Category: IGN

2K has announced two of its big hitters are set for fresh reveals at this week’s The Game Awards: Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country.

“Who’s ready to get their first look at the most ambitious Borderlands yet?!” reads the tweet from the Borderlands account.

Prepare yourselves! We’re about to crank things up to the next fucking level at #TheGameAwards.

Who’s ready to get their first look at the most ambitious Borderlands yet?! pic.twitter.com/u7SJ2K2MPZ

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) December 9, 2024

“See you at @thegameawards!” reads the tweet from the Mafia account.

See you at @thegameawards! #MafiaTheOldCountry #TheGameAwards pic.twitter.com/0RVfkJLpx0

— Mafia Game (@mafiagame) December 9, 2024

Gearbox development chief Randy Pitchford tweeted to hype up the Borderlands 4 trailer, which he said includes gameplay. He added that he will also share an original cinematic sequence depicting a moment that occurs about halfway between the end of Borderlands 3 and the beginning of Borderlands 4.

Both Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country are due out at some point in 2025, potentially running up against the behemoth that is Grand Theft Auto 6. Last month, Rockstar and 2K parent company Take-Two insisted GTA 6 was still on course for launch during fall 2025, despite ongoing speculation that Rockstar may delay the game into 2026. 2K is set to release Borderlands 4 during the same fiscal year (at some point between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026).

Is there a danger, then, that GTA 6 will eat Borderlands 4’s lunch? Not so, according to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick. Speaking to Variety, Zelnick said that while he couldn’t offer a release date for GTA 6, the guaranteed megahit won’t cross paths with Borderlands 4. “I think it’s safe to say that we wouldn’t, and no one would, stack up huge releases unnecessarily,” Zelnick said.

What does this mean for Borderlands 4’s release date? Well, in order for it to get out of the way of GTA 6 (assuming GTA 6 does indeed release fall 2025), and to fit in with the next fiscal year, it would either have to launch in the April to June 2025 quarter or the January to March 2026 quarter.

GTA 6 will probably be the biggest video game launch of all time, so no other game is safe from its gravitational pull. Even the might of Call of Duty, set to launch yet another premium iteration around October or November 2025, will be sorely tested by GTA 6.

The Game Awards 2024 is set for December 12.

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.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but there are still some seasonal sale surprises available for Xbox fans. Woot’s currently offering a phenomenal deal to first-time Woot customers on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate where you can get three months for just $28.99 with the code ‘GAMEPASS’. With this, you can jump into exciting new releases like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (which we gave a 9/10).

According to Woot, this deal only lasts for five more days or until its sold out, so act fast to sign up and save some cash. You can learn more about that deal, what’s coming soon to Game Pass, and the big releases still to come below.

Navigate to:

• Best Xbox Game Pass Deals
• What’s Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?
• What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?
• Biggest Games Releasing on Xbox Game Pass

Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

Woot has come through once again with our favorite Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deal. For a limited time, first-time Woot customers can get three months of the service for just $28.99 by using the code ‘GAMEPASS’ at checkout. However, it’s worth noting it allows just one coupon per user. If you’re not a first-time Woot customer, you can still get the three months at a discounted price of $33.99.

Considering the new price of Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99/month, you’re saving $30.98 with this three-month deal. This is the best way to avoid the Xbox Game Pass price hike. By stacking these codes you can set yourself up for success to play all of Xbox’s upcoming releases at a lower price.

What’s Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?

Game Pass has a nice rotation of new titles to play every month. If you’re curious about what’s in store for December, we’ve got you covered. The Xbox Game Pass December lineup is:

• Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (Ultimate, Standard, Core) – December 4
• DayZ (Now with Core) – December 4
• Goat Simulator (Now with Core) – December 4
• Forza Motorsport (Now with Standard) – December 4
• Hauntii (Now with Standard) – December 4
• Humanity (Now with Standard) December 4
• EA Sports WRC (Ultimate, PC) – December 5
• Overthrown (Ultimate, PC) – December 5
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Ultimate, PC) – December 9
• Wildfrost (Ultimate, PC) – December 10
• Carrion (Ultimate, PC, Standard) – January 2
• Road 96 (Ultimate, PC, Stnadard) – January 7

Unfortunately, for those subscribing to the new Standard tier (available for $14.99/month), this does not give Game Pass users access to day one releases. This means big new releases on the platform like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will not be available on that tier.

What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?

Unfortunately with new games joining the catalog it means a few must take their leave. Below, we’ve listed the games that’ll be leaving Xbox Game Pass in December.

• Amnesia: The Bunker
• Forager
• Forza Horizon 4
• The Quarry
• Tin Hearts
• Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan
• Rise of the Tomb Raider

Biggest Games Releasing on Xbox Game Pass

Xbox’s Summer Showcase back in June was a massive success, showcasing an incredible amount of new titles coming to the platform. Alongside Black Ops 6, the showcase also included Doom: The Dark Ages, Perfect Dark, Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and so many more. But which of these titles will appear as day-one releases on Game Pass? Thankfully, quite a few! Including all of the previously mentioned titles.

The latest big release this month is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which we gave a 9/10 in our review. IGN’s Luke Reilly said, “With a host of gorgeous and lavishly detailed levels, satisfying combat hinged on jawbreaking haymakers, and a focus on slow-paced exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving (interspersed with a handful of high-voltage action scenes), The Great Circle is an irresistible and immersive global treasure hunt for Indy fans who’ve felt underserved by the likes of The Dial of Destiny and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

If you’re looking for even more savings on all things Xbox, have a look at our roundup of the best Xbox deals. There, we’ve highlighted all of the latest and greatest discounts on the platform, from incredible game deals to fantastic offers on high-quality headphones. Or, if you’d rather see what’s going on with other platforms, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Nintendo Switch deals, and our overall roundup of the best video game deals.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us, but some retailers have a few deals left up their sleeves before the holidays. Amazon, in particular, has a great offer right now. If Helldivers 2 was on your radar during the sale event, the PS5 version is currently down to just $24.99 for Prime Members.

That’s $5 lower than the $29.99 price it dropped to during Black Friday, and $15 off its original price. With a deal like that, there’s no better time to join the fight for Super Earth. For Democracy!

Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games has already identified a number of skills it plans to nerf following the action RPG’s explosive Early Access launch.

Just a day after Path of Exile 2 launched to huge concurrent player numbers on Steam, GGG tweeted to say it had “finally hit that point where a skill with unacceptable balance has been discovered.” The skill in question is Supercharged Slam, which GGG said is dealing “far too much damage than was intended given the short channel window required to hit maximum stages.”

The developer reduced its damage via a hotfix soon after issuing the tweet. “As much as we are trying to avoid nerfing skills and builds, it is better to do this early before it feels obligatory to use the skill,” GGG explained. “It is important that a wide variety of skills feel viable and fun to play and it simply diminishes all other abilities when one is clearly outshining the others like this.” Another nerf is set for Supercharged Slam to adjust how long it takes to build up charges, “as it is far too quick at the moment.”

Then, on December 8, GGG said it had found another skill in an “unacceptable” balance state: Magnetic Salvo. Path of Exile 2’s next hotfix reduces its damage. “Note that this isn’t the only skill on our radar right now but we’re really just trying to address egregious cases at the moment,” GGG said.

“We’re currently playing alongside you all and are also collating a lot of your feedback that we’ll be addressing as much as possible in the upcoming week once the team is back in the office before the holidays.”

And then, on December 9, GGG said it’s “a bit too easy” to detonate Gas Cloud explosions when combined with persistent Ignite skills like Flame Wall. Yet another upcoming hotfix will nerf explosion damage of both Gas Grenade and Gas Arrow.

“In the future, we want to update it such that the potency of the Ignite or Detonator contributes to determining the damage of the Gas Cloud explosions, that way we would be able to avoid balancing around the simplest and most efficient way to apply Ignites,” GGG explained.

Path of Exile 2 is GGG’s action role-playing sequel set years after the original game. Players return to the world of Wraeclast and seek to end a spreading corruption, with six character classes, each with two Ascendancy Classes, available to play at the launch of Early Access. There’s co-op for up to six players, but you can play solo.

It launched across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on December 6 and immediately ran into server issues that prevented players from logging in. GGG had warned players that Path of Exile 2 might struggle with the influx of players at launch, and so it proved. But over the course of Friday and into the weekend, the New Zealand developer began to get on top of the problems, and its concurrent player count on Steam shot up.

Here’s which class to pick in PoE 2 Early Access, plus an early Mercenary build guide and Sorceress build guide to help you get started. Beyond that, if you’re wondering how to get more Spirit, how to trade, and how to ascend, we’ve got you covered.

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.

Red Dead Redemption actor Rob Wiethoff, who plays the iconic John Marston in both the original game and Red Dead Redemption 2, has started an OnlyFans page.

While the website is predominantly associated with adult content, Wiethoff’s OnlyFans page, spotted by ComicBook, will instead chronicle his journey getting in shape.

“This page is not like other OnlyFans pages,” Wiethoff said in an Instagram comment. “If you follow, you’re going to watch an old guy work out. That’s all it is. My plan is to get ripped, though. You can do it with me if you want.”

Infinity Nikki, the open-world dress up role-playing game from former The Legend of Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga, has already crossed 10 million downloads, and developer Infold Games is celebrating with in-game rewards.

An X/Twitter post revealed the impressive milestone was reached just four days after Infinity Nikki’s December 5 launch, and players can now access 10 free draws as a thanks for their support.

“Infinity Nikki has reached over 10 million downloads worldwide,” Infold Games said. “On this whimsical journey, take each step with confidence and embrace the brilliance of every moment. Let’s set forth toward a bright and sparkling future.”

Players can access the rewards by opening their mailbox before January 1, where they’ll find a special bonus of 10 Resonite Crystals which can be used to unlock as many draws. Players have access to the mailbox once they have joined the Florawish Stylist’s Guild and received a Pear-Pal.

Infinity Nikki is described as “a grand adventure in the glamourous dress-up adventure game series,” where, “for the first time ever, Miraland is now an explorable open world. Nikki and Momo will set off on another marvelous journey, exploring the world, discovering amazing landscapes, and collecting outfits.”

It has enjoyed a very successful launch so far, as beyond a brief website hack which stopped players downloading the game, no technical difficulties or other issues have arisen. This has obviously converted well for Infold Games with the 10 million downloads.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “Infinity Nikki has deep open world exploration, a quirky story, and some of the most beautiful in-game outfits you’ll ever see – you just have to be ready to navigate a maze of menus to get them.”

For curious stylists and outfit collectors, we’ve got a guide to all Outfits in Infinity Nikki, plus all Ability Outfits, to help you avoid a fashion faux pas. As you explore Miraland and search for collectibles, keep an eye out for all the Whimstar locations, and make sure to check in with our Infinity Nikki daily tasks guide. Plus, there are plenty of Infinity Nikki launch rewards to claim, including some very generous promo codes you won’t want to miss.

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

Activision is embroiled in a backlash over Call of Duty Black Ops 6 in-game art that some fans have accused of being “AI slop.”

Following the release of the Season 1 Reloaded update, fans noticed a number of telltale signs in Black Ops 6 loading screens, calling cards, and art used to explain how Zombies community events work.

At the centre of the backlash is a loading screen image of Zombie Santa, aka ‘Necroclaus,’ which some have said shows the undead Father Christmas with six fingers. Others, however, believe the bottom left ‘finger’ is simply flesh falling off the little finger above it, although there are irregularities with the present boxes and ribbons in the bottom right, too. Generative AI often struggles with hands, adding extra fingers where they shouldn’t be.

Path of Exile 2 looks like a smash hit for developer Grinding Gear Games, with over half a million concurrent players on Steam alone.

Path of Exile 2 is GGG’s action role-playing sequel set years after the original game. Players return to the world of Wraeclast and seek to end a spreading corruption, with six character classes, each with two Ascendancy Classes, available to play at the launch of Early Access. There’s co-op for up to six players, but you can play solo.

It launched across PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on December 6 and immediately ran into server issues that prevented players from logging in. GGG had warned players that Path of Exile 2 might struggle with the influx of players at launch, and so it proved. But over the course of Friday and into the weekend, the New Zealand developer began to get on top of the problems, and its concurrent player count on Steam shot up.

Concurrent players peaked on Valve’s platform at a huge 578,569, which put Path of Exile 2 straight into Steam’s top five most-played games. In terms of all-time peak concurrents on Valve’s platform, Path of Exile 2 is in 15th place, ahead of the likes of Valheim, Call of Duty, and Terraria. Microsoft and Sony do not make Xbox and PlayStation player numbers public, so Path of Exile 2’s true concurrent player peak will be even higher, potentially hitting that million mark GGG had flagged would perhaps cause problems.

Path of Exile 2 has a ‘very positive’ user review rating on Steam, with 82% of the 26,800 reviews flagged as positive. It’s also the top-selling game on Steam by revenue, ahead of NetEase’s superhero PvP shooter Marvel Rivals. IGN’s Path of Exile 2 Early Access review returned an 8/10. We said: “Path of Exile 2’s redefined action and surprisingly fleshed-out endgame have gotten this sequel off to an exciting start, even in its predictably rocky early access state.”

Here’s which class to pick in PoE 2 Early Access, plus an early Mercenary build guide and Sorceress build guide to help you get started. Beyond that, if you’re wondering how to get more Spirit, how to trade, and how to ascend, we’ve got you covered.

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 weekend is officially here, and we’ve rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for Sunday, December 8, below:

Sackboy: A Big Adventure for $12.59

Fortnite Ballistic is a brand-new first-person, round-based 5v5 competitive game mode that is set to launch in Early Access on December 11, 2024.

According to The Fortnite Team, Fortnite Ballistic is all about “strategy, tactical teamwork, and individual prowess.” Players will be split into two teams – Attackers or Defenders – and the goal is to either plant a reality-tearing Rift Point Device or stop the other team from doing so.

Much like other games of this style, there will be no respawns during a round and victory is achieved when the Rift Point Device explodes (45 seconds after planting!) or either team is wiped out. Players will swap teams every six rounds and the game will end when a team wins seven rounds total.

All players will start a match with a Ranger Pistol and 800 Credits, and more credits can be earned by killing other players or planting the Rift Point Device. Credits can then be spent at the beginning of each round on weapons and items to help players and teams achieve victory.

If players survive a round, they will get to keep their gear and shields. Items they use will not carry over, but they can drop weapons, smoke grenades, and flashbangs for their team or even pick them off of eliminated players.

Speaking of items, players will be able to choose one of five Flex Gadgets that they alone will be able to purchase and use during a match. Each player can hold up to two of their Flex Gadgets in their inventory, and they can not be dropped or picked up by other players.

The Flex Gadgets are as follows, via The Fortnite Team;

• Select the Proximity Mine to place a damaging mine down on the floor, wall, or ceiling to surprise an unsuspecting enemy. They can be picked back up and placed again and will explode if shot. Great for booby-trapping sites when defending!
• The Bubble Shield allows for throwing down a temporary protective bubble that’s impervious to bullets and projectiles such as grenades. It’s great for providing a shield for your team as you storm onto a site.
  The Recon Grenade gadget marks any enemies detected nearby where it’s thrown, even through walls. Throw a Recon gadget onto a site before entering to get a read on who might be waiting to get the drop on you.
  Old faithful! A thrown Frag Grenade will bounce and explode, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Careful — you’ll take damage from your own grenades (though your allies will not). Great for flushing players out from behind cover.
  The Impulse Grenade gadget is a disruptive tool that launches enemies and allies away. It has many creative uses, such as launching teammates onto a site from afar.

When Fortnite Ballistic launches, it will do so with only one map – Skyline 10. There will also be a starting set of weapons and items, and adjustments will be made post-launch alongside new maps, weapons, and features.

What will be there at launch, however, will be Unranked and Ranked modes. In Unranked, spots will be filled if players drop from a game and players can remain on the same server after a match if they’d like. In Ranked, there is no backfilling and a rank penalty will be filed to anyone who leaves and they won’t be able to join another match for “a period of time.”

Unlike Ranked Battle Royale and Reload, matchmaking in Ranked Ballistic is based on the average rank of a party. Furthermore, the amount of rank each player earns in a match will be based on rounds won, rounds lost, eliminations, and assists, in that order.

Fortnite Ballistic arrives just after the launch of Fortnite OG and an epic event featuring Juice WRLD, Eminem, Ice Spice, and Snoop Dogg.

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

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.