The main party members of Baldur’s Gate 3 — including characters such as Karlach, Astarion, and Shadowheart — are getting official Dungeons & Dragons miniatures from WizKids.
The D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 box set is now available to preorder on the WizKids website for $49.99 and comes with seven minis in total.
Alongside Karlach the tiefling barbarian, Astarion the elf rogue, and half elf cleric Shadowheart, the box set also includes Gale the human wizard, Lae’zel the githyanki fighter, Wyll the human warlock, and Withers, the wise zombie man who revives fallen allies and summons companions in Baldur’s Gate 3.
“Transport your favorite characters from the screen to the tabletop with the new D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Boxed Set,” reads the official description. “This set features seven iconic characters from the critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 video game, perfectly recreated as detailed, pre-painted miniatures.
“Housed in non-blind windowed packaging, this set includes pre-painted miniatures for Astarion, Karlach, Gale, Shadowheart, Wyll, Lae’zel, and Withers. The set is perfect for Dungeon Masters looking to feature a famous character or as a collector’s piece for Baldur’s Gate and D&D fans.”
As mentioned, the set is particularly exciting for dungeon masters who happen to be fans of Baldur’s Gate 3, the D&D based role-playing game that proved a critical and commercial hit in 2023. It allows players to meet the Baldur’s Gate 3 party in their own campaigns, fitting around the story of the video game. A nice option to have, perhaps, given Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has now moved on from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons to make a brand new game.
The set obviously doesn’t include the additional party members characters can pick up later such as Halsin or Minthara, but perhaps this leaves a little room open for WizKids to release a second Baldur’s Gate 3 box set.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Square Enix has provided an update on the potential for an Xbox port of Final Fantasy 16, saying it wants to release the game on Microsoft’s console but can’t share a release date yet.
Speaking to Video Games, Square Enix’s Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida, producer of both Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16, strongly suggested Final Fantasy 16 will eventually come out on Xbox by telling fans not to give up hope.
“Of course we did announce the PC version of the game, so looking towards the Xbox version, we do want to release it on Xbox,” Yoshida said.
“But when it comes to the specifics such as when the game would be available and such, we are not in a position to be able to share anything. But of course, I want to say that it’s not as if there’s zero hope, and we very much do want to achieve that. So players should not give up in terms of their hopes.”
Final Fantasy 16 launched as a PS5 exclusive in June 2023, with its PC version launching last month. IGN’s Final Fantasy 16 review returned a 9/10. We said: “Featuring fast, reflex driven, action heavy combat, Final Fantasy 16 is certainly a departure from what fans may expect out of a Final Fantasy game, but its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world.”
Last month, Square Enix made public its dissatisfaction with Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s commercial performance, admitting neither game met profit expectations.
In a financial results briefing held May 13 but only released in September, Takashi Kiryu, president and representative director of Square Enix said: “In the HD Games sub-segment, we released multiple new titles, including major titles such as Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but profits unfortunately did not meet our expectations.”
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.
PlayStation Network is coming back online after an evening outage that left users unable to play some of their games for hours.
At the time of this article’s publication, Sony’s PSN service status page still showed warnings across Account management, Gaming and social, PlayStation Video, and the PlayStation Store, with an overall warning that “some services are experiencing issues.”
This PSN issue affected all PlayStation consoles currently supported (PS Vita, PS3, PS4, PS5) and other services that require a PSN login.
The Japanese Ask PlayStation Twitter account said Sony was investigating and carrying out recovery work. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused,” Sony said.
However, users are reporting PSN is slowly coming back online, and IGN was able to log in to PSN this morning in the UK.
The PSN outage once again raises issues with a lack of true offline play for many single-player focused games. Does it play?, which tests commercial releases to ensure they work internet free, tweeted: “Good thing we have internet so we aren’t affected by offline services. Oh, wait, that’s not how it works.
“Has anyone tried registering a detachable disc drive? Does that still work?”
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.
Annapurna Interactive has moved to reassure fans concerned over the future of Silent Hill: Townfall after a significant upheaval that saw a mass walkout at the publisher.
The upshot is concern over the future of games set to be published or co-developed by Annapurna, and one of those games is Silent Hill: Townfall.
Silent Hill: Townfall was announced two years ago, in October 2022, as a co-production between Annapurna Interactive and Observation and Stories Untold developer No Code Studios. Silent Hill: Townfall’s reveal consisted of a series of unsettling images, with most of the teaser swapping between images of ocean waves in black and white (and, at the end, bright red) and a slow zoom in to a pocket CRTV, while a voice demanded to know why the listener was here.
At the time, No Code creative director Jon McKellan said Silent Hill: Townfall “respects the source material but also does something a little bit different with it.” But we have yet to hear more on the project and now, two years later, and in the context of Annapurna’s high-profile troubles, there is growing concern over its development.
But in a tweet, Annapurna moved to calm that concern, firstly by apologizing for it and then insisting Townfall will continue to be co-developed with Konami and No Code.
We deeply apologize for any concerns about SILENT HILL: Townfall. SILENT HILL: Townfall will continue to be co-developed by KONAMI @Konami, Annapurna Interactive @A_i, and No Code @_NoCode. pic.twitter.com/Wd4m4OsauS
Still, there is no release date for Silent Hill: Townfall, and we have seen any new trailers for it since its announcement.
Silent Hill: Townfall isn’t the only game on Annapurna’s books. It’s got Mixtape from Beethoven & Dinosaur, the developer of The Artful Escape, and Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, among many others.
IGN’s reporting has revealed that at Annapurna a tiny leadership team is struggling to ensure that around 40 projects have the support they need, while the company’s partners have been left at various stages of development and uncertainty as to what comes next.
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.
We learned a lot of new information about Monster Hunter Wilds at Tokyo Game Show 2024 during the Capcom Online Program and extended Scarlet Forest gameplay stream, including the reveal of the foul Congala and fowl Yian Kut-Ku. Both monsters are returning to the series after a long absence. Here’s a quick breakdown of everything we’ve learned with comments from the developers.
The Fanged Beast Congalala, a Farting Pink Ape
Technically, we could’ve made an educated guess that Congalala would be returning to the series thanks to the distinctly pink armor the hunter was wearing in the official Dual Blades showcase. But it was finally officially confirmed during the Scarlet Forest gameplay stream, where the developers said fans have wanted Congalala to return for quite some time. Congalala is a Fanged Beast first introduced in Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for PSP (at least in the US).
Congalala resembles a gorilla, except it has striking pink fur and a tail that’s often holding a mushroom. Its main, disgusting way of attacking is through visible farts that throw brown debris into the air and belches that change depending on the food it most recently ate. In Wilds, before a certain move, Congalala will produce a special item called “Truffle de Conga” which can be stolen and used in your own cooking.
Congalala can also cover you in a “stench” so powerful you’re unable to consume anything, including health potions. Make sure to bring Deodorant out on hunts in the Scarlet Forest which is where you’ll encounter Congalala, at least for the first time. Luckily, recovering from such a stench is simple with Monster Hunter Wilds’ new Optimal Status Recovery option in the radial menu. With this, you’ll have quick access to whatever item is needed at the moment, so you won’t have to dig through the item pouch while it’s too stinky to think.
In an interview with IGN, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda says this new feature is meant to be a quality of life improvement, but you may not find yourself using it as often as you think because the Palico will be “on it” trying to heal you. The same can be said about the Optimal Health Recovery option, which will not only use guild-issued healing items like Rations before dipping into your hard-earned stores of Potions but will use the item that will get you closest to full recovery without overdoing it.
The Bird Wyvern Yian Kut-Ku, the Original “Tutorial Monster”
Yian Kut-Ku is the very first flying monster Hunters faced in the original Monster Hunter for PS2, and has the honor of being the first returning monster to be revealed after Rathalos.
Like Congalala, Yian Kut-Ku is also pink, and resembles a goofy-looking, scaly bird monster. While Yian Kut-Ku moves around a lot and is fairly quick, it usually trips and falls when it charges. Kut-Ku’s other main attack is fireballs, making it an early resource for Flame Sacs.
Monster Hunter Wilds executive director and art director Kaname Fujioka says Yian Kut-Ku was given the honored spot of first properly revealed returning monster afer Rathalos not just because they love Yian Kut-Ku, but because he thinks it’s “a sort-of well-known, popular, and beloved monster among the fan base.” Fujioka adds, “This choice of the next reveal was something that I think showed that we love Monster Hunter just as much as you guys do, and we’re always thinking about what would be fun to bring back.”
As for why Yian Kut-Ku is being brought back for Wilds specifically, Fujioka says it would be great to see how Yian Kut-Ku appears in Wilds’ pack system, where the same large monsters can appear in a group for the first time.
Customizable Seikrets
During the Scarlet Forest gameplay, we also saw the hunter riding a differently colored Seikret. The Seikret is the mount in Monster Hunter Wilds, and it was confirmed during this stream that we can customize its colors. Not much else is known about the depth of this customizability just yet!
Alongside the two monster reveals, the Scarlet Forest gameplay stream also showed a portion of a hunt with Uth Una, the Leviathan revealed during the most recent PlayStation State of Play. There were also details on how fishing in Monster Hunter Wilds will be a little more involved when reeling in a big fish.
Lastly, though unrelated to Monster Hunter Wilds specifically, there were more announcements for Monster Hunter’s 20th Anniversary, including a special Rathalos Fender Telecaster guitar. Capcom also revealed that Monster Hunter is getting special collaborations with both Transformers and Digimon. For Transformers, a Rathalos Prime Transformer figure; and for Digimon, two special V-Pets featuring monsters from Monster Hunter as well as special fusion monsters. RathalosGremon is a fusion of Greymon and Rathalos, and ZinoGarurumon a fusion of Garurumon and Zinogre. As of now, we’re unsure if these will be officially available outside of Japan.
It’s been a wild few days for Magic: The Gathering fans. Last week, the Commander Rules Committee announced that it was banning several major cards, throwing Magic’s most popular format into disarray. Now Wizards of the Coast is stepping in.
Acknowledging in an official statement that it’s been a “tumultuous” week for Commander fans, Wizards of the Coast said it plans to run the format in-house going forward after previously leaving it in the care of part-time volunteers. It’s a huge shakeup — one that figures to have far-reaching implications for the future of the game.
“This week has also demonstrated the truly monumental task that faced the Commander Rules Committee. The Commander RC is made up of five talented, caring individuals, all with other jobs and lives which they must balance with managing the most popular format in Magic,” Wizards of the Coast said. “It results in incredible amounts of work, time spent deliberating, and exposure to the public. Nobody deserves to feel unsafe for supporting the game they love. Unfortunately, the task of managing Commander has far outgrown the scope and safety of being attached to any five people.”
The decision was read in some corners as a rebuke of the rules committee in the wake of the ban decision, which has had a very mixed reception since it was first announced. But a statement by committee member Jim Lapage suggests that the committee instigated the change.
Unfortunately, the task of managing Commander has far outgrown the scope and safety of being attached to any five people
“What’s become clear to me is that fulfilling my commitment requires a level of global connectedness, proactive and reactive communication, research, and skill beyond what I am capable of providing. I don’t think it’s possible for a group of part-time volunteers to rise to this task,” Lapage wrote on X/Twitter.
Lapage said that he reached out to Wizards of the Coast last week and that the committee will be transitioning all management responsibilities, including its roadmap, contacts, and documentation.
“It’s extremely important to me that the format’s new leadership remains faithful to [format godfather Sheldon Menery’s] vision of a vibrant global community with a strong focus on the people who play it,” Lapage says.
Wizards of the Coast, for its part, says that the rules committee will “continue to be involved” and that there have been preliminary conversations about the path forward. They include a “more objective approach to deck power level” as well as “additional guidance and shared language for players to find games that match the type of game they’re trying to play.”
Wizards of the Coast went on to outline a potential vision for what this might look like, suggesting that there may be power brackets going forward to help better define play within the format.
One way or another, the changes are a major milestone in Commander history, which originally began as a community-driven format and has grown into arguably the biggest and most influential way to play Wizards of the Coast’s card game. It distinguishes itself from typical formats by letting players choose a creature as their “Commander,” with decks comprised of 100 unique cards. Instead of one-on-one, Commander is a free-for-all usually played with four players.
As Commander has grown, Wizards of the Coast has embraced the format, even introducing cards specifically tailored to its rules. However, until now, it has remained governed by the community. Last week, the rules committee banned four popular cards — Dockside Extortionist, Jeweled Lotus, Mana Crypt, and Nadu, Winged Wisdom. The ban, the first in three years, sparked massive backlash among fans. Now it appears they have changed the course of Commander — and Magic: The Gathering — history.
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.
The next mainline installment in the Monster Hunter series is coming soon. Monster Hunter Wilds is set to release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 28. It brings a gorgeous open-world setting like Monster Hunter World and introduces some of the fast traversal of Monster Hunter Rise to create what should be the best of both worlds. Monster Hunter Wilds is now available to preorder in a variety of editions (see it at Amazon). Below, we break down what comes in each one, how much they cost, and more. Let’s dive in.
Those seeking a physical copy of Monster Hunter Wilds have two options: with a steelbook case or without. The steelbook case looks pretty rad, and it only costs $5 more than the non-steelbook edition. It’s your call.
Anyone who just wants the game by itself, either in digital or physical format, can preorder it at their retailer of choice using the links above.
Monster Hunter Wilds Digital-Only Editions
Two editions of Monster Hunter Wilds are only avaialble in digital format across platforms. There’s the $89.99 deluxe edition, and the $109.99 premium deluxe edition. Read on for links and to see what each one comes with.
The digital-only premium deluxe edition comes with the game itself, all the items in the deluxe edition, plus a premium bonus and two planned DLC cosmetic packs. Here’s everything all laid out:
Deluxe Pack
Hunter Layered Armor Set: Feudal Soldier
Hunter Layered Armor: Fencer’s Eyepatch, Oni Horns Wig
Makeup/Face Paint: Hunter’s Kumadori, Special Bloom
Sticker Set: Avis Unit, Monsters of the Windward Plains
Nameplate: Extra Frame — Russet Dawn
Monster Hunter Wilds Cosmetic DLC Pack 1 (Planned for release in Spring 2025)
Hunter layered armor: 1 series (5 pieces), and 1 piece
Seikret decorations: 2
Pendants: 6 (Color variation)
Pose Sets: 1
Makeup/Facepaint: 1
Sticker set: 1
BGM Set: 1
Pop-up camp customization contents: 2
Monster Hunter Wilds Cosmetic DLC Pack 2 (Planned for release in Summer 2025)
Hunter layered armor: 1 series (5 pieces)
Pendants: 6 (Color variation)
Gesture sets: 2
Hairstyles: 2
Makeup/Facepaint: 2
Sticker set: 1
Premium Bonus (Planned for release when the main game releases)
Hunter Layered Armor: Wyverian Ears
Premium Bonus Hunter Profile Set
BGM: Proof of a Hero (2025 Recording)
Monster Hunter Wilds Preorder Bonus
Preorder any edition of Monster Hunter Wilds, and you’ll receive the Gilded Knight set of layered armor, shown above. How about that.
What Is Monster Hunter Wilds?
Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest installment in the long-running series. Based on its graphically intensive nature, it’s more a follow-up to Monster Hunter Worlds than Rise. And as such, it won’t be available on Nintendo systems.
Once again, you play as a Hunter in a world filled with dangerous beasts. Your job is to pick a weapon type/play style and use it to hunt sizable monsters roaming the land. Then you use their various parts to create better gear that lets you go out and hunt bigger and more dangerous monsters. This time around, you have the mobility of Monster Hunter Rise, with the gorgeous beasts and environments of World, creating what just might be the best of both worlds.
Rumors of a Final Fantasy IX remake have been echoing around RPG circles for at least year now, with series fans hopeful that they may soon get to revisit one of the most beloved entries in the series. But if a Final Fantasy IX remake does materialize, it may face some big challenges.
Speaking with the website Video Games, Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida talked a bit about what a remake might look like. He warns that it may not all fit in one game.
“Of course, I do know there are requests for Final Fantasy IX to be made, but when you think about Final Fantasy IX, it’s a game with huge volume,” Yoshida says. “When you think about all of that volume, I wonder if it’s possible to remake that as a single title. It’s a difficult one. It is a tough question.”
Yoshida seems to be suggesting that a potential remake could go the direction of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is in the middle of a planned trilogy. Fans have long had mixed feelings about splitting it into multiple parts, which offers the opportunity to add plenty of new elements, but also slows the pacing. As it stands, the third part of the trilogy doesn’t figure to be out until 2026 at the earliest.
Yoshida is right about Final Fantasy IX being a big game. It’s absolutely loaded with sidequests, minigames, and other content, and it’s set in a very large world. Reproducing all of that material won’t be easy for any development team that takes on a remake.
As for Yoshida himself, he’s interested in remaking a different game in the series. “The one that I would like to make myself would be Final Fantasy III, I think.”
For longtime fans of the series, Yoshida is referring to the version released on the Famicom, not the Americanized Final Fantasy VI. It’s a deep cut as Final Fantasy releases go, but very much in keeping with Yoshida’s attitude as Final Fantasy XIV’s producer.
Yoshida touches on a handful of other details in the interview, including his favorite Final Fantasy VII minigame (snowboarding), an Xbox release of Final Fantasy XVI (“we do want to release it on Xbox”), and more. In the meantime, the wait for a Final Fantasy IX remake continues.
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.
PS5-exclusive 3D platformer Astro Bot features 173 bot cameos from PlayStation games past and present (check out IGN’s feature, Astro Bot: Every PlayStation Character – Easter Eggs, for more). Iconic Final Fantasy characters are conspicuous by their absence, however — an omission fans were quick to pick up on in the context of Final Fantasy’s long-standing association with PlayStation. That means no Cloud from Final Fantasy 7, or any other character from the famous role-playing franchise.
So why did Final Fantasy characters fail to make it into Astro Bot? Neither Sony nor Square Enix has properly commented yet, and in a new interview, the chief developer of the game itself danced around the question.
Game File asked Nicolas Doucet, the head of the game’s Tokyo-based studio, Team Asobi, about Cloud’s absence from Astro Bot. According to Doucet, Team Asobi had hoped to get Cloud in the game, but didn’t manage to for some reason.
“It’s difficult to comment on that,” Doucet said, before adding: “We really respect the choice of each publisher.”
That comment suggests it was Square Enix’s call to keep Cloud from Astro Bot (IGN has asked Square Enix for comment), which fans are already calling an odd call, especially when you consider the PlayStation exclusivity Final Fantasy has signed on for in recent years. Final Fantasy 7 Remake launched as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in 2020 before hitting PS5 in 2021, then PC later that year. It has yet to launch on Xbox.
Similarly, Final Fantasy 16 launched as a PS5 exclusive in June 2023, with its PC version launching only this month. It has yet to launch on Xbox. And finally, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launched in February this year as a PS5 exclusive. It has yet to be announced for other platforms.
Despite all this, no Final Fantasy for Astro Bot. Last month, Final Fantasy 16 producer and 14 director Naoki Yoshida said Square Enix is looking to double down on Xbox releases, after its focus on PlayStation exclusivity led to a financial dip.
“With Final Fantasy 14’s release on Xbox, [Microsoft Gaming CEO] Phil Spencer spent a lot of his time and a lot of effort and put in a lot of hard work into making it a reality,” Yoshida said. “So we would like to make the best of that and further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers moving forward.”
As for Astro Bot, its DLC features five new online speedrunning levels and 10 new bots to rescue, including Stellar Blade’s Eve and a Helldivers 2 Helldiver.
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.
Ahead of the holiday season, Walmart has dropped the price of the 2024 55″ LG Evo C4 4K OLED TV by nearly 50% off (if you go by LG’s retail price of $1999.99). Right now you can get it for $1069.00, which is easily the lowest price we’ve seen thus far for this particular size and model. The LG Evo C4 is an outstanding TV that has won top spots in several of our buying guides, including best 4K TV, best TV for gaming, and best TV for the PlayStation 5. This is an especially good buy if you picked up the new PS5 Pro, since the updated hardware will be able to run more games at a consistent 4K @ 120fps.
55″ LG Evo C4 4K OLED Smart TV: The Best PS5 TV
The C4 is the current generation 2024 model among LG’s highly vaunted C-series OLED TV lineup. It’s an incremental upgrade over the 2023 C3, with the most noticeable improvements being an upgraded processor, newer WebOS smart interface, support for DTS audio, and a higher 144Hz refresh rate. This is a true OLED TV, which is the best type of TV you can get right now. Compared to a traditional LED LCD TV, an OLED TV offers superior image quality, near-infinite blacks, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times. The C4 uses LG’s Evo panel, which offers higher brightness levels than traditional OLED TVs. Because of these advantages, the OLED TV excels at displaying 4K HDR content in all of its intended glory. Compared to other OLED TVs, LG has the most generations of updates and improvements so we’re keen to choose this brand over others.
The C4 also has all the features you’d want in a gaming TV. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports all capable of up to 144Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution. That’s great news for PS5 (and now PS5 Pro), Xbox Series X, and PC gamers, since several games can be played at frame rates of 120fps and beyond. The C4 also supports variable refresh rate (VRR) including NVIDIA G-SYNC and auto low latency mode (ALLM). When connected to a PC, it supports chroma 4:4:4 for better text legibility.
A particularly nice feature that isn’t advertised often is the surprisingly light weight of the C4. The 55″ TV weighs in at only 31.1 pounds without the stand. That’s because the rear cabinet housing is made of a composite fiber that’s lighter than the plastics most TVs use. It might not matter much in the long term, but this is a welcome advantage when you are first setting up your TV, especially if you plan on wall mounting.
Should You Buy Now or Wait for Black Friday?
Although this is an extremely good discount for one of our favorite gaming TVs, you may be wondering if you should wait until Black Friday to make a purchase. We can honestly say that it’s very possible Black Friday 2024 will have lower prices on the LG C4 TV in general, however we almost never see a 55″ LG OLED TV sell for under $1,000, even on older models. If you are looking for another size, waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals is probably the right call. But this discount makes this easily one of the best TV deals happening right now.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
