There's yet another video-game-to-film adaptation on the way, and this time it's the funky spacefaring duo ToeJam & Earl getting the star treatment.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, '90s retro action series ToeJam & Earl will make its film debut in a project from Amazon Studios, Story Kitchen, and NBA star Stephen Curry's Unanimous Media. As for its script, Hotel Transylvania 4 writers Amos Vernon and Nunzio are on board for the screenplay.

Unanimous Media's Curry and Erick Peyton will produce the ToeJam & Earl film alongside Sonic the Hedgehog's Dan Jevons and Dmitri M. Johnson. In addition to the movie's early talent, The Hollywood Reporter also shared ToeJam & Earl's film synopsis:

"Earth, their legends tell them, is the Paradise where the music that created their culture originated. Unfortunately for our heroes, not only do they wreck their ship, but they find that Earth is . . . well, not the haven they expected. But the music – that part was true. So begins their quest to find as much of that music as they can in the hope of saving their planet, and maybe ours as well."

At least from a brief overview, it sounds like the pieces of what fans may remember from the rogue-like are there — but we'll have to wait and see if the alien pair from creator Greg Johnson share the series' hyper-stylized art and funky beats in the film.

It's hard to believe, but 2022 is about to come to a close. As we look forward to the incredible stories and moments waiting for us in 2023, we think it's the perfect time to celebrate what made this year so special in the world of entertainment and games.

To accomplish this goal, we will be revealing our nominees for the best video games, movies, TV shows, comics and anime of 2022 over the course of this week, and next week the winners will be revealed. We wish the best of luck to all nominees and, win or not, they should all be proud of what they accomplished this past year.

Best Movies of 2022

We kicked off the week by revealing our picks for the best films of 2022. From Everything Everywhere All at Once to RRR to Top Gun: Maverick and more, moviegoers were treated to a wide range of stories well worth that bucket of popcorn.

This year, we have five movie categories, and they are as follows:

Riot Games promised another update for its League of Legends fighter, Project L, this year — and it's shaping up just in time to make that deadline with a new look at its gameplay systems.

Uploaded to Riot's official YouTube channel, this latest look at Project L is guided by executive producer Tom Cannon and game director Shaun Rivera. The developer diary dives into the state of some previously revealed champions, like Illaoi, and explains the design philosophies behind turning the League fighter into an assist-based showdown.

Cannon kicked off the video with an Illaoi update, explaining previous iterations shared of the champion were early design concepts. Now, it seems those pieces for her model and fleshed-out kit are coming together, with today's Illaoi combat footage showing off a version of the character that's "about 30% complete."

The brief look at Project L's "big body brawler" shares a closer look at some of signature features from the MOBA, like her golden artifact and Nagakabouros tentacles. In her earliest playable form, Cannon noted Illaoi is live in Riot's internal playtest.

In previous Project L updates, Riot detailed its "easy-to-learn but hard-to-mastery mentality." Rivera kicked off his design philosophy breakdown with those same principles, outlining how the pillars of their gameplay systems will guide that core idea through movement, offense, defense, tag-teaming, and assist actions.

The Nintendo Switch has a performance problem.

This isn’t news for Switch fans (or haters). The limitations of its humble Nvidia Tegra X1 chip were visible in early exclusives like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which ran at 720p docked yet sometimes dipped below 30 frames per second. Still, the issues were rarely distracting.

But today, six years after the Switch’s release, the cracks visible at launch have widened into gaping fissures—sometimes, literally.

IGN’s Rebekah Valentine saw this first-hand while reviewing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. “These games run like garbage,” she says. “There are also tons of bizarre clipping issues where Pokémon can get caught in walls or underground, or the camera gets stuck at an odd angle and show an empty void on half the screen.”

The issues are too numerous to detail here (read her review for the full scoop), but easy to summarize. They’re bad. So bad they sour what should be a refreshing open-world spin on Game Freak’s usual Pokémon formula.

It's Not Just Pokémon

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are singularly terrible examples of how modern Switch games perform, but they’re not the only games that struggle.

Xbox is preparing to join other major games publishers in raising the prices of its major new first-party titles from $60 to $70.

Beginning in 2023, games built for Xbox Series X|S including Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will cost $69.99 USD at launch. While Xbox has noted that regional pricing may differ, it has not yet given specifics for other countries.

"This price reflects the content, scale, and technical complexity of these titles," a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. "As with all games developed by our teams at Xbox, they will also be available with Game Pass the same day they launch.”

The price increase is unsurprising, given that earlier this year Xbox head Phil Spencer said that the company wouldn't be able to hold its prices forever, but that Xbox would not raise prices ahead of the 2023 holiday season. Xbox is also not the first company to have done this — Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive have announced $70 price points for certain new games, and Sony specifically has reported discussed raising that price even higher.

Just hours after Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's release date seemingly leaked on Steam, EA has revealed that gameplay for the highly-anticipated title will appear at The Game Awards 2022 later this week.

We also got a brand-new piece of art for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, showing Cal Kestis and his droid BD-1:

The journey continues…

Experience the action-packed gameplay of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor @thegameawards – streaming live Dec. 8: https://t.co/1zOZ1Piywh #StarWarsJediSurvivor pic.twitter.com/g2mabUWVXy

— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) December 5, 2022

Today's leak listed March 15 as the release date for the Fallen Order sequel. This lines up with EA's plans to release a major game before April 2023, as we learned last month. It's possible that the rumored date could be confirmed alongside the gameplay showcase at The Game Awards.

The Witcher 3 is releasing a long-awaited next-gen (new-gen?) update that includes features that will bring a 7-year-old game up to par for the beefier console generation. While it won’t convince anyone that The Witcher 3 is suddenly a brand-new, 2022 release, the updates we’ve seen will undoubtedly become the new default version of the game for new and returning players.

IGN played three hours of The Witcher 3's next-gen update, which will be released for players who already own the game on a console or PC. You can expect a similar suite of upgrades that typically come with next-gen updates which includes a graphics mode that prioritizes 4K visuals and ray-tracing at 30 fps, or a Performance Mode that prioritizes 60 fps.

CD Projekt also added a series of game-enhancing mods created by the community as well as internally at the studio, a photo mode, and even some new easter eggs related to the Netflix show. While all of these bells and whistles are nice, the highlight from my playthrough was undoubtedly the Performance Mode which offers a super-charged, incredibly smooth version of The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt Red’s RPG was an instant hit in 2015 and has been consistently rated as one of the best modern, open-world RPGs. And while by no means unplayable, its ambitions certainly pushed the limits of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

There were numerous areas where the framerate would dip, or the textures of the models clashed. Never mind some of the funnier glitches (Roach, what are you doing on the roof?).

Dark Horse is celebrating Dragon Age Day by revealing a new pair of figurines inspired by Dragon Age: Inquisition. Solas and Cassandra are the latest two characters to join the growing lineup of Dragon Age: Inquisition Statuettes.

Check out the slideshow below for an exclusive first look at both figures, as well as the three previously revealed pieces:

Both statuettes were sculpted by Big Shot Toys, with painting and prototyping courtesy of JW Productions. They're designed in the same scale as previous Dragon Age statuettes (like the massive Iron Bull), and both measure 7.5 inches in height.

As with the other Dragon Age: Inquisition Statuettes, Cassandra and Solas are limited to 1000 pieces worldwide. They're each priced at $149.99 and are slated for release between August and October of 2023.

You can preorder both Statuettes from the Dark Horse Direct website.

Dark Horse will also rerelease both of their Dragon Age art books in a box set collection called Dragon Age: The World of Thedas.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is so far only confirmed to launch sometime in 2023 but the game's Steam page listed a March 15 release date before quickly removing it.

As shared by industry insider Wario64 on Twitter (below), the now now-altered page was updated earlier today to include the date alongside new preorder bonuses but these have since been removed.

Electronic Arts has already teased that a major game would be released before April 2023, adding to the legitimacy of the March 15 date. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is also rumoured to be making an appearance at The Game Awards 2022, which take place just a few days away on December 6.

According to Steam, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor releases on March 15th https://t.co/E3sr6hoSkg pic.twitter.com/Fs57WxKIxs

— Wario64 (@Wario64) December 5, 2022

The now delisted DLC includes cosmetics based on Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the Scoundrel costume for Cal, Rugged PD-1 costume, and DL-44 blaster set alongside the Rebel Hero costume for Cal, BD-Astro BD-1 costume, and Rebel Hero lightsaber set.

CD Projekt Red is sunsetting support for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game though has reassured the game will remain online for years to come.

Gwent will be supported with new cards and eSports tournaments throughout 2023 but this will end as of 2024 as the game switches to a community-focused approach, in what is internally known as Project Gwentfinity.

CD Projekt Red told IGN that a small number of developers will keep Gwent running from this point onwards, with all remaining team members being transferred to other projects at the studio.

Project Gwentfinity will see a seasonal progression system added to the game that rewards creative deckbuilding alongside a new balancing feature that allows the community to vote for changes to balance, though CD Projekt Red said restrictions will be in place to prevent manipulation and "game-breaking" changes.

The last 7 years with @PlayGwent were the best years of my professional career. I’ve met so many amazing people and made so many unforgettable friendships. I’ll always look back at this time with a huge smile. Let’s make 2023 as epic as possible! Love you all! ❤️

CD Projekt Red has revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 will receive a Game of the Year edition once its Phantom Liberty expansion is released in 2023.

As reported by Polish website Stockwatch (and spotted by Insider Gaming), CD Projekt Red president and joint-CEO Adam Kiciński said during a recent investors conference that Cyberpunk 2077 will follow in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's footsteps and receive the new edition that includes all previously released DLC in one package.

"It's the natural order of things," he said. "It was the same with the Witcher, which, after both expansions, was finally released as a Game of the Year edition and has been on the market that way every since. The same can be expected in this case."

The Phantom Liberty DLC - Cyberpunk 2077's one and only paid expansion that will include hours of new story content - is expected to launch sometime in 2023, and Kiciński said the Game of the Year edition will be released soon after.

Given this expansion is only being released for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC, it's likely the Game of the Year edition will also only be on these platforms.

Tom French, Halo Infinite's multiplayer creative director who has worked on the franchise for over 11 years, has left 343 Industries.

French announced the news on Twitter, saying he is off to "new adventures" but is so proud of his time working alongside Master Chief.

After over 11 1/2 years on Halo, I step out of my Spartan armor for the last time today to head off to new adventures. It's been a massive honor to have been part of a game I loved so much as a player and admired so much as a developer. I couldn't be more proud of my time at 343. pic.twitter.com/2CBD7kOPIj

— Tom French (@pardontomfrench) December 2, 2022

"After over 11 1/2 years on Halo, I step out of my Spartan armor for the last time today to head off to new adventures," French said. "It's been a massive honor to have been part of a game I loved so much as a player and admired so much as a developer. I couldn't be more proud of my time at 343."

French departs 343 Industries following Halo Infinite's big Winter Update that added match and performance-based XP, the Forge Mode beta, the official launch of online campaign co-op and campaign replay, two new maps, a new battle pass, the Covert One Flag game mode, and more.

John Wick creator Derek Kolstad and Story Kitchen are set to adapt the Kung-Fu third-person action game Sifu into a live-action feature film.

As reported by Deadline, Story Kitchen has partnered with Sifu developer Sloclap after a "competitive pursuit" to bring this game to the big screen.

Kolstad will be adapting the script, and he will produce alongside Story Kitchen's Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg, Dan Jevons, Timothy I. Stevenson, and Jeff Ludwig.

For those unfamiliar, Sifu puts you in the shoes of a young Kung-Fu student who is on a brutal journey of revenge. One of the unique parts of Sifu is that players will age every time they die and go from student to master and see their skills improve.

In our Sifu review, we said its "brutal learning curve and unique structure that requires you to beat it in just one lifetime are significant barriers to overcome, but on the other side is truly one of the best modern action games around."

Before Sifu fights its way to theaters, Kolstad will finish his work on John Wick 4, which is set to be released in theaters on March 24, 2023.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

In celebration of Dragon Age Day 2022, BioWare has released an in-game cinematic from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf that sets the stage for the adventures to come.

The cinematic is all about Solas, a playable character in Dragon Age: Inquisition who is clearly one of the main driving forces in the upcoming RPG.

Varric, another playable character who first appeared in Dragon Age 2, narrates the video and tells the story of Solas, who was once known as Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf.

"I knew him as Solas, a thoughtful mage obsessed with dreams, but long ago, he had a different name - Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf," Varric narrates. "Ancient Elven God of Lies or heroic rebel against tyranny, depending on which story you believe. In his final fight with the Elven Gods, Solas imprisoned them and created a veil that split our world from the raw magic of the fade. But now, he wants to tear down that veil and destroy the world, and we're the only ones who can stop him."

While we still have no release date for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, BioWare did confirm the much-anticipated RPG recently completed its Alpha milestone, meaning the game is now playable from start to finish. That being said, there is still a lot of work and polish to go.

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1 has officially arrived and promises to add The Hulk, The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia, Doom's Doom Slayer, and next-gen graphics and features powered by Unreal Engine 5.1.

Fortnite's latest chapter is taking players to a whole new realm and, alongside the previously mentioned additions, will also bring with it dirt bikes, the ability to roll in a snowball, a way to launch yourself into the sky and attack enemies with a Shockwave Hammer, a new hurdle mechanic, Reality Augments, and so much more.

Chapter 4 is here. Drop in now. #FortniteChapter4 pic.twitter.com/Ohdz7pnl3i

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) December 4, 2022

As for the new Outfits that will be available in the Item Shop and Battle Pass, players will have a lot to look forward to. While The Hulk will join the Item Shop at a later date, the other characters will be part of the Battle Pass to unlock as the season progresses.

While Doom Slayer and Geralt of Rivia may be the highlights of the Battle Pass, players will also be able to unlock "Star of the Show" Selene, Massai, Dusty, Nezumi, Helsie, and The Ageless. The launch trailer for Chapter 4 Season 1 also teases that My Hero Academia's Deku will be joining the fight soon as well.

The Callisto Protocol is a game with a myriad of inspirations and references within its design, but on the technical front it is most certainly a leader. Striking Distance is a relatively small, and certainly new studio, filled with a mix of veterans and new members who have collaborated to create one of the most forward-looking games of this generation. But before I get into that, I need to note that while the game is cross-generation, our review code only had access to the new-gen consoles and later the PC version.

Game Modes

The PS5 and Xbox Series X both have two modes: one is the default, which you could call a Quality mode or Ray Tracing mode, which runs at 30fps and has a dynamic scaling resolution with counts ranging from 3456x1944 to 2304x1296, effectively 90% to 60% of 4K. This is then improved, I suspect, by Unreal Engine’s TAAU to up-sample that back to 4K as often as possible. The image treatment here from that lower base is staggering, and I would not be shocked to learn that the team that has built or enhanced this with their own custom resolve and AA pass, as it can easily pass as 4K aside from some high-contrast areas that can be slightly unstable from the jittered rendering resolve it uses to up-sample. The game also supports FSR 2.1, with the caveat that this could be what the consoles are using, and the dynamic scaling could be higher or lower. Due to its dark look, gritty world, gore, and violence, this is a game that benefits greatly both from the Film Grain, which can improve perceived sharpness of the image, and the superb Per Pixel Motion Blur that assists greatly in the fully real-time cinematics, often convincing you they are genuine offline renders from only last generation.

The man whose loot was so good it crashed Destiny's servers this morning, 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 can be found at Winding Cove in the EDZ on December 2 through December 6. To reach him, travel to the landing point at Winding Cove. When you arrive, make for the rock cliffs at the far end of the cove and look for a cave winding up to a platform next to some Fallen. There you'll find the freakish salesman we all adore.

Four years after Mortal Kombat 11's surprise reveal during 2018's Game Awards, some fans have speculated that this year's Game Awards show might include an announcement of a new Mortal Kombat title. Unfortunately for fans of the series, however, Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios isn't quite ready to reveal a new game.

Today, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon said in a Tweet that the next installation in the Mortal Kombat series won't be revealed during this year's Game Awards.

4 years ago at the Game Awards we managed to pull off a surprise announcement of MK11, which turned out great.

Perhaps too great, as many assumed we'd repeat that trick for our next game.

Thank you for the anticipation, but we're not ready to announce the next NRS game yet.🙏 pic.twitter.com/QMXsuEPchR

— Ed Boon (@noobde) December 2, 2022

"4 years ago at the Game Awards we managed to pull off a surprise announcement of MK11, which turned out great," Boon wrote. "Perhaps too great, as many assumed we'd repeat that trick for our next game. Thank you for the anticipation, but we're not ready to announce the next NRS game yet."

For Cyber Week, Amazon is offering the best prices we've seen on every Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Hardcover book, thanks to a combination of instant discounts and a clippable $5 coupon right on the product page. This includes the newest Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix that was released last month. You can get all 5 books for under $100! This deal wasn't around on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It's definitely going to be a popular seller for Christmas gift shoppers, so jump on thesnow before they sell out.

The Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Hardcover books are the nicest and most coveted physical Harry Potter books you can get your hands on. These aren't just "regular' hardcovers with only a few sparing pages of art; instead, each book is replete with numerous full-color illustrations. Currently only five of the books have illustrated editions: Book 1 (Sorceror of Stone), Book 2 (Chamber of Secrets), Book 3 (Prisoner of Azkaban), and Book 4 (The Goblet of Fire), and very recently, Book 5 (Order of the Pheonix).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Illustrated Edition

Order of the Phoenix is the latest illustrated edition, and it's also the longest. This massive tome is 576 pages long. That shouldn't be a surprise, as the books grew in length as the series went on. It's illustrated with full-color images throughout by Jim Kay and Neil Packer. Some of the illustrations are full pages--or double-page spreads--while others are smaller images set among the text itself. It's makes for a gorgeous book and an immersive read.

Just hours after Striking Distance Studios launched The Callisto Protocol, players who purchased the game on PC have already noted that the game performs poorly, with many users experiencing stuttering. Now, the team behind the game is working to fix these issues with a day-one patch.

Today, The Callisto Protocol's Twitter account announced that a day-one patch for the game's PC version will be out in a few hours. The team also revealed it has a few additional updates on the way, but did not specify what these updates might include.

We’re aware that some users are experiencing stuttering issues on the PC. We’ve got a patch that will be available in a few hours to improve performance, with a number of additional updates on the way.

— The Callisto Protocol (@CallistoTheGame) December 2, 2022

After the game's release, fans left negative reviews on Steam regarding these technical issues, with just 34% of the game's 5,288 reviews currently being positive. Issues include choppy performance, stuttering, and poor optimization.

My PC Specs:

Intel i9-12900K (12th Gen)
64GB Ram
RTX 4090

Callisto Protocol: pic.twitter.com/TAoPndbrcm

Harmonix is shutting down live services for Fuser, its two-year-old DJ simulator, on December 19.

On that day, Fuser and its DLC will no longer be available to purchase, according to Harmonix, and those who already own it will be restricted to two game modes: Campaign and Quick Play. The developer stopped releasing new paid DLC for Fuser earlier in 2022.

Fuser is Harmonix's most recent music game. Players take on the role of a festival DJ trying to conquer the music world.

Using a mixing table, players can mix and match different tracks from popular songs to create original remixes. The game features a full story mode as well as an online competitive mode, but the latter will seemingly be shut down following the sunset.

Harmonix was acquired by Epic Games in November 2021. At the time, the developer said it would "create musical journeys and gameplay for Fortnite," while continuing to release new DLC for Rock Band 4, which it's done as recently as December 1.

In the same blog post, Harmonix stated it wasn't "planning to change the way we support any of our older games," including Fuser, though plans and priorities, of course, are subject to change.

Dysterra is a brand-new, sci-fi survival game with futuristic FPS gameplay that challenges players to either compete or cooperate on a dying Earth as they strive to secure a one-way ticket to the stars — and survival.

Dysterra is now in Early Access on PC via Steam, and we’re going to break down the five biggest reasons why this is one battle you won’t want to miss!

Survive an Imminent Extinction by Building a Base Worthy of Legend

Earth is on the brink of being destroyed by Terrafire explosions, and your only hope of avoiding extinction is to board escape rockets. So, what’s the problem? Well, there’s only a limited amount of space and time is tick, tick, ticking away. To retain any hope of making it off Earth before it's too late, you’ll need to adapt quickly and take down any challenge that gets in your way.

While you prepare for your journey, it’s essential to build a base of operations that will protect you from attacks on a harsh near-future Earth that you once called home. You can fortify your base with impenetrable defenses; made up of turrets, electric fences, and even powerful A.I. mechs that will crush anyone who tries to enter.

Your base can become a safe haven for you and your team and can literally make the difference between life and death in Dysterra. Raiding an enemy base can be a surefire way of securing resources and weapons galore that can give you the edge you need to win.

FromSoftware's Elden Ring won the Grand Award at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2022 Japan Asia held earlier today in Tokyo. The Grand Award was given to the two games developed in the Asia region with the highest worldwide sales, and Elden Ring took home the honor along with Genshin Impact. As of the end of June, Elden Ring had sold over 16 million copies worldwide.

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki participated in a Q&A session with media during the PlayStation Partner Awards, where he was asked what he thinks is the reason for the game’s runaway success.

After a month of Atomic Heart coverage as part of IGN First, we still had plenty of things we wanted to know about the upcoming shooter. So, we asked game director Robert Bagratuni just a few of the many questions we still have and learned plenty of interesting new details.

There’s lots of melee combat. Is this by design or are resources such as ammo limited?

Mundfish says that “every game needs balance, and Atomic Heart is no exception. We meticulously crafted each weapon so that it behaves uniquely in combat and is necessary for its way. Yes, melee helps to save ammo, because there are a lot of enemies, and it's unlikely you'll always have enough ammo to take them all out. That is why we have a special mechanic that allows us to accumulate energy in close combat, and later it can be used for shooting with special energy weapons.”

Many upgraded melee weapons also have special attacks that give you advantages range weapons could never do. The key is to combine weapon types and tactics because in some fights you have to deal with many types of enemies at once.

What difficulty options are there and what do you recommend?

Atomic Heart has three difficulty options as Bagratuni details: “Like most games, Atomic Heart has a story, medium, and hard difficulty levels. For those who want to focus on the story, for those who want to get through the game the way it was intended, and for those who are not afraid of anything in that world and have strong nerves. The difficulty level won't affect the story, so it's up to the player to relax in battles or work up a sweat.”

Marvel Snap players have found a legitimate way to raise Black Panther's power level to over 600,000, practically breaking the game in the process.

As reported by Polygon, who encountered the combo first hand, combining Black Panther with Wong, Ironheart, Odin, and the Onslaught's Citadel location brings its power level to 689,730.

That's at least the number Marvel Snap landed on after it freaked out a little, and even then its numbers showed up completely stretched out and outside the allocated space. For those unfamiliar, Marvel Snap power levels usually range from single digit totals to potentially 20 or 30 if a card is very good, making the 600,000 number an eye-watering amount.

The combo isn't even particularly hard to pull off, you just need the right cards and location. Black Panther's ability doubles his current power when he's revealed; Ironheart adds two power to three random teammates; and Wong triggers reveal abilities twice.

The Onslaught's Citadel location doubles ongoing abilities, meaning Wong's, so each on reveal essentially happens four times. The combo is then completed when Odin is played, who on reveal triggers all allies' reveal abilities again.

Basically, Black Panther's power level gets doubled again and again and again, plus a few more times, eventually resulting in the ridiculously high number.

Developer Games Box S.A. has announced Primitive, a new Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person survival game set in a hostile open-world Stone Age. It's in development for PC, though no release date has been set.

"The project is still at its early development stage. Thinking of similar games, Primitive is close to such titles as Far Cry Primal, yet our concept focuses more strongly on showing the primal character of a real world from many thousands of years ago, where it all boiled down to raw power, as well as a fight for dominance and survival," says Tomasz Supeł, CEO of Games Box S.A.

A third-person view will be available in addition to first-person, while you'll face off against not just the elements, but also rival Neanderthal tribes, Sabretooth Tigers, and Wooly Mammoths. You'll also need to build your shelter, while dynamically changing weather will also throw a wrench into your best-laid plans for survival.

If you're interested, you can wishlist Primitive on Steam.

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.

The Callisto Protocol's Steam reviews are suffering as several users are reporting a stuttering frame rate on PC.

As reported by PC Gamer, the game's Steam page currently has a mostly negative rating with just 29% of the 2,840 reviews being positive.

The Callisto Protocol is described as a "stuttering mess" by one user while another commented: "It's pretty hard to get immersed when the game drops frames every time you go around a corner."

Several of these users also claimed to be running The Callisto Protocol on high-end graphics cards including the RTX 3080, but even then the frame rate regularly drops significantly.

"Currently I can't even walk through the opening area and turn a corner without stuttering on a 3080 with ray tracing off," said another user. "Performance is not good at all right now."

The Callisto Protocol was released on December 2 also on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and Xbox One. Only the PC version appears to have frame rate issues so far, however, and even then it doesn't appear to be affecting every user.

EA has teased what's coming in Season 4 of Battlefield 2042 and confirmed that a Season 5 is also on the way, though the latter won't feature a specialist.

Season 4 is set to launch in early 2023, according to a new blog posted on EA’s website. The season will bring with it a new recon Specialist and Battle Pass, fresh hardware, re-worked environments, and new maps, one of which will heavily reference Battlefield 4.

Developer DICE has promised the Season 4 map will be a “smaller, shorter, and linear” close-quarters affair, which sounds like a change of pace from the sprawling environments on offer at the moment.

Season 5 will offer a similar amount of content to previous seasons - with the introduction of another map, new hardware, and a new Battle Pass - but no new Specialists.

Previous games will also be an inspiration, as Season 5 will “lean into previous games and how they can show up in the world of 2042”. The map will be a “forgotten battleground” from the Battlefield 4 era, albeit altered by the narrative events that led up to the 2042 setting. This map will apparently be overgrown with vegetation and “encourage a combination of vehicular and infantry combat”.

Days after news that Smash World Tour [SWT] would be canceling its final 2022 championship and 2023 tour, Nintendo has offered a lengthy statement over the decision to not offer SWT a license to host Smash Bros. events.

In a statement to IGN, Nintendo said that its "decision was solely based on our assessment of the proposals submitted by the SWT and our evaluation of their unlicensed activities.” Nintendo added that “Any partner that we grant a license to has to meet the high standards we require when it comes to the health and safety of our fans.”

“It’s also important that a partner adheres to brand and IP guidelines and conducts itself according to professional and organizational best practices,” Nintendo writes. “We use this same approach to independently assess all partners. If we discover that a partner is doing something inappropriate, we will work to correct it.”

The upcoming Smash World Tour Championships and the entirety of the 2023 Smash World Tour must be cancelled.

Full Story: https://t.co/3ro3q7rr4h pic.twitter.com/Gcgcgakdvp

A proper remake might be rising from the grave next year, but the festering corpse of Dead Space has come lurching back to life early in the form of The Callisto Protocol. This spiritual successor to the sci-fi survival horror series recreates the haunting blood-streaked hallways and space zombie-slaying hallmarks first established on the USG Ishimura back in 2008, and injects the gore with more awe than ever before thanks to some strikingly detailed splashes of blood and guts. Unfortunately, while the mutant dismemberment has never been more vivid, The Callisto Protocol’s shortcomings appear just as clearly. Occasional control annoyances, imbalanced combat, and a general absence of innovation result in a roughly eight-hour massacre that’s gratifyingly gruesome, but never quite as great as the series that inspired it.

Monster Hunter Rise is making the move to all consoles, as the previously Switch-exclusive game will soon be available on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows. Plus, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can look forward to Rise joining the service for consoles, PC, and cloud at launch.

Capcom announced the game's multiplatform release is set for January 20, 2023. Monster Hunter Rise originally launched exclusively on Nintendo Switch in March 2021, before it came to Steam earlier this year. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak — the major expansion already available on Switch and Steam — is coming to all platforms sometime next Spring.

Unfortunately for hunters who have already poured hundreds of hours into Rise on Switch or Steam, cross-save and cross-play is not planned for the Xbox or PlayStation releases. This means if you want to play on these platforms, you'll have to start from scratch. Fans requested cross-save and cross-play leading up to Monster Hunter Rise's Steam release as well, but Capcom said they were unable to implement the features at the time.

The new versions of Monster Hunter Rise boast improved performance over the Switch release. 4K resolution and 60 FPS are supported on PS5 and Series X, along with 3D audio. Ranged and shielded weapons will also make use of the DualSense's adaptive triggers on PlayStation 5.

Dell's Cyber Monday sale continues for Cyber Week, which starts now and continues through this weekend. There are still some great deals on Alienware and Dell XPS gaming PCs, Alienware and Dell G-series gaming laptops, gaming consoles, monitors, and electronics. Of particular note, for the first time ever the 2022-2023 Alienware Aurora R15 PC with the new 13th gen Intel Raptor Lake CPU and GeForce RTX 4090 CPU is on sale with a 10% off coupon code. That brings the price down to under $4K, still out of reach for most people, but a hefty $450 discount nonetheless. Check out the deals below.

New Release: Alienware Aurora R15 Intel Core i9 Raptor Lake GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming PC

with 240mm AIO Watercooling and 1350W Power Supply

New for the 2022-2023 season, the Alienware Aurora R15 is the first ever Dell PC equipped with both the 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake processor and the RTX 40 series GPU. The Intel Core i9-13900KF boasts a turbo-boosted clock speed of 5.8GHz and a whopping 24 cores and 32 threads. It's definitely more powerful than the i9 Alder Lake, and it gives AMD's flagship AMD Ryzen 9 7950X a run for its money.

The RTX 4090 is far and away the most powerful video card you can get right now. No other GPU, either from NVIDIA or from AMD, comes close. As a reference, the RTX 4090 is about 110% faster at 4K gaming than the already impressive RTX 3080. It's about 60% faster than the previous king, the RTX 3090 Ti. That could very well be the single biggest performance upgrade within a single generational gap for the GeForce line of cards.

Angel Matrix announced that its first-person platformer game will be hitting PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on December 13.

The PlayStation 5 version will run at 120hz. “When precision matters, the high framerate makes a difference. We’ve also made the most of the system SSD to reduce load times significantly,” says game director Ben Esposito.

“It’s important that restarting levels is as quick and painless as possible. If you want to beat your friends’ leaderboard times, you’ll be restarting levels over and over again.”

The game will also take advantage of the PS5 DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers when players utilize each of their Soul Cards to traverse through the many levels and puzzles it has to offer.

“You’ll feel it when you’re moving faster on water and you’ll get a subtle confirmation when you successfully snipe a distant demon,” Esposito says. The DualSense controller will support gyroscope aiming too.

Neon White was first released on Nintendo Switch and PC on June 16. Be sure to check out some tips to get started on the game ahead of its PlayStation launch.

In IGN’s Neon White review, we said, “Neon White is a quick and compulsive first-person platformer that’s surprisingly simple to understand and play, but packs a very stern speedrunning challenge at its core.”

Frictional Games has announced the next game in the horrifying Amnesia series, Amnesia: The Bunker, and it’s potentially the biggest departure from the series yet.

The studio announced that their next Amnesia game will be coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in 2023. The developers are calling Amnesia: The Bunker their most open game yet with players able to explore a semi-open world with hardly any scripted events.

This means players can explore different paths and areas without being constrained, but the terror will come from an “ever-present threat” so be warned.

Furthermore, players will be able to choose their gameplay style as they will be equipped with both a revolver and noisy dynamo flashlight. While players can defend themselves, they’ll also be able to survive through stealth.

Amnesia: The Bunker will play as a French soldier haunted by his amnesia. The game is set in a dark, World War 1 bunker.

Frictional is promising multiple solutions for each task, puzzle, and other obstacles, all contributing to the new sense of freedom and openness in the new Amnesia game. The semi-open world actively encourages exploration and experimentation according to the developers, but each decision can change the outcome of how the game responds.

Given that the game is unscripted, objects, threats, and resources will also change in every playthrough.

December is another busy month for Xbox Game Pass with a ton of new titles arriving on console and PC. Xbox confirmed its final line-up of 2022 in a blog post, and headlining the new additions is High On Life, the ridiculously wacky shooter from Rick and Morty's Justin Roiland that arrives on December 13.

Also coming this month is a range of modern classics, however, including LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on December 6, The Walking Dead: The Final Season today, December 1, and the hardcore rhythm action game set in hell, Metal: Hellsinger on December 8. Other games confirmed for December include Hot Wheels Unleashed, Eastward, Chained Echoes, and more.

High on Life Is Available on Xbox Game Pass From December 13

The wild and wonderful new shooter from Squanch Games finally launches this month, and arrives day one on Xbox Game Pass. For those unfamiliar, the basic premise of this colourful new action game is that your guns are not only alive but incredibly foul mouthed, leaving your opponents both physically and emotionally distraught.

Having been there since the public announcement, I've had lots of chances to put Company of Heroes 3 through its paces. We even did a whole month of exclusive IGN First coverage on it. And chances are, with how open the development has been, you've played a slice or two yourself already. But all of that felt like running my fingers along various gears and armor plates that hadn't been assembled into a full tank yet. And now that I've gotten to see both the Italian and North African campaigns in something closer to a finished state, the bigger picture is starting to come together.

What was missing from all the earlier builds, more than anything, was a sense of cohesion and storytelling. Both campaigns are now introduced with the sort of personal narrative framing this series is known for. You're thrust into a moment in time, and get a sense of the various characters – from individual grunts all the way up to the top brass – as more than just a face on a menu. I feel like I understand what kind of people the allied commanders, the hot-headed American Buckram and his rival, the stoic Brit, Norton, are meant to be and how they play off each other. All of this framing puts me in the mindset of the time period, adding much-needed context to the trials ahead.

My Time at Portia developer Pathea Games has announced Let's School, a school management sim that tasks you with becoming the best headmaster you can possibly be. It is due out for PC in early 2023.

Incredibly, this project started as a prototype by one person, and then the rest of the studio loved it so much they enthusiastically got on board. “Let’s School is a bit of a departure from what the world knows us for, but after being prototyped by our producer Lanka for 18 months everyone at the studio just fell in love with the project,” brand manager Alice Zhou said. “Since then the team has grown substantially to a handful of developers and we’re been blown away by what they’ve been able to achieve. Any fans of management sims are going to get a big kick out of this one.” Check out the first trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

In Let's School, you'll both build your house of learning and manage it. The goal is to get every student's grades up to their fullest potential so that you can earn more funding for the next school year and keep your momentum going. Pathea also says you can "choose what associations, sports meetings, morning exercises and other activities are available in-school to enrich or enrage students - all of whom have their own individual preferences and talents."

And like in any sim worth its salt, there will be random catastrophes to deal with in its story-driven campaign. Wishlist it on Steam if you're interested.

Former The Legend of Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga is working an open world dress up RPG called Infinity Nikki.

As reported by Kotaku, Tominaga is leading the game at developer PaperGames after working as a designer on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and as director of its Expansion Pass.

Infinity Nikki has an almost Disney mixed with anime aesthetic and a core gameplay loop of exploring a colourful open world full of puzzles and platforming.

Protagonist Nikki can change outfits to perform different abilities and tasks, and as a reveal trailer (above) shows, this will include the likes of fishing, cooking, and catching bugs.

"Join Momo and Nikki as they embark on a new adventure collecting various pieces of clothing, solving puzzles, and uncovering secret areas in the world," the announcement post reads. "Dress for the occasion and equip different outfits to gain access to abilities such as fishing, insect-catching, and floating."

The Nikki franchise began on mobile with Nikki UP2U: A Dressing Story as a much simpler 2D dress up game, and has since gone on to span three further titles all on mobile. This will change with Infinity Nikki, however, which is confirmed for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC alongside Android and iOS devices. No release date or window has been shared so far.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Join Cardy, Matt, and Dale for a spoiler-filled chat about God of War Ragnarok as they go through each of the game's key plot points, pick out their favourite characters, moments, and more.

Got a game for us to play or some feedback you'd like read out on the show? Why not email us: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast: God of War Ragnarok Special

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Capcom has announced that Street Fighter 6's Closed Beta Test 2 will take place from December 16 to 19.

Announced in a blog post, applications for entry into the second testing period are now open, though Capcom is being a lot more strict as a result of people selling their codes for Beta Test 1 online.

Players must now have their Capcom ID and platform account linked before applying for entry, and once submitted, will have a chance to be selected via a random lottery. Those who participated in the first test will gain automatic entry into the second.

A total of eight characters will be playable - Luke, Jamie, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, and Ken - though character creation will also be available alongside other Battle Hub features. Six stages including Metro City Downtown, Genbu Temple, Carrier Byron Taylor, Tian Hong Yuan, The Macho Ring, and Training Room are also available.

The modes included are Ranked Match, Casual Match, Battle Hub Match, Open Tournament, Extreme Battle, Game Centre, and Training Mode.