IGN

Biomutant: Here's What Comes in Each Edition

2 years 11 months ago
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After what seemed like an eternity, Biomutant finally has a concrete release date: May 25, 2021. If you're on board with this game's particular brand of apocalyptic zaniness, you can preorder a copy for yourself now. And if you're interested in the Atomic edition, you may want to do so sooner than later, because it's sold out everywhere but GameStop. And as for the collector's edition? It's sold out everywhere. At any rate, here's what comes in each edition, how much it costs, and where you can preorder it now.

Preorder Biomutant Atomic Edition

biomutant-atomic-editionPS4/PS5

Xbox

PC

The most expensive and, dare I say, classiest version of the game is the Atomic Edition. It's not cheap by any stretch, but it comes with some awesome extras.
Author
Chris Reed

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Resident Evil Village Review

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN

As soon as I arrived in Resident Evil Village’s sinister rural setting, its Resident Evil 4 influence reared its snarling head. Almost immediately surrounded by rabid Lycan locals, I scrambled for shotgun shells and bookshelves to block doorways as the horde closed in, only to be saved a split-second away from death. It’s an intense welcome that serves as a fantastic flashback to the opening of Shinji Mikami’s magnum-toting magnum opus, and one made all the more frantic in first-person perspective. Resident Evil Village might not break much new ground in its own right, but it successfully grafts Resident Evil 4’s best action elements onto the series’ more modern form established in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, making for a genuinely engrossing and increasingly combat-heavy continuation of the Ethan Winters story.

Author
Tristan Ogilvie

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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 Coming To Switch This June

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 will release for Nintendo Switch on June 25. Earlier this year Activision announced that the remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 would arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in March. At the same time it confirmed that a Switch version was also in the works, but offered no release date. Now, Activision has finally provided June 25 as the date we can expect Tony Hawk's to hit Nintendo's console. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/23/tony-hawks-pro-skater-1-and-2-ps5-xbox-series-xs-and-nintendo-switch-trailer"] Naturally, you shouldn't expect the fancy graphical enhancements present in the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions to be part of the Switch version, but it does feel like an ideal Switch game even without "High-fidelity atmospherics". Our Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 Remake review is particularly glowing, saying that the remake "proves that going backwards has been the best step forward for the series in 15 years." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 
Author
Matt Purslow

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Fable Is Being Developed Using the Forza Engine

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Microsoft’s new Fable game is being developed using the Forza engine, according to a job listing on Microsoft’s website. The listing for a Software Engineer states that the team at Turn10 (developers of the Forza series) will be working with the ForzaTech engine, and will be “enriching the toolset to support an open world action RPG – Fable.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/fable-xbox-series-x-announcement-trailer"] Not only will the engine be powering one of Microsoft’s most anticipated new titles for Xbox Series X/S, but the role also involves adding some new bells and whistles to the engine, including “new features like raytracing”, which are becoming increasingly utilised in AAA game development. Fable was originally announced in July 2020 at Xbox’s major summer game announcement conference ahead of the release of the Xbox Series X and Series S.
Author
Liam Wiseman

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Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Release Date Revealed

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Owlcat Games has announced a release date for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. The game will launch on September 2 for PC via Steam and GOG, Owlcat Games has revealed. Additionally, a second beta for Wrath of the Righteous that covers the game's first four chapters has also been made available today on Steam for those who contributed to the game's Kickstarter campaign. The beta is also available for certain tiers of Slacker Backers. The second beta includes all of the content from the first beta, but will also introduce a number of new features including Crusade gameplay, where players can "lead armies as a Crusade commander and fight against demonic armies through strategic army management and tactical turn-based combat." New side quests, abilities and archetypes for certain classes, dinosaur pets and mounts, and weather systems will also feature in the new beta, alongside the game's final UI design. A set of balance fixes have also been implemented for the Core difficulty. There's also a talking enchanted weapon called Finnean who has unlocked after fans helped Owlcat reach a Kickstarter goal. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/04/pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-community-quest-trailer"] For now, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is just set for a PC release, but Owlcat promise it will share console plans "in the near future". Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous was announced in 2019 and follows 2018's Pathfinder: Kingmaker. It sits within the same Pathfinder universe but it isn't a sequel.
Author
Jordan Oloman

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Stonefly Hits PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC on June 1

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Stonefly, the next game from Creature in the Well developer Flight School Studio, is set to be released in June. Publisher MWM Interactive and Flight School announced that the mech adventure will arrive on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on June 1. Flight School will offer players a closer look at Stonefly throughout the month leading up to its launch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/26/stonefly-gameplay-first-look-video"] Stonefly puts players in the role of Annika Stonefly, who is on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Annika will use customizable mech's that players can upgrade and cosmetically adjust to suit their style, as they pilot around a naturalistic world inspired by mid-century modern design and nature. "Our small team set out to create something visually unique and mechanically original with Stonefly and we think players are going to love following Annika's journey and gliding around the world we've created," said Bohdon Sayre, Game Director at Flight School Studio in a statement alongside the announcement. "We always challenge ourselves to put stakes in the ground outside the norm, and MWM Interactive have been a great partner to allow us the creative freedom to take risks and explore new territory.
Author
Jonathon Dornbush

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Blizzard Revenue Is Up Despite Losing Millions Of Monthly Active Users

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Blizzard's latest earning reports show that revenue is up, but the company's new monthly active users figure show that millions of players are being lost. The latest quarterly financial results released from Blizzard state that the company currently has 27 million monthly active users. In isolation that's a high number, but - as noted by Massively Overpowered - Blizzard has lost almost 29% of its monthly active users over three years, dropping from 38 million in Q1 2018 to this new figure of 27 million in Q1 2021. A chunk of that user drop came between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021, during which Blizzard lost two million players. In spite of this, Blizzard segment revenue has increased by 7% year-over-year, led by the enduring popularity of World of Warcraft and its latest expansion Shadowlands, which has driven franchise net bookings to grow. "A particularly high number of new players" have joined the MMO lately, apparently ushered into the game by Blizzard's push to make the WoW onboarding experience easier. More content is coming to World of Warcraft Shadowlands and its old-school sibling World of Warcraft Classic in the near future too, with World of Warcraft Classic The Burning Crusade launching later this year.  [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/27/jeff-kaplan-blizzards-brilliant-innovator"] In light of this news of a slumping player base, it's worth noting that beyond remakes and content updates for its major franchises, Blizzard hasn't launched anything new since team shooter Overwatch in 2016.
Author
Jordan Oloman

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PlayStation Collaborates With Paul George for PS5-Themed Sneakers

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
PlayStation has announced its latest sneaker collaboration with Nike Basketball and Paul George, which has resulted in the PG 5 PlayStation 5 Colorway sneakers. PlayStation sent IGN a pair of the PG 5's to unbox, so check out the gallery below for a detailed look at the sneakers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=playstation-and-paul-george-ps5-collaboration-pg-5-sneakers&captions=true"] In an announcement on the PlayStation Blog written by Paul George, he explained how "Nike and PlayStation designers, including Yujin Morisawa - the artist behind the PS5 console’s design - worked closely together to bring the spirit of my game and the look of PS5 to life in this unique collaboration." As with past collaborations, the tongues of the shoes have the PG and PlayStation logos on them, and with the latest colorways, the PS5 color inspiration is quite clear. And in a callback to the DualSense's design, the PlayStation face buttons can be found embedded on the shoes as part of the design. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/01/unboxing-the-nike-pg-25-playstation-shoes"] The shoes will be available with drops starting on May 14, via the Nike SNKRS app if it's available in your country, or you can keep an eye on Nike's website for availability. Each pair will come with a special hangtag in honor of George and PlayStation's continued celebration. For more on the past collaborations, you can see IGN unbox a pair of PG 2.5's above, as well as take a look at the PG 2's PlayStation and George previously released. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead.
Author
Jonathon Dornbush

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Halo Infinite’s Tempting PC Features

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Halo Infinite details its impressive PC features and options, leading some of the Unlocked crew to ponder whether to stick with it on Xbox or move to PC. Plus: the Xbox Compatibility Team drops another batch of FPS Boost games, a trademark gets filed for Sunset Overdrive by...Sony?!, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with IO Interactive CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak, who talks candidly about reviving Hitman, leaving Square Enix and almost running out of money, starting the studio's new James Bond 007 project, and much more: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/06/hitman-studio-boss-talks-hitmans-future-the-new-james-bond-game-and-more-ign-unfiltered-57"] Oh, and feel free to leave us a video Loot Box question on Twitter by tagging Ryan at the handle below! For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Author
Ryan McCaffrey

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Activision Wants All Its Franchises to Be Like Call of Duty

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Shocking no one, Call of Duty continues to do very, very well for Activision-Blizzard — especially now with Warzone. And in response to that success, Activision is poised to take the formula that's bringing in big bucks from each new Call of Duty game and fitting all of its other major franchises into that same mold. Today, the company reported its earnings for the first quarter of the year, with a record first-quarter revenue of $2.28 billion — a whopping $2 billion of which was digital. Activision-Blizzard has a lot of segments contributing to that revenue, including Blizzard and its King mobile games, but its reporting today was clearly most proud of how well Call of Duty was doing. Activision cited that of all the 435 million monthly active users [MAU] across all of its properties, 150 million of those MAUs were from Call of Duty alone. In fact, free-to-play Call of Duty and Call of Duty mobile have nearly tripled total MAUs across all Call of Duty games since their launches last year, and the recent launch of Call of Duty Mobile in China brought in "tens of millions" of new players, further helping things along. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/23/call-of-duty-warzone-review"] We got even more numbers during the earnings call, with Activision sharing that player spending on Call of Duty Mobile in China alone in its first quarter was on par with the rest of the world combined, and that Call of Duty Mobile has now surpassed 500 million downloads and over $1 billion in lifetime revenue since its 2019 launch. In summary? Call of Duty is still enormous, growing even more with each new release and update, and Activision's current favorite child. Which means that it wishes all of its other children would grow up to be just like Call of Duty, and that's exactly what Activision is trying to make happen.
Author
Rebekah Valentine

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Phil Spencer "Hasn't Given Up" on xCloud for Other Consoles

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
More emails from the Epic vs Apple court case are trickling out along with plenty of high-level conversations between various CEOs. One email exchange between Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Xbox president Phil Spencer reveals that Xbox's interest in bringing xCloud on other consoles is ongoing. There was regular chatter that Xbox had ambitions to bring its services to systems that weren't, well, the Xbox. At its height, there were rumors the entire Xbox experience could come to the Nintendo Switch. Instead, some Xbox Live functionality exists on the Switch and xCloud is currently available on PC, Android, and iOS (through a slight workaround). But according to an email between Spencer and Sweeney, Xbox is interested in getting its cloud streaming service to other consoles. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] "At the highest levels of [Microsoft] we are committed to pushing on these policies and continuing to expand our console platform capabilities," Spencer writes. "You can chime in as you feel comfortable. But I did want to just let you know that I have your point on xCloud on other consoles (haven't given up), F2P outside of Gold (we will get there and I want to partner with you), and our Store entitlement ideas as items I'm going to review with you to make progress." Microsoft's xCloud is a cloud streaming service where users can play console games on their phones or PC directly from the cloud with no need to download or install a title.
Author
Matt T.M. Kim

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Activision Confirms Sledgehammer Will Develop Call of Duty 2021 With Next-Gen Consoles in Mind

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Along with death and taxes, it seems another certainty in life is an annual major Call of Duty release, and 2021 is no exception. Activision has confirmed that of course, it is once again making a Call of Duty game for release this year, and as has been reported, Sledgehammer is back at the helm making it. This was revealed during Activision-Blizzard's Q1 earnings call, during which Activision said the game was both "looking great" and "on track" for release in the fall of this year. It will include a campaign, multiplayer, and co-op play, and will "integrate with and enhance existing Call of Duty ecosystem" — possibly a reference to compatibility with Warzone, as has happened with Black Ops Cold War. And critically, it's being "built for next-generation experience." Beyond that, we don't have too many more details about the next Call of Duty, though Activision promises more details "soon." The same report that mentioned Sledgehammer suggests that the game will be called "Call of Duty WWII: Vanguard" and will incorporate (unsurprisingly) a World War II theme, though reports have differed as to whether this is a straightforward WWII take or an alternate timeline. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/15/call-of-duty-warzone-top-10-roofs-of-verdansk"] Sledgehammer has previously been in charge of both Call of Duty: WWII and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and has assisted Infinity Ward and Treyarch on other recent Call of Duty titles. Call of Duty continues to do exceeding well as a franchise for Activision, with today's earnings call and results noting that Call of Duty currently boasts 150 million monthly active users [MAU] across all games.
Author
Rebekah Valentine

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How EVE Online Players Saved Real-World Scientists 330 Years of Research on COVID-19

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN

EVE Online is a massively multiplayer online game where players can mine planets, fight other players in all-out war, and fly through wormholes to reach new destinations. Now it’s helping scientists learn more about COVID-19.

Through a citizen science project called Project Discovery, players are able to help scientists in the real world solve problems that need human input, such as helping scientists discover new planets. Over the past year, they’ve been helping scientists learn more about COVID-19.

To date, 327,000 players have completed 1.37 million analysis tasks in-game, which has saved scientists 330.69 years worth of research into how the immune system responds to COVID-19. Speaking to IGN, EVE Online Creative Director, Bergur Finnbogason, explained how the project began.

“This is a project that was initially started by, or at least an idea from, [Massively Multiplayer Online Science CEO and co-founder Attila Szantner] a few years back where he was looking at citizen science projects around the world, all over the internet,” Finnbogason said. “He started seeing this pattern in these projects where basically... these fantastic projects would happen… with super worthy causes… but people would come in, try it once, and then never come back.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/04/eve-online-project-discovery-covid-19-gameplay"]

Seeing that people were so quick to drop these projects, the parties involved devised a way to merge citizen science projects with something that would make people want to stick around. That's where the idea of placing one of these projects in an MMO — a genre with communities of people who do the very opposite of trying something once and never touching it again — was born.

Author
Wesley LeBlanc

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Epic vs. Apple Shows the Courts Were Not Prepared for Gaming's Obsessive Secrecy

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
It's only the second day of Epic and Apple going head-to-head in the courts, and it's already clear that the United States court system was not prepared for the cocktail of a high-profile case centered around an industry that is secretive often to the point of absurdity. Add in struggles with COVID-19 precautions and a call-in audience of rowdy gamers, and this trial is shaping up to be very interesting indeed. Already, there's been an ongoing kerfuffle between lawyers, third parties, and the judge regarding games leaks occurring via court documents. To generalize a bit, exhibits submitted as evidence in court are usually a matter of public record, unless a document is "sealed," meaning it is only visible to a select group of people in court to whom it is relevant. This might be done for a number of reasons — in the case of Epic v. Apple, it's a matter of concern because a lot of the evidence includes internal documents from video game companies that might reference trade secrets, unannounced projects, and so forth. Unfortunately, it's causing a lot of problems for everyone in this particular trial. It's unclear exactly who dropped the ball in Epic v. Apple, but the trial as a whole keeps hitting stumbling blocks because third-parties are complaining that their classified documents are being leaked to the public via a public folder where all the exhibits are being submitted for perusal. The problem was first apparent yesterday, when over 100 documents submitted to the folder at the start of the day were deleted without explanation, then (mostly) slowly reinstated over the rest of the day.
Author
Rebekah Valentine

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Apex Legends Launches Season 9 and Its 3v3 Arena Mode, Servers Promptly Crash

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Update: While some players have been able to get into matches, Apex Legends' servers have continued to struggle throughout the afternoon. Respawn has been posting regular updates on its social media platforms. "All platforms are continuing to recover, but issues persist. In particular, our Marketplace service is struggling, which is restricting players to base Legends and limited skins. We'll keep these updates coming!" Respawn wrote. Origin likewise experienced a spike in outages according to Downdetector, but it's unclear if the issues are related. On testing the platform for ourselves, we were able to access the platform without any trouble. The original story continues below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Apex Legends has launched both Season 9 and a new permanent 3v3 mode called Arena, and its popularity has caused server issues that are keeping players from experiencing the new content. Apex Legends developer Respawn has already said that it is working on a fix, and its most recent update at 11:35pm PT on May 4 has confirmed that it is "seeing some progress but we aren't out of the weeds yet. Will keep you updated!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/29/apex-legends-legacy-all-valkyrie-abilities-arenas-gameplay-bocek-details"] In addition to Arena, Season 9 also brings with it a new legend named Valkyrie, who is also known as Kairi Imahara.
Author
Adam Bankhurst

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The Top 10 Best-Selling Star Wars Games in the US Have Been Revealed

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games in the US from January 1995 through March 2021, and 2015's Star Wars Battlefront has earned the #1 spot. In celebration of Star Wars Day, The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella shared this top 10 list, which is based on dollar sales and includes physical and full game digital sales from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox platforms. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/19/your-top-star-wars-games-power-ranking"] While the exact amount earned wasn't revealed for the games, it was confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and 2017's Star Wars Battlefront 2 took the #2 and #3 spot, respectively. The full list of the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games is as follows;
  1. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
  2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
  4. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
  5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  6. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)
  7. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
  8. LEGO Star Wars
  9. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)
  10. Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-star-wars-game-review&captions=true"] Despite its everlasting popularity, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is notably missing from this list, as are LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, despite how well the other LEGO Star Wars games have done. Piscatella notes that this list included 106 titles, including "a handful of bundles and oddities." Considering the top three best-selling Star Wars games have been released in the last six years, the future is bright for games that take place in that galaxy far, far awa
Author
Adam Bankhurst

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Witcher 3 Director Leaves CD Projekt Following Workplace Bullying Claims

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Witcher 3, has resigned from CD Projekt following workplace bullying allegations, which he denies. As reported by Bloomberg, CD Projekt had been conducting a "months-long investigation in to accusations of mobbing, a Polish term for office bullying," against Tomaszkiewicz. The commission that was formed to investigate these allegations found him not guilty, but Tomaszkiewicz decided to still leave the company as there was clear discomfort between him and other members of the studio. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/12/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-review"] “Nonetheless, a lot of people are feeling fear, stress or discomfort when working with me,” he wrote. He apologized to staff “for all the bad blood I have caused.” “I am going to continue working on myself,” he continued.
Author
Adam Bankhurst

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Walmart Cloud Gaming Service Details Revealed in Epic vs Apple Documents

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
New documents presented as part of the Epic Games vs Apple court case have revealed new details about the cloud gaming streaming service that Walmart had been developing, which it pitched to Epic Games in 2019. An email thread from April 2019 confirms reports from the same year that Walmart was talking to developers about a streaming service for games. The service, known as Project Storm, was designed to be an "open ecosystem" that allowed users to stream from the cloud or download games to a Windows PC and play locally. Documents attached to the email thread show that Walmart had been pitching this system to publishers such as Epic, and was planned to support for third-party launchers such as Steam, Uplay, Epic Games Store, Origin, Battle.net and the Bethesda Launcher. Walmart streaming diagram A diagram explaining the system also notes that indie games would be supported alongside AAA via third party launchers. Users would be given the option to subscribe, buy games, or 'BYOG' - Bring your own game (presumably by linking with accounts like Steam and porting across your existing library). Among the new details in the emails, Epic Games co-founder Mark Rein sent messages detailing a clip that would attach a phone to a controller, in order for players to use Walmart's system. “They’re going to sell the clip for a crazy low amount, they were saying something like $2,” said Rein.
Author
Matt Purslow

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Stadia's Head of Product Has Left Google

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
The head of product at Google Stadia has left the company. The Information published a report noting that John Justice, VP and Head of Product at Google Stadia, had moved on from Google. This was later confirmed in a statement acquired by 9to5. “We can confirm John is no longer with Google and we wish him well on his next step,” Google told 9to5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/22/google-stadia-review"] Justice was one of the lead faces behind Google Stadia, and previously spoke to IGN during Gamescom 2019 about the future of the platform. It’s another blow for the cloud gaming service which shut down all of its internal game development studios in January of this year. Here’s our piece breaking down reports from Bloomberg and Wired about internal strife at Google Stadia from earlier this year. Despite all of the setbacks, Google still plans to bring “more than 100 games” to the platform in 2021, including Resident Evil Village. In the latest update, a search bar was added to the platform after 500 days without one.
Author
Jordan Oloman

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Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2: The First Preview

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a sniper simulation that makes all the very complicated factors of hitting a target 1000m away with a long gun feel as easy as using the right gear for the job, and making good decisions when it counts. In my time playing the demo, I found that the mix of tried and true military shooter mechanics and open-ended assassination goals that test your creativity and timing, a la Hitman, made a solid first impression. Contracts 2 picks up where the first left off, putting you in the shoes of stoic operator Raven and dropping you into exotic locations with a list of names to cross off, one shot at a time. The sequel spices up the formula a bit, emphasizing the “long” in long range by creating huge maps specifically designed for making tough shots from great lengths. In my hands-on, I got to get down and dirty in the desert region of Zindah Province, where three bad guys needed to be terminated with extreme prejudice. My journey through Zindah had a reliable rhythm. First, I had to navigate through mountain paths and past guard patrols to get to the sniping position. This largely meant I was crouch-walking from bush to bush, looking for high cliffs and perches to get a proper lay of the land between me and my destination. Using the binoculars, you can scan points of interest like enemy soldiers, exploding barrels, or fuse boxes. Marking them not only puts their position in your HUD, but it also gives you their relative distance and enemy type, if applicable. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=sniper-ghost-warrior-contracts-2-screenshots&captions=true"] From there, you have two options: attempt to stealthily circumvent the road blockades or bases that spot the mountain range, or tear through them. The long way is often the safer way, but there are plenty of benefits to poking around these outposts. Potential intel about the target ahead can be just a laptop hack away.
Author
Jarrett Green

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Sony Patents Help System That Connects Struggling Players With 'Experts'

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Sony has filed a patent for a system that would allow frustrated gamers to receive support from expert players. The patent, filed last week, is described as a system that allows for "connecting a player to expert help in real-time during game play of a gaming application,". Sony cites the reasons for this as increased videogame complexity that adds extra challenge for players. According to Patent Scope, the patent exists due to the possibility that “a user may reach a point in a video game that is seemingly impossible to navigate through or solve”, resulting in the player “quitting the game because the user can find no way to advance”. Essentially, the system would allow for an expert player to assist the struggling player and support them through challenging sections of a videogame. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/01/sony-made-ps5-activity-cards-in-response-to-single-player-problems-ign-news"] For some players, a system like this could potentially be quicker and more appealing than pulling out their phone and searching for a walkthrough or video guide. When triggered, the system would select from a pool of “experts” and find one that is available to help the struggling player. A system like this could also help to support players with disabilities that might find either the layout or functionality of a game particularly challenging. The use of the word expert in this patent appears slightly nebulous, however, as the patent suggests that “any player can register as an expert after at least playing a portion of the corresponding gaming application”. In other words, they don’t have to have beaten the game at the time of registering.
Author
Liam Wiseman

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Epic Paid $146m For Borderlands 3 PC Timed Exclusivity

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Court documents released as part of the currently ongoing Apple v Epic Games trial have revealed that Epic paid $146 million to secure Borderlands 3 as an Epic Games Store Exclusive on PC for a timed exclusive window of six months.
Author
Matt Purslow

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Sony Registers Trademark for Xbox Exclusive Sunset Overdrive

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
It looks like Sony has registered a trademark for the previously Xbox-exclusive shooter Sunset Overdrive. Spotted by Nibel on Twitter, the trademark was registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office in late April. It doesn't confirm anything, but it is interesting given that Sunset Overdrive was initially exclusive to Xbox One upon its release in 2014. The game then came to PC in 2018 before Sony acquired Insomniac as a first-party PlayStation studio in 2019.
Author
Jordan Oloman

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Nioh, Streets of Rage 4 and Jump Force Join PlayStation Now

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Sony has announced May 2021’s PlayStation Now update, and it includes Jump Force, Nioh, and Streets of Rage 4, all available from May 4. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, the new games are available from today, with Jump Force remaining on the subscription service until 2 August 2021, and Streets of Rage 4 available until 1 November 2021. No removal date was given for Nioh. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/02/06/nioh-review"] It’s quite a mix of games this month, with dark samurai action game Nioh, chaotic anime arena fighter Jump Force, and 2D side scrolling brawler Streets of Rage 4 all joining the service. But PS Now currently has over 800 PS4, PS3, and PS2 titles available to stream, and over 300 PS4 games that are also available to download. Sony also reminded fans that PlayStation Now has recently started to support 1080p streaming of games on the service for PC, PS5, and PS4, depending on your internet connection. The rollout will be occurring over the next few weeks, across Europe, Canada and Japan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/08/streets-of-rage-4-mr-x-nightmare-dlc-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Liam Wiseman is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman 
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Liam_Wiseman

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Nintendo Specifically Bars Japanese Partners From Working With the Yakuza

2 years 11 months ago
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Nintendo has an official clause in its contracts that stipulates any Japanese developers or publishers it works with cannot be tied to organised crime groups such as the Yakuza. Documents and details about the inner workings of the games industry are currently being revealed as part of the ongoing Epic Games vs Apple trial. A highly confidential and heavily-redacted Nintendo document has been doing the rounds as a result. Within that document is a section on “Anti-Social Forces,” spotted by Stephen Totilo of Axios Gaming. The document notes that if a ‘Content Provider’ is based in Japan, it can not be an “Anti-Social Force” or “Boryokudan” (a Japanese term that means 'violence groups', or organized crime groups). Effectively, the document imposes a black and white ban on partners working with the Yakuza. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/20/yakuza-like-a-dragon-next-generation-of-yakuza-trailer"] If the developer or publisher wishes to work with Nintendo, they are also not allowed to ”give monetary benefits to an Anti-Social Force,” “use threat or violence in connection with transactions” or “interfere with the business of Nintendo Entities by spreading false rumours, using fraud or force,” the document reads. Of course, this doesn’t bar Nintendo from working with game studios that are making games about organized crime groups in Japan, such as Ryu Ga Gotoku’s Yakuza series.
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Jordan Oloman

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Returnal: How to Destroy Orange Barriers

2 years 11 months ago
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IGN
Learn how to find and unlock the Atropian Blade and Blade Balancer artifact in order to destroy all yellow and orange mysterious energy barriers in Returnal.
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Angie Harvey

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STALKER 2 Will Be Exclusive to Xbox for Three Months

3 years ago
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IGN
Internal Microsoft documents revealed the terms for certain exclusive Xbox games like STALKER 2, which will be exclusive to Xbox for three months. As part of the internal Xbox documents acquired by The Verge, Microsoft shared a snapshot of newly signed ID@Xbox games including terms of their exclusivity. In these documents, Xbox confirmed that the upcoming STALKER 2 will be an Xbox console exclusive for three months when it is released in Q4 2021. The Gunk will be a permanent Xbox exclusive when it is released in Q3 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] The other game included in the snapshot was Tetris Effect Connected, an enhanced version of Tetris Effect. The Connected features are exclusive to Xbox for six months. While limited console exclusivity is typical in many cases, the terms of these exclusivity periods are usually not disclosed. Some games can remain a console exclusive for a year or more. Elsewhere in these documents are Microsoft's plans to cut its share of the revenue on PC games to an 88/12 split. Meaning Microsoft will take just 12 percent of the revenue on PC games starting on August 1.
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Matt T.M. Kim

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Sony Makes Epic Games Pay for Fortnite Cross-Platform Play

3 years ago
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IGN
Remember back in the day when Sony finally stopped being the one holdout from Fortnite being cross-platform across all major devices? You know, way back in 2018? It turns out Epic had to agree to cough up extra dough to keep that cross-play support going, and still is to this day. During the Epic v. Apple trial today, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took the stand for several hours to answer questions about Epic Games and Fortnite, ranging from the banal "Do you know what a 'console' is?" to far more complex queries about the company's intended business model and relationship with Apple. Late in the day, the cross-examiner began asking Sweeney some basic questions about how cross-platform play in Fortnite works, especially with regards to who profits from purchases made using "cross-wallet" features that allow players to buy skins on one platform and use them on others. It was during this line of questioning that Sweeney pointed out Sony's contract had them getting a little extra cash from cross-platform play, specifically when PlayStation Fortnite players consistently bought V-Bucks on other devices but were still gaming on Sony consoles. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/apple-removes-fortnite-from-ios-app-store"] "Sony has a policy that requires if the ratio of payments across platforms for a given PS user gets out of sync with the playtime, then we have to pay them a commission on other platform revenue," Sweeney said. "So if someone were primarily playing on PS but paying on iPhone, they'd [inaudible] compensation to Sony." The cross-examiner had Sweeney confirm that this stipulation was put in place at the time Sony agreed to allow cross-platform play in Fortnite happen on its device.
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Rebekah Valentine

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Horizon Forbidden West is the Most Anticipated PS5 Game Based on New Poll

3 years ago
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IGN
In a poll of IGN readers, you chose Horizon Forbidden West as your most-anticipated upcoming PlayStation 5 game. Out of more than 25,000 votes, nearly half (47.9%) of you voted for Horizon. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart came in second place, just days after PlayStation gave us an in-depth look at the lovable Lombax's next adventure in the Ratchet and Clank State of Play. image (1) Ghostwire: Tokyo, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Deathloop were also included in the poll, and each received less than 10% of the votes. We don't know much about Forbidden West, which is the upcoming sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. The game was originally revealed at Sony's PS5 event last summer, and we've since learned Forbidden West will launch on both PS4 and PS5. However, even with the cross-gen availability, Sony says games releasing on both platforms will be built, "from the ground up," for PlayStation 5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/horizon-forbidden-west-horizon-2-reveal-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] As of now, Horizon Forbidden West is set for a 2021 release. In the reveal trailer, it looks like returning main character Aloy is headed to a post-apocalyptic version of San Francisco.
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Logan Plant

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Everything You Need to Know About Apple vs Epic Games

3 years ago
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IGN

Update 5/4/2021: Today, the trial will continue beginning at 8:15am PT, beginning with Tim Sweeney returning to the stand to finish the cross-examination he began yesterday. Sweeney testified for several hours yesterday, including a closed doors testimony that seemed to be related to Samsung.

Once Sweeney finishes today, we will also hear testimony from Yoga Buddhi Co. (a yoga app developer) CEO Benjamin Simon, Nvidia director of product management Aashish Patel, and Xbox business development VP Lori Wright over the course of the day. The trial proceedings should be wrapped up by 3:15pm PT.

Original Story:

Epic Games and Apple are locked in a trial over alleged antitrust practices by the iPhone maker that could see the entire App Store ecosystem change depending on the outcome.

The trial, which kicked off today with testimony from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, will try to answer one question: do Apple’s in-app purchase policies violate antitrust law? Back when Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple for “anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices” — as stated in the original lawsuit —  the Fortnite developer alleged that Apple’s policies were unfair to both Epic and millions of other developers.

Apple takes 30% of every in-app purchase made through apps available in its App Store. This includes signing up for a streaming service like HBO Max as well as microtransactions or cosmetic items in games.

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Julia Alexander

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Epic Spent Over $11 Million to Offer Free Games for EGS

3 years ago
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IGN
One of the strategies Epic Games uses to get users onto the Epic Games Store is by offering free games every month. Now, thanks to the legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, we have a sense of how much Epic has paid to offer these free games. According to documents released during the trial, Epic Games has shared the price it paid to offer games like Subnautica and the Batman Arkham series for free on the Epic Games Store. All-in-all, Epic has spent over $11.5 million on games to offer through the Epic Games Store. The most expensive game Epic licensed is the Batman Arkham games, which Epic paid $1.5 million for. A close second is Subnautica which Epic paid $1.4 million for. According to Epic's internal numbers, Batman and Subnautica brought in 613,912 and 804,052 new Epic users respectively.
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Matt T.M. Kim

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Fortnite Made Over $9 Billion in 2018 and 2019 Combined

3 years ago
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IGN
We knew Fortnite was making Epic Games a boatload of money, now we have an idea of how much. Across all platforms, Fortnite made over $9 billion in 2018 and 2019 combined: $5.5 billion in 2018 and $3.7 billion in 2019. This is according to court documents that dropped today as part of the Epic vs. Apple anti-trust suit. The documents was filed in January 2020, so before there was any data for how much Fortnite would make in 2020. At the time Epic was projecting it would bring in a decreased $2.8 billion in 2020 due to market saturation, players falling off over time, and fewer players wanting to buy cosmetic upgrades. Though we don't have actual numbers, mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower has projected that Fortnite on iOS alone brought in about $1.2 billion in revenue before it was removed from the App Store. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/fortnite-1984-apple-parody-video-short"] In total, Epic Games as a company made over $5.6 billion in revenue in 2018 alone, and $4.2 billion in 2019. During his testimony in today's hearing, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed that Epic Games had made $5.1 billion in 2020. This is a major surge from the company's projections listed in the financial document of only $3.6 billion for the year, with revenue likely getting a major boost from stay-at-home orders through the COVID-19 pandemic. Sweeney also confirmed that Fortnite now has 400 million total registered users. But while Fortnite continues to thrive, Epic Games' other venture, the Epic Games Store, has yet to turn a profit. The same financial document notes that the Epic Games Store brought in a total of $235 million in revenue in both 2018 and 2019 combined.
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Rebekah Valentine

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Fortnite Has Plans for Samus, The Rock Skins According to Internal Documents

3 years ago
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IGN
As part of Epic Games' ongoing lawsuit against Apple, an internal Epic Games presentation was released showing plans for various new minigames, events, and skins. Aside from already released skins, the slides reveal potential new cosmetics for Samus Aran, LeBron James, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and more. Epic has taken Apple to court over anti-competitive practices and today marks the first day of the trial. Epic has provided new documents to help its case against Apple. one of these is a slideshow from an internal Epic presentation that lays out the different experiences Epic is working on or trying to develop. Thanks to documents acquired by The Verge, Epic has seemingly looked into Fortnite skins for characters like:
  • Samus Aran
  • Naruto
  • Katniss Everdeen
  • The Bride (From Kill Bill)
  • Snake Plissken
  • John McClane
  The presentation features these characters alongside a list of ones already added to Fortnite as skins such as Master Chief, Kratos, and Sarah Connor. So seeing Samus and Naruto in the same presentation could mean these skins are potentially close to reality. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fortnite-ant-man-tease-and-official-reveal&captions=true"] The slides also reveal plans for future Fortnite collaborations including an arcade-style Basketball mini-game meant to promote the NBA.
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Matt T.M. Kim

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Genshin Impact: Diona Hangout Endings Guide

3 years ago
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IGN
Diona is the best bartender in town, even though she doesn’t like alcohol. She became a bartender in hopes of making the worst drinks possible (and to crush the wine industry), but she can’t make bad drinks no matter what she does. We'll be hanging out with Diona and going over the five endings you can get and how to get them.

How to unlock Diona’s Hangout Event in Genshin Impact

To unlock the hangout events in Genshin Impact, you have to meet two prerequisites: Story keys can be claimed by doing 8 daily commissions. Meanwhile, Prologue: Act III can be reached by advancing the game’s story. Make sure to check out our Genshin Impact walkthrough if you're stuck. After meeting the prerequisites, head over to the Quest menu and go to Story Quests/Hangout Events. Click the second tab on the top and you'll see a bunch of characters with hangout events available.genshin-impact-diona-hangout-guide-how-to-unlock Already have Diona’s hangouts unlocked? Well, then let's get to the endings!

Diona’s Special Ending

In this ending, you go to Dadaupa Gorge with Diona in search of an ingredient made by Samachurls.
  • Aww look, it's a kitty!
  • I want to try some new specialty drinks
  • I'm a lot older than I look...
  • I'd like the base to be more unique...
  • You want to make a drink...
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Cedric Pabriga

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