CD Projekt has announced a free trial of Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, available from March 28-31.
The trial goes live at 8am PDT on March 28 and ends 11:59pm on March 31. It offers five hours of unrestricted gameplay, and does not require any additional fees or subscriptions (so no need for PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass, for example). It does not include expansion Phantom Liberty.
Here’s the official blurb from CD Projekt:
This is the ultimate Cyberpunk 2077 experience — during the free trial period, players will have access to the base game, which includes all previous updates, such as the groundbreaking Update 2.0 featuring major gameplay overhauls and new features like redesigned skill trees and perks, vehicle combat, a new police system, and more. Players will also be able to experience Update 2.1, which introduced a fully functional metro system, the ability to listen to in-game radio stations outside of vehicles via the radioport, new vehicles, and more to the game. After the free trial ends, players who decide to purchase Cyberpunk 2077 will have their progress seamlessly carried over to the full version of the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 suffered a disastrous launch back in 2020, but CD Projekt stuck with the game and successfully turned it around in one of the most remarkable redemption stories in video game history. CD Projekt is now working on a sequel, codenamed Orion, although don’t expect to see anything of it for years.
If you’re jumping into the game for the first time, check out IGN’s comprehensive Cyberpunk 2077 guide.
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.
Bethesda has celebrated the 30th birthday of The Elder Scrolls series, and in doing so provided a brief update on the in-development The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls franchise began life in 1994 with The Elder Scrolls: Arena, and has seen a number of main games and spin-offs in the 30 years since. The last mainline The Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, first launched in November 2011, a sobering 13 years ago.
During a message to fans celebrating The Elder Scrolls’ birthday, Bethesda Game Studios pointed to the 10-year anniversary of The Elder Scrolls Online, mobile castle builder The Elder Scrolls: Castles, and finally, The Elder Scrolls 6.
“Last but not least, yes, we are in development on the next chapter – The Elder Scrolls 6,” Bethesda Game Studios said. “Even now, returning to Tamriel and playing early builds has us filled with the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.
“Thank you again for supporting us all these decades, and all you have brought to the games, making them your own. We couldn’t be more excited to continue it and celebrate the next 30 years.”
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) March 25, 2024
With Bethesda’s most recent game, Starfield, just six months old and set for DLC, it’ll be years before fans get to play The Elder Scrolls 6. Indeed, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said it won’t come out until 2028 at the earliest, putting a minimum of 17 years between it and Slyrim.
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.
This is part of a sitewide sale for retailers via eBay, including brands or retailers like Adidas, The Game Collection, Nike, ShopTo, Dell, Lenovo, and more. CHICK15 promo code will last until the end of the day on March 29, with 15% off almost everything from trusted sellers. This includes over 2100 stores, with a low minimum spend of £9.99, alongside a max discount of £75, and a total of three redemptions of the promo code.
If you want the games but find yourself lacking in a PlayStation 5, then now is the time to cash in on another great deal. The new(ish) PS5 Slim has dropped down to just £390 for Amazon Prime members in the Spring sale which ends after today. Stocks of PS Portals have also finally started to show up at various online retailers. We always keep a keen eye out for PS Portal drops so make sure to follow us on X/Twitter @IGNUKDeals to get up-to-date stock updates.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
If I were to write a list of all the things that made Skyrim special, it’d be as long as The Elder Scrolls themselves. Considering that’s a massive waste of parchment, I can boil Skyrim’s magic down to one word: dragons. Few games have recaptured the thrill of Tamriel’s wyrms crashing down from the sky to interrupt an otherwise run-of-the-mill fetch quest. But I’ve got good news: that very same sense of awe, terror, and excitement fuels Dragon’s Dogma 2, a game where a towering cyclops can unexpectedly emerge from the forest’s edge, or a terrifying drake swoop down from on high, all in unscripted, emergent moments.
If you’re familiar with the original Dragon’s Dogma, then you’ll likely know that the game’s director, Hideaki Itsuno, was partly inspired by The Elder Scrolls series. That inspiration makes the first game, and in turn Dragon’s Dogma 2, stand out against not only the traditions of Japanese-developed RPGs, but also much of the Western RPG scene, too. Dragon’s Dogma 2 rejects many of the genre’s narrative-heavy staples in favour of a more organic, exploration-focused structure. It’s a philosophy that powers Bethesda Game Studios’ trademark approach, and so within Dragon’s Dogma 2 there are recognisable echoes of Skyrim.
Our memories of Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim are more often than not related to our lived experiences within the world, rather than specific characters or narrative beats. This makes The Elder Scrolls something unusual among RPGs, a genre typically reliant on novel-like stories. It’s likely a result of the series having roots in Ultima Underworld, the key progenitor of games like System Shock and Deus Ex. These games are built on interlocking systems and mechanics that combine to create worlds that feel organic and authentic – everything has its purpose and interacts with the things around it. While story is a foundational pillar in these games, it’s delivered without the cinematic lens used in more traditional RPGs – they’re not Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect, or Dragon Quest. These are games about doing and experiencing, rather than being part of a beautifully written tale.
That brings us back to Skyrim’s dragons, and in turn Dragon’s Dogma 2’s array of colossal beasts. They turn up without warning, injecting unexpected challenges into… well, anything. You could be having a mundane stroll back to the city to hand in a quest, or be in the middle of an already heated battle. Just yesterday I was on an errand to collect gold ore, only for my mining expedition to be interrupted by a ferocious griffin. A great battle ensued, with my party calling down bolts of lightning and shooting flaming arrows in an attempt to bring it down. The creature eventually realised it was bested and so took to the skies, but not before I grabbed its tail and clambered onto its hind leg. Hurtling through the skies and hanging on for dear life, I began a new adventure. An adventure with no quest log entry or objective – I’d just let this massive half-eagle, half-lion decide my fate.
Every journey is an anecdote delivery machine – you can’t go from A to B without some kind of wild and wonderful event leaping out at you.
Many RPGs carry the sense of being crafted for you; every quest is bespoke for your protagonist. Dragon’s Dogma 2 feels much more organic. The world lives and breathes of its own accord, and every time you step outside your front door you’re at the mercy of the overlapping systems that give its creatures life and make its rivers flow (I should mention here that Dragon’s Dogma 2’s rivers can literally eat you). It means that every journey is an anecdote delivery machine – you can’t go from A to B without some kind of wild and wonderful event leaping out at you.
I recall my time in Skyrim in exactly the same way – permanent images of being chased by frost trolls and stumbling across giants herding mammoths, none of which were part of any actual quest. Many of us remember Bethesda’s schtick of “See that mountain? You can go there”, but it wasn’t actually the mountain that was important – it was the journey there. The many unscripted, organic moments that happened on your particular journey are what make Skyrim special, as they made it your experience, not everybody else’s. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an entire game cut from this same cloth.
This kind of approach comes with its own drawbacks though. Creating a land this big, where the fun is often ‘whatever happens to you’ rather than pre-scripted quests, means there has to be a dozen systems constantly ticking behind the scenes to keep the world alive. More moving parts means more jank, and if there’s anything a Skyrim fan knows well it’s jank. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is exactly the same. Its NPCs repeat ever-looping dialogue. Your companions are over-eager and constantly get in trouble. Characters stare dead-eyed into the wrong direction for entire conversations. Combat feels messy and imprecise. It’s a list of things that would traditionally see a game written off. But rather than diminishing its quality, these rough edges feel oddly comforting because they lend the game personality… a personality reminiscent of Skyrim. There’s something endearing about all this distinctly video game-y artifice, and how it finds a way to sit in harmony alongside a world that so often feels truly alive.
Perhaps that feeling is rooted in nostalgia. We’re in a golden age of RPGs, but few games try to capture the very specific magic of Skyrim. We’ve been waiting 13 years for something that comes close, and it could be that we’re waiting forever if we pin our hopes on Bethesda. In the years since Skyrim’s launch, the studio’s games have increasingly been inspired by the survival genre rather than advancements in the RPG space. Fallout 4’s crafting and building focus was a clear response to Minecraft’s colossal success, while Fallout 76 attempted to ride the wave of Steam’s survival game boom. More recently, Starfield’s procedurally generated galaxy is inescapably in No Man’s Sky’s orbit. It stands to reason, then, that The Elder Scrolls 6 could push further in this direction, potentially at the expense of what made us fall in love with Oblivion and Skyrim.
Dragon’s Dogma 2, though, with its map absent of icon clutter and reliance on curiosity, discovery, and emergent gameplay, feels akin to a Bethesda game that took inspiration from Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring. These are touchstones that are hard not to get excited about – I appreciate Bethesda is what it is precisely because it doesn’t make RPGs like anyone else, but I’d like to see it push focus on its open worlds rather than its survival elements. Thankfully, that’s what I’m getting from Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Capcom’s latest is different from Skyrim in many ways – its lore is a pamphlet in comparison, its quest design is only half as good, and you definitely can’t play as a stealth archer. It’s much more challenging than an Elder Scrolls game, too, with long and often arduous journeys that must be sufficiently planned for. Messing up can mean reverting to an hours-old save. And so Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not a ‘spiritual sequel’ to Skyrim in the way that Obsidian’s Avowed is positioned to be.
But Skyrim’s true magic was never what it was, but how it made you feel. And, for the first time in 13 years, I finally had that same feeling again. The world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 has the spirit of Skyrim flowing through it. It feels like a home away from home (although only if you think homes should be full of 20-feet-tall monsters that surprise attack you in the middle of the night.)
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
At the time, Toys for Bob said it was exploring “a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft”, adding both Microsoft and Activision were “extremely supportive” of its new direction. While Toys for Bob’s first project as an indie studio is apparently “in the early days”, fans wondered speculated it could be a revival of Crash, Spyro, or another IP Toys for Bob has become known and beloved for.
Now, according to Windows Central, that partnership is a done deal, with Microsoft agreeing to fund development of the unannounced game. This new game will be “similar” to games Toys for Bob has made in the past, Windows Central said. Microsoft and Toys for Bob are yet to comment.
When Toys for Bob announced its independence, it told fans to “keep your horns on and your eyes out for more news.” Some are taking this as a nod to Spyro the Dragon. Now Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, it owns all associated intellectual property, including Crash and Spyro.
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.
Last week, Larian confirmed it had no plans to release DLC or expansions for smash hit Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3, and indeed it had no plans to make another video game set in the D&D universe, ruling out a Baldur’s Gate 4 from the studio. Instead, it’s making a brand new game.
Following the news, some fans expressed concern that Wizards of the Coast, which owns and operates Dungeons & Dragons, had caused Larian to walk away from the fantasy universe. Wizards of the Coast is owned by toy maker Hasbro, which issued a statement to IGN addressing Larian’s decision:
“Larian has been an incredible partner, and together we are proud of the success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Watch this space for more on some awesome D&D games we are bringing to life through Hasbro’s studios and our network of licensing partners. We have an unbeatable library of toy and game brands and many fantastic partners around the world.”
Hasbro failed to respond to IGN’s question about the future of Baldur’s Gate now Larian is moving on, nor did it say whether Wizards of the Coast plans to hand the licence to a new developer. Baldur’s Gate 3 has made some $90 million for Hasbro, an impressive sum even as the company has struggled overall, experiencing a revenue decline of 15% and operating at a loss of $1.5 billion in 2023.
In December, Hasbro announced a huge wave of layoffs that affected over 1,000 staff just before the holidays. Following the news, Vincke offered his condolences to the massive group of Wizards of the Coast workers affected by the cuts, drawing specific attention to the fact that nearly everyone at the company who was part of early discussions about Baldur’s Gate 3 had left.
“I also want to thank [Wizards of the Coast] and specifically the Dungeons & Dragons team for giving us carte blanche,” Vincke said at the time. “I’m really sorry to hear so many of you were let go. It’s a sad thing to realize that of the people who were in the original meeting room, there’s almost nobody left. I hope you all end up well.”
“… they really did their best and have been a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing.
Now, clearly mindful of the growing resentment towards Wizards of the Coast following Larian’s announcement, Vincke has issued a follow-up statement, defending the company.
“Reading the reddit threads, I would like to clear up something,” Vincke said. “WOTC is not to blame for us taking a different direction. On the contrary, they really did their best and have been a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing. This is because it’s what’s best for Larian.”
In an interview with IGN at GDC 2024, Vincke revealed Larian began work on Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC and even gave some thought to a potential Baldur’s Gate 4 before pivoting away to other projects because the team was “going through the motions.” “You could see the team was doing it because everyone felt like we had to do it, but it wasn’t really coming from the heart, and we’re very much a studio from the heart,” Vincke added. “It’s what gotten us into misery and it’s also been the reasons for our success.”
As Larian moves on to new things, Hasbro is now left pondering what to do with the Baldur’s Gate series and the incredible characters Larian created for Baldur’s Gate 3. Does it draft in a new developer to take up the reins? Does it leave Baldur’s Gate 3 behind, as Larian has? In a tweet, Vincke passed the torch: “As for BG3 and its characters – they now belong to WOTC and I think they understand how important they are for the community. I trust that they’ll be treated with respect.”
What we do know is there are a number of Dungeons & Dragons video games in development that are not Baldur’s Gate 4. Gameloft Montreal, maker of Disney Dreamlight Valley, is working on a new Dungeons & Dragons game set in the Forgotten Realms. It’s described as “a unique and innovative experience blending survival, action RPG, and life simulation that will test players’ skills in an unforgiving campaign set in the D&D universe.” And Payday developer Starbreeze is working on a Dungeons & Dragons co-op multiplayer game codenamed Project Baxter, although it’s not due out until 2026.
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.
Beginning its life as a Shin Megami Tensei spin-off, the Persona series has quickly launched into something entirely of its own and become one of the biggest names in modern RPGs. From multiple major sequels and remakes to anime adaptations and even stage plays, Persona is a multimedia sensation, and its popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
With the latest entry in the franchise, Persona 3 Reload, now available to play on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC, new players are probably wondering where’s the best place to start. Below, we’ll give you a full rundown of every game and spin-off, including the best entry point for newcomers and both the chronological and release order of the series.
In total, there are currently twenty Persona games. Several of these are expanded versions of the mainline entries in the series, whether that’s in the form of re-releases featuring new story content or remakes. While we won’t include direct ports or remasters, we’ll make sure to note every alternate version of each game when listing them below.
Which Persona Game Should You Play First?
If you’re looking for the perfect place to start, you can’t really go wrong jumping into Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal first. They’re the latest versions of the third, fourth and fifth mainline entries in the series, and, aside from Persona 3 Reload missing Nintendo Switch, they’re all available on PC and every major console.
For those concerned about skipping the story by jumping into later entries in the series, you won’t miss anything by going straight to Persona 3, 4, or 5. Each game tells an entirely new story with original characters that’s largely disconnected from its predecessors, so they’re great launching points for those coming in fresh.
Every Persona Game and Spin-Off in Chronological Order
These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. Revelations: Persona (1996)
The first game in the series, Revelations: Persona was Atlus’ reaction to the positive reception of Shin Megami Tensei: If…, which was another Shin Megami Tensei spin-off centered around high-schoolers battling demons. Capitalizing on how much players enjoyed the central concept, Revelations: Persona offered a full dungeon-crawling RPG centered around a group of high schoolers battling a supernatural uprising throughout the town of Mikage-cho.
Along the way, they use the powers of their awakened Personas to take down shadows and explore dungeons filled with random encounters, leveling up their party and growing stronger over the course of the game. Revelations: Persona was the foundation of the franchise as we know it today, introducing elements like wielding Personas in combat, the Velvet Room and a teenage cast of heroes.
2. Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999)
The second entry in the Persona series, Persona 2: Innocent Sin launched in 1999. The game follows a new set of high-school students led by protagonist Tatsuya Suou, who set out on a mission to take down a mysterious villain known as Joker and the cult of the Masked Circle.
Centring around an evil plot where malicious rumors spreading around the town of Sumaru come to life, Persona 2 once again focuses on exploring dungeons, wielding Personas, fighting shadows and leveling up your party. Unlike other entries in the series, it received a direct sequel just a year later, with Persona 2: Eternal Punishment acting as a continuation of the game’s story.
Following up the events of Innocent Sin, Eternal Punishment promoted side character, Maya Amano, to the protagonist role. Sent to write an article about a new rumor regarding a phenomenon known as the Joker Curse, the game quickly sees Maya and her allies rally against a returning foe.
Acting as a direct continuation of Innocent Sin’s story, it centers on the same style of turn-based, dungeon-crawling gameplay, as players build their party and wield their Personas to battle shadows.
4. Persona 3 (2006) / Persona 3 FES (2007) / Persona 3 Portable (2009) / Persona 3 Reload (2024)
The third mainline entry in the franchise, Persona 3 was a major evolution of the Persona formula. Opting to focus on its high-school premise, Persona 3 introduced a daily calendar, with one half of the game tasking players with attending school, developing friendships and studying, while the other sent them to fight shadows in the supernatural realm of Tartarus.
The story focuses on high school student Makoto Yuki, who finds he’s able to experience a mysterious space of time known as the Dark Hour, where regular people are trapped in coffins and a demonic tower sprouts from his school. Teaming with his classmates, he explores the tower, uncovering a sinister plot that threatens the entire world. Persona 3 is considered a landmark entry for the series, introducing social links, day-to-day activities and many other mechanics that have since become synonymous with the franchise.
A rhythm-based dancing spin-off of Persona 3 that takes place during the main campaign, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight sees Elizabeth challenge the S.E.E.S team to a dance-off in the Velvet Room. The events of the game are set during a dream but are completely canon to the story, and follow the team performing various dance routines to iconic Persona 3 tracks.
6. Persona 4 (2008) / Persona 4 Golden (2012)
The fourth mainline entry in the Persona series, Persona 4 takes place in the rural town of Inaba. Players assume the role of Yu Narukami: a high schooler from the city who moves to the country to live with his uncle and cousin for a year. After arriving, a string of violent murders begin to take place in the town, as Yu and his friends quickly discover they’re somehow linked to a mysterious otherworldly realm they can access by stepping through TV monitors.
Delving into this mysterious new world, Yu and his friends face supernatural forces as they learn more about the murders, using their powers to try and stop them. Building off the mechanics of Persona 3, Persona 4 once again utilizes the calendar system, as players build social links and attend school while also exploring vast dungeons and defeating enemies with their Personas.
Technically taking place during the Persona 3 and Persona 4 storylines simultaneously, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a crossover between both games. During the typhoon segment of Persona 3 and the Culture Festival segment of Persona 4, the S.E.E.S team and the Investigation Squad are trapped inside a warped version of Yasogami High School.
The time-bending event sees both teams come together to investigate the strange occurrence and escape back to their respective spots on the timeline. Along the way, players explore a labyrinth filled with new enemies and uncover an original story, with the spin-off acting as a callback to the series’ more traditional dungeon-crawler roots.
A continuation of both Persona 3 and 4’s narratives and the franchise’s first major spin-off, Persona 4 Arena sees Yu Narukami return to Inaba and stumble into a new adventure, as he returns to the TV world for a mysterious fighting tournament. Forced to battle against his allies and a group known as the Shadow Operatives, which is comprised of Persona 3’s Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis, Arena offers a full fighting game boasting a roster of iconic Persona characters.
A year following the release of Persona 4 Arena, the spin-off received a sequel titled Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Taking place directly after the events of the first game, the Persona 4 squad teams up with the Shadow Operatives to return to the TV World and battle against the mysterious forces running the fighting tournament. Ultimax was ultimately an upgrade for the first game, bringing in an expanded roster including returning characters like Yukari, Junpei, Ken and Koromaru.
The fourth and arguably most unexpected spin-off of Persona 4, Persona 4: Dancing All Night is a rhythm-based dancing game where the Investigation Squad performs routines to iconic Persona tracks. It offers a completely canon continuation of the storyline, following Yu and the team as they’re sucked into an alternate dimension known as the Midnight Stage.
The fifth mainline entry in the series, Persona 5 hit shelves in Japan in 2016 before launching worldwide in 2017. Taking players to Tokyo, it casts them as a new protagonist known as Joker, who finds himself on probation after being framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Attending the local high school, Joker and his friends discover a supernatural alternate dimension, which allows them to infiltrate mystical palaces and change the hearts of evil-doers around the city.
Before long, the group becomes notorious on the streets of Tokyo, going under the alias of the Phantom Thieves. The game builds heavily off the formula established by Persona 3 and 4, including massive story-focused levels that unfold over a month, the return of the negotiation system and a new dungeon system known as Mementos. Persona 5 launched the franchise into the stratosphere, quickly becoming Atlus’ best-selling game of all time and cultivating a huge fan base.
A sequel to Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, New Cinema Labyrinth once again depicts a crossover between various Persona characters. After the Phantom Thieves find themselves trapped in a movie theater, they ally with Persona 3’s S.E.E.S team and Persona 4’s Investigation Squad to find an escape, traveling into the movies on the screen in an attempt to fix their endings.
Much like the original game, Persona Q2 simultaneously takes place during the Persona 3, 4 and 5 storylines, with the adventure pulling each group out of their respective timeline. There, they explore dungeons from a first-person perspective and fight turn-based battles against various enemies.
13. Persona 5 Tactica (2023)
Taking place during the events of Persona 5, Persona 5 Tactica is a strategy-focused spin-off that’s similar in style to the XCOM franchise. The story follows the Phantom Thieves mysteriously traveling to an alternate realm known as the Kingdoms. Unable to escape, Joker and Morgana are forced to abandon the rest of the Phantom Thieves after they’re brainwashed by the realm’s monstrous ruler, Tyrant Marie, forcing the pair to begin an adventure to save their allies and return home.
Along the way, they team up with the local resistance, helping them fight against Tyrant Marie’s forces. The game revolves around a tactical grid-based combat system, as players direct three units across the battlefield and take out enemies.
Atlus’ third rhythm-based dancing spin-off, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight sees Caroline and Justine bring the Phantom Thieves to the Velvet Room and challenge them to a dance off. There, the group perform dance routines to several of Persona 5’s catchiest tracks.
15. Persona 5 Strikers (2020)
A spin-off set four months after the events of Persona 5, Strikers sees the Phantom Thieves reunite for a summer vacation. However, the team find themselves sucked into the Metaverse after using an app known as EMMA. Escaping with the help of a new ally, the team don their Phantom Thieves gear once more and set out to discover the truth behind EMMA, the Metaverse, and what it means for the people of Tokyo.
Persona 5 Strikers is a crossover with the long-running Dynasty Warriors franchise, introducing real-time combat to the series. Battles center around the Phantom Thieves taking on large hordes of enemies, which they can deal with through combos or by calling on Personas.
Although Persona 3 Reload has only just hit shelves, it seems Atlus has another Persona project in the pipeline. Last year, they announced they were working on a mobile spin-off known as Persona 5: The Phantom X. When announcing the project, Atlus said it was similar in style to the original Persona 5, featuring a new group of characters as they explore the Metaverse and navigate daily highschool life.
While we wait for an inevitable Persona 6, we also know the team behind Persona 3, 4 and 5 is working hard on their next RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. It’s slated to release later this year and promises to be a sprawling fantasy tale with all the style, intense turn-based combat and intricate storytelling of the Persona series. It doesn’t have a release date just yet, but you can check out the official trailer above.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.
The world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is sprawling and dense, with hundreds of materials, chests, secrets, and much, much more to find as you explore. The map isn’t uncovered until you manually trek through wherever it is you want to go, too. Luckily, we have an interactive map for Dragon’s Dogma 2 to show you locations for spots to rest, Seeker’s Tokens, Ferrystones, Portcrystals, and more.
The starting area is filled out robustly, but the Dragon’s Dogma 2 interactive map is still a work in progress, so check back often for more updates!
The map in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is quite large, and our interactive map also includes maps for caves and interiors as well. Click on the arrow and door icon to see what map that cluster is for. We’ve also cataloged many locations of collectibles, quests, and important items in our Dragon’s Dogma 2 wiki guide:
Plus, keep track of everything you’ve collected and completed so far with our useful checklists that sync to your IGN account, so you’ll never find yourself backtracking unnecessarily to check if you actually opened that one chest or not. If you want a guide to help you through the story, check out our Dragon’s Dogma 2 walkthrough.
As we said, this interactive map is a work in progress, so check back for even more soon!
The weekend is officially here, and we’ve gathered up some excellent deals for you! Whether you’re searching for a new VR headset or more storage for your console, we’ve got you covered with the best deals for Sunday, March 24. These deals include Persona 3 Reload, Meta Quest 2, PS5 Slim, and more.
Persona 3 Reload for $39.99
Persona 3 Reload is already one of the biggest 2024 releases so far. The remake brings in new gameplay features, new voice actors, and an impressive slew of technology, including ray tracing. It’s on sale right now at Amazon for $39.99, which marks a new all time low for the title. If you’ve never experienced the story of Persona 3, this is the definitive way to do so.
Lowest Price Ever for Meta Quest 2
If you haven’t yet purchased a VR headset, this amazing deal on the Quest 2 is the lowest price we’ve seen for the headset. For $199, you’ll get a fantastic VR headset and $50 of credit for any games you’d like! The Meta Quest 2 is an excellent VR headset that works great standalone or hooked up to a PC. You can access your entire Steam library with Steam Link, either wired or wirelessly. The screen provides an 1832 x 1920 resolution per eye, with up to a 90Hz refresh rate.
MEGA Showcase Microsoft Xbox 360 Collector Building Set for $99.99
This MEGA Showcase set is perfect for any Xbox fan. With over 1300 pieces, you can build a replica Xbox 360 console, controller, and a physical copy of Halo 3. Every port, grate, and button has been accounted for, with an astounding amount of detail on this build. This set will make a great addition to any collection, with loads of options for display.
Save $70 Off 1TB of Additional Xbox Series X|S Storage
Best Buy currently has the Seagate 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S listed for $149.99. If you’re currently just utilizing the console’s internal storage, this is a great deal to look at. Additional storage will allow you to download more games without having to free up space. It’s a great addition to your console and will benefit you in the long run. The WD – Black 1TB SSD Card for Xbox is priced even lower at $129.99, so take your pick of either brand.
Xbox Wireless Controller for $44
This weekend, Amazon is offering the Pulse Red Xbox Wireless Controller for just $44. You can always use an extra Xbox controller. Not everything lasts forever, and controllers can wear down easily, especially when used frequently.
Save 20% Off This LEGO Icons Tiny Plants Building Set
If you’re a fan of LEGO, Amazon has a sweet discount on this LEGO Icons set. A total of nine differents plants and pots can be built with this set, ranging from Cacti to different flowers. With Mother’s Day and other holidays slowly getting closer, this could be a great option as a gift for a loved one.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 for $32.80
Fantastic news for stealth action fans: the Switch version of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is currently priced at $32.80, which marks the lowest we’ve seen this collection thus far. This is a great package with the first three Metal Gear Solid games, in addition to Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. If you’ve yet to play through the Metal Gear series, the Master Collection is how to do so on modern platforms.
PS5 Slim Spider-Man 2 Bundle for $399.99
Amazon has a fantastic deal ongoing for the PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition. The console itself is $50 off, and you get Spider-Man 2 for free. In total, that’s $120 worth of savings. This is perfect if you’ve yet to pick up a PS5, as we most likely won’t see a better deal than this for a while. With major exclusives like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin now available, an extensive library awaits any new PS5 user.
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Pick Up the Dead Space Remake for $29.99
Dead Space launched last January, and this is a great time to pick up the game if you haven’t already. This remake features an impressive use of technology and a completely modernized combat system. Special attention has been put on the audio, with 3D Audio technology utilized for an immersive experience. You can expect loads of thrills and horror as you look to escape the stranded ship. The USG Ishimura has never looked better or been scarier.
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You can grab one of the best tactical RPGs of 2022 on Amazon at a discount right now. Marvel’s Midnight Suns features a unique cast of Marvel characters with plenty of fan favorites, such as Iron Man, Wolverine, and more. We gave the game an 8/10 in our review, stating the game “makes excellent use of card game mechanics to keep battles fresh, evolving, and unpredictable over the course of an epic-length campaign.”
With Amazon’s new Fallout TV show slated to hit Prime next month, longtime Fallout fans have already started wondering what the next official entry in the iconic post-apocalyptic video game series will look like.
Although it’s still years away, Bethesda Game Studios has been very upfront about the fact that Fallout 5 is in the pipeline, going as far as to say it will be the studio’s next major project after the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. With that in mind, we decided to round up all the early details we’ve heard about the next major installment in the Fallout game series so you can get caught up on everything we know so far.
The first and most crucial thing to note is that Fallout 5 isn’t going to be released for a very long time. As series director Todd Howard told us in an interview back in 2022, “Elder Scrolls 6 is in pre-production and, you know, we’re going to be doing Fallout 5 after that.”
Bethesda has said multiple times that The Elder Scrolls 6’s development would become the studio’s main focus after it wrapped up work on Starfield, which only launched in late 2023. Considering Xbox Head Phil Spencer claimed during last year’s Microsoft vs FTC Trial that The Elder Scrolls 6 itself isn’t expected for “five plus years,” it’s safe to assume we’re not going to be hearing much about Fallout 5 or its release date for years to come.
Bethesda Has Drafted Up Early Plans For Fallout 5
Although its still early days for the sequel, Todd Howard has admitted that he’s taken some time laying out the groundwork for Fallout 5 and where he wants to take the franchise next. Speaking to us on the IGN Unfiltered Podcast in 2021, Howard revealed: “We have a one-pager on Fallout 5, what we want to do.”
In essence, it seems Howard has already spent some time figuring out the broad concept for the next major entry in the Fallout series and the ideas Bethesda hopes to tackle going forward. That being said, he did make it clear those ideas are still in the very early stages. Continuing his discussion about Fallout 5 and Bethesda Game Studios’ future projects in general, he claimed: “I’d like to find a way to accelerate what we do, but I can’t really say today or commit to anything, [like] what’s going to happen when.”
Ideas From The Fallout TV Show Were Held Back Because of Fallout 5
During recent press events for the upcoming Fallout TV show, Todd Howard and the show’s crew talked more about the adaptation’s story and crafting a live-action adventure set in such a lore-rich world. During these interviews, Jonathon Nolan claimed that making the show felt like working on “Fallout 5,” telling Total Film that the show being an original, canon story set in the game’s world makes it feel like a “non-interactive” new entry in the series rather than an adaptation.
Todd Howard later expanded on these comments while speaking with Den of Geek, revealing that he had several conversations with the team behind the show and asked them to avoid including certain story elements due to the eventual release of Fallout 5.
“There were some things where I said, ‘don’t do this because we are going to do that in Fallout 5,” Howard revealed, with showrunner Graham Wagner adding, “I think we made Fallout 6.” It appears the show and the next game will explore different aspects of Fallout’s world, although things were close enough that Howard wanted them to circle around certain topics to ensure they both covered new ground. With The Fallout show centering on a vault dweller exploring the remnants of Los Angeles, this could be our first hint that Bethesda aims to head to the West Coast for its next iteration of the series.
What Platforms Will Fallout 5 Be On?
Regarding what platforms Fallout 5 will be on, it’s safe to assume that it’ll be available on Xbox consoles and PC considering Bethesda now falls under the Microsoft banner. However, whether that’s on current or next-gen consoles remains to be seen.
Seeing as the game’s still a ways off and Phil Spencer didn’t clarify whether Elder Scrolls 6 (which is launching prior to Fallout 5) was a current or next-gen release when talking about the game during Microsoft’s FTC trial, it seems likely that Fallout 5 will release on future Xbox platforms. We’ll just have to wait and see where the game eventually falls.
What About PlayStation?
Currently, Bethesda Game Studios seems focused on releasing all of its upcoming games exclusively on Xbox platforms and PC. With Starfield releasing as a full Xbox console exclusive and leaked Microsoft documents suggesting that The Elder Scrolls 6 could be following suit, there’s a very good chance Fallout 5 will continue the trend.
That being said, Xbox has been more lenient with its library of exclusives in recent months, announcing that Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Pentiment are all making their way to other consoles. Whether this new approach to first-party releases eventually results in them launching flagship titles on rival consoles remains to be seen, but there’s always a possibility Fallout could be a multi-platform release. Right now, it’s far too early to say. If it did release on PlayStation, it would likely be on the PS6.
Fallout 5 Will Use A More Advanced Engine Than Previous Fallout Games
In preparation for the release of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda’s teams announced they’d fully overhauled the Creation engine, which was used to develop Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. The most advanced version of the Creation Engine yet, Todd Howard called it “the largest [overhaul] we’ve probably ever had, maybe larger than Morrowind to Oblivion,” during a Develop: Brighton Digital conference in 2020.
Regardless of whether this remains the engine the team will use for Fallout 5 or they upgrade it further in time for the long-awaited sequel, Fallout will utilize a more advanced set of tools than its predecessors, benefitting from better graphics, pathing, lighting, NPC animations and more.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.