IGN Fan Fest will officially return the week of Feb. 13, with exclusive trailers, clips, news, reveals, interviews, and more surprises for upcoming games, movies, and shows rolling out all week.
The main event will be a live-stream on Feb. 17 and 18, starting 10am and streaming across all IGN platforms. It’ll feature the likes of Redfall, John Wick: Chapter 4, HBO’s The Last of Us, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Hogwarts Legacy, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Creed III, and a whole lot more.
See below just a taste of what’ll be featured:
Games
Redfall
Diablo IV
Hogwarts Legacy
Street Fighter 6
Elder Scrolls Online
AEW: Fight Forever
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Layers of Fears
Homebody
Movies
John Wick: Chapter 4
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Creed III
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Polite Society
Cocaine Bear
Scream VI
TV and Streaming
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone
HBO’s The Last of Us
Trigun Stampede
Star Trek: Picard
The Ark
Young Rock
This marks the third year of IGN Fan Fest, following two reveal-packed shows in 2022 and 2021. Last year’s event featured exclusive panels with the likes of Halo, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, while the inaugural show had a conversation with Zack Snyder about his Justice League cut and a whole lot more.
Stay tuned right here on IGN for more details and reveals from 2023’s big show.
Alex Stedman is a News Editor for IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
As part of James Gunn’s big reveal for the newly launched DCU, he shared that video games will tie into the movies, TV, and animation projects that will make up Warner Bros. Discovery’s big reboot of the DC universe. While Hollywood has spent the last century perfecting the production process of movies and TV shows, paving the way for grand, interconnected universes, adding video games into the mix could be a bold direction that not even DC’s rivals at Marvel are trying to do.
During a press conference Gunn revealed, “And what we’re doing with the DCU is we are having animation tied directly into live-action television and movies and games all intertwined within the same universe. We’re going to cast actors that are going to be able to play the characters in this as well as in other things.” This sets up a possible future where an actor cast in the DCU could potentially voice the same character in a video game. But incorporating video games into a cinematic universe is much easier said than done, considering not even Marvel and its Disney-backed power have attempted something similar.
So what games should we expect from the new DC Studios? So far, the details are not as concrete as the movie, TV, and animation projects that were announced. But it sounds like direct tie-in games are out, meaning whatever video game plan DC has will be for original stories, much like the already-announced movies and shows.
“I think what’s very different about it for us, for DC is it’s not like we’re going to have Superman come out and then have the Superman game come out,” Gunn said. “It’s more like we have the Superman [movie] come out and then two years later we have Supergirl coming out. So what’s the story in between there? Is there a [Superman’s dog] Krypto game that we can play that comes in between that’s still set in the world with these characters, but that is its own thing?”
Consider what we now know about modern, AAA game development and just look at the number of video game delays in the past five years. We know it takes years of pre-production before a major video game project even gets started, so with the five to six years it takes to finish a game, James Gunn and DC will want to begin planning for their first game now if they want to release it in 2026-2027, between the Superman and Supergirl movies.
Not even Marvel and its Disney-backed power have attempted something similar.
To put it one way, I’d probably feel safer betting on a movie or TV show hitting its announced release date than a video game, making the prospect of including video games a part of the overall DCU plan incredibly risky. If even one of the gaming projects hits a roadblock, it could be delayed by years and come out way after whatever planned movie or TV show it was meant to follow, or even canceled altogether.
There’s a reason why even with Marvel synergizing across movies, TV, and animation, the one exception is video games. Marvel games like Insomniac’s Spider-Man, and Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers are allowed to live (and in Avengers’ case, die) independently from the goings-on in the MCU. The Spider-Man in Insomniac’s game is unrelated to Tom Holland’s character in the MCU, and whatever reboot plans Marvel has for the X-Men, it likely won’t include Insomniac’s Wolverine game.
But if James Gunn and DC Studios can pull it off, that means they’ll have succeeded at a potentially transformative addition to the shared universe concept, and have a leg-up over their Marvel rivals.
Imagine for a moment watching the new Superman: Legacy in theaters in 2025 and a year later playing a game that isn’t just a licensed version of that movie, but a continuation or side-adventure that adds to the film. And one that features the same actors and creative talent reprising their roles. It could genuinely make the DCU a cross-medium endeavor, the first of its kind.
It’s not like Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t have the resources to at least attempt this undertaking. While Rocksteady will likely be tied up with The Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League for the next several years (and who even knows how that will fit into the DCU, if at all), WB Games boasts talent like Avalanche Software, Monolith Productions, NetherRealm Studios, TT Games, and several WB Games offices across North America.
One solution would be to scale down the kinds of games that will be a part of the DCU. While we might not get nor should we expect a AAA DC game to follow every major film or TV release, a compelling but small title that’s lighter on developmental resources but replete with creative ideas and canonical attachment to the DCU could be enticing enough for fans who can’t wait two years between Superman or Batman movies.
If even one of the gaming projects hits a roadblock, it could be delayed by years.
I think it says a lot that the example Gunn shared about games mentions a possible Krypto story. You know, Superman’s superpowered dog. It suggests that whatever games we should expect from the DCU won’t be reliant on Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman headlining. Perhaps one of Gunn’s Suicide Squad villains like King Shark gets a TMNT-style brawler game? Or we’ll get a city management sim starring The Penguin overseeing his criminal enterprise? A 2D platformer starring Damien Wayne given his new importance in the DCU, or even just a Marvel Snap competitor for DC. And these smaller titles could themselves just fill the gap between major gaming releases. Monolith Productions is still developing its open-world Wonder Woman action game which could stand in for the missing Wonder Woman in the DCU’s Chapter One programming.
It’s the kind of “can he do that?” idea that’s defined Gunn’s career so far. And if the DCU can successfully add video games to its plans, it will be another “I guess he can” response that Gunn can send back to his critics.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
Microsoft has announced that 46 games will be removed from the Xbox 360 Marketplace on February 7, including Dark Souls, The Witcher 2, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and more.
Disc versions of these games will remain playable, and previously downloaded copies can also still be played. Gematsu also confirmed that the versions of these games available to download on Xbox One or Xbox Series consoles will also remain on those respective stores.
The Xbox 360 games being removed varies from region to region, but the list affecting customers in the United States is as follows:
Aegis Wing
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed III
Assassin’s Creed IV
Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD
Blood of the Werewolf
Blue Dragon
Breakdown
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Castle Crashers
Cloning Clyde
Counter-Strike: GO
Dark Souls
Darksiders II
Daytona USA
Defense Grid
Eets: Chowdown
Far Cry 2
Final Fight: DblImpact
Iron Brigade
Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad
Jet Set Radio
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Limbo
Lost Odyssey
Mass Effect 2
Monopoly Deal
Mutant Blobs Attack
N+
Outpost Kaloki X
Peggle 2
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
Prince of Persia
R.U.S.E.
Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Skate 2
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Spelunky
Splinter Cell Conviction
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
The Orange Box
The Raven Episode 1
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Microsoft has made dozens of Xbox 360 games available on its later consoles, though confirmed that no more titles will be made backwards compatible going forward. Those still holding onto an Xbox 360, however, should use the next few days to make sure they’ve purchased any games from this list, as it will be the last chance to do so digitally.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Capcom has shared new details on the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 4. This includes confirmation that it will remove quick-time events, add sidequests, and introduce breakable knives.
Capcom provided a better idea of what fans can expect from the highly anticipated remake in a new cover story for Game Informer. The most significant change from the remake is that there will be no quick-time events.
Game Informer’s story mentions that sidequests are also being added to the remake, stating that blue flyers located in-game are used to collect sidequests for you to complete, with examples including solving a puzzle, tracking down and eliminating a specific enemy. The blue medallion collectible that was featured in the original will also be returning in the remake..
One of the more interesting gameplay changes is that knives will have limited durability and will break after a certain amount of use. However, you can store multiple knives in your inventory. Additionally, you will have the option to trade jewels with the merchant in exchange for items such as yellow herbs, treasure maps, and weapon attachments.
Resident Evil 4 Remake also changes Ashley Graham, who no longer has a health bar, but if she takes too much damage, she will be in a “downed state” and need to be revived. If she is hit when in a “downed state,” she will die. A Capcom representative said that the developers want to make Ashley “feel more like a natural companion and less like a second health bar to babysit,” confirming that she can perform things such as sending her through a crawlspace to open a door that’s locked on the other side.
First announced in 2022, Resident Evil 4 is the latest in Capcom’s series of remakes. We played it back in October, noting that Capcom seems to be making smart choices with in what it iterates on for the remake, and that we’re excited to see more.
Resident Evil 4 Remake launches on March 24 on PS4, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
What constitutes a remake or a remaster or even a reboot? Regardless of what you call it, today we’re looking at Dead Space, the new recreation of the classic survival horror game. The original is beloved by many – will history repeat itself here?
What’s on the menu?
Motive studios have some space experience, but this war is of a much bloodier kind, and remaking such a cherished sci-fi tale is surely a daunting task. The weapon of choice is DICE’s long serving Frostbite engine which has been used for everything from Battlefield to FIFA. Here they have to turn down the lights for a gory, tension-soaked rebirth of Isaac aboard the doomed Ishimura. The upgrades and rebuilt assets and models transform the entire game, and Isaac himself is now front and center with many of Dead Space 2’s improvements merged into the first game.
Let’s start with the changes from the 2008 original, which was an impressive game for the time and still holds up well due to its focused technology and strong art direction. As dark and grimy as the original was, the new game manages to make the original look bright in comparison. Far more light sources emphasize the dark and highlight focal points, which is used to build tension in the new game. Improved occlusion comes from screen space ambient occlusion and even ray traced ambient occlusion on PC, PS5, and Series X. Shadows are not only far more abundant, mixing shadow maps with screen spaced shadows, but also more accurate from multiple torches and electric strips. Although the original was very forward-looking with its reliance on light and shadows, the team ensured that flickering lights cause dancing shadows and looming shapes in many old and new areas.
These updates and changes are often subtle, diverting your expectations even for long time fans. Significantly improved models, facial animation, eye movement and materials all leap out over the original’s flat, single-shaded surfaces. Gore is a core pillar of the game, and improved dismemberment allows for skin to be chopped away revealing bone and sinew before the limb is finally cleaved off. The visual upgrades continue with screen space reflections, significantly increased geometry and detail, and improved and fully re-made textures with impressive physically-based materials. It is safe to say the results on a technical and artistic front are a rousing success and, dare I say it, even improve in some areas over the original. This is a tall order in anyone’s book, but when the source material is this strong the expectations are equally high.
The use of Frostbite means that 60fps, or even greater on PC, is an upgrade from the old 30fps of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. The visual fidelity mode (which I will call the Ray Tracing mode for ease in this review) and Performance mode on Series X and PS5 rely on DRS and FSR2 for their intended outputs. However, both target 60fps.
The Performance mode runs the lowest resolution level, 2560×1440, to maintain 60fps, along with lower effects, no ray tracing, and reduced fog volumes, screen space reflection (SSR) quality, and even texture detail. Some of this though is that the FSR2 implementation does not appear to be well implemented. A combination of mip-map bias, variable rate shading (VRS), as well as the sharpening pass in Performance mode not being updated to compensate for the lower resolution. The PC can also utilise both FSR2 or DLSS2 (Nvidia RTX only) to reduce the cuts in that pixel-to-performance recipe, but again there’s no option in the menu to adjust sharpening, which may be a nice addition from the team later.
Image Quality
The game is often dark enough that the resolution gap is quite small when comparing between Performance and Ray Tracing modes. Aiding performance further appears to be a VRS implementation, which can be noticed on all three consoles and PC. The solution is often ok to middling, and can improve performance at texture and pixel-shading precision. But pixel blocking can be visible in close-view surfaces, such as Isaac himself in lifts, causing almost a macro-blocking look. These appear worse on PC than consoles and can be more pronounced with motion vectors in FSR and DLSS on PC. The Xbox Series S is affected the most due to its very low texture filtering, causing floors and surfaces to fade into a muddy soup at times at close range, alongside some blocky textures – which again may be related to the FSR2/DLSS2 engine implementation pipeline alongside VRS. In addition, the resolution levels here are very low, which leads to a noisy and soft image at times, effectively VRS works best with higher resolutions.
The Series S only has one mode, which sits between the Ray Tracing and Performance mode on Series X and PS5, but does not appear to run the ray traced AO setting and instead uses the screen space solution that the Performance mode runs, albeit slightly reduced compared to the Series X, PS5 and PC settings, though this may be resolution related. The cost is relatively low though, with approximately 5-10% impact dependant on scene, using my RX 6800 at 4K TAA going from SSAO to RTAO, which is one of the cheaper effects in the game. A ceiling of 1920×1080 is hit but is often around or at 1280×720 with FSR2 helping as best it can. The main issue is at these low resolutions the reconstruction has less data to work with, so it affects the image quality versus the other consoles.
Platform comparisons
The comparison to PS5 and Series X is unsurprisingly short: for all intents and purposes they are identical in both modes, with DRS and fps being the only potential difference. There are some subtle changes in lighting and gamma, but both look to match each other in the Performance and Ray Tracing mode. From multiple counts the Ray Tracing mode can hit a full 3840×2160, but the FSR2 pass is always reconstructing this, so that may not always be a native range. In quieter sections it is certainly at that level on both, but in action it can drop to an approximate low of 2240×1260, though this can and will change depending on the on-screen action. The range appears to be between Quality and Balanced within the FSR2 settings. Again the target is 60fps, but is most of the time below that on both.
Performance mode drops this to a 1440p high and an approximate 1536×864 low, and again in heavy action it can shift between Quality and Balanced to that 1440p high. This leaves a softer image than the other mode but I would say that even in side-by-side this does not really stand out, other than the texture clarity and filtering I mentioned. In addition, this mode turns off RTAO and enables the game’s SSAO. Screen Space Reflections are reduced as are the fog volumes and even lighting in the game, but some of these are tied to resolution so that may be the reason. Matching to PC settings is not fully possible, as even across a selection of tests the RTAO and lighting on PC does not exactly match the consoles. As a rough guide, the consoles appear to be between Medium and High on some settings. Certainly shadow maps appear to be closest to medium with most others being High and maybe Ultra on SSR. In Performance mode they appear to drift closer to medium, and using the PC as a rough proxy, going from Ultra to High nets you approximately 21% improvement, and from High to Medium provides a further 35% gain. This is likely what the Series S is running at with lights possibly even being closer to Low.
Console Performance
The Xbox Series S is often below 60fps in heavy combat and real-time cinematics – the opening one being the most stressful section I found across all platforms. Here we can get down to 30fps. Some of these are simply context, memory stutters, and general code issues that can cause some minor 60-80 ms stutters. Aside from this all other dips stay within 16 and 33ms frame-times. The net result is that in this section we are often around and even below the VRR range to solve the issues on all formats. That said, in many of the corridor sections, which the game is largely comprised of, it can be a steady 60fps, with only single dips being almost invisible.
The original testing for this article was conducted using pre-launch review code, however a day-one patch added a 30fps lock to the Xbox Series S as well as the Ray Tracing mode on Series X and PS5. The testing you’ll see in the following section shows the headroom available for all consoles above that cap, just know that the Ray Tracing mode (and Series S) are all now at a locked 30fps instead of the 45-50fps range from the review code.
Moving to the PS5 and Series X in Performance mode, they are close to perfect, and I applaud the team for ensuring that players can choose how to play. What we see is a locked 60fps on PS5 and Series X in like for like heavy sections against the Ray Tracing mode. And with the same cinematic section here we can see some small dips into the mid 50s briefly, before returning to a smooth 60fps output. If smooth and consistent performance is your focus, this mode has you covered, and the visual sacrifices are minor enough to not make it much of a decision.
With that said, the Ray Tracing mode does give us a better test of the two consoles. The Series X takes a small lead on performance in the like for like section, but these are single digit levels at best, and would be identical without the fps graph. The bigger view though is this mode is never at a locked 60fps and is often around 45-50 fps even in normal corridor exploration and battles. I believe this is due to the game using very high quality assets, alpha, and particles, and as such it can become pixel-limited on console and PC. This mode is certainly not bad but you will notice these dips throughout your play, and compared to the smooth performance mode it can be a much bigger gap than the loss in resolution and effects from the other mode. Either way, the choice is yours, which is the way we like it to be.
PC comparison
As mentioned, the consoles do not appear to use the engine’s own TAA – which is the option for older cards or Intel GPUs – but this is more demanding that both FSR and DLSS solutions with no reconstruction can lose over 45-50% performance in like for like settings moving from TAA to FSR2, so use it if you can for performance. DLSS2 is better implemented here as sharpening and details are preserved closer to 4K when enabled, with FSR being softer overall. All three can be aligned with DRS but neither are as good as 4K TAA high and overall Image quality is impacted further due to the VRS solution, which cannot be disabled on PC and it looks like the Checkerboard option within the engine has been laid to rest, not the only thing in this game.
Starting with the Steam Deck, we need to run at 1280x720p with FSR2 performance. The Steam Deck can become CPU-bound due to the excellent multi-threading within the engine. 60fps is never really an option even at Low settings. As such my recommended choice is to set the game at medium or high settings, and cap to 30fps using the Steam OS, as the game does not offer a 30fps cap in the menu. By lowering the effects you can boost the FSR2 settings to quality, but lights, SSAO and shadows should be at medium if possible for the best balance of image quality and fidelity.
Due to the split pools of RAM, CPU demand, and overall PC architecture and API changes, the PC version does suffer from stutters and pauses during play not present on consoles. Some may still be a few shader compilation on occasion – the game does pre-build these up front before you can start the game, and by and large they cover almost the entire game, but you will get some stutters from time to time. The bigger stutters come from streaming data from the drive and these can be worse at times, with the Steam Deck being most affected due to its relatively weak CPU and slower bandwidth. The game is designed around an SSD, so load times are quick continuing from boot on console and PC alike, but depending on your drive you may also see some bigger stutters with loading and data streaming. Aside from these admittedly quite impactful performance woes, the Steam Deck does a super job of offering this modern remake quality in your hand at a largely locked 30fps. As stated the majority of these stutters are not DX12 shader-related, but in your first play be prepared for the annoyance of stutters when entering new areas, spawning shader effects, and even during cutscenes. And then you can get smaller stutters when walking through hub areas or entering an area, even if you have been through it before.
This carries over to the PC where using my RTX 2070 close to the console Ray Tracing settings with DLSS2 Balanced engaged at an 1800p output, we can see the first run versus the second can double our performance with the main issue here appearing to be memory related, with data moving from the SSD into System RAM and then over to VRAM, which causes the GPU and CPU to stall and thus frame-times to hang low until this issues clears up and then performance and utilization returns to maximum. Using the second run, it is very close to the Series X and PS5 in these sections.
This data stuttering again happens as you continue through the game as new areas and sections load, which can be annoying and means that above 60fps – which is fully possible on PC with my RX 6800 – the dips can feel more prominent as the frame time gaps are bigger with 100+ ms stutters. This happens across all my PC machines from Nvidia to AMD. (Note that both PCs are running the game on an SSD with 1.5GB/s bandwidth as a minimum.) The faster your PC’s CPU and memory, the less these problems will be visible as the data being shifted between SSD, system RAM, and VRAM through PCIe can be frequent. These can improve the second or more times you play the section as the data is likely already present in System RAM or VRAM, thus reducing the delay on keeping the hardware busy. I hope the team can patch this at or close to launch to clean up the issues I encountered in this review code, as while it doesn’t ruin the game, it can leave the PC suffering more in performance than all three consoles.
Summary
Dead Space remains a classic and the team have reimagined the game from a visual and story perspective. Although the engine and game scales right down to handheld mode on the Steam Deck, the PC version still feels and performs a little rougher around the edges compared to the console version, and the weaker your machine the worse those problems will be. As such, the game is best experienced in its current form on a new gen console or a very high end PC which can push 120fps and maybe even native 4K. The day-one patch added a 30fps cap to the Series S and Ray Tracing mode on Series X and PS5, which adds stability but I would have preferred to see it as a toggle, leaving the choice to the player. Either way, the pre-launch testing shows there’s plenty of headroom above that cap, so 30fps should be quite stable in that mode. Meanwhile, the Performance mode is close enough to the 60fps range, and with VRR it is the smoothest and most consistent version at launch. Hopefully patches drop soon on PC to resolve the issues noted, as this is one of the best remakes I have played and manages to achieve that rare balance of sympathetically improving and altering the original, delivering the best version of Dead Space you can play.
Halo is reportedly staying at 343 Industries, but the franchise’s direction is unclear amidst layoffs and a pivot away from Halo’s Slipspace engine.
In a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the studio’s leadership overhaul, mass layoffs, and other big changes are causing 343 to essentially hit the reset button on the franchise. The report also claims that at least 95 people were laid off from 343 as a part of this month’s mass layoffs at Microsoft, and that 343 was not working on new missions for Halo Infinite’s story over the last year.
After the layoffs, rumors started circulating claiming that Microsoft could pass Halo development to another studio entirely. According to today’s report, Halo is staying put, despite concerns over the studio’s ability to develop new Halo games after the big hit to the staff.
However, it would seem that big changes are still in store for the franchise. Namely, Halo is said to be pivoting to Unreal Engine, leaving the controversial Slipspace engine behind. Development challenges posed by Slipspace are reportedly holding back two Infinite multiplayer modes that are nearly finished: Extraction and Assault.
The reports of the engine swap come after years of rumors surrounding 343, Slipspace, and Unreal Engine. The pivot will reportedly begin with the Halo project codenamed Tatanka, which has been rumored for quite some time. This game is in co-development at 343 and Certain Affinity, and began as a Halo battle royale, but the game may now evolve in different directions. Future Halo games will also explore using Unreal Engine.
343 isn’t preparing any additional story content for Halo Infinite’s campaign, the report claims. Rather, developers have spent the last year working on Unreal Engine prototypes while pitching ideas for new Halo games. Many of the developers working on these projects were laid off this month, as 343 isn’t actively working on any new story content.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Avatar Generations launched today for iOS and Android, with developer Navigator Games and publisher Crystal Dynamics Eidos Entertainment celebrating with a new trailer. It is free-to-play with in-app purchases.
The trailer shows several characters from the series in battle and some brief glimpses of the user interface. It seems like characters will have a star rating to indicate their strength ranging all the way to 6 stars. Additionally, characters will have different skills to utilize during combat. Players can also level up Arts in order to make them more powerful.
The game is a turn-based RPG where players collect different characters from the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe to create a team and play through different iconic moments from the franchise. There will also be new scenarios too.
A variety of characters will be available to collect, including the main cast of Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph, as well as supporting characters like Blue Spirit, Princess Yue, and Kyoshi Warrior Suki. Future updates for Avatar Generations will provide additional characters, companions, cosmetics, and customizable gear.
Avatar Generations is the latest game based on the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise since 2014’s Legend of Korra by developer PlatinumGames. In IGN’s The Legend of Korra: The Game review, we said, “What a disappointment. Even with a reputable developer behind it, The Legend of Korra game left us bent out of shape.”
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
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, the asymmetical multiplayer ghost-hunting game based on the popular films, has unveiled its first free DLC including a new map, ghost type, and other updates. And it’s all out today.
The new DLC includes The Facility, a new map set in an abandoned health center closed in the 1980s, but set to reopen…if its construction crews can get past the ghost problem. We’ll also see a new ghost type, the Glutton, a class that includes the Muncher ghost and two other variants. Developer Illfonic says the Muncher is the most-requested ghost type thus far – we were first introduced to the metal-eating ghost in in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Additionally, the DLC will bring new character customization options, improved matchmaking, and improve AI behavior both for teammates and ghosts.
Illfonic reiterated that it plans to continue releasing free DLC each quarter of this year for Spirits Unleashed, so we should expect more content along these lines at least three more times this year.
We enjoyed Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed at launch, finding it an entertaining asymmetical multiplayer game, but did lament that it was held back by some balance issues and map wonkiness at the time. We noted that it also badly needed more content, which this DLC and future ones hopefully will alleviate.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Microsoft has announced that it will raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the Xbox Series X|S in Japan, starting on Friday February 17.
“After carefully evaluating the market condition in Japan, we have decided to change the suggested retail price of Xbox consoles in the country,” said a Microsoft representative in a statement to Famitsu, which was translated by Gematsu.
“We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This price revision affects our customers and was a difficult decision to make, but going forward we will continue to provide the ultimate Xbox experience that our customers expect.”
The price of the Series X is set to rise from ¥54,978 ($423) to ¥59,978 ($462), while the Series S will similarly rise from ¥32,278 ($248) to ¥37,978 ($292) for a price rise of roughly $40 each.
“I do think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices,” Spencer said. “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games, and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things.”
In December 2022 Microsoft announced that the price of games developed exclusively for the Xbox Series X|S would rise from $60 to $70 in order to account for the “content, scale, and technical complexity” of upcoming titles including Starfield and Forza Motorsport.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Dragon Ball and Fortnite have crossed over once again with Piccolo and Son Gohan from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero making their debut in the Battle Royale.
Announced on the Fortnite website, both new skins include the regular inclusion of additional accessories. Son Gohan comes with Gohan’s Cape Back Bling, Gohan’s Beast Axe Pickaxe, the Capsule No. 576 Glider, and the Charging Up emote to switch to Super Saiyan.
Piccolo comes with Piccolo’s Cape and Turban Back Bling, Piccolo’s Demon Symbol Back Bling, Piccolo’s Handheld House Pickaxe, the Red Ribbon Army Aircraft Glider, and his own Charging Up emote that turns him into the Power Awakening version.
The Kamehameha attack item and Nimbus Cloud mobility item are also returning to Fortnite, and as before will increase in frequency as the storm closes in meaning games will often end in anime-esque battles.
Dragon Ball Adventure Island is also returning, letting Fortnite players explore iconic locations from the Dragon Ball anime including Goku’s house, Kami’s Palace, the Room of Spirit and Time, and Beerus’s Planet. A weekly quest on the island starting on January 31 will unlock the Gohan Beast Spray and a weekly quest starting on February 7 will unlock the Orange Piccolo Spray.
Epic Games has promised that other Dragon Ball items will be returning to the Fortnite shop in the future, but didn’t share more on which items or skins will return.
