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Diablo 4: 7 Things We’d Like to See Return

The Diablo 4 open beta period has ended, and players were given a taste of what they can expect in the full release of the game. While Blizzard has been sharing more information about certain systems through periodic developer livestreams and videos, not much has been revealed about the end-game, if certain game modes will be making a return, or even whether certain features from previous games will return to help add more depth to general gameplay and character builds.

Here are some things we would like to see potentially make a return in Diablo 4.

Adventure Mode

Adventure Mode was an optional game mode available in Diablo 3. This mode allowed players to skip the story and dive right into the action and tackle different quests set in the different locales available to the game’s main campaign. Objectives included defeating major story bosses, killing a set amount of enemies in a specific dungeon, opening curses chests, and more. Completing the objectives would net players experience, gold, and special chests when clearing all designated quests in an area.

These chests would drop recipes for Legendary gear and Set pieces, which incentivized tackling these objectives before heading into other end-game content like Nephalem Rifts. While engrossing, not everyone is interested in the narrative the Diablo games have provided for well over a decade, and an Adventure Mode is more than appealing for those that simply just want to play the game and not be barred by story progression.

Given Diablo 4’s pivot to being more like an MMO, perhaps Blizzard will hand out story skips through its battle pass or other avenues if Adventure Mode doesn’t make a return.

Return of the Crusader or Paladin

While offering a decent roster of playable classes with the Rogue, Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, and Sorcerer available to choose from, Diablo 4 is sorely missing the Crusader or Paladin. Unlike the Barbarian or Druid, the Crusader and Paladin fill a unique niche as a warrior-type class that utilizes a range of holy magic, capable of tanking absurd amounts of damage while also providing valuable buffs to party members.

While this may sound similar to what the Druid can offer, and to some extent, the Barbarian, both the Crusader and Paladin were more or less powerhouses in this regard to being one of the tankiest classes available in the Diablo series as whole, while still capable of doing large amounts of damage. Overall, it was a nice hybrid that never felt weak if you chose to favor one type of build over the other. It would also add more variety in general in terms of what more melee-focused classes could offer, providing a nice middle ground between a solid DPS and a tank.

Rifts and Greater Rifts

Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts were introduced in Diablo 3 as content that appeared in its Reaper of Souls expansion. These seemingly endless procedural dungeons may not have the same attention to detail as the ones in Diablo 4, but were a great source of end-game content. Rifts allowed players to farm Legendary items and Set pieces consistently, with Greater Rifts more or less a “high risk, high reward” version of the standard Nephalem Rifts.

The core gameplay loop of the Rifts features players fighting waves of enemies in order to spawn a “super boss” of sorts, that when defeated would reward players with gear and unique gems for their gear and end-game builds. While we don’t know what Diablo 4’s end game looks like right now, Nephalem Rifts were a great way to not only obtain highly coveted Set pieces and Legendaries but allowed players to test out builds against hordes of enemies, which in turn would shape the meta for seasonal content.

Runes

As introduced in Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction, runes are a unique type of socketable item that are different from gems. While gems allow for passive upgrades to stats such as increased barrier potency or damage to Elite enemies, runes could change entire builds.

By combining runes on pieces of armor to create rune words, players could add more than one incremental stat change. These words would effectively generate Legendary passives onto items such as creating a Nova when killing an enemy or even generating Charged Bolts or Frozen Orbs when striking. While this could create passive skill bloat given Diablo 4’s Aspects effectively serve this function, seeing runes and rune words come back would be interesting — mostly because it would give players an even greater way to customize their builds to create something wholly unique.

Free Respecing

While not the most well-regarded of the Diablo games, Diablo 3 allowed players to change their builds at a whim and for no cost. Diablo 4 will require players to spend gold in order to change their skills and accompanying passives. This didn’t cost an obscene amount during the open beta period, but it can quickly add up. Especially since removing and applying Aspects to weapons and armor can also get pretty expensive.

Forcing players to spend gold to respec feels like a way to keep the grind going, but could be counterintuitive to finding new builds. And Potentially leaving experimentation to players who have massive quantities of gold could alienate more casual players. While it seems like Blizzard has made up its mind regarding whether or not this feature will come at no cost, it would be interesting to see them potentially walk back on this in the future if reception is less than favorable.

Pets and Companions

Pets in Diablo 3 were unobtrusive, if not immersion-breaking, companions that would run out and collect gold for you. This meant you wouldn’t need to run your character over or around gold in order to pick it up. It’s more or less a modern convenience that isn’t required for the overall game experience but is something of a smaller quality-of-life feature that was surprisingly missing in the Diablo 4 beta.

Since Diablo 2, players could recruit NPC companions to join them as they explored the world of Sanctuary. Diablo 3 allowed players to pick from a total of three different companions — the Templar, Enchantress, and Scoundrel — that you could choose to build in a few different ways depending on what skills you picked for them and what gear you equipped them with. Since Diablo 4 is leaning towards a more open world and MMO-lite experience, it wouldn’t be surprising if companions didn’t make a comeback.

The Return of the Angiris Council

With Diablo 2’s Andariel returning in Diablo 4, it isn’t out of the question that major characters from previous Diablo games could potentially make a return — either as bosses or major characters in the narrative. The conflict between Inarius and Lilith could see members of the Angiris Council return, which would lead to more elaboration on the leaders of the High Heavens. While players were given a taste of these stories in Diablo 3 (where Lilith and Inarus’ relationship and subsequent creation of Sanctuary were very briefly elaborated on) and its expansion Reaper of Souls, Diablo 4 has the chance to elaborate on the inner workings of the council itself. And maybe even allow characters like Imperius or other members of the council to make an appearance after the open-ended nature of how that particular narrative wrapped up. Either way, it would be great to see more lore about the High Heavens appear in Diablo 4, especially since one of the game’s key figures used to reside there.

These are just a few things we’d like to see make a return in Diablo 4 after our extensive time in the open beta period. Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see come back in Diablo 4.

Performing odd jobs around all sectors of the industry ranging from translation, narrative design, and consultation, Kazuma spends his time playing a variety of games ranging from farming simulators to classic CRPGs. In his spare time he speedruns games from the Resident Evil series as a VTuber on his Twitch channel, and raids with friends in Final Fantasy XIV and Lost Ark. You can find him on Twitter at @JusticeKazzy_.

Redfall: Exclusive New Details on Jacob’s Backstory and Abilities | IGN First

Each of the characters starring in Arkane Studio’s Redfall has a unique set of talents, whether they were invented, came with the job, or in Jacob’s case, were bestowed mysteriously by a vampire. In the exclusive character trailer above we learn more about Jacob’s background and how he gained his supernatural powers.

Jacob is an experienced sniper and uses his new abilities in combination with the skills he had prior to arriving at Redfall in his kit. Check out what he’s got available to him to fight off former co-workers and vampires below:

  • Power 1: Raven – Command your raven to fly forward and mark enemies.
  • Power 2: Cloak – Activate Jacob’s stolen Bellwether Cloak to hide from enemies.
  • Ultimate Ability: Heartstopper – Summon a ghostly rifle. Use sights to lock onto enemies, then fire to deal heavy damage.

Note that while Jacob doesn’t have an explicit “movement” ability like Layla’s Lift, Jacob’s Cloak grants him bonus move speed, and of course, free movement around enemies.

Arkane shared these additional exclusive deatails about Jacob’s background and interests:

“Growing up in a poverty-stricken coal mining community and bouncing from one foster home to the next, Jacob Boyer learned early on to stay hidden to avoid getting hurt. When a military recruiter came to his high school, Jacob enlisted as soon as he was able. Following Infantry tours in Afghanistan and Syria, he was accepted into a covert Special Forces unit, undertaking a series of recon and combat assignments. After being discharged, he joined Bellwether, a private military company (or “PMC”) known for involving themselves in global conflicts.

For years he was sent into dangerous situations acting in the interests of international corporations and government agencies. Hired by an unknown, Aevum Therapeutics-affiliated client, Jacob and his unit were sent to Redfall with orders known only to the top brass. When he was separated from his fellow operators, Jacob was captured by the vampire god Miss Whisper and had a psychic raven and strange eye forced on him for an unknown purpose.

Over the course of his time in foster care in Ashton, West Virginia, Jacob helped take care of many cats and grew quite fond of them. While he grew up hunting, he never felt enthusiastic about it. In almost all situations, he’d rather spend time with cats than shoot wild animals. His raven being a potential exception to that rule, though he tolerates him more than hates him.

He has a knack for acoustic guitar, a fondness for mystery novels, and a passion for poetry–particularly Emily Dickinson. All facts he does not enjoy sharing with strangers. On the other side, he hates caves, being on camera, and people who hurt cats. That last one is a particularly burning hatred.”

The Redfall IGN First content continues throughout the month of April with additional exclusive character details, gameplay, and more. Check out our first character profile on Layla to learn more about her abilities and background.

Miranda Sanchez is the executive editor of guides at IGN and a member of Podcast Unlocked. She’s a big fan of stationery and fountain pens. You can sometimes find her on Twitter.

Coruscant Is a Playable Planet in Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, but It May Not Be Open World

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen has revealed Coruscant to be one of the planets featured in the sequel, though it may not be a fully explorable open world area.

Sharing the news at Star Wars Celebration, not long before he released the final gameplay trailer for Jedi: Survivor, Asmussen confirmed Coruscant was in the game.

“We’re taking our Metroidvania approach a step further and, just to talk about another planet, we’re going to have Coruscant as well,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot of speculation on that, and [I’m] just confirming it here.”

Though Asmussen did talk about Coruscant in a conversation about the larger explorable areas included in Jedi: Survivor, EA’s Star Wars communications lead Andy McNamara seemed to pull back expectations a bit on Twitter.

“To be clear, Stig never claimed Coruscant was a ‘freely explorable open world’ [as one Twitter account claimed]. He only confirmed it as one of the destinations in the game,” McNamara said. “Survivor has amazing planets to explore and our biggest environments to date, but wanted to be clear on what was said.”

It’s therefore unclear how much Coruscant will feature in Jedi: Survivor. It could be as open a world or area as the other locations, or it may just be featured as part of one particular story mission, much like the final area of Jedi: Fallen Order.

Fans don’t have too long until they find out though as the game launches on April 28 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. It’s latest trailer showed battles against Stormtroopers, Destroyer Droids from the prequel trilogy, and even a Rancor, and developer Respawn Entertainment promise just as much story to match the action.

In our preview of the game, IGN said: Our “main takeaway from roughly five hours with the upcoming sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is that it felt like [we were] systematically crossing off the issues I had with Fallen Order.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Gets Final Gameplay Trailer Ahead of Launch Later This Month

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor has received its final trailer ahead of its launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC later this month.

Showing of a ton of gameplay footage alongside some new story cutscenes, set against an ominous yet hopeful monologue, the trailer was released during Star Wars Celebration 2023.

Cal Kestis is the main focus, and we see gameplay of him in a bunch of different fights. These include against Stormtroopers, Destroyer Droids from the prequel trilogy, and even a Rancor. We also see one gnarly scene where Cal throws a Scout trooper from a speeder straight into a TIE fighter.

Fans will get to experience all this for themselves when Jedi: Survivor launches on April 28, but those on PC will need to make space ahead of time for its colossal file size. The story follows Cal and the Mantis crew (who were shown of in a previous trailer) as they continue their fight against the empire.

Set five years after the original game, however, the team has slowed down a little and has settled on one planet. Building up a base of operations will be part of the gameplay loop in the sequel, though players will of course still travel to other planets, now with fast travel.

In our preview of the game, IGN said: Our “main takeaway from roughly five hours with the upcoming sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is that it felt like [we were] systematically crossing off the issues I had with Fallen Order.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

How to Play the Grand Theft Auto Games in Chronological Order

It’s hard to talk about modern video games without mentioning the influence of Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar’s iconic crime franchise has grown from a controversial PlayStation 1 classic to a universally recognised cultural behemoth, with its most recent entry, Grand Theft Auto 5, becoming the third best-selling game of all time.

However, the series didn’t grow into a landmark success overnight. Rockstar has been slowly building its iconic crime series for over two decades, creating hyper-immersive open worlds that players explore for years after their release. With over sixteen Grand Theft Auto games dropping since the franchise began in 1997, new players are probably wondering where to start. To help you get stuck in, we’ve listed every GTA game in chronological order so you can plot the best route through the timeline of this crime-riddled world.

Jump to:

The Grand Theft Auto Games in Chronological Order

There are a total of 16 games in the Grand Theft Auto series – eleven on home consoles, one on PC and four on handheld devices.

Before we dive into the list, it’s first worth noting an important detail about the overall continuity of Grand Theft Auto. As confirmed by Rockstar back in 2011, the GTA series is split into three unique timelines: the 2D timeline, the 3D timeline and the HD timeline. Although events in these timelines might be similar or even identical, Rockstar doesn’t consider all of them canon to each other. As such, we’ll separate the games into their respective universes.

The Grand Theft Auto 2D Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the 2D universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto: London 1961

The second expansion released for the original Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 is one of only two GTA releases to not hit a PlayStation console, with the DLC only available to PC players.

The mission pack acts as a prequel to Grand Theft Auto’s first expansion, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969. It follows a nameless criminal rising through the ranks of the London crime families by completing jobs for a mobster called Harold Cartwright.

2. Grand Theft Auto: London 1969

The first expansion for the original Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 marked the series’ first visit to London.

The tale follows a nameless British criminal who fights against various crime syndicates while building their legend on the city’s streets. These include Harold Cartwright’s gang, which the player joins forces with in Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, as well as a pair of sinister crime lords known as the Crisp Twins.

3. Grand Theft Auto

The first entry in the mainline series, Grand Theft Auto follows the adventures of a nameless protagonist as they make their mark on the criminal underworlds of three locations: Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City.

Set in 1997, the criminal’s adventures see them complete bank heists, assassinations and getaways, building their reputation while aiding various sinister gangs. Along the way, they meet a host of high-ranking criminals, including Robert Seragliano, El Burro and Uncle Fu.

4. Grand Theft Auto 2

The second mainline entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto 2 is arguably the biggest departure for the series to date. Shifting away from the setting of the first GTA, it takes players to a nigh-on futuristic metropolis known as Anywhere City, which bears no striking resemblance to any other location in the series.

The adventure follows a criminal named Claude Speed, who works with various crime syndicates around Anywhere City to make money and earn respect. The game’s position on the timeline is tricky, mainly as in-game references allude to it taking place in both 1999 and 2013. Regardless, it’s the final game in the 2D timeline.

The Grand Theft Auto 3D Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the 3D universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

A prequel to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the PSP’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories takes place in 1984 and follows US military soldier Victor Vance who, after being framed by his sergeant, is dishonorably discharged.

Fresh out of a job, he decides to enter Vice City’s underworld, quickly becoming the head of a crime family with the help of his brother, Lance. The pair embark on an adventure to disrupt Vice City’s crime scene, meeting and recruiting a variety of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s supporting characters along the way. By the time the game wraps up, Vic’s story catches up with the beginning of Vice City.

2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

The fourth mainline iteration of the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City takes place in 1986; two years after Vice City Stories. It follows Tommy Verceti, a notorious gangster from Liberty City who is sent to Vice City to oversee the expansion of his boss’ drug trade after being released from jail.

Tommy lands in hot water after a supposedly simple drug deal goes horribly wrong. Losing the drugs and money exchanged in the deal, Tommy is given one last chance to make things right.

To redeem himself, he dives into the seedy underbelly of Vice City, allying with Lance Vance to take on its various crime families and find the drugs and money stolen from him. As he becomes a bigger name around Vice City, he slowly creates a growing criminal empire, which doesn’t go unnoticed by his former employers.

3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The fifth mainline iteration of the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas tells the story of Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson and the Grove Street Families.

Set in 1992, San Andreas follows CJ as he returns to Los Santos after his mother is killed in a drive-by meant to assassinate his brother. Reuniting with his friends, family and local gang, The Grove Street Families, it doesn’t take long for CJ to get stuck back into the criminal underworld, vowing to get revenge on the gang that murdered his mother.

While CJ attempts to rebuild the Grove Street gang’s former glory, it becomes clear that something shady is happening behind the scenes. Pursued by a crooked cop named Officer Tenpenny, CJ deals with betrayal, corrupt law enforcement and the various factions vying for control of Los Santos and the neighboring cities of San Fierro and Las Venturas.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Set in 1998, Liberty City Stories acts as a prequel to Grand Theft Auto 3 and follows a gangster working for Salvatore Leone named Toni Cipriani. Returning to Liberty City after fleeing to Italy to escape the repercussions of assassinating a member of the mafia, Toni gets stuck back in working for his former boss.

Along the way, he meets several high-level mafia contacts and climbs through the ranks of Sal’s gang, murdering rival crime lords and assisting Leone’s attempts to gain political sway with the mayor. The story concludes with Salvatore Leone’s family standing as one the most powerful crime syndicates in Liberty City, setting up the events of Grand Theft Auto 3.

5. Grand Theft Auto Advance

Taking place in 2000, Grand Theft Auto Advance was a Grand Theft Auto 3 prequel released on the Gameboy Advance. It follows a criminal named Mike as he attempts to get revenge for the death of his partner, Vinnie.

Deciding to leave Liberty City and find new opportunities elsewhere, the story begins with Mike and Vinnie completing jobs for the mafia in an attempt to tie up loose ends and fund their escape. However, the plan falls apart when Vinnie is killed with a car bomb, driving Mike to find and kill his murderers. In pursuit of vengeance, Mike teams with various Grand Theft Auto 3 characters, including 8-Ball and Asuka Kasen.

6. Grand Theft Auto 3

The final entry in the timeline but the first game of the 3D era by release date, Grand Theft Auto 3 takes place in 2001 and follows a new Claude, a bank robber that’s shot and left for dead by his girlfriend, Catalina, during a heist.

Claude survives but is arrested and sentenced to life in jail. However, while en route to prison, Claude manages to escape after the Columbian Cartel raided his convoy in search of another prisoner. Fleeing the scene, Claude is soon inducted into the criminal underworld of Liberty City, working with the mafia, the yakuza and various other syndicates.

Although he rises to become one of the city’s most notorious gangsters, Claude’s goal quickly becomes one of vengeance, as his path eventually crosses with Catalina, setting up an inevitable confrontation between the former couple.

The Grand Theft Auto HD Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the HD universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto 4

The first game of the HD era, Grand Theft Auto 4 takes place in 2008 and follows an Eastern European ex-soldier named Niko Bellic as he makes his way to Liberty City. Coming to America to reunite with his cousin, Roman Bellic, who has allegedly found fortune after moving to Liberty City, Niko is shocked to find Roman is actually broke, living in a cockroach-infested apartment and running a failing business.

It doesn’t take long for Niko to find work and amass cash through less-than-legal means, meeting and befriending an arms dealer named Little Jacob and working off Roman’s debts with a Russian loan shark named Vlad Glebov. However, after discovering that Vlad has been sleeping with Roman’s girlfriend, Niko kills him, sparking a chain of events which puts him and Roman in the sights of the Russian mafia.

To survive, Niko allies with the crime families of Liberty City, where he becomes tangled in their politics and becomes one of the city’s most feared criminals. All the while, Niko has an ulterior motive, wanting to track down and murder a former comrade from his days in the military that double-crossed him and his squad.

2. Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned

Set during the events of Grand Theft Auto 4, The Lost and the Damned was GTA 4’s first expansion. It follows Johnny Klebitz, the Vice President of a revered motorcycle gang called The Lost MC.

Released from a long stint in rehab, the story opens with The Lost MC’s President, Billy Grey, returning to the gang and reassuming his position as its leader. During his time away, Johnny led The Lost MC, forming a truce with the gang’s main rivals, The Angels of Death. Once reinstated, Billy and Johnny begin to clash after Billy orders The Lost to break the truce with the Angels of Death, starting a ruthless gang war.

As the two gangs battle it out, Billy begins to lead The Lost down a self-destructive path, guiding his brothers into increasingly dangerous situations. With civil war brewing in the group, Johnny is forced to consider where his loyalty lies.

3. Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

The second of GTA 4’s expansions, The Ballad of Gay Tony also takes place alongside the core Grand Theft Auto campaign. The story follows bodyguard Luis Lopez as he tries to save the life of his boss and legendary nightclub owner, Tony Prince.

Although Tony is a fixture of Liberty City’s nightlife scene, his businesses are failing. To make matters worse, he’s also in debt to the Ancelotti crime family, who are ready to collect what they’re owed. Swearing to help his boss, Luis tries to square Tony’s debts, helping out his various criminal acquaintances.

It all crescendos with a risky plan from Tony, who decides to acquire millions of dollars worth of smuggled diamonds and exchange them in a deal. However, the plan falls apart, leading Luis on a wild goose chase around Liberty City in an attempt to retrieve the diamonds and keep Tony’s debts from catching up with him.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Taking place in 2009, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars tells the story of Huang Lee, the son of a murdered Triad leader who is tasked with flying to Liberty City to deliver an ancient sword to his uncle.

After arriving in Liberty City, Huang is ambushed, with his attackers stealing the sword and shooting Huang. Believing him dead, they dump his body, allowing Huang to escape alive. Reuniting with his uncle, Huang embarks on an adventure to track down the sword and deliver it back to the Triads. Along the way, he works with various gangs and the FIB, learning that the sword’s theft may have been an inside job.

5. Grand Theft Auto Online

Although it’s difficult to judge where exactly it falls on the timeline, Grand Theft Auto Online begins shortly before Grand Theft Auto 5 and has, over the course of ten years of updates, shifted to a period of time long after the game’s main campaign.

The core story follows a player-created criminal that heads to Los Santos to find fortune, reputation and fame, creating factions, buying property and taking part in criminal ventures. The story has evolved over the years, with one of the latest updates revisiting the character of Franklin years after the events of Grand Theft Auto V, as he tasks the player with helping him in his business ventures.

6. Grand Theft Auto 5

Set in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 follows the story of three criminals: Franklin, Michael and Trevor. After staging his death during a bank robbery in the small town of North Yankton, Michael Townley enters a witness protection programme, moving to the sunny city of Los Santos to live a life of luxury in a giant mansion with his family.

However, he’s lured out of retirement when he meets Franklin Clinton, an ambitious small-time criminal sent to repossess Michael’s son’s car. Forming a friendship, Michael begins to mentor Franklin, eventually leading the pair to rob a jewelry store to pay off a local crime lord. However, the act doesn’t go unnoticed.

On the outskirts of Los Santos, Michael’s former friend and criminal associate, Trevor Phillips, watches a clip of the heist on the news. Realizing that his seemingly dead partner is still alive in Los Santos, Trevor heads to the city, joining Michael and Franklin to stage various elaborate heists. However, Trevor’s animosity towards Michael’s betrayal begins to drive a wedge between the group, as tensions rise and the truth behind the pair’s past comes to light.

How to Play the Grand Theft Auto games by Release Date

  • Grand Theft Auto (1997)
  • Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)
  • Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)
  • Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)
  • Grand Theft Auto 3 (2000)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
  • Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
  • Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)
  • Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned (2009)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
  • Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
  • Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)
  • Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)

What’s Next for Grand Theft Auto?

Rockstar has officially confirmed that it is developing GTA 6. Little else has officially been confirmed by the developer, although a significant leak last year showed early gameplay from the title and appeared to reveal that the game will be set in Vice City.

It seemingly also confirmed that the game will follow two protagonists named Lucia and Jason. However, this information is still yet to be confirmed and is gleaned from an early build of the game, meaning any details could be subject to change. Grand Theft Auto’s next entry currently has no release date.

Lord of the Rings Mobile Game Arrives in May

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth will officially launch on May 10, 2023, on both the Apple App and Google Play stores and will allow players to build a team of heroes and villains from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien to discover the power of a brand New Ring.

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is a strategy RPG at its core and will also give players the choice to become good or evil. The mobile game will feature both PvP and PvE combat and it promises to let players “adventure across the land to experience familiar & alternate tellings of Tolkien characters.”

Characters will be upgradeable and some will come from Middle-earth factions not seen before. The battles will be turn-based, and choosing the right characters will be paramount as there are special team-up attacks and synergy bonuses to take advantage of.

The game will be continuously supported after launch as game director Nick Reinhart said, “We’ve got a lot of awesome content and feature plans coming. It’s got lots of beloved characters, along with maybe a few new faces.”

May will (hopefully) be a good month for fans of Tolkien’s work as The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be released on May 25 and looks to tell the story of the events between Gollum’s finding of the One Ring and the start of the story we know in The Lord of the Rings.

In our hands-on demo of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, we said, “There isn’t enough in the demo to be certain, but The Lord of the Rings: Gollum does at least make a good first impression, outlining a solid case for piloting one of the strangest and yet most important characters in the lore.”

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The 10 Most-Played Games on Steam Last Month

When it comes to PC games, Steam is the biggest name in the business. Now that the Steam Deck has continued to grow in popularity, more and more people are logging on to Steam every day to play. Because of this, Steam is one of the greatest sources of information about what PC gamers are actually playing at any given time.

Steam offers interesting data on the top selling and top played games on the platform week to week, but if you’re wondering what were the most-played games last month, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top 10 most-played Steam games of March 2023, based on total players.

1. Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Counter Strike: Global Offensive is a free-to-play team-based shooter that is consistently at the top of Steam Charts every month. Initially released back in 2012 as an expansion of the multiplayer gameplay from Half-Life: Counter-Strike, it has continued to grow over the years. Valve has also recently announced Counter-Strike 2 will be arriving at some point this summer. The popularity of the game on Steam isn’t overly surprising given that it was created by Valve and you need to be logged on to steam to play online multiplayer.

Read our review of Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

2. Dota 2

Another free-to-play game developed by Valve, Dota 2 is a wildly popular blend of online RTS and RPG action. Originally released in 2013, its free-to-play status has kept it at the top of steam charts throughout the years. And while it costs nothing to start playing the game, the learning curve is very high and it can be hard to get into without learning all of the nuances to strategy and mechanics.

Read our review of Dota 2.

3. Apex Legends

When it comes to battle royale games, Apex Legends is one of the best in the business. It’s got a mix of exciting characters, great gunplay, and fairly consistent updates that make it a worthy live-service game. If you are looking for something similar, but different than Fortnite, Apex Legends is a great option. Plus, its free-to-play status allows for all kinds of gamers to join the fray.

Read our review of Apex Legends.

4. PUBG: Battlegrounds

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is one of the most influential battle royale games and helped to establish the genre when it first came out in 2017. Considering it’s the original battle royale, and is free to play, it’s still a highly popular game. However, it has become less popular than newer titles like Apex Legends and Fortnite.

Read our review of PUBG: Battlegrounds.

5. Destiny 2

Destiny 2 is a winning combination of story-driven campaigns and solid multiplayer options. It’s a first-person shooter that delivers sci-fi gameplay and that came as a direct sequel of Destiny, which was widely popular when it first came out. With continued DLC and excellent multiplayer options, Destiny 2 has continued to be a top game on Steam. With the addition of the Lightfall expansion last month, the game saw a spike in players once again.

Read our review of Destiny 2: Lightfall.

6. Goose Goose Duck

Goose Goose Duck is another free-to-play game, but it is quite different than the rest of the games on this list. It’s a social deduction game that started gaining traction thanks to popularity on Twitch. It’s essentially just Among Us, but with geese. You work together with friends to complete your mission and watch out for any suspicious geese that are actually malicious ducks in disguise.

7. Grand Theft Auto V

The latest entry in the GTA series, Grand Theft Auto 5 has consistently been one of the most popular games since back in 2013. It’s an enormous game with a lot to love. Based in San Andreas, there are three main characters you can play as. And with the addition of GTA Online shortly after the game was first launched, it’s no surprise so many people are still enjoying this title. There’s even a GTA 6 on the horizon.

Read our review of GTA 5.

8. Lost Ark

Lost Ark was originally released in North Korea back in 2019 and wasn’t brought over to the U.S. until February of 2022. It grew wildly popular before it even went free-to-play, quickly becoming one of the most-played games of all time on steam shortly after launch. There was a new update on March 15 last month that brought more players back to the game.

Read our review of Lost Ark.

9. Naraka: Bladepoint

Although Naraka: Bladepoint features many similar battle royale elements as some of the top free-to-play games on this list, but with some key differences. First of all, the game is not free. Second of all, the actual battles you have in the PvP look and feel more like a fighting game than a Battle Royale. It’s filled with mythical action that focuses on martial arts inspired combat and medieval weapons.

Read our review of Narak: Bladepoint.

10. Rust

Rust is one of the most popular survival games of all time, and for good reason — it’s quite challenging. It is an entirely multiplayer game that includes factions, raids, an electricity system, and a huge variety of vehicles. With a rather robust player base and fairly frequent updates, it’s a great game to play with friends. As long as you don’t mind spending all of your time struggling to survive in a PvP and PvE environment where everything is trying to kill you, this is a solid game to get into.

Read our review of Rust.

Looking for a free-to-play game that focuses less on multiplayer? Check out our guide on how to play The Sims 4 for free.

Joseph Staten Is Leaving Xbox, Microsoft Has Confirmed

Joseph Staten, head of creative on Halo Infinite and cinematic director on the first three Halo games, is leaving Microsoft, the company has confirmed to IGN.

In its message, Microsoft did not say where Staten was headed next, nor the reason he was leaving Microsoft after nine years.

“We’re grateful for Joseph’s contributions to the Halo franchise and Xbox as a whole,” the statement from a Microsoft spokesperson reads. “We wish him all the best in his new adventure.”

Staten has long been one of the best-known names behind the Halo franchise, having been cinematic director on Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3, and having served as lead writer on Destiny while with Bungie.

He eventually left Bungie for Microsoft and served as a senior creative director, initially avoiding working on 343’s Halo to focus on shaping franchise strategy for Microsoft Studios titles. He returned to the franchise in 2020 as campaign project lead and later head of creative, overseeing Halo Infinite. He then rejoined Xbox Publishing earlier this year at the same time that Microsoft announced the layoffs of 10,000 employees, including employees of 343. Staten has also written a number of Halo universe novelizations.

Staten declined to comment for this article.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Overwatch 2 Season 4: New Hero Lifeweaver Abilities Explained

Lifeweaver is the latest hero coming to Overwatch in Season 4 dropping April 11th. As his name alludes to, Lifeweaver is the newest Support hero addition. Finally, another support. Here’s everything you need to know about Lifeweaver’s kit before Overwatch Season 4 launches.

Lifeweaver is definitely more of a utility based healer. He isn’t the strongest healer on the roster, especially since his big burst of healing takes a few seconds to charge up, but his actual abilities are his strongest suit that will aid his team in winning big fights.

Weapons:

Healing Blossom: Hold to charge a healing burst of 65 or you can fire individual bursts for minimum healing if you need the speedy recovery.

Thorn Volley: Switch to an alternate fire to fire an SMG like spread of projectiles. Distanced firing isn’t as great for this since it does have a bigger bloom.

Abilities:

Petal Platform: platform thrown on the ground that will lift anyone up when stepped on

Rejuvenating Dash: Dash the direction you’re moving and get a slight boost of health

Life Grip: Pull an ally to your direction, horizontally and vertically and give them a slight bubble when they get pulled

Passives:

Parting Gift: When you die, you drop a health boost that heals the first enemy or ally who picks it up

Support: Heal over Time

Ultimate:

Tree of Life: Summon a spiritual tree that instantly heals allies in pulses and continues to do so until it runs out

There will be so many useful ability synergies between Lifeweaver and his other teammates. It’ll be interesting to see how Lifeweaver will be played, especially in ranked. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on more Overwatch 2 Season 4 news as soon as it drops.

Microsoft Addresses Xbox Emulator Ban, Says It’s Based on ‘Long-Standing Policy’

Microsoft has finally cracked down on a loophole in the Xbox Store that allowed emulators to be downloaded and used on Xbox consoles to play older games, including many unavailable on Xbox consoles. And while rumors are flying as to the impetus for the sudden change, Microsoft is pointing to a pretty straightforward, long-standing official store policy as the reason.

Emulator users and creators first began pointing out the change earlier this week. Previously, emulators were able to be accessed on the Xbox Store via direct links on an Xbox’s Edge browser, and those emulators could be run indefinitely once downloaded even if the app download itself was found and removed. However, numerous users have reported that popular emulators such as Xenia no longer launch on consoles even if previously downloaded – instead, an error message occurs.

As a result, the emulation community has expressed frustration and anger, especially by users who claim to have promoted legal emulation to play games they already own on older Xbox consoles, but which are unavailable on current Xbox hardware. That said, there are numerous games available through emulators that were also either for sale on Xbox’s store or have never been available on Xbox at all, such as Wii and GameCube games. Notably emulation on Xbox consoles is still possible in the console’s developer mode, which costs $20.

In the wake of this change, speculation has emerged as to the reason Microsoft is cracking down on emulators now after allowing the loophole to exist for so long. One popular rumor suggested the culprit was not Xbox, but Nintendo, supposedly demanding action over its copyrighted games being played on Xbox consoles without permission. But in a statement to IGN, Microsoft says this isn’t the case.

“The information currently circulating on Twitter is not accurate,” reads a statement from Microsoft. “Our actions are based on a long standing policy on content distributed to the Store to ensure alignment with our Microsoft Store Polices. Per 10.13.10, Products that emulate a game system or game platform are not allowed on any device family.”

The policy the team points to has been in place historically, so it remains unclear what prompted Microsoft to let the loophole remain for so long, or to crackdown on it now, specifically. In a statement to Kotaku, Microsoft said that it “continually evolve our mechanisms for reviewing and taking enforcement actions on content distributed to the Store to ensure alignment with our Microsoft Store Policies,” possibly indicating that the company may have been looking for a solution to the emulator workaround for some time and may have only just now found it.

Previously, Xbox head Phil Spencer has spoken in favor of legal emulation as a solution to games preservaton, though notably such an endeavor is challenging to permit without also allowing for illegal emulation.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.