IGN

The hideous monster but make it friendly, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further.

Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians.

We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP.

Where Is Xûr Today?

Xûr's location today can be found at Watcher's Grave on Nessus on April 7 through April 11. To reach him, travel to the landing point at Watcher's Grave. When you arrive, make for the red moss-covered tree straight ahead. Climb up the roots and you'll find Xûr waiting at the top to sell you exotic items and legendary weapons.

In 2021, YouTuber PointCrow offered a $10,000 reward for anybody who could create and send him a multiplayer mod for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Now, just over a month before the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, fans can finally use the mod that came out of this deal to explore Hyrule with friends.

On April 4, PointCrow released his multiplayer mod for Breath of the Wild. The mod was created by AlexMangue and Sweet, who claimed the $10,000 reward last July and then began working alongside PointCrow to finish the mod and make it publicly available.

PointCrow had previously shown off the mod in multiple videos, using it to play games like hide and seek, though it appears that a host of new features have been added since his last video showing off the mod. Since the mod's launch, quite a few fans have experimented with it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection has sold more than 1 million copies, Konami announced today, an impressive feat in light of it being a retro collection comprised of older games from the 8 and 16-bit era.

Konami revealed the news in a cheeky infographic that also that revealed that six million pizzas were eaten and 350 million foot soldiers defeated.

"We're thrilled and a little shell-shocked at this morning's fantastic news!" Digital Eclipse said in a tweet. "Thank you to Konami and Nickelodeon for the opportunity to make [Cowabunga Collection], but most of all, thank you the intensely loyal TMNT fans who loudly supported this project!"

13 iconic TMNT titles, over 1 million copies sold!

From lifelong fans, to newcomers experiencing the historic games for the first time -- we hope you've enjoyed playing and exploring TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection.

You all really kicked some shell. pic.twitter.com/gafVGMo8Nn

— Konami (@Konami) April 7, 2023

The Cowabunga Collection's strong sales can be chalked up to the considerable excitement in the run-up to its release last year, which was owed in large part to the lack of availability for many of its core games.

The collection consists of 13 games from the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and arcade, with many of them featuring online play.

Resident Evil 4 remake has now sold over 4 million copies worldwide, Capcom announced today. This comes after Capcom previously revealed last month that the game sold over 3 million copies within its first two days of release.

“In addition to Resident Evil 4 garnering interest and attention from the release of the Chainsaw Demo prior to launch, sales of the title grew steadily following a highly positive reception from customers, driving worldwide sales over 4 million units,” Capcom said in a statement.

According Alex Aniel, writer of Itchy Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4 Remake is the second fastest selling Resident Evil in history. He said he expects it to overtake Resident Evil 6, which didn't hit 5 million units sold until nearly 12 months after launch.

This means Resident Evil 4 remake is, by most measures, the second fastest selling RE in history within the first two weeks.

However, it is very likely RE:4 will overtake RE6 before long. RE6 shipped 4.5 million at launch, but didn't hit 5 million until nearly 12 months later. https://t.co/0uGQi8VpKP

— Alex Aniel (@cvxfreak) April 7, 2023

Capom's statement continued: “Capcom will continue to focus on growing sales of the title, including with the release of The Mercenaries free additional downloadable content on April 7.”

Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most beloved eras in the extended universe, but it has been left largely untouched by Disney's movies and television shows. That may be about to change, though, if a timeline shown during Star Wars Celebration is anything to go by.

Shortly before announcing several new Star Wars movies, LucasFilm studio head Kathleen Kennedy took the stage to share her vision for what Star Wars will look like in theaters. That means "broadening the timeline," Kennedy says, as an image appeared highlighting seven major eras. They include:

Kathleen Kennedy outlines the vision for the future of Star Wars Films. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/36qGtiIKKc

— IGN (@IGN) April 7, 2023

The Old Republic: The era first depicted in BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic series. It remains a fan-favorite era, but it has been rarely acknowledged by Disney until now.

The High Republic: The golden age period that has been the focus of many of the books. The first show set in the High Republic will be Star Wars Acolyte, which was fully revealed during Celebration.

Fall of the Jedi: This would be the Prequel era.

Rise of the Empire: This is the era depicted in Star Wars Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, covering the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

The Age of Rebellion: This is the period covered by the original Star Wars trilogy.

In a week full of Nintendo-related films, Cardy, Dale, and Mat are here to help you decide which is more worthy of your time between The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Tetris. Before that, though, excitement is in the air following our latest look at the Barbie movie, plus there's Resident Evil 4 chat again, but for a special reason this time. Dale had the pleasure of chatting to Leon Kennedy himself Nick Apostolides about what it was like to play the protagonist in a remake of his favourite game.

You can check Nick out here: Instagram: @nick_apos / https://www.instagram.com/nick_apos/
Twitter: @Nik_apostolides / https://twitter.com/Nik_apostolides

Twitch: @Nickapostolides / https://www.twitch.tv/nickapostolides

Got a game for us to play, or just want to tell us the weirdest thing you've eaten for breakfast? Drop us an email: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 691: The Mario Movie vs Tetris: Which is Better?

Planned for release tomorrow, April 7, some players in Korea are reporting that they're able to access the remake of Resident Evil 4's Mercenary Mode early. Unfortunately, some are also saying that the mode is missing key content at the moment.

A staple of the Resident Evil games, Mercenary Mode is an arcade-style horde mode where players fight against waves of infected to compete for high scores. The original Resident Evil 4 allowed players to unlock Mercenary Mode upon completion of its campaign, but the remake has taken a different strategy, as Capcom announced the mode would be making its debut tomorrow, April 7, instead.

Hehehe, thank you, strangers, for all your support on Resident Evil 4.
Check out what the experts have to say about this reimagined action-horror classic!

Don't miss out on The Mercenaries, arriving as free #RE4 DLC tomorrow on April 7th! pic.twitter.com/SveEG0lsfd

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) April 6, 2023

Players have noted that the version available to those in the previously mentioned regions is missing Ada Wong and Albert Wesker as playable characters, both of whom were in previous versions of the mode and were datamined as being in the remake as well. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Capcom intends to offer the characters as paid downloadable content in the future.

On the heels of the blockbuster release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Jack Black is singing his praises for video game adaptations. So much so that he has praised The Last of Us on HBO Max.

In an interview with BBC yesterday, Black, who voices Bowser, that he's a fan of multimedia adaptations of video games so long as they're treated right. He praised HBO's The Last of Us for how faithful it is to the hit PlayStation game.

"The Last of Us was fantastic," he said. "And what's crazy is how loyal it is to the original source material. It's basically all from the game with just a couple of tweaks. It's going to win all the awards. They used the video game almost like a storyboard and I was like. 'Whoa, this looks just the same.'"

Black also commented on how, with video game adaptations of movies and TV shows gaining traction, studios will look to adapt more games for years to come. "It will be very interesting to see what happens to the entertainment industry over the next 20 to 30 years but I think we will be seeing more and more storytelling from the gaming universe," he said.

Red Dead Redemption next?

One video game adaptation the character actor wants to see on the big screen is Red Dead Redemption from Rockstar Games, because he believes "that [has] just as good or [an] even better story than The Last of Us."

Guilty Gear series creator, Daisuke Ishiwatari, is a legend in the world of Fighting Games. He's designed some of the most memorable fighting game characters ever, written some of the best fighting game music of all time, and has been active in the scene since the late 90s. Which was why at the Arc World Tour Finals, when presented with the opportunity to pick his brain in an interview, I leapt at the opportunity.

IGN: It's been almost two years since the release of Guilty Gear Strive. Reflecting back, what is something that you're especially proud of with the game? And on the flip side of that, what's something that you kind of wish that you could have done differently or maybe better?

Ishiwatari-san: I could say a lot of things on both ends with regards to things that I am proud of. While it's not necessarily part of the game, it's more on the production side of things, I'm rather proud of being able to gather together so many talented members to put this whole project together.

IGN: And then is there anything that you think you would like to have done differently or anything on that side of it?

Ishiwatari-san: So how do I put it? Amongst different I guess you would say, competitive games, fighting games in particular have a high bar of entry. It's really hard for new people to join in on that. So if there's something that I wish I could do better next time, it's to make that a lot easier. Make it easier and simpler for people to be able to just join in the game and really start to enjoy fighting games.

The official holiday known as Mario Day may have happened nearly a month ago, but many of the deals are carrying on. One of its best this year is the Nintendo Switch Mario 'Choose One Bundle', which you can still pick up, even in April. For $299.99, the bundle includes both the Mario Red console and a Mario game of your choice. You can choose from Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. There's not a bad game in the bunch. Below, are links to where each of these bundles can still be purchased.

Nintendo Switch Mario 'Choose One Bundle' for $299.99

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Tickets

In the spirit of Mario beyond Mario Day, there are still several more deals to check out (including a new LEGO Super Mario Dry Bowser Castle Battle expansion set), but more importantly, The Super Mario Bros. Movie tickets are up for pre-sale. If you’re looking to pick up tickets for Nintendo and Illumination's upcoming film (which releases on April 5), head to the link below to reserve them.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is Up for Preorder

Would you prefer to watch the film at home instead? The Super Mario Bros. Movie is available for preorder right now. Seems fast, since it just hit theaters, but who am I to question a multi-billion dollar corporation?

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog has officially crossed one million downloads and has become one of Steam's highest-rated games ever.

Katie - MiniKitty, Sonic the Hedgehog's social media manager, took to Twitter to share the news, saying, "Over 1,000,000 of you have grabbed The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and it's currently the #61 highest rated game on Steam of ALL TIME. Absolutely unreal. Thank you all so, so much."

Over 1,000,000 of you have grabbed The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and it's currently the #61 highest rated game on Steam of ALL TIME.

Absolutely unreal. Thank you all so, so much. 💙 pic.twitter.com/Cy2cIo2AHl

— Katie - MiniKitty (@KatieChrz) April 5, 2023

For those unfamiliar, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a murder mystery/visual novel game that surprise launched on Steam just before April Fools' Day 2023. In the game, which is free, it is Amy Rose's birthday and she's hosting a murder mystery party that has Sonic becoming the victim. However, things quickly start feeling a bit strange.

It's then your job, as a new character, to interrogate Sonic's friends and try to get to the bottom of this mystery on the train known as the Mirage Express.

With FIFA now firmly in the rearview mirror, Electronic Arts has revealed the logo for EA Sports FC, which it hopes will be able to continue the series' incredible run of success dating back to the '90s

At the first blush, the logo is extremely, well, pointy, with a surfeit of sharp angles more reminiscent of a racing brand than a soccer game. Here's what EA had to say about the new logo:

The new brand takes its design inspiration directly from the beautiful game and a dominant shape in football culture that represents the sport in multiple dimensions, triangles. From passing techniques to set plays, the shape has also been woven into the DNA of EA SPORTS football experiences for decades; from the isometric angles of our very first 8-bit experiences and the triangular polygons that make up every pixel of our most modern games, as well the iconic player indicator symbol that appears above every athlete in every match.

If you want a fuller breakdown of the new logo's design, as well as a picture of it on a flag, you can find a lengthy explanation right here.

The beginning of a new era

The new logo comes just about a year after the original news that EA's multi-decade partnership with FIFA was coming to an end and that the series was being rebranded. EA CEO Andrew Wilson was unusually candid about the breakup, saying that the only value that FIFA brought to the series was "four letters on the front of the box." FIFA, for its part, has promised to put out its own game.

Last summer, I tweeted an observation that surprised me from the Xbox & Bethesda Game Showcase and a handful of follow-up Xbox events: a slate of diverse games, many made by diverse creators, presented and marketed on a stream to millions of viewers by diverse presenters, all under the slogan of “Gaming for Everyone.” I realized it felt different from the Xbox I remembered from my childhood. Different in a very good way.

been thinking lately about how when I was growing up, I perceived Xbox as this really edgy, masculine, aggressively GAMER brand. never, ever felt it was for me. it is *wild* how they've managed to 180 their messaging so thoroughly to become the "gaming's for everyone" folks

— Rebekah Valentine (@duckvalentine) June 17, 2022

My tweet got picked up at the time by GamesIndustry.biz and inspired an interesting history lesson on the shifting of Xbox’s messaging over the years. You can read their writeup for the full rundown, but in summary: Xbox’s brand identity used to be quite literally “edgy.” It was focused on “hardcore” gamers, its marketing was almost exclusively masculine, and, frankly, the whole business felt rather exclusionary. Xbox of the early 2000s was for “gamers,” maybe, but not for me, despite my love of games.

Hey Unlocked listeners and readers, Stella Chung here again today to talk about how great games are! Specifically, I want to talk about how great remakes are in this current game market. I recently started playing Resident Evil 4 for the first time, thanks to the remake, and I posted about it on Twitter and got a callous reply about why I missed playing one of the greatest games of all time and what other games I didn’t play.

Growing up, we were extremely frugal. We immigrated to the States when I was a baby and we were very poor so we didn’t have a lot of disposable income to enjoy games. When we did stabilize financially I wasn’t allowed to play games since my parents really wanted me to focus on other “productive” extracurricular activities.

I was 20 years old, living on my own in college when I finally got my first console: the Xbox One. Even with a console, then getting a PC, I still couldn’t really afford a lot of the bigger games since I was working and going to college. When I took a break from school to full-time stream, I was able to get more games since it directly applied to my job.

But even so, I found myself wanting to keep up with modern games, not just go back to games I had missed. I wanted to keep up with the games that were coming out, talk to my friends about them, and play them on stream to share with others. I also just didn’t have the means to play older games I had missed since they were locked to consoles I didn’t own.

As a new parent, one of the things that I’m most looking forward to is being able to play games together with my son. This is just one of the reasons why Disney Illusion Island caught my attention right away as a game that looked like a blast to play with my family. A four player cooperative 2D platformer from Dlala Studios, developers of the recent Battletoads revival, Illusion Island seeks to combine the joy of traversal in a seamless, massive world with that signature Disney magic. After spending about 20 minutes with it, I found myself sufficiently charmed and left with the feeling that Dlala seems like its on the right track.

The setup for the adventure this time around is Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy all traveling to the titular Illusion Island under the impression that they’ve been invited by one another to a picnic. It turns out, the picnic was a lie, and those invites actually came from the Toku, a group of creatures in desperate need of heroes to save them. And so, with a little bit of cajoling (some needing more than others), Mickey and the gang agree to help the Toku by collecting three magical tomes scattered across the island.

And to be clear, the island is massive. Dlala CEO AJ Grand-Scrutton doesn’t like to use the term “Metroidvania” as a genre descriptor for Illusion Island, but it is impossible to ignore the influence that those games have had on the design of its world.

The Xbox One has entered its tenth year on the market alongside the PS4, and it may not be long before Microsoft phases out the old console completely in favor of releasing games only on Xbox Series X/S. The one thing it has in common with its successor, though, is that it has become the first console to be carbon aware thanks to a new firmware update, which defaults it to an energy-saving mode when downloading games and updates, among other functions. Now you can save energy while playing your favorite Xbox games, especially our selection of 25 Xbox One games.

These games were selected by the entire IGN content team (after plenty of internal debate) and represent what we believe to be the very best Xbox One has to offer.

The most recent updates were made in May 2021.

More on the best of Xbox:

• Best Xbox Series X|S Games
• Best Xbox 360 Games
• Where to buy an Xbox Series X

EA has revealed the PC system requirements for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor alongside its colossal file size.

Those looking to join Cal Kestis and the Mantis crew on their next adventure will need to clear some hard drive space to accommodate the whopping 155 GB file size.

This puts Jedi: Survivor on par with the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 which demands 150 GB of available space for its vast open world and incredible level of detail.

Jedi: Survivor's predecessor, Jedi: Fallen Order, also requires significantly less at just 55 GB, a whole 100 GB less than the sequel.

EA shared the PC minimum system requirements as 8 GB of RAM with a CPU equivalent of a Ryzen 5 1400 and a GPU equivalent of a Radeon RX 580. The recommended specs look for 16 GB of RAM, a Ryzen 5 5600X equivalent CPU, and a RX 6700 XT equivalent GPU.

We already know that developer Respawn Entertainment has expanded upon the galaxy far, far away greatly for its sequel, including much bigger environments that can be explored on rideable mounts (or via fast travel).

Right now, the best Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (or Breath of the Wild 2 as many of us called it for years) preorder deal is at ShopTo for £49.85. With this preorder, you'll get the game and the limited edition free Tears of the Kingdom poster as well. This is a £10 saving compared to the Amazon listing, and well worth considering if you don't have any leftover extra credit at Amazon, or you won't be trying for the Tears of the Kingdom Collector's Edition (that's out of stock right now as well).

Other deals to check out right now include the 3-months for 99p deal returning at Audible (usually £7.99/month). This is for new or returning subscribers, and is well worth getting if you love audiobooks. There's also the PlayStation Spring Sale, PSN Gift Card discounts, preorders for limited edition 4K Blu-rays, a superb deal on cans of Pepsi, and plenty more to consider as well. See all these deals and plenty more just below, and make sure you're following @IGNUKDeals on Twitter for more updates.

TL;DR - Best UK Deals Right Now

Best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Preorder Deals with Poster (Save £10)

Crime Boss: Rockay City takes Payday’s potent formula and plops it in the middle of the decade that brought us bleached hair, dial-up internet, and the ’92-’93 Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, just like bleached hair, dial-up internet, and those 11-and-71 Dallas Mavericks, Crime Boss looks awful, is technically outclassed, and is full of embarrassing performances. Hard to outright hate thanks to the compelling, car crash quality of some of its cutscenes, it’s nonetheless impossible to recommend right now on account of regular bugs, repetitive missions, and bog-standard blasting that’s unmemorable at its best and exasperating at its worst.

At face value, Crime Boss looks like a hearty deal. There are three separate ways to play, including a dedicated single-player campaign and two co-op focused modes. On top of that, Bon Jovi’s second-best song about cowboys is on the soundtrack, and Michael Madsen is here as leading man Travis Baker – and in a dapper hat, no less. Madsen isn’t a prolific video game voice actor but he has demonstrated an ability to pick quality winners in the past – certainly with the likes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Dishonored, and a 2001 game you may have heard of from the makers of Christmas Lemmings called Grand Theft Auto III. Unfortunately, his winning streak is now broken.

When I think of Minecraft, I think of creativity, peace, and adventure. Minecraft Legends' opening campaign scene made me feel as though my past accomplishments and care for the franchise were being rewarded by trusting me with a new and important challenge: save the Overworld from the greed of the piglins. Minecraft Legends is the fourth Minecraft spinoff game (Telltale's Minecraft: Story Mode and Mojang's Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons preceding it) and after getting an hour with its campaign and about an hour with its PvP multiplayer, it's already building to be my favorite of the bunch.

It's Not an RTS

Minecraft Legends is an action-strategy game, which yes, is different from an RTS (real-time strategy), though only in a few critical ways. Instead of taking a top-down omnipotent view of the world below you, your character leads mobs into battle with a sword in hand. Dennis Ries, Executive Producer at Mojang, told me that one of the reasons Mojang didn't want to make a traditional RTS is because of the challenges they present when putting them on console. The action-strategy interpretation cuts out some of the impersonal aspects of real-time strategy and makes events and threats more focused.

Square Enix has confirmed that the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, which are essentially upgraded versions of Final Fantasy 1-6, will be released on Nintendo Switch and PS4 on April 19, 2023.

The Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are currently available on PC and mobile, and soon a new audience will be able to experience much of the history of the Final Fantasy franchise in a new way.

If that wasn't exciting enough, these versions come with a new pixel font, which seems to address one of the biggest issues fans had with the games when they first were released - the questionable choice of font by Square Enix for these remasters that left many unhappy.

There will also be a new option to switch between the original and new background music whenever you so choose, and there are more options to adjust encounter rate, EXP, Gil, and ABP.

All six games will be available on April 19 at 8am PT/11am ET/4pm BST, and fans will be able to purchase them individually or as a complete package. On the eShop, the games range from $11.99-$17.99 per game, and all six can be purchased for $74.99.

For more, check out seven things you probably didn't know about Final Fantasy 1-3 and our hands-on preview of the future of the series in Final Fantasy 16.

Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren has spoken on the possibility of a Payday TV series or movie, saying it would be a "perfect fit" as it would allow the team to explore the complex lives of the Payday clowns alongside delivering a ton of action.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.Biz, Tobias Sjögren discussed the inspirations behind Payday, how they've already collaborated with other movie franchises, and how fans have already become attached to certain characters through the games' stories and trailers.

"It's certainly inspired by movies like Heat, and we've done several movie IP collaborations, including John Wick, Scarface, Point Break, Reservoir Dogs," Sjögren says. "The reason why they have worked so well is Payday has an element of suspense when you are playing it. There are action moments, but these characters actually have a deeper storyline; they have a personality in the story of the game and through the other trailers were done, players have got to know these guys and people and identify with them in various ways."

However, there is still so much left to explore, explains Sjögren, as the games have only begun to scratch the surface of the full history of the characters. This is why he thinks TV would truly be the perfect place, as it allows for the necessary time to build out this world and those inside it.

Mike Ybarra, the president of Blizzard Entertainment, has clarified the global release times for Diablo 4 and confirmed that those who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate editions will be the first to play on June 1, 2023.

Ybarra took to Twitter to correct a previous tweet of his that discussed the global release times of Diablo 4, and he shared exactly when fans can jump into the highly anticipated game that just ended its very well-received beta.

Oops, I was wrong! Early access for Deluxe and Ultimate pre-orders in the US is Thursday 6/1 at 4PM, 6/2 at 12am in Europe, 6/2 at 8am in Asia. Regular launch 6/5 at 4pm, 6/6 at 12am Europe, and 6/6 8am Asia. https://t.co/ArlnmZE3AJ

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) April 5, 2023

"Oops, I was wrong! Early access for Deluxe and Ultimate pre-orders in the US is Thursday 6/1 at 4PM, 6/2 at 12am in Europe, 6/2 at 8am in Asia. Regular launch 6/5 at 4pm, 6/6 at 12am Europe, and 6/6 8am Asia," Ybarra wrote.

In follow-up Tweets, he confirmed the US time was in Pacific, so that would translate to 7pm ET. For Europe, he meant British Standard Time, and for Asia, he meant Korea Standard Time.

As for our impressions of the Diablo 4 beta, we said it was "extremely impressive so far."

If you, like many of us here at IGN, absolutely adore Elden Ring, you likely want a way to show off your love for the game or pick something up for someone else who’s a fan, especially before the thrilling expansion releases. Thankfully, there’s a wide variety of gifts to pick and choose from, and not just for Elden Ring. If From Software games course through your veins like that of the old blood, there’s even more worth picking up.

No matter if you’re a FromSoft veteran or brand new to these worlds, there’s an abundance of gifts and merch to buy. Want to pick up a Tarnished bomber jacket for the Elden Ring fan in your life? Or a statue of Solaire from Dark Souls to praise the sun in your home? Or, how about the Bloodborne board game, where you can team up with others as Hunters to survive the night in Yharnam? Whatever you’re looking for, we have you covered in this collection of FromSoft gift ideas and merch.

So, what do you say? Why not jump into this gift-giving journey with us?

Best FromSoftware Merch and Gift Ideas

The latest ID@Xbox Showcase has arrived and it featured a look at a wide-range of upcoming games that will be released soon on Xbox and PC. From a deep dive into Vampire Survivors' second expansion to an extended look at the gameplay of The Last Case of Benedict Fox to a game that looks like Pokemon but with cassette tapes, there is a lot to be excited about.

There were 11 games featured in the show, and we've included a breakdown of each one alongside their trailers below to ensure you don't miss a thing.

Vampire Survivors: Tides of Foscari Expansion Gets a Gameplay Deep Dive and an Interview

Vampire Survivors' Tides of Foscari expansion will be released on April 13, and the ID@Xbox crew sat down with poncle senior marketing manager Geo Morgan to discuss what fans can expect from the new content while also showing off gameplay.

For those unaware, Tides of Foscari is set in western Europe in a Great Forest and will add eight new characters, 13 new weapons, a new stage, seven music tracks, and 20 new achievements to the game. Oh, and it only costs $1.99.

One of the new characters, the rogue, was featured in the gameplay and we got to see a run in action before its official launch.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox Gets and Extended Gameplay Trailer Focused on Combat

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a metroidvania from Plot Twist and Rogue Games that takes place in Boston in 1925 and has players exploring a terrifying mansion that is filled with monsters.

God of War: Ragnarok's New Game Plus mode is finally here.

In the latest PlayStation Blog post published today, the developer detailed all the upgrades players will get when they jump into New Game Plus after beating the story mode for God of War: Ragnarok the first time. The upgrades include new armor, new Enchantments, and an increased level cap.

Once you start the New Game Plus mode, you'll have the Armor of the Black Bear from the opening scene already equipped, which lead community manager Grace Orlady said players have been requesting since God of War: Ragnarok launched last November so that Kratos can keep warm against the Fimbulwinter frost while maintaining Strength and Defense stats.

The other armor you'll get in God of War Ragnarok's New Game Plus mode includes the Spartan Armor, Ares Armor, Zeus Armor, and the Spartan Apsis shield. The Ares and Zeus armors were originally featured in the 2018 God of War's New Game Plus mode, only now the former armor increases your chances of getting a Health Stone when you hit an enemy and a rage gain alongside a huge explosion when you stomp on it, while the latter amps up Melee and Runic damage as well as incoming damage, making it a double-edged sword.

Phil Harrison, vice president of Google and former head of Stadia, has confirmed he has left the company.

According to a report from Business Insider, two employees familiar with the matter said Harrison quietly left Google around the time the company shut down the short-lived game streaming service after it failed to gain traction in a competitive gaming market. His LinkedIn profile has been updated to say he ended his time with the search engine giant this month.

A veteran of the gaming industry, Harrison joined Google in 2018 after working at Sony for over a decade and three years at Microsoft. From Stadia's announcement at GDC 2019, he championed the platform as the "future of gaming" as it gave players access to their favorite games, including Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Cyberpunk 2077, through Google's cloud service without the need to purchase expensive consoles. He even hosted two Connect streams, where he would announce the games being added to the service in a format similar to Nintendo Direct.

Resident Evil 4 might be the best video game remake ever made. It completely overhauls the graphics and sound, fine-tunes the gameplay, adds a ton of awesome little quality of life features, and reworks entire chunks of the 2005 game with brand new environments, items, and bosses. But it also loses a couple of set pieces and conflicts from the original game along the way. Here are six big scenes that got cut from Resident Evil 4. If you’re loving the remake but still nostalgic for some classic that got the axe, “I got somethin' that might interest ya'!”

The U-3 Boss Fight

This tense, terrifying, dual-phased boss fight against a bald monster who looks like Frieza f*cked a scorpion is no longer in the game, and neither is the falling shipping container storage unit that you battle him in. Nor is the second section afterwards where he chases you around a large figure eight-shaped area, smashing through doors and exploding oil drums like a Looney Tunes character. It’s kind of a bummer he’s gone because I would have loved to see how this awful creature looked in the gorgeous modern RE engine, but it seems that when U-3 died in 2005, he died for good.

Fans of a galaxy far, far away are gearing up for one of the most exciting weekends of the year as Star Wars Celebration 2023 is almost upon us.

Taking place in London's ExCeL from April 7 to 10, Lucasfilm will be making its biggest announcements of the year for all manner of Star Wars films, TV shows, games, books, comics, and more.

Thanks to the galaxy growing constantly, and now more than ever, there are already a ton of Star Wars projects we're expecting to see over the weekend. Though nothing is confirmed yet, here's everything we're expecting to see at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

The 2025 Film

Let's cut to the chase: it's surely time for Disney and Lucasfilm to unveil the next Star Wars film. It's already been more than three years since The Rise of Skywalker, and though the franchise is now spread across just about every media form possible, Star Wars is a film franchise at its core. We already know the next movie is premiering on December 19, 2025, but we don't know which of the several unnamed projects it will be.

While Dr. Mario may be one of the most classic suits donned by the moustachioed plumber, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and creator of Mario says the character should not be trusted.

Speaking to IGN about The Super Mario Bros. film hitting theatres this week, Miyamoto shared how the movie brought out a new side of the character as an everyman hero.

That being said, the new perspective shed some light on some of Mario's other roles, with Miyamoto calling out Dr. Mario in particular as a character shrouded in shadiness.

"Mario’s a blue-collar, he’s a regular person,” Miyamoto said. "So, even when he becomes Dr. Mario, there’s a sort of, like, shadiness, like 'can I trust this person?'”

"That remained [in the film]," he continued. "And I think that’s the kind of image that’s carried down for generations as Mario. And to see that image kind of coincide, and then evolve into something of a hero is something that I’m really happy to see."

The film features more than Mario (played by Chris Pratt), of course, and the cast have shared how they managed to put their own spins on the fan-favourite Mushroom Kingdom characters.

Now in its tenth year on the market, PS4 — the second-best-selling home console of all time — has amassed an all-time great catalog of games. With a PS5 price bump outside of the U.S. and many publishers still releasing games on its last-gen console, it's still a great time to play on PS4, and so we've created this list to highlight the best games the console has to offer.

The games below weren't chosen lightly; this list was compiled by the entire IGN content team and — after plenty of internal debate — represents what we believe to be the best that the PS4 has to offer. Without further ado, these are our picks for the 25 best PS4 games.

More on the Best of PlayStation:

Hello Games is releasing the Interceptor update for No Man's Sky today, which adds a new universal threat in the form of corrupted worlds.

That's not all, of course, as the update also adds a new Starship, improvements to the PlayStation VR2 mode, new enemy types, new technology, and a range of other performance and visual improvements.

"Many worlds have succumbed to corruption, with strange crystals sprouting from the earth, and sentinel guardians twisted into bizarre new forms," reads the update synopsis. "Explore these purple-hazed worlds to find new buildings, crashed interceptors, secret equipment and more."

These corrupted worlds can be explored using a new ship class, which is promised to be the "most varied Starship to date".

Players will also have to deal with new enemy types include huge spider-like enemies and their crab-like children, plus corrupted drones to match the new planets. These are some of the most dangerous enemy types in No Man's Sky and come armed with stealth tech, flamethrowers, and explosive weaponry.

There will also be new technology for players to discover and create and sentinel capital ships that grant new rewards. Custom wonders have also been added to the Wonders Catalogue from the previous update, letting players curate their own collection of discoveries.

The changes to the PSVR 2 version include improved visuals, wrist interface controls, and more, while Hello Games has promised "a renewed focus on Xbox consoles" to improve performance and visuals across the board.

Explosive, colorful, and punchy, Everspace 2 combines the looter-shooter RPG treadmill with arcade space dogfights to build an interesting combo that has surprising diversity in how you can play it. While it looks like a space sim on the outside, and it has nods to the stuff you do in that genre like fight pirates, mine asteroids, and build reputation, Everspace 2 shouldn't be mistaken for one. To its benefit and its detriment, this is a through-and-through lootin’ and shootin’ beast that's much more interested in entertaining you with flashy fights and reconfiguring your fighter in a mind-boggling number of ways rather than simulating – or stimulating you with – anything else.

That right there should probably tell a lot of you whether you want to play it at all. The other bit is that this is technically a sequel, but… not really. The first Everspace is a roguelite where every mission is procedurally generated, while this one is a more traditional action RPG about taking on a main story quest and side missions, solving open-world puzzles, and blowing through randomly generated contracts for the 50 or so hours it takes to finish the main story. Or 100 hours to play all of it. Then a few dozen more optimizing your builds to bash away at the randomly generated endgame bits, if you like those.

Mario is, without a doubt, one of the most well known and iconic characters in any medium. He’s appeared in hundreds of games across about a dozen platforms, and has had at least twice as many jobs. Now with the arrival of the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, it's clear that the era of Mario is only just getting started.

At the end of the day, though, it’s been the core Mario platformer games that have kept players coming back for forty years. So, without further ado, these are our picks for the the 10 best Super Mario games of all time.

Note: This list was originally published in 2017, but has been updated to factor in newer games. We've excluded non-platformer titles like Super Mario Maker from our rankings.

10. Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land was the clear front-runner for best handheld Mario game until the Nintendo Switch came along. The 3DS entry is chockfull of some of the most fun, bite-sized Mario levels and absolutely filled to the brim with content. Perfect for on-the-go play, Super Mario 3D Land dug through every trick in the Mario design handbook whether it was immaculate 3D platforming, or throwback retro 2.5D retro levels. It also took advantage of the system's glasses-free 3D in a way that no other game has come close to, making the game feel truly alive.

EA is currently the most popular games publisher across PlayStation and Xbox by monthly active users (MAUs), according to new data from Ampere Analysis. But Xbox stands to surpass it if the Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through.

According to Ampere Analysis, EA has consistently been the top publisher across PlayStation and Xbox based on share of MAUs since September, which is when Ampere Analysis started tracking. Speaking to IGN, analyst Piers Harding-Rolls says he suspects EA's dominance has gone on "for some time" prior.

As someone who’s spent a good deal of time tending to The Entity’s beloved meat hooks in Dead By Daylight, I had high expectations about what developer Behaviour Interactive would work on next. And thankfully, they’ve delivered yet another fresh idea that I can’t stop thinking about with a unique first-person action game: Meet Your Maker. Pitting yourself against the creativity and cruelty of your fellow players in raids is tense and hilarious, and hours fly by while building your own playgrounds of destruction and watching players die to them. The options in your toolbelt are a little barebones, the world and story hardly even try to do anything interesting, and there’s plenty of bugs and general jankiness that need to be smoothed over. But I’ve never played anything quite like Meet Your Maker before, and even though it still feels a bit rough around the edges, the fact that it’s just so refreshingly different makes me want to spend all my time tricking my friends

Meet Your Maker takes place in a Mad Max-like post-apocalyptic world that’s as generic as they come. The flimsy story describes a world that’s fallen to an unnamed disease, leaving humanity fighting one another for uncorrupted genetic material to create a cure. You play a Custodian – a cool-looking robot with a sword, a grapple hook, and some sweet ninja moves – and spend your time raiding outposts to collect genetic material to bring back to your not-at-all creepy Chimera, who insists she has humanity’s best interests at heart as she encourages you to murder everything you see. If that sounds like an awfully convenient excuse for you to raid bases, that’s because it definitely is, and at least for now, the story doesn’t develop at all beyond this vague premise.

There are around a million games about the Second World War for every one about the First, and The Great War: Western Front serves as a pretty good illustration of some of the reasons for that. The brutal, grinding, attritional conflict spanning from 1914 to 1918, as interesting as it is from a military history standpoint, is difficult to turn into a fun video game with any sort of authenticity. This RTS adaptation tries to find a satisfying balance point between historical reality and enjoyable gameplay. And while I think it did about as well as anyone could have hoped, it can't fully smooth out the challenges of gamifying these shell-pocked battlefields.

The Western Front, with its teeming trenches and relentless artillery bombardments was an excruciating stalemate that took years to resolve, only breaking with the advent of new technologies and tactics much later. And The Great War: Western Front doesn't do much to sugar-coat that, both for better and for worse.

The first big adjustment I had to make was to the sheer deadliness of even a modest defensive position. One regiment of standard infantry stationed in a trench can hold off three times as many attackers, and maybe double that number again if they have the support of a machine gun nest. This is certainly historically accurate, as so much of the early war was spent with commanders on both sides fooling around and finding out. And of the ways Western Front errs on the side of history, this one didn't bother me so much.

Activision Blizzard settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the publisher imposed a limit on esports players' salaries paid by the Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues.

The department filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Monday, saying that Activision Blizzard, which owns the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League, and the independently owned teams agreed to impose the Competitive Balance Tax. As its name suggests, the tax was designed to limit competition between the teams by suppressing the wages of esports players and fined teams for paying players above a certain threshold set by Activision Blizzard, which the department said violated the Sherman Act.

The DOJ added that Activision Blizzard dropped its salary limit rules in October 2021 following its investigation into the Competitive Balance Tax.

"The tax was never levied, and the leagues voluntarily dropped it from our rules in 2021," Activision said in a statement (per Reuters). "We have always believed, and still believe, that the Competitive Balance Tax was lawful, and it did not have an adverse impact on players."

Pokémon Stadium is coming to Nintendo Switch Online next week but without arguably its biggest feature: the ability to transfer Pokémon from Game Boy titles Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Snuck into its reveal trailer (in tiny font for no more than five seconds) was the statement: "Please note you cannot transfer Pokémon from Game Boy titles in this version." This means players will have to rent Pokémon instead, leading to what's generally considered a less enjoyable experience.

"The first video game I've ever played," said Zodyrus on Twitter. "One huge issue though. The question is will this be compatible with... anything? Cause you really cant get full enjoyment out of this game without using the Game Boy games alongside it."

Other Pokémon Stadium fans are still optimistic though. "The lack of transfers is a massive shame but I feel like there's still a bunch of stuff to tinker around and have fun with regardless," said another user FizzaClips.

While fans didn't expect their Nintendo Switch consoles to connect directly with a Game Boy, the issue has once again sparked debates around the lack of classic Pokémon games on modern consoles.

When it comes to fighting games, Arc System Works is at the top of the food chain. Between Guilty Gear Strive, BlazBlue, Dragon Ball FighterZ, DNF Duel, GranBlue Fantasy Versus, and others, ArcSys is the most active developer of quality fighting games in the business right now, and as such, there's no shortage of dream games that fans would love to see the developer tackle. At the Arc World Tour grand finals, I got a chance to sit down with Arc System Works CEO Minoru Kidooka to talk about some of those potential dream games, the future of BlazBlue, and his commitment to pursue new IP collaboration opportunities.

IGN: I believe we spoke at EVO last year and you mentioned that you wanted to be more aggressive about pursuing opportunities to collaborate with new IP owners. Is this still a major priority for you and in the intervening months, do you feel like you've made some progress in that regard?

Kidooka-san: I wouldn't necessarily say it's a priority at this point, but what we did say at Evo about trying to create more IP collaboration games is... Before EVO, during EVO, and after EVO, we're still making steps towards that goal. So as a goal for ourselves and for our company, we really want to make something that makes the fighting community happy. So whether that's using other IP or using our own games, we are just going to keep pushing forward to continue to make the members of the FGC satisfied.