Category: IGN

Sony has revealed the modern console versions of the first three Yakuza games — Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 — are about to leave the PlayStation Plus Games Catalogue.

As reported by Push Square, the PlayStation 5’s Last Chance to Play section has been updated to reveal 10 new games leaving the service on August 15. This includes Borderlands 3, Nidhogg, DCL – The Game, GRIP, The Crew 2, 8-Bit Armies, Carmageddon: Max Damage, and the three Yakuza games.

The removal of these games doesn’t bode well for the remaining Yakuza games on the PS Plus Games Catalogue, though Sony is yet to confirm whether or not Yakuza 3 through Yakuza: Like a Dragon will also be removed.

The August end date will mark one year since the first three games were added to the service, with the remaining entries added in the following months, though it’s worth noting the most recent Yakuza: Like a Dragon was added alongside the original three games but isn’t being removed next month.

IGN gave Yakuza 0, which is a prequel to the original Yakuza story, an 8/10 in our review, while Yakuza Kiwami earned a 7/10 and Kiwami 2 earned an 8/10. The most recent entry, which also changed the series name from Yakuza to Like a Dragon in the west, earned a 7/10.

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

2023 is finally the year where 2TB PS5 SSD upgrades are actually worth the price. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $80 price point and 2TB SSDs are as low as $120. Note that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up an PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD. Not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (we recommend this one for $10) and install it yourself. It’s very easy.

For our recommended picks for PS5 SSDs, check out our Best PS5 SSDs of 2023.

Officially Licensed WD SN850P 2TB PS5 SSD for $129.99

There are plenty of great deals on PS5-compatible SSDs. However, if you’re looking for one that has been officially licensed by Sony, then your options just narrowed down to a single SSD. That’s right, the WD Black SN850P is the only SSD that’s officially licensed for the PS5. Today, Amazon has the 2TB model for the lowest price we’ve ever seen.

The WD SN850P was made specifically for the PS5 console. That means it fulfills all of Sony’s requirements, like a minimum read speed of 5,500MB/s, a PCI-Express Gen4x4 interface, and a slim yet effective heatsink that fits within the confines of the PS5 bay. Because it’s officially licensed, the WD SN850P is the only SSD that’s allowed to have the PS5 logo gloriously emblazoned. No, you’ll never see it once it’s installed and the PS5 is closed up and no, it won’t make your PS5 any more special, but it’s there.

WD Black SN850X 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink $119.99

If you don’t mind not having the “PS5” logo, this WD SSD is almost the exact same SSD but $10 cheaper. That’s right, under the heatsink, the SN850X and the SN850P are 100% identical!

Crucial P5 Plus 2TB M.2 SSD with Heatsink for $129.99

You can’t ever go wrong with Crucial. The company has been making reliable and widely compatible flash memory for as long as I can remember. The Crucial P5 Plus boasts transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s which is well above the 5,500MB/s minimum threshold. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the original PS5 SSD. Crucial even has an official YouTube PS5 SSD install guide to see you through the process.

Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PS5 SSD for $119.99

Looking for a fast and inexpensive M.2 SSD from a brand that you recognize? Here’s your answer. Amazon is offering the Samsung 980 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 solid state drive for only $119.99. In terms of performance, it’s no longer the fastest SSD on the market (the 990 Pro is), but it’s still a very fast drive. It certainly more than meets the minimum 5600MB/s speed requirement to be used as a PS5 storage upgrade, with speeds of up to 7,100MB/s.

Adata Premium 2TB M.2 SSD for PS5 for $94.99

It’s happened, folks. A 2TB PS5-compatible SSD has broken past the $100 price barrier. The Adata Premium SSD boasts transfer speeds of up to 6,100MB/s, which is more than fast enough to surpass the PS5’s recommended minimum speed threshold of 5,500MB/s. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the stock PS5 SSD. Better to save that money and put it to better use. It also includes a thin aluminum heatspreader… too thin to be appropriately called a heatsink, but still enough for the PS5 console.

Silicon Power 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $92.67

Includes built-in heatsink!

The Silicon Power XS70 SSD with a preinstalled robust aluminum heatsink costs just under $100. The aluminum heatsink is still slim enough to fit in the PS5 without obstruction. It boasts transfer speeds of up to 7300MB/s read and 6800MB/s write, comfortably faster than the 5500MB/s minimum recommended requirement. It actually performs a little better than the Crucial P5 Plus, the original WD Black SN850, and the Samsung 980 Pro, although that won’t make a difference in your PS5.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB “Optimized for PS5” SSD with Heatsink for Only $119.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is Corsair’s fastest M.2 SSD and the “LPX” model is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. We like this RAM so much, we rated it the best PS5 SSD for 2023.

Nextorage 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $139.99

There’s an interesting story behind this drive. Nextorage was actually originally created by Sony as an SSD division catered to the PS5 console. For whatever reason, Sony decided to ditch that idea and sold this business to another stakeholder in the company, Phison (they make memory controllers found in SSDs from Seagate, Corsair, and Sabrent, and more). Phison eventually accomplished the goal of releasing an SSD catered specifically for the PS5 console in the form of this product right here.

Budget to Best: PS5 SSDs

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How easy is it to install the SSD?

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

What if the SSD I bought doesn’t have a heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for about $10 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

Microsoft is reportedly in talks with Activision about extending the deadline for its $69 billion buyout of the company.

The deadline is currently set for today, July 18, with Microsoft oblidged to pay Activision Blizzard a $3 billion reverse termination fee if it fails to close in time.

The expiration of the contract would let either Microsoft or Activision walk away from the deal. While this is unlikely given both parties’ desire to complete, Microsoft wants to extend the contract “to ensure Activision is not wooed by another potential acquirer or has a change of heart”, Reuters reported. Microsoft and Activision have yet to comment on the claim.

Yesterday, a judge for the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) paused Microsoft’s appeal against the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), allowing both parties more time to negotiate. During a hearing, the judge granted a two-month pause on the appeal process as Microsoft and the CMA resume negotiations. In April, the CMA blocked Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing cloud gaming monopolization as a reason not to allow the deal to go through. Microsoft then appealed the decision, with a trial set to begin on July 28.

“We’re grateful the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has conditionally agreed to pause the formal appeal process subject to additional information,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement sent to IGN. “As we’ve said before, we are considering how the transaction might be modified to address the CMA’s concerns. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have agreed with the CMA that this is in the best interest of finding a prompt path forward.”

The CMA announced it was open to renegotiating a deal with Microsoft after the tech giant won a major merger case against the FTC. Microsoft is reportedly considering a divestiture of some type, potentially relating to its cloud gaming business, to satisfy the CMA’s anti-trust concerns. The UK is currently the only major jurisdiction standing in the way of what would be the largest acquisition ever in the gaming industry.

Last week, Microsoft and Sony agreed a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for the next 10 years. The contract does not include a similar commitment for Activision Blizzard’s non-Call of Duty games.

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.

Activision has confirmed Modern Warfare 2 weapons, bundles, and operators will carry over into Call of Duty 2023.

Following a period of extensive leaks relating to this year’s game, expected to be Modern Warfare 3, the official Call of Duty Twitter account posted a poll that left fans in no doubt about the transfer of their digital items. Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games, which is leading work on this year’s game, retweeted the post.

Let’s get this out of the way…

Should #MWII Operators, Weapons and Bundles carry forward into Call of Duty 2023?

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) July 17, 2023

Typically, items bought for a mainline Call of Duty game do not carry over to the next entry. But Activision was criticised when it announced cosmetics would not carry over from battle royale Warzone to its sequel, Warzone 2.0.

Modern Warfare 3 is set to continue the story set out by last year’s Modern Warfare 2 campaign, and comes just a year later, breaking a release tradition of alternating between the Modern Warfare, Black Ops, and other sub-brands on an annual basis.

Leaked images and information for Modern Warfare 3 appear to have emerged from a closed alpha test. Snippets of unconfirmed info suggest the return of Call of Duty’s classic mini-map, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Perks are supposedly Gear categories (Ninja returns). Remastered versions of the original Modern Warfare 2 maps Terminal and Scrapyard are also rumoured to return with Modern Warfare 3. There are also reports War Mode from Call of Duty: WW2 is in Modern Warfare 3, and Outbreak comes back in the form of Outbreak 2.0.

Activision has left it late to reveal this year’s Call of Duty, but Microsoft’s ongoing battle to buy the company for $69 billion may have delayed announcement plans. With the acquisition saga apparently nearing a conclusion, Activision may be preparing an imminent reveal.

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.

Battlebit Remastered may not seem that impressive with its blocky visuals, but it’s quietly been one of the most successful games of 2023. What’s more, its development team is far from finished.

In a Reddit AMA, the Battlebit Remastered team answered fan questions about the visuals, future game modes, and more. Battlebit’s team also reflected on its outsized success, which saw it suddenly explode in popularity en route to sell nearly 2 million units.

“This is just wild. I don’t even think anyone of us has realized what we actually have done now,” TheLiquidHorse wrote.

‘The competitive community is already screaming for it’

Talking about what to expect in the future, the Battlebit Remastered team addressed questions about the visuals, additional game modes, and when the team expects to leave Early Access.

Among the promised changes, TheLiquidHorse said that Battlebit will be adding a competitive mode at some point, saying that the competitive community “is already screaming for it,” and that the team is still planning Steam Deck support.

Asked about BattleBit’s progression, which is one of the chief criticisms at the moment, TheLiquidHorse said that the team would revisit the progression down the line and “fill the gaps” with new weapons. They also addressed the trend toward players picking the medic class, saying that the team plans to buff other roles to make them more viable.

In the meantime, Battlebit’s development team downplayed the possibility of a battle royale mode (“Negative, not a bog fan,” TheLiquidHorse said) and jets (“Our maps are too small for proper dogfights”). They also don’t plan to change up its visual style or add any major graphical enhancements, though they may tweak graphics a bit.

Finally, while the team does plan to add more modes in the future, including a hardcore mode, the team doesn’t plan to expand the number of supported players, saying that the “server infrastructure sadly wouldn’t support that.”

More work to be done

One way or another, TheLiquidHorse says that there’s much more work to do. Battlebit has been in development in one form or another since at least 2016, but the team thinks it could be in early access for as long as four more years. When it does go into full release, though, fans shouldn’t worry: TheLiquidHorse promises their progress won’t be wiped.

For now, Battlebit Remastered continues to enjoy considerable success by marrying its quirky visual style with the expansive FPS design of Battlefield. It has been praised for capturing the nostalgia of the original game, which many felt was lost with Battlefield 2042. Do the Battlebit devs have any advice for DICE?

“[W]e are just some newbies in this field, the devs prob know things way better then we do,” TheLiquidHorse said. “What happened in the last few years there wasn’t their fault, [I] think they would still be able to deliver an absolute stunner of a Battlefield if they would have the time and freedom.”

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Ubisoft Bordeaux has no plans to make DLC or post-launch content for its upcoming project Assassin’s Creed Mirage – at least not at the moment.

During an AMA with the developers in the Assassin’s Creed subreddit, Stephane Boudon, the creative director for Mirage, responded to a question about whether or not the next major installment in the franchise will have a post-launch update that will allow players to replay a specific mission or quest.

“For now, Mirage has no plan for DLC or extensive post-launch,” Boudon replied.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage was announced last year at Ubisoft Forward and focuses on Basim, a street thief who becomes a full-fledged assassin in ninth-century Baghdad. Ubisoft previously confirmed that Mirage will allow players to explore the real history of Baghdad, and its maps will not be anywhere near as big as the game that came before it, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. More interestingly, Ubisoft announced a partnership with OWO to create a haptic feedback gaming suit that will allow players to physically feel the actions as Basim punches and parkours his way across Baghdad.

While post-launch content for Mirage is a tossup, Assassin’s Creed fans will have plenty of other projects to look forward to as Ubisoft announced its intentions to pump more resources into the franchise. In addition to Mirage, Ubisoft is working on multiple other games set in the Assassin’s Creed universe. This includes a mobile game, which the company recently announced it was holding a closed beta test for early next month, and Nexus VR, the series’ first virtual reality game.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage will launch on October 12 for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox.

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

We’ve seen plenty of cool Zonai-powered vehicles in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and we’ve even seen incredible devices run with electricity. But what about a vehicle powered by…meat?

Reddit user u/Superruub61 posted on the Hyrule Engineering subreddit today what they referred to as a “new breakthrough in highly-advanced, super futuristic technology no one would have ever thought was possible.” Attached is a 23-second video of Link riding a cart made of four platforms Ultrahanded together in a triangle shape, with pieces of “Icy Meat” attached to the bottom. When Link strikes the side of the cart, the force propels it forward, and the frozen meats attached to the bottom allow it to keep sliding for longer distances.

The frozen meat cart isn’t especially steerable, unfortunately, as it doesn’t include wheels or a steering stick, but it is an extremely simple contraption that seems capable of moving across flat terrain at an acceptable speed. Most important, though, is its total lack of Zonai or electric power use. You don’t need a single battery or a fancy electric motor to make this frozen meatmobile run forever.

The next iterations of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck could come with replaceable batteries thanks to a new EU regulation.

As reported by Eurogamer, the Council of the European Union has unveiled a new regulation that forces all devices, including handheld games consoles, to come with replaceable batteries by 2027.

Nintendo’s current console, similar to the Steam Deck and other already available devices, likely won’t be affected, but the regulation could affect development of next-generation systems like the Switch successor. While companies could push back against the regulation, the EU said the 2027 timeframe gives “sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement”.

It also shared a brief outline of what this could look like for video game players: “A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product.”

The change comes as a part of the EU’s shift towards sustainability. “Batteries are key to the decarbonisation process and the EU’s shift towards zero-emission modes of transport,” said Spanish minister for the ecological transition Teresa Ribera.

“At the same time end-of-life batteries contain many valuable resources and we must be able to reuse those critical raw materials instead of relying on third countries for supplies.”

It’s unclear when Nintendo will release its next console or if these regulation changes will affect that timeline, but the Switch successor isn’t happening for another year at least.

The Steam Deck is much more recent release, however, meaning Valve likely isn’t as close to unveiling its next handheld (if at all). Several other companies are entering the handheld market too, including Sony which is developing a PlayStation 5 streaming device called Project Q.

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

Now that PS5 consoles are regularly available to buy, it’s an excellent time to start picking up games, accessories, and hardware for it. What’s even better is when you can find all of those things at a discounted price, and we’re here to help. A lot of these items go on sale throughout the year as well, not just during events like PlayStation’s Days of Play or Amazon Prime Day, and we’ll make sure to keep you updated on every price drop right here.

TL;DR – Best PS5 Deals Right Now

Below, you can find a variety of different sales on everything from games to SSDs and even information on where to buy a PS5 now. And, though not a sale but still exciting to keep on your radar, if you’re looking to preorder Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PS5, we’ve even included links to those preorders so you won’t miss out on the web-slinging action.

Navigate to:

• Best PS5 SSD Deals
• Best PS5 Video Game Deals
• Spider-Man 2 Preorders
• When Should I Buy a PS5?

XPG 1TB GAMMIX S70 Blade SSD w/Heatsink for Just $54.99

Could your PS5 use more storage? Prices have been plummeting since Sony started letting people upgrade their SSDs. Right now you can get a 1TB XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade SSD w/Heatsink for just $54.99, which is a great price for so much extra space (it’s 57% off!). It’s hard to beat the recent Prime Day we had, and we won’t like this doesn’t match the best 1TB deal at $50 during that sale, but it’s pretty close at only $5 more. Now’s a great time, in general, to pick up a PS5-compatible SSD.

More PS5 SSD Deals:

• SAMSUNG 980 PRO 1TB SSD with Heatsink for $69.99
• ADATA Premium 1TB SSD for PS5 for $64.99

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Get $5 off Diablo IV for PS5 – Its First Price Drop

If you wish to join the hunt to defeat Lilith and save Sanctuary, why not do it at a discounted price? This is the first time we’ve seen a price drop on Blizzard’s latest, and even though it’s a small drop, it’s still worth picking up. We gave it a 9 in our review, calling it “a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design,” and as someone who’s also spent plenty of time in Sanctuary, I can also confirm it’s worth getting for your PlayStation collection.

More PS5 Video Game Deals:

• Dying Light 2 Stay Human for $24.99 (Save $35)
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion for $34.99 (Save $35)
• Dead Island 2: HELL-A Edition for $69.99 (Save $30)
• A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5) for $39.99
• Atomic Heart (PS5) for $49.95
• Star Ocean The Divine Force (PS5) for $24.99
• Elden Ring (PS4/PS5) for $19.99 (Preowned)

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PlayStation Deals: Budget to Best

It doesn’t need to have a massive discount to be a good deal, so we thought it would be a great idea to pick out our absolute favorite PS5 and PlayStation offerings that would be relevant to buy no matter the time of year, or the sales going on. From the latest DualSense controllers, to the very best PS5 SSDs on the market, we’ve got it all right here.

More PS5 Budget to Best Picks

• Pulse 3D Wireless Headset for $99
• DualSense Charging Station for $29.99
• WD_BLACK 1TB P50 Game Drive SSD for $199.99
• PowerA Twin Charging Station DualSense for $24.99

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Preorder Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for PS5

For those who can’t wait until October 20 to get their hands on this highly-anticipated sequel, have no fear, you can preorder the game right now at a variety of different retailers. It also comes with some fun preorder bonuses when you do, which you can learn more about in our Spider-Man 2 preorder guide.

Anyone who preorders Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, regardless of version, will get the following in-game extras as well: Arachknight Suit for Peter Parker “with 3 additional color variants”, Shadow Spider Suit for Miles Morales “with 3 additional color variants”, Web Grabber gadget and 3 skill points.

Where to Preorder Spider-Man 2

• Get it at Amazon – $69.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $69.99
• Get it at GameStop – $69.99
• Get it at Walmart – $69.99

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Get 30% Off the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Gaming Headset

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

More PS5 Gaming Headset Deals:

• Logitech Astro A30 Lightspeed for $229.99
• Razer Kaira Pro for $154.99
• Astro A10 Gaming Headset Gen 2 for $54.99

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Pick Up the Thrustmaster T248P Racing Wheel and Magnetic Pedals for $296.34

There’s a terrific deal going on for the Thrustmaster T248P racing wheel and magnetic pedals, bringing the price down 26% from $399.99 to $296.34. This wheel is also included in our collection of the best racing wheels, which makes picking it up even more worth it right now.

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When Should I Buy a PS5?

Availability has significantly improved for PS5 consoles this year. This means you no longer need to wait for specific sale events like Black Friday to make your purchase, as retailers such as Amazon are likely to offer the same console bundles during various sales throughout the year. Therefore, if you are in need of a PS5, there’s no real reason to delay your purchase and you can take advantage of any available sale.

If you’re desperate to pick up a console before the likes of Spider-Man 2, go ahead and buy one as they’re now regularly available. However, it’s worth noting that during sales Black Friday, there may be new unique bundles and promotions for the PS5 that are not offered at any other time of the year, such as the God of War Ragnarok bundle for $499 that is now out of stock and not available at the time of writing.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2023, 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.

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