into Verdansk but Warzone’s first map still sits fondly in the hearts of fans. After an exciting saga which sprawled across two Call of Duty games, played host to a zombie outbreak, and culminated in a cataclysmic event that wiped the map clean off the face of the Warzone, it looked unlikely that we’d ever see it in all its glory again. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile has different ideas however, and by dropping us back into a 120-player lobby version of Verdansk, it sets its sights on the ambitious task of bringing one of the most popular battle royales to mobile devices.

As Warzone 2.0 pushes ahead in a different direction, Warzone Mobile instead chooses to focus on refining a familiar experience for a new platform. We’re heading right back to the dawn of Verdansk and it feels good to be home - dropping hot into old haunts like Downtown and Hospital is almost comforting after a long time away, even if there are some compromises to be found.