Dr Disrespect Says His Fake Highguard Preview Badge Photo Was Just ‘Poking Fun’ After Dev Confirms He Was Not Invited to Play Early

The developer of Highguard has confirmed streamer Dr Disrespect did not attend a preview event after he created a fake badge and pretended to have been invited to play the game early.

On January 24, Dr Disrespect (real name Guy Beahm), tweeted to say: “Last week we took the Lambo to LA to check out #Highguard. Monday, January 26th at 10am PST, we enter another dimension! Yayayaya.”

That comment, which pointed to Highguard’s confirmed release date, came alongside an image of a supposed Highguard event badge, which some have speculated may have been generated by AI.

Following Highguard’s launch, questions were raised about the validity of Dr Disrespect’s post. Then, Wildlight Entertainment creator manager Chin Pua took to X / Twitter to confirm Dr Disrespect had not attended the event, and that the badge was not official. “I can confirm DDR was not invited to any Highguard event past or present,” Pua said, “and the badge was not an official badge.”

So why did Dr Disrespect post the tweet and its image? In a stream playing Highguard yesterday, he laughed the post off as a joke, and expressed disbelief at the social media controversy it had generated.

Dr Disrespect said on-stream: “‘Last week we took the Lambo to LA to check out #HighGuard.’ That’s all we said. Did we say we went to the event? Did we say we got hands on? Did I say I was going to give you my review and feedback today? Huh? Did we say we were going to give our feedback and review today? ‘We got hands-on Highguard.’ Did I say that? Did we play the game? No. We just put together a photo poking fun. All these f***ing people took it seriously. Holy s**t. How brain dead is this f***ing industry? How stupid is this industry?”

Dr Disrespect went on to hit out at his critics, defend his current brand, and insist he remains relevant. Dr Disrespect returned to YouTube in September 2024 three months after he was demonetized and suspended from the YouTube Partner Program following allegations regarding past conduct with a minor. Beahm has denied any wrongdoing.

Highguard launched last night and met with big Steam concurrents but also a flood of negative user reviews. Check out IGN’s Highguard review-in-progress to find out what we think.

Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Highguard Launches to Big Steam Concurrents, but It’s Getting Absolutely Destroyed in User Reviews

Highguard launched last night as planned, and met with big Steam concurrents but also a flood of negative user reviews.

The free-to-play “PvP raid shooter” was the big new game reveal at the end of last month’s The Game Awards, but developer Wildlight then went dark until the game’s January 26 release date. Highguard hit a peak of 97,249 concurrent users on Steam — a significant number for any new game launch on Valve’s platform — but Wildlight will be particularly concerned by its “mostly negative” user review rating.

Currently, just 32% of the 14,500 user reviews are positive. While some of the negative reviews revolve around PC performance problems, most criticize Highguard’s game design, and question some of the decisions made by the developers.

Chief among the criticisms is that the size of the map feels too big and empty for a 3v3 competitive shooter. You’re able to summon a mount to get about faster (the mounts are one aspect of Highguard that players seem to universally like), but some players believe a 4v4, 5v5, or even 3v3v3 mode would have been a better fit.

There are complaints about the resource-gathering phase of each map, too, which involves what some are calling boring mining and loot farming. The gist here is there is too much downtime and a lack of excitement, although players seem to be enjoying the raid phase of each match, where combat is concentrated. There is also criticism of the playable characters, which are differentiated only by two abilities each on a cooldown. Some are calling Highguard’s visuals bland, too.

Indeed, the top post on the Highguard subreddit reinforces this sentiment. “I’m sorry but this is boring as f**k,” it reads. “Gathering is boring as f**k, looting is boring as f**k, 3v3 with short TTK is boring as f**k. No PVE is boring as f**k. The only good thing in this game is the f***ing horse mount. What were they thinking?”

The Steam portion of Highguard’s release doesn’t tell the whole story, of course. It also launched as a free download on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, but neither Sony nor Microsoft make player numbers public.

Here’s how Highguard works. You play a Warden in a team of three, and select a base to fortify. You then ride out into the map to loot and harvest resources, upgrading your gear along the way.

Teams end up fighting over what’s called the Shieldbreaker, which can be used to trigger a raid of the enemy base. This phase — certainly the most exciting in the match — forces teams to attack and defend. Usually, one raid isn’t enough to destroy the enemy base, which triggers a new loot phase, a new Shieldbreaker to spawn, and the potential for a new raid to finally end the match. Check out IGN’s Highguard review-in-progress to find out what we think.

Yesterday, Wildlight talked about Highguard’s first year of content already being in the works, and outlined its roadmap for updates. It’s making all the right noises about being in this for the long haul. As a free-to-play game, Highguard’s success will rest on its ability to get as many people as possible to continue to play the game, fueling revenue from its live service. As we’ve seen, live service is a particularly brutal space to be in right now, so it will be interesting to see if Highguard can improve this launch sentiment and maintain interest in the months ahead.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Walmart Looks to Have Leaked Two Nintendo Switch Online GameCube Classics — and Some Fans Think It’s Now Over for a Metroid Prime 2 Remake

Walmart is advertising Nintendo Switch Online with a poster that includes several GameCube classics yet to be made available via the service.

An image visible now on Walmart.com shows a library of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack titles including the brilliant Pikmin 2 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, neither of which are currently playable on Switch 2.

Metroid Prime 2 is of particular interest to fans, as some had speculated its release was deliberately being held back so Nintendo could sell a full remake of the game instead. The company launched a full Metroid Prime 1 remake back in 2023, but has since made no comment about continuing to relaunch the rest of the classic trilogy.

Now, with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes seemingly being added to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack catalogue, some fans have said their hopes of a remake have now dimmed. Others, meanwhile, have criticized the decision to simply re-release the game’s original GameCube version when its Wii re-release included some notable balance changes.

“I am very glad we are getting Prime 2, but I was really hoping for a remake like Prime 1,” wrote pojosamaneo. “Prime 2 is incredible, and deserves a remake.”

“Prime 2 being an NSO game isn’t just not preferable over getting the remaster treatment, but because the OG GameCube release is rough,” wrote Mymouthiscancerous. “It has insane difficulty spikes with bosses like Spider Guardian and Boost Guardian which were only rectified with the Wii port as part of Metroid Prime Trilogy. It’s the same reason why Nintendo just plopping Wind Waker on NSO instead of porting HD just sucks when there’s an objectively better version out there stuck in Wii U purgatory.”

Pikmin 2 already got its own Switch remaster, of course, launched back in 2023.

This isn’t the first time a retailer has leaked upcoming Nintendo Switch Online games before Nintendo itself has made them official. Back in October last year, fellow GameCube addition Luigi’s Mansion was leaked by Target, just prior to Nintendo confirming its arrival to its subscription service.

As expectation mounts for a full Nintendo Direct in February, it may not be long until Metroid Prime 2 and Pikmin 2 are also made official.

Before all that, there is another Nintendo Direct this week — focused on upcoming Switch social sim Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. This will come just days after last weekend’s Nintendo Direct that debuted a new Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Code Vein 2 Review

The idea of an anime-style soulslike releases plenty of good chemicals in my brain, but the first Code Vein back in 2019 turned out to be just okay in my book. Like a number of Bandai Namco’s original IP, I was intrigued to see that idea get another shot, which made me optimistic for Code Vein 2. However, with a middling execution of its open world and inconsistent gameplay qualities, this sequel doesn’t necessarily improve upon its predecessor, and instead struggles to stand out in a somewhat saturated genre. Its story still compelled me through the 50 hours I spent to finish the main quest and all of the side content at least, but that time came with a lot of ups and downs.

Coming off of From Software’s Elden Ring (which Bandai Namco published) not too long ago, pulling up the map of Code Vein 2 had me intimidated and enticed in equal measure. A few hours past its opening act, I was able to grasp its cadence and scale, which thankfully wasn’t as overwhelming as I initially thought. A big part of what pulled me in was its concept: a time travel story where you repair a post-apocalyptic present by going to the past to change the outcomes of pivotal moments in its history. Having an open world that subtly changes between timelines drives home a sense of place and the feeling that your character’s actions have an impact, even if you’re simply following your quest objectives.

Looking out to the horizon from the tower on Magmell Island (the starting region) as your leader Lady Lavinia lays down some exposition, you see the land itself transform upon completing the prologue’s quest; it’s a strong moment that shows promise for the road ahead. You’re then asked to go back in time to aid the three heroes of the world’s past in their respective regions to alter their fate, and I enjoyed the fact that you get to take part in shifting the conflicts that led to the present day’s destruction.

However, its storytelling style sells itself short at times, with key moments for its major characters relegated to barren dream-like visions – vague dialogue gets overlaid as you stand there waiting for the next set of static character models to appear. It’s hard to get a real gauge of what’s happening or feel the gravity of the situations the story is trying to portray. It’s evident in other dialogue sequences that the writing in Code Vein 2 is rather generic and missing some of the personality that would draw me in to care about the world I’m supposed to be fighting for. In the rare fully animated cutscenes that tee up certain battles, however, Code Vein 2 shows great potential and had me hyped for the moment, but like its many parts, the momentum ends just as quickly as it starts.

The open world serves its purpose as a vehicle for giving the story some impact.

I do like a handful of the star characters – for example, Lou being the frail girl who has the time traveling power is an extension of your created silent protagonist, and she carries a convincing sense of sorrow. The three heroes have fitting backgrounds and are nice to team up with, too; Holly is a standout for her story as a gifted doctor put in tragic situations because it’s one of the few times Code Vein 2 hits a genuine emotional note. As a whole, though, I wanted to care more about the broader struggle between revenants and humans, and the dynamics that led to so much conflict and the monsters that roam the land, but the plot threads run shallow and the way they’re delivered feels underdeveloped. As a consequence, I came away from its conclusion fairly underwhelmed even as it tried to pull on my heart strings since I wasn’t quite invested as it seemed to hope I would be.

I do think the open world serves its purpose as a vehicle for giving the story some impact. It struck a chord with me to visit a particular location in the before-times, seeing where people struggled to eke out an existence and then that same place dilapidated in the present. The Undead Forest’s lush greenery turning to a cold barren wasteland is one of the starkest examples of this; the differences aren’t drastic from a gameplay standpoint, but it’s visually effective for showing the lifelessness of the present day.

Navigating the open world is sometimes a pain, though. You get a motorbike to drive around, and it controls like a flimsy RC car – you can glide in the air by deploying its wings, only to be met with a few invisible walls blocking you from entering parts of the map that are clearly accessible (you just have to enter from where you’re supposed to). And certain falls that just don’t seem like a problem result in automatic death. These seem like minor inconveniences, but they compound with several other ways that Code Vein 2 seems sloppy.

Some of the vistas are quite impressive on a macro level, but the closer you get to the details, the more you see how muddy everything looks. It’s quite jarring, especially as nearly every cutscene would constantly load textures in and out every time the camera cuts to a different angle. And even playing on a PS5 Pro with performance priority mode on, the frame rate fluctuates wildly and oftentimes not even when the action gets hot.

The best games in the genre really nail the tough-but-fair design philosophy; Code Vein 2 is not one of them.

There isn’t much mystery or intrinsic reward to exploration, although once you understand what certain landmarks entail, you’ll find critical upgrades to your healing item, materials for weapon upgrades, and persistent stat buffs for specific regions. You’re not left completely empty-handed, just don’t expect to stumble upon interesting dungeons, bosses, or rabbit holes that evoke your curiosity. I am glad that the open world is rather trim rather than being padded out with a bunch of checklist objectives, and important side quests are clearly delineated in the quest log.

Much like my sentiments about the story and open world, Code Vein 2’s combat bounces around wildly in quality. It uses the design principles of the Souls-style games – experience points and currency that disappear upon death (and must be recovered), enemies respawning after hitting save points, and punishing combat that moves at a deliberate pace, among other typical mechanics. While I’ve experienced a bit of fatigue from games in this realm, I still lock in once I pick up what it’s putting down and begin to understand its systems. There were times in Code Vein 2 where I felt close to the highs I got from others in the genre (although I wouldn’t compare them to my favorites like Bloodborne or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice).

A couple of bosses feature creative mechanics that are super tough but fair, conquerable by fully focusing on reading their attack patterns and seizing the rare opportunities you get to attack. But more often, you get bosses who are either pushovers or annoyingly frustrating in ways that bring out the worst in Code Vein 2’s faults. Having played so many soulslikes at this point, I’m familiar with how the best games in the genre really nail the tough-but-fair design philosophy; Code Vein 2 is not one of them. Part of that comes from when it doesn’t play by its own rules, like being hittable while recovering as your invincibility window is just a few frames shorter than when you’re able to actually move again, leading to deaths that felt unfair. Or how a damage-over-time attack sometimes stops if you get hit even when the ability has been fully deployed. Or how the camera just doesn’t know what to do when you’re smothered and shoved into a corner by a boss that’s 10 times your size. Or just hitboxes that don’t really make sense for the space a character model occupies. There are ways around these things as I was eventually able to defeat every optional and main boss I encountered by adjusting my approach, but it’s dejecting when a game betrays the tenets that’ve made its contemporaries great.

While I think some of its systems seem incomprehensible or convoluted upon first impression, it’s much simpler than it presents itself to be. Instead of pumping points into stats, Blood Codes dictate your build and what you’re capable of in combat. Each important character you meet offers an equippable Blood Code, and you can think of these as a way to respec whenever you want as they offer emphasis on certain stats that will then modify the effectiveness of the weapons and gear you use. You’re not locked into a specific build, but the progression path of Blood Codes is tricky since they level up the more you use them – you get pigeon-holed in a way, but with some experimentation, I was quick to understand which ones worked best alongside my favorite weapon types. And using new Blood Codes for long enough will get you back to where you want to be in due time.

The foundation for great combat is here, but there aren’t enough interesting opportunities to make the most of its systems.

You have quite a few tools to work with as well. Through most of the journey, you can summon one of the story characters to join you, and it’s effective for tougher battles since their attacks can draw aggro to give you room to breathe or go for a big hit. You can even fuse with them for some noticeable buffs, with the trade-off of being solo in combat. They also temporarily sacrifice themselves to revive you if you die, which is clutch for alleviating frustrating deaths. Alternatively, Ichor is the mana of Code Vein that lets you cast spells and use abilities that are necessary to diversifying your combat approach. The way Ichor feeds back to you when using your superweapon (called a Jail) forced me into cycling through all my capabilities over the course of harder fights rather than relying on a single tactic or cheese. Once I found a setup that worked for me, and some alternatives in case I needed to switch gears for different kinds of fights, I got into a comfortable groove with Code Vein 2’s own brand of RPG mechanics and action combat.

The foundation for great combat is clearly here, I just don’t think it offers enough interesting opportunities to make the most of its systems. The dungeons throughout the world get woefully repetitive and enemies can be a real cakewalk; you’ll be punished if you’re not careful, of course, but the imbalance is felt when you go for long stretches of mowing through the same fodder mindlessly. You’ll also come across a lot of repeat bosses, which feels like being thrown something harder for the sake of it, and at a certain point, they too can be conquered with ease.

There are at least cases where harder versions of previous bosses show up in the critical sidequests, and a few of those do up the ante, remixing familiar attack patterns and throwing in new, demanding phases. To which I was internally saying, “Hell yeah, this is that good stuff.” However, once I burned through the final dungeon, it was clear to me that it had played the hits a few too many times, reminding me of how the campaign just didn’t have enough tricks up its sleeve to sustain itself in a consistently engaging way.

I come away from Code Vein 2 impressed with the timeline shifting side quests more than anything else, because those are more compelling than large swathes of the main story. As they explore the more interesting parts of the lore, they also take a few more risks and let characters shine a bit brighter. You’re drawn a little closer to the struggle that led them to their fate, and they share a few bittersweet moments with your own character. Not all of it is super inventive, but I saw it breaking away from the predictable cadence at times, and I just wish Code Vein 2 did more of that.

Code Vein as a series has a lot of good ideas I still want to see iterated upon, and this sequel touched on them in several ways. I’ve felt similarly about Scarlet Nexus and God Eater, both of which are clearly plays on established styles of games with an anime-inspired twist – fantastic ideas on paper with great potential that are met with room to grow. This isn’t a genre that’s sacred to From Software’s catalogue, either – Lies of P and Nioh 2 come to mind as fantastic takes on the formula from other developers. I’d hoped Code Vein 2 would join the ranks of them, but it’s missing some of the fundamentals necessary to do so.

New Pokémon Funko Pops Are Up for Preorder at Amazon

Funko Pops: they’re everywhere. And there’s at least one of the vinyl figures made of every single character in the history of pop culture. And while some find these facts annoying, there’s something to be said about a great-looking Funko Pop based on something you personally like. The latest Funkos to go up for preorder are based on Pokémon, and there are some bangers in here: an angry, electricity-summoning Pikachu, an angry, vine-summoning Venusaur, and more. Take a look and see if you want to preorder any from Amazon ahead of release.

Pokémeon Funko Pops Up for Preorder

The two centerpieces of this new batch of Pokémon Funkos are the aforementioned Pikachu and Venusaur. Both are Funko Pop! Premium figures, meaning they’re 4.5 inches tall, rather than the 3.75 inch height of standard Funko Pop figures. They’re also in more dramatic stances, as if sculpted in mid-attack. They look pretty great, even for a seasoned commerce editor like me.

The rest of the upcoming Pokémon Funkos are standard Funko Pops. We have Ivysaur, Zoroark, Electabuzz, Magmar, and the adorable Goomy. Some people don’t like the Funko style, with its lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes, but I think it works perfectly with Pokemon. There’s just less stylization going on between the real thing (as depicted in the games) and the vinyl figures. They’re also made in eye-catching bright colors, so they look great wherever you decide to display them.

If Pokémon isn’t your speed, you can likely find another upcoming Funko Pop that appeals to you more. The company just keeps on pumping out these things, with everything from the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Disney Princesses to Star Trek and even Australian animals represented. Even if you just want to stick to Funkos based on video games, you can find BioShock and Silent Hill ones up for preorder at Amazon. There’s even one based on the Wolverine meme. There’s something for everyone.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

‘We Know There’s a Lot of Eyes on Us After Our Game Awards Trailer’ — as Highguard Goes Live, Dev Insists ‘We’re in This for the Long Haul’

Highguard is out now following its high-profile showing at last month’s The Game Awards — and its developers have said a full year of post-launch content is already “deep in development.”

The free-to-play PvP raid shooter is live on PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5, with full crossplay. Development studio Wildlight is made up of former Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare staff, and promises “a new competitive structure that blends siege warfare and territory control in an evolving match where power levels escalate until only one base is left standing.”

Here’s how Highguard works, according to Wildlight:

Players step into the boots of Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythical continent where magic, gunfire, and siege warfare collide:

  • Teams of three select a unique base and fortify their defenses, then ride out across vast, uncharted lands to loot, harvest resources, and upgrade their gear while clashing with a rival Warden crew.
  • As magical storms roll in, teams battle over the Shieldbreaker, a powerful sword required to breach enemy defenses. Carrying the Shieldbreaker to the opposing base triggers a full raid — forcing teams to attack, defend, adapt, and escalate in power as the match continues.
  • Most of the time, victory doesn’t come with a single raid. When that happens, the enemy base shields repair, the siege tower dissipates, and the fight escalates as loot, gear, and weapons all upgrade in the field, and a new Shieldbreaker forms in a different location in the world. From there, the fight for control continues — until only one base is left standing.

Each Warden is built specifically for Highguard’s PvP Raid Mode. Wardens combine guns, raid tools, and arcane abilities, each designed to support raiding, destruction, defense, infiltration, resource acquisition, and open-world combat.

Mounts allow teams to move quickly across massive maps, fight on the move, and transport the Shieldbreaker. Magical abilities supplement combat, but Highguard is still a gun game at its core. Gunplay remains central, with abilities and tools adding tactical depth.

At launch, the game features a wide array of content: five large-scale maps, six distinct bases, eight Wardens, three mount types, ten weapons, three raid tools, eleven weapon and raid-tool mods, and a wide range of lootable items. More content will be added via seasonal updates.

Wildlight hadn’t said a word about Highguard since its announcement at The Game Awards, opting to launch it cold. Today, now the game is out in the wild, wildlight said it was built “with long-term play in mind.”

“Wildlight brings decades of experience operating live-service shooters at scale, applying those lessons to Highguard’s launch and beyond, with a full year of post-launch content already deep in development,” the developer said. “Highguard’s live service is built around Episodes — each lasting roughly two months and split into two parts — with new core content arriving each month throughout 2026, including content such as maps, bases, modes, Wardens, weapons, mounts, raid tools, and additional loot items.”

Core gameplay content — including new maps, bases, Wardens, and modes — will always be free, delivered through regular updates, with the first wave arriving in two weeks following launch, Wildlight insisted. The studio added that all in-game purchases are cosmetic only, direct purchase only, with no effect on gameplay and no loot boxes or RNG.

“Launch is a huge moment. But our team builds franchises that stand the test of time, and we’re in this for the long haul,” said Dusty Welch, co-founder and CEO of Wildlight. “Success for us is a healthy, growing global community that’s enjoying the game — and a team that’s energized by engaging with players and surprising them with new experiences over time.”

All players receive the Episode One War Chest free forever, featuring 44 items, including 11 legendary skins and emotes for Wardens, weapons, and mounts.

“We know there’s a lot of eyes on us after our Game Awards trailer debut, and today is finally the time to show the world what we mean by a PvP Raid Shooter. We built Highguard around a loop that doesn’t really exist anywhere else,” commented Chad Grenier, co-founder and game director at Wildlight. “Every match is about escalation: fortifying, venturing out, clashing, then mounting coordinated raids and defenses until only one base is left standing.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Resident Evil Requiem Director Gives Definitive Response to Open World ‘Speculation’

Capcom has responded to ongoing fan speculation about Resident Evil Requiem being an open world game with a definitive-sounding response.

Fan discussion and leaks around the game have long pointed to Requiem featuring more open exploration than in previous Resident Evil titles. This suggestion was fuelled further earlier this month by the release of a fresh gameplay snippet that included a look at a bustling city street, complete with pedestrians and traffic.

Now, however, Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has stepped in to set the record straight, having seen the discussion online. In short, anyone hoping for an open world Resident Evil should reset their expectations.

“[The development team] did just want to make clear one point,” Nakanishi told Game Informer. “They’ve seen some speculation of whether there’s any open world elements in the game, and they just want to set the record straight that this isn’t an open world game.

“The main concept behind this game is combining the very different gameplay of Grace and Leon into a cohesive package, and having those two gameplays represent the Resident Evil series, and I think when you play the game, you realize that, or you will find as well that the development team picked the best approach to do this.”

In other words, what you should expect from this game is for Grace and Leon’s portions to feel like how they’ve already been pitched, with Grace’s focus on horror and Leon’s focused on action, as an extension of the Resident Evil franchise’s existing games.

In IGN’s just-published Resident Evil Requiem final preview, we described Grace’s gameplay sections as familiar to anyone who has played Resident Evil 2 or 7. Leon’s gameplay sections, meanwhile, stirred up our muscle memory of playing Resident Evil 4. Neither of those games were open world, so it sounds like we shouldn’t expect Requiem to be open world either.

“This year is the 30th anniversary of the Resident Evil series, so it feels like no coincidence that 2026’s Resident Evil Requiem is combining the best ideas of the saga into what appears to be a fantastically constructed tribute to everything that makes the series so great,” IGN wrote. “Do you like tense survival horror? It’s here. Wanna go all guns blazing with intense action and a quip-obsessed hero? You get that too.”

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

After Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake Cancelation, Actress Says She’s Lost 3 Years of Work and Found Out via the Internet

Actress Eman Ayaz has said she’s lost three years of work in a “life-changing role,” just days after Ubisoft canceled its long-awaited Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake.

“So hi, my name is Eman, I’m an actor, and last week I experienced the most devastating moment of my career,” Ayaz said in a video message posted online today. “I’m still under NDA so I’m going to try my best to speak as vaguely as possible about the details, and I hope you understand.”

At no point does Ayaz specifically say the game she worked on was Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, but the actress has also retweeted comments from those who have linked her to the role of Farah in the game, seemingly making the connection clear.

“Three years ago I booked a life-changing role on a life-changing project,” Ayaz began. “It was a rigorous audition process, including a self-tape audition, an in-person callback, and a chemistry read that I had to fly out of the city for. When I got the role I remember crying my eyes out.

“I’ve spent the last three years getting to know the team which has become like a family to me. I’ve watched it grow through countless stages of development and I’ve waited and waited for it to finally be released so I could talk about it. And this week, I found out through the internet that the project was canceled.”

Ayaz says she was first contacted by her brother who had seen the news of the game’s cancelation via an online article. Ubisoft confirmed it had canned its Prince of Persia: The Sans of Time Remake last week, as part of a wider reorganization that featured layoffs at three development studios, the closure of two more, and the shutdown of five other game projects.

“I was in total shock,” Ayaz continued. “Just two months ago I filmed marketing for this project, everything had been running smoothly and that was the last I had heard. We were all looking forward to it being released this year, so it felt like an emotional whiplash to suddenly find this out in such a random way.”

Indeed, a report late last year suggested Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake was finally just a few months away, after first being announced in 2020. The project was then rebooted, with its most recent incarnation having been in development since early 2023.

“When I initially booked this role, what it said to me was that all the sacrifices I had made, going against my parents’ advice, pursuing my dreams, all the heartbreaks I’d had along the way, all the close calls, all the rejections, they finally had added up to something,” Ayaz added, discussing the personal toll the cancelation had taken.

Ayaz said she’d turned down other job oppurtunities during the process and worked on the job while recovering from an injury as she had been passionate about not missing out. “It was the best performance of my career, and now no one will ever see it.”

A Canadian citizen, Ayaz said she had planned to apply for a U.S. work visa based on having the game on her CV, something she can no longer do as she is unable to officially acknowledge her work on it. And as someone with Pakistani heritage, Ayaz said the cancelation had been yet another setback after working “twice as hard as non-marginalized actors to find space in the industry.” She added: “It’s an upward battle and it’s going to continue to be that way. It’s like you think you had your foot on a ledge, and it’s crumbled. And you have to start again, and it’s just as steep.”

For its part, Ubisoft told Prince of Persia fans that despite six years of work, the game was still too far away from being ready to fund any further. “We weren’t able to reach the level of quality you deserve,” the company said in a statement, “and continuing would have required more time and investment than we could responsibly commit.”

“Sadly the entertainment industry isn’t just about entertainment,” Ayaz concluded, “it’s about guaranteeing a cash flow. And that means making decisions that treat people’s lives as collateral damage, and art as disposable content… This project existed, even if the world never got to see it. So many talented artists devoted countless hours to make this happen. And that doesn’t just disappear, it’ll be in our hearts forever, as fricking corny as that sounds… The only way these stories survive is if the audience demands them.”

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Nintendo Direct Announced For This Week, Focused on Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream

Another Nintendo Direct is coming this Thursday, January 29, dedicated to the company’s upcoming social sim game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

Coming just days after a Nintendo Direct focused on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie which debuted our first look at Yoshi, Birdo and more, the next scheduled broadcast from the company will instead return to its games.

You’ll be able to tune in for more details on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 life sim game this Thursday at 6am Pacific, 9am Eastern or 2pm UK time. The stream is set to run around 20 minutes.

Living the Dream will be the third game in Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life franchise, which lets you oversee a community of Mii characters. While a relatively niche series in the West compared to its bigger brands, Tomodachi Life enjoys a strong following among its fans, and particularly so in Japan.

Now, the franchise will be getting its first dedicated Nintendo Direct, similar to how Kirby Air Riders was treated to its own presentation (and then a second!) last year.

The series’ first game, Tomodachi Collection, launched in 2009 for Nintendo DS (albeit only in Japan). Its 3DS sequel, Tomodachi Life, was then released worldwide and went on to sell a very respectable 6.72 million units.

Memorably, Tomodachi Life experienced a backlash over its lack of same-sex relationships, something that Nintendo found itself having to comment on after rumors spread online that they were something that had been originally programmed into the game that was later removed. Nintendo denied this, though not before the controversy blew up to the point that it was parodied on late night TV by John Oliver, via a skit which featured crudely animated versions of Mario and Link snogging. Notably, Nintendo then promised that if it did make another Tomodachi Life game, it would make it “more inclusive, and [something that] better represents all players.”

While the status of same-sex relationships is yet to be confirmed (though may be this week), Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is already notable for finally allowing Mii characters to have ears. It only took 20 years.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition Leaked by Ratings Board

Surprise! It looks like a 30th Anniversary Edition of Rayman is on the way.

Though not formally confirmed by Ubisoft, the unannounced game has popped up on the Australian Classification website, and it’s apparently coming to both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.

While the franchise is owned by Ubisoft, both the developer and publisher are listed as Atari, which has previously distributed physical editions of games and remakes. Sadly, the listing gives us very little detail on what to expect aside from confirmation that it has “very mild” violence (thanks, Gematsu).

We already knew that Ubisoft was set to celebrate all things Rayman as it got ready to mark the series’ 30th anniversary, promising last September that it was working on the “future” of the series. Though the official Rayman X/Twitter account had long been dormant, only resurfacing a handful of times in 2020, then once in 2021, in September it was resurrected to bring us up to speed on what’s happening in Rayman’s world.

“Rayman turns 30! Join us on our official channels to celebrate an incredible legacy,” the account exclaimed at the time, attaching a brief video. In the video, brand producer Loic Gounon — who has been working on the Rayman franchise since 2006 — revealed that “a very talented team at Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan are currently working together on the future of Rayman.”

We haven’t had a mainline Rayman game since 2013’s Rayman Legends. “Don’t expect news from us too soon,” Ubisoft said, “but rest assured, Rayman is in good hands.” Despite all the recent changes and cancellations at IP holder Ubisoft, including that Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, Rayman appears to have survived the cull.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.