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Take-Two CEO Says GTA 6 Trailer Leak Was ‘Disappointing,’ ‘but Ultimately I Don’t Think It Hurt Us’

Alongside Take-Two’s earnings report, CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed his thoughts on the trailer leak for Rockstar Games’ highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6.

Zelnick said that while it was “disappointing” that the trailer was leaked before Rockstar could officially reveal it to the world, he does not believe it hurt the development team.

“It’s amazing when the trailer announcement is huge news, and then we were very gratified when the trailer broke the internet…so we couldn’t be happier or more excited,” Zelnick explained. “In terms of the leak, that’s always disappointing for the team, but ultimately, I don’t think it hurt us.”

Grand Theft Auto 6 was one of 2023’s biggest gaming announcements, coming in right at the end of the year. Rockstar planned to reveal the first GTA 6 trailer on December 5, 2023, at 9 am ET. However, that trailer would be leaked on X/Twitter less than 24 hours before its scheduled premiere, leading to Rockstar officially posting the trailer on YouTube early.

As Zelnick alluded, Rockstar developers took to social media to express their frustration at the trailer leaking before its premiere. Nevertheless, the trailer was still a massive hit when it did premiere, breaking MrBeasts’ record for most views on YouTube in 24 hours. One of the game’s playable characters, Lucia, also quickly became a fan favorite, to the point that fans are already modding her into other games.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released sometime next year on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more on GTA 6, check out our roundup of everything we’ve learned about the game so far.

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

Claim a Key for Bzzzt, the Demanding (and Fun) Action Platformer with Bite-Sized Levels

If you like demanding, bite-sized platformers, I have great news for you! Bzzzt is a fun and fresh entry that evokes really popular games in the genre, such as Celeste and Super Meat Boy. What’s more, we are giving out keys as part of IGN Plus. WOOHOO!

IGN Plus Monthly Game: Bzzzt

Bzzzt is a fast-paced platformer from solo developer Karel Matejka (also known as KO.DLL). who has worked on the game alone for four years. They crafted every element of the game except the (very catchy) music, which was deftly made by their long-time friend Martin Linda. According to Karel, Bzzzt is inspired by a litany of games, including Manic Miner, Mario, Oddworld, Mega Man, VVVVVV, Shovel Knight, Geometry Dash, Hollow Knight, and more.

From where I’m sitting, it certainly evokes Celeste and Super Meat Boy, too, although unlike Super Meat Boy, there are several difficulty settings which let you make up to three mistakes before needing to start the bite-sized stage over.

Bzzzt Developer Interview – Karel Matejka (Bzzzt Sole Developer)

For this interview, I corresponded with Karel Matejka about their solo-developed game Bzzzt, retro games that inspire them, taking on solo game development, and more.

I hope you enjoy the game, and this excerpt from our interview. Cheers!

Brian: I understand that bringing back the old-school feel and love of retro games inspired the creation of Bzzzt. (It reminds me of Super Meat Boy with a dash of Celeste, among other things)

Karel: I was always fascinated by the old 8-bit games. As a kid, I was amazed by a new and fresh kind of entertainment I had never seen before. It was the main reason why I started making games by myself. After more than 30 years in the game industry, working on big titles, I decided to “time-travel” back to the eighties, become an indie developer, and see if I could make a game reflecting that nostalgic feeling without any old computers’ limits. I wanted to pay tribute to games I grew up on but with fresh design approaches, perfectly tight controls, rainbow art, high-frequency animations, and supersonic-speed gameplay.

I did not see the reason for creating “just another” retro game with loose controls… platforming full of frustration, and stuttering camera movement – that’s why I also searched for inspiration in modern games. Celeste has remarkably polished controls and a system of helping players. Super Meat Boy inspired me to make the gameplay more frenetic, and Cuphead was the inspiration for the ever-changing gameplay and boss stages. The list of games which influenced Bzzzt is almost endless: Manic Miner, Mario, Oddworld, Mega Man, VVVVVV, Shovel Knight, Geometry Dash, Hollow Knight, etc.

Brian: What makes the short stages / speedrunning style so compelling, as a developer?

Karel: I tried to build longer stages during playtesting, but this level design was too stressful for players. So, I decided to create shorter stages with perfectly synchronized traps and keep surprising players with new mechanics at every step – that was finally the right direction for the game and the source of core fun!

The Bzzzt game is about solving fast speedrun puzzles, easily memorizing all obstacles, and performing perfect jump-dash-run sequences without worrying too much about being killed by traps or enemies. Everything is instant, satisfying, and very, very addictive. The quote, “Just one last run, and I am going to sleep”, best illustrates this game.

What are some of the team’s favorite things/elements from the games?

Karel: I play games mostly because of their story (I am a huge fan of the JRPG genre). If the game has a well-written story, I am in! Maybe that’s why I am not a big fan of the Rogue-like genre. I need some progress, and I hate losing it. I love it when developers experiment with genres. When there is something fresh, a new game mechanic or an unexpected genre twist, I enjoy it a lot.

For instance, Dave the Diver. Almost all exploration games have fishing minigames – variations that have been seen hundreds of times – and Dave the Diver team finally made fishing entertaining. Or Loop Hero. They picked a Tower Defense genre and turned its established rules inside out.

Brian: For me, the music is great and the feel of the platforming is fantastic.

Karel: I started experimenting with music when I realized that many games share animation tempo and music rhythm. In the Rayman series, there are stages that are synchronized with the music, or “dancing” flowers in Plants versus Zombies are great examples.

With Martin, we decided to make the soundtrack and animated sprites precisely this way. Players will not realize this immediately, but it’s something inside that will satisfy their senses.

Brian: I am a big fan of Easy mode’s 3 lives. Being able to scale the challenge to the players desired level is a plus in my opinion. Was there ever a discussion about a mode with infinite continues per stage, or adding slowdown, or other accessibility options, given the demands placed on the player?

Karel: Yes, we are still discussing that. I plan to add a more “relaxing” mode to the game. Many players want less challenging enemies or to enjoy the game art without being disturbed by traps too much. I have already started working on that.

Brian: The sidescrolling bullet hell section with the ship was so cool, as was the 80s synthwave music.

Karel: Initially, the idea behind the game was to pay tribute only to one specific game – the first game I played on ZX Spectrum with my brother. It was Manic Miner. But when I was coding more and more subsystems, I realized it would be an unexploited potential to use only one inspiration. So, In the end, I decided to pay tribute to more games from that era. And SHMUP, because I love that genre a lot, was the first one I decided to add there as a bonus. There are so many cultural references inside the game, and it’s up to players to discover them.

Brian: Were there any other names you considered for the game?

Karel: Haha, I did not consider other names, this one was the first. Yes, I know that the game title is a bit silly, but as everything inside the game has its own inspiration evoking ’80s/’90s, there are also a few ones behind the Bzzzt name. The first one is a game called PSSST!, which was released on ZX Spectrum in 1983. The second is Ruby Rhod’s quote from The Fifth Element, directed by my favourite director, Luc Besson. And, the last inspiration is that the name reminds me of the sound of electricity, and it has a tight connection with the main character and the electric traps used inside the game.

Brian: Any notable, interesting, or fun stories from development that you can share?

Karel: When thinking about naming characters, I decided to use my friends’ names. There is a bar in Prague called BAD TIMES with a bartender named Norbert. The funny thing is, he hates his name so much that he asked us to call him only Bert (and he can be really mad sometimes). So, I have drawn the main antagonist after him, calling him Badbert and good scientist Norbert. This way, my favourite bartender has a double role in a game and does not even know about that. Maybe Badbert character is my alter ego in the end. Who knows?

Brian: What would you tell players who are getting ready to jump in for the first time?

Karel: I hope players will have fun playing the game like I did while creating it. It was a crazy long ride, but it was worth it. Bzzzt game is not only a trip to the past; it is a record of how I remember the evolution of precision platformers from its beginning till now. Oh yes! And there are leaderboards, trophies and Steam achievements!!! 🙂 And if you are still not decided, there is a free demo on Steam.

Bonus: What is one game you’ve played lately that really captured you?

Karel: Haha, I am again playing HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC 3 right now. It captured me 25 years ago and can’t let me go. 🙂

What Is IGN Plus?

IGN Plus is IGN’s membership program for IGN fans and gamers. You can try it for just $1 for 30 days to see if it’s for you. As an IGN Plus member you get:

Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Backloggd & Apple Podcasts.

Overwatch 2 Season 9 Brings Major Changes to Heroes, Ranks, and More

Blizzard Entertainment is making some major changes to Overwatch 2 with Season 9: Champions, such as revamping Ranks, buffing all heroes, and more when it launches February 13.

These changes begin with the core gameplay, as Blizzard said it has heard community feedback and is making changes as a result. Weapon accuracy has been improved across the board, and every hero in the game will see a health increase to accommodate for the extra bullets taken.

“One of our main goals with these adjustments is to make firing your weapons and abilities feel more consistent without impacting the time to eliminate a target, without removing the overall feel of gameplay we all know and love,” Blizzard said in a supporting blog post. Heroes who don’t fire weapons will receive other changes to ensure balance.

Heroes between 150 and 175 HP currently will see a 25 HP increase, heroes between 200 and 300 HP will see a 50 HP increase, and those above 300 HP will see a 75 to 100 HP increase. All heroes will regenerate health passively too, at a rate of 20 HP per second after five seconds of not taking damage. The Support role passive heal has been adjusted to 2.5 seconds.

“The changes to projectile size and health pools effectively reduce the impact of burst damage and tones down the relative strength of healing, meaning it will take longer to heal someone from one HP to full health,” Blizzard said.

“An increase to health pools and weakening of burst damage means that heroes live longer and team fights will take longer to conclude. To combat some of the potentially extreme situations there, we’re also introducing a new damage passive empowering them to more easily fulfil their role in securing eliminations, reduce in-combat healing, and potentially add an additional strategic layer to focus firing targets.”

Blizzard is also fundamentally changing ranked play mechanics, as competitive ranks will be reset complete. Players will instead have a new rank determined through 10 initial Placement Matches. “With everyone’s ranks being reset, 10 matches for each role provides a high-stakes opportunity to make big gains in determining your new starting rank,” Blizzard said. “You’ll only have one chance this year to run your Placement Matches, so pick your best heroes and stay hydrated because these games count for a lot.”

A new, highest rank of Champion is also being added with Season 9. “Even with the boosts that Placements can provide, all top ranking players will still need to win a lot of games to reach Champion 1, the most exclusive tier for only the best of the best,” Blizzard said. “This is the most exclusive rank in the history of Overwatch, and we’re on the edge of our seats to see who will achieve such heights in Season 9 and beyond.”

To keep track of how close (or far) players are from Champion 1, ranks will be updated after every match as of Season 9, and a progression bar will show how much progress was gained or lost. “One piece of feedback we heard is that just knowing your rank doesn’t say anything about why your rank went up or down,” Blizzard said. “To help with this, we’re going back to updating your rank after every match and showing how much progress you gain or lose between each Skill Division.

“We’re also displaying Modifiers that affected your last match below the rank progression bar. Feedback is a driving force behind these changes, and we want to hear your thoughts on Competitive Play now that you’ll have more context for each game.

Competitive progress will also contribute to earning Competitive Points, which in turn will be used to acquire Jade weapon variants. Every match contributes to Competitive Points, though more will be gained for a win, and 3,000 points are required to unlock the Jade variant.

Season 8 Competitive Points will be turned into Legacy Competitive Points and used to unlock Golden weapon variants. The same will happen when the competitive season ticks into 2025, with all 2024 Competitive Points also being converted into Legacy points.

One of these features has already been panned by the Overwatch 2 players but largely because a developer posted about it online “out of context”. Fans slammed the self-healing mechanic after game director Aaron Keller revealed it without explaining why, something Blizzard itself admitted was a mistake.

Another feature fans are eager to hear more on, but wasn’t mentioned in the Season 9 reveal, is a change to Overwatch 2’s monetisation model. Blizzard has said it’s “actively working towards” giving away new heroes to all players, not just those who buy a premium battle pass, but hasn’t commented on the subject again since December 2023.

Monetisation has been a controversial topic within Overwatch 2 since its launch in October 2022, highlighted by its Steam release seeing the game plummet to the platform’s worst reviewed game of all time. Users described Overwatch 2 as “an attempt to pry open your wallet while masquerading as the game it used to be.”

Blizzard was also heavily criticised when Overwatch 2 launched as it forced its premium predecessor to update into a free-to-play sequel, rendering the original Overwatch unplayable. Since then, Overwatch 2 has endured a number of controversies including the cancellation of its long-awaited PvE Hero mode — the one feature, players said, that justified the sequel’s existence.

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

GTA 6 Launch Will Also be ‘Positive’ for Ubisoft, CEO Says

No one knows exactly when Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch outside of Take-Two and Rockstar, but some people are in better positions to take guesses than others. One of those better-equipped guessers is Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, whose job involves making business plans that account for competitors’ massive game releases. At the moment, Guillemot is expecting a GTA 6 release sometime after March 2025 – and he’s feeling pretty good about it.

During Ubisoft’s Q3 earnings call today, Guillemot was asked how Ubisoft was thinking about their upcoming games lineup now that GTA 6 has been officially announced. The asker suggested the game was expected to target the end of fiscal 2025, which for Ubisoft would mean sometime in January through March of 2025.

Guillemot responded as follows:

What we’ve seen in the past is that each time there’s a big release like GTA, there are more and more people coming back to the industry, and that helps other games to sell as well. We see it for sure. We look at this and we are really organizing things around the launch of that game, which we do not know exactly when it is going to happen. We consider it will be closer to our financial year ’26 than our financial year ’25. But what we’ve seen is that generally it’s actually positive for the market, and we did a good launch with the launch of GTA 5 first launch and GTA 5 online game, each time we were able to generate really good revenue and profit on the games we launched.

To clarify, this means Guillemot is expecting GTA 6 won’t show up until April of 2025 or later, which does fit with the official release window Take-Two gave of just “2025.” But this is notably a little later than what some have been speculating based on past remarks by Take-Two Interactive, GTA 6’s publisher. Previously, Take-Two made bold projections about “groundbreaking titles” releasing in its own fiscal 2025 (which lines up with Ubisoft’s) that would bring them to “achieve over $8 billion in net bookings,” followed by even higher results in fiscal 2026. This could mean GTA 6 has been quietly pushed back behind the scenes, but it’s also possible this prediction was never intended to be about GTA 6 in the first place, but a number of analysts took that to mean GTA 6 would be a fiscal 2025 game.

Whatever the case, everything is still speculation and we won’t know GTA 6’s release date until we’re told what it is. But if you were expecting to be able to play it first thing in 2025, you might want to temper your hopes a bit.

What’s maybe more interesting is Guillemot’s statement that a GTA 6 release will be good for Ubisoft too. It’s long been known that AAA game companies will frequently sweat over when to release games so they don’t have to compete with other major releases that might drown them out, so it’d be natural for Ubisoft to want to avoid having any of its own major releases debut around the same time as GTA 6. But Guillemot’s point that a game like GTA 6 will draw people into video games who haven’t played them in a while or even ever before is an apt one. After they get done with GTA 6, players will want something else to do, and that something might just be an Ubisoft game.

We finally got our first look at GTA 6 later last year, when the first official trailer leaked less than 24 hours before it was supposed to debut. We learned at the time that it currently isn’t planned for PC at launch, and that it will feature dual protagonists including a new fan-beloved heroine named Lucia. For more information, check out our roundup of everything we’ve learned about the game so far.

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

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Players Are Already Using Tifa’s Piano to Show Off

Cloud Strife is many things to many people: a destroyer of mechs and monsters, a finder of materia, a haver of awkwardness, and, it turns out, a piano virtuoso, depending on the relevant player’s skillset at least.

The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo offers gamers a chance to experience all of the former SOLDIER’s skills to one degree or another, with many quickly becoming enamoured with the piano minigame found when exploring Tifa Lockhart’s room in Nibelheim.

While countless players have found satisfaction in attempting to best Tifa’s Theme – the challenge piece included in the demo – creative members of the community have already set to work recreating a range of popular songs using the freeplay mode.

This musical arms race has already seen Cloud finesse the keys to bang out video game-centric tracks from multiple video game franchises, ranging from Kingdom Hearts’ Dearly Beloved, to classic melodies from The Legend of Zelda series.

Others looked beyond the bounds of video games to adapt songs from real world artists spanning a range of genres. A brief search reveals footage of Cloud hammering out Blink 182’s ‘I Miss You’, and My Chemical Romance’s ‘Welcome to the Black Parade, along with older hits the likes of John Lenon’s Imagine.

Establishing mastery over the keys is but one of the many side activities the player can indulge in during their journey through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Other offerings include the collectible card game Queen’s Blood, Chocobo time trial racing, and a plethora of other diverse distractions and myriad side quests that could provide a light-hearted respite from the game’s high-stakes main story.

Be sure to check out IGN’s Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth preview to learn what to expect when the game launches on February 29 on PS5.

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

Best Xbox Deals Today (February 2024): Save On Console Bundles, Games, and More

When it comes to picking up new games, hardware, or accessories for your Xbox, it feels good when you can find those items at a discounted price. Here, we’ll keep you updated on all of the latest deals for Xbox, from games to controllers and so much more. Below, you can find a wide range of items on sale, including some console bundles that are still available and controllers.

TL;DR – Our Favorite Xbox Deals

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Xbox Console Bundle Deals

Select console bundles are still available right now for both the Series X and S. One of our favorite deals is on the Diablo IV Xbox Series X bundle, which you can get for $458.40 at Walmart. The Xbox Series S bundle with an Xbox Wireless Controller in Robot White and 3 Months of Game Pass is also discounted down to $299.99, which is a fantastic discount. These were big hits over the holiday season, especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Grab them quick before they’re gone!

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Launch Edition is Down to $34.99 and More Xbox Game Deals

There are several Xbox games on sale right now that are worth adding to your collection. One of our favorite deals at the moment is on Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Launch Edition, which is down to $34.99 from its MSRP of $49.99. That saves you 30%! To see even more Xbox game deals, check out the links below.

More Xbox Video Game Deals:

Amazon:

Best Buy:

Digital – Lunar New Year Sale

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Enjoy Discounts On Select Xbox Controllers

In need of another Xbox controller? Well, you’re in luck, as there are quite a few discounted right now. In my opinion, you can never have too many controllers. You never know when someone will pop on by and want to play Overcooked or It Takes Two, or any local multiplayer game.

More Xbox Controller Deals:

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Xbox: Budget to Best

Buying new items for your Xbox doesn’t have to make a massive dent in your wallet, either. Here, we’ll feature a variety of excellent games, accessories, and hardware that are available at more affordable prices regularly or are the just option available when gaming on Xbox.

More Xbox Budget to Best Picks

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Get 10% Off the Official Xbox Wireless Headset & More Headset Deals

Does your family complain when you stay up playing loud shooters late into the night? They’ll stop complaining if you pick up an Xbox headset that lets no one but you hear the delightful explosions you cause on the screen. Right now, you can get 10% off the Official Xbox Wireless Headset, bringing the price down to $89.99 from $99.99. You can also save 20% on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset by using the promo code ‘GET20’ at checkout.

More Xbox Headset Deals:

How to Avoid Xbox Game Pass Price Hike ($44.99 for 3-Months of Ultimate)

By securing 3-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $44.99, you can actually avoid the Game Pass price hike. We recommend securing your current subscription for as long as possible. You can stack up to a maximum of 36 months of Game Pass, meaning you have the option to accumulate 3-month subscriptions up to 12 times.

Admittedly, this approach might put a strain on your wallet, totaling $539.88 if you purchase the 3-month package from the link above. However, when you compare it to the new cost of Game Pass Ultimate for 36 months at $16.99 per month, amounting to $611.64, you’ll realize you’re saving $71.76 on your subscription for the next three years. Otherwise, secure your membership for at least a year to lock in at least some savings overall.

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When Should I Buy an Xbox?

In general, it is advisable to keep an eye out for sales and restocks throughout the year, as availability has improved since the initial launch of the console. Unlike the Nintendo Switch, there is no specific recommendation to wait for a sale regardless of the time of year. Instead, it’s a good idea to monitor various retailers and online platforms for restock announcements and promotional offers.

However, certain events like Black Friday or other holiday seasons may bring about unique bundles, discounts, or promotional deals specifically for the Xbox Series X. These bundles may include additional games, accessories, or exclusive limited editions. While quantities for such promotions might be limited, they can provide an opportunity to get more value for your purchase. See our guide to Xbox Series X prices for more info.

Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S?

Choosing between the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S ultimately depends on your gaming preferences, budget, and specific requirements. Let’s compare the two consoles to help you make an informed decision:

1. Performance: The Xbox Series X is the more powerful option, offering native 4K gaming, higher graphical fidelity, and faster loading times. It has more advanced hardware, including a larger storage capacity. On the other hand, the Xbox Series S targets a lower price point and offers a less powerful performance, targeting 1440p resolution gaming and upscaling to 4K.

2. Price: The Xbox Series S is more affordable compared to the Xbox Series X. If budget is a significant factor for you, the Xbox Series S provides a cost-effective option while still delivering a next-generation gaming experience. For example, the Series S can play Starfield at 1440p 30fps (vs 4K 30fps on Series X).

3. Storage: The Xbox Series X comes with a larger internal storage capacity, allowing you to store more games directly on the console. The Xbox Series S, however, has a smaller storage capacity, which means you may need to manage your game library more actively or rely on external storage solutions.

4. Disc Drive: The Xbox Series X includes a disc drive, enabling you to play physical game discs and enjoy a wider range of media options, including Blu-ray and DVD playback. The Xbox Series S, in contrast, is a digital-only console, meaning you can only play games downloaded from the digital store.

5. Graphics and Performance: While both consoles support ray tracing, the Xbox Series X provides a more immersive and visually impressive experience due to its superior hardware capabilities. If you prioritize cutting-edge graphics and want the best performance available, the Xbox Series X is the preferable choice.

Consider your gaming preferences, budget, and whether you prioritize top-of-the-line performance or cost-effectiveness. If you have a 4K TV, want the most powerful console, and are willing to invest more, the Xbox Series X is the recommended option. If you have a lower budget, a 1080p or 1440p TV, and don’t mind sacrificing some performance, the Xbox Series S offers excellent value for money.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Subnautica 2 Is a Multiplayer Live-Service Game

Subnautica 2 is a multiplayer-focused live-service game, publisher Krafton has revealed.

Writing in its latest financial report, Krafton described Subnautica 2 as a “multiplayer sequel to the original IP pursuing fandom snowballing”, which is a garbled way of describing the game.

Krafton said Subnautica 2 lets players “explore an oceanic world in stunning stylized graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5”, with “single or one to four player co-op to uncover the mysteries on an entirely new alien planet”, alongside a “game-as-a-service model with enhanced replayability.”

Subnautica is a hugely successful indie game that first emerged in 2018, then saw a follow-up, dubbed Below Zero, in 2021. IGN’s Subnautica review returned a 9/10. We said: “Subnautica’s a survival game with focus and an excellent sci-fi story, but its greatest achievement is its underwater horror.”

We were equally impressed with Below Zero: “Subnautica: Below Zero is a leaner, meaner standalone expansion to Subnautica that improves on the story and mechanics, but doesn’t give us as much room to explore,” we said. Subnautica and Below Zero are single-player game, although modders added multiplayer post-launch.

The industry appears to be struggling with live-service games after a number or recent efforts failed to move the needle and some were even cancelled before launch. Perhaps most notably, Sony canned Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game amid a more general pull back on live-service at PlayStation. Naughty Dog will now focus on single-player games.

Previously successful live-service games have also hit hard times. Bungie’s Destiny 2 has struggled commercially, and Fortnite maker Epic has announced huge layoffs. Meanwhile, some single-player only games saw enormous success in 2023, with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Baldur’s Gate 3 blowing up sales records. Rocksteady’s recently released Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League suffered ahead of launch for its association with the live-service model.

As for Subnautica 2, it’s down for release at some point in 2024, which suggests Krafton will reveal it sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see how its live-service model works.

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.

Call of Duty Zombies Fans Fear the Worst After Treyarch Says Not to Expect New Perks or Enemy Types

Call of Duty’s latest Zombies mode is only three months old but fans now fear it’s “dead” after developer Treyarch indicated no new perks or enemy types are planned.

Popular Call of Duty content creator MrDalekJD tweeted to say that during a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 ‘Creator Call’, Treyarch confirmed “there are no plans for any new enemy types or new perks to come to Modern Warfare Zombies at any point.”

The news has caused a collective wave of disappointment to crash over the Call of Duty Zombies community, which had already feared the worst following a lack of content relative to Multiplayer and Warzone in the recently released Season 2.

“I feel robbed,” redditor scirvexz said in a post on the Call of Duty Zombies subreddit. “Seems that the mode is already starting to die,” said AssassinsCrypt. “I was still hoping they would have improved it in the future seasons, but seems that they actually don’t care at all about this mode.” “I’ll probably just delete the entire mode from my console after Season 2 like I did for DMZ,” said SuccessLongjumping62.

It’s a similar sentiment across social media, where Zombies fans have signaled the end of Call of Duty’s famous co-op mode.

The situation with Modern Warfare Zombies echoes that of DMZ, an extraction mode Activision moved on from after it launched with 2022’s Warzone 2.0.

The relentless pace of Call of Duty development and its annual release schedule mean there’s an army of Activision developers working on the first-person shooter franchise at all times, with each new mainline entry supposedly led by a different team each year. But last year’s Modern Warfare 3 marked a change in strategy, following directly on from Modern Warfare 2 just a year later.

Treyarch, best known for the Black Ops series and the creation of the Zombies mode, was drafted in to make Modern Warfare Zombies. It is now reportedly working on this year’s Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War, which is expected to launch with a Zombies mode of its own. How long that will be supported remains to be seen.

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.

FromSoftware Parent Company Acquires Octopath Traveler Developer

Kadokawa Corporation, the parent company of Elden Ring and Bloodborne developer FromSoftware, has acquired the studio behind Octopath Traveler.

As reported by Gematsu, Kadokawa revealed during its latest earnings results it had made the studio, called Acquire, a “wholly owned subsidiary”, placing it alongside the likes of fellow developers FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft.

Perhaps best known for developing Octopath Traveler and its 2023 sequel, Acquire is also responsible for No Heroes Allowed VR, Akiba’s Beat, and Akiba’s Trip: Undead and Undressed.

“To strengthen the ability to create IP in games as part of our game business strategy, we have made ACQUIRE Corp. into a wholly owned subsidiary,” Kadokawa said.

“By acquiring the company, which has produced million-seller hit titles, we expect to generate synergies with our existing game-related subsidiaries, strengthen our planning and development capabilities groupwide, and enhance our lineup of console games.”

It’s unclear what the “synergies” between game studios will entail, but it’s likely related to development efficiency rather than seeing Elden Ring downloadable content in Octopath Traveler 2 and vice versa.

The Octopath Traveler is perhaps most recognised for its art style, dubbed HD-2D, which reimagines classic role-playing game pixel art in a modern and dynamic way.

The latest earned a 7/10 in IGN’s review. “Octopath Traveler 2 is a very enjoyable JRPG sequel that feels a little too safe and familiar,” we said.

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

Sony’s Helldivers 2 Gets Off to a Strong Start on Steam

Helldivers 2 is off to a strong start on Steam after the PC version launched alongside the PlayStation 5 game.

Arrowhead Game Studios’ cooperative action game is published by Sony Interactive Entertainment across PS5 and PC via Steam (on Steam the publisher is down as PlayStation PC LLC). Helldivers 2 is currently the 15th most-played game on Steam with 53,189 concurrent players, a number that will no doubt grow over the course of the day, week, and into its first weekend.

Helldivers 2 is also the second top-selling game by revenue on Steam, ahead of smash hits such as Palworld and Call of Duty. It’s worth noting Helldivers 2 is not a full-price game but cheaper at $39.99. It’s much harder to get an idea of its popularity on PS5, given Sony does not divulge player numbers on its platform.

Helldivers 2’s launch is somewhat unusual in that Sony much prefers to release its games on console ahead of PC, but it is not unprecedented for an externally-developed game it’s published. Sony published IllFonic’s Predator: Hunting Grounds, for example, across PS4 and PC on the same day in April 2020.

Whether Sony might be willing to relax its policy for its big first-party exclusives remains to be seen. The recently released Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is not available on PC and Sony has yet to announce a PC version. Shift Up’s eye-catching action game Stellar Blade is down for release on PS5 only, as is Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin. Concord, a brand new PvP multiplayer first-person shooter from Firewalk Studios, is however due to launch on PS5 and PC.

Sony’s policy is in stark contrast to that of Microsoft, which releases all its games on Xbox and Windows PC at the same time. Microsoft is expected to discuss the future of Xbox in a business update next week, following reports that indicate it is ready to launch some of its first-party games on PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

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.