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Square Enix announced that it has delayed the release of the Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth remaster to December 22. It will no longer launch alongside the release of Valkyrie Elysium on PlayStation.

“As we celebrate the upcoming launch of Valkyrie Elysium, we, unfortunately, need a bit more time for Valkryie Profile: Lenneth to improve the quality of the title and have decided to move the release date to December 22, 2022,” Square Enix says on Twitter.

We have an update regarding #ValkyrieProfile: Lenneth.

If you have any enquiries please visit: https://t.co/vAv9CeCKPx pic.twitter.com/vt72ixbgGR

— Valkyrie Elysium (@ValkyrieGame) September 22, 2022

The remaster is a bonus for those who pre-ordered the Valkyrie Elysium Digital Deluxe Edition on PlayStation 4 and 5. It’s being ported from the PlayStation Portable version and includes new quality of life features such as rewind, quick save, and visual preset functionality. In Japan, the game can be bought separately for 2,750 yen (~$20 USD), but it’s currently unknown whether that will be the case in other territories.

Valkyrie Elysium launches on September 29 for PlayStation 4 and 5, with a PC release on November 11. It’s worth noting that the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game on PC seemingly doesn’t include the Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth remaster.

God of War Ragnarok, Sony's follow-up to our pick for the all-time best PS4 game, is one of the most anticipated games in recent memory. As such, we understand the insatiable appetite for new information, especially as we move within three months of its release.

For those eager to stay up on the latest God of War: Ragnorok news ahead of their return to The Nine Realms, we’ve created this one-stop shop for the most important information surrounding the upcoming PlayStation game, from the latest news and trailers to God of War Ragnarok's story synopsis and most notable gameplay changes. Read on for our full rundown of everything we know about God of War Ragnarok.

God of War: Ragnarok Release Date

God of War Ragnarok will be released on November 9, 2022 for PS5 and PS4.

As you may remember, Ragnarok was announced with a 2021 release window, though midway through 2021 that window was pushed to 2022. According to Kratos voice actor Christopher Judge, his rehabilitation from multiple surgeries was a reason for that delay. IGN’s sources indicated Ragnarok was then set for a September 2022 release, though that date was never official, and Sony would soon after announce the actual November 9 date.

This past weekend Rockstar was the victim of an unprecedented leak: 90 videos of in-development Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay were published online after a hacker “illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from [Rockstar’s] systems,” according to the company.

The leak already sits among the most consequential in gaming history for several reasons, chief among them the value of the targeted project: Grand Theft Auto 6 is the follow-up to the most profitable entertainment release of all time. For many, the leak is a fun, unexpected peek at one of the most anticipated video games of all time. To Rockstar, Take-Two, and their investors, however, the hack and subsequent leak are unexpected, potentially expensive roadblocks that threaten the development plans for a product worth billions.

The leak had immediate consequences for publisher Take-Two, whose stock dipped upwards of 6% following the leak, though the lasting effects won’t become clear for some time. Rockstar says development will “continue as planned,” yet only time will tell how the impact on team morale and/or development practices will ultimately affect GTA 6.

One Punch Man - The Strongest is an official turn-based strategy mobile RPG based on the best-selling Japanese anime series One Punch Man. It officially launched in the US and EU regions on September 22. Players can relive the greatest moments from the anime, build a team of its best characters, and fight alongside Saitama to dominate the battlefield.

To share more about why One Punch Man - The Strongest is worthy of a download for old and new fans alike, we’ve broken down why this game looks just as wonderful as one of Saitama’s punches below.

An Authentic One Punch Man Experience That Stays Faithful to the Anime

One Punch Man is a story about Saitama, a normal man who became so strong in his training that he grew bored of being one of the most powerful heroes around. Despite the world being filled with incredibly strong and menacing villains, Saitama is usually able to take out these foes with just one punch.

One Punch Man - The Strongest is an adaptation of the anime, and its development has been supervised by the production committee including SHUEISHA. Players will meet fan-favorite characters from C-Class all the way to S-Class and fight against and alongside villains, like Carnage Kabuto and Boros. Furthermore, the game will feature the same voice cast as the anime.

Solium Infernum was a literally hellish multiplayer strategy game that became a cult classic in 2009 – and League of Geeks aims to bring it back next year in a reimagined form.

Announced as part of EGX, the new Solium Infernum takes the fundamentals of the indie original – a grand strategy game about warring, conniving archfiends in Hell – but builds in 3D visuals, more defined heroes (well, villains), adds accessibility and UI improvements, and more. The game is being described as a "reimagining", rather than a remake or remaster.

In a hands-off demo, League of Geeks co-founder Trent Kusters tells me that his team are huge fans of the original game (going so far as to say the studio's debut, Armello was inspired in part by it), and had gotten to know its solo developer, Vic Davis. Asked if he had plans for the game, Davis said no, and League of Geeks offered to buy the IP to create a new tribute to his original. The results will come to PC, with a release tentatively scheduled for 2023.

Solium Infernum is a strategy game set in a Milton-inspired take on Hell, in which Satan has disappeared and his most powerful minions scheme for control of the throne. It will feel familiar to players of the likes of Civilization or Crusader Kings, but comes with unique twists.

For a start, it's heavily focused on diplomacy, with Kusters explaining that, where games of Civilization are spent 80% on the map screen and 20% in diplomacy screens, Solium Infernum is something of the reverse. All player turns also resolve simultaneously, making for a more paranoid, less reactive style of play.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is still confident that the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be approved, and said, "if this is about competition, let us have competition.”

In an interview with Bloomberg, Nadella says, “Of course, any acquisition of this size will go through scrutiny, but we feel very, very confident that we’ll come out.”

A key concern, particularly for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, has been that the merger could be anti-competitive for the gaming industry as a whole. However, Nadella points out that Microsoft’s main competitor, Sony, has also acquired studios, including big ones like Bungie.

Nadella continues, “So if this is about competition, let us have competition.”

Concerns surrounding the anti-competitiveness of the merger center around franchises like Call of Duty potentially becoming exclusive to Microsoft platforms. Xbox’s Phil Spencer has already confirmed that he’d like to keep Call of Duty a multiplatform franchise for the time being, but add its titles to Xbox Game Pass in order to make it accessible in different ways to Xbox customers.

When Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani first started working on Kingdom Battle, he was given express instructions from Ubisoft: Rabbids do not, under any circumstances, talk.

“I had to gain trust also from Ubisoft, not just Nintendo,” Soliani says. “And Ubisoft told me, ‘Rabbids are not speaking.’ That was a rule.

“But they never told me that the Rabbids couldn't sing, so I introduced the Phantom.”

The Phantom is one of Kingdom Battle’s most memorable moments, where a giant Rabbid opera ghost sings an entire musical number about how much he hates Mario, peppered with gags about Mario’s past appearances and personality quirks. Audiences loved it. And that positive reception led Soliani to get Ubisoft onboard for breaking the rules in the sequel, Sparks of Hope.

So yes, the Rabbids talk now.

“I gained trust from Ubisoft to venture towards a new horizon…Everything we are doing, it's part of a process of evolution that will lead us somewhere else. I think that as a team, we really love experimenting and we will keep doing it in the DLC. And then, who knows in the future what will happen?”

Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani says that the best compliment he ever received for Kingdom Battle is that it helped someone fall in love with even more tactical games.

“We tried to make people enjoy tactical games, even if they were initially scared of [trying them.] We made it more colorful, almost chroma-therapeutic, more inviting.”

So now, with Sparks of Hope on the horizon, he wants to throw the doors open even wider. Soliani wants Sparks of Hope to still be a gateway to the genre for new players, but also to properly challenge those who have grown into tactics experts.

The most obvious way that the Sparks of Hope team is accomplishing that is with difficulty levels. Following the tutorial, Beep-0 asks the player roughly how hard they think their mission is going to be, inviting them to select an easy, normal, or expert difficulty that can be adjusted again in the menu at any time.

But there are other, smaller ways in which Sparks of Hope invites a somewhat more customizable difficulty. As we point out in our preview, it’s easier to grind levels with all the roaming enemies around the map, sidequests, and secrets, so if you’re struggling with a story fight there are ways to push through. But you’re also more than free to charge through the story for a more challenging experience, and circle back to whatever extra missions you’re interested in later on.

Soliani says that the difficulty systems were at least in part inspired by his love of indie platformer darling Celeste, which is notoriously difficult but also includes a number of options to turn on and off specific challenging elements, including the ability to just make the protagonist, Madeline, invincible.

Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani has been at Ubisoft for a long, long time. He’s been there so long his first game was Rayman for the Game Boy Color, which he worked on after signing on back in 1997.

So getting to put Rayman in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope after all these years has been a bit of a dream come true for him.

“I was taking care of the traces and the level design [for the GBC game],” he says. “It was my first love basically, my first challenge where I started to learn a lot of things. And I always dreamed about being able to work again with these characters.

“And finally, because of the Rabbids’ presence in the Mario + Rabbids Universe, I have been able to justify this appearance. I think that we will create a very interesting adventure as we have been able to do with the Donkey Kong Adventure.”

Though Soliani has been dreaming of bringing his beloved Rayman back in step with the Rabbids for years, that’s not the only character he has in mind. He also has a pile of Nintendo characters he’s been allowed to mine for Mario + Rabbids. And while we’ve seen the introduction of some new heroes in Sparks of Hope, such as Bowser and Rabbid Rosalina, there are still some characters Soliani wishes he could have brought along for the ride.

He clarifies to me that these wishes are coming from him as a player, not a creative director, since he can’t divulge secrets about what they may work on in the future. But as a player, his most-wanted hero character in Mario + Rabbids would be Daisy.

“It's been a pity that we couldn't put [her in], but that would be nice,” he says.

Then, he remembers Wario, too, and laughingly says he can’t choose.

Mario + Rabbids was perhaps one of gaming’s most wonderful surprises, swinging rapidly in public opinion from its pre-E3 leaks to its reveal to its launch to its DLC. The bizarro combination of Mario, Rabbids, and a tactics game somehow came together into something that not only worked, but became a gateway for many to fall in love with tactics games more broadly. Which left Ubisoft with a daunting task in Sparks of Hope: how do you surprise that audience a second time? More of the same Mario + Rabbids would have been fine, sure, but Kingdom Battle and its Donkey Kong DLC largely exhausted the possibilities of their respective tactical rulesets, while also setting high expectations. It would take one heck of a Bob-ombshell tossed into the formula here to properly catch us all off-guard again.

After about four hours with Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, I’m feeling confident Ubisoft has given it the dynamite it needed. On the exploration side, transforming Mario + Rabbids from its former linear world structure to more free-roaming, open levels was possibly the best decision the team could have made to make this feel like a significant upgrade. You still have to progress through the story in a linear way, and finishing story missions is critical to unlocking certain areas. But Ubisoft has put in a lot of work to make each zone feel wonderfully open-ended, stuffed with side quests, coins, treasures, and dopey little Rabbid vignettes that make each area highly distracting.

North Africa in Company of Heroes 3 isn't just a different campaign structure and a sandy color palette. Compared to Italy, where the might of the US and British forces keep your offensive churning along, the Deutsch Afrika Korps often has to make a big difference with smaller, undersupplied forces and whatever they can find lying around – sometimes literally. In this brand new exclusive mission, Desert Route Raid, we went hands-on to see the kinds of challenges the dunes can throw your way.

Running Out of Time

This scenario, which takes place some time after the pivotal Battle of Tobruk, opens with Erwin Rommel detailing a high risk, high reward opportunity to hit British fuel supplies. There's no base building in this one. And worse yet, you don't even get any real armor to play with. It's just two armored cars and four squads of infantry, sent deep into enemy territory to take out some depots before a larger patrol returns. Sure, whatever you say, Feldmarschall…

These Sonderkraftfahrzeuge, or Sd.Kfz. if you prefer, are nimble and effective at suppressing infantry. But they don't have much armor and are very vulnerable to anti-tank rifles and grenades, so I found that I really needed to use them for quick, hit-and-run attacks before falling back for repairs. That, fortunately, is something the DAK is very good at, since even their basic infantry know how to staple a car back together. Losing even one can be disastrous, since there is no way to replace them. And just about every step of the way, you're going to be outgunned.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands developer Gearbox says the Borderlands spin-off is now the start of a new franchise all of its own.

Gearbox Software has called the Borderlands spin-off a “major victory” after a solid launch, with CEO Randy Pitchford saying that Gearbox now sees this as a new franchise, with “future experiences already under development.”

“Wonderlands shattered all of our target expectations, both critically and commercially,” said Pitchford during the Embracer Group’s annual general meeting, “and I'm thrilled to report that in addition to great financial rewards from this victory that will be coming our way in the coming quarters, we have established a firm beachhead, and we now clearly have a new franchise on our hands.”

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was released back in March 2022, adapting the RPG-style action of the Borderlands 2 DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep and turning it into its own standalone game. It was met with positivity from fans and critics alike. Clearly, the game has been enough of a commercial success that Gearbox is keen to make more. Whether that means additional games in the franchise or additional DLC remains to be seen.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on February 24. A remake of a 2011 Wii game, it’s a fairly traditional side-scrolling Kirby adventure, with an enemy copy ability and a more powerful mecha-copy ability. Up to four players can play together on a single Switch (no online mode, though), and unlike Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the other players can also play as Kirby, so they can copy enemy powers as well.

The game is available for preorder now from a variety of retailers (see it at Amazon). Read on to learn more about the game and see where you can reserve a copy for yourself.

Preorder Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $59.99
• Get it at GameStop - $59.99
• Get it at Nintendo eShop (digital) - $59.99

There aren’t any special or collector’s editions of this game, so the standard edition is the one to get.

What is Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe?

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a remake of a 2011 platformer from Wii. It kicks off when an alien spaceship crash-lands on Kirby’s home planet, Popstar. Inside is an alien named Magolor, who asks for help collecting the five pieces of his space ship.

Update - 09/22/2022: Cyberpunk 2077's resurgence is showing no signs of slowing down as developer CD Projekt Red has announced that at least one million people have played the game each day this week.

The impressive numbers were announced in a tweet (below), showing that the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime, multiple updates to the game, and the announcement of its first major expansion have seemingly triggered a wave of new interest.

"Each day of this week Night City has been visited by one million players, both new and returning," CD Projekt Red said in the tweet. "We wanted to use this opportunity to thank you for being with us and playing the game. Thanks, Chooms!"

Each day of this week Night City has been visited by 1 million players, both new and returning.
We wanted to use this opportunity to thank you for being with us and playing the game. Thanks, Chooms! 💛 pic.twitter.com/zqggblztF8

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) September 21, 2022

Original Story - 09/19/2022: Cyberpunk 2077 has hit its highest concurrent player count on Steam since January 2021.

A prominent Spider-Man modder has worked on an experimental first-person mode for the game, showing off web-swinging from the (slightly nausea-inducing) perspective.

YouTube user jedijosh920 first released gameplay of the mod with a fixed camera perspective, meaning the first-person view is steady as Spider-Man swings around New York.

This version is probably more comfortable to use but does come with some caveats, as when the player performs tricks and flips in the air, the fixed perspective meant his body will flash up in front of the camera instead of reacting more naturally.

Spider-Man First Person Mod... do you want a Spider-Man FPS mode in Spider-Man 2? pic.twitter.com/9BJqzmyEtX

— Chaos (@Chaosxsilencer) September 20, 2022

Fans therefore called for the fully accurate version, where the camera would move exactly with Spider-Man's eyeline and, for better or worse, jedijosh920 delivered. The next video they released does exactly that, showing every movement of the head as Spider-Man climbs up walls, dives from skyscrapers, and flips and twists in the air.

The result is pretty impressive, (presumably) recreating exactly what it looks like to be the superhero swinging around New York. That being said, it's also a tough watch for those who get motion sickness easily, so viewer beware.

Microsoft has released its September update for the Xbox Series and Xbox One consoles, completely revamping the game library, adding customisable colour options to the Elite Series 2 controller, and more.

The details were revealed on the Xbox Wire, with the updated game library being arguably the biggest change. The My Games and Apps section has been redesigned to give more streamlined access to anything the player is able to play, whether it be in their own library, through Xbox Game Pass, Games with Gold, EA Access, and so on.

Those playing with an Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 can enjoy an extra bonus in the update too, as Microsoft has added the ability to change the colour of the Xbox logo light on the gamepad. The options are pretty diverse too, as the player can not only choose the base colour but also the hue and saturation as well.

The update also brings more flexibility when it comes to storage locations, as the player can now select different installation locations like expansion cards, external hard drives, and so on from the get go instead of having to move things over after they're already installed on the internal hard drive.

A new "Let Xbox Decide" option can also be selected, in which case the console will install the game in the fastest drive with available space.

The Splinter Cell remake will be rewritten to be more relevant to a “modern-day audience”.

A job listing for a scriptwriter spotted by PSU has revealed some details about the upcoming Splinter Cell game, and it looks as though it’s going to get a rewrite and update the original.

“Using the first Splinter Cell game as our foundation we are rewriting and updating the story for a modern-day audience,” it reads. “We want to keep the spirit and themes of the original game while exploring our characters and the world to make them more authentic and believable.”

Splinter Cell was originally released back in 2002 and introduced Sam Fisher – an NSA black ops agent who is investigating the disappearance of two CIA officers. As the story unfolds, Sam finds himself in the middle of a plot full of political intrigue as the world teeters on the brink of all-out war. It’s up to Sam to use his stealthy abilities to avert a global crisis.

Now, it looks as though that crisis will have a more modern spin, although it's not clear exactly what form that will take.

“As a Scriptwriter at Ubisoft Toronto, you will join the Narrative team and help create a cohesive and compelling narrative experience for a new audience of Splinter Cell fans,” reads the listing.

Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay was leaked via a hacker. So now what? What do we think of the return to Vice City? What, if anything, will change about Rockstar's plan to show us the game on their terms. We discuss that as well as Diablo 4's upcoming endgame beta, hands-on impressions from the surprise demo of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, 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 recent 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.

After years of waiting, we finally know that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is officially called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Announced during a major Nintendo Direct on September 13, 2022, this highly-anticipated follow up is coming out next year, so here's everything we know about this legendary title.

When is Tears of the Kingdom's Release Date?

The sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was given a 2022 release window during E3 2021, but was later delayed to 2023. Now we finally have a concrete release date of May 12, 2023.

The date was announced alongside this brief (and mysterious) new trailer that also confirmed its title: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo suggested they were waiting to reveal this title because it could be considered a spoiler, though it's not completely clear what the official title spoils. The game, with beautiful new cover art, is now up for preorder.

Previously exclusive to PS4, the critically acclaimed JRPG Persona 5 Royal is heading to Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on October 21. The game is now available to preorder in a couple of editions. Below, you’ll find a full rundown about what comes in each edition, how much it costs, and more.

Persona 5 Royal Steelbook Launch Edition

Nintendo Switch

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $59.99
• Get it at GameStop - $59.99

PS5

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $59.99
• Get it at GameStop - $59.99

Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $59.99
• Get it at GameStop - $59.99

The launch edition of Persona 5 Royal costs the same as the standard edition. It comes with the game, plus a steelbook case and "over 40 pieces of previously released DLC."

Persona 5 Royal (Standard Edition)

Nintendo Switch

If you’ve ever pulled a devil trigger or set your clock to witch time, Soulstice wants to take up arms to battle for your heart. And though its developer, Reply Game Studios, follows the recipe as best it can, Soulstice is a great reminder that not all character-action hack-and-slashers are created equal. Combat is the shining point, but it’s plagued with a terrible camera, some buggy performance, and a steep learning curve. And while monsters are inspired and test your reflexes and wit, but the world they occupy is bland and lifeless, even more so than a blasted-out city in the aftermath of a small apocalypse should be.

The story of betrayal and intrigue within a holy order of knights is full of pretty predictable twists and turns, cackling bad guys, and shady anti-heroes that are all pretty mediocre overall. It’s the touching relationship between Briar and Lute, sisters whose bodies and souls have been magically joined together, that is the strongest bit of storytelling throughout this 20-hour journey. This bizarre process creates super soldiers called Chimera that are tailor-made to fight the monstrosities from another dimension pouring into this reality. Briar and Lute aren’t the only Chimera in the world, and the comparison between them and the other clandestine duos makes them stand out, as they seem to be the only body and soul duo that actually like each other. But by the time you’re sent on your mission – to investigate a supernatural storm corrupting all life it spreads across turning them into heinous beasts – you're the only one around to get the job done.

On Sunday, September 18, a massive and unprecedented leak hit one of the most anticipated games of the decade. Dozens of video files related to Grand Theft Auto 6 began appearing on fan forum GTAForums, giving the world a first — extremely unintended — look at Rockstar’s next AAA game.

The leak has caused a massive fallout, kickstarting a discussion about leaks within the video game industry and how they affect every level of game development. While the story of the GTA 6 leaks will continue, here’s everything you need to know about the saga so far.

We'll update this story with new developments.

GTA 6 Confirmed, But Never Shown

Rockstar officially announced the next Grand Theft Auto game on February 4, 2022, in a press release. “[W]e are pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway,” Rockstar wrote earlier this year. “We look forward to sharing more as soon as we are ready, so please stay tuned to the Rockstar Newswire for official details.”

Before the announcement, Rockstar mainly discussed the ongoing success of Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online, both of which were receiving next-gen updates. While undoubtedly still popular, continuing to hype a decade-old game was wearing thin for some fans and the announcement of the next GTA game felt long overdue.

I’ve played plenty of video game golf over the years, from Links 386 Pro on my first family PC (yes, I’m old) to Links 2004 on the original Xbox to Tiger Woods PGA Tour in the Xbox 360 days. A good golf sim has always been as chill and enjoyable with friends as the real-life sport is. But my virtual set of clubs, just like the real-life set sitting in my garage, have been gathering dust for years. So the fact that I was able to jump right into PGA Tour 2K23 and feel at home with both its three-click swing and swing stick control options during my two-hour hands-on session, then, was a testament to developer HB Studios: it’s really easy to pick up and have fun with even if you haven’t played the video game version of the sport in a while.

This isn’t to say that PGA Tour 2K23 is an easy game – or an arcade-y one. Sure, you can customize the experience however you like, turning assists and difficulties up and down to suit your taste. But it’s got everything you’d want here to enhance realism, from shot shaping on the links to character customization in the locker room to skill upgrades for your custom MyPlayer.

Adapting the classic 1974 horror movie Texas Chain Saw Massacre into an asymmetrical multiplayer game might seem odd on the surface – particularly when the team setup isn’t the same 4v1 we’ve become accustomed to with the popular Dead by Daylight, but instead the even stranger-sounding 4v3 arrangement. It works exceptionally well in practice, though, creating a tactical, tense, team-based multiplayer experience that favors brains over brawn. Whether you’re on the Victim team of four trying to escape, or the serial-killing Family trio trying to cut them down, Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s tweak to the asymmetrical multiplayer format already plays great, and the 4v3 format is a great match for the movie license it’s built around.

Developer Sumo Digital Nottingham and developer/publisher Gun Interactive promises more maps for launch next year, but for this preview session I played half a dozen rounds in Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s most recognizable location: the rural Texas house the film is set in. Victims start out in the basement, and teamwork is encouraged and dare I say vital; there are only a few ways out of the basement and just two ways out of the house once you get upstairs. In other words, there are only two ways to win. Yes, only two, because the Victims can’t kill the Family but instead only stun them, further affecting the balance of power. They can, however, slip through narrow gaps in the walls, and duck under barbed-wire traps.

Scorn feels as though it teeters on the gunk-covered ledge between “intriguingly disturbing” and “willfully grotesque.” In the hour or so I play of the the game – its completely tutorial-less opening section – I’m introduced to a truly unpleasant biotechnological setting, shown how its many opaque puzzles will link together to form neat chains of wordless storytelling, and gently repulsed by it occasionally pushing beyond its Giger-indebted fleshscape and into less impressive straight body horror.

The core of Scorn is in its puzzles. It may play from the perspective of an FPS, and occasionally offers you what look like weapons, but this is a cerebral game at its core. Opening with your mysterious main character literally ripping themselves out of its seemingly living landscape, Scorn gives no on screen indication of what to do, or how anything works, leaving you to trudge the gently undulating corridors of its world, occasionally sticking your hands into horrible contraptions just to see what happens.

To Scorn’s credit, this self-directed approach works well. Quickly, you’re given (well, violently implanted with) equipment that allows you to manipulate biotech machinery, leaving you to try and work out what the hell any of it is for. The player’s then drawn to a single puzzle - unlock this big door - that you slowly realize is, in fact, made up of multiple smaller puzzles that must be chained together.

Publisher 2K has warned users against opening emails or clicking links from its support page after confirming it has been hacked.

More than just a spoof account sending fake emails, 2K Support itself has been compromised, with the hacker sending seemingly legitimate emails containing malicious links. 2K's support website has gone offline as a result.

If users have clicked on these links already, 2K recommends they immediately change passwords saved in web browsers (like Chrome auto-fill), install anti-virus software, enable multi-factor authentication where possible, and check that no email account forwarding settings have been changed.

Hey folks, please read an important message from our Customer Support team. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/yKI18eL7mY

— 2K Support (@2KSupport) September 20, 2022

2K Support's Twitter account, which has remained secure, shared the news (above). "Earlier today we became aware of that an unauthorised third party illegally accessed the credentials of one of our vendors to the help desk platform that 2K uses to provide support to our customers," it said.

"The unauthorised party sent a communication to certain players containing a malicious link. Please do not open any emails or click on any links that you receive from the 2K Games support account."

The publisher also reminded users that it will never ask for their password or other personal information, and that it will announce when its website and emails are safe to use again.

Horizon Forbidden West Collector's Edition is currently down to just $99.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. That's a whole $100 off the original list price, and 50% in savings for those who are looking to pick it up. Although, at this low price, I can see these getting bought up very quickly, so I wouldn't delay much longer if you're now thinking of getting the set.

The Collector's Edition set includes a number of unique items, such as a Steelbook display case, mini art book, Tremortusk and Aloy statues, alongside digital content like the PS4/PS5 copies of the game, digital soundtrack, digital comic book, and a bunch of in-game items.

Horizon Forbidden West Collector's Edition is Just $99.99 (Save $100)

This deal is brilliant news for anyone looking to pick up the Collector's Edition, especially if you were put off by the hefty $200 price point when the game launched earlier this year. Furthermore, if you consider the cost of Horizon Forbidden West on its own, which sits around $50-60 at the moment on PS5, you're only paying at most $50 for the rest of the items included.

Not only that, if you already own Horizon Forbidden West, you could sell your new digital codes of the game and save even more money on the set. Overall, I think this is a fantastic deal and well worth picking up for any keen gaming collectors out there.

Cloud Imperium Games has now raised more than half a billion dollars for Star Citizen's development, including $100 million since last November.

As reported by Eurogamer, the space trading and combat sim - which has been in development for more than a decade - now claims to have amassed $500,111,757 from backers.

Star Citizen's initial Kickstarter campaign for $2 million started in October 2012, but this was just the beginning. Cloud Imperium Games has raised more and more money over the years, surpassing $400 million in total just ten months ago.

Despite this astonishing amount of money, however, the game is still in an alpha stage of development, with no release date in sight. For context, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cost $81 million and took around five years to develop. Red Dead Redemption cost between $80 and $100 million and also took five years.

The limited time I got to spend with a slice of Flying Wild Hog’s Evil West felt almost like I was time traveling. A linear third-person action game? With hidden collectables? With no side quests? Checkpoints that don’t involve bonfires? Open areas that double as combat arenas to crunch through enemies before moving on to do it again? They don't make them like this anymore, and a game like this really makes me wish they did.

Set in an alternate 18th century, where the West is still wild, but also filled with vampires, you play as Jesse Rentier, star agent and heir apparent of the Rentier Institute, an organization of vampire hunters powered by sci-fi tech and government spending. As the tough-as-nails man on the ground, you're the go-to for when a dirty job needs doing. In the demo level I played, that job was recovering missing technology in a snowy mine.

Story and character exploration were very light in this build. Even with a sort-of sidekick to banter with, Jesse seems largely like your run-of-the-mill tough-guy protagonist who would rather shoot off a gun than his mouth. Meanwhile, much of the setting is cool on the surface. The Nikola Tesla-inspired electropunk tech is gaudy and over-designed in a way that attracts more than repulses. The unnatural tech juxtaposes starkly with the supernatural brutality of many of the vampire designs, as well.

Overwatch 2 designer Geoff Goodman has left Activision Blizzard.

According to PC Gamer, Goodman was the lead hero designer behind many of Overwatch’s most popular characters, but “made the decision to leave Blizzard earlier this year”.

“We thank Geoff for his many years of service at Blizzard and wish him all the best,” the company said in a statement to PC Gamer. “His ability to bring to life Overwatch’s diverse hero roster through gameplay has been incredible, and the mark he’s left on the Warcraft and Overwatch teams will be felt for years to come.”

Goodman’s involvement with Overwatch goes back to the very beginning. He was on board back when it was Blizzard’s project Titan – an MMO that was eventually turned into the Overwatch we know today.

When it comes to Overwatch, he helped rework Doomfist and Orisa as well as design new heroes, Sojourn and the Junker Queen. He also likely helped design many of the heroes in the upcoming sequel, Overwatch 2.

No reason was given for Goodman’s departure, but his exit comes in the wake of numerous high-profile exits following Blizzard’s harassment and discrimination lawsuit. Given the company’s shake-ups already, this is bound to come as a blow.

Update 09/21/2022: EA Sports has officially confirmed that Ted Lasso and fictional club AFC Richmond will be a part of FIFA 23.

You'll be able to select Jason Sudeikis' beloved Ted Lasso character as a usable manager in Career Mode, and AFC RIchmond will be playable in Career Mode, Kickoff, Online Friendlies, and Online Seasons. EA adds that "a number of AFC Richmond items including kits, tifos, Manager items, and other content will also be available to unlock across FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) and Pro Clubs where applicable."

As you'd expect, Richmond won't be a part of the Premier League in Kickoff, Online Friendlies and Online Seasons and will instead be located in the Rest of the World section. Players Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt, Sam Obisanya and Dani Rojas will all be in the squad, and fictional stadium Nelson Road, will also be part of the game.

In a press release, Sudeikis said: “I am truly fortunate, and deeply grateful, to have had many special moments in my career thus far, and I consider this experience among the best of them. As long-time fans of EA SPORTS FIFA, having Ted Lasso and the whole AFC Richmond squad incorporated into the newest version of the game is truly a dream come true for myself and the rest of the fellas. Our cast and crew work tremendously hard on this show, and we are flattered that it resonates with so many folks. We look forward to our fans having the opportunity to play with, play as, and even play against their favorite AFC Richmond characters.”

Madden NFL 23 and Saints Row were the top two best selling games in the US in August, which shouldn't be a surprise as they both debuted last month. But the third best-selling game is one you might not immediately expect, given that it's four years old: Marvel's Spider-Man.

Spider-Man did so well in August because it finally got a PC release via Steam on the 12th. It's the remastered version, including all the prior DLC, and given that this is the first time it's been released on something other than Sony hardware, this proved an enticing pickup for many (and the continued release of more Steam Decks probably didn't hurt either). It was enough to propel Spider-Man from No. 84 on the NPD charts in July to No.3 for August, above both Elden Ring and MultiVersus.

According to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, Spider-Man was also the month's best-selling game across all tracked Steam titles, and was a key reason why the total market's PC content segment is up year-over year. This is also possibly for gamers hoping Sony might deliver more exclusives onto PC at some point in the future:

"Sony's PC ports have been strong performers," Piscatella says. "Looking at some recent history, God of War jumped from #146 on the December 2021 chart to #5 in January 2022 with the launch of its PC version, while Days Gone also had a big spike with its PC release, climbing to #20 on the May 2021 charts after ranking at #247 in April of that year. PC has been a fantastic platform for Sony not only in sales of the PC releases themselves, but also in how these releases have had a positive halo effect on the properties involved. Wins all around, really."

Like a Dragon: Ishin is heading to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on February 21, 2023. The game is a remake of a samurai spinoff from the Yakuza series, originally released in Japan in 2014. This remake represents the first time Like a Dragon: Ishin has officially mades its way to the West. And it’s available for preorder now (see it at Amazon).

Below, you’ll find where it’s available, how much it costs, what comes in each edition, and more. Read on for the goods.

Preorder Like a Dragon: Ishin

PS5

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at PS Store (digital) - $59.99

PS4

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at PS Store (digital) - $59.99

Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One

• Get it at Amazon - $59.99
• Get it at Xbox Store (digital) - $59.99

PC

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson thinks that Call of Duty potentially becoming a Microsoft exclusive franchise could benefit Battlefield.

As reported by Axios's Stephen Totilo, Wilson called questions about Call of Duty's platform "a tremendous opportunity."

“[I]n a world where there are questions as to the future of Call of Duty and what platforms that it might be on and might not be on, being platform-agnostic and completely cross-platform with Battlefield I think is a tremendous opportunity," Wilson said at a Goldman Sachs conference last week.

QUOTE: "I don’t think we delivered in the last two iterations of that in the way that we should have."
- EA CEO Andrew Wilson on Battlefield

From a Goldman Sachs conf last week. Full quote below

ALSO: Wilson doesn't seem to mind CoD-Xbox exclusivity confusion. Could help EA! pic.twitter.com/bVtcB6wi6k

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) September 19, 2022

What Wilson is referring to here could be several things. As a multiplatform franchise, Battlefield has the advantage of having a large player across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. If the Battlefield franchise was exclusive to a single platform or ecosystem, then that would negatively impact the number of players that have access to the game.

Company of Heroes 3's Italian campaign map is by far the most ambitious single-player experience in the series’ history. At first glance, it could be mistaken for a World War II-themed Total War mod. Fighting your way from the southern tip of the peninsula all the way to Rome will require careful planning, use of your land, sea, and air resources, and some political decision-making. The focus, though, is still on setting up exciting RTS missions, and Relic has even dialed back some elements to support this goal, like autonomous support companies, based on player feedback.

In our first campaign preview, we saw a slightly different set-up for Italy where smaller detachments of machine guns, anti-tank weapons, and rifle teams could join a larger company in a support role, or position themselves around the map to fight it out in automatically resolved minor engagements. Players and devs felt like this added a lot of extra micromanagement, so these detachments will now only be used in supporting roles for your divisions. There will still be static emplacements like AA turrets and machine gun nests that can deal damage to you outside of RTS battles, though, meaning every advance needs to be carefully planned.

Blizzard has announced that hardcore Diablo fans will get the chance to play in a Diablo 4 closed beta this year, while a public beta while arrive in early 2023.

Announced in a Blizzard blog post, the publisher announced that players who've recently invested "significant amounts of time" playing the end-games of Diablo 2: Resurrected, Diablo 3, or Diablo: Immortal will be eligible to participate in the test.

Unlike most betas that give players access to the first few hours of the game, the Diablo 4 beta will do the opposite, letting players straight into the end-game. It's available across all platforms - PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, and PC - with cross-play and cross-progression.

"We have decided to focus the closed beta on Diablo 4’s end-game offerings for a few reasons," Blizzard said in the post. "The full story of Lilith’s return to Sanctuary is not something we would like to spoil prior to release; players will experience a post-campaign Sanctuary during the closed end-game beta.

"Also, for many, the end-game is their favourite aspect of Diablo. We want to ensure it feels satisfying, and with no shortage of challenging variety to experience across many, many demon-slaying gaming sessions."

Players who think they've played enough end-game Diablo recently will receive an email invite to the beta, though only if their marketing options are enabled on Battle.net (instructions on how to do so are available in the blog post).

As part of Nvidia's GTC keynote today, the company announced Portal RTX — an RTX-enhanced version of the 2007 puzzle classic developed by Valve.

Portal RTX includes updated graphics and supports ray tracing. This is not the first time Nvidia has made RTX upgrades to older games. The company previously made RTX versions of Quake II and Minecraft. However, this latest RTX remix game is special because Nvidia confirmed that the tool used to make Portal RTX, called RTX Remix, will be available to all for free. Meaning others will access the tool and make their own RTX-enhanced games.

Portal RTX was one of many announcements Nvidia made during its GTC keynote. Other announcements include the unveiling of the long-awaited RTX 40-series, which consists of the RTX 4090 and two RTX 4080 GPUs: one with 12GB of memory and another with 16GB. For more, check out our roundup of everything that was announced during the GTC keynote.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

The alleged hacker that leaked around 90 videos of Grand Theft Auto 6 and also targeted Uber is being investigated by the FBI.

As reported by Eurogamer, the hacker who claimed responsibility also said they were behind the major cyber attack suffered by Uber on September 18. The taxi company has since released a blog post that announced it is actively working with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve the matter.

Acknowledging that Rockstar had also suffered a breach, Uber said it believes the hacker is associated with Lapsus$, the group behind recent attacks on Nvidia, Microsoft, and Samsung.

"We believe that this attacker (or attackers) are affiliated with a hacking group called Lapsus$, which has been increasingly active over the last year or so," Uber said. "This group typically uses similar techniques to target technology companies, and in 2022 alone has breached Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung, Nvidia and Okta, among others.

"There are also reports over the weekend that this same actor breached video game maker Rockstar Games. We are in close coordination with the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice on this matter and will continue to support their efforts."

EA Motive, the studio behind the upcoming Dead Space remake, has announced that it is developing an Iron Man game.

In a new tweet from Motive's Twitter account, the Montreal-based EA studio revealed that it is collaborationg with Marvel Games on "an all-new single-player, action-adventure Iron Man game." The project is said to still be in early development.

The news is out! 🎉We couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate with @MarvelGames on an all-new single-player, action-adventure Iron Man game. While we're still in early development, this is an exciting new adventure for our studio: https://t.co/zpuT61TKtV pic.twitter.com/309lhm02dY

— Motive (@MotiveStudio) September 20, 2022

The tweet points out that the Iron Man project will be a single-player action-adventure game, which is where Marvel has had the most success in AAA games. Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy are firm favourites among comic and MCU fans, something that can't be said for the multiplayer-focused Avengers.

Atlus says to not expect any new game announcements at the upcoming Persona Super Live P-Sound Wish 2022 concerts taking place next month on October 8 and 9 in Japan.

“There are no plans to announce new game titles at this live show,” Atlus clarifies on its Japanese website. “We aim for the best live performance that will satisfy everyone who can come and watch, and we are preparing with all our strength every day. Please look forward to it.”

ATLUS has clarified that there won't be new game announcements at the Persona Super Live P-Sound Wish 2022 concert next monthhttps://t.co/YhcVAvSfMD pic.twitter.com/mIsiVowdYd

— Nibel (@Nibellion) September 20, 2022

These Persona live concert events have previously been used by Atlus as a platform to announce new titles. The first one was held in 2015 and debuted Persona 4: Dancing All Night. In 2017, Atlus revealed Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, as well as Persona Q2, at the concert. During the 2019 concert, both Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers were announced.

It seemed logical to assume that Atlus could make a new game announcement during this year’s concert as well. However, Atlus has now set expectations that there won’t be anything like that next month. It looks like fans will have to wait longer for something like a Persona 6 or Persona 5 Arena reveal.