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Xbox Live Suffers Widespread Outage, Xbox Support ‘Investigating’

Xbox Live is currently down, affecting thousands of gaming fans.

Players who attempted to log into their accounts this afternoon found they were unable to sign in and play games as usual. Microsoft describes the incident as a “major outage” on its official Xbox Live status page. The company says troubles with its service began just after 2 p.m. ET, with the website Downdetector reporting a peak of more than 38,000 individual outage reports around 3 p.m. ET.

Though a select few have shared that they’ve been able to eventually sign into Xbox Live, Microsoft says the sign-in issues affect Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 consoles as well as mobile devices, web services, cloud gaming, backward compatibility, and Xbox on Windows. No explanation for the outage has been shared, but in the meantime, Microsoft said in an X/Twitter post that it is investigating the issue while directing concerned players to head to its status page for updates.

“You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems,” the status page says at the time of this story’s publication. “Features that require sign-in like most games, apps and social activity won’t be available.”

A widespread Xbox Live outage means there are thousands of gamers with questions and time on their hands. Many have them quickly took to social media to share memes while looking for answers. Although they’re all in the same boat as they wait for Microsoft to chime in with good news, many are just happy to see they aren’t the only ones faced with gaming downtime.

We’ll update this story when Microsoft has an update on the status of Xbox Live. In the meantime, you can check out the recently confirmed Xbox Game Pass lineup for July 2024. You can also see our IGN Live interview with CEO Phil Spencer, where we learned more about the company’s plans for the future.

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.

Save Over 20% Off Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers

Official Nintendo Switch Joy Cons are still generally priced at full price, but there are two colorways that are availble for over 20% off today. Amazon has both the Nintendo Joy-Cons Neon Red/Blue and Neon Pink/Green for about $62-$63 each. They retail for $79.99. These are still all-around the best controllers you can get for your Nintendo Switch console.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers (Pair) from $62

These are official first-party Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers. Two Joy-Cons can be used separately in each hand or combined with the Joy-Con grip that came with your Switch console. You can even use them as two separate controllers in supported games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. 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.

We rarely see Joy-Cons on sale. When they’re discounted on Amazon, they go back up in stock quickly as well. If you need an extra pair of Joy-Cons and you like these colorways, then jump on these now. We doubt that they’ll drop in price on Amazon Prime Day (they haven’t in the past).

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

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveals a Host of Customizable Difficulty Options, Including the Ability to Turn Death Off Entirely

Dragon Age: The Veilguard will have a number of difficulty options that allow players to tweak the experience to their liking.

Developer BioWare revealed more about the latest installment in its fantasy franchise as part of this month’s Game Informer cover story. Features like the hundreds of character customization sliders and pronoun options separate from your character’s gender live up to game director Corinne Busche’s promise that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was created with inclusivity in mind. This desire was carried over into the difficulty options too, which include standard choices like the story-focused Storyteller path, a balanced Adventurer mode, or the more crushing Nightmare mode, which can’t be changed once a playthrough is started.

Where BioWare’s latest gets interesting in this regard is its Unbound difficulty mode. This option is said to allow players to tailor their Dragon Age: The Veilguard adventure as they please with a variety of tweakable settings. Some highlights include the ability to adjust how wayfinding guides the experience, aim assistance, an auto-aim option, and wider (or narrower) parry windows. Enemy and player damage can also be finetuned, as can enemy pressure, but the real game-changer might be the option to turn off death for your character entirely. These are all options meant to make Dragon Age: The Veilguard more inviting for every kind of gaming fan.

“[None of these options] are a cheat,” Busche explained. “It’s an option to make sure players of all abilities can show up.”

Game Informer was unable to view every difficulty and accessibility setting BioWare will offer, but Busche says players can expect to find more options upon launch. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is currently set to come to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S sometime this fall. For more, you can read up on why former executive producer Mark Darrah thinks the next Dragon Age game will be the first in the franchise with fun combat. You can also check out how decisions from past entries can be carried over and how players can romance any companion your heart desires.

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.

Eagle-Eyed GTA Fan Spots a Single Piece of Jewelry From the GTA 6 Trailer in the New GTA Online Update

It feels like an age since Rockstar broke the internet by releasing the debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6. Since the December 2023 release of GTA 6 Trailer 1, as it’s called, information-hungry fans have analyzed the trailer to within an inch of its life, coming up with all sorts of outlandish theories and predictions about what to expect when Rockstar finally releases the game next year.

Now, though, they have something tangible to work with, something more than speculation to chew on: a necklace.

As redditor DogWifDreads signaled, the latest GTA Online update, Bottom Dollar Bounties, appears to have added the necklace worn by perhaps the standout character from the GTA 6 trailer: the woman in the bikini. Comparing a screenshot of the character from the trailer to the silver layered necklace now available to buy in GTA Online, DogWifDreads sent the GTA community on high alert.

“Dunno if anyone else has caught this but I was rewatching a trailer breakdown and I noticed that the necklaces seen here in the trailer have been added in GTAO with the Bottom Dollar Bounties DLC,” DogWifDreads said.

There’s nothing new to be gleaned from this apparent crossover, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying to find some meaning in it. “Could be a stretch but whatever the price of that necklace is might mean something,” suggested Affectionate-Wing771. “Considering all last digits are 0, we could skip that and we’ll have four digits, a possible date and month – for something,” OtteLoc wondered, in full GTA theory meme mode. “Or it could just be another generic price like the rest of the items.”

Most people are taking this as what it probably is: a fun nod to GTA 6 in GTA Online. But that kind of sensible behavior is no fun at all though, is it? I suppose it does bring to mind the tough questions Rockstar faces in dealing with the current GTA Online with the GTA 6 version waiting in the wings. GTA Online is a part of GTA 5, but how will GTA 6’s version of GTA Online be made available? Will it be sold standalone? Free-to-download? A part of GTA 6 at a $70+ price point? And what happens to GTA 5’s GTA Online when GTA 6 comes out? Will Rockstar effectively replace it with the new version, as Blizzard did to Overwatch when it released Overwatch 2?

The first official GTA 6 trailer is the most-viewed video game reveal on YouTube within 24 hours. Set in modern-day Leonida, a fictionalized version of Florida, GTA 6 will let players control Lucia and an unnamed male that some fans speculate is named Jason.

Questions have swirled around GTA 6’s release date ever since the initial reveal, with fans going feral over details like website updates. Internal conflicts over Rockstar’s return to office policy has led to questions over whether GTA 6 will ultimately be delayed into 2026. However, as of right now, it looks like Take-Two and Rockstar are determined to get GTA 6 out the door during its intended release window of fall 2025.

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.

Transformers Is Getting a Racing Adventure Game With Rogue-Lite Elements

Transformers is getting a racing adventure rogue-lite called Transformers: Galactic Trials, due out in October on PC and consoles. It’s the first ever console Transformers racing game.

Transformers: Galactic Trials is published by Outright Games, which specializes in video games for kids, and developed by 3DClouds. Outright said that in this new unique hybrid gameplay experience you can play as iconic Autobot and Decepticon characters across a single-player mode, with two-player co-op in local multiplayer for the Arcade mode.

Here’s the official blurb:

After the evil NEMESIS PRIME steals the Prime Relics, the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS must set out on a rip-roaring adventure to recover these artifacts and control the incredible powers they bestow. Fans can play as iconic AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, including Bumblebee, Megatron, Elita-1 and Optimus Prime and race across battle-race circuits to collect relics and beat opponents. The gameplay incorporates both traditional arcade racing in vehicle form and dynamic combat in bot-form, as players must defeat enemies and make it to the finish line.

As players progress and collect new relics, they level up their skills and unlock new playable characters and skins. The single-player mode, called Galactic Trials, lets you progress through levels and collect relics. The two-player Arcade mode lets you enter a quick race, creating a custom racing experience with your track, character and weapons, or enter location-based specialized tournaments.

Transformers: Galactic Trials launches on October 11, 2024, on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S.

It’s a busy time for Transformers, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. CG-animated film Transformers One comes out in September, and there’s a live-action Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie in the works.

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.

Microsoft Confirms Xbox Game Pass July 2024 Wave 1 Lineup

Microsoft has confirmed the Xbox Game Pass July 2024 Wave 1 lineup, revealing what subscribers can expect for the first half of this month.

Kicking things off on July 3 is Typhoon Studios’ 2020 action adventure Journey to the Savage Planet (Cloud, Console, and PC), which makes a return to the Game Pass library. IGN’s Journey to the Savage Planet review returned a 6/10. We said: “This comedy exploration experience blasts off with a lot of fresh ideas, but doesn’t quite stick the landing.”

Also on July 3, Fair Play Labs’ Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass. This Nickelodeon-based platform fighter got a 9/10 from IGN’s review. We said: “Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 knocks nearly every single one of the first game’s problems into the blast zone while also introducing the exciting new Slime mechanic, a more interesting roster, and better visuals throughout.”

Then, on July 9, Big Ant Studios’ Cricket 24 (Cloud, Console, and PC) bowls onto Game Pass. This one got a 5/10 from IGN’s review. We said: “Cricket 24 is a disappointingly modest and often slipshod update that seemingly lacks the confidence or creativity to advance further down the wicket.”

Also on July 9 is Color Gray Games’ 2022 point-and-click detective adventure game The Case of the Golden Idol (Cloud, Console, and PC). Moving on, Angel Matrix’s first-person action game Neon White (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass on July 11. IGN’s Neon White review returned an 8/10. We said: “Part visual novel, part lightning-fast FPS platformer, Neon White’s angst-ridden assassins are unbearable but its airtight level design and fantastic sense of momentum ensure its gameplay is something to celebrate.”

Also on July 11, Awaceb’s action adventure game Tchia (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) launches on Game Pass. The Xbox version includes the physics-driven sandbox’s latest update, which includes eight new soul melodies, new outfits, and additional perks for wearing matching cosmetic items.

Magical Delicacy (Cloud, Console, and PC) launches as a day-one Game Pass title on July 16. This wholesome pixel art platformer lets players cook magical delicacies from a vast collection of ingredients in your own shop.

Rounding out July 2024 Wave 1 is the day-one Game Pass launch of Flock (Cloud, Console, and PC) on July 16. Flock is a multiplayer co-op game about the joy of flight and collecting adorable flying creatures with your friends.

Xbox Game Pass July 2024 Wave 1 lineup:

All the games leaving Game Pass on July 15:

As usual, subscribers can save up to 20% off their purchase to keep the games leaving Game Pass in their library.

Looks Like Scorpion From Mortal Kombat Is Coming to MultiVersus

A developer on MultiVersus has hinted that Scorpion from Mortal Kombat is set to hit the brawler.

Player First Games community manager Ajax replied to a Scorpion MultiVersus concept posted to X/Twitter in a way that confirmed nothing but teased everything.

MultiVersus is a Warner Bros. take on Nintendo’s Smash Bros. series, and includes a number of characters owned by the company, such as DC superhero Batman and The Matrix villain, Agent Smith.

Warner Bros. also owns Mortal Kombat and its developer NetherRealm, so it would make sense to see the series’ famous ninja turn up in MultiVersus at some point.

MultiVersus re-released across PC, PlayStation and Xbox in May after a beta ran from July 2022 to June 2023. On Steam, the May relaunch saw MultiVersus’ concurrent player count shoot up to 114,515, but that figure has fallen dramatically since, with 6,030 peak concurrents in the last 24 hours. Sony and Microsoft do not make player numbers on PlayStation and Xbox publicly available.

Player First Games is in the process of rolling out MultiVersus’ mid-season update patch 1.05, readying the game for Agent Smith’s arrival from July 8. As for Mortal Kombat, fans are awaiting an announcement from NetherRealm on the inevitable Kombat Pack 2 for Mortal Kombat 1, as well as a promised story expansion. Dataminers have unearthed what looks like the next six DLC characters for Mortal Kombat 1 already.

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.

Call of Duty’s New ‘Extra Crispy’ Gun Lets You Cook, Eat, and Turn Your Enemies Into Fried Chicken and People Are Blaming It All on Fortnite Once Again

The impact of all-conquering metaverse battle royale Fortnite on Call of Duty — indeed the competitive multiplayer video game landscape — is a topic of long-running debate. In truth, Activision left Call of Duty’s military sim tone behind long ago, resulting in what players have now: a no-holds barred fusion of pop culture and modern warfare.

But Call of Duty’s latest gun has thrust that debate back into forums and social media once again, and that’s because it’s perhaps the silliest weapon ever seen in the first-person shooter franchise.

Dataminers unearthed the trailer for the “Extra Crispy” gun, which lets users cook, eat, and turn their enemies into fried chicken. Call of Duty dataminer @realityuk_ was first to bring it to fans’ attention.

This weapon, currently exclusive to Call of Duty Warzone Mobile, has an elaborate weapon inspect animation that sees the player stick a raw chicken on the end of barrel of the gun, cook it, and eat it.

Shooting enemies with the gun, meanwhile, turns them into pieces of fried chicken.

It’s fair to say some of Call of Duty’s more hardcore fans, perhaps those who played the series before battle royale Warzone became the focus from 2020, are in a flap over this new fried chicken gun. Activision, however, might argue the chicken gun is getting a raw deal. “When will they stop adding nonsense to the game?” asked @Junxrrcarter.

Others, meanwhile, don’t see the problem with this sort of thing as an optional cosmetic in Call of Duty, while pointing out that the Zombies mode is about as unrealistic as you can get in a shooter. Indeed many are having a joke about it all.

It seems Activision is happy to go a step further for Call of Duty mobile weapon skins than it is for the main game on console and PC. Perhaps that has something to do with mobile players being less inclined to take issue with this sort of thing because they haven’t had that history with the series before Call of Duty Mobile came out. Either way, the official X/Twitter account for Call of Duty Warzone Mobile has leaned into the negative reaction, perhaps wisely so.

Call of Duty makes Activision, and now parent company Microsoft, billions of dollars in microtransactions, and much of this comes from outlandish bundles sold post-launch. High-profile crossovers have seen everything from Warhammer 40,000 characters to Gundam mechs running around Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone in recent months. There’s even evidence of an upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine crossover. Truly, in the world of Call of Duty, anything goes, and Activision won’t stop here.

But it’s worth pointing out that with the release of Black Ops 6 later this year, Call of Duty cosmetics will see something of a fresh start. That’s because all those bundles you’ve bought for Modern Warfare 2 and 3 won’t carry over to Black Ops 6, which means for launch, at least, we’re back to some semblance of realism.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

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.

Best PS5 and PlayStation Deals Right Now (July 2024)

The Summer of Gaming events may be over and done with, but there’s still plenty to enjoy over these next few sunny months. In particular, with Prime Day on the horizon on July 16-17, there’s likely to be even more deals for PlayStation fans to enjoy. While we wait for that next big sale event, though, we’ve got you covered with some excellent discounts available right now. The surprise hit PlayStation Portal is even back in stock at Best Buy for $199.99. It’s sold out at a few other spots — so if you want one, you’d better grab it quick. Below, you can also find other deals on everything from consoles to SSDs and even information on where to buy a PS5 now.

TL;DR – Best PS5 Deals Right Now

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Best PS5 Video Game Deals

Even though PlayStation’s Days of Play sale is over, there are still quite a few discounts to enjoy on some incredibly popular games. At the moment, some of our favorite physical game deals are on Persona 3 Reload and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, but there are plenty more to check out at the links below.

More PS5 Video Game Deals (Physical):

PlayStation Portal Back In Stock (Limited Time)

Perfect PS5 2TB SSD for $139.99 at Amazon

Right now, Amazon has the acer Predator GM7000 2TB M.2 SSD available for just $139.99. Normally priced at $169.99, the acer Predator GM7000 features speeds up to 7,400MB/s to ensure your games load as fast as possible. It does not have a heatsink, though, so you’ll have to invest in one. To see even more of the best SSD deals, check out our roundup of the best PS5 2TB SSD deals. Otherwise, you can see some more of our favorite picks below.

More PS5 SSD Deals:

Best PS5 Headset Deals: 50% Off the HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset & More Headset Deals

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

More PS5 Gaming Headset Deals:

PlayStation Deals: Budget to Best

It doesn’t need to have a massive discount to be a good deal, so we thought it would be a great idea to pick out our absolute favorite PS5 and PlayStation offerings that would be relevant to buy no matter the time of year. From the latest DualSense controllers to the very best PS5 SSDs on the market, we’ve got it all right here.

More PS5 Budget to Best Picks

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Best Time to Buy a PS5

Generally, the best time to buy a PS5 console is during major yearly shopping events such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the various Amazon Prime Day sales. Although PlayStation consoles rarely go on sale, you can often scoop up limited-time bundles that include additional an additional game or two, and more.

How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles

If you’re looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and we keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Tech Experts Reveal Why Some Games Run Better on PS5 Despite Xbox Series X Being More Powerful

It is widely accepted that Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console is the most powerful ever made, so why do some games run better on Sony’s PlayStation 5? That’s a question finally answered by the tech experts at Digital Foundry.

Both Microsoft and Sony launched the next-generation of consoles at the same time, November 2020, and while the less powerful Xbox Series S obviously struggles on the performance front, the Xbox Series X is a tech monster; it’s capable of 12 teraflops of GPU performance, whereas the PS5 is capable of 10.28 teraflops.

Xbox executives have said they wanted to avoid repeating the narrative established in the last generation, where the Xbox One was significantly underpowered compared to the PlayStation 4 resulting in a mismatch when it came to multiplatform game performance. And so, Microsoft went hard with the Xbox Series X, ensuring it could safely call it he “world’s most powerful console” in marketing.

But now, as we approach each console’s fourth birthday, has that power difference born fruit in the video games we play? It turns out that some games run better on PS5 than Xbox Series X. But how can that be?

According to Digital Foundry’s conversations with developers, “the combination of a more efficient GPU compiler, lower-level APIs, and higher clock speeds allows PS5 to match or even exceed the outputs of Xbox Series X in some scenarios.”

One example of this at play is FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, which runs faster on PS5 than on Xbox Series X. Digital Foundry’s analysis of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC shows a surprising frame-rate difference in favor of PS5, which is apparently the less capable machine.

But, as Digital Foundry notes, there remains value in the approach Microsoft took for Xbox Series X, which has a commonality with PC development that helps game makers. “Additionally, there are situations where the Xbox ecosystem and feature set yields dividends,” Digital Foundry explains. “For example, while Elden Ring may run faster on PS5, Sony’s limited implementation of variable refresh rate support means that we’d much rather play the game on Xbox Series X — it’s just a smoother and more consistent experience.”

So, what happens next? Sony is heavily rumored to be ready to release a PS5 Pro later this year, with Microsoft heavily rumored to be ready to release an Xbox handheld. Digital Foundry expects the PS5 Pro to “lean into the same strengths that made PS5 competitive and go beyond — PSSR machine learning-based upscaling should act as an effective ‘multiplier’ of sorts on its increased GPU performance.”

And then? No doubt we’ll have to do this all over again when Microsoft releases its next-gen Xbox and Sony releases the inevitable PS6.

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.