Baldur’s Gate 3 has been on Xbox Series X/S for just under a month, and while there have been a few technical issues with the RPG since arriving on the platform, none has been more far-reaching than one that sprouted up over the weekend banning Xbox accounts that record and upload clips of sex scenes or any moments…
It's a new year, and there is a new Humble Choice bundle to ring in 2024.
Every month, the team at Humble selects a collection of PC games for its members to keep forever. In addition, members get 20 percent off the vast collection of games in the Humble Store, plus there's a charity donation. It's a nice little deal all round, really.
This month, the bundle building team has grouped together another eight games for its subscribers to enjoy. These are: Marvel's Midnight Suns, Two Point Campus, Aragami 2, OTXO, The Red Lantern, Roguebook, Hell Pie and Twin Mirror.
It's a new year, and there is a new Humble Choice bundle to ring in 2024.
Every month, the team at Humble selects a collection of PC games for its members to keep forever. In addition, members get 20 percent off the vast collection of games in the Humble Store, plus there's a charity donation. It's a nice little deal all round, really.
This month, the bundle building team has grouped together another eight games for its subscribers to enjoy. These are: Marvel's Midnight Suns, Two Point Campus, Aragami 2, OTXO, The Red Lantern, Roguebook, Hell Pie and Twin Mirror.
As part of the Famitsu 2024 New Year Greetings column sharing messages from major members of the video game industry, Sony Head of PlayStation Indies Shuhei Yoshida cited five indie games people should pay attention to. He pointed to Baby Steps, Pacific Drive, The Plucky Squire, SCHiM, and Ultros. [Thanks, Famitsu!]
All five of the titles will appear on PlayStation platforms, with SCHiM being the only one not coming to the PlayStation 5. Also, both Baby Steps and The Plucky Squire are Devolver Digital games. Baby Stepsis a walking simulator with Bennett Foddy as one of its developers, in which someone must control both of a character’s legs to move. It is heading to the PS5 and PC. It has a 2024 release window.
The Plucky Squireinvolves traveling from 2D to 3D across different objects to go through an adventure as a squire. Former Pokemon art director James Turner is working on that. That will be on the PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2024.
Larian Studios is looking into reports that Baldur's Gate 3 players on Xbox have had their accounts banned for uploading nude and explicit media of the game onto Xbox Live, namely the intimate scenes with party members that you've built up romantic relationships with.
"We've seen the reports that some players got banned or otherwise faced issues on Xbox having uploaded screenshots/videos of their 'gameplay content'," said Larian director of publishing Michael Douse on Twitter. "We're in discussion with Microsoft, and we’re looking into it. Annoying and uncool."
While simply recording scenes doesn't get players banned, many Xbox players may have automatic uploads enabled on their consoles, so recording those scenes may accidentally upload them to Xbox Live. Some other players may record and upload these scenes intentionally for the sake of their own gameplay.
It's unclear if and when those banned will be able to play their games online again. However, it looks like Larian is taking action now.
Baldur's Gate 3 is out now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. In GameSpot's Baldur's Gate 3 review, we said, "Baldur's Gate 3 is a sprawling, dense RPG backed by fantastic characters, an excellent combat system, and an impressive co-op mode." Baldur's Gate 3 is also GameSpot's 2023 Game of the Year.
For the first time since 2015, Disney wasn’t at the top of 2023’s global box office. And while there are a few different factors and reasons for the Mickey Mouse empire slipping from first to second, a significant reason for the shift is because of the super-successful Super Mario animated film.
Glu's mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is shutting down on April 8, 2024.
The title has since been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Those who installed it before it was taken down will see a notice in-game referring to the shutdown date.
In-app purchases within Kim Kardashian: Hollywood have been disabled, but players can use in-game currency up until the closing date.
Following the Xbox mini-fridge comes yet another official Xbox appliance: the Xbox Series S Toaster. This very real product aims to offer its user the "Optimal Carb Experience" with a number of nice-sounding features.
The two-slice toaster is designed to look like an Xbox Series S, and as a neat touch, it also imprints the Xbox sphere logo on your bread product. "It's the next generation toasting console," Microsoft said.
The toaster also has a "shade selector dial" that allows users to toast their goodies to their liking. What's more, the toaster has multiple profiles, so family members or roommates can quickly toast their bread to whatever level of toastiness they want each time without dialing in the settings again. It also has a "countdown timer" so you know when your bread product is done and ready.
"No more breakfast-induced jump scares or trying to spread butter on bread that's already gone cold because you were trying to find a good save point," Microsoft said.
They said it couldn't be done, but to the nay-sayers let me tell you this - Tetris has finally been "beaten".
In a world first, 13-year-old Willis "Blue Scuti" Gibson - who is a competitive Tetris player - has managed to get the decades old falling block game to reveal its "kill screen". While not your traditional end of game, with credits or even game over message, this screen essentially sees Tetris crash. This is beating Tetris, a once thought impossible feat.
The delight shown by the young player, who was born over two decades after the game actually released, as the screen freezes is palpable. "Oh my god," Gibson repeats. "I'm going to pass out, I can't feel my fingers."
They said it couldn't be done, but to the nay-sayers let me tell you this - Tetris has finally been "beaten".
In a world first, 13-year-old Willis "Blue Scuti" Gibson - who is a competitive Tetris player - has managed to get the decades old falling block game to reveal its "kill screen". While not your traditional end of game, with credits or even game over message, this screen essentially sees Tetris crash. This is beating Tetris, a once thought impossible feat.
The delight shown by the young player, who was born over two decades after the game actually released, as the screen freezes is palpable. "Oh my god," Gibson repeats. "I'm going to pass out, I can't feel my fingers."
When I was 13 years old, I struggled to beat Cynthia, the Pokémon League champion in Pokémon Platinum. U.S.-based 13-year-old Willis Gibson just beat an unbeatable Tetris game that players have been attempting to complete since its release on the NES in 1989.
On January 1, Gibson reached level 157 of Tetris, a feat previously thought impossible. New techniques, like the "hypertapping" one discovered in 2010 by Thor Aackerlund (thanks, BBC), and "rolling," discovered in 2021 according to IGN, allowed players to reach never before seen levels. Before that, getting past the thirties was all but impossible and now, Gibson has made it to level 157. As you can see in the video below, upon reaching that level, Tetris serves Gibson a kill screen – meaning it has crashed – ending his impossible run.
It took Gibson, who goes by Blue Scuti on YouTube, 38 minutes to reach this new kill screen. BBC reports that Gibson has been playing Tetris for about two years, or since he was 11. Alongside his achievement of reaching level 157, Gibson also obtained the new highest score for Tetris.
Hello! A new year, a new slate of games to look forward to. Shall we do this all over again? Why not!
In amongst the remakes and sequels, there's plenty of genuinely new stuff to look forward to in 2024. Naiad promises to take us all wild swimming, for starters, and then Animal Well promises to... actually, we're not entirely sure, but we're up for it anyway.
There's range, oddness, and some pleasant returning faces, then. And the best thing, as ever, is all the games we don't even know about yet. We hope you have a wonderful 2024, whatever you play, and whatever you get up to.
Hello! A new year, a new slate of games to look forward to. Shall we do this all over again? Why not!
In amongst the remakes and sequels, there's plenty of genuinely new stuff to look forward to in 2024. Naiad promises to take us all wild swimming, for starters, and then Animal Well promises to... actually, we're not entirely sure, but we're up for it anyway.
There's range, oddness, and some pleasant returning faces, then. And the best thing, as ever, is all the games we don't even know about yet. We hope you have a wonderful 2024, whatever you play, and whatever you get up to.
Well, well, well. Of all the detectives in all the world, she came to me. She was a dame with hair red as communion wine spilled by a bishop looking at a nun's cleava- oh what, wait, she's how old? Christ, Philip, get your head out of the gutter for once, this is a family website. I was previously a snob about the Nancy Drew point and click puzzle games, and then came to regret it when a fan of them (very nicely) emailed me explaining they're actually really good. We're going to find out for ourselves by playing them. There are north of 30 in total, and I will update the rankings at the end of each article.
The first is 1998's Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, in which Nancy solves the murder of a Floridian highschooler named Jake Roberts, and there's a lot to love about it right away. There's a restrained cast, three locations in total, and the school sports team is called the Fighting Manatees. Thus the icon for the game is a lil' cartoon manatee - and to be absolutely accurate, this is the remastered version of the game from 2010, not the original 90s version. I'm as disappointed as you.
Well, well, well. Of all the detectives in all the world, she came to me. She was a dame with hair red as communion wine spilled by a bishop looking at a nun's cleava- oh what, wait, she's how old? Christ, Philip, get your head out of the gutter for once, this is a family website. I was previously a snob about the Nancy Drew point and click puzzle games, and then came to regret it when a fan of them (very nicely) emailed me explaining they're actually really good. We're going to find out for ourselves by playing them. There are north of 30 in total, and I will update the rankings at the end of each article.
The first is 1998's Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, in which Nancy solves the murder of a Floridian highschooler named Jake Roberts, and there's a lot to love about it right away. There's a restrained cast, three locations in total, and the school sports team is called the Fighting Manatees. Thus the icon for the game is a lil' cartoon manatee - and to be absolutely accurate, this is the remastered version of the game from 2010, not the original 90s version. I'm as disappointed as you.
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is shutting down in April, after nearly 10 years of A-list fabulousness.
The mobile sensation, which was released back in June 2014 by Kardashian and Glu Mobile, will no longer offer users any in-app purchases. It will be removed from the various app stores as well.
Those who already have Kim Kardashian: Hollywood installed can continue to play the game and use up their K-Stars (its in-game virtual currency) up until 8th April. After then, the "game will become inaccessible for all players".
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is shutting down in April, after nearly 10 years of A-list fabulousness.
The mobile sensation, which was released back in June 2014 by Kardashian and Glu Mobile, will no longer offer users any in-app purchases. It will be removed from the various app stores as well.
Those who already have Kim Kardashian: Hollywood installed can continue to play the game and use up their K-Stars (its in-game virtual currency) up until 8th April. After then, the "game will become inaccessible for all players".
CD Projekt Red, the developer behind the prolific Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher video games, is not interested in being acquired.
Speaking with Polish outlet Parkiet (and shared by IGN), chief strategy officer of parent company CD Projekt S.A. Adam Kiciński said the company is fine as it is, and hopes it will continue to grow independently.
"We are not interested in integrating ourselves into any larger entity," Kiciński told the publication. "Throughout our entire lives we have worked towards the position we currently hold. We believe that in a few years, we will be even bigger and stronger." The exec said the company has "ambitious plans" for the future, but it values its independence. "Independence is really appealing, it's a kind of freedom," he said.
CD Projekt Red, the developer behind the prolific Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher video games, is not interested in being acquired.
Speaking with Polish outlet Parkiet (and shared by IGN), chief strategy officer of parent company CD Projekt S.A. Adam Kiciński said the company is fine as it is, and hopes it will continue to grow independently.
"We are not interested in integrating ourselves into any larger entity," Kiciński told the publication. "Throughout our entire lives we have worked towards the position we currently hold. We believe that in a few years, we will be even bigger and stronger." The exec said the company has "ambitious plans" for the future, but it values its independence. "Independence is really appealing, it's a kind of freedom," he said.
I realise we're all struggling through the dank depths of January but it's never too early in the year to talk about sex, baby. Twitch have updated their attire policies to stop an outbreak of "implied nudity" among thirstier streamers, who have taken to filming themselves nude with black censor bars, or positioning the camera to suggest that they're fully or partially naked outside the frame.
I realise we're all struggling through the dank depths of January but it's never too early in the year to talk about sex, baby. Twitch have updated their attire policies to stop an outbreak of "implied nudity" among thirstier streamers, who have taken to filming themselves nude with black censor bars, or positioning the camera to suggest that they're fully or partially naked outside the frame.
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A Little To The Left did have a small following before its appearance during a Wholesome Direct.
The cozy puzzle game about organising household items was created by Max Inferno, a development team consisting of Anne Macmillan (art and animation) and Lukas Steinman (design and programming). It started as a game jam concept that was expanded upon and added to Itch.io, where it frequently found itself at the top of the charts. Back then it was more a vertical slice, with ten puzzles that were playable in the browser. You can read more about the vision for the game in our interview last year.
First, we had the Xbox Series X Mini Fridge, and now we're veering into other kitchen appliances. The Xbox Series S toaster is real, it costs $39.99, and is currently available to buy directly from Walmart. Now we've seen everything.
The new two-slice toaster also features a bagel function, digital countdown timer, and six different shade settings. Moreover, it will also expertly toast the Xbox logo onto your toast -- what a marvel of engineering.
We have also left a handy link just below if you're interested in checking out the live Xbox Series S Toaster listing at Walmart (or even want to consider buying it).
Due to some unconventional design choices, both the Xbox Series X and Series S have already been the subject of various memes since launch.
As mentioned, the Xbox has already leaned into this discussion with the release of the Xbox Series X Mini Fridge and now seems to be testing the waters with more Xbox-themed applicances.
The Xbox Series S Toaster was first speculated about back in March 2023 when France-based outlet Xbox Squad first tweeted about their discovery.
Xbox Squad's source has also claimed that even more products like the Series S toaster could be on the way, including dinner sets, pens, and more.
Nexon has been fined ₩11.6 million ($8.9 million) by the Korea Fair Trade Commission for allegedly neglecting to inform customers about probability changes to in-game items in MapleStory.
As The Korea Economic Daily reported, this is the highest amount imposed for a company violating the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce in South Korea.
The South Korean antitrust body alleged Nexon lowered the probability of drawing in-game items known as Cubes, which players pay an estimated ₩2,000 ($1.50) to draw, without informing players of the change.
Crunchyroll will start airing episodes of Chibi Maruko-chan from January 14, 2024. It’ll be available in the original Japanese dub with English subtitles. [Thanks, Manga Mogura RE!]
You can check out Crunchyroll’s trailer for Chibi Maruko-chan here:
Chibi Maruko-chan started serialization in 1986, with the manga ending in 2022. A show based on the premise originally ran between 1990 and 1992. The current one started in 1995. It, like Sazae-san and Doraemon, is a widely popular and cultural show in Japan, as well as some countries of East Asia.
Perfect World announced the dates for the third closed beta of Persona 5: The Phantom X. Applications are open from January 3 to 12, 2024, and then the test will start on January 16, 2024.
The closed beta test will run from January 16-31, 2024. Players who get in will be able to download the client on January 15, 2024. As for the platforms, the game will be available on Android and iOS devices, as well as on Windows PC. Some differences between this test and the previous ones include a playable Morgana. He wasn’t available in the original test, which was in August 2023.
Here is a new trailer for the Heart Stealing Test, which is the name of the third closed Persona 5: The Phantom X beta:
The fated day has come: If you are still using Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 you might need to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 soon, as Valve’s massively popular digital storefront, Steam, no longer officially supports those older operating systems.
Square Enix announced that the Final Fantasy XIV complete edition and Endwalker expansion are both on sale for 50% off in the Square Enix and Playstation stores. The sale also extends to the collector's editions of both items.
With the sale applied, the FFXIV complete edition base version is available for $29.99. It is $69.99 for the collector's complete edition. This includes the base game, as well as the Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker expansions and 30 days of game time. The collector's edition includes all of that, as well as the various bonus items from each edition. The Endwalker expansion, meanwhile, is on sale for $19.99 for the base version. It costs $29.99 for the collector's edition, which includes bonus items like the Arion mount and Porum minion.
You can find the official announcement tweet below:
Bryan Ansell, one of the chief architects of the Warhammer franchise alongside Richard Halliwell and Rick Priestley, has died. He was 68.
Ansell's death was announced on Instagram on December 30 with the message, "With great sadness, we announce that Bryan passed away peacefully at home this morning surrounded by his family, 30th December 2023."
It included a classic photo of Ansell sitting in front of a Warhammer army with the description, "Mighty, Dark-Winged, Avenging Lord of Chaos, Bryan Ansell, and his Mighty Avenging Chaos Army."
Warhammer founded Cidatel Miniatures in partnership with Steven Jackson's Games Workshop in 1978. His initially sold 25mm historical and fantasy miniatures and games, but it was 1983's Warhammer Fantasy Battle that would become the company's breakout hit. Ansell bought out Games Workshop alongside Tom Kirby, and the company was eventually refocused around Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. Ansell ultimately left Games Workshop to focus on Wargames Foundry.
Warhammer, of course, remains immensely popular to this day, as evidenced by the huge range of licensed video games and other media that have come out of the property. The tabletop game likewise remains very popular, fostering a passionate community dedicated to painting miniatures among other activities.
CD Projekt Red is one of the biggest developers in Europe, but the studio behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 has no interest in being acquired. That comes from a new interview with the studio’s CEO, Adam Kiciński, who discusses acquisition possibilities while providing small updates on the studio’s litany of upcoming projects.
Speaking to the Polish outlet Parkiet, Kiciński was asked about rumors regarding the studio being a target of a takeover. He states via translation, “We are not interested in being included in any larger entity. We have worked our whole lives to get to the position we have now. And we believe that in a few years we will be even bigger and stronger. We have ambitious plans and we are passionate about what we do. We value independence.”
In turn, Kiciński also states CD Projekt Red is currently uninterested in buying another studio purely for the sake of having it to, in his words, “consolidate their financial results.” In October 2021, the studio acquired Molasses Flood, the developer of The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. That studio is currently working on a game set in the Witcher universe codenamed “Sirius.”
Sega will re-release two Asuka figures from the Rebuild of Evangelion series as crane game prizes at select arcade and entertainment centers throughout Japan. The figures feature Asuka standing on the shore, and Asuka holding the Spear of Cassius. [Thanks, Dengeki Hobby!]
The figure of Asuka on the shore is inspired by her appearance during a specific scene from Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. It will be available as a prize on various arcade crane games from the third week of January 2024. You can check it out here:
Yes, you can beat the neatness game by being really sloppy
As December 2023 was underway, some streamers cleverly thought to play around with Twitch’s restrictions around nudity, broadcasting in such a fashion that implied they were completely naked on camera. Twitch, in response, began banning folks before shifting gears to allow various forms of “artistic nudity” to…
If you missed watching Miles go toe-to-toe with every Spider-Person in the multiverse on the big screen, don't worry because Sony's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is returning to IMAX theaters on January 19.
On X/Twitter, Spider-Verse writer and producer Christopher Miller wrote that fans of the movie will be able to watch it again in theaters. The tweet reads:
"If you didn't get a chance to catch ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE on the big screen - where you can see the jaw-dropping level of detail & innovation lovingly put into every frame - you've got another chance! It's returning to IMAX for a limited release on January 19. Don't miss it!"
If you didn’t get a chance to catch ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE on the big screen - where you can see the jaw-dropping level of detail & innovation lovingly put into every frame - you’ve got another chance!
It’s returning to IMAX for a limited release on January 19th. Don’t miss it! pic.twitter.com/UCqeWCCSlv
Generation 1 is where everything began for Pokemon, marking the debut of the 151 original specimens. For this reason, Gen 1 is often held in high regard as the most beloved Generation for longtime Pokemon fans.
However, this doesn’t mean that all Kanto ‘Mons are as popular as the iconic Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise or franchise mascot, Pikachu. We’ve rounded up ten Gen 1 Pokemon who often go unnoticed by fans, and deserve much more love and attention than they receive.
The prototype development kit for the original Xbox looks like an old desktop PC from the 1990s, which makes sense for Microsoft because the company is also the creator of Windows.
Original Xbox creator Seamus Blackley responded to a post on Twitter showing a user having a wrap on their Xbox Series X that made the console look like an old desktop PC from three decades ago. Blackley showed a picture of what the prototype development kit looked like for Microsoft's first console.
People who are unaware that this looks a lot like the prototype @Xbox devkits will not understand why I just aspirated my coffee. Here’s what they looked like: https://t.co/URhgKDH8Og pic.twitter.com/Iy7Y4UyxLh
— Seamus Blackley (@SeamusBlackley) January 3, 2024
It's shaped like a silver desktop PC with the words "Xbox development kit" on it, along with a power button and DVD drive. The middle of the prototype development kit sports a big green X logo, and the bottom has a small engraving that says "Alpha II."
This isn't the only Xbox development we've seen. The Xbox One X's development kit was shown off in a video a few years ago.
We're kicking off 2024 with a whole month long of coverage for the hotly anticipated Dragon's Dogma 2 from Capcom. All throughout January, we'll have interviews, reveals, deep dives, and much more covering our experiences and impressions after getting play about 10 hours of the game at Capcom's offices in Japan.
For now, have a look above at 18 minutes of gameplay covering both basic Fighter and Thief vocations, along with some never before seen looks at the Warrior and Sorcerer vocations as well.
Keep an eye out right here on IGN for more Dragon's Dogma 2 all throughout the month of January as IGN First rolls on.
Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit
