Category: IGN

Sumo Group, which encompasses Still Wakes the Deep publisher Secret Mode among other games, has announced layoffs affecting 15% of its staff.

The business announced the move following an internal message sent to employees today. Like many other companies, it says it’s “not been immune” to some of the difficult changes affecting the games industry recently. Sumo Group adds, “reshaping operations across the business to better navigate the upcoming challenges expected in the coming months is a path we must now take to ensure the security of the business going forward.”

“The difficult decision to reduce our costs across the business in a number of ways is a direct result of these challenges, and unfortunately will include a reduction in the number of people the business can support,” Sumo Group’s statement says. “Every alternate route to limit the impact to our people is being considered but sadly this process of transformation will affect up to 15% of our people across the Group in Canada, UK, Poland, Czech Republic and India.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is off to an interesting start, to say the least. Coming off the somewhat controversial decision to change the name, BioWare re-introduced the series to fans with a two-minute trailer that drew unfavorable comparisons to Fortnite and Marvel. BioWare quickly followed with a twenty-second tease that was met much more positively – yet another jolting turn in what has been a rollercoaster decade for the franchise since Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Over the weekend, I watched as BioWare finally took the wraps off Dragon Age: The Veilguard over the course of an hour-long presentation in which they showed off the character creator, a broad swath of the gameplay, and the battle system. Director Corinne Busche also took the time to answer some of my biggest questions around The Veilguard’s romantic options and exploration.

First, the graphics. Running on the latest iteration of the Frostbite Engine, at least one source told me that The Veilguard targets 60fps. In a subsequent conversation, though, an EA representative said, “Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature performance and quality modes on consoles to ensure players can choose the visual fidelity they prefer. We’ll have more to share on exact performance as we finish development in the coming months.”

Whatever the fidelity, it’s evident that The Veilguard is heavily stylized, and whether that look lands is mostly a matter of taste. It’s worth pointing out that Dragon Age has always been a riot of art styles and I’m not so sure that the series needs to return to the blood-spattered style of the original. What matters to me is polish and a cohesive sense of identity, and in that sense The Veilguard seems like a logical evolution of Inquisition, which itself was quite stylized.

Also, The Veilguard actually has good hair this time around, which, finally.

In the shadow of Mass Effect 2

For what it’s worth, there’s plenty of nods to longtime fans, including the return of Varric, who Busche calls the franchise’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” along with some “killer cameos.” It’s Varric who narrates the story’s opening section, recapping the events of previous games and explaining the motivations of Solas, aka the Dread Wolf. While The Veilguard is once again a standalone story, with Rook joining The Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisition in the ranks of Dragon Age protagonists, it starts in a breathless state of in media res as a group of heroes try to stop Solas before he tears apart the barrier between Thedas and the spirit world.

“We want to get you right in,” Busche explains. “Especially with an RPG where they can be quite lore-heavy, a lot of exposition at the front and remembering proper nouns, it can be very overwhelming.”

What follows is basically one long action setpiece as the main characters sprint through Minrathous, a city under attack by demons (this is another big moment for fans, who have been waiting for ages to see the capital of the Tevinter Imperium). While it’s unwise to draw too many conclusions from such a brief section of the game, it’s easy to wonder just how linear The Veilguard will end up being.

“Yeah, so it is a mission-based game. Everything is hand-touched, hand-crafted, very highly curated,” Busche says, echoing a talking point that comes up repeatedly throughout the presentation. “We believe that’s how we get the best narrative experience, the best moment-to-moment experience. However, along the way, these levels that we go to do open up, some of them have more exploration than others. Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you’re going to find and solve. So it does open up, but it is a mission-based, highly curated game.”

Pressed for more details on sidequests and optional content, Busche says, “Some of them are [highly curated], especially when it involves the motivations and the experiences of the companions. You’re really along on this journey with them. Others, you’re investigating a missing family… and the entirety of this bog is open up to you. You’re searching for clues, finding a way to solve their disappearance. So really it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. But I do want to emphasize that hand-crafted and curated is our approach.”

It reminds me nothing so much as Mass Effect 2, with The Lighthouse – The Veilguard’s equivalent of Skyhold – standing in for the Normandy. I suppose it only makes sense in light of Dragon Age’s unique relationship with Mass Effect 2. Fans will recall that the original Dragon Age: Origins was basically a AAA CRPG – a continuation of BioWare’s isometric RPG legacy on PC. Mass Effect 2 followed just a couple months later, garnering praise among mainstream critics for its transition to full third-person shooter. Ever since, BioWare has prioritized action over gritty RPG mechanics, and the latest Dragon Age is no different.

But The Veilguard’s connection to Mass Effect 2 perhaps runs even deeper than that. Mass Effect 2’s story centered around Shepard recruiting companions from around the galaxy, Dirty Dozen-style, before ultimately embarking on a Suicide Mission where every character is at risk of dying – one of the most famous quests in gaming history.

Busche hints that something similar might be in The Veilguard. Asked whether The Veilguard will feature permadeath, she teases, “I don’t want to get into spoilers but you just might [lose some characters]. Now in what we saw there, obviously no one died. In a situation like that they can get injured, they can influence how they think about you. If they’re ready to hit the field with you, it does get more dangerous. We might lose some people along the way.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is more of an action game than ever

So with that in mind, let’s talk a bit about Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s battle system, which reduces the party size from four to three and in so doing becomes more action forward than ever. It features what Busche calls “sophisticated animation canceling and branching,” with the design centered around dodging, countering, and using risk-reward charge attacks designed to break enemy armor layers. Much of its strategy lives in its ability wheel, which stops the action either by tapping or holding the shoulder button and allows you to issue orders as you see fit. In particular, companions can be kitted out as support units and healers, which Busche cites as a big player request after Inquisition.

“The combat system is an interesting challenge going into the fourth iteration of this game because as you know, every Dragon Age has reinvented combat to some degree,” Busche explains. “Of course, pause and play strategy is always the backbone of it. But what that means is that, in addition to fans of all three prior games and welcoming in an entirely new generation of fans, we’ve got a pretty diverse player base to accommodate to.”

While she offers comparatively few specifics, Busche hints at some of the deeper strategy behind the battle system. Weaknesses and resistances will apparently play a major role in the combat, with abilities being designed to exploit them accordingly. One character might be able to plant a weakening debuff on an enemy, and another enemy might be able to detonate them. Likewise, the bonds that Rook forges with companions like Neve, a detective, and Harding, who returns from Inquisition as a full partner, determine how party members grow and what abilities become available. Those bonds are in turn determined by the choices you make using BioWare’s famous dialogue wheel, which returns for The Veilguard.

I was heartened to see some of this depth make its way into the battle system, which has a fluidity to it thatl Dragon Age: Inquisition lacked. It further includes individual specializations for each class, including Duelist, Saboteur, and Veil Jumper for Rogue, as well as an overarching backstory based on the faction you choose. Players used to choosing a backstory and having it be totally irrelevant to the story will be happy to know that it impacts the dialogue more this time.

After all it’s the characters who will determine the success of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Larian ironically stole some of BioWare’s thunder with Baldur’s Gate 3, but this is still the studio that gave us Leliana, Liara, and Varric among many others, and it practically invented the RPG romance as we know it today. It’s been less than a week since the first official trailer and Lucanis fanart is already manifesting on social media.

“Each of the companions that you journey with has really complex backstories, problems of their own, deep motivations. And these play out through some really well fleshed-out character arcs; missions that are unique to them, but ultimately tie into the larger story,” Busche says. “And along the way we’ll make consequential decisions for each of them, sometimes affecting who they are, sometimes heart-wrenching – I’ve cried more than once – and sometimes pretty joyous.”

Many years ago, I stood in a room with Mike Laidlaw as he talked about the tremendous amount of work that David Gaider, Ben Gelinas, and other writers put into building Dragon Age’s world (Gaider, it should be mentioned, is very active on X/Twitter and is definitely paying attention to The Veilguard). That effort has earned the series an enduring fanbase despite being on hiatus for more than a decade. Busche, a self-described RPG fan who says she loved Baldur’s Gate 3, counts herself among them.

“I’ve been a fan of all three for different reasons. But Origins is when I fell in love with the franchise,” she says.

When The Veilguard arrives later this fall (it doesn’t yet have a firm release date), it will be more than a big moment for BioWare – it will be a huge moment for the fans. The Dragon Age fans I know, many of them women, are palpably excited to have this franchise back in their lives after waiting for so long. It’s too early to say whether or not Dragon Age: The Veilguard will live up to their expectations. All I know is that it’s good to finally be back in Thedas after all these years.

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

At The Game Awards last December, Jurassic Park reared its scaly head to the audience in the monstrous form of Jurassic Park: Survival. It’s a new adventure game (no relation to the canceled early 2000s action game of the same name) made by Saber Interactive in partnership with Universal. At the time, they didn’t share much detail. But today, Saber and Universal have given IGN an exclusive peek into their rendition of Isla Nublar — new characters, new locations, new dinosaurs and all.

Universal and Saber have shared with us an internal Q&A conducted with Universal Products & Experiences executive producer John Melchior and Saber Interactive creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick, which contained a number of tidbits about what to expect from Jurassic Park: Survival. Going in, we already knew the game will take place one day after the events of the 1993 film. The action will follow InGen scientist Maya Joshi, who has been left behind on Isla Nublar after the characters of the film depart. There, she must survive and attempt to escape the park, avoiding dinosaurs and other hazards as she goes.

From Melchior and Hollis-Leick, we learned that we’ll not only be revisiting iconic locations from the 1993 film, but we’ll also be seeing brand new ones. This particular setting allowed the developers to explore places that were only implied in the film, but never seen — distant buildings, places where visitors were meant to stay the night, and so forth. And the locations that we’re familiar with may have been changed by the aftermath of the film.

“We have been working with all our stakeholders on what the island would have looked like after the events of the film,” Melchior said. “This includes areas we all love like the Visitor’s Center and the T-Rex paddock. But also, what we didn’t see, things that were not part of the tour or got cut off by the storm. Those on the island were supposed to be there overnight, so what does that mean? What would they have seen and where would they have stayed if everything went according to plan? That is where we are starting. One thing is certain – the island is as much a part of the story as the characters and dinosaurs.”

Speaking of the characters and the dinosaurs, it sounds like we’ll see new ones of both. Hollis-Leick specifically refers to “new characters,” plural, meaning more than just scientist Maya Joshi. And in response to a question about “special dinosaurs” in the game that aren’t in the movie, Melchior uncryptically replied with “Life finds a way…”

As for what you’ll be doing as Maya, we still haven’t seen gameplay yet. But Hollis-Leick offered this explanation of how exploring the island will work:

“The island is full of different types of terrain, many of them quite challenging. The player will need to use caution and planning in some cases, checking routes in advance. There will also be times when the player will need to move very carefully through an environment to avoid the attention of certain predators. Maya, the main character, is neither superhuman nor an action hero. There are real risks for her around every corner and the player will need to use a mixture of intelligence, grit and patience to survive the island’s many challenges.”

There’s still plenty we don’t know about Jurassic Park: Survival, and there’s certainly pressure on it to nail the nostalgic vibe of the film. Melchior says that Jurassic Park is the “most requested” game for Universal to make. Sure, there’s the Jurassic World Evolution series from Frontier Developments, but the management sim rendition on the franchise is a very different beast from a single-player adventure. Unfortunately, we may still have a while to wait, as Universal and Saber aren’t sharing a release date just yet, but did confirm the game won’t be out in 2024. We’ll see it out eventually on PS5, Xbox, and PC.

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

Nintendo games can be pricey, but Switch fans can still find fantastic deals. Throughout the year, there are numerous sales on games, Switch consoles, and accessories that are worth exploring. We’ve gathered the top deals currently available below, including a sale on Switch games going on right now at Best Buy. You can also score significant savings on future-proof micro SD cards, various accessories, and more. For more updates on the latest discounts, follow @IGNDeals on Twitter or Threads, and check out all our curated Switch deals below.

TL;DR – Best Switch Deals

The Best Nintendo Switch Deals – Navigate to:

• Switch Video Game Deals
• Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Preorders
• Switch SD Card Deals
• Switch Accessory Deals
• When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

Best Nintendo Switch Game Deals

There are quite a few different Switch games on sale at the moment that are worth picking up for your collection, especially from a big sale on Switch games going on right now at Best Buy. Some more of our favorites right now are on Super Mario RPG, which is down to $39.95, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which is 40% off to just $29.98. You can see even more of our favorite Switch game deals below.

More Switch Video Game Deals

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for $29.98
• Super Mario RPG for $39.95
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $56.48
• Super Mario Odyssey for $39.99
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for $39.99
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for $39.99
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land for $44.99
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for $44.99
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus for $54.99
• Super Mario Party for $55.99
• Metroid Dread (Preowned) for $44.99

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (Physical Edition) Preorder

While waiting for Nintendo’s Switch successor, you can enjoy some absolute classics with the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (which you can preorder here). This is a collection of over 150 challenges from 13 different NES games that’s coming exclusively to Switch on July 18, and you can preorder it today. We’ve included links to the physical edition’s preorder below, but if you’re looking for even more information on digital editions, check out our Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition preorder guide.

• Get it at Best Buy – $59.99
• Get it at GameStop – $59.99
• Get it at Target – $59.99

Best Switch Micro SD Card Deals

The best Switch SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, especially with the Switch successor on the horizon. Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just above and below for your convenience (like this excellent 1TB Lexar PLAY microSDXC Memory Card for $72.99). To see even more SD card deals, make sure to check out our roundup of the best SD card deals.

More Switch Micro SD Card Deals

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Best Nintendo Switch Accessory Deals

Whether you’re looking for a new case or a controller, there are quite a few different deals on Nintendo Switch accessories that are worth checking out right now as well. Here, we’ve listed just a few of our favorite discounts at a variety of retailers that are worth picking up right now.

When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

The short answer is that you should buy a Nintendo Switch whenever there’s any kind of sale, regardless of the time of year. Amazon will likely offer the same console bundles on any other sale as it will on Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, so there’s no real reason to wait if you’re in need of a Nintendo Switch.

That being said, there are sometimes some unique bundles and promotions during Black Friday that you won’t find any other time of the year. They usually includes additional games (like the infamous Mario Kart 8 bundle) or Switch accessories for free, but quantities tend to be limited. As always, do your research into the seller before you make a purchase and keep in mind that the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming out next year.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch in 2024

• Nintendo Switch Console for $299.00
• Nintendo Switch Lite Console for $199.00

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 PlayStation and Xbox, and 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.

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

BioWare has confirmed more information on Dragon Age: The Veilguard ahead of the RPG’s hotly anticipated gameplay reveal today, June 11.

As spotted by Dragon Age YouTuber Jackdaw, BioWare posted a number of comments in the chat of the gameplay video on YouTube responding to questions from fans. One comment confirmed The Veilguard will give players six factions to choose from when creating their character, all with “deep roots in Thedas.” Three examples were provided: Antivan Crows, Gray Wardens, and Shadow Dragons.

6 FACTIONS TO CHOOSE FOR OUR PLAYER HERO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/z5cI0wDqYT

— Jackdaw 🐦 (@JackdawYT) June 10, 2024

These examples harken back to previous Dragon Age games, with mention of the Gray Wardens in particular rekindling memories of the much-loved first Dragon Age game, subtitled Origins. In that 2009 RPG, the player character is recruited into the Grey Wardens, an ancient order that fights the Darkspawn. Some fans are now speculating that The Veilguard will let players play through their faction’s backstory, as Origins did to great effect, but this is unconfirmed for now.

Elsewhere, BioWare confirmed players can customize their Inquisitor from the Dragon Age: Inquisition story in the Veilguard character creator, and “make a few key decisions that will impact how The Veilguard begins.” This suggests Dragon Age fans’ Inquisitor will make an appearance in The Veilguard in some capacity.

THE INQUISITOR IS COMING BACK AND WE WILL CREATE THEM AT THE START OF DA:TV!!! 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/1UJKsVRFET

— Jackdaw 🐦 (@JackdawYT) June 10, 2024

And finally, it is confirmed that fan-favorite character Scout Harding is a romance option. This comes as little surprise given Harding is one of seven companions in The Veilguard.

As Nintendo had announced, it has now pulled X/Twitter support from the Switch via a new firmware update.

Nintendo Switch update 18.1.0, out now, discontinues X/Twitter integration, which means a number of previously available social media sharing options are gone. Elsewhere, our old friend “General system stability” has seen improvements “to enhance the user’s experience.”

The removal of X/Twitter integration from the Switch means all three major video game consoles now lack the sharing functionality they launched with, with Sony and Microsoft going first for PlayStation and Xbox in 2023. The decisions to remove support came after Elon Musk’s social media platform began charging more for business use of its API, the interface used by third-party developers to access Twitter data.

Nintendo didn’t give an explicit reason for the removal of support, but big companies like it, Sony, and Microsoft could be charged around $42,000 a month to uphold integration, according to Wired. It notably continued to support Facebook, however, which does not charge for using its API.

At the time Nintendo announced its plan to pull the integration from Switch, X/Twitter itself responded, insisting it was dedicated to enhancing the gaming community’s experience on the social media platform and that it still has a strong relationship with Nintendo.

“The gaming community is one of the largest and most vibrant communities on our platform, and we are dedicated to enhancing and supporting gaming-related features,” X/Twitter said in its own, now-deleted post.

“Our partnership with Nintendo remains strong, and we are working together to ensure a smooth transition for all users. We will continue collaborating with partners to bring new and exciting experiences to our global gaming community.”

X/Twitter’s API changes arrived in March 2023 and Microsoft disabled Xbox integration in May that year. Sony removed X/Twitter integration from PlayStation in November, though like Nintendo, neither company referenced the API changes as a reason for doing so.

Nintendo Switch update 18.1.0 patch notes:

• The following updates were made for the discontinuation of X (formerly Twitter) integration:
  • The option to “Post to Twitter” when sharing from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu was removed.
  • The ability to post Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots from the Album in the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu to Smash World in the Nintendo Switch Online smart device app was removed.
  • The option to link X (formerly Twitter) from “Settings” > “User Settings” > “Posting to Social Media” was removed.
• The option to link social media accounts from “My Page” > “Friend Suggestions” was removed.
• General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience.

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 Coalition is taking fans back to where it all started with Gears of War: E-Day, and that means revisiting the horrors of Emergence Day and the Locust horde.

Brand Director Nicole Fawcette and Creative Director Matt Searcy opened up about the studio’s desire to focus on the “scary” aspects of Gears during an interview with IGN. Searcy says the team wants to “capture a moment in time” and “tell a very intimate story about what happened” to the people in one of Sera’s cities.

“For us, it’s like a what-if story,” he said. “What if the ground opened up and monsters came out? Yeah, it’s set on a fictional, other planet, but there are very human reactions and stories we get to tell. To do that, we need to be able to tell a story that feels like a horror story.”

Searcy continues, explaining that Gears of War: E-Day will still have the heart and sci-fi the series is known for, but it will also focus in on this specific moment in time by telling a story that takes place over only a few days. The decision to lean in more on horror comes from The Coalition’s desire to recapture the feeling of terror many players might remember experiencing when playing through the series.

“We looked back at what people felt like when they played Gears of War or any of the Gears – Gears 4 included,” he said. “But when people tell you what they remember playing, the things that stood out to them, the feelings, a lot of it is about these, kind of dark, almost horror-esque, scary moments.”

Searcy continued: “So we basically took that feeling, that vision that’s in everybody’s head, and we’re like, ‘That’s the game we’re going to build.’ We’re going to build that game with all the skills we’ve learned, with all the technology we’ve built, and sort of go hard at that. So definitely part of the story is about reintroducing the locust to Gears as scary monsters from the ground come up. And then you realize as it goes on, this is not just monsters, there’s an army here and it’s bigger than anybody thinks it is.”

Fawcette elaborated on how new technology is allowing The Coalition to present the Locusts in new, horrifying ways.

“Through Unreal Engine 5, we now can show the locust at that visual fidelity that is believable as scary creatures from the subterranean,” she said. “And so, like you saw in the trailer, we’re really kind of leaning into those horror vibes as fans remember it and as time has moved on. What was scary in 2006 is very different than 2024. There’s sort of that just doubling down on how people remember how they feel about it.”

Why E-Day?

Gears of War: E-Day is detouring away from the storylines of Gears of War 4 and Gears 5, but as The Coalition explained in an Xbox Wire post, they won’t be abandoning that era of the Gears saga forever. Searcy tells us that the studio chose to go back in time for their next Gears of War game not because they were finished with the previous storyline but because revisiting Marcus and Dom’s relationship made sense for the team itself.

“For us, there is a story here, for our studio, of how we found our way to E-Day,” he explained. “It was about, sort of, reflection, and part of it is just the energy that rolls up about, this was the story we wanted to tell at this time. So, it wasn’t really about picking between these things, it was just a snowball of the stuff that was on the table and this is the one we wanted to do right now.”

Fawcette chimed in, saying that when the idea for Gears of War: E-Day came about, it was a feeling of “Hell yeah. We want to make this.”

Searcy continued: “We love those characters, and like I said, it’s really nice to have a franchise where we can tell stories of different places. When we’re at Gears 4 and 5 we tell these stories, and Tactics, that goes at a different time, and all these sorts of things. For us, it is just the one we wanted to work on now is the one that felt right.”

The Coalition revealed Gears of War: E-Day during yesterday’s Xbox Games Showcase. We’ve not seen any gameplay yet, but this first footage promised a return to the series’ roots with a touching moment that saw the return of fan-favorite character, Dom Santiago. It’s been 13 years since fans watched Dom him sacrifice himself for his fellow COG brothers in Gears of War 3, so while Fawcette and Searcy promise a horrific prequel that explores one of humanity’s darkest days, it’s sure to be an emotional journey, too.

Gears of War: E-Day is currently without a release date. For everything else you announced at the Xbox Games Showcase, you can click here.

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.

Amid multiple leaks and rumors, we had a decent idea of what was going to be at this year’s Xbox Games Showcase with seemingly plenty to get excited about. But when the Showcase finally aired, Microsoft did the near-impossible for any company in a fickle social media-fueled age: they exceeded expectations and drew almost universal acclaim. Eighty-four percent of the 10,000+ voters in my X poll graded it an ‘A’ on the academic scale. Ninety-five percent gave it an ‘A’ or ‘B’.

A home run like this would be welcome at any time, but it’s an especially fortuitous one now for both Xbox fans and, no doubt, Xbox employees alike. Confidence had been shaken in recent months, with dedicated fans rankled by Microsoft’s decision to bring some previously exclusive games to other platforms. Worse, Microsoft joined the tragically long list of gaming and tech companies to lay off thousands of employees early in the year and, more recently, shut down four development studios it acquired as part of a $7.5 billion deal just four years ago. Two of those were household names in core-gaming circles: Arkane Austin, who, their recent Redfall misfire aside, had an incredibly impressive track record; and the one that really stuck in the community’s craw, Tango Gameworks. They were not only Xbox’s lone Japanese developer, but they’d had an unquestionably good run, highlighted by their most recent and arguably best game, Hi-Fi Rush.

While Xbox’s best showcase ever can’t erase the human impact on the laid-off developers nor reignite the creative embers that have been snuffed out at the shut-down studios, it is the best way for fans who remain invested in the Xbox ecosystem to move forward with confidence and excitement for the future of the platform. And my goodness did that top-to-bottom brilliant showcase give me confidence and excitement for Xbox.

Call of Duty debuted on Xbox’s stage for the first time since the Xbox 360 era, with Black Ops 6 already looking like it could be one of the biggest and best releases for the series in a half-decade – since Infinity Ward’s excellent Modern Warfare reboot in 2019. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer could barely contain his excitement on stage in announcing Doom: The Dark Ages, a bold, more melee combat-intensive prequel in id Software’s brilliantly revived and historically iconic first-person shooter franchise.

And speaking of prequels, Xbox President Sarah Bond introduced the “one more thing” game for this Showcase: the long-anticipated new entry in the Gears series, which itself was not a surprise. What shocked everyone, though – which the trailer slowly made more apparent – was that we wouldn’t be picking up Kait’s story in Gears 6, but instead we’ll be going back to Emergence Day and the formation of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago’s Delta Squad in a Gears of War prequel – complete with a most-welcome (by me, at least) restoration of the “of War” part of the name.

But the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase didn’t just start big with Black Ops 6 and Doom: The Dark Ages and end big with Gears of War: E-Day – it kept cooking for almost the entire runtime. A new gameplay trailer for Fable floored me, as not only was I not expecting to see any more of it after getting our first tiny glimpse at gameplay at last year’s Showcase, but we got to see quite a bit of Playground’s gorgeous new rendition of Albion. The cherry on top was Microsoft committing to a 2025 release window, which means we can already pencil in Doom: The Dark Ages and Fable for next year – my gut says the former will drop in the Spring, and the latter in the Fall.

Oh, but South of Midnight belongs on that 2025 list too! We got a proper gameplay trailer for Compulsion’s first game since joining the Xbox family after it was announced with a cinematic piece last year, and the art style is incredibly beautiful and wholly unique.

Meanwhile, it didn’t get a release year attached to it (meaning, assume 2026 for now), but the game that stole the fantastic show for me was Perfect Dark. The long-gestating reboot of the beloved Nintendo 64 classic (and decently liked Xbox 360 launch title) has reportedly endured a troubled development, but the co-developers at The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics blew me away by showing off a gameplay-packed trailer that showed off gadgets, first-person shooting, and parkour, leaving me optimistic that we might have a slick combination of Mirror’s Edge, Deus Ex, and the original Perfect Dark on our hands.

Even the inevitable mid-show lull that every showcase like this goes through yielded compelling reveals: the ‘90s-set adventure Mixtape feels like it was made for me specifically, Metal Gear Solid: Delta appears to be both a gorgeous and incredibly faithful remake of the classic Metal Gear Solid 3, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle only “disappointed” me with an otherwise A+ story trailer because we didn’t get a more specific release date than “2024.” But it does reaffirm that within six months I’ll be playing the next effort from MachineGames, a studio that has never missed.

In fact, Xbox’s 2024 Games Showcase was so spectacular and packed with huge first-party games that I didn’t even notice that two of their biggest pillars were missing: Halo and Forza. Granted, I wasn’t expecting anything from Halo, as we’re still only 2.5 years past Halo Infinite’s release. But Forza? Surely a new Forza Horizon – arguably Xbox’s most consistently brilliant franchise – is in the works! If you’re Microsoft, you know you’ve had a heck of a showcase when Halo and Forza can stay home and nobody seems to mind.

I suppose there was one rumored thing that ended up not being included: an Xbox handheld. Fortunately, I got a chance to ask Phil Spencer about that directly afterwards, and I’d say he came as close as he could to confirming its existence without formally announcing it.

If this stellar showcase reaffirmed anything for both Microsoft and Xbox fans alike, it’s that a powerful console is great, and Xbox Game Pass offers a nice value option, but a consistent diet of top-shelf games is what matters more than anything else. More of this please, Microsoft.

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.

Obsidian Entertainment has posted a 30-minute deep dive for its upcoming fantasy action RPG Avowed, revealing an extended look at its gameplay in both first and third person.

This lengthy look at gameplay in the world of Eora comes directly from Xbox itself and goes into some of the magical tools players will have at their disposal when embarking on their adventure later this year. Game Director Carrie Patel touched on these details during the interview, but the feature that might have fans the most excited is the promise that you will have the option to play in both first and third person.