Category: IGN

With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on the horizon (October 20 of this year, if you still need to mark your calendars), there’s no better time than now to play (or replay) Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. And if you’re looking to purchase the games for your collection, we have very good news for PC players: you can pick up both for PC on Newegg at a discounted price right now.

By using the promo codes below at checkout, you can save 50% in total on each game for PC. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is then marked down to $29.99 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales goes down to just $24.99. Keep in mind that they do require a Steam account to activate them.

Get 50% Off Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PC

Both of these games are ones we absolutely loved, with both receiving 9s in our reviews for them. With scores like that, it’s no wonder we’re excited to see what Insomniac has in store next. And for those interested in picking up Spider-Man 2, preorders are now live for the highly-anticipated upcoming game. Not only is the Standard Edition up for preorder but there’s also a Digital Deluxe Edition and a Collector’s Edition, which run for $79.99 and $229.99, respectively.

While both Editions come with the same digital items – which include five unique suits for Peter, five unique suits for Miles, additional Photo Mode items, and 2 Skill Points – the Collector’s Edition also comes with a Steelbook case and a very large 19-inch statue. To learn more about these Editions, make sure to visit our Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 preorder page, where we have additional details on what preorder bonuses you get for ordering any Edition of the game early as well.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

CD Projekt has released another patch for Cyberpunk 2077 that addresses a ton of bugs on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC.

Outlined on the game’s website, patch 1.63 addresses several dozen issues still present in the game including bugs that stopped progression, text that appeared the wrong way in mirrors, misbehaving photo mode filters, and more.

The Xbox version of Cyberpunk 2077 gets specific changes of its own too. An issue that affected Xbox Series performance after playing for an extended period of time has now been addressed, and CD Projekt has changed the number of available save slots to 20 for manual saves and 10 for Point of No Return saves. The full patch notes can be seen below.

These changes come ahead of Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion, which is set to revamp a ton of features in the base game (alongside what will presumably be patch 1.7).

Vehicular combat, a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners inspired cyberpsychosis feature, and a clever nod to The Witcher are coming too, though at the cost of upping the game’s PC requirements.

Cyberpunk 2077 Version 1.63 Full Patch Notes:

Quests

• Fixed an issue where selecting a blue dialogue option while calling Mitch twice could cause the call to be permanently stuck on the screen.
• All Along the Watchtower – Fixed an issue where V gets flatlined after crossing the border.
• Chippin’ In – It is now possible to examine all of the clues on Ebunike before becoming detected.
• Gimme Danger – Fixed an issue where there were no objectives left in the journal.
• I Walk the Line – Fixed an issue that could cause V to randomly flatline during the quest.
• Lightning Breaks – Fixed an issue where Panam wasn’t present in front of the garage and spawned inside the motel instead.
• Machine Gun – Fixed an issue where the dialogue with Skippy wasn’t activated after performing 50 kills, and it wasn’t then possible to unequip Skippy.
• Never Fade Away – Fixed an issue where Rogue despawned from the couch in the Atlantis, blocking progress.
• Only Pain – Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to complete the “Defeat the cops” objective because the cops weren’t present at the intended location.
• Play It Safe – Fixed an issue where holograms and platforms in the parade disappeared after an Auto Save was loaded.
• Play It Safe – Fixed an issue where Takemura didn’t call to start the parade mission.
• Pyramid Song – Fixed an issue where Judy teleported underground after entering the church.
• Search and Destroy – Takemura will now move to his hiding spot instead of standing in the middle of the room during Arasaka’s attack.
• Sex on Wheels – Fixed an issue where the Quadra Turbo-R V-Tech spawned underground, blocking progress.
• Small Man, Big Mouth – Enemies and the van now spawn correctly.
• The Heist – Fixed an issue where Jackie wasn’t present in front of the Afterlife.
• With a Little Help from My Friends – Fixed an issue where the Nomads weren’t present at the train station.

Open World

• Fixed some instances where some gigs were stuck in the “Undiscovered” stage and didn’t start after approaching the area.
• Fixed an issue where regular subtitles appeared instead of overhead subtitles for some crowd NPCs in Rancho Coronado.
• Gig: Bloodsport – V will no longer be reflected standing backwards when looking in the mirror in the dojo bathroom.
• Gig: Last Login – Fixed an issue where it was possible to pick up the quest item before the quest was activated, breaking the flow of the mission.
• Gig: Going-away Party – Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to get in the car with Flavio.
• Gig: Guinea Pigs – All the security robots in the hotel now properly engage in combat.
• Gig: On a Tight Leash – Fixed an issue that could cause the gig to be stuck without an objective after completing it.
• Gig: Serial Suicide – Fixed an issue where the quest could reactivate again after completion and become stuck on the “Steal the CCTV footage” objective.
• Reported Crime: Blood in the Air – Fixed an issue where the quest was stuck on the “Search the crate” objective even after searching the crate.
• Reported Crime: Comrade Red – Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to search the stash.

UI

• Fixed an issue where, while transferring money or data, the UI showed the “Enemy hack in progress” text.
• Fixed an issue where devices could become unusable after opening the map.
• Fixed an issue where the FSR toggle wasn’t grayed out after restarting the game with Dynamic Resolution Scaling on.

Visual

• Fixed an issue where some surfaces had colour artifacts when Path Tracing was enabled.
• Fixed an issue where bright, colourful flashes appeared at the edges of certain objects when DLSS was enabled.

PC-specific

• Fixed a crash that occurred on launch when using Razer Chroma.
• Fixed an issue where Photo Mode screenshots could appear as empty files and brought them back to their original folder location.
• Improved performance of DLSS Frame Generation on AMD CPUs.

Console-specific

• Changed the number of available save slots on Xbox to 20 for manual saves and 10 for Point of No Return saves. Players who have a number of saves that exceeds the new save limit will need to delete some saves to be able to create new saves.
• Addressed an issue affecting performance on Xbox Series X|S after playing for an extended period of time.

Miscellaneous

• Photo Mode stickers and frames will now properly appear on screenshots.
• Padre will now recognize Corpo and Nomad V in the intro holocall.

REDmod

• Allowed deploying mods from a listing file.
• Updated command help texts.

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

Microsoft has announced the next wave of Xbox Game Pass games, taking subscribers to the end of June and into the early part of July.

Need for Speed Unbound races onto Game Pass on Xbox Series X and S, PC, and the cloud on June 22. Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play members get access to this Criterion-developed racer, which IGN awarded 7/10.

Also on June 22, The Bookwalker launches on Game Pass day-one across console and PC. In this narrative adventure you play a writer-turned-thief with the ability to dive into books.

Two games hit Game Pass on June 27: grim adventure Bramble: The Mountain King (console, PC, and cloud) and Dieselpunk adventure F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch (Xbox Series X and S, PC, and cloud).

On June 29, farming sim Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town launches on Game Pass across console and PC. Then, moving into early July, Game Pass gets two games: ‘90s-fuelled retro arcade adventure Arcade Paradise (console and PC) on July 3, and Sword and Fairy: Together Forever (console and PC) on July 5.

It’s worth noting the games leaving Game Pass on June 30:

• DJMax Respect V (cloud, console, and PC)
• Empire of Sin (cloud, console, and PC)
• Matchpoint – Tennis Championships (cloud, console, and PC)
• Olija (cloud, console, and PC)
• Omori (cloud, console, and PC)
• Road 96 (cloud, console, and PC)

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.

I remember happily collecting cows and raising a child in the now two-decade-old Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, but now I realize how tedious it was after playing the 2023 remake. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is about building a family as much as a farm, but both the farming and socializing fall short in comparison to modern farming sims. This could be a charming adventure with a literal lifetime of activities to do thanks to its aging process and speedy day-to-day gameplay. Developer Marvelous even added same-sex marriage and new bachelors to help spice up the dating pool. However, those additions don’t do enough to cancel out the bland backdrops, forgettable characters, and a few quirks that make it feel more dated than it should.

Your story, as so many of these do, starts with taking over your father’s farm in Forgotten Valley – however, this adventure quickly becomes about more than just planting crops. A Wonderful Life makes it clear early on that your relationships with the local townsfolk are the goalposts that matter rather than how much cash you’ve invested into your barn. Of course, improving your farming and relationships go hand in hand, but farming goals don’t have a time limit. Meanwhile your playthrough will actually end abruptly if you don’t manage to get married within the first year – a strange choice that forces you to interact with romantic interests rather than letting those connections come naturally.

However, one of A Wonderful Life’s highlights is its aging system, which encourages newlyweds to start raising a child into a functioning adult with their own hopes and dreams. The town, which will start to feel like its own character after a season or two, also changes in interesting ways as the years pass over six different “life chapters.” Townsfolk will age over time, new furniture and upgrades will become available, the dig site will expand, and other changes will slightly affect gameplay.

That’s assuming you can stay invested for that long, though; A Wonderful Life can last you 30 years of in-game time if you play until the end, so it appears to lean on the hope you will feel invested enough in raising your child to build your farm up over those years. Each day takes about 25 minutes to play if you stay up until late evening, and since there are four seasons with 10 days each, it takes about 15 to 20 hours to finish a single year. While I did enjoy my first full year, it didn’t intrigue me enough to want to make it all the way into old age.

It’d be more exciting to nurture relationships if the characters had interesting backstories to invest in, but they just don’t. A Wonderful Life doesn’t put enough detail into relatable inner conflicts or complicated pasts for me to connect with. The bachelors and bachelorettes here bond with you in short, uninteresting cutscenes that try way too hard to ship you together. Many of the conversations I had with potential love interests felt surface-level, enough that it was a drag for me to get to know them in that first year. Most of the dialogue feels like small talk that you would have with the cashier at a coffee shop rather than neighborly banter. I don’t need another person to ask me about the weather or start explaining their life story unprompted.

To its credit, the dialogue sometimes changes contextually depending on your location. The manager of the neighboring farm once explained why she was helping the inn owners with their crops when I spoke to her at their garden in the middle of town. A couple of villagers even commented on the milky soup they bought from my shop. One of the bachelors also told me that my crops tasted terrible after I gave him an orange as a gift (thanks, Matt). That’s more than a lot of farm sim residents can manage, and it made them seem a little more aware of the world around them.

The townsfolk also mix up their dialogue through the seasons and growing affection levels, and A Wonderful Life’s commitment to being a “living” game helped carry me through its otherwise repetitive structure . This inspired me to investigate if any of the gifts I gave them would lead to an amusing conversation. Sometimes, you want the aloof farmhand to tell you all your crops taste terrible so that you can feel joy when he finally says one of them tastes good. Or maybe you want to play until at least autumn to witness the grouchy girl at the inn say she actually enjoys the weather for once.

A Wonderful Life does a good job streamlining many of the tedious bits from the original game with item stacking, the ability to sell more than one item at a time to the peddler, and a more straightforward way to upgrade tools. Its updated graphics brighten and smooth the grittier texture of the original game into something that feels more cutesy, too, and it offers more customization options so that the protagonist feels more like you. You can choose from a variety of skin, hair, and eye colors, specify your gender, and even buy seasonal outfits that I enjoyed changing between to shake things up.

These quality of life changes make it easier to play than the original. However, it frequently pushes you to learn through trial and error and read Takakura’s Notes, the text tutorials that teach you everything from how often you should water crops to where you can buy animals. Things that I took for granted in other farming games, like how much food cows need and where to sell items, are hidden in the pages of these otherwise easy-to-miss notes. It might’ve been wiser to have them pop up during relevant moments of gameplay instead of relying on me finding them by chance.

I stumbled through a few hiccups even after finding those notes, like not realizing that the soil was empty because of lingering green leaves left on the ground after harvest, or that my potatoes wouldn’t grow fast enough to survive the spring in poorer-quality soil. Takakura’s Notes, which are lengthy enough to cover most topics, didn’t prepare me for that. A Wonderful Life does its best to weave these tidbits of information into random dialogues, but even then, you might mess a few things up because of preconceived notions of how farming sims work. That does at least mean it might be less of a hassle for people new to farming sims to understand because they’ll have to learn from scratch, but these things felt unintuitive as a fan of the genre.

I eventually hit my stride about a season or so in, when I’d learned more about the crops and animals. An average day consists of watering crops, milking cows, collecting eggs, picking flowers off the ground, and generally finding the best way to monetize everything. Unfortunately, the cash creeps in slower than your average farming sim because of how the shipping box limits what you can sell. You can only sell items that can be produced on your farm like milk, eggs, and crops, even if they come from other sources. That means no selling flowers, fish, or failed dishes. You need to wait for Van, the traveling vendor, to sell the rest of your junk. You could also sell it yourself in the middle of town, but that requires standing in the middle of the street for hours at a time when you could be doing something more productive like fishing or digging up fossils from the archaeological site.

Eventually I revised my strategy to match A Wonderful Life’s gameplay. I hung onto every item I wanted to sell until Van came to town, so that I could get rid of everything in bulk for an immediate payout. I learned to only sell my items at my own stand if I saw a person serendipitously crossing the walkway just as I peeked at the street, so I didn’t need to stand there waiting for hours until a person passed by. Still, these workarounds felt tedious because of how long it took to save money for farm upgrades. It took me nearly a full season (10 days) before I earned enough money to buy one of the fancy new cows.

That dragging progression is a shame, considering the speedier clock (by comparison, days in something like Rune Factory 5 can last over an hour) and the broad catalog of animals you have access to early on. It works in the context of A Wonderful Life’s 30-year arc, but it would be much more rewarding to play if you could upgrade your farm more quickly.

For what it’s worth, A Wonderful Life’s simplicity suits it. There isn’t a complicated mining, crafting, or combat system to worry about leveling up alongside your marriage requirements. It feels manageable and relaxing to wrap up your days quickly without feeling like you’re missing anything or are so overwhelmed that you can’t initially focus on settling down with a partner in the first year. But that does also mean there’s a lot less going on than someone who has only ever played a game like Stardew Valley might expect.

Final Fantasy 16 may not be available yet but fans who’ve played its two-hour demo have latched on to one new feature in particular: Active Time Lore.

This lets players pause the game at any moment, whether they’re in the midst of normal gameplay, combat, or cutscenes, to see what is essentially a mind map of relevant lore.

“Active Time Lore is the best implementation of an in-game journal I’ve seen in an action-adventure title,” said Reddit user beholdthebean. “It is such a small thing but really made a difference in guiding me through the game’s lore without being too clunky and overwhelming.”

Games typically build up what’s more like an encyoclopaedia of background information as players progress through, leaving those who aren’t checking it consistently with an often overwhelming amount of journal entries to catch up on.

Active Time Lore, however, “provides only the bits that are relevant to and concurrent with the in-game scenery and even cutscenes, meaning I can catch up quick and learn the context of certain information or dialogue in a pinch,” added beholdthebean.

Duke_Silver1987 agreed: “Not many games these days try to implement features that should be included in every game,” they said. “However, Active Time Lore should be industry standard from here on out.

“For someone who loves lore but does switch off from time to time, this feature has been amazing. Stopping a cutscene to get some lore on a side character really adds some depth. Better yet, the text changes on the fly when the story changes.”

That seems to be the intention behind Active Time Lore: it lets players catch up on which of the dozen handsome, spikey-haired characters they’re currently talking to and why it matters.

Final Fantasy 16 launches on June 22 but Square Enix has warned spoilers may have already leaked online due to the “illegitimate acquisition” of physical copies. Fans looking to spoil the first couple of hours themselves can jump into the aforementioned demo though, with progress carrying over to the main game.

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

Square Enix quietly updated the Final Fantasy racing game Chocobo GP a few days ago and it now allows players to unlock all in-game items without spending any money as the game no longer features any microtransactions.

Spotted by Nintendeal, the game’s eShop listing was updated to say “Release date: June 15, 2023.” There were two versions of the game – its free-to-play Chocobo GP Lite and Chocobo GP – and both of them were filled with microtransactions, despite the latter being priced at $50.

Square Enix re-released Chocobo GP on June 15 — it now includes all unlockables in-game and no longer has microtransactions https://t.co/w6P55n6S4v

If you previously played Chocobo GP Lite, you can purchase the upgrade to transfer your save: https://t.co/vgyObWutJr pic.twitter.com/2HZ9bzhXxK

— Nintendeal (@Nintendeal) June 19, 2023

While it seems like the game has been free of microtransactions for a while, this new version makes all of the timed-exclusive content readily available to unlock, including new vehicle colors that were tied to certain seasons. Players can now also simply grind to unlock characters and costumes.

On the eShop, the new download is actually just the Chocobo GP Lite version with an upgrade to receive the full version. Those who already downloaded Lite should just purchase the “upgrade to the full game” DLC instead.

Back in May, Square Enix announced that it would be discontinuing Chocobo GP Lite in all regions on June 1. The Mythril currency would lose its value on May 31, but those who already downloaded the game could still continue playing as well as upgrade to the full version.

While it’s exciting that players turned off by the microtransactions and free-to-play mechanics of Chocobo GP may now have a reason to check out the game, Square Enix did announce back in December 2022 that there will be “no further large scale updates (e.g. new characters or new maps) to the game after the Season 5 update on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.”

That being said, there is still a lot of content in the game and may be worth a look for those who need a little more Final Fantasy in their lives before Final Fantasy 16 arrives.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s map size won’t be anywhere near as big as Valhalla’s or Odyssey’s, instead coming in closer to Unity’s Paris or Revelations’ Constantinople.

Speaking to Easy Allies, a Ubisoft spokesperson explained that this year’s Assassin’s Creed will not just be revisiting its stealth origins, but also returning to the series’ roots in terms of map size. Mirage’s Baghdad will be a far cry from the sprawling worlds available in recent entries.

“They compared it specifically to Constantinople in Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Paris in Assassin’s Creed Unity,” said Easy Allies’ Michael Huber.

For those unfamiliar, Assassin’s Creed switched to a more RPG-esque model in 2017’s Origins that continued into Odyssey and Valhalla. With that switch came much, much larger open worlds. But just as Mirage looks to return to the stealth-first approach of early entries, it seems as if it will also deliver a much smaller and densely packed map.

Also unlike the recent trilogy, where players could dual wield axes while leading a raid on very-much suspecting adversaries, combat will be a last resort in Mirage.

The game was fully revealed at Ubisoft Forward 2022 following a series of leaks and will put players in the shoes of assassin Basim Ibn Ishaq. Set in the city of Baghdad 20 years before the events of Valhalla, Mirage will be available on October 12 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, and PC.

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

When you think of board games, you might think of dusty old standbys like Monopoly and Clue. But board games have exploded in recent decades, producing incredible tabletop experiences that offer as much depth, strategy, co-op, and competition as you’re willing to try. One thing that holds lots of people back from amassing a huge board game collection is the price. Some of these games can cost upwards of $100 at MSRP. Thankfully, many of the best and most popular board and card games are cheaper than that. Better yet, they’re often on sale.

TL;DR – The Best Board Game Deals

Below, we’re tracking all the best deals on board games, card games, dice games, and everything in between. So whether you’re looking to play solo, with the family, or at a party, we have you covered. Let’s take a look at what board games are on sale right now.

Board Game Deals

When Is the Best Time to Find Board Game Deals?

Board games go on sale at sites like Amazon, Target, Walmart, and even GameStop fairly regularly — you can generally find special discounts every month or two. In addition, they absolutely get big discounts during major sale events like Amazon’s Prime Day and Black Friday.

While Prime Day is primarily an Amazon shopping holiday, other retailers always put on competing sales events at the same time. Those are great times to look for board game deals.

As for Black Friday, it’s not just a one-day event: you can often find deals on board games the whole week of Black Friday, as well as on Cyber Monday and throughout that whole following week. Keep in mind that stock runs out (particularly at Amazon), so if you see a good price on a board game you want during one of these major sale events, grab it before it’s gone.

How to Know if it’s Really a Good Board Game Deal

At online board game retailers like Amazon and Walmart, prices are always in flux, to say the least. Many of the board games in the board game section will be discounted to some degree from their MSRP. But there are a few ways to know when a board game is on sale for a notable discount.

For one, you can check Amazon’s daily deals page, where you’ll occasionally find an actual sale on various board games. Sometimes these are from one company, sometimes they’re on the whole category of board games. Target also periodically runs sales on board games, so check their deal page, too.

If you’re looking at a board game and are wondering if the sale price is good, copy the URL and paste it into the search field at camelcamelcamel. That’s an Amazon price tracker that shows you price history. Better yet, it works for any item, not just board games.

Finally, you can follow IGN Deals on Twitter, where we’ll always tweet any notable board game deals we come across.

How Do You Know if a Board Game Is Any Good?

IGN reviews board games fairly regularly, so you can always search to see if we’ve reviewed a game you’re considering picking up. Other websites do, too. We also have a whole lot of board game roundups, ranging from the best classic board games and the best cooperative board games to the best horror board games.

Outside of IGN, the best board game resource around (for my money) is Board Game Geek. It maintains a database of every board and card game you’d want to know about, with all kinds of news, stats, and user reviews all gathered together in one place.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed or on Mastodon @chrislreed.

Final Fantasy 16 will join basically every other game in having a day one patch, despite Square Enix previously suggesting it wouldn’t.

As reported by MP1ST, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed the game will have a roughly 300 megabyte update upon release during a pre-launch live stream.

This comes in contrary to comments from director Hiroshi Takai, who said in May that the developer wasn’t planning to release a day one update. Speaking to Game Informer, Takai said this is because the team is confident in its final built of Final Fantasy 16 and that it wanted to ensure the game could be accessed without an internet connection.

Yoshida and the development team apologised for including a day one patch after all but made clear it isn’t a mandatory download, that the game is still completely playable without an internet connection, and that it will be included in the pre-load for digital copies.

The update is relatively minor, of course, coming in at almost nothing compared to some other recent examples. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, another single player game, required a several dozen gigabyte day one update and couldn’t be played in any form without an internet connection.

Final Fantasy 16’s update will fix some minor text errors, optimise performance in several places, and fix back-end bugs that stopped progression or caused crashing in very specific circumstances.

The game launches on June 22 but Square Enix has warned that spoilers may have already leaked online due to the “illegitimate acquisition” of physical copies. Fans looking to spoil themselves can jump into a playable prologue, however, with progress from the demo carrying over to the main game.

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

Whether it’s id Software’s iconic rendition of Castle Wolfenstein or MachineGames’ modern reinvention of the series, the Wolfenstein franchise has long been one of gaming’s most influential shooters. The series has cemented itself a defining action staple that helped forge the FPS genre as we know it today.

Its world and story have evolved dramatically over the years too. From battling “Mecha-Hitler” in the dungeons of Wolfenstein 3D to holding off hordes of zombified mutants in Return to Castle Wolfenstein, the franchise has strayed far from its humble beginnings as a World War 2 stealth-action game, veering into high-concept sci-fi and even the occult. For those wondering how each entry in the series fits together, we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ll list all of the Wolfenstein entries in chronological order, so newcomers won’t miss a single piece of BJ Blazkowicz’s story.

Jump to:

• Muse Software Timeline
• The 3D Timeline
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein Timeline
• MachineGames Timeline
• Wolfenstein Release Order

How Many Wolfenstein Games Are There?

There are a total of 14 Wolfenstein games: 5 on home consoles, 7 on PC, 1 on VR platforms and 1 on mobile devices. There has yet to be an announcement about any more upcoming games in the series.

Wolfenstein Games in Chronological Order

Before we get started, it’s worth noting Wolfenstein is widely considered to be spread across four different timelines. Each time the series was rebooted, the continuity was changed. Although some events do cross between timelines, the stories of each iteration conflict so often that many consider them to take place in separate universes.

The only game that appears to sit outside of these timelines is Wolfenstein RPG, which released on mobile devices back in 2008. Offering a light-hearted take on BJ Blazkowicz’s adventures, this more comical reimagining of Return to Castle Wolfenstein seemingly stands on its own.

The Muse Software Timeline

Below, we’ll list all the games in the Muse Software Wolfenstein timeline. This chronicles the first two games in the series, which were top-down stealth action games developed by Muse Software. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Castle Wolfenstein

The first entry in the Wolfenstein franchise, Castle Wolfenstein follows a nameless spy captured by the Nazis during the Second World War. Trapped in the dungeons of Castle Wolfenstein, they meet a dying prisoner that gives them a pistol and some grenades, providing all they need to stage a daring escape.

Castle Wolfenstein’s central premise revolves around the player amassing several key items needed to break out of the titular castle. A secondary objective was to find the Nazis’ secret battle plans, which would allow them to access higher difficulties. As the premise suggests, Castle Wolfenstein ends with the spy escaping the castle.

2. Beyond Castle Wolfenstein

Following on from the previous game, the Beyond Castle Wolfenstein plot follows the nameless spy from Castle Wolfenstein as they put together a plan to assassinate Hitler while he delivers a speech to his most trusted officers in a hidden bunker.

The spy has to track down a bomb within the bunker and use it to kill Hitler, defeating, bribing and tricking the Nazi soldiers guarding the base to complete their mission.

The 3D Timeline

Below, we’ll list all the games in id Software’s 3D timeline. This chronicles the first set of games developed by id Software after they took over the series and rebooted it as a first-person shooter. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny

An expansion released for Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny acts as a prequel to the base game, following BJ Blazkowicz as he attempts to stop Hitler and the Nazis from acquiring the titular Spear of Destiny.

The journey takes him to Castle Nuremberg, where he’s forced to battle mutants, Nazi officers and even demons in his efforts to reclaim the spear. The story concludes with BJ escaping the castle.

2. Wolfenstein 3D: Original Encounter

A second expansion released for Wolfenstein 3D, Original Encounter’s placement on the timeline is never fully clarified, although is widely believed to fall somewhere between Spear of Destiny and Wolfenstein 3D.

The expansion chronicles Blazkowicz’s first run-in with Hitler, as well as battles against several other Wolfenstein villains, including Hans Grosse and the Death Knight.

3. Wolfenstein 3D

• See it on Steam

The first Wolfenstein game developed by id Software, Wolfenstein 3D follows BJ Blazkowicz as he continues his efforts to take down the Nazis. The story takes place over six episodes, with each seeing Blazkowicz head to a new location with a unique objective.

The first three episodes surround Blazkowicz’s efforts to escape confinement in Castle Wolfenstein, end the mysterious Operation Eisenfaust and infiltrate Hitler’s bunker to assassinate him. All three episodes take place at the end of the 3D timeline, focusing on Blazkowicz’s attempt to end the war once and for all.

The second set of episodes act as a prequel. Known as Nocturnal Missions, the episodes see Blazkowicz hunting down a high-ranking Nazi official named General Fettgesicht, who is developing powerful chemical weapons to use against the Nazis’ enemies.

The Return to Castle Wolfenstein Timeline

Below, we’ll list all the games in id Software’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein timeline. This chronicles the second set of games developed by id Software after the studio rebooted the series in the early 2000s. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Return to Castle Wolfenstein

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The beginning of id Software’s rebooted take on Wolfenstein, Return to Castle Wolfenstein follows BJ Blazkowicz on a journey to thwart a mysterious plan devised by a team of occult Nazi specialists known as the German SS Paranormal Division.

Along the way, Blazkowicz learns of an ancient ritual that can resurrect the dead, with the Nazis hoping to use it for their gain. To stop the plan, BJ must journey across the country, battling soldiers and monsters while exploring Castle Wolfenstein and various other Nazi-occupied locations.

During the events of the game, BJ meets a Nazi scientist known as Deathshead, who he learns is the mastermind behind many of the group’s most sinister plans. By the end of the game, Deathshead escapes BJ’s clutches and lives to fight another day, cementing himself as one of the core villains of the Wolfenstein franchise going forward.

2. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

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Initially conceived as a multiplayer expansion to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory later became a full-fledged online spin-off to the series. It sees players take on the role of an Allies or Axis soldier as they battle against each other in all-out warfare.

The game has no real story implications, although it was spawned from Return to Castle Wolfenstein and appears to take place in the same universe.

3. Wolfenstein (2009)

Set years after Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein (2009) sees BJ Blazkowicz undertake a new mission, this time heading to the fictional German city of Isenstadt.

After discovering a mysterious medallion with ethereal powers, Blazkowicz learns that the necklace is of grave importance to the Nazis, who have secret plans to use a rare resource known as Nachtsonne to unlock its true powers. Nachtsonne can only be mined in Isenstadt, forcing BJ to head to the town and figure out what his enemies are up to.

Along the way, the Nazis’ plans grow clearer, as Blazkowicz learns about the medallion’s relationship with a supernatural barrier between worlds known as The Veil. To make matters worse, he realises that General Deathshead will stop at nothing to access whatever’s beyond the Veil, causing the two to face off once more.

The MachineGames’ Timeline

Below, we’ll list all the entries in the MachineGames reboot timeline. This chronicles every game developed by MachineGames and is the current canon of the series.

It’s worth noting that the continuity of MachineGames’ Wolfenstein universe is confusing, with a lot of its lore taking bits and pieces from the other timelines leading up to this point. Initially, the reboot appears to be a continuation of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein timeline, featuring many of the same characters and direct references to events from that universe.

However, other parts of its story directly contradict that of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein (2009). Considering Wolfenstein: Old Blood is a reimagining of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein storyline with several tweaks and changes, it’s widely accepted that the latest reboot takes place in a separate continuity.

These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

• See it on Steam

A standalone expansion to New Order that takes place months prior to its story, Old Blood is essentially a reimagining of the events of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It sees BJ and his ally, Richard Wesley, infiltrate Castle Wolfenstein to learn the location of Deathshead’s compound.

Along the way, BJ stumbles into something far stranger, learning that the leader of the SS Paranormal division, Helga Von Shabbs, is hoping to infiltrate the nearby crypt of King Otto in search of a precious artefact. It’s not long before Blazkowicz is dragged into the conflict, pursuing Shabbs before she can unleash the paranormal secrets contained within the crypt to aid the Nazis’ attempts to take over the world.

The ending of the story directly sets up the events of Wolfenstein: The New Order, with BJ learning the location of Deathshead’s compound and vowing to stop him.

2. Wolfenstein: The New Order

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Wolfenstein: The New Order opens with BJ Blazkowicz assaulting Deathshead’s compound during the final days of the Second World War as our hero loses dramatically after he’s captured by the sadistic Nazi scientist. Tortured and forced to watch an ally die, BJ escapes but at a heavy cost, falling into a coma after a stray piece of shrapnel collides with the back of his skull.

Fourteen years later, Blazkowicz wakes up in a Polish asylum to discover that his worst fears have come true. The Nazis won the war, took over the world and crushed any resistance that opposed them. Escaping with the help of his former nurse, Anya, BJ travels to Berlin and reunites with his former friends, vowing to bring down the Nazis and save the world.

The ensuing story sees Blazkowicz become a symbol of the resistance, taking the fight to Deathshead and his two highest-ranking officers: Frau Engel and Hans Winkle. The story ends with BJ fighting for his life after suffering life-threatening wounds while infiltrating Deathshead’s compound.

Read our review of Wolfenstein: The New Order

3. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

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Picking up five months later, The New Colossus begins as BJ Blazkowicz wakes from another coma, finding himself on the Uboat stolen by the resistance during the explosive finale of New Order. Before he can get reacquainted with his friends, the boat is attacked by Nazis, with BJ learning that a vengeful Frau Engel has filled the void left by the now-deceased Deathshead.

After Engel kills one of his closest allies, BJ and the resistance escape with the help of Engel’s daughter, Sigrun, although our protagonist is in rough shape. Still feeling the lasting effects of his battle with Deathshead, BJ realises that he’s in a race against time, with his deteriorating body bound to eventually fail him.

This cues an adventure to stop Frau Engel, with BJ heading to New York, Texas, Washington DC and more as he attempts to build a resistance to fight back against the Nazi regime.

Read our review of Wolfenstein 2: The New Colussus.

4. Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot

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Twenty years after Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and a week before the events of Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot marks the franchise’s first venture into the VR space. It follows a Nazi-built combat robot called Cyberpilot, which fights for the French resistance after being reprogrammed by Maria Laurent.

The robot’s abilities allow it to hack into and control other machines, meaning it can possess Panzerhunds, drones, Zitadelles and other Nazi technology. The short experience mostly sets up the events of Youngblood, diving deeper into the French resistance’s battle with the Nazis.

5. Wolfenstein: Youngblood

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Set one week after Cyberpilot, Wolfenstein: Youngblood follows BJ Blazkowicz and Anya’s twin daughters: Jessica and Zofia. Taking place in the 80s after most of the world has managed to free itself from Nazi control, it follows the pair searching for their father after he disappears while on a mission in France.

The pair embark on a perilous journey, connecting with the local French resistance and helping them fight back against the Nazis. Along the way, they learn that BJ infiltrated a hidden facility known as Lab X. Hellbent on saving their father, the twins aid the resistance while attempting to track down the lab and discover BJ’s location.

Read our review of Wolfenstein: Young Blood.

How to Play the Wolfenstein Games by Release Date

• Castle Wolfenstein (1981)
• Beyond Castle Wolfenstein (1984)
• Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
• Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny (1992)
• Wolfenstein 3D: Original Encounter (1992)
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001)
• Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (2003)
• Wolfenstein RPG (2008)
• Wolfenstein (2009)
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014)
• Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (2016)
• Wolfenstein: The New Colossus (2017)
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019)
• Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot (2019)

What’s Next for Wolfenstein?

MachineGames has yet to announce what’s next for the Wolfenstein franchise, although it seems likely that the team will eventually work on a sequel. Back in 2018, Pete Hines was very enthusiastic about a potential follow-up, telling GameCentral: “Absolutely we’re making a Wolfenstein III.”

However, things have changed slightly for the studio in the years since, with MachineGames announcing that it’s currently working on an Indiana Jones game. With New Colossus and Youngblood leaving a lot of space for a continuation of the story, it seems fans will have to hold on a little longer to see if the narrative threads are picked up in a sequel.