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Apex Legends Season 22 Introduces Significant Battle Pass Changes, and Fans Aren’t Happy

EA and Respawn Entertainment are introducing a new Apex Legends battle pass structure, but players aren’t happy with the changes promised so far.

This new take on progression in the Titanfall spinoff was announced with an update post on the game’s website. The post outlines a litany of fundamental changes to how rewards are earned, with the team saying that its goal is to “improve your experience and progression goals.”

Where players will find the biggest changes are the length of the Battle Pass and how future passes will be purchased. Up to this point, Battle Passes have required players to complete 110 levels to acquire all rewards, including one Reactive Weapon and a Reactive Weapon Variant. But Season 22 will deliver two passes – one for the first half and one for the second – with 60 levels to complete each. Both halves include one Reactive Weapon each.

“The impact of this change is twofold,” the post says. “It allows us to align seasonal progression more closely with Ranked while also increasing the value for your time.”

EA and Respawn claim that the new structure will result in twice the seasonal rewards for Apex Legends players who use the free version of the battle pass. However, each half-season Premium pass will now cost $10, and the option to purchase passes with Apex Coins is being removed. Players have previously been able to earn 200 coins with the free version of the pass and 1300 coins through the Premium version of the pass, which costs 950 coins.

Each pass will offer the same number of coins for free and Premium players, which means double the amount of earnable Apex Coins per season, but those who have been saving up their coins will no longer be able to use them for future passes.

Other tweaks to the Premium Apex Legends formula increase the number of Apex and Legend-Themed packs while doubling the amount of crafting materials in the Premium pass. The Premium Bundle, which was previously purchasable for 2800 Apex Coins, is now called Premium+ and costs $19.99. It includes only 10 level skips while offering more Exotic Shards, two Premium+ Legendary Character Skin Variants and the ability to play all Legends for the duration of the battle pass.

All of the changes will go into effect with Season 22, which is expected to launch next month.

“The decision to move from AC to real world currency is not one that we made lightly, but it does allow us to decrease the price of Premium+ for our community,” Respawn’s post says. “The new Premium+ Battle Pass comes in at $19.99 USD* and offers additional value; a cost difference of ~29% when compared to the discontinued Premium Battle Pass Bundle at 2800 AC.”

Apex Legends fans react to the new Battle Pass

So far, Apex Legends players aren’t too happy with the changes.

“So basically pay 10 dollars twice a season instead of being able to continue buying battle passes every season with a one time purchase,” one Reddit user said. “In what world is this better for players?”

“The advantage of gathering enough coins to buy the next BP via gameplay was that I was basically stuck with playing your product for dozens of hours on end, so engagement was high,” another user added. “If you’re gonna make me pay every time and THEN grind my ass off then that’s it brother.”

Apex Legends was released in 2019 and has continued to evolve in the half-decade since its launch with more playable Legends, weapons, abilities, maps, and game modes. Though the ability to purchase battle passes with coins is on the way out, players can still use them on Legends, Apex Packs, and more in the in-game store.

EA adds that players will be able to unlock the first half of Season 22’s premium battle pass offerings by completing “a set of challenges” within the first two weeks of launch. It’s currently unclear what these challenges entail or if this method will be available in future seasons. For more, you can read our list of the 15 best free games to play on PlayStation 5.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Nintendo Switch Drops the Hardest as All Consoles Decline by Double-Digits Compared to 2023

As rumors of a Switch successor and mid-generation hardware refreshes for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S continue, spending for all three consoles have dropped by double-digits compared to 2023.

In Circana’s May 2024 U.S. video game market highlights, the analytics company reported that video game hardware spending is down 40% compared to 2023. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have all shown “double-digit percentage declines,” with the Nintendo Switch seeing the “most significant drop.”

In a post on X/Twitter, Circana’s Executive Director & Video Game Industry Advisor Mat Piscatella wrote that the hardware spending decline between 2023 and 2024 can “partially” be attributed to the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.

Circana’s report comes amid rumors that all three home console makers are gearing up to release new hardware, with Microsoft already annnouncing updated versions of the Xbox Series X and S. Numerous leaks have also suggested that Sony is planning to release a Pro variant of the PS5 at some point later this year. Nintendo, for its part, is expected to release a next-generation successor to the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2025.

Ghost of Tsushima tops the charts

As for the games themselves, Circana reports that the best-selling games in terms of dollar sales for May 2024 were Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023 version), the last of which topped the charts for both PS5 and Xbox.

In the case of Ghost of Tsushima, its sales performance jumped to first place from its previous placement of 71 due to a PC port being released on May 16.

All three console holders are in the process of revealing their big exclusives for the holiday season, with Xbox boasting Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and the PS5 being headlined by Astro Bot. The Switch is also setting up for a strong finish to 2024 with releases like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisom.

For more, check out all of the biggest game releases of 2024 as well as the best games so far.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Save $30 Off This Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons and Super Mario Party Bundle Ahead of Prime Day

Official Nintendo Switch Joy Cons aren’t discounted very often, but Walmart is bucking that trend. Ahead of Prime Day, Walmart is offering the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons Bundled with Super Mario Party for only $69. This bundle usually retails for $99, and the cost goes up even more if you were to purchase each item separately. Walmart+ members have early access to this deal until 5pm EST. However, everyone else will be able to purchase it at this price afterwards.

Don’t have a Walmart+ membership? It’s currently 50% off.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons + Super Mario Party for $69

Exclusive to Walmart+ members until 5pm ET, open to everyone after

This bundle includes a pair of Nintendo Joy-Con controllers and the Super Mario Party game. The Nintendo Joy-Con controllers are functionally identical to the ones that came with your Switch console. A nice bonus is that the Joy-Cons are decked out in a colorway that’s exclusive to this bundle; there isn’t any other easy way to secure a pair of Mario Red and Mario Blue controllers.

Anyone who owns a Nintendo Switch console should be familiar with the Joy-Con controllers. The Joy-Cons are unlike any other controller on the market. There are three ways to use them; connected to the Switch console, separated with each Joy-Con as its own controller, and combined into a gamepad with the Joy-Con grip that came with your console. They have a lot of fun features like a built-in accelerometer, gyro sensor, independent motion controls,. HD rumble, and NFC touchpoint for amiibo compatibility. Most 3rd party controllers don’t support amiibos at all.

The included Super Mario Party game is the definitive party choice for the Nintendo Switch, with up to 80 mini games that take full advantage of the quirky tech of the Switch controllers to keep things feeling fresh. The game supports up to four players, and in most cases a single Joy-Con controller is needed for each player. That means, alongside your original Joy-Con controllers, this bundle is all you need to max out the player count in Super Mario Party.

Other Nintendo Switch related sales and news that might interest you:

Capcom Has Good News About Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’s Licensed Music

Though the upcoming Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will change several things, including Frank West’s voice actor, fans of the sandbox zombie game franchise will be happy to know that the licensed music tracks from the 2006 original will return.

Speaking to our sister site VG247, a Capcom spokesperson confirmed that “licensed music is returning” for Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. When Dead Rising was originally released in 2006, its soundtrack included several licensed tracks, such as Heaven’s Creepin’ In by Supernova Syndicate and Slave by The Evolutionaries. Yet the game’s most notable licensed music track was Lifeseeker’s Gone Guru, played every time the character encountered the Convicts while roaming in Leisure Park.

There had been speculation about whether Capcom would use licensed music from Dead Rising in Deluxe Remaster, especially with Lifeseeker’s Marc Lariviere posting on Facebook and Instagram that he was unsure whether or not Gone Guru would be included. Though Lariviere did reveal that the last time Capcom remastered the game, referring to the 2016 HD re-release, the studio “did not tell him” whether or not the song would be included.

In the meantime, fans continue to speculate about will be included in the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. Most notably, many were shocked to learn that T.J. Rotolo, who voiced protagonist Frank West, will not be reprising his role because Capcom did not ask him.

On the flipside, fans can expect thhe return of the photography mini-game (with some updates such as an Auto Focus feature) and the Mall’s directory and map layout. The most recent gameplay also showed the katana that you can find off the ledge of the Colombian Roastmasters in Paradise Plaza, implying that item locations will be the same as the original.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is a remaster of the 2006 Xbox 360 game. Running on RE Engine, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be able to run up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second and includes a slew of quality-of-life improvements, such as the ability to move while aiming and better AI for the survivors you can rescue.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be released on September 19 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Gothic, Risen, and Elex Dev Piranha Bytes Reportedly the Latest Embracer Studio to Shut Down

The closure of Embracer-owned studios continues — this time it’s developer Piranha Bytes that’s reportedly shut down.

German studio Piranha Bytes was founded in 1997 and changed hands a number of times before it found its way to Embracer via publisher THQ Nordic in 2019. Piranha Bytes is perhaps best-known for developing fantasy role-playing series Gothic and Risen, but in recent years it released science fiction role-playing games Elex and Elex 2.

Earlier this year, Piranha Bytes acknowledged it was in a “difficult situation” amid devastating cuts and layoffs at embattled parent company Embracer. At the time, Piranha Bytes said it was trying to find a partner for its next project, apparently not with Embracer.

According to German website GameStar, Piranha Bytes shut down at the end of June. IGN has asked Embracer for comment.

Meanwhile, two former Piranha Bytes developers, Björn Pankratz and Jennifer Pankratz, have formed a new indie called Pithead Studio and kicked off a video series that promises to reveal what went down during the studio’s final months.

The closure is the latest in a long line of Embracer shutdowns that have come over the last two years. In June, Embracer shut down Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive after the game failed to meet expectations. Embracer has also shut down the studios behind Saints Row and Timesplitters, sold the likes of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake studio Saber Interactive, and split into three separate companies in a bid to secure its future.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Strangest Lightsabers in the Star Wars Universe: From Dark Rey to Vernestra Rwoh

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5!

The lightsaber is undoubtedly one of the coolest (albeit sadly nonexistent) weapons in all of pop culture. What’s not to love about a laser sword that can cut through anything yet easily stow away in your pocket when not in use? Though as we’ve seen many times in the Star Wars universe, some Jedi and Sith aren’t content to stick to the traditional lightsaber design. The Acolyte is just the latest Star Wars project to continue that proud tradition.

From double-bladed lightsabers to lightsaber pikes to a lightsaber rifle (?), here are the strangest and most noteworthy lightsaber designs in the Star Wars franchise, including a few from the classic Legends continuity.

Lumiya’s Light-Whip

You have to give Marvel Comics credit for thinking outside the box on this one. Long before the days of villains like Darth Maul and Kylo Ren, 1985’s Star Wars #95 featured one of the most unusual lightsaber designs ever conceived. Lumiya, former protege of Darth Vader himself, constructed a whip based on ancient Sith designs. Built from a combination of unbreakable Mandalorian iron and lightsaber crystals, this weapon is the only lightsaber that creates a flexible beam. Lumiya nearly overwhelmed Luke with this deadly weapon, forcing him to wield two sabers at once to stand a chance in battle.

The Double-Bladed Lightsaber

The concept of a double-bladed lightsaber was introduced prior to The Phantom Menace, but this movie brought that weapon into the mainstream thanks to Darth Maul. Maul showed how deadly this weapon can be in the right hands, dominating two powerful Jedi at once. Similar doubled-bladed sabers have been used by characters like Savage Opress and Satele Shan.

The Lightsaber Pike

One of the more interesting variations of the double-bladed lightsaber is the lightsaber pike, a weapon used by the guards at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. With a longer hilt and shorter blades, these sabers are designed to be used more like a staff than a traditional sword. The hilts also fold in half in a switchblade-style design, one that’s started becoming more popular in the Star Wars universe.

Pong Krell’s Sabers

Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced a corrupt Jedi Master named Pong Krell who puts his own spin on the double-bladed lightsaber design. Krell’s saber blades are longer, like Maul’s, but the hilts fold in half, like the lightsaber pike. Krell is also the rare Jedi capable of wielding two double-bladed sabers at once, a feat only possible because of his incredible strength and extra arms.

Mace Windu’s Purple Saber

Canonically, there’s only one Jedi cool enough to wield a purple-bladed lightsaber. Lightsaber crystals almost always come in green, blue or red varieties, making Mace’s saber quite the collector’s item. We can’t help but wonder what became of the weapon after Anakin sliced Mace’s arm off in Revenge of the Sith.

Count Dooku’s Saber

Count Dooku was regarded as one of the finest swordsmen in the galaxy before defecting to the Sith. His lightsaber hilt features a unique, curved design, allowing for precise motions and strikes. This enhances the fencing-inspired fighting style Dooku has perfected. His protege, Asajj Ventress, wields a pair of similar sabers, though never quite as skillfully as her master.

Darth Sidious’ Sabers

Darth Sidious’s sabers stand out both for their ornamental design and the fact that the hilts are so short. That makes sense, given that Sidious has taken great pains to conceal his Sith powers and keeps his sabers concealed within the folds of his robes.

Ahsoka Tano’s Sabers

When Ahsoka Tano first appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she wielded a traditional green saber. But as the series progressed and Ahsoka became more confident in her abilities, she switched to the Jar’Kai style of combat, which focuses on dual sabers. Like a samurai, Ahsoka carries a standard-length blade and a shorter blade known as a shoto. Star Wars Rebels further sets her apart by making Ahsoka one of the rare Jedi to wield white lightsaber blades, with the blades also appearing in the live-action shows The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Ahsoka.

Maris Brood’s Sabers

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed introduced Maris Brood, a Jedi Padawan who falls to the Dark Side after the death of her master, Shaak Ti. Brood’s twin sabers are inspired by tonfa sticks, with a perpendicular hilt design that allow her to hold her sabers at unusual angles.

The Darksaber

The Darksaber is one of the oldest known lightsaber weapons in the Star Wars universe. Its archaic design results in a flat, angled blade that glows black and makes a distinctive hum. This blade has a long history with the warriors of Mandalore. Its creator, Tarre Vizsla, was the first Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order, and it’s since been used by Mandalorians like Pre Vizsla and Sabine Wren. The Darksaber also shows up in The Mandalorian’s Season 1 finale and played a key role in subsequent seasons.

Darth Malgus’ Saber

Ancient Sith Lord Darth Malgus has one of the few lightsabers that can probably kill a man even when it’s deactivated. The top of the hilt features two blade-like protrusions that make it seem as though Malgus carries an ax on the battlefield.

Darth Chratis’ Saber

Another powerful Sith Lord of the Old Republic era, Darth Chratis is notable for carrying a metal staff than can collapse in half and emit a lightsaber blade. The unusually long hilt gives Chratis extra reach in battle.

Darth Bane’s Lightsaber Pike

While the weapon the Jedi Temple Guards wield is called a lightsaber pike, The Clone Wars almost introduced a weapon even more in line with a traditional pike. This concept art shows the weapon intended to be used by Darth Bane in the Season 6 episode “Sacrifice.” It’s basically a long staff that emits a broad, tapered blade. But while Bane himself did appear in that episode, his weapon never made the cut.

The Grand Inquisitor’s Saber

Star Wars Rebels introduced the Inquistorius, an order of Dark Jedi charged with helping Vader wipe out the last of the Jedi. Each of these villains is equipped with a multi-purpose lightsaber. The hilt resembles nothing if not an identity disc from Tron, though it can also fold in half so that it looks like the hilt of a cutlass. These sabers can be used in either single or double-bladed mode. These weapons can also double as, well, personal helicopters.

Kylo Ren’s Saber

Kylo Ren wields an unusual crossguard saber that reflects his own unstable nature. The crystal powering his saber is cracked, requiring ports on either side of the hilt to vent the excess heat and plasma. The advantage is that Kylo’s saber has two extra blades (or quillons) that he often uses to his advantage in battle.

The Lightsaber Rifle

Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu may not seem capable of going toe-to-toe with Darth Vader and his Inquisitors, but she’s a surprisingly scrappy fighter when the need arises. Jocasta leveled the playing field by attaching her ordinary blue lightsaber to a specially designed rifle. That rifle uses the lightsaber as fuel for its incredibly destructive blasts. Unfortunately, the rifle can only fire so many shots before the lightsaber burns itself out.

Rey’s Switchblade Saber

In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey has a vision of herself wielding this deadly double-bladed lightsaber. This special weapon folds in half like Pong Krell and the Jedi Temple Guards’ weapons, but the twist is that it can still be used as a twin-bladed weapon even folded. Now that it’s been shown in the films (albeit as a vision), it’s only a matter of time before we see someone wielding a similar blade for real.

Vernestra Rwoh’s Light-Whip

While Lumiya has yet to make the jump from the classic Legends timeline to Disney’s official Star Wars universe, the lightsaber whip has been canonized thanks to the High Republic initiative. A young Vernestra Rwoh wields one of these weapons in the books, while a much older version of the character appears (along with her saber) in The Acolyte.

Qimir’s Modular Lightsaber

The Acolyte introduces Qimir/The Stranger, a Jedi-hating villain with a few tricks up his nonexistent sleeves. In addition to wearing a helmet and gauntlet made of the lightsaber-shorting substance known as cortosis, Qimir wields a red saber with a detachable secondary hilt. This allows Qimir to fight with a standard saber and a shorter shoto, similar to Ahsoka Tano.

For more on The Acolyte, check out our review of the first four episodes, then find out how the show continues the most important theme of The Last Jedi and learn why The Acolyte has us questioning who the real villain is.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Okami’s Creators Explain How It Could Have Been Even Better, How It Could Have Saved Clover Studio, and More

Capcom and Tango Gameworks veteran Ikumi Nakamura hasn’t been shy about her love and nostalgia for the project that initiated her into AAA development: Ōkami. And now in a new video conversation with Hideki Kamiya, the pair have opened up about Ōkami’s development, including Kamiya’s belief that its development team as a whole…could have been better.

This comes from a new entry in a video series presented by Nakamura’s new studio, Unseen, called Ask Ikumi. In it, she’s been sharing all sorts of behind the scenes game development insights both on Unseen’s project, Kemuri, and her own development experience. In this latest video, she sits down to chat with longtime colleague Hideki Kamiya, with whom she worked on Ōkami, Bayonetta, and briefly on Scalebound. Their conversation largely focuses on Ōkami’s development, and the pair has a lot to say!

The video opens with Kamiya explaining his notorious philosophy of blocking anyone who annoys him on Twitter by asking questions he’s answered before, or not addressing him in Japanese. They then launch into a discussion of Ōkami’s development. First, they discuss its original conception in a photo-realistic style. Ōkami was apparently first conceived while Kamiya was working on Viewtiful Joe, and saw work on the Resident Evil remake for GameCube being done next to him. He was impressed by the realism, and wanted to use that style for something more “light-hearted” than the horror genre. So Ōkami was conceived as a game about “healing.”

But, he says, the photorealistic style they were aiming for was a struggle to get working on PS2. With Ōkami in trouble, the team was looking for new ideas, when character designer Kenichiro Yoshimura drew main character Amaterasu with a brush. This design sparked a new visual style for the entire game. Not long after, the studio leads convened a three-day summit over a weekend to revamp the game, during which time the Celestial Brush was pitched, and Ōkami changed directions for the better.

Ōkami was supposed to be Clover Studio’s signature title…It was supposed to be a dream team with all the best staff in each section. That was the plan, but in the end, not everyone, but as the whole team, I frankly think it was weak.

But even so, Kamiya is candid that Ōkami could have been even better. For one, Ōkami was supposed to have a bigger story, but the team ran out of time and ended midway through what Kamiya wanted to do. What’s more, Kamiya has apparently been notoriously critical of the team that worked on Ōkami, as Nakamura brings up. She reminds him that at a party near the end of development, Kamiya apparently said to the whole room, “This team was the worst!” Kamiya admits it, and while he backs off his comments at the time a bit, he goes on to say he was “half right.”

“Ōkami was supposed to be Clover Studio’s signature title,” he says. “That’s why we wanted to create a dream team. It was supposed to be a dream team with all the best staff in each section. That was the plan, but in the end, not everyone, but as the whole team, I frankly think it was weak.

“It wasn’t a dream team. There was a very drastic contrast within. There were certainly people without whom there would be no Ōkami. Those members shone brightly. Some of them really shone stronger even more than ones I had worked with previously. I’m not saying this as flattery, but you [Nakamura] certainly did. Naoki Katakai and Keniichirou Yoshimura, Sawaki Takeyasu, Mari Shimazaki, Hiroshi Yamaguchi. I’m really grateful, but when viewed as a whole, it wasn’t a dream team.”

Kamiya elaborates a little further in banter with Nakamura here and later in the interview, suggesting that the issue was that the level of passion and enthusiasm for Ōkami wasn’t high throughout the entire team, but instead was rather uneven. Nakamura acknowledges she noticed this, too.

“If I think about the Viewtiful Joe and DMC teams, the passion was uniformly high,” Kamiya says. “But in Ōkami’s team there was a huge contrast.”

“Because all the users who played and enjoyed Ōkami, I’m sure they all think it was made by a great team, but actually, that wasn’t the case,” Kamiya concludes. “This is my honest opinion.”

The full conversation between Kamiya and Nakamura is fascinating and worth watching in its entirety. In it, Kamiya refers to Ōkami as a “failure” (though he seems to be referring to commercial success) and notes that Clover Studio could have continued existing if it had been successful. Nakamura also states that Ōkami has had the greatest influence on the work she’s doing now at Unseen with Kemuri. You can watch the whole video right here, and then catch up on our own interview with Nakamura from IGN FanFest earlier this year.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

City Skylines 2 on Console Delayed Indefinitely as Developer Struggles to Hit Stability and Performance Targets

It’s more bad news for Cities Skylines 2, which has now seen its console version delayed indefinitely.

In a note to console players, publisher Paradox said the console version was still not up to scratch and will now miss its planned October 2024 release window, itself a delayed target from earlier this year.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet met the stability and performance targets we set for the console release,” Paradox said. “Without a Release Candidate (RC), we are now unable to meet an October release window.

“While we are making slow but steady progress, there are still unresolved issues impacting the game in ways that harm the player experience we want to deliver. We expect to receive a new RC, which will undergo a thorough review in August. This evaluation will determine whether we can begin the submission process and provide a solid release date, or if further issues need to be addressed.

“We understand this is disappointing, and it’s not what we had hoped for either. However, we are committed to keeping you informed throughout this development process, even if the updates aren’t always what we’d like.

“Thank you for your understanding and support.”

We understand this is disappointing, and it’s not what we had hoped for either.

Colossal Order’s troubled city-builder sequel launched in October 2023 on PC via Steam and immediately ran into a number of issues. But Cities: Skylines 2’s problems began before its launch even arrived. Colossal Order had warned players the game would release with performance issues a week before it came out. In IGN’s Cities: Skylines 2 review, which returned a 6/10, we said: “Cities: Skylines 2 is an ambitious sequel that might have bitten off more than it can chew – be prepared to do a lot of terraforming if you don’t want your metropolis to look like a nightmare.”

Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen later admitted the lack of modding support was the developer’s “biggest regret.” Then, in April, Paradox was forced to offer refunds for the latest DLC, with Hallikainen and Mattias Lilja, deputy CEO of publisher Paradox, admitting the heavily criticized Beach Properties DLC was rushed out in a bid to improve sentiment around the disastrous launch of Cities Skylines 2. At the time of this article’s publication, more people are playing the first Cities Skylines game than its sequel on Steam.

As for the console release, the plan was to release it in the spring of 2024 after missing last year’s launch, but it was was delayed to October. There is no new release window. Back in April, Colossal Order and Paradox insisted that the team working on the console release operates separately from the PC development team, “so it will be progressing without splitting our focus or time.”

Missing October 2024 means Cities Skylines 2 will now launch on console over a year after it came out on PC, which was clearly not in Paradox or Colossal Order’s original plan. Meanwhile, both companies are battling a disgruntled player base by releasing updates aimed at improving the core PC version.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Fallout London Release Appears Soon as Dev Declares ‘the End Is in Sight’

Expansion-sized Fallout 4 mod Fallout London appears to be nearing release after developer Team FOLON declared “the end is in sight” as it awaits final quality assurance tests.

In a post on X/Twitter, Team FOLON sought to clear up speculation by confirming it had sent “several builds” to CD Projekt Red-owned Steam competitor GOG and is awaiting the “final green light.”

“Once they’ve completed the process of double checking that Fallout: London and its installer work on all supported machines, we should be good to go,” Team FOLON said. “Yes, we have our own installer, and downgrader too.

“It is in all of our interests that this final QA process is carried out in full, and we are very thankful that GOG is assisting. While it may seem like not a lot is going on, we can assure you that the heads of the department have been working non-stop behind the scenes during this time to make the release build as good as it can be. The end is in sight.”

Fallout: London was previously due to arrive on April 23, 2024 but actual Fallout developer Bethesda announced a surprise update for Fallout 4, which the mod developer feared would impact its release.

“We’ve just been tweaking and testing non-stop in order to get things as stable as we can for you all in time for that release,” said Team FOLON project lead Dean Carter at the time. “But with the new update dropping just 48 hours later, the past four years of our work stand to just simply break.”

The end is in sight.

Carter later lamented how Bethesda, which has made clear it’s aware of Fallout: London, failed to inform Team FOLON of its plans. “That has, for lack of a better term, sort of screwed us over, somewhat,” Carter said.

Fallout London is one of the most high-profile mods in development and will let players explore a post-apocalyptic version of the English capital. Players will engage with everything from “stuffy parliamentary aristocrats to a resurrection of the Knights of the Round Table to an uncompromising cult of revolutionaries.” It even stars Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion actor Neil Newbon.

Bethesda development chief Todd Howard has confirmed Fallout 5 will arrive after the Elder Scrolls 6, which is still years away itself, but it continues to update MMO Fallout 76.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Rogue Company Dev Pulls All Dr Disrespect Content, Offers Rogue Buck Refunds Rather Than Real Money

Hi-Rez Studios has pulled all Dr Disrespect content from Rogue Company after the streamer was alleged to have sent sexually explicit messages to a minor.

Guy Beahm, better known as Dr Disrespect, was banned from Twitch in 2020 without explanation. Last month, following a number of reports, Beahm admitted he exchanged messages in 2017 with a minor via Twitch’s now-defunct Whispers feature that “sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate.” Subsequent reports alleged the minor had informed Beahm they were underage, and Beahm continued to send “sexually graphic” messages to them regardless.

Twitch and Beahm have not responded to IGN’s request for comment.

Partners and sponsors like Turtle Beach, 2K, and the San Francisco 49ers subsequently cut ties with the streamer. Midnight Society, the game studio Beahm co-founded, also terminated its relationship with him, and monetization on his YouTube channel was suspended. Now, another video game Beahm was affiliated with has taken steps to distance itself from the streamer.

Beahm had partnered with Rogue Company publisher Hi-Rez Studios, which is also behind Smite and Paladins, to design his own level and even a $20 character skin sold in the free-to-play third-person tactical action shooter. That premium content is no longer in the game.

A statement published to the official Rogue Company X/Twitter account has signaled the change: “Hey Rogue Company, we have disabled Dr Disrespect content previously available on game. We will provide full Rogue Buck refunds to any impacted account this week.”

In recent years interest in Rogue Company has dropped off significantly. After a Steam peak concurrent player count of 12,189 set three years ago, Rogue Company now averages just a few hundred players on Steam’s platform, with 236 concurrent players at the time of this article’s publication. Indeed, Rogue Company hasn’t seen a major update since 2023, indicating a deprioritization from Hi-Rez Studios amid the upcoming launch of Smite 2.

It’s fair to say that the decision to offer Rogue Buck refunds as opposed to real-money refunds for the Dr Disrespect content has sparked a backlash from paying customers who would rather their money back than a virtual currency they deem to be practically useless. Some have taken to Rogue Company’s Steam user reviews, which are down to ‘mixed’ for recent reviews, to complain about the situation.

“Where’s my $40? I have no need for Rogue Bucks when you guys haven’t updated the game in over a year,” said one person. “How about since we paid with real money you provide real money refunds?” said another.

Meanwhile, Beahm hasn’t issued a comment since his last stream, in which he played Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, almost two weeks ago.

Image credit reddit / rescobar1997.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.