Category: IGN

The developer behind Konami’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is “faithfully” sticking to the original game’s story but updating outdated gameplay mechanics.

Speaking to Dread XP (and spotted by Siliconera), Bloober Team’s chief marketing officer Anna Jasińska promised the development team isn’t “missing the point” on the remake.

“We are focusing on bringing the distinct, visceral atmosphere back in the modernized Silent Hill 2,” said Jasińska. “Longtime fans shouldn’t worry about us missing the point while we’re livening up the title.

“We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place.”

Exactly what would change in the remake was a little unclear when Konami first announced it, with director Mateusz Lenart only saying that Bloober Team would “make everything that made the game a timeless classic”.

Jasińska reiterated just how committed the team is, adding that they “take a very safe approach to any changes. We remain faithful to the original title. Nonetheless, we are applying adjustments to certain areas where things need modernizing due to the passage of time.”

One thing changing is the addition of the over-the-shoulder camera, but other enhancements including new challenges and updated sound design are also coming in the Silent Hill 2 Remake. Fans will have to be patient in finding out what else will change, however, as the game currently has no release date.

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

Sony has announced that its PlayStation 5 console has now surpassed more than 30 million units sold, and that the console shortage is now essentially over.

Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan revealed the new figure at Sony’s CES tech conference, a number which is up five million from the 25 million figure revealed two months previously on November 1.

“We truly appreciate the support and patience of the PlayStation community as we managed unprecedented demand amid global challenges over the past two years,” Ryan said.

“PS5 supply improved toward the end of last year, and I’m happy to share that December was the biggest month ever for PS5 console sales and that we have now sold than 30 million units through to consumers worldwide.”

Confident that supply issues are now solved completely, Ryan added that “everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailer globally, starting from this point forward.”

A crippling semiconductor chip shortage seriously restricted the creation of new PS5 consoles but this didn’t stop the PS5 from surpassing 20 million units sold as of June 2021, at which point Sony executive Veronica Rogers announced that the company was “planning on a significant ramp-up in PS5 production”.

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

Sony’s CES 2023 press conference has wrapped up, and the company shared a handful of updates for PlayStation gamers. The headline is Project Leonardo, which is a brand new accessibility controller kit in development for PlayStation 5. Sony also shared updates on the Gran Turismo movie, PSVR 2, and more. Read on to learn about everything announced at today’s event.

Project Leonardo Revealed: New Accessibility Controller Kit for PlayStation 5

Project Leonardo is PlayStation’s brand new accessibility controller kit that’s currently in development. There’s no word yet on a release date or price, but Leonardo aims to “”remove barriers to gaming and help players with disabilities play more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods on PS5.” It was developed with contributions from accessibility experts, community members, and game developers.

Gran Turismo: The Movie Sneak Peek Revealed

Sony shared a first look at the upcoming Gran Turismo movie, which is set to hit theaters this August. The footage had words from stars Archie Madekwe, Orlando Bloom, and David Harbour, and showed off the movie’s combination of real-life racing and Gran Turismo action.

PlayStation 5 Passes 30 Million Units Sold

PlayStation’s Jim Ryan announced on stage that the PlayStation 5 has passed 30 million units sold. Ryan also stated that the PS5 shortage is essentially over, saying, “Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward”. The last official update we had on PS5 sales numbers was back in November, when Sony revealed the console had passed 25 million units sold.

Gran Turismo 7 is Getting PSVR 2 Support, and Beat Saber Is Coming to PSVR 2

Gran Turismo 7 will have PSVR 2 support when the new VR platform launches next month. The VR features will be available as a free upgrade for those that own Gran Turismo 7. VR hit Beat Saber is also heading to PSVR 2, although a release date was not announced.

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.

Gran Turismo 7 is getting support for PSVR 2, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan announced tonight during Sony’s CES 2023 press conference.

Released nearly a year ago, Gran Turismo 7 is the eighth mainline installment in Sony’s long-running racing sim franchise. In our review of Gran Turismo 7, which we gave a 9, my colleague Luke Reilly praised the title’s graphical fidelity, an abundance of racing options, and the haptic feedback available thanks to the PS5’s DualSense controller.

Gran Turismo 7 for PSVR 2 will be available as one of many launch title games when the PSVR 2 releases on February 22, and will be a free upgrade for those that own Gran Turismo 7. Additional launch titles confirmed for Sony’s second-generation VR headset include Horizon: Call of the Mountain, No Man’s Sky, and Resident Evil Village.

In addition to news of Gran Turismo 7’s VR mode for PSVR 2, Sony’s CES 2022 press conference also shared a sneak peek at the Gran Turismo movie, which hits theatres later this year. Alongside the announcement of Project Leonardo, a new accessibility controller kit compatible with the PS5.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Happy New Year! It’s a fresh start for Xbox in what should be a huge 2023 for them. We discuss the one thing Microsoft needs to do ASAP in order to get the year off on the right foot, and then we make a total of nine predictions for Xbox’s year.

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase:

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

While The Last of Us fans are currently setting their sights on the upcoming HBO show and multiplayer title, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann isn’t ruling out the possibility for The Last of Us Part 3.

Speaking to THR ahead of The Last of Us show’s premiere later this month, Druckmann couldn’t reveal if Part 3 is in the works at Naughty Dog, but said, “I think there’s more story to tell.”

This is the first we’ve heard of a potential follow-up to 2020’s The Last of Us Part 2 since April 2021, when Druckmann said he and Part 2 co-writer Halley Gross have written an outline for a story that “we’re not making – but I hope one day can see the light of day – that explores a little bit what happens after this game. We’ll see.”

Naughty Dog also shared new concept art for the upcoming multiplayer game today. Druckmann promised that more details on The Last of Us multiplayer title will come this year, which marks the 10th anniversary of the original game’s release in 2013.

In addition to more information about the multiplayer title, Naughty Dog’s anniversary plans include the Last of Us TV show airing on January 15 on HBO and behind-the-scenes looks at the original game for PlayStation 3 and the Part 1 remake for PlayStation 5.

For more on The Last of Us, check out the TV series’ latest official trailer and character posters.

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.

Kenny Omega may be debated as one of professional wrestling’s greatest talents, but he’s undoubtedly one of the sport’s most dedicated gamers, proving it with a recent tribute to Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth at Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom.

At this year’s event, which is the largest in the huge professional wrestling market of Japan, the Canadian former AEW World Champion attended to face England’s Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

Omega entered the bout wearing a costume reminiscent of Sephiroth and made his way to the ring while the iconic One Winged Angel theme played in the background.

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Kenny Omega, real name Tyson Smith, drew his ring name from Final Fantasy’s Omega Weapon and has used a finishing move called the One Winged Angel for a sizable portion of his lengthy career, meaning this cosplay isn’t without context.

Smith has used other components of video games as part of his repertoire such as Street Fighter, taunting opponents with Alex’s signature “You can’t escape!” and delivering a move called the V Trigger knee strike.

Professional Wrestling has been popular in Japan since at least the 1950s and a wrestling show has taken place every January 4 at the Tokyo Dome since 1992. Omega hasn’t appeared at a Wrestle Kingdom since 2019, where he was defeated by Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event and would soon after make his move to All Elite Wrestling in America.

In this previous appearance he entered the ring to Hopes and Dreams from the Undertale soundtrack, with a costume inspired in part by Deltarune’s main character.

Kenny Omega has been rated the number one wrestler in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Top 500 performers twice in his career.

If you’re interested in seeing his latest Final Fantasy themed performance in full, New Japan’s subscription service NJPW World is available for a monthly fee of ¥999 (around $7.50).

Mat Jones is IGN’s UK Social Coordinator, and will turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.

Perhaps somewhat in thanks to its turbulent launch period, Cyberpunk 2077 has been given the Labor of Love award at the Steam Awards 2022.

Steam published the winners of its player-voted awards, and while Elden Ring took the overall Game of the Year position, Cyberpunk 2077 also made an appearance in what’s essentially the most improved game category.

Up against No Man’s Sky, Deep Rock: Galactic, Dota 2, and Project Zomboid, Cyberpunk 2077’s stream of post-launch updates and fixes was seemingly enough to push it over the top.

The game has undergone somewhat of a resurgence since its incredibly rocky launch (that did mostly affect consoles) thanks to these improvements and further excitement brought on by Netflix’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series.

“This game has been out for a while. The team is well past the debut of their creative baby, but being the good parents they are, these devs continue to nurture and support their creation,” reads the award synopsis. “This game, to this day, is still getting new content after all these years.”

The leaps forward for Cyberpunk 2077 arguably began in February with the launch of the Next-Gen Update, or Version 1.5 for PC players, which saw several bug fixes and even free DLC added to the game.

This theme continued in September when developer CD Projekt Released the Edgerunners update to go alongside the launch of the anime series (which itself was praised by fans and critics alike). It also announced the Phantom Liberty expansion which is due to launch this year, and continued to build excitement by revealing that its sequel, codenamed Orion, is also on the way.

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

Wizards of the Coast is canceling at least five unannounced games as it seeks to focus on games “strategically aligned with developing our existing brands,” according to a new report by Bloomberg.

While it’s unclear which games have been canceled, Wizards of the Coast claims that fewer than 15 people at the company have been impacted by the changes. The company told IGN in a statement:

We remain committed to using digital games as a cornerstone of our strategy for bringing our games to players around the world. We have made some changes to our long-term portfolio to focus on games which are strategically aligned with developing our existing brands and those which show promise in expanding or engaging our audience in new ways.

Hidden Path Entertainment and OtherSide Entertainment, both of which were working on games for Wizards of the Coast, are among the studios potentially affected by the cancellations.

The cancellations come in the wake of an ambitious 2022 expansion that saw the company open multiple new studios. They included Skeleton Key, an Austin-based studio led by former BioWare developer Christian Dailey, and Invoke Games, a Montreal-based studio organized by the developers of 2021’s Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance.

In addition to opening Invoke Games and Skeleton Key, Wizards of the Coast is publishing Baldur’s Gate 3 by Larian Studios. It also had several other games in the works, including a sci-fi role-playing game by former BioWare developer James Ohlen and a game by Atomic Arcade starring G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes.

In pushing into the digital space, Wizards of the Coast has found success with Magic: The Gathering Arena, but its Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance revival by Tuque Games was panned by fans and critics alike. Hasbro likewise saw its stock plummet late last year over its handling of Magic: The Gathering, including its pricey 30th anniversary edition that sparked furor among fans.

Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast will hope for a better reception for Baldur’s Gate 3, which is slated to enter full release in August.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

With Team Ninja’s upcoming action game Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty as January’s IGN First, 2023 is off to a good start. If you like dying, that is – because you’ll be doing that a lot. Expect tons of exclusive coverage throughout the month of this new Soulsborne based on Chinese martial arts, developed by the team behind Ninja Gaiden and Nioh.

First off, we have 10 minutes of exclusive gameplay from Tianzhushan, a stage early in the game. The beautiful mountainscape and lush bamboo forests are breathtaking, but with bloodthirsty enemies around each corner, it might be best not to spend too long admiring the scenery.

With items hidden on top of rocks that can be reached using the double jump and secret passages that can be discovered by cutting bamboo trees, Tianzhushan is a good example of Wo Long’s diverse exploration.

Our video debuts gameplay of the Staff as well. Iconic to traditional Chinese martial arts, the Staff is one of Wo Long’s 13 melee weapon types and boasts acrobatic body movement.

The eerie mermaids and fearsome tigers from the demo are back, but new enemies including a giant ape and a hedgehog-like creature with a spinning attack reminiscent of Nioh’s Wheelmonk caught us off guard. Inside a creepy cave, we were welcomed by a surprise attack from an enemy that still gives us nightmares. Check out the video to see for yourself!

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set to release on March 3 for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC and will be available on Xbox Game Pass day one! Expect to see much more new Wo Long content throughout January on IGN.

Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan.