Now Xbox has a new boss, what happens next? In a new interview, Asha Sharma, a Microsoft executive who previously oversaw some of the firm’s AI initiatives, kept things frustratingly vague, but did indicate that nothing is off the table when it comes to big decisions about recent controversial policies.
One of the big questions fans have for Sharma is whether Microsoft will reverse some of its recent policies, many of which have alienated the core Xbox fanbase. Fans have criticized Microsoft for leaving Xbox game exclusivity behind in favor of a multiplatform approach that has seen the company’s biggest brands — including Halo — make the jump to PlayStation. Why buy an Xbox now, when all Xbox games come out on everything?
In a new interview with Windows Central, Sharma avoided specifics when asked about the future and recent strategic decisions, only offering the cryptic “the plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”
Here’s the quote in full:
“Right now, I need to learn, candidly. About the ‘why’ of these decisions, what we were optimizing for, and what the data says about the Xbox strategy today. That’s the honest answer. I’m looking at lifetime value, not just what happened in a previous moment, or in short term efficiencies and things like that. The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.”
What does that mean? It’s hard to tell. It feels like a holding statement, the kind of thing you might say when you don’t want to commit to anything either way. But it’s hard to see Microsoft all of a sudden pulling out of multiplatform game releases, especially when its studios have put so much effort into making Microsoft’s policy a reality, and in some cases seen great success on the likes of PlayStation. Halo is coming to PlayStation this year, and that’s unlikely to change.
Will things change further down the line? Could Microsoft start releasing exclusives again, particularly in the context of the upcoming next Xbox? All eyes are now on Asha Sharma to find out. A 2027 launch for the next Xbox was recently described as the best case scenario. There isn’t a great deal of time to sort everything out before the next crucial juncture in Xbox history.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
The Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky update is here, but instead of Hurricanes and new cosmetics, all players can talk about are how it nerfs one of the best grenades for PvE.
Fans expected to see details about all of the new content when developer Embark Studios published lengthy patch notes for update version 1.17.0 earlier today. Information about playable pianos and beard cosmetics was all there, but what they also found was that the studio behind the massively popular multiplayer game had upped the crafting requirements for one of its most iconic tools: the Wolfpack.
As outlined in Shrouded Sky’s accompanying patch notes, the Wolfpack, a throwable equipment that showers Arc enemies with homing explosives, now requires one Rocketeer Driver to craft. Now, players will need the component, as well as two Arc motion cores and an explosive compound, to make just one Wolfpack.
The changes fall in line with a series of new adjustments to resource requirements, which see Arc components also added to the recipes for the Deadline mine, Trailblazer, Showstopper, and Vita Spray. It’s the Wolfpack tweak that has Raiders up in arms, though, mostly because Rocketeer Drivers are infamously rare and hard to collect. The most consistent way to find one of these epic items is to kill a Rocketeer – a task that currently takes two Wolfpacks to accomplish.
“Let me just kill a rocketeer to get 1 wolfpack that can half kill another rocketeer,” one Reddit user teased.
“I don’t even want the blueprint anymore,” another player replied.
“First time I’ve said this but if they keep going in this direction people will stop playing,” a X/Twitter user added. “It’s hard enough to gather some of these resources.”
The grenade can’t lock on to other players but can tear through hordes of small Arc, making it one of the best PvE tools Raiders have at their disposal. It can also quickly dismantle the armor featured on large Arc, such as the Matriarch, Queen, Leaper, and Bastion, but it’s the math asking players for two Wolfpacks to kill one Rocketeer that has fans questioning Embark’s judgement. While showing concern about how update 1.17.0 asks players to work harder for crafting materials, some have started chiming in with their own recommendations for how to fix the issue.
“If rocketeers start consistently dropping more than 1x driver, we can talk,” one player suggested.
“They need to up the drop odds on drivers,” another added. “Right now you’re lucky if you get two. Make two the base with higher odds of 3+. Otherwise wolfpacks will basically just be used when looted on the map.”
Some players are asking for more rewarding Rocketeer loot and reduced requirements for the Wolfpack, but others are still exploring all Shrouded Sky has to offer. The February update launched today, focusing on map changes for Dam Battlegrounds and the new Firefly and Comet Arc threats as its latest additions.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
The original Final Fantasy VII is getting a makeover on Steam. No, not the remake. I mean the actual, original game.
Announced last month and released today, this updated version of Final Fantasy VII comes with a handful of new features as seen on the storefront. According to an official post, this new version of the old game will include a 3x speed mode, the ability to turn off random encounters, a “battle enhancement” mode that will max out Limit gauge and let players recover HP/MP during battles, and an autosave feature.
The new version of the game will replace the 2013 edition on the Steam store, and the 2013 edition will no longer be available to buy. However, those who already own the 2013 version will receive the new version free of charge, and will still have access to the 2013 version in their libraries simultaneously with this new version. Critically, though, save files are not compatible between the two versions, so you will have to start a new game to enjoy the re-release.
This update effectively brings the game up to parity with the other modern console ports of Final Fantasy 7. For years, the 2013 edition on Steam had been behind the times, effectively just an old (and often buggy) PC port.
It’s still worth checking out the original Final Fantasy VII if you missed it back in the day, or even if you just want a walk down memory lane ahead of the conclusion to the Final Fantasy VII Remake Trilogy. It’s been teased that we’re getting “more updates than ever before” on the trilogy this year, leading fans to hope that the announcement of Part 3 is imminent. Meanwhile, Part 2, Rebirth, is coming to Switch 2 and Xbox later this year. FF7 for everyone!
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Sony Film CEO Tom Rothman has confirmed the company has plans to reboot Sony’s broader Spider-Man Universe after a series of high-profile flops in films like Kraven, Madame Web, and Morbius.
This comes from a conversation with Matt Belloni on The Town, in which Rothman answered a series of questions with fairly short, yes or no responses. When asked, “is the larger Spider-verse dead?” he said “No.” He then confirmed Sony would go back to those films “at some point.” And also affirmed it would be a “fresh reboot” with “new people.” Rothman did not provide any further details.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) has struggled ever since it first kicked off in 2018 with Venom. Though Venom and its follow-ups, Let There Be Carnage (2021) and The Last Dance (2024) did quite well at the box office, all three were critically panned and generally received poorly by wider audiences as well. Even worse was Morbius (2022), which was regarded as such a poor movie it became a meme, and which was followed by similar box office disasters in Madame Web (2024) and Kraven the Hunter (2024). At the time, outgoing Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra described Kraven the Hunter as “probably the worst launch we had in the seven-and-a-half years” since he first stepped into his role. He also blamed all the SSU failures on the press, for criticizing them.
As for what this reboot will entail, Rothman is keeping that under his mask for now, though whatever it is will likely take some time to spin up. At least we still have regular ol’ Spider-Man, who will be in theaters July 31 for Brand New Day.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Embark Studios has published full patch notes for Arc Raiders update 1.17.0, revealing a wave of nerfs for PvP and PvE players hopping into Shrouded Sky.
The finer details for the new Arc Raiders patch were published on the extraction shooter’s official website today. It comes with the promise that players will be met with more than just Hurricanes and new Arc threats when they log in to check out the new February content drop.
PvP players should know three of the most useful multiplayer weapons – the Stitcher, Kettle, and Venator – have all suffered from reductions to their base damage. The Stitcher and Venator pistols have also had their headshot multipliers reduced. These are targeted nerfs from Embark that will have a noticeable impact on PvP lobbies, while buffs for the Jupiter and Aphelion will likely make them more useful across the board.
PvE players will likely appreciate the update’s improvements for the two energy weapons, but they didn’t make it out of Shrouded Sky without also facing nerfs. Let’s rip the Band-Aid off: the Deadline, Trailblazer, Wolfpack, and Showstopper will now be much more difficult to craft.
As each piece of equipment can be extremely useful when taking down Arc, Embark is asking players to gather at least one more Arc resource to build them. That’s not so bad in the case of the Vita Spray, which only requires an additional Tick Pod. The Wolfpack and its flurry of aerial homing explosives, on the other hand, now asks Raiders for one Rocketeer Driver per craft. The Rocketeer resource is quite rare and notoriously difficult to farm, making this one of the more substantial crafting adjustments and a steep ask for PvE fans.
We knew Shrouded Sky would be one of Embark’s biggest updates so far, but the version 1.17.0 patch notes reveal more highlights following its launch earlier today. For example, players can now interact with topside pianos, adding to the growing list of playable instruments. Raiders will also notice that troublesome feats can now be rerolled three times per day, while PvP feats have been removed entirely. The patch notes also sign off with a message from the team regarding its ongoing anti-cheat initiative, confirming it plans to continue punishing cheaters and exploiters following today’s fixes for a few additional glitches.
The launch of Shrouded Sky now puts Embark halfway through its four-month roadmap for Arc Raiders in 2026. The next update, Flashpoint, is expected to bring more threats and a Scrappy changes in late March, with Riven Tides set to add a new map and a new large Arc in April. We interviewed studio CEO Patrick Söderlund earlier this month and learned all about how the team plans to keep Raiders engaged throughout this year and beyond.
Finally, you can check out all of the nerfs, buffs, and other balance adjustments included today in the full patch notes below.
Arc Raiders Update 1.17.0 Patch Notes
Attention Raiders!
Violent hurricanes are sweeping topside, forcing new strategies for low-visibility combat, powerful gales, and hurtling debris. Scouts have spotted two new ARC types in the Rust Belt; we advise caution while the storm runs its course, but those who know how to read the weather will find opportunity in the chaos.
What’s New?
Hurricane Map Condition
Two New ARC Enemies
The Weather Monitoring System – Seasonal Player Project
Weapon balancing for Stitcher, Kettle, Venator, Jupiter and Aphelion.
Added a piano as an interactable object in the world.
Prevented enabling all NVIDIA Freestyle filters simultaneously to remove an unfair visual advantage.
Feats can now be rerolled three times per day for free.
Removed PvP Feats, updated a few existing Feats and added a few new ones.
Ziplines can no longer be placed on carryable objects.
Mines, traps, or remote flares can no longer be placed on other deployables.
Balance Changes
Weapons
In 1.13 we shipped an update that included an optimization fix for our weapons, but as many of you noticed this had the unforeseen consequence of lowering the total fire-rate of semi-automatic weapons. In 1.13.1 we reverted that fix, but something else made it into the update that shouldn’t have.
Many of you have reported a “shadow buff” to the weapons, and after investigating it we found that 1.13.1 had inadvertently impacted our weapon input buffers. Where you previously would have to time your inputs to the intended cadence of a weapon to reach its full potential, you could now instead spam-click the button, effectively bypassing any skill requirement to learn the weapon’s cadence. We want to keep some of that skill expression, but we also recognize that what we had previously didn’t feel very responsive. To address that and land in some sort of middle ground, we have since added more levers for us to control the weapon input buffering window on a gun-to-gun basis, and we’ve adjusted the semi-automatic weapons accordingly. The weapons should now still be more responsive to fire when spam-clicking, but the players who choose to pace their shots will see better results.
In addition to these changes, we’ve also been looking into the balance between our low tier and high tier weapons. A lot of you have expressed concerns that some low tier weapons outperform our higher tier weapons at significantly reduced cost, and we’re hoping to shift that balance a bit while still keeping some of that flexibility to punch above your weight if you are skilled enough. We’re starting by reducing the overall TTK of the Stitcher and Kettle, and increasing the maneuverability of the Aphelion and Jupiter. We’re also taking a second stab at the Venator, which still seems to be dominating a lot of our PvP encounters.
Stitcher
Dev Note: The Stitcher has played its role well as a close quarter weapon that rewards thoughtful positioning, but we’ve found that its fast TTK can sometimes lead to situations where you’re ambushed and killed before you have much time to react. As many of you have pointed out, the high headshot damage is a large contributor to this problem. The TTK is often fine when the weapon is aimed at the center of mass, but when you get close enough to land the majority of the shots in your target’s head, we see TTK numbers that are much faster than other weapons. These changes aim to bring that headshot TTK a bit closer to the body shot TTK by both reducing the full-spray accuracy of the weapon, and reducing the headshot multiplier.
Reduced Headshot Multiplier from 2.5 to 1.75
Reduced Base Damage from 7 to 6.5
Increased Per Shot Dispersion by around 50% (Making it bloom faster)
Kettle
Dev Note: The Kettle has been in a bit of a weird place. Its high damage output was intended to be used in a more medium range setting at a more deliberate pace, but we see many of you bringing it up in close quarters and effectively turning into an SMG. We want to distinguish it more from the Stitcher, but we also see that you enjoy the versatility of this weapon. So we’re reducing the base damage to bring its TTK more in line, but we’re keeping the high headshot multiplier to see if we can push players to go for more headshots.
Reduced Base Damage from 10 to 8.5
Venator
Dev Note: Since the last nerfs to the Venator in 1.3.0, we’ve kept an eye on our data to see how it performs. During this time many of you have raised concerns that it’s still dominating in PVP, and our data has shown that it is one of the highest performing weapons in the game right now. For a weapon of this tier we want it to perform well, but maybe not this well. We’re looking at an overall nerf to its damage to bring down its TTK, and if that doesn’t work we might need to look into its ammo consumption and cost efficiency.
Reduced Headshot Multiplier from 2.5 to 2
Reduced Base Damage from 9 to 8
Jupiter
Dev Note: In PVP, the Jupiter does the most headshot damage in the game, but it’s quite difficult to hit headshots with it at longer ranges. You’re also quite vulnerable when you use it in closer ranges since missing one shot will make you a sitting target until you either reload or swap weapons. We’re increasing how much you zoom when you use ADS to give you a better view of the targets you’re trying to hit, and we’re reducing its equip and unequip time to make it easier to swap to a secondary weapon to follow up on your shot.
Improved ADS Magnification from ~1.9x to ~2.2x
Improved Equip Time from 1.2s to 1.05s
Improved Unequip Time from 0.9s to 0.75s
Aphelion
Dev Note: We weren’t quite happy with the previous balancing of the Aphelion. It was intended to be a more PVP focused legendary weapon, but it couldn’t quite keep up with the pacing of many of our other PVP weapons. We’ve made some changes to make it feel less bulky and a bit more nimble to use, to make it more viable in PVP.
Reduced Base Reload Time from 4.5s to 3.5s
Reduced Time Between Shots from 0.9s to 0.7s
Reduced Vertical Recoil by ca 50%
Improved ADS Settle Speed by ca 35%
Item and Crafting
Energy clip
Now available by default in the Workbench.
Item Value and Cost Changes
Following item values and costs have been adjusted with appropriate recycle and salvaging adjustments:
Deadline
Value increased from 5,000 to 6,000.
Trader price increased from 15,000 to 18,000.
Added a new ARC part as a crafting cost.
Trailblazer
Value increased from 1,600 to 2,200.
Trader price increased from 4,800 to 6,600.
Added a new ARC part as a crafting cost.
Wolfpack
Value increased from 5,000 to 6,000.
Added Rocketeer Driver as a crafting cost.
Reduced Refined Explosive cost.
Vita Spray
Value increased from 3,000 to 3,400.
Added Tick Pod as a crafting cost.
Showstopper
Value decreased from 2,200 to 2,100.
Added Hornet Driver as a crafting cost.
Changed crafting component from Advanced Electrical Components to Electrical Components.
ARC Parts sell value has been reduced to better reflect their crafting and progression uses.
Content and Bug Fixes
Achievements
Fixed an issue where the “Blindsided” achievement sometimes did not trigger as intended on the first attempt.
Animation
Fixed various animation issues while vaulting.
Fixed an issue where some weapons didn’t drop magazines during reloads.
Fixed an issue where reattaching to a ladder after jumping could distort the climbing animation.
Polished equip animations for pistols and hand cannon to better match timing and reduce visual popping when switching from unarmed.
Improved arm and weapon positioning when swapping shoulders to prevent visual popping during the transition.
Fixed an issue where fall damage wouldn’t get applied if the player was in a knockback animation.
Polished low-health reaction animations for improved clarity.
Fixed weapon-shake animation incorrectly triggering indoors during freezing weather; it now only occurs outdoors.
ARC
Fixed an issue where Surveyors and Fireballs could open prematurely before stabilizing.
Reduced erratic movement of ARC parts when they are stuck to a looted item.
Hornets now keep their upper armor after being destroyed, making the lootable piece easier to distinguish from Wasps.
Fixed an issue where the Rocketeer sometimes would not shoot despite having a clear view of its target.
Reduced cases where the Sentinel’s shots could pass through geometry when its weapon clips into walls at very close range.
Audio
Limited bullet sound effects per trigger pull on burst weapons to the burst size to prevent extra shots from playing.
Reduced audio stuttering on lower-spec PCs for smoother, more consistent sound during gameplay.
Fixed an issue where sliding on stairs or debris could cause audio stutters.
Scrappy has received your feedback about being too noisy, he will now try to cluck less frequently.
Reduced overall volume and rebalanced the menu SFX and music mix for a more comfortable Speranza experience.
Shortened one tube deployment music track that lingered for too long in session.
Birds perched on ziplines now screech with correct positional audio when startled.
Decreased audio occlusion / obstruction slightly across the board and especially for players .
Updated acoustic guitar music tracks.
Cosmetics
The Volare Set
The Surgeon Set
The Devotee Set coming soon.
Added a new facial hair customization option.
Fixed incorrect visor glass material on the Marco outfit’s green color variant.
Fixed various instances of clipping on certain outfits.
Gameplay
Added a piano as an interactable object in the world.
Fixed an issue where interactions could be triggered from too far away, allowing players to open doors, start hatches, or loot items without being nearby.
Hold and continuous interactions now cancel when equipping another item or weapon.
Fixed an issue where players could become unable to move after being revived with a defib.
Prevented players from standing on or being carried by thrown grenades and other non-walkable items.
Added missing gamepad aim assist for Sentinels, Turrets, Shredders and Surveyors.
Disabled queuing for Practice Range while in a party to prevent matchmaking errors.
Fixed an issue where a downed raider’s body could block hatch extraction by triggering a search prompt.
Prevented enabling all NVIDIA Freestyle filters simultaneously to remove an unfair visual advantage.
You can now make purchases with seeds and free loadout augments even if your stash is overflowing.
General
General performance improvements.
Fixed some popping issues.
Fixed a crash when launching the game with DirectX 11.
Fixed a crash that could happen when traversing ziplines.
Maps
General
Fixed broken interactions near the top of certain ladders.
Fixed missing collision on several environment props to reduce clipping and unintended traversal.
General lighting fixes across different maps.
Buried City
The chance of finding rare loot in chimneys has been lowered slightly during Bird City map condition.
Stella Montis
Fixed multiple collision issues on Stella Montis (Lobby, Atrium, Loading Bay, Train Station tunnels, Seed Vault) to prevent players from reaching out-of-bounds areas using the ‘Unstuck’ function and to address shots coming from the Lobby ceiling.
Adjusted night lighting on Stella Montis to improve visibility in darker areas.
Improved night-time visibility at the Seed Vault extraction by adding local lighting.
Fixed an issue where lowered Spillway bridges still displayed an interaction prompt, interaction is now correctly disabled when the bridge is down.
Fixed an issue that allowed players to get on top of metro trains.
Blue Gate
Improved thunderstorm lighting for better visual clarity.
Fixed an issue where players could go out of bounds in the Blue Gate tunnels.
Movement
Adjusted ladder jump-off to match vault jump-off behavior, smoothing movement and preventing unintended momentum from rapid inputs.
Fixed an issue where sliding could clip through stairs and escalators.
Progression
You can now reroll Feats three times per day for free.
Removed PvP Feats, updated a few existing Feats and added a few new ones.
Added an Expedition catch-up system to earn missed Skill Points from previous runs, with an updated UI to track your progress.
Fixed an issue where players occasionally did not receive a skill point as indicated in the result screen.
Candleberries in Blue Gate now count toward the Harvest Plants trial.
Quests
Added clearer ping labels for quest-related world objects to improve readability.
Fixed an issue where the next objective pop-up in multi-step quests could be missing or show a completed step. It now consistently displays the correct upcoming objective.
Fixed an issue where a quest item could appear as world loot without the related quest being active.
Social
When playing in a party, map selection now shows all locations unlocked by the member with the most rounds played.
Fixed an issue where previous teammates could appear in the Social tab’s In Proximity list after starting a new session.
Added clearer error messages when friend requests fail due to too many outgoing requests or rate limiting.
Fixed friends appearing offline when they have more than one platform linked.
Added the ability to hide friend requests.
UI
Item pings for items in containers now appear above the container’s interaction point and no longer appear at the wrong location in certain containers.
Added a ready-up warning when deploying with Raider Hatch keys into a map with no active hatches.
Added icons to inventory tooltips to show recycle/salvage outputs.
Fixed an issue where squad colors could display incorrectly after squad changes.
Fixed a bug where adding a secondary keybind would overwrite the primary keybind in the next round.
Updated localization for unique loot from new enemy variants to improve in-game naming and clarity.
Improved matchmaking messaging when some party members are still topside.
Fixed an issue where end-of-round health was not correctly shown for all players.
It is now clearer when you join a party which party member is topside while you’re in Speranza.
You can now use the mouse scroll wheel to switch between pages in the Raider Deck.
Polished UI text and updated translations across supported languages.
Added additional ping labels for various quest objects to improve clarity.
Fixed an issue where mouse smoothing could remain enabled despite being turned off, ensuring the setting is correctly applied at round start.
Improved the red zipline preview when the zipline cannot be placed.
Updated login message to clearly explain when access is restricted because the shared account owner has been banned.
Fixed an issue in Expeditions where the timer could go negative after the departure countdown and the Sign Up button stayed active; the screen now updates correctly and the button is disabled.
Fix an issue where the repair preview wasn’t displayed correctly when repairing items.
Crafting and recycling screens now display item costs and rewards in a consistent order for easier reading.
The VoIP icon in the HUD will now better visually represent if the microphone is going to transmit or not if you’re using Push To Talk or Toggle To Talk.
Utility
Pop Triggers and Spotter Relays can now be used in quick slots.
The Spotter Relay can now be deployed as a trap that lures nearby ARC.
The Pop Trigger can now be deployed to roll forward briefly before exploding.
Added a new Field craft item: Shaker instrument.
Adjusted Vita Spray so healing applies continuously while in use to prevent exploit cases.
Fixed an unintended behaviour with the Snaphook causing it to pull players after it had been cancelled.
Ziplines can no longer be placed on carryable objects.
Fixed Zipline placement on ARC remnants that could consume the item or leave it partially placed.
Mines, traps, and remote flares can no longer be placed on ziplines, or on other small deployables.
The T3 Tactical (Healing) Augment now correctly states that healing is applied instantly.
VFX
Fixed an issue where Jupiter’s windup visual could face sideways, making the beam appear misaligned.
Fixed an issue where Trailblazer’s gas effect could persist indefinitely if interrupted by the Matriarch’s shield.
Known Issues
‘Purchase Raider Tokens’ page may appear in front of the inbox and profile page when switching between them.
Player animations may appear broken when interrupting a search of the Baron Husk.
Certain containers may be unavailable to be interacted with.
Ziplines placed onto destroyed ARC parts will not appear correctly.
Scrappy ‘Batting Helmet’ and the ‘Slugger’ outfit might not appear correctly in the event preview.
‘Comparative Study’ achievement sometimes does not progress correctly after damaging the hanging drone dummies.
The ‘Unyielding’ achievement/trophy fails to progress on console when knocking out raiders using the associated prompt.
Some unintended VFX can appear occasionally.
One of the new ARC enemieshas an unusable interaction occasionally when destroyed.
Flying ARC may sometimes appear stuck in idle.
Sometimes the Embark ID Discriminator fails to show.
Pressing LMB outside of the item select area closes the item select window in the Expeditions menu.
Anti-Cheat
When we shared our last update about tackling unfair play, we didn’t fully convey the complexity and scale of what goes into cheat detection. Our defenses operate on multiple levels: some checks are simple and definitive, while others are behavioral and data-driven and evolve over time. We also leverage broad gameplay telemetry and machine learning techniques to spot patterns that aren’t obvious at first glance. These methods take longer to develop, must adapt as game systems change, and don’t always offer instant certainty the way blunt software detections can.
We’ve recently taken action against different exploits and we are further tightening our rules and stepping up enforcement. Serious infractions now carry stricter consequences. Strong detections will receive permanent bans right off the bat, while others will receive a temporary suspension and a single chance to correct the behavior. Recent updates to Family Sharing have strengthened our ability to curb misconduct and streamlined the removal of bad actors from the game. We are preparing to launch a systematic manual review of ban appeals. The game is young and the volume of telemetry is enormous, but this process ensures every case is handled with care as we continue to learn quickly and invest heavily in the precision of our enforcement tools.
Our dedicated anti-cheat team works tirelessly to keep the game fair. It’s an ongoing fight, and we’re committed to it.
//Ossen And the ARC Raiders Team
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
In a surprise announcement this morning, Insomniac Games has revealed the release date for Marvel’s Wolverine. It’s coming on September 15, 2026.
This comes from a post shared across social media by Insomniac, reading: “Let’s cut to the chase: Marvel’s Wolverine launches September 15, 2026.” A six-second teaser accompanied this:
It’s a sudden, welcome release date announcement after expectations rose for a Wolverine appearance in a State of Play earlier this month, only to have those expectations disappointed when it did not show up.
Wolverine has been a bit of an elusive game since its initial announcement. The game was first teased at The Game Awards was back in 2021 with a brief cinematic reveal. It then went dormant (save for a leak associated with a massive Insomniac hack in 2023) until last year, when we saw our first, gory trailer for the game revealing various locations, as well as Wolverine’s actor: Liam Mcintyre, known from Gears as JD Fenix.
We also got more information at the time from the PlayStation blog, referring to the game as a “global thriller” and naming some of the familiar characters he will encounter in his adventure, such as Mystique and Omega Red.
Wolverine will launch exclusively on PlayStation 5.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
The new Dead By Daylight chapter, All-Kill: Comeback, will add the game’s first urban map, which will include a two-story nightclub and plenty of neon lighting. The Trickster’s Delusion Map is part of the new chapter that launches on March 17, along with new survivor Kwon Tae-young, and an update to K-pop Killer the Trickster himself. If you can’t wait, today marks the launch of the PTB for the new chapter on Steam.
“Woven by The Entity from The Trickster’s twisted subconscious, the new area features shops to browse, a marketplace, and a two-story nightclub, along with scattered details reflecting the Killer’s erratic state of mind,” reveals developer Behaviour Interactive.
“Voice acting for KPop Demon Hunters deepened my appreciation for how much storytelling can be communicated purely through tone, breath control, and texture. Without physical performance to rely on, your voice becomes the entire emotional instrument. In a game like Dead by Daylight, that responsibility is amplified,” he explained.
“As a consultant, I wanted to ensure that the cultural references remained authentic. As a voice actor, I focused on making every breath, every strained scream, and every moment of fear feel grounded within the brutal, high-stakes environment of the Entity’s realm.”
The Trickster’s update is focused on the Killer’s gameplay, with a new Style Rank system “rewarding creativity, aggression, and momentum as The Trickster builds towards unleashing his Main Event and a barrage of blades.”
Other adjustments players can expect to see are a new Aura Accessibility feature, refined perk descriptions are also getting an overhaul for readability.
Rachel Weber is the Head of Editorial Development at IGN and an elder millennial. She’s been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, Red Dead Redemption 2, and her Love and Deepspace boyfriends.
Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has revealed that Capcom was initially unsure whether Switch 2 would be powerful enough to run its new survival horror blockbuster.
In a new Creator’s Voice episode posted to Nintendo’s YouTube channel, Nakanishi said the game’s development team had been “skeptical” about Switch 2’s ability to run Requiem after first seeing its form factor — but quickly decided it would be able to run the full game “as-is” after doing a “triple take.”
“The Nintendo Switch 2 system has improved graphical specs, so we wondered if Requiem could run on it — and it did, with ease,” Nakanishi said. “When we, the dveelopment team, first saw it in our hands, we were skeptical too, so we had to do a triple take.
“We thought to ourselves, ‘Oh, is this really running on Nintendo Switch 2?'” he continued. “It all worked so smoothly that we decided to just go ahead with the game as-is and make it for the system. With specs like these in handheld mode, it looks great.”
Resident Evil Requiem launches this Friday, February 27 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 on the same day. While many recent Resident Evil games have found their way to Nintendo platforms, Requiem marks the first time since 2012’s Resident Evil Revelations that a new entry in the series has debuted on a Nintendo console at launch.
“It’s been a really long time since we’ve had a new Resident Evil game released on a Nintendo platform on the same day as other platforms,” Nakanishi noted, “so I’m hopeful that this will give people who don’t normally play Resident Evil a chance to try it out. I would be happy if these people could realize things like ‘So this is what Resident Evil is like as a game’ or ‘This is what’s interesting about it.'”
Separately, Nakanishi confirmed that a classic enemy from earlier game Resident Evil: Revelations was actually based on a foe from The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. The armored Scarmiglione, pictured above, moves its shield-like arm to block your aim — a tactic Nakanishi says was copied from Zelda’s knights (technically they’re called Iron Knuckles) who also moved their shield to stop Link’s arrows.
“Actually, when I was making Resident Evil Revelations, there was an enemy called a Scarmiglione who carried a shield, and if you aimed at them, they would move the shield up and down,” Nakanishi revealed. “The truth is, this enemy was inspired by the armored soldier from Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. This is the first time I’ve said that.”
This is 45% off its full list price of $59.99, but more importantly, it appears to be the lowest price it’s hit at Amazon so far, according to price tracker camelcamelcamel. Previously, we saw it drop down to $39.97 back at the start of January, so this is a great chance to add it to your library for even less.
Astro Bot won over many hearts back when it was first released, and for very good reason. Our review from IGN’s Simon Cardy called it, “A collection of endlessly inventive levels and fantastically fun abilities,” and said, “it delivers joy in spades, never once becoming even remotely dull or repetitive.” He even added that, “Team Asobi has crafted a mascot platformer that goes near enough toe-to-toe with Nintendo’s best efforts, and that’s about as high a compliment as I can give it.”
The praise certainly didn’t end there, though. Astro Bot also won Game of the Year at The Game Awards back in 2024, and took home our top prize as the best PlayStation game of 2024. In regard to the latter, IGN’s Matt Purslow said, “Astro Bot is a Mario-matching 3D platformer that excels on all fronts: tremendous stage design, intuitive movement, fun power-ups, and a smart approach to combining all of those elements in exciting new ways on each world visited.”
As mentioned before, this isn’t the only game deal to explore right now. If you’re curious what else PS Direct has to offer at the moment, check out our big rundown of PlayStation’s sale, which runs until March 9. This includes plenty more great game deals, including a discount on Ghost of Yotei.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Daniel Vávra, director of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise, is leaving game development to focus on making a Kingdom Come: Deliverance movie.
In an interview with Czech site CzechCrunch (via VGC), studio head Martin Frývaldský revealed that Vávra was stepping away from developing Warhorse Studios’ next game to focus on Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s big-screen adaptation.
“Dan has a new role. That’s the creation of the Kingdom Come movie,” Frývaldský said (via machine translation). “We have been moving the Kingdom Come brand away from video games for some time now. So far we have been in comics, concerts, and tourism, but the film has attracted us the most. That is why Dan and I are working on getting it onto the screen or the big screen. There is also a draft script.”
“I’m sure people will wonder if this is some kind of breakup with Warhorse,” he added, “No, on the contrary, Dan himself wanted to move on. He made three games that were a global success, he has been wanting to try something different for a long time. Getting Kingdom Come to the screen […] in the next few years is another milestone that we want to achieve, and that is Dan’s new role. You won’t see him in the office every day anymore, but in a broader sense he is still part of Warhorse.”
Asked for the latest on those plans to adapt Kingdom Come: Deliverance for the big screen, Frývaldský said: “For a long time, people were around us who would like to make a film of KCD, but then Covid came and everything fell asleep. Now, after the release of the second game, we have returned to the idea with much greater drive.
“We feel the interest from the film world, negotiations are already underway. We don’t just want to sell the rights, we want the film to be what we imagine it to be.”
Frývaldský suggested that Vávra’s new job title could be something like transmedia director as the team pushes to expand the franchise beyond games.
The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance video game, released in 2018, was a smash hit, selling over 10 million copies. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 came out last year and has so far sold over 5 million copies.
IGN’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review returned a 9/10. We said: “Armed with excellent melee combat and an exceptional story, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one part sequel and one part coronation, bringing a lot of the original’s ideas to fruition.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
