Category: IGN

No matter your opinion on Bethesda’s latest game Starfield, which has turned out to be quite the controversial RPG, the game has still had over 12 million players and should be considered at least a moderate success for Xbox for the time being. Especially since more regular updates are coming starting in February this year, alongside the first expansion pack, and the highly anticipated launch of the Creation Kit and mod support for PC and consoles.

We can rattle on all day about the reception of Starfield, but here’s the crux of this latest offer available. Starfield’s Premium Edition Upgrade was notable for its ‘up to’ 5 days early access. While this early access period has since expired, there are still a few other goodies up for grabs at what is seemingly quite a reasonable price. It’s now down to just £14.99 at Amazon in the UK, a considerable drop from the RRP of £34.99 when the game launched in September 2023.

What’s included? I hear you ask. This is the physical edition of the Premium Upgrade, so you’re getting the following: Starfield Steelbook, Starfield Patch, Shattered Space Expansion, Digital Skin Pack, Digital Soundtrack, and Digital Artbook. For £15, that’s quite a steal (and a £20 discount), especially if you’re looking forward to trying out the Shattered Space expansion and what Bethesda might have in store.

Just so we are clear, this is the Premium Edition Upgrade for Xbox consoles, with ‘upgrade’ being an important phase. You’ll need to own Starfield or have Xbox Game Pass to take advantage of any of the digital content like the eventual Shattered Space DLC. Other notable UK deals right now, that you might be interested in as well, include a great discount on Steam Deck, PS5 Slim, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (among other games as well).

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

The Finals developer Embark Studios has released the popular shooter’s first update of 2024, and it makes significant changes to the way aim assist works.

Aim assist is one of the hottest topics within the game’s burgeoning community, which Embark Studios said it had paid close attention to as it worked to tone down the mechanic.

“Today we have a small patch that addresses community feedback on aim assist, fair play, and bug fixes,” the developer explained. “These changes are the result of an in-depth review of how aim assist works — something we’ve only been able to validate with a player base as large as ours (thanks so much for playing our game, yolks!).”

Here are the The Finals update 1.4.1 patch notes in full:

Aim Assistance

• Zoom Snapping Angular Velocity now has a max cap, preventing unintended rapid 90-degree turns.
• Camera Magnetism will be reduced to 35% from 50%, making player aim less sticky and lowering controller accuracy.
• Zoom Snapping Time will be reduced to 0.25s from 0.3s.
• Zoom Snapping will be removed from the SR-84 Sniper Rifle, Revolver, LH1, and all Shotguns, as it buffs them more than other weapons.
• Aim assist will ignore invisible players, fixing a bug with the existing system.
• Clients running key re-mapping programs on PC will not have access to aim assist.

Embark Studios said it has another bigger update in the works for next week, with a major security fix and some new content.

The Finals is a free-to-play competitive first-person shooter made by former Battlefield developers. It launched with a huge concurrent player count on Steam, where it’s still going strong and wowing fans with its impressive destruction tech.

IGN’s The Finals review returned an 8/10. We said: “The Finals is a fresh and exciting take on team based PVP shooters, featuring some of the best environmental destruction in any FPS.”

Not everything has gone down well with fans though, as Embark was criticised for using AI voiceovers in The Finals by myriad voice actors and even other developers. Embark told IGN that “making games without actors isn’t an end goal” and claimed it uses a mix of both recorded audio voices and audio generated via AI text to speech tools for its games.

The Finals also endured a torrid time with cheating, although Embark declared the problem over last month.

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.

Elden Ring has received a slim update on PC, bringing the game up to version 1.10.1, but neither publisher Bandai Namco nor developer FromSoftware mentioned the highly anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion in the notes.

Released on Bandai Namco’s website, the update specifically addresses the Steam version of Elden Ring, specifically updating its anti-cheating measures in accordance with a Steam operating system update. This obviously won’t change much for most players, but will be a relief for those still invading in Elden Ring, or engaging in its dedicated player versus player Colosseum areas.

This update was added more than a year ago now in December 2022, letting players face off in new competitive modes in the grand arenas scattered throughout The Lands Between.

It’s not the Elden Ring update fans are waiting for, of course, and every hint of movement from Bandai Namco or FromSoftware causes the internet to hold its breath. That’s because, as Elden Ring approaches its second anniversary in February, neither has revealed when fans might be able to play the much anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree.

The expansion was announced in March as a major expansion coming to Elden Ring. A single piece of concept art was released alongside the announcement but didn’t give much away, just showing a character atop a spectral steed looking towards the horizon that featured a dying Erdtree.

It will likely arrive as the only Elden Ring expansion (outside of a smaller piece of player-versus-player DLC) and be akin to the likes of Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters expansion or Dark Souls 3’s The Ringed City.

Elden Ring Version 1.10.1 Patch Notes

• Easy Anti-Cheat update to support the Steam OS update.

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

Future Press will be releasing a ’25th Anniversary Edition’ of the Dark Souls Trilogy Compendium, featuring the complete breakdown of every single minute detail from the legendary FromSoftware games. It will cost $59.99, with preorders now available via Amazon (see here).

For clarity, this is the 25th Anniversary of the first game guide published by Future Press, not the 25th Anniversary of Dark Souls (which was released on September 22, 2011). The original Compendium book is considered rare online and can be difficult to find or buy at a reasonable rate, which makes news of this reprint very welcome indeed.

Future Press describes the Limited Edition reprint as featuring, “The enemies, items, equipment, areas and NPC dialogue of each game are all presented in an easy-to-reference format. This beautifully laid out book is designed to make it easy to find what you’re looking for—each entry is color-coded by game, and everything is fully indexed.”

This is also a strictly limited one-time reprint, featuring “unique 25th Anniversary branding and some slight changes to the slipcase and cover” but otherwise the re-release will be identical to the original Dark Souls Trilogy printing.

The reprint features 480 pages that dive into the core story beats of the Dark Souls games, alongside a complete World Guide for each title and its DLCs, and even four unique bonus art prints “that show the beauty of FromSoftware’s character designs”.

Future Press is also responsible for the beautiful Official Strategy Guides for Elden Ring (Vol.1 & Vol. 2), which are also currently down to $44.99 at Amazon. Those in the UK can preorder the Dark Souls Trilogy 25th Anniversary Compendium directly from Future Press — costing £49.99 and release on February 29, 2024.

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

D3 Publisher Inc. has announced the arrival of ‘Those Games’ on PlayStation 4 and 5 priced $9.99 / £7.99. It launched on Nintendo Switch and Steam last year.

Those Games, developed by Monkeycraft Co. and published by D3 Publisher, is short for YEAH! YOU WANT ‘THOSE GAMES’ RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM!, a minigame collection filled with challenges based on the inscrutable mobile game ads no-one can escape from.

Those Games briefly became a viral sensation in 2023, and speaking to IGN, producer Maya Ito said: “I see these mini-games on a daily basis and thought to myself, I want to play them; thoroughly and to my heart’s content!”

Mini games include the Pin Pull, Number Tower, Parking Lot, Cash Run, and Colour Lab. There are 250 levels overall set across the five mini games. You can collect coins and create customised nameplates, as well as compete with other players. Rankings are reset on the first day of each month.

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.

An unannounced PS5 DualSense controller has appeared on Best Buy Canada’s website.

The listing, spotted by ResetEra user ezidro3, is for an $89.99CAD “PlayStation 5 V2 DualSense Wireless Controller – White”. While the controller appears to have the same dimensions as the existing model, it has what’s described as an “exceptional 12-hour battery life on a full charge,” which “supports long gaming sessions.”

If true, this would make for a significant upgrade on the existing DualSense, which offers a roughly six-hour battery life, depending on the game played. Elsewhere, a DualSense charging station is said to be included, offering “easy click-in charging.”

Best Buy’s full description reads: “Take the gaming action into your own hands when you play with the PlayStation 5 V2 DualSense wireless controller. With dynamic triggers, a built-in microphone and so much more, this gaming controller offers a truly immersive experience. The iconic comfortable design lets you play for hours and hours.”

Best Buy’s website published a number of images of this new DualSense too, which are below:

PS5 V2 DualSense Product Features

• Compatible with the PlayStation 5
• Wireless connectivity ensures you will never get tangled up in wires while gaming
• Iconic comfortable design fits naturally in your hands
• Haptic feedback replaces the traditional rumble motors for more realistic gameplay
• Dynamic adaptive triggers let you experience different levels of force and tension as you interact with your game
• Built-in microphone lets you engage with fellow gamers in online play
• Headset jack lets you plug in your favourite headset, so you can tune in to your game audio easily
• Dual Sense charging station (included) offers easy click-in charging
• Exceptional 12-hour battery life, on a full charge, supports long gaming sessions

PS5 V2 DualSense Product Specifications

• Product Condition: Brand New
• Controller Type: Wireless
• Specialty Controller: Yes
• Rumble Vibration: Yes
• Headset Jack: Yes
• Colour: White
• Width: 6.6 cm
• Height: 16 cm
• Depth: 10.6 cm
• Width (Inches): 2.6 in
• Height (Inches): 6.3 in
• Depth (Inches): 4.17 in
• Weight: 280 g

Sony has yet to announce such a controller, but IGN has asked the company for comment.

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.

It’s an exciting start to the year for Indiana Jones fans, as according to Xbox itself, we’re finally getting an actual look at MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones game next week at the Xbox Developer Direct. But a week in advance, one clever fan might have already sleuthed out the game’s title before Xbox was ready to reveal it. It might just be called Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Twitter/X user @Kurakasis shared their findings on social media today, pointing out that Lucasfilm appears to have been registering a number of domain names that are variations on that title since yesterday. These include https://indianajonesandthegreatcirclegame.com, https://indianajonesandthegreatcircle.com, and a number of others.

I might have found the official title of Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game developed by MachineGames:

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE

Lucasfilm registered several domains on January 9th, 2024, with that title, such as:
https://t.co/PtXjpar7N1 (this one leaves no doubt that it… pic.twitter.com/XGVVyasrbM

— Kurakasis (@Kurakasis) January 10, 2024

These domains dovetail nicely with a trademark Lucasfilm filed in Europe two years ago for “The Great Circle” that seems to be related to video games specifically. It is worth noting that Lucasfilm seems to have had circles on the mind on that date in 2022, as the company also registered trademarks that day for The Galactic Circle and Circle of Resistance. At the time, a number of fansites speculated that these trademarks were for something Star Wars-related, given the words “Galactic” and “Resistance.” However, IGN wasn’t able to find any registrations for domain names that mirrored those naming schemes, which indicates Lucasfilm thinks it may need to sit on The Great Circle naming specifically very soon. Unless there’s more Star Wars coming down the pipeline in the next week or two, Indiana Jones would be the logical place for that need to arise.

Not for nothing, too, Bethesda posted a teasing gif earlier today that does feature a circle. Whether or not this is The Great Circle remains to be seen – it wouldn’t be the first time one of the most common basic shapes featured prominently in Indiana Jones stories, though the timing is certainly interesting.

The pieces are falling into place. Do you see what we see?

Tune in to learn more:
️🗓️ Thurs, 18 Jan
⏰ 9pm GMT
📺 https://t.co/kovkYgdcm2 pic.twitter.com/zgpypbOzaL

— Bethesda UK (@Bethesda_UK) January 10, 2024

Still, even with all this evidence, it’s entirely possible this trademark is entirely unrelated to the game being shown off at the Developer Direct next week. Trademarks and domain names can often be good indicators of what’s to come, but not everything that companies squat on ends up becoming a full-fledged game. We’ll just have to wait for the showcase next week to see, though IGN did reach out to Xbox for confirmation or denial on this, just in case.

Indiana Jones and the…well, whatever it is, was first revealed way back in January of 2021 via a tweet from Bethesda. The game has an original story, and is being produced by Todd Howard in collaboration with Lucasfilm. At the time, we noted that Vatican City seems to feature in it, as the tease included a plane ticket to Rome dated for October 1937, and a map with the Sistine Chapel on it. We’ve since seen nothing else about the game, but we did learn that it will feature a “unique” mash-up of different genres and that, while it was originally conceived for a PS5 release, it will ultimately be an Xbox console exclusive thanks to Xbox’s acquisition of Zenimax.

Expect more at the Developer Direct next week on January 18, 2023, at 12:00pm PT.

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

Paramount still hasn’t released Star Trek 4, but that isn’t stopping it from reportedly commissioning another new Star Trek movie, this one helmed by main Star Wars: Andor director Toby Haynes.

IGN has reached out to Haynes’ representatives for comment.

Team Fortress: Source 2, a fan project seeking to port Valve’s classic shooter to the Source 2 engine, is officially dead. The news was announced following a DMCA takedown demand from Valve that blocked the group’s GitHub repositories. It joins Portal 64, which was also canceled less than a week after the release of its “First Slice.”

The takedown was the “nail in the coffin” for the project, the announcement read, which had already have been on shaky ground before Valve stepped in.

Diablo IV’s next season is starting on January 23 according to an update on the game’s login screen.

Even though it doesn’t have a title, Blizzard has seemingly confirmed that Diablo IV Season 3 will be launching later this month. Many players have noticed that a banner on the game’s login screen, which used to read, “Season of Blood Ends January 23, 2024,” now reads, “Next Season Begins January 23, 2024,” indicating that not only will the seasons apparently change over immediately, but that Season 3’s right around the corner.