IGN

Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass Wave 4 is arriving next week on March 10.

The release date was announced in a new trailer (below) in which Nintendo showed off the eight new tracks coming to the game alongside the return of Birdo as a playable character.

The eight tracks featured in Wave 4 are Singapore Speedway, Bangkok Rush, and Amsterdam Drift from Mario Kart Tour, Donkey Kong Summit from Mario Kart Wii, Riverside Park from Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Circuit from Mario Kart DS, Waluigi Stadium from Double Dash, and one brand new track: Yoshi's Island.

Birdo will also be making a return in all of its vibrant colours, and will feature in the medium weight class alongside the likes of Mario and the Inkling Girl.

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

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

Resident Evil 4 Remake is just a few weeks away but IGN got one more look at the highly-anticipated survival horror game ahead of the launch, with plenty of enticing new details to pore over. While we would have preferred to actually play the game, especially since it’s so close to release, instead we were shown just under 20 minutes of new Resident Evil 4 Remake footage. However, it gave us enough of a look to spot some of what we think will be the biggest changes coming to the horror classic.

Parrying

In an interview with IGN about how the development team figured out what new gameplay mechanics to add to Resident Evil 4 Remake, director Yasuhiro Ampo said, “when looking into making the remake, the team didn’t want to disturb the main mechanics that the original game had. However, when looking into the game, they looked into what they could add on top of what was already there, what was already good, and making everything even better.”

To highlight this philosophy, Ampo specifically cited knife combat, which is enhanced from the original. In the original Resident Evil 4, Leon would use the knife as a last resort; in the Remake, Leon is able to parry attacks, making the knife not only a viable weapon but a necessary one, especially if you’re running low on health.

Parrying enemy attacks transforms the knife from a last-ditch tool and glorified wooden crate opener into a defensive tool where you’re able to keep yourself alive just a little bit longer, so long as you have the dexterity to block incoming attacks.

New Finishing Moves

Fans may have been waiting more than three years for Sons of the Forest to be released but that hasn't stopped speedrunners from racing through the game in less than nine minutes.

As reported by PC Gamer, Benjamin Romero on YouTube published a Sons of the Forest speedrun of just eight minutes and 45 seconds on February 28, five days after the game launched.

Romero's run is in the any percentage, normal difficulty category, meaning it's essentially a pure sprint to the finish with no rules or regulations. Finishing in the smallest amount of time possible is the only goal, meaning players can take advantage of any glitches or exploits present.

One exploit in particular is key to Romero's impressive time, as the beginning of the speedrun is spent running up a mountain, jumping off, and falling unconscious, before Sons of the Forest's respawn system teleports him to the closest cannibal village.

This essentially lets the speedrunner skip a large portion of the game, and alongside some other glitches — including using the crafting menu while falling downhill to avoid taking damage — Romero is able to cross the finish line in a measly 525 seconds.

The Xbox exclusive rythmic action hit Hi-Fi Rush has officially surpassed the two million player mark according to Bethesda and developer Tango Gameworks.

As spotted by G.I.Biz, the engagement milestone came by way of a tweet from Bethesda encouraging fans to "keep on being rockstars", whle celebrating the fact that “two million players have moved to the beat of Hi-Fi Rush” since the game’s January 25 straight to Game Pass surprise launch.

Hi-Fi Rush’s rhythm-based gameplay, vibrant aesthetic, and humorous character represented a surprising departure from developer Tango Gameworks’ history of creating horror-infused titles such as The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo.

Two million players have moved to the beat of @hifirush! Keep on being rockstars! pic.twitter.com/qY9S7ldevC

At this point, it’s probably fair to say that Team Ninja has a pretty good handle on this whole soulslike genre thing. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty may not reach the same heights as Nioh 2 did back in 2020, but it certainly scratches that same itch of lightning-fast combat, punishing-yet-rewarding difficulty, and deep build customization options that you can craft and tailor to your own playstyle. It’s great for the same reasons that the Nioh games are, and it accomplishes that feat even while completely changing up the fundamentals of its combat system to be closer to Sekiro than Dark Souls. But by that same token, it also falls victim to the same familiar issues nagging at those other Team Ninja soulslikes, including subpar storytelling and excessively fiddly loot mechanics. But when you consider that the things Wo Long does better than just about any other game in this genre, that baggage amounts to scratches on an otherwise pristine set of armor.

If you’re familiar with the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history you may get more out of Wo Long’s story than I did (my knowledge basically begins and ends with the fact that you should not pursue Lu Bu), but I think even then it won’t be a highlight because Team Ninja continues to struggle with telling a memorable story with likable characters. This is a supernatural take on the final days of the Han Dynasty, where we take control of a nameless warrior who gets swept up in a power struggle between warring kingdoms and their pursuit of an elixir of immortality. In practically every level you team up with some sort of historically significant warrior to fight through a level, have a boss battle against an evil or corrupted historically significant warrior, and then move on to the next one.

Cricket 22 and AO Tennis developer Big Ant has confirmed AFL 23 will be arriving on PlayStation and Xbox platforms, plus PC, on April 13, 2023.

The studio also revealed a small selection of new screenshots from the game, which will feature all the clubs and teams from the AFL and AFLW, plus the AFL grounds featured in the 2023 season.

The Melbourne, Australia-based developer, which has a long history of building cricket, rugby league, and tennis games, previously developed AFL Live for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2011. Over the last decade, AFL for Wii (2011), AFL Live 2 (2013), AFL Evolution (2017), and AFL Evolution 2 (2020) were developed by Wicked Witch Software, which is also based in Melbourne.

Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can chat to him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 may not be an official endeavor, but that doesn't mean series writer Marc Laidlaw hasn't pondered a universe after Episode 2. However, he seems to regret publishing those thoughts as an unofficial short story.

In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Laidlaw explained why he regrets publishing the 2017 Half-Life fan-fiction on his website. The writer had plans for more adventures in the Half-Life universe but touched on the headaches, embarrassment, and fan confusion that followed his decisions. When noting why he did it, Laidlaw kept it blunt.

"I was deranged," Laidlaw told Rock Paper Shotgun. "I was living on an island, totally cut off from my friends and creative community of the last couple decades, I was completely out of touch and had nobody to talk me out of it. It just seemed like a fun thing to do, until I did it."

For those not familiar with the Episode 3 debacle, Laidlaw published the "Epistle 3" short story to his website in 2017. The unofficial tale arrived just on the heels of Episode 2's anniversary and was told from the perspective of someone named "Gertie Freemont" with mentions of "Alex Vaunt" – apparent references to Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance. Though he's since discussed plans for Half-Life's future, Laidlaw left Valve in 2016 and was no longer affiliated with the company when publishing Epistle 3.

Lil Gator Game is a charming sandbox adventure from MegaWobble. It's available for $19.99 on Steam, but it's this month's IGN Plus game and Plus members can get a Steam key as an IGN Reward and jump in right now.

Plus members - get your key for Lil Gator Game here on its IGN Rewards page. Not a Plus member? Learn more here. You can also follow the devs on Twitter.

Lil Gator Game Developer Interview

I sat down with Lil Gator Game devs Scott Slucher (Lead Developer) and Connor Quothe (Lead Writer) to talk about their inspiration, as well as what players can expect when they jump into this fun, lighthearted game.

The titular Lil Gator has a recognizable hat, tunic, and left-handed sword swing that will immediately look familiar to any Zelda fans, and Lil Gator Game wastes no time before making its love for that series explicit. When I asked why the main character was an alligator, Scott laughed and said, "because alligator is green and Link is green," and although that isn't the whole story, Scott was inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, a fantastic duo from the Game Boy Color generation.

With such classic inspiration, it would be easy to mistake Lil Gator Game for a one-trick pony, but that's far from the truth. Filling out the world and giving it life are myriad characters, each with fun personalities that make meeting and talking to them breezy and delightful.

Tons to talk about this week! We start by discussing our disappointment in the new gameplay showcase for Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Then we analyze Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami's departure from the studio and why we think The Evil Within 3 is still happening. Plus: Mortal Kombat 12 gets announced in an unexpected way, Call of Duty will get a full-game release this year after all, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase:

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Everyone's got demons. Sometimes, you get to fight your own demons in a video game, and the upcoming action-adventure game Strayed Lights is possibly the artsiest allegory I've seen for this exact trope since playing the Kingdom Hearts trilogy. For visuals junkies, it's not totally dissimilar from Ori and the Blind Forest in style either, and its gorgeous soundtrack by the famed Austin Wintory immediately stood out in the short time I got to try it out. I was able to explore several areas in its imaginative, physics-defying world -- but unlike Ori, Strayed Lights seems way more like a linear campaign than a side-scrolling Metroidvania. Regardless, its action combat system is tight enough to carry its abstract story, and it even introduces an interesting mechanic that could make Strayed Lights worth checking out when it finally releases in April.

Action-adventure games have drilled their combat formulas down to a science at this point. In most action-adventure games – let's use God of War or Devil May Cry as examples here – you usually have at least one or two attack buttons, an ability button, some sort of special ability bar, a block button, and a dodge roll that lets you become momentarily invincible. This is all pretty standard stuff, and Strayed Lights doesn't seem to stray too far from what already works. It's in its favor that beating up these giant elemental creatures (that look like Flame Atronachs from The Elder Scrolls series) feels exactly as good as it looks, with attack timings and patterns that are both predictable and responsive.

Despite economic concerns and considerable worry about the enormous scope of contemporary big-budget projects, game developers seem more hopeful and ambitious than ever. This is possible thanks to a healthier and more collaborative relationship with players along with some cautious optimism about artificial intelligence.

This enthusiasm for working with the audience means much more than just reacting to feedback and suggestions on Discord. I spoke to multiple developers that have put not just early code, but game-making tools into the hands of passionate players at a very early stage and invited them to help shape the experience – sometimes hiring them to work on it full time as a result.

Now in its 26th year, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences hosted its DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit in Las Vegas last week. The event attracts developers and leaders from across the games business to get together and discuss the biggest challenges of the moment while celebrating the top achievements of the past year at a peer-judged awards ceremony that we partner with the Academy on to live stream. This year IGN’s Stella Chung joined Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller to host the awards, and you can watch the full thing here.

This review exclusively covers the multiplayer mode of Company of Heroes 3. For thoughts on the campaigns, read our Company of Heroes 3 - Single-Player review.

For a lot of long-time fans, Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy series that’s more about competitive play than single-player campaigns, and we've logged hundreds more hours playing against other people than against the AI in scripted scenarios. That'll certainly be true for Company of Heroes 3, because while the single-player campaigns are trapped in a quagmire of a strategic map and bogged down in their storytelling, in multiplayer we can focus on what really matters: moment-to-moment gameplay, balance, and faction mechanics. CoH3 nails all of that thanks to a wide variety of factions, snappy unit controls, and great multiplayer stability.

I'll say that, as of a few days after launch, this is the most diverse, balanced, and stable multiplayer game in the entire Company of Heroes series to date. Sure there are specific balance issues – the M18 Hellcat's too tough! Those flamethrowers are OP! – but show me an RTS without balance issues at launch and I'll show you a liar. (It'll be you. I'll be pointing at you.)

Everybody knows Lady Dimitrescu is tall, but I was still shocked to see just how large she loomed over me from a first-person angle in VR. Resident Evil Village VR captured my undivided attention even beyond my fascination for the tall vampire lady, offering a fresh perspective on a nearly two-year-old game I have played a dozen times over. From the robust tutorial before you start playing to the many ways you can customize the controls for the most comfortable experience, Resident Evil Village’s VR mode is no afterthought, but rather a well-crafted and exciting way to experience an already excellent game.

Nothing has been watered down in the transition to VR: you’ll endure Ethan’s rescue mission from start to finish. That said, this mode doesn’t quite give you access to everything Resident Evil Village offers – the timed challenge Mercenaries mode is not supported in VR (probably for the best, given that it’s all about moving quickly), and the modifiers you may have already unlocked in the non-VR mode, such as weapon attachments and upgrades, are not transferable to VR mode and you will have to unlock all those items once again. This obviously isn’t a big deal for anyone playing Resident Evil Village for the first time, but as someone who has unlocked and upgraded all of my weapons over the course of several playthroughs, that was disheartening. Interestingly, Village VR does offer new weapon attachments, such as a bayonet for the M1897, which you can purchase from The Duke after destroying a certain number of wooden goats scattered throughout the village.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is facing even more development trouble, as a new report says developer Ubisoft Montpellier is undergoing a major leadership shakeup.

According to a report from Kotaku, Ubisoft Montpellier staff were informed last week that their managing director was no longer with the company. Guillaume Carmona had been absent from the role since the beginning of 2023, and no reason for his departure was given. Carmona had been with Ubisoft for nearly two decades.

Sources also told Kotaku that Ubisoft Montpellier is facing a labor investigation from local government authorities due to a high number of developers experiencing burnout and going on sick leave. A Ubisoft spokesperson told Kotaku that "the Montpellier development team is undergoing well-being assessments through a third-party for preventative measures and to evaluate where additional support may be needed."

The report also said that creative director Jean-Marc Geffroy and director Benjamin Dumaz have been replaced in those roles by former associate director Emile Morel and Charles Gaudron. Finally, sources told Kotaku that the developers are still struggling to nail down a fun and achievable creative vision for Beyond Good and Evil 2.

While there are clearly many millions of players who have secured their own PS5 and Xbox, lots are still looking. Whether you are trying to figure out which outlets have them available, which console and accessories you should actually buy, and what the pros and cons for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are, we've got you covered. Read on to find all that and more.

Where to Buy a PS5

Walmart has PlayStations available right now, while Amazon is still requiring you to apply for an invitation. However, the turnaround for those invitations is getting faster and faster.

Where to Buy Xbox Series X

Should I Buy a PS5 or an Xbox?

That's a complicated question that has a lot of answers. First, what types of games do you like? If you like single-player games with more serious tones, PlayStation arguably has the lead (at least right now), although some feel that there is a degree of "same-ness" to them, which is something to keep an eye on.

Xbox currently has what some consider to be less compelling single-player exclusives, but Xbox is arguably better for those who love multiplayer games, with better chat integration, cross-platform functionality with PC, and several exclusive games that feature multiplayer prominently. PlayStation 5 has some of the most celebrated and popular exclusive franchises, like Last of Us and God of War, while Xbox has heavy hitters like Halo, Forza and Flight Simulator, to name a few.

While playing Elden Ring can, if you want, be a completely solitary experience, one of its best features is its multiplayer: PvP, PvE, and the esoteric messages players leave for one another that have become something of their own meme culture. Given the unique nature of all these multiplayer interactions, it's only natural that director Hidetaka Miyazaki has been doing a lot of thinking about multiplayer technology, and how it's used in games other than his own.

Speaking to IGN following Elden Ring's five wins (including Game of the Year) at the 26th annual DICE Awards, Miyazaki brought up the subject of multiplayer when we asked him what new technologies, trends, or ideas in gaming he finds inspiring or exciting right now.

"I'm not really sure whether this is the latest trend, but the multiplayer elements that in terms of both technology and the game designs, we keep updating [them]," he said. "So I'm really interested in that as one of the fans and one of the creators. Especially speaking of [Escape From] Tarkov, for example. So I'm basically paying attention to those elements as a creator and fan of the game.

At the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences 2023 (MAGIC 2023), Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi looked back at his almost four-decade long career in a 90-minute panel hosted by IGN JAPAN.

While his first game The Death Trap dates back to 1984, Sakaguchi’s latest work Fantasian was released for Apple Arcade in 2021. Fantasian met critical acclaim for incorporating real-life dioramas as its location backgrounds, a stellar soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu and an innovative battle system that allowed the player to aim attacks and stock random encounters.

However, since it was an Apple Arcade exclusive, many RPG fans did not get the chance to play Sakaguchi’s new epic. Now, it seems that Sakaguchi wants to solve this problem.

“Many people ask for a PC port, and I also hear demand for a sequel,” Sakaguchi said.

While nothing was officially announced during the session, Sakaguchi said that he wants to continue making games and hopes to be able to meet these expectations, as Fantasian is a title he is fond of himself.

“Fantasian is a title I hope more people will get to see for themselves in the future,” Sakaguchi said.

While Sakaguchi aspires to make a PC port and sequel, he emphasized that nothing has been decided yet. Fantasian released for the Apple Arcade split into two parts. Whether or not a potential PC port would be released as a single title is unknown.

Chrono Trigger is widely considered one of the best RPGs of all time, but according to Hironobu Sakaguchi, it almost became a mediocre game.

At the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences 2023 (MAGIC 2023), Sakaguchi – best known as the father of the Final Fantasy series – looked back at Chrono Trigger, a game he worked on together with Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest) and Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball).

“I was already a big fan of Akira Toriyama’s manga before I entered the videogame industry, so working together with him was like a dream come true for me,” Sakaguchi recalled. “The same could be said for the entire staff, so his drawings became a huge motivation for us.”

That doesn’t mean that Chrono Trigger’s development was an easy one. Sakaguchi said it was the most difficult game to make amongst all of the titles he has worked on, which is why it is very dear to his heart.

“It almost became a mediocre game, so we had to tear the project down and start all over from scratch,” Sakaguchi said.

An instant classic

That was undoubtedly for the best, as the final version that was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995 was an instant classic that is still being talked about nearly 30 years later. Sakaguchi himself was satisfied about the end result, and he recalls that Toriyama was happy about how the game turned out too. This led them to work together again on Blue Dragon, which was released 11 years later on the Xbox 360.

For more than 45 years, Shigeru Miyamoto has worked at Nintendo in some capacity, so it's hard to imagine the home of Mario without the veteran director and designer. However, Miyamoto thinks Nintendo will "probably be the same" even after he's gone.

In an interview with NPR, Miyamoto spoke about his inspirations, Nintendo's future, and how a shared vision at the company drives its familiar essence. When asked about a Nintendo without him, Miyamoto thinks the creators and executives still there will keep things mostly the same.

"You know, I really feel it's not going to change, " Miyamoto said. "It's probably going to be the same. There's, you know, people on the executive team, creators within the company, and also people who create Mario, they all have this sense of what it means to be Nintendo."

Miyamoto chalks that outlook up to a shared understanding at Nintendo. Even as the company introduces new ideas, he described a Nintendo where everyone is mostly on the same page.

"There's always the fact that it's a new idea, but also the fact that, is it a new idea that really has the essence of Nintendo or not? And I think that's something that, you know, we have this incredible shared vision, almost a little scary shared vision, about this. So I think there won't — it's not going to change," he said.

On that same note, when NPR asked the director which Nintendo world he would like to live in when it's time for the afterlife, Miyamoto offered a bittersweet sentiment. He loves his current environment, as he can "engage in so many different things." He joked he'd like it to remain in a similar place, but maybe at his desk or bathtub instead.

America is justly proud of its remaining areas of untamed wilderness, much of which is preserved through its national parks system. It’s been an inspiration to both artists and board game designers down the years, the latter giving us titles as diverse as hobby fare Cascadia to the much more mainstream National Parks-Opoly. But 2019's PARKS aims to give you the best of both worlds with some accessible tactical play married to art from the 59 Parks print series.

What’s in the Box

The stylized waterfall art of the PARKS box cover is a lovely piece of work, but it doesn’t prepare you for the treasures inside. Beneath the rules booklet, there are two custom trays of wooden components, suns and droplets, mountains and trees, all dyed in appealing pastel tones. There are also a number of brown wildlife tokens, each and every one cut to resemble a different animal.

Ubisoft's Skull and Bones may have been delayed yet again, but there is one way to get a taste of this long-awaited pirate-themed video game. Skull and Bones: Savage Storm is a spinoff from Dark Horse Comics, and IGN has an exclusive preview of the first issue.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see several pages from Skull and Bones: Savage Storm #1:

Savage Storm is co-written by John Jackson Miller and James Mishler, with art by Christian Rosado, colors by Roshan Kurichiyanil and cover art by Pius Bak. Here's Dark Horse's official description for the first issue:

A merchant vessel on the high seas is besieged by a vicious crew of pirates, but the fighting is interrupted by a devastating typhoon. When the storm crashes in, it leaves predator and prey stranded on an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Discover the mysteries and danger that will betide them all. A gritty story set in the merciless world of Ubisoft's upcoming pirate game.

Skull and Bones: Savage Storm #1 will be released on Wednesday, March 1. You can preorder the digital version on Amazon now. Dark Horse is also releasing a hardcover art book called The Art of Skull and Bones.

Pokémon Day 2023 is in full swing and, as is tradition, The Pokémon Company hosted a special Pokémon Presents event on February 27 to unveil all the exciting developments coming in the world of Pokémon.

Featuring all manners of announcements from the Pokémon games, TCG, television series, and more, the headlining reveal was perhaps in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion.

IGN has you covered right here with every single bit of news, big and small, that was announced during the February Pokémon Presents event.

Pokémon World Championship Dates and Key Art Revealed

The Pokémon Company kicked off the special by announcing the dates for the Pokémon World Championship taking place in Yokohama, Japan, alongside the event's key art.

From August 11 to 23, 2023, Pokémon players of the trading card game, Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon GO, and more will meet to compete for the title of Pokémon Master.

The key art, drawn in a traditional Japanese style, features Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's starter Pokémon alongside Pikachu, of course, and can be viewed below.

The Thaumaturge, a mystical new story-rich turn-based RPG from 11 bit studios (Frostpunk) and Fool's Theory (The Witcher 1 Remake) set in early-20th-century Warsaw, has been announced for PC. No release window has been given as of yet.

"Thaumaturge" refers to the ancient Greek word for one who performs supernatural events. So, yes, you can expect supernatural stuff to happen in this new isometric RPG. It promises "a unique take on combat, character development features, and investigation mechanics, touching upon the complex theme of inner demons." Watch the announcement trailer above and check out the first screenshots in the gallery below.

“The Thaumaturge revolves around the idea of demons both on physical and metaphorical layers, Fool’s Theory Design Director, Karolina Kuzia-Rokosz. “After all, it’s a game infused with 11 bit studios’ philosophy of meaningful entertainment. Its theme is evoked in different areas of the game with gameplay mechanics or narrative aspects being only a part of those.”

In The Thaumaturge, beings called Salutors exist between the real world and the shadows, and only the Thaumaturges can perceive the Salutors. 11 bit studios and Fool's Theory say "Salutors allow Thaumaturges to manipulate humans, preying on their secrets and insecurities, bending one’s will to their own needs while changing the world surrounding them."

We'll have more on The Thaumaturge after its appearance at the Game Developers Conference next month in San Francisco.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition has officially been announced and will be bringing an improved version of the sci-fi RPG to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 7, 2023.

The Outer Worlds, which was developed by Fallout: New Vegas' Obsidian Entertainment, was first released in 2019 and brought players to a colony at the edge of the galaxy that has been overrun by corporations. Much like a Fallout game, players make choices, get into epic gun combat, interact with factions, journey alongside companions, and much more.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition packages the base game and both DLCs - Murder on Eridanos and Peril of Gorgon - and comes with "higher resolution graphics, a dynamic weather system, overhauled lighting and environments, improved performance and load times, enhanced details on characters, an increased level cap, and much more."

If players already own The Outer Worlds and its DLCs for Xbox One, PS4, or PC, they can upgrade to the Spacer's Choice Edition on the same console of PC Store (if applicable) for $9.99. If you'd like to simply buy the game, it will cost $59.99.

In our review of The Outer Worlds, we said, "Obsidian has found its own path in the space between Bethesda and BioWare, and it’s a great one. And considering that new RPGs from either of those influential developers are still years away, this game couldn’t have been timed any better.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are getting expansions akin to Pokémon Sword and Shield's DLC, delivering two major chunks of story content to the games later this year.

Announced during February's Pokémon Presents event, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion will feature two separate DLCs: The Teal Mask (launching fall 2023) and The Indigo Disk (launching winter 2023).

"In The Teal Mask, players will be chosen to take part in a school trip that is held each year in collaboration with another school. They’ll be taken to the land of Kitakami, where a great mountain towers over the land and the people live at its base," reads a plot synopsis.

"It is a place of tranquil natural expanses, featuring rice paddies and apple orchards. The trip seems to coincide with a festival regularly held in the village in Kitakami during this season, so the village is bustling with various street vendors and stalls. Players will meet new friends and Pokémon as they unravel the mysteries behind the folktales that have been passed down in this land."

The Pokémon Company has finally re-revealed Pokémon Sleep after the game fell into a slumber for almost four years.

Announced during February's Pokémon Presents event, Pokémon Sleep will officially launch this summer.

During the presentation, we learned more about Pokémon Sleep, including confirmation that the app will track your sleeping patterns and will show you different sleep styles of the many different pocket monsters you can encounter in the game.

It aims to "turn sleeping into entertainment by having a player's time spent sleeping, and the time they wake up, affect the gameplay," letting players "wake up with Pokémon every morning." Pokémon Sleep will be available on Android and iOS when it releases.

The Pokémon Company also announced the Pokémon GO Plus+ (said as plus plus). The new gadget is designed to work with Pokémon Sleep and, of course, Pokémon GO, and will be available on July 21 this year.

When used with Pokémon Sleep, a special Pikachu inside the device will sing players lullabies and get friendlier the more sleep the trainer gets.

This was just one of the announcements shared during the Pokémon Presents event, but IGN has you covered with absolutely every bit of news right here.

The Pokémon Company has announced Pokémon TCG Classic, a premium Pokémon card product inspired by the original Base Set.

Announced during February's Pokémon Presents event, a swanky trailer showed off the new product including its special game board and pieces that come alongside the new (old) cards.

Revealed in a follow-up blog post, The Pokémon Company confirmed hat Pokémon TCG Classic will be released in late 2023 and includes a foldable game board, a toolbox for storing counters, three decks starring Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise, and three deck boxes.

Crime Boss: Rockay City was one of the bigger surprises to come out of The Game Awards last year: a brand new video game property from a relatively unknown studio, featuring a star-studded cast of relatively well-known actors – with a hard release date just a few months away, no less! The slick, colorful reveal trailer definitely turned some heads, but it also raised some eyebrows, since it focused more on who is in the game rather than what you’ll actually be doing.

After an hour and a half of hands-on time with Crime Boss: Rockay City, I now have a much clearer idea of what it actually is, but I also came away even more skeptical that it can actually achieve what it’s setting out to do.

Crime Boss is fundamentally a first-person shooter, but it aspires to be an ‘organized crime game,’ meaning stealth, strategy, and careful preparation will likely yield more favorable results than going in guns blazing. The obvious comparison to make is to Payday, the co-op bank heist series, but my time with it felt more like Left 4 Dead.

Three modes will be included at launch. There’s Baker’s Battle, the single-player campaign where players take control of Michael Madsen’s character Travis Baker and help him become the titular crime boss of the eponymous Rockay City. There’s also Crime Time, which consists of quick heists that can be played alone or cooperatively. Those earn you quick cash to unlock new crew members, gear, or contracts.

After only 24 hours in Early Access, Sons of the Forest has already sold over two million copies.

Sons of the Forest developer Endnight Games shared the news on Twitter alongside promising some exciting things to come in the near future.

"Thanks to those who have joined us in our Early Access journey into Sons of the Forest," Endnight Games wrote. "We have sold over 2 million copies in the first 24 hours, and are very excited for what we have in store for players in the coming weeks."

Sons of the Forest, which is an open-world survival horror game that sends players to a remote island filled with cannibals and other dangers to find a missing billionaire, also rose up the concurrent player charts on Steam, with over 350,100 users playing the game at once.

As of this writing, Sons of the Forest is at 255,134 concurrent players and sits only behind Dota 2's 271,407 players and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's 563,954 players on Steam. For comparison, the original game - The Forest - had an all-time peak of 76,226.

Wyrmwood, maker of tabletop gaming accessories that have long been beloved by the likes of Dungeons & Dragons players, is under fire for their response to a flurry of sexual assaunt allegations that came to light this week.

After a tweet gained momentum which accused the company of protecting an employee who was accussed of sexual assault, one of the terminated employees responded with strong words against the company.

I'm a former employee of @WyrmwoodGaming
and want to put my story on record. I'm who the tweet was talking about. Remember firing me, Doug?

(I'm glancing away through the video because it wrote this all out for clarity and brevity.)#WyrmsArentFriends pic.twitter.com/FiVDKyg6iM

— Andy Morocco (@Andy_Morocco) February 19, 2023

In the video, former employee Andy Morocco, alleges that he was fired in retaliation for reporting the sexual assault of a coworker that took place on company premises.

"I was taken behind the shop by the CEO Douglas Costello. I assumed he wanted more information directly from the source, but instead he fired me in retaliation for, in his words, 'creating shop drama,'" Morocco claims in the video.

Many traditional sports games release a new edition every year, with mixed results on whether or not they feel different enough to justify themselves beyond a roster update. So I'm surprised at Blood Bowl 3, the latest digital adaptation of Games Workshop's ultraviolent board game parody of American football set in a wacky alternate version of the Warhammer Fantasy universe. It presents shockingly little reason for its own existence compared to the previous version, which came out almost eight years ago. I like the intense and hilarious premise and mechanics of Blood Bowl on their own, but what we have here is basically Blood Bowl 2, again, but worse.

If you've never played Blood Bowl before, you might be able to coast for a while just on the absurd novelty of the concept. Elves, dwarves, orcs, and minotaurs line up on a grid iron and try to bash, pass, and juke their way to a touchdown, with often brutal results. Because this is Warhammer, players can be seriously injured and even killed depending on how the virtual dice fall, which has the potential to create bitter and satisfying rivalries in long-running leagues.

We're in an age of remasters and remakes. In the first few months of 2023 alone, we're seeing relreases of high-profile games like Dead Space, Metroid Prime, and Resident Evil 4. With 2000s nostalgia at an all-time high right now, video game writer David Gaider is calling for a remaster of 2009's Dragon Age: Origins.

Gaider was the lead writer and setting creator for BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, and would go on to work on both Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition. On Twitter, Gaider wrote, "If we're on a kick re-mastering games from the aughts, what about Dragon Age Origins? Its graphics were behind the curve even at the time of release... can you imagine it with brand new PS5-era bells and whistles?"

If we're on a kick re-mastering games from the aughts, what about Dragon Age Origins? Its graphics were behind the curve even at the time of release... can you imagine it with brand new PS5-era bells and whistles? 🥳

— David Gaider (@davidgaider) February 23, 2023

Replying to some other Twitter users, Gaider played down the likelihood of a Dragon Age remaster happening, saying "I suspect EA would only do it if they thought it would sell like *gold-plated* hotcakes. They've... never really gotten DA, or understood why it sold better than Mass Effect, was my impression."

In recent years, video game companies like Nintendo and PlayStation have set expectations for any pre-recorded shows by announcing beforehand what kind of stream viewers should expect — whether focused on indie games, third-party titles, or about a specific game. This has been a welcome change as it sets appropriate expectations for an upcoming Nintendo Direct or State of Play showcase. After all, nobody will expect to see a new Zelda trailer during a Splatoon 3 Direct.

Sony did this too for its most recent State of Play earlier this week, announcing that the show will primarily focus on PSVR 2, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, and some indie and third-party games. But if the recent State of Play showcases have demonstrated anything, it’s that there’s a difference between setting the right expectations, and making it so that viewers should have no expectations at all.

Let’s start with PlayStation VR 2, which was just released to critical acclaim. Having spent a few hours with it myself, I can tell you that the tech underlying Sony’s newest VR headset is definitely something to write home about. Still, much has been made about the launch lineup of games which consists of one new first-party release (Horizon: Call of the Mountain) and several releases that are readily available on rival headsets.

Editor's Note: The war in Ukraine is an ongoing, painful and emotive topic. IGN urges community members to be respectful when engaging in conversation around this subject and does not endorse harassment of any kind.

Atomic Heart's launch week has been surrounded by controversy, as developer Mundfish is facing backlash for its Russian ties in relation to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and a racist cartoon present within the game.

Earlier this week, PC Gamer published a story about online criticism surrounding the presence of a racist caricature within Atomic Heart. The caricature in question was found in the game's Resident Evil-style save rooms, where players can take a breather from the action and watch old episodes of Nu, Pogodi!, or, Well, Just You Wait!, a Soviet-era cartoon that started in 1969.

The show can be summarized as a Soviet version of Tom and Jerry, starring a wolf who tries time and time again to get his hands on a hare. The issue is present in episode 12, titled Museum, which first aired in 1978. A statue is shown in the episode that's a racist depiction of an African tribesman. Folks on Resetera criticized Atomic Heart for including the cartoon at all, let alone without any warning or context.

The Valiant Hearts series is a novel take on the familiar setting of World War I. Instead of focusing on armed skirmishes and large-scale battles, it hones in on the lives of those on the frontlines, the lingering trauma that war casts upon them, and the unexpected bonds found in dark times. Despite the smaller-scale storytelling, its more emotional take on living through war is a welcome change of pace.

We interviewed Ubisoft manager of inclusive games & content Maya Loreal, and product director Guillaume Cerda, about the making of Valiant Hearts: Coming Home and the potential video games have with bringing stories and underrepresented figures into the spotlight.

“It's in our game’s DNA to tell the story of these ordinary people becoming unsung heroes,” said Cerda about Valiant Hearts; Coming Home. “And what better example than the Harlem Hellfighters, especially with the feats and efforts they are recognized with, even after a century following the end of World War I. Their stories fit in well with Valiant Hearts. We’re always saying that it's not a war game, but it's a game about war, being caught up in the turmoil of it.”

The loot lizard, 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 February 24 through February 28. 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.

Baldur's Gate 3 finally got a release date yesterday, but fans quickly noticed that Xbox wasn't included in developer Larian Studios' launch plans.

In a statement to IGN, Larian Studios clarified the situation, saying the studio is "planning to release Baldur’s Gate 3 for PC, Mac, GeForce NOW and PS5." An Xbox version is in development, but Larian Studios has struggled to get splitscreen co-op working on Xbox Series X|S, causing it to delay an official announcement.

Check out the full statement below, where Larian Studios explains that there's no exclusivity deal holding back an Xbox version:

After reports that all three major platform holders were skipping E3, Nintendo has confirmed to IGN that it will indeed be missing the event slated for June.

"We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," Nintendo told IGN in a statement. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA and E3."

IGN previously broke the news that Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo would not be formally taking part in E3 2023, with Nintendo pulling out due to a lack of major releases to promote. Xbox will be hosting its own event in Los Angeles, but it will not be at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

With E3 roughly three months away, uncertainty continues to hover around the event as publishers weigh their options. Ubisoft recently announced that it would attend E3 if the event went forward, but otherwise IGN understands that little has changed from a month ago, with few publishers being willing to full commit to attending.

E3 2023 is currently slated for June 13 to June 16 in the Los Angeles Convention Center. It is unclear whether Nintendo will hold a Nintendo Direct to match, as it has in previous years.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

It's time for another Question Block edition of the weekly NVC column. This week, we're answering what seems like an easy one, but it turns out it's NOT easy. Shane Dowley wrote us at nvc@ign.com and asked the following question:

"For new Switch buyers, what would be your top 5 essential games that you would tell them to buy?"

First off, we answered this during this week's episode of NVC, but we're getting a little more formal with the answers. Much as Wheel of Fortune automatically gives players in the final round a free R,S,T,L,N and E, we answered this question with the most common games as give-ins: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Mario Odyssey. The remaining picks are below.

Atomic Heart is out and Cardy, Mat, and Dale have been having a dabble with it as well as dipping into the PS VR2 waters. That isn't all, though. Dale has some thoughts on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Mat has been enjoying Like a Dragon: Ishin, and Cardy has had a blast with Kerbal Space Program 2.

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 685: You Kang Make Me Whole Again

• IGN UK Podcast 684: Horizon Call of the Weetabix
• IGN UK Podcast 683: Magical Castles and Talking Cats
• IGN UK Podcast 682: Creating the Next Best Video Game TV Show
• IGN UK Podcast 681: Shadow Drop It Like It's Hot
• IGN UK Podcast #680: Dead Space and Other Games We Want Remade