Category: IGN

The dreaded and feared Skibidi Toilet has reared its truly ugly head in Fortnite at last. The rumored update officially dropped in the game last night, and so far it’s prompting reactions of skepticism, confusion, and delight from the Fortnite community.

First off, let’s talk about the crossover itself. We first learned about it earlier this week via leakers, followed up by a confirmation from the official Fortnite X account of a toilet, plunger, and camera emoji in succession and a date: December 18, 2024. The actual update went live last night, and includes a Skibidi Toilet bundle on the item shop (discounted to 2,200 V-bucks at the time this piece was written) consisting of plunger pickaxes, a Plungerhead character skin, and two backpacks: one that goes with the Plungerhead outfit, and another that is the iconic Skibidi Toilet himself. There’s also a lego version of the Plungerman skin.

You know it. Now you can wear it!
Skibidi Toilet & Plungerman. Available now in the Shop.https://t.co/DXMUbYvQLk pic.twitter.com/P8VUaJorLe

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) December 19, 2024

That’s it for the collaboration, though with the recent return of the original map and the Flush Factory, there’s already a conveniently toilet-themed location just waiting to be flooded with Skibidi nonsense:

The addition of Skibidi Toilet to Fortnite is being met with some mixed feelings from the community. There are some naysayers who feel that Fortnite has gone too far incorporating the popular meme, suggesting it’s juvenile and indicative of a slide into total absurdity for what’s deemed worthy of a collaboration:

That said, the vast majority of folks seem to range from mildly amused to chaotically delighted, even the ones who have no idea what Skibidi Toilet is.

All in all, the verdict of the Fortnite community seems to be that the Skibidi Toilet addition to Fortnite is a good time, at minimum because the Plungerman skin is pretty cool.

If you, like some members of the Fortnite community, have absolutely no idea what this toilet thing is, here’s the quick rundown: Skibidi Toilet is a series of web shorts by Alxey Gerasimov published on YouTube via Gerasimov’s channel, DaFuq!?Boom!. And by shorts, we do mean very short – early episodes are only a handful of seconds long, and were created with Garry’s Mod using assets from games like Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike. The series features a toilet with a man’s head coming out of it set to a mashup of the songs Give It to Me by Timbaland and Dom Dom Yes Yes by Biser King. While early episodes are somewhat nonsensical, as the series progresses a plot emerges about an arms race between the Skibidi Toilets (of which there are many of varying sizes and with different heads popping out) and a race of people with video cameras for heads. The plot progresses from there, more recently centering on a cameraman named Plungerman and involving alien Skibidi Toilets.

The whole thing, while absurdist, is far more complex than you might imagine just from seeing the image of the head in the toilet. In fact, it’s got enough going on (and is popular enough) that there’s reportedly a film and TV adaptation effort underway from Michael Bay.

If you love Fortnite but Skibidi Toilet is still a bit much for you, don’t worry. The game gets so many constant collaborations, the toilet-fest will quickly be drowned out by the next big thing, which happens to be Mariah Carey emerging from a giant block of ice to ring in the holidays. It’s almost time!

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead is giving all players free Killzone items starting today, December 19, in response to a backlash over pricing.

Part one of the Helldivers 2 and Killzone crossover includes a Killzone-themed armor set, assault rifle, banner, cape, and player title. If you want all the Killzone items you’ll have to hand over Super Credits to the value of nearly twice the cost of a premium Warbond, and nearly half the price of Helldivers 2 itself.

In a post on the Helldivers 2 Steam page, Arrowhead said it had talked to Killzone developer Guerrilla Games and is now gifting the items that were meant to be sold as part of the crossover’s second wave next week.

“As this was our first crossover offering, we’ve been listening to the response, and the feedback we’ve received from our community surveys is that crossover content is really high up on your wishlists,” Arrowhead said in its statement.

“At the same time, some of you are not happy with the prices of the items and we will revisit this.

“Many of you were also concerned that items wouldn’t be in rotation for long enough, and there was a bit of concern around how these items exist outside of our usual Warbond releases, which are always themed in our own universe.

“Because of all this, in partnership with our friends at Guerrilla (and as we’re in the season of holiday cheer), we’ve decided to offer a gift to all players.

“Firstly, we are gifting to everyone the planned second wave of the Helldivers x Killzone collaboration items today, free of charge. The distribution of those items will begin shortly, in two waves.”

Five Nights at Freddy’s tower defense Roblox experience Five Nights TD just dropped the first part of its Christmas Update, with more planned to roll out next week.

The festive update for the strategy spin on everyone’s favorite animatronic horror franchise delivers new units and games while dressing up the lobby with enough decorations to lift the spirits of any Grinch. This also means that the Christmas Event has arrived, giving players winter-y areas to explore and survive through.

Candy canes and Christmas trees aside, Five Nights TD’s new update comes with more than just a few jolly changes to the atmosphere to keep players entertained through December. Also included in the update are two new games and two new exclusive units. There are eight new units in total, as well as one new Apex. In addition to your usual list of bug fixes and gameplay changes, there’s also an Advent Calendar for players to enjoy in-game.

Following PlayStation and Xbox releasing their annual player wrap ups, Nintendo has now released its own in the Nintendo Switch Year in Review 2024.

The wrap up is now available on Nintendo’s website. “Revisit your 2024 on Nintendo Switch with your personalized Year in Review,” it reads.

Using their Nintendo account, players will receive a recap of their year including how many different games were played, how long they were played for, what the most played game of the year was, and a breakdown month by month.

Wrap up features gained traction first through the likes of music app Spotify before gaming brands like Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox got on board. PlayStation’s arrived earlier in December but was broken for a while, though once working even revealed players’ historical statistics in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

This will perhaps be Nintendo’s last year with just the current Switch in its yearly review, with the Nintendo Switch 2 due to be announced by the end of March 2025.

The new console is expected the following financial year, meaning by the end of March 2026, but Nintendo will perhaps look to capitalize on the holiday season and release it by the end of 2025.

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

Activision has confirmed it has recast some members of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 cast after fans noticed much-loved Zombies characters with new voices in-game.

The company issued a statement to Game Developer admitting characters in Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode were recast amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

Zombies characters William Peck (Zeke Alton) and Samantha Maxis (Julie Nathanson) are currently voiced by new, unknown actors. Alton told Game Developer that he takes no issue with Activision’s actions with Peck, but expressed concern “for my brand as a performer.”

“Fans of the game have reached out to me because the lack of crediting [of the replacement actor] implies that it may still be me which unfairly represents my abilities as a performer,” Alton said.

SAG-AFTRA’s dispute with the video game industry revolves around the use of generative AI to replicate voice actor performances. Activision said: “We respect the personal choice of these performers. Out of respect for all parties, we won’t add new commentary about the ongoing negotiations with SAG-AFTRA. We look forward to a mutually beneficial outcome as soon as possible.”

The concern now is Activision may replace other voice actors in Black Ops 6, if it hasn’t done already. Fans are already on high alert after accusing Activision of using “AI slop” for in-game art. Activision has so far failed to comment on the likes of the six-fingered Zombie Santa.

SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors went on strike in July, accusing gaming companies of refusing to meet their demands on artificial intelligence. Negotiations over a new contract began in October 2022 and SAG-AFTRA members approved the strike last September. Check out IGN’s feature, What the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Actors Strike Means for Gamers, for more.

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.

Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has released the game’s first major update, patch 1.1.

The update makes over 1,800 fixes and adjustments, GSC said, including the first iteration of A-Life fixes.

Stalker 2 launched late last month to a positive reception on Steam and one million sales. It’s a success for the Ukrainian studio, a miracle, really, considering the harrowing circumstances that followed Russian’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. But Stalker 2 suffers from well-documented bugs; chief among them A-Life 2.0.

A-Life was a key feature of the first Stalker game that governed AI behavior across the game world. At a high level, it is a system for simulating life in the Zone that works its magic seemingly independently of the player’s actions or whereabouts. It helps to create convincing AI and the emergent gameplay Stalker is famous for.

GSC had said A-Life 2.0 would make the Zone feel alive as never before, that it would fuel emergent gameplay on a scale previously thought impossible. Indeed for some fans, A-Life 2.0 was Stalker 2’s biggest selling point. But when Stalker 2 actually came out players discovered that A-Life 2.0 didn’t work properly, with some questioning whether it was even in the game at all.

In an interview with IGN, GSC explained what went wrong with Stalker 2’s A-Life 2.0, and vowed to fix the system. Patch 1.1, then, is the first step on that road.

A-Life fixes added with patch 1.1 include the issue with spawning NPCs behind the player’s back. Players can now encounter roaming NPCs across the Zone more often, and the distance at which A-Life NPCs are visible to the player is greatly extended.

Stalker 2 patch 1.1 A-Life fixes in full:

A-Life fixes

• Fixed the issue with spawning NPCs behind the player’s back.
• Players can now encounter roaming NPCs across the Zone more often.
• Greatly extended the distance at which A-Life NPCs are visible to the player.
• Fixed the aggressive optimization issue that prevented A-Life NPCs to exist in Offline (out of player’s visualization range).
  • In Offline mode, A-Life will continue to advance towards their goals over time.
  • Players may now have opportunities to encounter A-Life NPCs they’ve previously met by following in the same direction as the NPCs.
• Improved A-Life NPCs navigation in Offline using GameGraph (global AI navigation map):
  • Fixed multiple issues where NPCs would fail to follow or find a path to their designated goals.
  • Fixed several issues with NPC being stuck in Online-Offline transition state,
• Enhanced A-Life NPCs’ motivation to expand territory and actively attack enemies and mutants.
• Fixed issues that could result in fewer A-life NPCs encountered than intended.
• Further contextual actions improvement to ensure seamless transitions between Offline and Online states for NPCs engaged in these actions.
• The groups exploring the Zone are now more diverse regarding possible factions and group sizes.
• Fixed issue that while roaming over the Zone, Human NPCs didn’t satisfy their communication needs and talks.

And some other development related improvements.

Elsewhere, there’s a long list of AI improvements, balance changes, and loads of other fixes Stalker 2 fans will benefit from. This patch fixes mainline missions, story progression and side missions, crashes, and many, many bugs. It also improves performance and optimization. The patch notes, posted to Steam, are well worth checking out if you’re playing.

GSC warned that patch 1.1 is a massive download, so players should brace themselves for that. “We understand that the size of the patch is huge and the process of downloading will take some time,” the developer said. “We would like to thank you for your understanding, and we will work on this aspect as well.”

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 writer of the infamous Sonic Adventure 2 song “Live and Learn” is suing Sega, claiming he owns the rights to the song in part, and alleging the company has been using the song without his permission and making money off it over the last 20 years.

In a lawsuit first spotted by Polygon and also viewed by IGN, John Gioeli, the writer and performer for Live and Learn, asserts that he has maintained his songwriting registration for the song for over 20 years since he first wrote and recorded it for Sonic Adventure 2. However, he says Sega has been improperly claiming it is the actual owner of the song and behaving as such, including licensing the song to “at least 25 video games, television shows, live performances/events, and films.”

Specifically, Gioeli’s suit claims that Sega is basing its ownership of Live and Learn off “a 2001 lyric agreement where Gioeli was paid $3000 to write lyrics for a as-yet-untitled song that would be included in Sonic Adventure 2.” He did so at his home studio, using his own equipment and own vocals, allegedly without Sega’s direct involvement. He did work with Sega composer Jun Senoue over the phone, with Senoue initially sending him a music demo that Gioeli was supposed to write lyrics for. But the suit claims that the scope of Gioeli’s work expanded over the course of his work on Live and Learn without amendment to the initial agreement, which was only for the lyrics. Allegedly, Gioeli revised the song significantly, communicating changes over the phone to Senoue.

As a result, Gioeli says Sega claims it owns both the recording and musical composition, but argues this is not actually the case and that there is no agreement stating such. And Gioeli also claims that Sega has acknowledged in the past that the composition is “likely jointly owned”, with one Sega lawyer allegedly telling Gioeli at one point that he is entitled to 50% of profits from its use.

Gioeli allegedly was somehow unaware that Sega has been using Live and Learn with regularity in a number of other formats over the last 20 years. This is despite Gioeli working closely with the company on a number of songs throughout this time, all of which had far more specific agreements signed about who owned what. Per the suit, he only found out about its myriad uses through a fan telling him, and has since identified 25 video games it exists in. These include multiple Yakuza and Sonic games, Super Smash Bros, Phantasy Star Online, the maimai series, and Monster Hunter Rise). Notably, Gioeli was involved in the song’s inclusion in the recent movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (which we’ve just reviewed), and even signed the deal with Paramount for song placement.

Gioeli is seeking a court decision as to the ownership of Live and Learn, as well as a restitution for any money he is owed and damages for breach of the 2001 Lyric Agreement.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

The comeback wasn’t going to happen. I was blowing it. I lost my first character in my first match of The Hidden Ones because I didn’t cash out with my Ultimate Skill, but I made a comeback with my mid before losing her to my opponent’s anchor. I didn’t have a great answer for what he was doing, and I was convinced I was going to waste what had started off as a great comeback. Then my anchor came out. It was my first game; I’d never used her before. And at first, it was going about the same, and then I realized what I was doing. I canceled my default combo into another combo then another, and cashed out with my Ultimate. And on the last hit, I got the kill. God, I love fighting games, and if my time with it is any indication, The Hidden Ones is living up to what makes the genre so great.

If you’re not up on The Lore ™, The Hidden Ones is based on the anime Hitori No Shita: The Outcasts, which in turn is based on Under One Person, a Chinese webcomic. Whew. Okay, so the history is a little complicated, but you don’t really need to know what’s going on with the other parts of the series to vibe with The Hidden Ones. I have no experience with the anime, but I was able to follow what I saw pretty easily. I started with the story mode, which dropped me into the shoes of Wang Ye. Ye is one of the Outcasts, blessed with one of the Eight Secret Arts, which were generally believed to have been lost to time. Once people figure out what Wang Ye has, though, they go after him to get it.

Wang Ye tries to nip this in the bud by speaking with Li Gaofeng, the head of the Li Troupe, and trying to convince him to leave Wang and his family alone. Impressed by Wang’s gumption and fighting prowess, Li agrees to let him go and leave his family alone. Of course, things don’t go as planned and Wang finds himself framed for Li’s murder and battling the Li Troupe as he tries to escape.

The Devil’s in the Details

Whew, okay, set up. What’s cool, though, is the game Morefun games has made out of this. The Hidden Ones would probably be best described as an arena fighter, but you don’t just go from fight to fight. Between the fights themselves, you’ve got the ability to run around and check out The Hidden Ones’s world, whether that means enjoying the environmental detail on display or checking out a ledger or diary you find in the world. This attention to detail is important: during an interview that happened between my two play sessions, Lead Game Designer Fox Lin and Senior Game Designer Stan Fan told me that the team at Morefun spent a long time capturing the detail of these environments, many of which are based on actual, individual Chinese streets. They wanted the world of The Hidden Ones to feel real, and that comes across even in the relatively small area I was playing in.

The same is true of The Hidden Ones’s visual style. This game is stunning, and that attention to detail is clear in everything from the characters to the way they fight. This is intentional, too. The story and world of The Hidden Ones are based heavily (though not exclusively) in Chinese martial arts and myth, and that meant getting the little details right, right down to the motion capture done by real martial artists.

Morefun is also quick to note that while the Outcasts are incredibly powerful, they’re also folks going about their day. Maybe they’re going out to buy groceries or just using their abilities to accomplish their goals in subtle ways. The point is these are regular people, and that’s a major part of the story here, even if they are throwing punches and casting magic.

Like a Flowing Stream

Speaking of the fighting, The Hidden Ones feels great when you’re throwing punches. This is an arena fighter, so movement is crucial, but the rock-paper-scissors interactions of what makes a fighting game a game fighting work are here, too. You’ve got your basic attacks, which lose to special attacks; those losey to your defensive stance; and your defensive stance loses to attacks, which become throws if they’re in that stance. There’s also a dodge, which costs a limited amount of stamina, and you can time perfectly for a Witch Time-style slowdown that will allow you to retaliate when you otherwise wouldn’t, and a parry that you can perform out of your defensive stance during special attacks, so you can swap from defense to offense with a well-timed button press.

Stamina also comes into play on offense. You can spend it to cancel actions — whether they’re physical or special attacks — allowing you to build custom combos and combos into your Ultimate Skills, which is how I won that match I told you about at the start. If you’re the one getting your face rearranged, you can also spend stamina to break out of combos and reset to neutral. Put together, all of this means that, despite The Hidden Ones’s fairly simple control scheme and combo structure, you’re constantly making interesting choices where you’re alternating between playing neutral, reacting, and pre-empting your opponent, all while managing your character’s unique skills (Wang Ye, for instance, has a special attack that can go into three different variations). The right play at the right time, like say, throwing out a special attack when you think they’re going to swing at you, can swing a match.

Nah, He Just Looks Big

The real meat and potatoes, and my favorite part of my time with The Hidden Ones, is going to be the mano a mano fights between your three-person teams against other players, but I also really enjoyed the three boss fights I got to play. The first, which I ran into during the story mode, started off as a one-on-one brawl before the boss in question brought out her skyscraper-sized snake, forcing me to play around its massive fangs before its master would come down and I could get back to the fine art of knocking her out.

If that’s not enough for you, though, there’s also Trial mode, where you can face off against a boss with any of the characters you’ve got. There were two available in the demo I played, and both were challenging, especially on the highest of the available difficulties. Both eventually went down, but they forced me to use characters I knew, pick my spots, and learn their patterns. It’s a fun change of pace for a game like this, and I’m eager to see what other fights look like in the future.

When my time with The Hidden Ones ended, I left excited, and wishing I could have played more, especially more multiplayer. But I left with a good idea of what Morefun is trying to accomplish, and I liked how much cool stuff there was and how unique and interesting the characters they’ve created here are. Arena fighters are a tricky business, but so far Morefun has nailed the balance of simplicity, depth, and game feel that any good fighter needs while providing more to do if you’re not looking to throw down online. I’m excited to see where The Hidden Ones goes, and in the meantime, I’ll be thinking about landing that Ultimate Skill at the right moment, and how cool it was that The Hidden Ones gave me the options to play how I wanted in that moment. Like its characters, The Hidden Ones knows even when the chips are down and the outcome is uncertain, there’s always a play to be made, hidden in plain sight.