Category: IGN

Will FromSoftware release Elden Ring 2 or more DLC for Elden Ring? In an exclusive interview with IGN, chief developer Hidetaka Miyazaki said both are possible, although he stopped short of making an announcement.

IGN asked Miyazaki: Do you envision [Shadow of the Erdtree] as the end of Elden Ring’s story or is there room for either more DLC or in Elden Ring 2 down the line?

And here’s Miyazaki’s response: “We don’t want to say this is the end of the Elden Ring saga for now. I think we said a similar thing at the end of Dark Souls 3. We didn’t want to flatten those possibilities or put a pin in them just at that time. And it’s a similar story with Elden Ring. We don’t want to discourage the possibilities for that. There might be more ideas in the future.

“We don’t have any current plans to make a second DLC or a sequel, but we definitely don’t want to snuff out that possibility. We think that there could well be something in the future.”

It seems likely that Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t the last we’ve heard of Elden Ring, given its astonishing critical acclaim and commercial success. Elden Ring is easily FromSoftware’s most successful video game ever, with over 20 million sold during its first year on sale. Indeed, earlier this month, a Genshin Impact-inspired Elden Ring mobile game was reported to be in development, but progress was described as “slow”.

The base version of Elden Ring returned a 10/10 in IGN’s review. “Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path,” we said.

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.

Nearly two years to the day after Elden Ring’s original launch, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring DLC finally has a release date. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will release June 21 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC, meaning that FromSoftware fans are in for a busy summer.

The news coincided with the release of a brand-new Shadow of the Ertree trailer, which includes glimpses of a host of new bosses, powers, and more. It opens with the familiar image of Miquella’s bloody arm hanging out from the cocoon in the arena where you fought Mohg in the base game, then goes on to show shots of the countryside, numerous battles, and a mysterious new villain named Mesmer.

No doubt fans will have plenty of theories after watching the entire three-minute video. You can find the full trailer below.

Shadow of the Erdtree has been anticipated by Elden Ring fans ever since it was first revealed at this time last year alongside a teaser trailer, which fans quickly picked apart for every detail they could find. FromSoftware has been largely silent ever since, fueling rampant fan speculation as 2023 turned to 2024.

In the meantime, Elden Ring has received several enhancements, including ray tracing for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC versions. An Elden Ring mobile game is also reportedly in development.

First released in 2022, Elden Ring was one of the year’s most popular games, earning numerous Game of the Year awards along the way. It was praised for retaining the atmosphere, depth, and challenge of FromSoftware’s Souls game while expanding the formula into a vast open world. We praised it as “one of the best open-world games we’ve ever played” in our review, where we awarded it a perfect 10.

The Shadow of the Erdtree release is apt to fuel a renewed wave of interest from the Elden Ring community, which has turned streamers like Let Me Solo Her into online heroes. As always, keep an eye on IGN for lots more analysis, which includes our full Elden Ring walkthrough and more. In the meantime, we’ll have lots more reveals as IGN Fan Fest 2024 continues through the rest of the week.

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.

Techland has detailed the Firearms Update for Dying Light 2 as well as the new Reloaded Edition, both due out February 22.

Two years after the zombie kill ‘em-up came out, Techland is releasing a Reloaded Edition designed to refresh the game and encourage new players to get stuck in. It includes all previous updates along with the Firearms Update, as well as the Bloody Ties DLC. Current owners of the Standard Edition get upgraded for free, Techland said.

The Firearms Update includes a number of changes, none as meaningful as the ability to shoot the enemies with guns. While the addition of guns obviously changes things up for the previously melee-focused action game, Techland told fans the essence of Dying Light 2 remains. “It is important to note that firearms are an enhancement rather than a complete change of genre,” Techland said. “They open new possibilities without altering the DNA of the game.”

Meanwhile, other additions include co-op survivor missions, board quests, and “various notable visual enhancements”. Story wise, some characters from the first Dying Light game make an appearance.

As part of the launch, Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition is available to play on PC during a free weekend on Steam, between February 22-26. Progression carries over if you buy the game.

When Dying Light 2 came out in February 2022, Techland promised five years of post-release support. IGN’s Dying Light 2 review returned a 7/10. “Dying Light 2 Stay Human is an ambitious zombie action adventure that’s packed with top-notch parkour, an awesome open world, and every painful bug in the book,” we said. Since launch, the game has received a number of updates, although this week’s Firearms update is its most significant.

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.

Fantasy role playing game Tales of Arise has sold three million copies ahead of arriving on the PlayStation Plus Games Catalog and Xbox Game Pass.

Publisher Bandai Namco announced the milestone on X/Twitter, sharing new artwork for the game in celebration. “Over three million of you have shown your support for Tales of Arise,” it said. “Thank you for heling to keep the flame alive.”

Tales of Arise launched in September 2021, meaning it’s sold three million copies in two years and five months.

Over 3 Million of you have shown your support for #TalesOfArise. Thank you for helping to keep the flame alive! pic.twitter.com/rbbsBtGBIB

— Tales of Series (@TalesofSeries) February 21, 2024

The number of players is likely on the verge of another rise, however, as Tales of Arise launched on both PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium and Xbox Game Pass on February 20.

Tales of Arise is the latest entry in the beloved RPG franchise, telling the story of a young man wielding the Blazing Sword and an untouchable girl fighting their oppressors. Players can explore the world of Dahna, where a mix of natural environments change in appearance based on the time of day.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “With an excellent story and cast and a reinvigorated combat system, Tales of Arise is the shot in the arm the long-running Tales RPG series needed to recapture its best moments.”

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

We may or may not have just gotten confirmation that Borderlands 4 is on its way.

No seriously, you decide. In an interview with IGN to talk about the upcoming Borderlands movie, Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford dropped a major hint about a new project he considers to be Gearbox’s best game to date. He made sure to dance around the game’s title, but for context, I had just asked him his personal favorite entry from the Borderlands series.

“Look, we haven’t even announced anything of it,” Pitchford said. “Clearly, we’re working on something. And I know what we’re working on, and holy shit… It’s the greatest thing we’ve ever done. And I can’t wait, but it’s not time yet. It’s not time yet. There will be a time.”

As for when we’ll get more details on this mysterious new project, fans are speculating it will be sooner than you might think. According to ComicBook.com, Borderlands players on Reddit did some sleuthing to predict when they think the game will be unveiled.

The theory starts with a clip posted Feb. 6 from the official Borderlands account on Twitter/X. “This is how it all started,” the caption reads, accompanied by a video that recaps the entire first game. Fans were hopeful in the comments that the video could be setting the stage for a Borderlands 4 reveal.

This is how it all started. Welcome to the Borderlands! pic.twitter.com/XEvy9Haxqc

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) February 6, 2024

Exactly one week later, the account did the same thing for Borderlands 2. On Feb. 13, a nearly three-minute recap of the series’ second installment was uploaded to Twitter, generating further suspicion from Borderlands players that a new game is en route. “Ok… there’s gotta be a reason they’re doing these now right,” one fan asked in the comments.

Ok… there’s gotta be a reason they’re doing these now right?

— Ki11er Six (@Ki11ersix) February 13, 2024

By that logic, one redditor suggested it’s possible the Borderlands account will continue to release recaps of the remaining games (The Pre-Sequel, Tales From the Borderlands, Borderlands 3, New Tales from the Borderlands) leading up to PAX East, an event where Borderlands 3 was announced in 2019.

All signs seem to be pointing towards a new Borderlands game, and it makes sense — why wouldn’t Gearbox want to ride the hype train of its upcoming film adaptation. Plus, this past November, we even spotted Borderlands 4 mentioned among a leaked list of games in development on a now-deleted LinkedIn post.

But for now, we’ll just have to hold tight for an official reveal. And if the fan theories are right, hopefully March 19 yields some answers.

Will this year’s Call of Duty launch day one on Game Pass? Xbox boss Phil Spencer has suggested it will.

Speaking to Game File, Spencer said Microsoft plans for all Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax (Bethesda, MachineGames, iD Software, etc), and Xbox Game Studios games to launch on Game Pass “day one”. That means the games launch straight into the Xbox subscription service the same day they go on general sale.

“Our intent is the full portfolio of games from ZeniMax, Activision Blizzard and XGS — Xbox Game Studios — will be on Game Pass, day one,” Spencer said.

Microsoft has already announced the upcoming launch of Blizzard’s Diablo 4 into Game Pass, and there is a clear intent to get the Call of Duty back catalog into the library. But the suggestion new Call of Duty games launch straight into Game Pass as well is a somewhat surprising one, given Activision’s resistance to the idea in the past.

Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick had stated he didn’t agree with “the idea of a multi-game subscription service as a business proposition.” Then, speaking to IGN last year, Spencer responded to the opposing ideologies to say: “Well, there’s a different person making the decisions.”

It’s easy to see why Spencer would want new Call of Duty games to launch day-one on Game Pass — given their popularity they would no-doubt boost subscriber numbers. However, triple-A publishers have expressed concern about the impact on game sales. Sony, for example, currently does not release its first-party games day-one into its PlayStation Plus subscriptions, preferring to add them later on. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also remains unconvinced by Game Pass. Speaking during a financial call, Zelnick said of releasing big games day-and-date on a Microsoft’s subscription service: “I still don’t think it makes sense. And I believe that it’s now becoming obvious that it doesn’t make sense. It’s just a lost opportunity for the publisher. So, I wouldn’t want to speak for my friend, Phil [Spencer], but our views remain unchanged.”

This year’s Call of Duty game is expected to be another entry in the Black Ops series and set in the Gulf War. Developed primarily by Treyarch, Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War reportedly touches on the global political fallout after the Cold War. Expect a launch in October or November and, based on Spencer’s comments, straight into Game Pass.

For now, Spencer said work is being done to get existing Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass. “We’re doing the back end work to make them come to PC and console simultaneously,” Spencer said.

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.

Our first look at Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will arrive in the form of a trailer tomorrow morning, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco have announced.

The game’s official X/Twitter account revealed the news in a social media post, promising to deliver a first look at the long-awaited DLC at 7 a.m. PST / 10 a.m. EST. The developers have not said what exactly it’ll show, but the video’s description at least promises a three-minute trailer.

The first trailer for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree will be revealed in 16 hours. Join us at 15:00 UTC.https://t.co/vdG8dJvcet pic.twitter.com/lBbKJYxW2z

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 20, 2024

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was announced around one year ago, promising to add on to FromSoftware’s already gigantic action RPG world. The only official information we’ve received since then, however, is a look at some appropriately foreboding concept art. The Dark Souls developer revealed in November 2023 that development on the new content was “proceeding smoothly” while players continued to wait patiently. However, tomorrow’s trailer will provide our most substantial look at the new adventure yet.

Tomorrow is proving to be a busy day for gaming fans. Just before we take a peek at Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Nintendo will debut a new Direct focused on some of its partners and the games they hope to release in 2024. The FromSoftware DLC, meanwhile, is still without a release date, but let’s hope we hear a concrete schedule tomorrow.

Elden Ring was released on February 25, 2022, meaning its two-year anniversary is just on the horizon. In our 10/10 review, we said, “Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”

For more on Elden Ring, be sure to read up on the project’s recently announced mobile spinoff. While FromSoftware finalizes its work on the DLC, there’s always the chance we have even more from this world to look forward to.

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.

Phil Spencer appears to be dispelling recent rumors that Xbox is fully ditching physical disc, while remaining clear-eyed about the increasing consumer demand for digital games.

In a recent interview with Game File, journalist Stephen Totilo asked Spencer about a slate of rumors last month that Xbox was shutting down its physical game production divisions, exacerbated by leaked court documents showing an enhanced, all-digital Xbox in the works. Though Spencer made a point to address a number of the recent Xbox rumors in a podcast and Xbox Wire post last week, he skipped over the physical games question until pressed on it in the Game File interview.

“Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive,” he said. “And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console — and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers — the cost of the drive does have an impact.

“But I will say our strategy does not hinge on people moving all-digital,” he added. “And getting rid of physical, that’s not a strategic thing for us.”

He also told Totilo that the reports Microsoft had laid off people on the teams responsible for physical games, while true, were more about “alignment of our teams across ZeniMax, Activision and Xbox. So we have teams that are in charge of physical retail, inclusive of selling games in physical outlets. So that’s what the team action was. It wasn’t about us getting rid of the capability.”

Digital gaming has been on the rise ever since it was introduced, and in recent years a number of publishers have seen it make up an overwhelming share of their total sales. For instance, Take-Two just reported earlier this month that 95% of the company’s total net bookings were digital. Though Take-Two is an extreme example, other publishers aren’t far behind, making it unsurprising that companies like Xbox might at least back off of releasing every game as a physical edition. And indeed, games such as Alan Wake 2, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name are foregoing discs entirely even as companies like Best Buy start to phase out physical media sales.

For now, it seems Xbox is committed to continuing to offer at least some physical games. But don’t be surprised if more and more games across all publishers go digital in the coming years.

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

Helldivers 2 Patch 1.000.10 is starting to roll out on Steam and PS5, which developer Arrowhead hopes will address some of the numerous issues that fans have encountered over the past week.

Chief among them are issues with matchmaking and server issues, as well as the PC black screen problem. Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt wrote on X/Twitter, “Patch going out now. Highlights include resolved matchmaking and prep for increased server load. Let’s gooo!”

Patch going out now. Highlights include resolved matchmaking and prep for increased server load. Let’s gooo! pic.twitter.com/tjWS9PZ6zI

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) February 20, 2024

In addition to the problems listed above, the Helldivers 2 patch also addresses ragdoll momentum, tunes the difficulty for the extract civilian missions that have been wrecking players, and implements an automatic retry mechanism for quickplay.

Helldivers 2 has been a hit since its release, even sparking renewed interest in Starship Troopers, the film from which it draws quite a bit of inspiration. We praised it in our review as the “rare modern multiplayer game that does almost everything right.” Over the weekend it passed the all-time Steam concurrent record set by Grand Theft Auto 5 despite a server cap intended to address stability issues.

But while well-received among fans, Helldivers 2 has been wracked by the “servers at capacity” issue among other problems since launch, with some fans refusing to log out to ensure they keep their spot. It’s been bad enough that even Pilestedt has cautioned against buying the game until its issues can be full resolved.

In the meantime, you can read the full patch notes below. For more, check out our Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list and the Terminids and Automatons Enemy List.

Helldivers 2 Patch 1.000.10 Patch Notes

Fixes

• Fixed crash when replicating ragdoll momentum.
• Fixed crash when replicating destructions.
• Fixed crash when displaying the mission end rewards.
• Resolved a 100% block issue for quickplay matchmaking on PC.
• Tuned extract civilian mission difficulty.
• Improved the way that we handle platform authentication to avoid things like the black screen issue at startup.
• Improvements to our client > backend communication for better backend performance.
• Implemented an automatic retry mechanism to quickplay.
• Added proper login error message for error “10002038.”

Known Issues

These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.

• Login rate limiting when many are logging in at the same time.
• Players can become disconnected during play.
• Rewards and other progress may be delayed or not attributed.
• Various UI issues may appear when the game interacts with servers.
• Pick-up of certain objects in-game may cause characters to freeze in place for an extended period of time.
• Other unknown behaviors may occur.
• Japanese VO is missing from intro cutscene and Ship TV.
• Armor values for light/medium/heavy armor do not currently function as intended.

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.

It appears Lady Gaga is going to make an appearance in Fortnite Festival, as the singer is teasing an upcoming collaboration with Epic Games.

In a post on X/Twitter, Gaga posted an image of what appears to be her Fortnite character but is masked by a bright light and smoke. The bottom right corner of the screen reveals a Fortnite Festival-related announcement is coming on February 22.

*fortnite https://t.co/1FwPHmMfRJ pic.twitter.com/9BSG6S23zh

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 20, 2024

The more interesting part of this is Lady Gaga made this teaser post by quoting a post she made on X/Twitter over four years ago when she asked her followers (and anyone who saw the post) what “fortnight” is, with the singer more familiar with the Fortnite franchise given her proper spelling of Fortnite in the most recent post.

Lady Gaga is the latest musical artist to collaborate with Epic Games and the Fortnite property. Previous examples include the Travis Scott Astronomical event held in Fortnite nearly four years ago, which had the rapper performing a concert live inside Epic’s widely popular free-to-play battle royale. More recently, The Weeknd debuted a new music video for his song “Popular” in the Fortnite Festival.

In our review of Fortnite Festival, which scored a 4 out of 10, my colleague Luke Reilly wrote: “Fortnite Festival’s limited, isolating gameplay and overpriced tracks may turn Fortnite players into rhythm game fans, but it won’t turn rhythm game fans into Fortnite players.”

Despite a rough start when it was released last December, including a lack of support for plastic instruments, Epic said that controller support is a “priority” for Fortnite Festival. Additionally, we exclusively revealed last month that PDP is teaming up with Epic to release a new wireless guitar that is compatible with Rock Band 4 (and eventually) Fortnite Festival.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.