Quantic Dream announced Dustborn, a narrative-driven action-adventure game set in an alternate version of America.
We got the first trailer for Dustborn at Gamescom Opening Night Live, which shows players will have the opportunity to venture across a Neo-Western America as they build relationships with their crew. Dustborn is described as “a single-player, story-driven action-adventure game about hope, love, friendships, robots…and the power of words.”
Important to note that Quantic Dream is not developing this game. Instead, they will serve as the publisher, while indie studio Red Thread Games is behind the development of Dustborn. Red Thread Games previously developed 2019’s Draugen, a mystery adventure game released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
No release date for Dustborn yet. But we do know that it will be available on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PS5, PS4, and Xbox.
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, it was revealed that a free content update is coming to Sonic Frontiers later this year. The Final Horizon update will include new story, new playable characters, and new challenges.
In the cinematic trailer, Sonic and team face off against a large ominous enemy before Sonic harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds and transforms into Super Sonic.
In our 7/10 review of Sonic Frontiers, we called the game “an ambitious open-world adventure that mostly succeeds at mixing up the Sonic formula, even when some of its ideas fall flat.”
Sonic Frontiers The Final Horizon will arrive as a free content update on September 28.
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, Xbox and Relic Entertainment announced that Age of Empires IV is now available on Xbox consoles.
First revealed last October during the Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Broadcast, Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Xbox Game Pass. The game was originally launched on PC in 2021.
The console versions of Xbox feature native inputs for those using an Xbox wireless controller with a UI designed specifically for the console versions. To ensure new players to the series are not overwhelmed, Relic Entertainment confirmed that the console versions of Age of Empires IV have a new tutorial designed to ease them in.
Another new change introduced in Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition is the Villager Priority System, which Relic Entertainment describes as a “brand new system that allows for accelerated play,” noting that it allows players to assign their villagers to focus on specific areas of resource gathering with just the press of a button.
The Xbox version supports up to 4K resolution on Series X, 1080p on Series S, 1440p on Xbox One X, and 900p on other Xbox One devices. Additionally, the Xbox Series X supports 60fps and the Series S supports up to 60fps, with the Xbox being uptimizing for up to 30fps.
In our review of Age of Empires IV, which we gave an 8 out of 10 and said, “Age of Empires 4 is an enjoyable RTS throwback that often plays it too safe, but excels when it doesn’t.”
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Blind players can now have Fatalities narrated to them in Mortal Kombat 1. The new descriptive audio option adds humor to the otherwise gory beatdowns.
Edmond Tran, the managing editor of GamesHub, shared a video in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing Li Mei ripping his player character, apparently another Li Mei, to shreds in the pre-order beta for Mortal Kombat 1, as the narrator explains her Fatality move with the same calming diction of a nature documentary narrator. He deemed the audio description option “ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE” because of its narrative delivery.
Also HOLY SHIT #MortalKombat1 has a descriptive audio option for Fatalities and it is
The narrator explains Li Mei’s Fatality move against her opponent as follows: “Li Mei punches through the victim’s stomach and yanks out their guts. She clenches her fist and a purple spark of energy slithers along an intestine towards her victim. She kicks their head off and the spark explodes their severed head like a bloody firework.”
Tran shared a TikTok video on GamesHub’s account showing examples of other fighters having their Fatality moves being described to players, from Johnny Cage shoving his victim’s face onto a Walk of Fame plaque followed by selfie with the dead victim’s torn face to Sonya’s explosive kiss of death. Jax also had a hilarious narration, as his Fatality move involves him turning into a giant before crushing his victim, making the description sound as cartoony as possible: “Jax enlarges himself into a towering giant, then crushes the victim under his boot,” the narrator says.
Mortal Kombat 1 releases Sept. 19. The pre-order beta is available now.
Well, friends, we are just over a week away from the early access launch of Starfield and spoilers have begun leaking, including the opening 40 minutes of the game from someone who got a copy early.
IGN won’t be sharing any of the spoilers, but we wanted to warn all of you to be careful on social media (block appropriate hashtags, keywords, etc.), YouTube, and beyond. The first new Bethesda universe in over 25 years is almost here, and we hope it isn’t ruined for any who wish to journey through it.
While it’s not necessarily a spoiler of the game itself, Starfield’s start screen has leaked and was criticized by a former Blizzard employee, which prompted Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines to issue a sharply worded rebuke.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Cult of the Lamb developer Massive Monster is teaming up with Don’t Starve Together developer Klei Entertainment for a special crossover event which will bring themed in-game items, decorations, a new survival mode, Webber as a follower, and so much more.
The free Cult of the Lamb update is available as of today, and, as we mentioned, it will see Don’t Starve Together’s friendly spider-infused character Webber make the leap to the charming roguelite as a follower with multiple variants. To get your hooves on Webber you’ll first need to obtain a skull dropped by a defeated spider. Proceed to bury said skull in a grave – as any self respecting lamb would – and the arachnid sycophant will pop out of the ground, ready and willing to do your unholy bidding.
Unlocking Webber as a follower has the added benefit of unlocking new Don’t Starve Together themed decorations for your cult, including the alchemy engine, marbled tree, and, of course, the aptly named pig head flag.
Gaining Webber also grants access to the Penitence game mode, which introduces Don’t Starve-inspired hunger and sleep mechanics to your unholy adventure. After selecting the Penitence mode upon starting a new game, the player will have to contend with two ever decreasing bars, representing the protagonist’s hunger and need for sleep. A failure to satiate either of these needs will result in permadeath, much like it would in real life.
“The key to survival will be to manage both your Hunger and Sleep levels – they will continue to go down, even when on crusades,” read a post on Cult of the Lamb’s Steam store page describing the new additions. “You will be able to abandon a crusade early, but this will come at a slight cost of some of the resources you gathered.”
Don’t Starve Together has also received a selection of Cult of the Lamb themed items, including the Crown trinket, which can be extracted from wet pouches fished from the oasis lake and offered to the Antlion in exchange for new blueprints. Klei Entertainment is also offering a limited time log-in reward, which will net players a number of item skins and rewards to let you starve in occult style.
The update is available now on Xbox, and PlayStation consoles, and PC, and a Nintendo Switch version containing the content will be available “very soon”.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Xbox and Turn 10 Studios have finally shared the PC requirements for the next iteration of Forza Motorsport.
In a new blog post, the developer confirms that Forza Motorsport’s PC release will support native resolutions up to 4K and higher. The upcoming racing sim will also support Nvidia’s DLSS 2 and AMD’s FSR 2.2 supersampling technologies.
The PC requirements note that players must free up 130GB of SSD on their rigs to install Forza Motorsport. The “Ideal Specs,” which will have the game running at Ultra settings, notes that you should use a NvME SSD to install Forza Motorsport. You can check out the complete PC requirements in the image below.
Turn 10 Studios also provided transparency on what racing wheels will work on the Xbox and PC versions: 18 racing wheels are supported on the console version and the PC version supports 41 racing wheels. You can check the full list here.
An Xbox Wire blog post that went up at the same time confirms that Forza Motorosport’s PC release will also have cross-play and cross-progression available across PC and console. Additionally, Xbox noted that Forza Motorsport features rumble vibration on the Xbox controllers and improved force feedback for those using a racing wheel.
The announcement coincides with Gamescom 2023. And to celebrate Xbox’s presence at the trade show, the publisher announced that the Nürburgring GP circuit will be available in Forza Motorsport when the game releases in October.
As part of its Gamescom 2023 announcements, Nvidia revealed that the next game to get an RTX enhancement is Valve’s critically acclaimed first-person shooter, Half-Life 2.
Half-Life 2 RTX is being worked on by the Half-Life 2 community using an early access version of the RTX Remix creator toolkit. The RTX version of Half-Life 2 will use Nvidia’s tech, such as hardware-focused ray tracing, Nvidia Reflex, RTX IO, and the third generation of DLSS.
This is the latest RTX-enhanced game to use Nvidia’s RTX Remix toolkit, which the GPU maker announced last year. The first game to use a toolkit was Portal, and more recently, the popular 2008 mod Portal Prelude also received an RTX remix.
In our review of Half-Life 2, we said that the game “sets the standard in all areas, especially the use of physics as a gameplay tool instead of merely a visual treat for gamers.” Noting that Half-Life 2 is a great game for fans of the series and those that like action games in general.
Half-Life 2 RTX currently does not have a release date.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
IGN can exclusively reveal the launch of Midwest Games, a new regionally focused video game publisher headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
At the helm of the new studio is Ben Kvalo, an industry veteran with prior experience as Netflix senior management. Kvalo says the goal of the new studio is to focus on creating opportunities for talent across the Midwest and in other underrepresented regions.
“Coming from the Midwest, I’m well aware of the challenges of breaking into and building a career within the games industry from here,” Kvalo tells IGN. “Currently, the Midwest ranks at the bottom among US regions in terms of both game output and employment opportunities. Not coincidentally, it’s also the only US region lacking an established, dedicated video game publisher collaborating with local developers.
“We intend to shift this landscape. While we’re headquartered in the Midwest, that’s not where our focus ends. We’re putting our flag in the ground and asserting that you can do this here. And if we can achieve success here, this creates a proof point it can be done anywhere — not only in traditional industry hotspots.”
Midwest Games’ leadership is also made up of co-founder and Head of Partnerships Robert Martin III, Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Corbett, Chief Project Officer Chris Klimecky, and board members Mark James and Liz Kuehn. This group brings experience from companies including Meta, 2K, Striking Distance Studios, Crunchyroll, Discovery Communications, and more.
Along with the reveal of the new publisher, Midwest Games revealed its first publishing partnership. Midwest Games will work with Cincinatti-based developer Gylee Games to release Ra Ra Boom, a 4-player cooperative beat ’em up, with 2D action taking place in a hand-drawn art style. IGN can exclusively reveal the new trailer for Ra Ra Boom, which you can check out below.
Ra Ra Boom will tell a coming-of-age narrative about four ninja cheerleaders from outer space fighting against an army of AI robots.
“We met with many publishers during the development of Ra Ra Boom, and found that Midwest Games was the closest match to our goals and values,” says Gylee Games founder Chris Bergman. “We’re not just working hard to create successful games, we want to expand the opportunities for all developers in our hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the rest of the Midwest.”
Fans attending 2D Con in Minnesota later this month can go to a panel introducing Midwest Games on Saturday, August 26, at 1 p.m. There will also be a Ra Ra Boom gameplay contest the next day at 1 p.m.
Midwest Games is backed by TitletownTech, a venture capital firm led by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and Microsoft.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Spider-Man 2 has claimed its spot at the forefront of the most anticipated lists for ardent Spider-Man and PlayStation enthusiasts, and with good reason. However, if you’re not inclined to shell out the full, and rather hefty, price tag of £70 on its launch day, there are some enticing opportunities already available.
For starters, Amazon has significantly trimmed down the preorder of the game to £62.99, complemented by a preorder price guarantee to safeguard against potential further reductions. That’s not the only deal available either, so check out the full range of options below as well.
If you do preorder through Amazon, you won’t need to pay a penny until the game ships, so you won’t be out of pocket until the game is on its way to you. This preorder deal has already gone out of stock once, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that it will sell out again (or Amazon will simply up the price again before launch).
If these options don’t appeal to you, you could also consider buying the game digitally. ShopTo has recently expanded its range of PSN gift card deals, including the £35 card, now available at a reduced price of £30.85. If you’re a digital owner or anyone else interested, purchasing two of these cards for a total of £61.70 could offer a fantastic deal for preordering Spider-Man 2, provided you have the funds available right now.
Alternatively, another top suggestion for those with a bit of patience is to wait for Spider-Man 2 to appear among listings from verified eBay sellers (such as The Game Collection). Once it’s available to preorder, keep an eye out for a fresh eBay discount code, similar to the ongoing WOW10 promo.
This strategy could lead to a substantial discount, especially if you act swiftly to secure your preorder (as these deals can also sell out fast). Just remember, upfront payment is necessary, making this another favorable choice for those with the game funds readily available. For even more new UK deal developments follow @IGNUKDeals on Twitter or join our IGN Deals Discord for more discussion.
