Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game jam-packed with consequences. Make this decision here, expect to see its effect there. It had been thought that recruiting one particularly evil character during the first act of the game was incompatible with a good playthrough, but one genius player came up with a workaround — using sheep magic.

Baldur’s Gate 3 spoilers are ahead. Will you press on, desperate for knowledge, or turn back, safe from the horror that awaits? [Spoken in the voice of the Narrator, for emphasis].

Let’s start with some background. Minthara is a ruthless Drow encountered in Act 1 and found in the Shattered Sanctum, inside the Goblin Camp. She’s one of three Goblin leaders, and is desperate to assault the nearby druid Grove, which the player can choose to protect or attack, as well as a few options in between.

If you side with Minthara in Act 1, you may recruit her later in the game. But siding with Minthara means committing a few unspeakable horrors. For a start, you must betray the druids and the tieflings in the grove, killing some or all of them. Do this and both Wyll and Karlach permanently leave your party, with Gale close to doing so as well unless you're able to convince him otherwise. There is no way to avoid this exodus.

Reliable PlayStation Plus leaker billbil-kun has revealed the next batch of games coming to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game catalogue in October.

EXCLUSIVE
🚨 PS Plus Game Catalog Additions 🚨

Check out in our last report a preview of the next batch of PS Plus Extra & Premium games (headliners)

⌛️ From October 17th#PSPlus #PlaystationPlus #Extra #Premium https://t.co/fcQDCgcKOY

— billbil-kun (@billbil_kun) October 9, 2023

This partial leak reveals eight of the games set to join PS Plus Extra on October 17. They are:

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 held a PlayStation-exclusive beta over the weekend, and already fans are worried about cheaters.

Twitter user @Duqysss posted a number of clips, below, showing apparent wall hacks and aim bots at play in the PlayStation 5 version of Modern Warfare 3. The videos are damning, showing clear cheating.

this smh on ps5 too pic.twitter.com/dZy2SYYPmN

— Duqys (@Duqysss) October 8, 2023

#PS5Share, #CallofDuty pic.twitter.com/KiEVWNfcIh

— Duqys (@Duqysss) October 8, 2023

#PS5Share, #CallofDuty pic.twitter.com/ImkVY1Vicb

A new Polish game developer union has formed following three rounds of layoffs at The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt.

Polish Gamedev Workers Union was founded by current CD Projekt staff, gameplay QA analyst Paweł Myszka and gameplay programmer Lev Ki, aiming to represent all those working in game development in Poland.

They said they started talking about unionising after the 2023 wave of layoffs that saw nine percent of CD Projekt Red staff (roughly 100 people) let go.

“This event created a tremendous amount of stress and insecurity, affecting our mental health and leading to the creation of this union in response,” Polish Gamedev Workers Union said. “Having a union means having more security, transparency, better protection, and a stronger voice in times of crisis.

“The above shows how employers tend to view their interests to be in conflict with those of their employees. While employees are the ones creating value in this arrangement, they lack any decision power in company-structure-related matters. That is why we need to organise to enter those situations on equal footing.

“We believe that the mass lay-offs are a danger to the gamedev industry and we believe that unionising is a way for us to preserve the industry’s potential.”

In a statement issued to IGN, CD Projekt said:

"We have been informed about the intention to form a trade union covering gamedev companies, including our company. We will act in accordance with law and comply with legal obligations that might arise from that situation.

Ahead of the launch of Starfield, Bethesda chief Todd Howard said there were over 1,000 planets to explore in the science fiction role-playing game. "From barren but resource-heavy ice balls, to Goldilocks planets with life,” Howard said during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase in June. “And not just this system, but over 100 systems — over 1,000 planets, all open for you to explore."

It was a number that would go on to dominate pre-release discussion around Starfield. How could any game have so many planets for the player to fully explore? How could such a thing be fun? Bethesda's answer came in the form of procedural generation. Not all 1,000 planets would be hand-crafted by developers at Bethesda. A small portion would be. In fact, Howard would go on to reveal only 10% of Starfield’s planets would have life on them.

Still, over 1,000 planets. It was one hell of a number, a number that sounds fantastic in an advert. Starfield is a game so vast that exploring all those planets would take any right-thinking player an age to do. Now, a month after Starfield came out, one player has done it.

Despite offering a more condensed experience, Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s vast and vibrant city of Baghdad is teeming with things to find and explore. Quests and Contracts, Gear Chests, Enigmas, Historical Sites, and even Mysterious Shards are just some of the many things scattered across the city to uncover.

That said, not all of these activities and collectibles are marked on your world map, which makes tracking them down much more difficult. Thankfully, IGN's Assassin’s Creed Mirage Interactive Map makes things easier, as our map has all essential map points plotted to help guide you through your journey across Baghdad.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Interactive Map

Here are some of the most important map markers that you can filter by to help guide you throughout your adventure across Baghdad:

From Scrabble to Wordle, word puzzle games have been a favorite amongst gamers around the world forever for their mind training capabilities and the sense of pure elation when you nail your lexicon mastery. Whether you simply love a good brain teaser, or enjoy adding new words to your vocabulary, these are some of the best word puzzle games we could find in 2023!

All 10 of the games on this list are available on your mobile device or via a web browser, you should be able to play them on the go or at home.

Wordle

It goes without saying that the most viral word game of them all debuts this list: Wordle. With a new word for you to guess each and every day, you’ll always be exposed to a new challenge whenever you play and you can then share your results (successful or otherwise) on your social media. Use logic and deduction and guess optimal words to make the most of your limited guesses, or throw letters at the wall and hope that something sticks!

This simple game popularized a whole string of games like Wordle that you can play across the web, including the more challenging, Quordle.

Minecraft is a worldwide phenomenon that most gamers around the world have tried at least once, but what if it didn’t quite click with you? Or what if you can’t get enough Minecraft and are looking for something in a similar vein? Never fear, as we’ve collated some of the best games similar to Minecraft that you can play right now!

All 10 of these games like Minecraft have some sort of element that relates directly to Minecraft gameplay. Whether you're looking to build worlds and survive or just enjoy a relaxing crafting experience, there's something here for everyone.

Roblox

Roblox is an incredibly popular game platform and game creation system, and whilst it doesn’t have the standard crafting and survival experience of Minecraft at a baseline, you have the ability to create your own game experiences or play those that others have created. If you love the multiplayer component to Minecraft - playing special game modes and minigames with friends and strangers alike - then you can’t go far wrong with Roblox!

If someone asks you what your favorite spy movie is, it’s nearly impossible to keep James Bond from coming to mind. With gadgets, gizmos, guns, girls, and goons, James Bond is the gallant good guy who introduced the global audience to the thrill of on-screen espionage. Though the world has had time to reflect on the shortcomings of this flawed character and his over-the-top machismo, Bond remains one of the most exemplary and immortal characters to ever exist in modern media. Though James Bond has been present in film (and literature) for 70+ years, there seems to be no end in sight as new actors for new iterations are considered for the role every decade or so.

How many James Bond Actors are There?

The most iconic movie spy of all time, James Bond has been portrayed by multiple actors since his film debut in 1962. There are a total of 7 actors who have played the role of our beloved spy: Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. All have brought their own unique twist to the character and all are worthy of mention in this article.

1. Sean Connery – 1962 - 1967, 1971, 1983

Films: Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, Never Say Never Again (Non-EON production)

It’s been a year and a half since Square Enix and Disney announced Kingdom Hearts 4 at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event in Japan, and the well of updates for the game has been empty ever since. Meanwhile, Kingdom Hearts 3 is riding on the title of best-selling game in the series with 6.7 million units sold as of September 2021 — surpassing the sales of even the very first game.

Anticipation for Kingdom Hearts 4 is running high, so we’ve compiled a comprehensive overview of everything we know about the game so far. This page will be updated as we get more information.

Jump to:

• Potential Release Window
• Latest Trailer
• Potential Setting
• Potential Story

Kingdom Hearts 4 Potential Release Window

A release window for Kingdom Hearts 4 has not been announced. The game is still in early development, so it’s too soon to tell when it will be released. If the development cycle for Kingdom Hearts 3 is anything to go by, Kingdom Hearts 4 would be released in five years, if not sooner.

To justify the timeline of the game’s development, Goofy voice actor Bill Farmer said he had yet to record his lines soon after the trailer dropped. He even said that he didn’t realize that Kingdom Hearts 4 had been announced, let alone entered the development stages.

It sounds like the Bloodborne-like, dark Pinocchio fantasy Lies of P might have DLC on the horizon, according to a recent job posting.

X (formerly Twitter) user Okami Games first pointed out the listing earlier today, which is from a post on the company's official job board. The post itself is in Korean, but IGN has confirmed that the listing is for a quest planner role for a Lies of P DLC, with one of the bullet points on the listing directly stating that the DLC is in development.

Update 10/9/2023: Neowiz has responded to IGN's request for comment by noting it did not have an official statement regarding upcoming DLC for Lies of P. However, the studio referred us to a recent blog post, which notes that Neowiz "will be providing a roadmap of the contents planned for Lies of P as soon as it is ready."

Original story continues:

While it's not immediately obvious from the listing what such DLC might entail, there's one major theory fans have based off the game's post credits scene. We're about to discuss it below, so if you're avoiding spoilers for the ending of Lies of P, don't read on:

A California bakery has crafted an astonishingly lifelike, spine-tingling Clicker sculpture made entirely out of bread.

Spotted first by Eater San Francisco, One House Bakery in Benicia has crafted a bread sculpture of a Clicker, one of the infected enemies found in Naughty Dog's hit franchise The Last of Us. It was created by Catherine and Hannalee Pervan, the mother-daughter duo that also co-owns the bakery.

The detail is astounding, as seen in the images below. If you are unfamiliar with the Clicker enemy, it represents one of the stages of a cordyceps infection in The Last of Us. A Clicker reaches a prolonged exposure to the cordyceps infection; it loses its sight, gains enhanced hearing, and makes a rapid croaking and clicking sound. Simply put, this is not the kind of infection you would want to encounter in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Eater notes that the pair decided to create the sculpture as part of an annual scarecrow contest held in the city each year, where local businesses show off their best scarecrow creations as residents and tourists in the city vote on which one is their favorite.

SF Chronicle notes in its article that it took the team more than 400 hours to complete the piece, with the process involving popping balloons wrapped in dough to form the mushrooms visible on the sculpture. "When the popped balloon is removed, it leaves behind these really strange pod-like shapes we were able to use," Hannahlee Pervan explained.

Earlier this month, developer Remedy confirmed the Xbox Series S version of the hotly anticipated Alan Wake 2 lacks the 60 frames per second performance mode the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions launch with later in October.

I’m glad to say that Alan Wake 2 will have a Performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X. The game has been built from the beginning as a 30fps experience focusing on visuals and ambiance, but somehow we have managed to include a solid Performance mode. We’ll talk details later.

— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) September 27, 2023

The news was the latest in a string of rough headlines for Microsoft’s cheaper console, which is at the heart of split-screen issues that have held up the Xbox launch of smash hit Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has insisted games launch across the more powerful Xbox Series X and the less powerful but cheaper Xbox Series S, both of which are approaching their third year on sale. But the underpowered Xbox Series S represents an intensifying headache for Microsoft as more and more developers look to make the most of the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales opens with a smooth rumble of the Dual Sense controller and into 125th Street subway station, Harlem. The follow-up to 2018’s Spider-Man, knows exactly where it needs to place Miles to set the stage for a world that celebrates its title character’s culture. As Miles sets foot into the neighborhood he will soon fight to protect, we immediately see what sets this Spider-Man apart. Effectively known as the “Main Street” of Harlem, this neighborhood is known as a center of commerce, brimming with cultural significance. It’s where we first see Miles Morales take center stage. We’re greeted with the ice and snow-packed streets of New York at Christmas, and a thumping beat that Miles bops his head to. There is a sense of community and culture that Insomniac has taken meticulous care to craft.

Each detail and layer subtly represents Miles Morales’ Puerto Rican heritage in a way that feels authentic and indebted to it. Insomniac has worked to celebrate Miles and those cultural elements that set him apart from his fellow heroes. It’s in Spider-Man: Miles Morales where Insomniac is not just choosing to tell Spider-Man’s story, but Miles’ story – a Puerto Rican’s story. In doing so, Insomniac needed to ensure that they nailed the culture of its title character.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (also referred to as Latino Heritage Month), we're taking a closer look at what Spider-Man: Miles Morales gets right about the Puerto Rican experience.

When Redfall launched earlier this year, one of the most highly requested features was adding an option to play the Xbox Series X/S version at 60 frames per second - and that request has finally been granted.

In a new blog post, publisher Bethesda Softworks revealed all the new additions and changes introduced in Redfall's second game update. The most notable addition includes a Performance Mode on consoles, allowing both Xbox Series X/S owners to play the game at a higher frame rate.

The addition is much needed following a dwindling player count in recent months and controversy ahead of release that the console versions would be locked at 30 FPS. Redfall's second major update also introduces improved performance and stability across "a wide range of hardware" configurations on PC, along with addressing several issues to graphical corruption that would occur after players with an AMD GPU would change the game's resolution in the settings.

Over 100 developers at Avalanche Studios Group, the studio behind the Just Cause franchise and upcoming Xbox-exclusive Contraband, have joined Swedish trade union Unionen. And now, they are bargaining with Avalanche management over their contract.

IGN confirmed the news today with an Avalanche Studios union representative, as well as a representative of Unionen and Avalanche PR. Of roughly 500 employees at Avalanche, over 100 of them are members of Unionen. Earlier this year, these members formed a "club," or local union board, in order to bargain directly with Avalanche management over specific benefits. Negotiations began last week and are ongoing, and additionally include employees who are members of a different union, Sveriges Ingenjörer.

Union membership in Sweden works somewhat differently than many of the studio unions we've seen in the United States thus far. In Sweden, eligible workers are allowed to join a trade union at any time without a union election at their workplace, and a long history of collective bargaining in the country has resulted in a deep intertwining of unions, companies, and labor laws. Roughly 70% of the country is involved in a union (per data shared by Unionen), and it's more common to have a union at one's workplace than not. This, however, marks the first time unions have gone to the bargaining table with Avalanche in its 20 year history.

A hidden blade in the crowd was, from the very start, the core fantasy of Assassin’s Creed. Across 16 years of iteration and innovation it has remained the series’ soul. Despite the focus drifting into an action-oriented design, a silent kill using that iconic retractable wrist blade has always been its crown jewel. Even Valhalla’s Eivor, a viking warrior, uses the hidden blade. But it’s no secret that stealth in Assassin’s Creed is not what it used to be, and that’s what made Mirage such an enticing prospect: a chance to get back to what Assassin’s Creed was made for.

Mirage did just that. But it perhaps took the mission brief a little too literally. Rather than embrace modern stealth design and make a sneaky Assassin’s Creed for the current day, developer Ubisoft Bordeaux has crafted a throwback to the earliest days of the series. It’s a cute idea to celebrate (last year’s) 15th anniversary, but it also makes for a game that feels stuck in the past. With renewed focus, though, Mirage’s flaws could become the foundations for an exciting new era.

The Nintendo Switch will be an astounding seven years old in March, which is kind of hard to believe. Its longevity and its popularity means it has one of the best, if not the best, libraries of games in history. With so many incredible games to choose from, we turned to the members of the NVC cast, past and present, to come up with Switch hidden gem recommendations. There's almost certainly something in this article you'll love.

Logan Plant

Game List

• The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
• The Touryst
• Paper Mario: The Origami King
• Mario Tennis Aces
• Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido

Everyone knows the name Phoenix Wright, but for some reason no one seems to pay attention to the other entries in the Ace Attorney series that don’t bear his name. It’s why two out of three games in the upcoming so-called “Apollo Justice Trilogy” don’t even feature poor Apollo’s name in the title. So it’s a shame that the best game in Capcom’s long-running legal drama series is so criminally overlooked.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles takes place over 100 years in the past during Japan’s Meiji era, where themes like globalization and rampant technological innovation are the backdrop for the story. The plot centers on rookie lawyer (and Phoenix Wright ancestor, because of course) Ryunosuke Naruhodo, who travels to the UK to solve mysteries alongside world-famous detective Herlock Sholmes (Yes, that’s spelled correctly).

Metal Gear Solid voice actress Jennifer Hale has said she was paid $1,200 for her role as Naomi Hunter in the original 1998 game.

As spotted by Genki on Twitter, the voice actress confirmed the amount on the My Perfect Console podcast while sharing her desire for video game voice actors to earn residuals.

Hale was recorded as saying in a 2011 New Yorker article that Metal Gear Solid made $270 million, though said on the My Perfect Console podcast (released October 3, 2023): "the figure I heard actually was $176 million." While the exact profit is unclear, the original Metal Gear Solid sold more than seven million copies and is considered a monumental success that spawned a franchise still going strong 25 years later.

Hale's comments come just days after members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted to authorise a video game strike. This means negotiators can call for a strike if talks with video game companies don't produce the desired results, of which they've not so far.

The disparity between Hale's alleged payment and the success of Metal Gear Solid is "indicative of what's happening in modern culture", she said, adding she hopes the standard for these payments changes.

Animal Crossing fans, you’re in for a treat. You can now purchase the Nintendo Switch Lite Animal Crossing Aloha Edition bundles for $199! There are two retailer-exclusive options available: the Isabelle's Aloha Edition bundle is available at Target (featuring a pink Switch Lite bundled with the full Animal Crossing: New Horizons game as a download) and the Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition bundle is available at Walmart (with a blue Switch Lite instead and the full New Horizons game).

Check out both bundle deals at their respective retailers at the links below.

Nintendo Switch Lite Animal Crossing Aloha Edition Bundles

If you’re looking for even more Switch deals to check out, we have good news, as the Black Friday deals have already started rolling in. One Nintendo deal that's already available to pick up is the Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle for $299. This is a deal that pops up every year and is well worth the investment. It comes with an original Switch, a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a three-month individual Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

And, though not a deal but still an exciting bit of news for Nintendo fans, the Nintendo Switch OLED Mario Red Edition is now available to purchase! This will set you back $349.99 but is a worthy pick-up if you’re a Mario fan (especially for the fun little Easter eggs they’ve included on the back of it).

CD Projekt spent $125 million on Cyberpunk 2077 post-launch, repairing the game's reputation with the Edgerunners and Update 2.0 patches alongside the well-received Phantom Liberty expansion.

CD Projekt announced on October 5 that the expansion starring Idris Elba cost a hefty 275 million Polish Zloty (around $62.7 million) to develop and approximately 95 million Polish Zloty (around $21.6 million) to market.

Chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz also said during the CD Projekt Investor Day presentation that bringing Cyberpunk up to next-gen console standards, presumably including the game-changing Update 2.0, cost 178 million Polish Zloty (around $40.9 million).

The three figures together, combining the cost of Phantom Liberty with the amount spent bringing Cyberpunk 2077 back from its poor state at launch, total 546 million Polish Zloty, so around $125.9 million.

Cyberpunk 2077 itself cost 1.2 billion Polish Zloty, or around $316 million at the time. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comparatively cost 306 million Polish Zloty, around $81 million at the time, though with inflation comes closer to $105 million.

Stardew Valley developer Eric 'Concerned Ape' Barone has celebrated reaching one million followers on social media website X by releasing four new screens for his upcoming game the Haunted Chocolatier.

The new stills show off Barone’s distinctive pixel art style while highlighting a series of in-game environments, including a wooded area in which a familiar red-coated character can be seen firing an arrow at a monster, and a quirky saloon/homely interior.

We also got a look at a library hosting a spooky skeleton and four books that positively reek of mystery, as well as a closer view of the town square glimpsed in the October 2021 reveal trailer, which features an ornate mermaid fountain.

“Loving the style,” wrote Redditer darkest4 on a post showcasing the new images. “Quite curious about the skill bar only having four slots it looks like. Quite different from Stardew." _Bowtye_ said: “Hurry, let’s get to 2M followers on twitter to get 4 more screenshots!”

Barone first discussed the project that would become The Haunted Chocolatier all the way back in 2017, less than two years after the release of Stardew Valley. "With my next game I want to go all out with my ideas, take things to the extreme, create an even richer and more detailed game world... And delight players with continuous hand-crafted experiences," said the Stardew creator at the time.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has admitted the company was grappling with a "financial problem" 10 weeks before announcing sweeping layoffs, in an unexpected admission during Unreal Fest earlier this week.

In a post on the social media platform X (spotted by Polygon), user @ImmatureGamerX uploaded a video recorded during one of the sessions available on the first day of the annual conference focused on Unreal Engine. However, this session is not included in the live streams available to the public.

Sweeney elaborated more on Epic's financial woes that led to the company laying off 830 employees late last month. Sweeney explained that management became aware of how dire their financial difficulties were just 10 weeks before the announcement.

Tim Sweeney addresses Epic Games Layoffs... #UnrealFest pic.twitter.com/49t4Tf20SA

The Baldur’s Gate 3 hotfixes are coming thick and fast. After Hotfix 8, which shaved His Majesty after a cat backlash from fans, came out earlier this week, Larian has now released Hotfix 9, which brings the sprawling Dungeons & Dragons-themed role-playing game up to version number 4.1.1.3767641.

Hotfix 9 squishes multiple bugs, issues and crashes, Larian said, as well as lets players change the appearance of their hirelings via the Magic Mirror.

“The same restrictions apply as when you edit your Tav, but we hope this enables you to create the party of your dreams,” Larian explained in a post on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam page. “Or, someone else’s nightmares. We can’t wait to see it.”

Hirelings are characters you can hire to join your party. They are summoned by Withers to lend aid when you seek their services. According to Withers, these individuals are spirits of fallen adventurers who were former cult members of the Absolute. For more information, check out IGN’s How to Unlock and Recruit Hirelings guide.

Sticking with the Magic Mirror, players can now use it to change their character’s name. “We’ll be using this to add Cool in front of every one of our characters, but you do you,” Larian joked.

Here are the Baldur’s Gate 3 Hotfix 9 patch notes in full:

Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘Concerned Ape’ Barone has teased an adorable new feature that may be coming to the farming RPG as part of the highly anticipated 1.6 update, which will seemingly allow players to put hats on their beloved in-game pets.

“Hats on cats (and dogs)”, read the post on X from Barone, who shared four images of pixel pets wearing headware ranging from bows to forager hats, and the iconic fashion hat. The idea that Stardew Valley’s pets will soon be given the behatted dignity they deserve without having to resort to mods left many in the community overjoyed, while others took the opportunity to pine for other features to be added to the game.

Hats on cats (and dogs) pic.twitter.com/4qIQOE1sUV

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) October 5, 2023

this is the greatest moment in gaming history

— facial (@facial6lock) October 6, 2023

multiple pets? 👉👈

Activision has unveiled PlayStation-exclusive content coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — potentially the last PlayStation-exclusive content Call of Duty will ever get.

Modern Warfare 3 is set for an exclusive operator called Lockpick, who comes with a variety of related items. PlayStation owners who pre-order Modern Warfare 3 get the bundle, which includes a unique knife and SMG, at launch in November. Promotional material confirms this content is exclusive to PlayStation platforms for a year, until November 9, 2024.

Microsoft’s long-running pursuit of Activision Blizzard reportedly ends next week with the imminent completion of its $69 billion buyout of the company behind Call of Duty. While Microsoft has secured an agreement with console rival Sony for the provision of Activision games on PlayStation for a decade, it seems unlikely Phil Spencer and co will want to give Call of Duty players a reason to favour the PlayStation version over the Xbox version after this year’s contractual obligations are satisfied.

Microsoft’s long-running pursuit of Activision Blizzard reportedly ends next week with the imminent completion of its $69 billion buyout of the company behind Call of Duty.

The Verge reports Microsoft will seal the deal on Friday, October 13, pending final approval from the UK. If true, it’ll go through just five days before the October 18 deadline agreed by Microsoft and Activision.

Last month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally approved Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard after a new deal was submitted that included the divestiture of its cloud gaming business to Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft. Final approval from the CMA is expected next week, opening the door to Microsoft completing the merger immediately after.

Microsoft has already defeated the U.S.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in court, obtained approval from key regulator the European Commission, and secured an agreement with console rival Sony for the provision of Activision games on PlayStation for a decade.

Update: Following the publication of this story, Arkane released a new patch for Redfall, which introduces many new changes, including the long-awaited Performance Mode that allows Xbox Series X/S owners to play the game at 60 frames per second.

The original story continues below.

With a dwindling player count, a promised 60fps patch still not out, and months of silence from its developer, Redfall may be on its last legs.

Arkane’s Redfall suffered a disastrous release in May, one that went so badly Xbox boss Phil Spencer personally apologised for it. IGN’s review returned a 4/10. “Redfall is a bafflingly bad time across the board,” we said. “Plagued with bland missions, boneheaded enemies, and repeated technical problems, Redfall simply wasn’t ready for daylight in this state.”

Microsoft was also heavily criticised for showing its PC and Xbox exclusive running at 60fps ahead of launch and, less than a month before the game came out, announcing the co-op vampire shooter would arrive locked at 30fps on Xbox Series X and S, with a 60fps performance mode to be patched in later.

Some Assassin's Creed Mirage players are frustrated with a graphical effect called chromatic aberration that can't be turned off.

Chromatic aberration is a graphical effect implemented to simulate lens distortion to make gameplay appear as if filmed with a real camera and therefore more cinematic. In actual gameplay, it makes the outlines of objects blurred or sometimes shine with bright colours.

While this is an effect implemented across many games, some Assassin's Creed Mirage players are calling its use here the worst they've ever seen, with others claiming it's making them unwell and stopping play altogether. Ubisoft failed to include an option to turn chromatic aberration off within Assassin's Creed Mirage.

"It's pretty much killing the game and making it look so bad," said Thestickleman on Reddit. "That along with not being able to turn motion blur off hurts my eyes a bit and makes me feel a bit ill after not too long."

The replies are full of similar sentiments. "It's horrendous. I felt ill within 10 minutes," said one user. "It's so insanely bad. What were they thinking?," asked another. "I couldn't believe there was no option to turn it off," added a third.

Cardy, Matt, and Dale are ready to step back in time with Assassin's Creed Mirage. After discussing Ubisoft's latest stealth action-adventure their attention then turns to Gen V – The Boys spin-off TV show which is a bloody good time. Want something a bit more cerebral? Maybe we could interest you in Cocoon, a new Game Pass puzzler. There's also time left for a quick chat about a couple of films – horror/home invasion No One Will Save You and Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Have any thoughts about The Endless Search theme? Got any good demo disc stories? Get in touch at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com

IGN UK Podcast 717: Spice Up Your Life

• IGN UK Podcast 716: Hate the Endless Search Theme? Let's Go Our Separate Ways
• IGN UK Podcast 715: Idris Elba's Sausage Sandwich
• IGN UK Podcast 714: Daddy's Back
• IGN UK Podcast 713: Starfield - Bethesda Strikes Back
• IGN UK Podcast 712: Starfield - The Good, The Bad, and The Inventory

Narrative adventure developer Telltale Games, the studio currently working on The Wolf Among Us 2 and which just released The Expanse: A Telltale Series, has undergone layoffs which one former employee says impacted "most of" the studio.

The news first circulated via a post on X (formerly Twitter) by former Telltale cinematic artist Jonah Huang, who said that these layoffs took place in early September:

This is a sore subject, but I feel it necessary to add to the gaming layoff news: Telltale laid most of us off early September. Status of TWAU2, I can't say (NDA).

Now, I focus on what matters to me—my own game, and the following words:

Games industry, we must UNIONIZE.

1/5

— jjonahjonahson (@jjonahjonahson) October 5, 2023

Telltale has confirmed that it has undergone layoffs in a statement sent to IGN, but did not confirm the number or extent. Its statement is as follows:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was fully revealed today, and it's set to debut a new city-themed Warzone 2 map with drivable trains, zip lines, and quite a few points of interest.

During today's COD Next showcase, Activision revealed Urzikstan, an "urban battleground" map coming to Battle Royale and Plunder at launch. As GamesRadar pointed out, Urzikstan was first featured as a country (and a key part of the campaign) in the 2019 game Modern Warfare, and now it's finally getting its own map.

Filled with apartments and industrial areas, Urzikstan seems fairly dense in comparison to other Warzone maps. Still, it features quite a few new ways to get across the map, including the franchise's first train with player-controllable direction and speed (which can also be stopped by opposing teams). It also has several horizontal zip lines and brings the eerily dark Urzikstan Gulag with 3 lanes for combat.

Get the squad back together - here’s your first look at Urzikstan, an urban battleground and the latest Call of Duty #Warzone map coming with Season 01 of #MW3 in December 🏙️🏝️⛰️ #CODNext pic.twitter.com/ZCqrLo7N69

It’s incredibly tough to launch a new live-service game. In 2023 we’ve already seen a bunch shut down for good, including Rumbleverse, CrossFireX and Knockout City. But at least they all got their shot in the limelight – Hyenas, the hero shooter from Creative Assembly, was canceled by publisher Sega last week, after years in development. It never even made it to open beta, let alone a full launch.

As someone who plays a lot of competitive shooters, Hyenas didn’t really grab my attention that much. I know friends who played the closed beta and had good things to say about it, but I didn’t really like the idea of fighting in zero G. I played Splitgate a fair bit when that came out, and that too had unique ways to get around by creating portals that allowed you to sneak around the back of the enemy. But I found it incredibly tricky to take advantage of, especially in the middle of a firefight when there wasn't time to plan a clever move. Rather than it being a unique feature that attracted a different audience, it became a barrier to entry for new players. And that’s exactly how I felt when they showed off Hyena’s zero G gameplay for the first time.

It’s an incredibly difficult balance to get right – a new live-service game has to offer something unique to get the audience interested, but if it’s too far removed from what they’re used to it could have the opposite effect. Fortnite is pretty much the only shooter I know that’s really succeeded in delivering an unusual game mechanic and survived – not just survived, thrived – in the live-service space. Of course, Fortnite’s building mechanic has been made fun of a lot but you cannot deny that it adds another dimension to the shooter experience and Fortnite has gone on to be one of the most-played shooters around.

CD Projekt Red doesn't regret making Cyberpunk 2077 a first-person only game, compared to the third-person Witcher franchise, but the developer is yet to make up its mind around Cyberpunk 2, codenamed Orion.

Speaking during the CD Projekt Red Investor Day presentation, Cyberpunk 2077 quest director Paweł Sasko, who will be working on Orion, was asked if CD Projekt Red would consider adding a third-person to first-person toggle in the new game, and if the developer regrets not including one in the current Cyberpunk.

"There are no regrets on our part," he said. "What we wanted was for Cyberpunk to have its own identity and to be noticeable as this different thing. These days it's YouTube, Twitch, and screenshots that sell games, and this is the way one can use to show that identity and individuality to players."

Sasko continued: "I wanted to say that the first-person perspective is the main characteristics for Cyberpunk and its perception by the players too. It's also noticeably different from The Witcher, and this helped us craft the product identity as such."

The quest director didn't give too much away surrounding Orion, but did suggest CD Projekt Red is yet to make its mind up on this front. After explaining why the team only included a first-person mode in Cyberpunk 2077, Sasko added: "But for Orion we're yet to see."

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a physical copy of the Batman: Arkham Trilogy for Nintendo Switch, now’s your time. It’s officially up for preorder at a variety of retailers, with a brand-new release date of December 1. This is due to a recent announcement from publisher Warner Bros. Games that it’s been delayed from its original October 13 release date.

Step into the Dark Knight’s shoes and preorder your copy of this collection for Switch at the links below.

Preorder the Batman: Arkham Trilogy for Switch

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

No special editions are available for this collection, so the standard edition is the only option.

CD Projekt Red CEO Adam Kiciński has announced he will be moving to a supervisory role at the company in 2025 and will therefore be stepping down as CEO as part of a larger management shake-up.

Kiciński, who will have been at CD Projekt Red for 30 years as of 2024, will resign as a member of the management board at the end of that year. Before he does so, he will transition from his current role as CEO to the role of chief strategy officer as of January 1, 2024.

Current chief creative officer Adam Badowski and current chief commercial officer Michał Nowakowski will take over as joint-CEOs of CD Projekt Red also as of January 1, 2024.

The supervisory board Kiciński is joining oversees the activities of CD Projekt Red and performs its duties by issuing recommendations and adopting resolutions. CD Projekt co-founder and former joint CEO Marcin Iwiński made the same move in October 2022, joining the supervisory board and therefore leaving behind his management board duties.

Kiciński was involved in CD Projekt Red from its foundation in 1994 and has since served in several roles including marketing director from 1999 to 2004, co-director in 2004, director in 2006, and more.

Destiny 2 and Marathon developer Bungie is currently being sued for retaliation and wrongful termination by a former HR manager, who alleges she was let go when she raised a potential case of racial discrimination to her supervisors.

In a complaint filed earlier this year in the state of Washington, plaintiff Ingrid Alm recounts that she was hired by Bungie in May of 2022 as an HR manager, coming into the job with over a decade of experience. Just a few months into her employment, she says she was instructed to investigate the performance of a particular employee, referred to as “James Smith.” But when she sat down to speak with Smith, he allegedly pointed out that he was the only Black employee on a team of 50 individuals, and expressed that he felt he was being singled out and racially targeted by his supervisor.

Alm goes on to say that she shared this information with her supervisor and recommended that Smith’s supervisor receive diversity training, but alleges that her recommendation was met with “hostility and denial.” She says she was told that the individuals she was recommending take the training “had been there for a long time” and “are highly regarded,” and her recommendation was denied. During a follow-up discussion about the incident sometime after, Alm was additionally told by her supervisor that “she didn’t want to touch those conversations with a ten-foot pole.”

Following this, Alm alleges that Bungie recommended terminating Smith’s employment. Alm says she disagreed, saying this would be racial bias, and in September approached Bungie’s director of equity and inclusion, Dr. Courtney Benjamin, for advice. Benjamin suggested that terminating Smith would be “too risky considering the evidence,” and advised a written warning be given to Smith instead.

CD Projekt aims to expand its Cyberpunk 2077 universe further with a live-action project.

Announced today, the unnamed project is a collaboration between CD Projekt and Anonymous Content, the production company behind True Detective and Mr. Robot, as well as Academy Award-winning films including The Revenant and Spotlight.

CD Projekt is working with Anonymous Content Studios’ Head of Television Garret Kemble, Director of Development Ryan Schwartz, and Chief Creative Officer David Levine, the latter of whom was previously HBO’s EVP and Co-Head of Drama for over 10 years, where he oversaw production of series such as True Detective, Westworld, and True Blood. He was also involved in the production of the early seasons of the Game of Thrones.

CD Projekt said this project is at an early development stage, and the hunt is on for a screenwriter to tell a brand-new story set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077.

CD Projekt saw huge success from Netflix animated spin-off Cyberpunk Edgerunners, so it comes as no surprise to see the company look to expand the franchise into Hollywood territory.

Ever since Diablo 4’s June launch, one of the most vociferous criticisms has revolved around the near zero chance players have of obtaining one of the handful of coveted Uber Unique items. The drop rate for Uber Uniques is so miniscule that players have said the chances of seeing one are lower than winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning.

In an interview with IGN in July, associate game director Joseph Piepiora defended the drop rate for Diablo 4’s Uber Uniques. “We want players, the moment that these things actually drop, we want that to be a fall out of your chair moment,” Piepiora said at the time. “We want that to be a really critically important thing.”

Piepiora explained that Blizzard wanted to maintain the extreme rarity of these items in order to prevent them from becoming mandatory for builds. “If we make it so, let's say that over the course of 10 hours, five hours even, you're guaranteed to get this item, what that really means is that item now becomes kind of a mandatory piece of equipment that's required for your build to feel successful,” Piepiora said three months ago.

“We don't want these items to fall into that space. We want them to be these really extraordinary, massive bonuses on top of basically anyone's build that can occur on occasion. When you get them, the character is just going to feel overpowered. They're going to feel very, very strong. That is how they're balanced.”

Cyberpunk 2077 has surpassed 25 million units sold, outpacing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red has announced.

Speaking during the CD Projekt Red Investor Day presentation, president and CEO Adam Kiciński announced the new figure, which is up five million from September 2022. The Phantom Liberty expansion has also sold three million units within its first week.

Kiciński said this means Cyberpunk 2077, which struggled through a brutal launch that saw it delisted from the PlayStation Store, is outpacing The Witcher 3's performance.

Cyberpunk 2077 has reached the 25 million mark within around two years and 10 months, while The Witcher 3 didn't reach 25 million until around the four-and-a-half year mark, Kiciński said. The Witcher 3 was recorded as selling 28 million units in December 2019, around four years and seven months after launch.

As for Phantom Liberty, 68% of copies were sold on PC, 20% were sold on PlayStation 5, and 13% were sold on Xbox Series X and S. CD Projekt Red also shared the one and only expansion cost approximately 275 million Polish Zloty (around $62.7 million) to develop and approximately 95 millon (around $21.6 million) to market.