Category: IGN

Woot! (owned by Amazon) is currently offering brand new units of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Destiny Limited Edition wireless gaming headset for only $119.99, a 33% price drop from its original $180 MSRP. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, otherwise it’s an extra $6. Both PS5 (7p) and Xbox (7x) models are available. Note that although these are brand new, you get a 90-day Woot! warranty instead of a manufacturer’s warranty. This is a great price for the best wireless PS5 gaming headset of 2024 and the most comfortable Xbox gaming headset of 2024. This particular model is the Destiny Edition Limited Edition, who looks quite nice with its black, teal, and burnt sienna color theme. For our hands-on impressions, check out our SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 review.

A quick note on compatibility. The Nova 7P is compatible with the PS5, PS4, and PC consoles. The 7X model is compatible with the Xbox, PS5.PS4 (limited compatibility), and PC.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Gaming Headset for $119.99

The SteelSeries Arcis Nova 7 is the latest successor to the highly rated Arctis 7 series of headsets. It’s every bit as good as its predecessor but with some welcome upgrades like a USB Type-C charging port, a longer battery life (38 hours vs 30 hours), simultaneous wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, and multi-platform compatibility. PC gamers also have access to the SteelSeries GG app, which opens up a whole suite of customization for your audio. You can tailor your audio settings independently for each game. If that’s too much for you, there are presets for specific games that are actually tailor-made by the game developers.

Other than that, the Nova Arctis is largely similar to the original Arctis. That’s not a bad thing because the Arctis 7 happens to be Steelseries’ most successful gaming headset ever. This headset has significantly better build quality over the official $100 Xbox wireless headset. If you want an even better wireless headset, in our opinion you’d have to step all the way up to something like the Nova 7 Pro, whose $350 price point puts you in a completely different bracket altogether.

If you’re looking for more games and accessories, check out the best PS5 deals or the best Xbox deals.

Tony Hawk has said he’s talking to Activision again and is working on something Pro Skater-related with the company.

In an interview with Mythical Kitchen (via VGC), the world famous skater teased plans to celebrate Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s 25th anniversary later this year.

“I wish I could tell you more, but I can tell you that I have been talking to Activision again, which is insanely exciting. We’re working on something,” Hawk said. “That is the first time I’ve said that publicly.

“It will be something the fans will truly appreciate.”

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt has finally added AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 with Frame Generation to the PC version of the game.

Patch 2.13 for Cyberpunk 2077 and expansion Phantom Liberty is being rolled out now on PC only (patch notes are below), but despite the version mismatch between PC and console, cross-progression will still function properly.

AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR3) combines image upscaling with frame generation technologies to generate high resolution frames at fast frame-rates. You can enable it in Settings → Graphics in the Quick Preset section, CD Projekt explained in a post on its website.

There’s also a separate setting to enable FSR Frame Generation. Note that FSR Frame Generation can only be used when AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 upscaling is enabled.

CD Projekt had told IGN back in May that Cyberpunk 2077 would get the long promised FSR3 support at some point, despite announcing it no longer had a dedicated Cyberpunk 2077 team.

Fans were left questioning whether the promised update would ever arrive after the developer told investors its Cyberpunk 2077 team had migrated elsewhere following the release of what was assumed to be the final update in version 2.12.

CD Projekt wound down development on Cyberpunk 2077 after the release of its first and only expansion, Phantom Liberty, back in September 2023. It came after the game-changing Update 2.0, which completely revamped Cyberpunk 2077 with features such as a new perk system and improved AI, and was followed by another big update in 2.1 but only minor changes afterwards.

Patch 2.11 addressed myriad bugs and balance issues in the open-world role-playing game, while 2.12 applied what was thought to be a final layer of polish. CD Projekt is now looking firmly forward towards Cyberpunk 2077’s sequel, codenamed Orion, and its myriad incoming Witcher games.

“We’ve decided to keep support for both FSR 2.1 and FSR 3 to give players the flexibility to choose their preferred setting for visual quality and performance,” CD Projekt explained. “This allows them to experiment and find what fits their gaming style best.”

Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty update 2.13 patch notes:

• Added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 with Frame Generation. More information can be found in this article on the Support website.
• Added support for Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.3.
• It will now be possible to enable both DLAA and DLSS Ray Reconstruction at the same time.
• Added a new “Utilities” tab in Settings and moved HDD Mode, Hybrid CPU Utilization and AMD Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) options there.
• Other stability and visual fixes.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Thieves are once again targeting the Pokémon Trading Card Game, with a duo in Japan allegedly making off with $70,000 worth after asking staff which ones were valuable.

As reported by NHK and translated by ComicBook, a Pokémon TCG store in Osaka was allegedly broken into at 3:30am while a pair of employees were closing up. The perpetrators tied the workers up and demanded not the Pokémon cards themselves, but insight into which ones were worth taking.

Pokémon card thefts are on the rise given how valuable some cards are (the rarest sold in 2022 for more than $5 million), but as tens of thousands of individual cards exist, not to mention countless copies of most of them, it can be hard to differentiate between the good cardboard and the bad cardboard.

The alleged Osaka thieves seemingly didn’t do their research, similar to a group in the California who were mocked by staff in January, and had to ask the employees which cards were valuable.

The staff seemingly knew their stuff though, as the thieves made off with more than 100 cards valued at ¥10 million, roughly $70,000.

Tokyo police reported an unprecedented number of trading card thefts in the latter half of 2022. High profile examples include a Minnesota store reportedly having around $250,000 worth of cards stolen, a Tokyo man allegedly launching a full on heist to acquire cards, and even an Alabama policeman was allegedly fired for pocketing cards in Walmart.

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

Payday 3 director Miodrag Kovačević is stepping down following a disastrous first year for the live service heist shooter.

Developer Starbreeze Entertainment posted on X/Twitter to announce the change in management, saying Kovačević will work as a designer on Payday 3 instead. Lead producer Andreas Penninger and global brand director Almir Listo will act as the “creative force” behind the game “in the interim,” though the long term future of Payday 3’s leadership remains hazy.

“Going into year two, [Kovačević] will be stepping away from his role as game director and focusing his efforts as a designer elsewhere in the project,” the post said.

“In the interim, while researching and planning year two, [Penninger] and [Listo] will be the creative force behind the upcoming updates we hope you keep enjoying and playing. Thank you for your continued support. We salute you.”

Payday 3 launched in September 2023 to strong player numbers that quickly withered away, due to server issues that forced then Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren to apologize. “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario — we should be able to do better,” he said before leaving the company.

Almost a month after its launch and Starbreeze apologized again for its lack of communication, and then just a week later said sorry one more time for not delivering a promised patch and again going quiet. It said in January it was “well aware” fans weren’t satisfied.

Frustration with the studio and general disbelief spiked again in June when Starbreeze finally released what it called an “offline mode,” which players had been calling for since launch, but it required an online connection to access and made the game run worse than normal.

Starbreeze initially boasted Payday 3 had 3.1 million players as of October 2, 2023, but this number has dwindled, at least on Steam, as many more players are currently playing Payday 2 than its sequel. According to SteamDB, Payday 3 has a 24-hour peak of just 794 compared to Payday 2’s 11,868, despite the latter launching over a decade ago.

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

Microsoft is laying off a further 650 staff from its gaming business, according to a memo sent by Xbox chief Phil Spencer to staff today, September 12, and obtained by IGN.

In the memo, Spencer said the roles affect mostly corporate and support functions, and were made “to organize our business for long term success.” He clarified that no games, devices or experiences are being canceled and no studios are being closed as part of these cuts.

These latest layoffs mean Microsoft has let go of 2,550 staff from its gaming business since acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023.

Sony has released a significant update for the PS5 that adds a Welcome hub, Party Share, and more new features. Unfortunately the update does not add themes or folders, two of the most-requested features from PS5 owners.

VP of product management at Sony Interactive Entertainment Hiromi Wakai unveiled PS5 system software update 24.06-10.00.00 on the PlayStation Blog, with its patch notes, below, published to the PlayStation website.

The Welcome hub is a new personalized space with customizable widgets and backgrounds in your PS5 home screen. Welcome hub is a reimagined version of the Explore tab, Wakai said, which was previously only available in the U.S. It will roll out globally over the next few weeks, starting today for select players in the U.S.

Elsewhere, Party share will roll out globally in the coming weeks. This will allow you to invite a friend you’re chatting with on any messaging app to join your party voice chat, even if you haven’t added them to your friends list on PlayStation Network.

To create a party link, open the voice chat card in the Control Center on PS5, select [Invite Players], then click [Share Party link] to generate a scannable QR code. Recipients can open the link on their mobile device and seamlessly join the party on their PS5 or from PlayStation App.

Wakai outlined more features released as part of today’s update, previously tested in beta:

• Personalized 3D audio profiles for headphones and earbuds
• Adjust Remote Play settings per user and choose who is allowed to connect to your PS5 console using Remote Play
• Adaptive charging for your controllers (available for the slimmer PS5 model and PS5 Pro when it’s available)

This PS5 update comes hot on the heels of Sony’s controversial announcement of the PS5 Pro, which launches November 7 priced $700. The PS5 Pro, which does not come with a disc drive, has sparked a sales jump for the existing PS5 Disc Drive.

PS5 system software update 24.06-10.00.00 patch notes:

• The Welcome hub is now available in the home screen. For users in North America, this enhancement replaces the Explore hub.
  • You can customize the Welcome hub with widgets and backgrounds.
  • Widgets display information like storage, battery levels, online friends, and more.
  • Widgets can be added, removed, resized, and moved one by one. You can also choose from preset widget layouts based on your preferences.
  • A limited number of users will receive the Welcome hub in this update. All users worldwide will receive this enhancement within 1-2 months.
• You can now create a personalized 3D audio profile for your headphones that’s optimized to each user’s ears. This allows for a more immersive 3D audio experience than ever before.
  • Each 3D audio profile is uniquely optimized for each user, created by taking detailed measurements of how you hear 3D audio throughheadphones.
  • To create a personalized 3D audio for your headphones, go to Settings > Sound > 3D Audio (Headphones).
  • You can still select from 3D audio presets like before.
• Adaptive charging for your controller is now available for when your PS5 (CFI-2000 model group)is in rest mode.
  • Adaptive charging allows the duration of power supply during rest mode to adjust depending on how much battery your controller has left, helping save power.
  • To use adaptive charging, go to Settings > System > Power Saving > Features Available in Rest Mode, and then select Supply Power to USB Ports > Adaptive.
  • Adaptive charging is supported on the PS5 CFI-2000 model group, using the USB Type-C port. Adaptive charging works with the DualSense wireless controller, DualSense Edge wireless controller, PS VR2 Sense controllers, and Access controller.
  • After your PS5 enters rest mode, if a controller isn’t connected, the power supply to the USB port will stop after a certain period of time.
• When you’re in a party, you can now share a link to that party. Share the link with players using other services to invite them to that party.
  • This feature will be gradually rolled out after this system software update is released.
• You can now set which users can connect to the PS5 using Remote Play.
  • Go to Settings > System > Remote Play > Enable Remote Play, and select the users who can access your console through Remote Play.
• The restore licenses feature has been improved, and you can now restore one license at a time.
  • Go to Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses to select the license that you want to restore.
  • To restore a license from the home screen or Game Library, go to the game, press the options button, and then select Restore License from the menu.
• We’ve added a friendly recommendation about your storage space that you’ll sometimes see in Settings > Storage.
• We’ve made it simpler to access the most popular activities from game hubs.
  • Game hubs now only display activities that are currently in progress.
  • To play a specific activity, start the game first and find it using in-game menus.
• The Invite to New Game option, which is available from multiple locations, is no longer available when sending game invites.
  • To invite friends to a game session, start the game first, then send the invitation to the session.
• We’ve updated the device software of the DualSense and DualSense Edge wireless controllers, PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers, and Access controller to improve stability.
• We’ve improved system software performance and stability.
• We’ve improved the messages and usability on some screens.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Space Marine 2 is off to a great start. Yesterday, Saber Interactive announced that its Warhammer 40K action game reached 2 million players, and it has retained consistently high concurrents on Steam.

Now Saber Interactive CEO Tim Willits, who served as studio director at id Software until 2019, is claiming that Space Marine 2 is selling many of the games in id’s famed franchises. He’s backed up by former CEO Todd Hollenshead, who departed id Software in 2013 and currently works with Willits at Saber.

Todd Hollenshead (former CEO of id Software) and I believe that Space Marine 2 is the fastest selling game we’ve ever worked on, including all the Quake, DOOM, Wolfenstein, and RAGE games over the years. #SpaceMarine2

— Tim Willits (@TimWillits) September 11, 2024

“Todd Hollenshead (former CEO of id Software) and I believe that Space Marine 2 is the fastest selling game we’ve ever worked on, including all the Quake, DOOM, Wolfenstein, and RAGE games over the years,” Willits claims.

IGN has reached out to id Software for a response.

Willits departed id Software in 2019, meaning he would have had at least some oversight over 2020’s Doom Eternal. Both Willits and Hollenshead spent many years at id Software, joining in 1995 and 1996 respectively, which was the heyday of games like Doom 2. In the years that they were with id Software, the studio developed the Quake franchise, various Doom sequels and reboots, and Rage and its sequel.

While the actual sales data around its various games are a bit hazy, 2016’s Doom was able to sell at least 2 million copies by 2017. Doom Eternal, meanwhile, was estimated to have reached 3 million at launch.

One way or another, Space Marine 2 is doing well for itself, buoyed by strong reviews and player sentiment. We recently called it an “Xbox 360 shooter in the best way possible,” writing in our review: “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a terrific third-person shooter with a compelling story, loads of weapons that are a blast to use, and a healthy variety of enemies to use them on,” It once again borrows many of its ideas from the Gears of War series, but they’re good ideas, and Space Marine 2 does a fine job of making them its own.

“And while the Operations PvE mode that accompanies it doesn’t currently offer enough to keep me coming back, the deep customization options for your Space Marine do look promising if it’s supported in post-launch updates as planned. Besides, when you’re eviscerating aliens on planets as pretty as these, it’s hard not to leave satisfied.”

For more, be sure to check out guide to Space Marine 2’s multiplayer as well as campaign tips and tricks and much more. Space Marine 2 is out now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.

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

I find the word “cozy” to be dreadfully overused when assigning genres to video games these days, but it’s hard to find another adjective that so perfectly captures what I love about Dragon Quest. Straightforward but rewarding turn-based combat paired with a classic hero’s journey told in a picturesque fantasy world result in a wonderfully traditional RPG experience I’ve always found so comforting. So when I was given the choice at a recent preview event to try out Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on either PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch, the choice to settle in on the couch in the Switch’s handheld mode was an easy one.

And rest assured, Switch owners, Dragon Quest 3 looked and ran great on the aging Nintendo system. Square Enix’s other HD-2D games like Octopath Traveler and Live A Live were perfect for playing in short bursts before bed, and Dragon Quest 3 is looking to fit that mold as well.

Unlike our first look at Dragon Quest 3’s remake which showed off how faithfully it’s sticking to the roots of the 30-plus-year-old NES RPG, the hour I played Dragon Quest 3 was spent with some of the remake’s brand-new additions. And so far, I’m extremely pleased with the new content that spruces things up without unrecognizably transforming the original experience.

First, I hung out in the revamped Monster Arena, where you can send monsters you’ve defeated and recruited throughout the game to do battle against other teams of creatures. In the original Dragon Quest 3, you could simply bet on the outcome of fights in the Monster Arena, but this remake lets you get in on the action yourself. Monster collecting has been a big part of both the main Dragon Quest games and the Monsters spinoff series for decades, and it’s great to see that legacy continue here.

I entered the arena with a preset team of a Slime, Healslime, and Spiked Hare, but this side mode is clearly set up for me to make my own teams with monsters I recruit across the main game. You don’t directly command your team in the Monster Arena tournament, but rather set how they should act in battle from four distinct options: Show No Mercy, Fight Wisely, Focus on Healing, and Don’t Use MP.

For the first few rounds, I instructed my Healslime to focus on healing its allies while the Slime and Spiked Hare dealt all the damage, but once I realized I had this fight in the bag, I had my whole team go all out. This monster auto battler seems like a fun distraction from the main adventure, and I can see myself swinging by regularly to fine-tune my team and enter them in tournaments.

While watching my team do battle I found myself mesmerized by the enemy character models. I’ve felt that Dragon Quest and the HD-2D art style were a match made in heaven since this remake’s initial reveal, and seeing it in action confirmed how much I love seeing these classic enemies in Square Enix’s enticing art direction. The killerpillar (an evil caterpillar, if you couldn’t guess) I faced in my first fight had a very detailed idle animation where it bounced back and forth, and the way it wriggled its entire body when gearing up for an attack made the whole turn-based fight feel so much more dynamic.

The same can be said of the awesome character models for Robbin’ ‘Ood and his set of Robbin’ ‘oodlums, the boss fight I faced at the top of Skyfell Tower. Ascending the tower was a classic, atmospheric dungeon experience filled with random encounters. Here, I was impressed with how flexible Dragon Quest 3’s combat system is. Remember those four preset orders I could assign to my team in the Monster Arena? In Dragon Quest 3’s core combat, those presets are still available to you, with the added option of “Follow Orders”. This means you can rip through the low-stakes random encounters in a dungeon by telling all four of your party members to Show No Mercy, but when a challenging boss fight begins, you can take control of every decision to ensure you emerge victorious. This, combined with the ability to crank up the battle speed whenever you like, adds to that cozy, relaxing game feel I mentioned earlier. It’s enjoyable to kick back and watch the experience points roll in during the low level fights that only take a few seconds at max speed, but when I reached the top of the tower to face off against Robbin ‘Ood, I wanted to make every choice myself.

And it’s a good thing I did take control of the boss fight, because it was a nail-biter. I had to use my Priest to heal my party several times, while my protagonist and Monster Wrangler – which is a new class introduced to the remake – dealt the heavy blows. I let out a big sigh of relief when Robbin ‘Ood finally fell to the ground, and it just made me want to rush straight to the next dungeon to face off against the next big boss.

I also want to shout out this remake’s new party customization feature. The party members in Dragon Quest 3 are blank slates, but the remake revamps Patty’s Party Planning Place, a tavern where you can design your own party members, choosing their class, name, appearance, hair color, and voice. There aren’t very many customization options, but enough to make a rudimentary version of myself that I inserted into my party. I imagine players will have a ton of fun customizing their party and making changes to it throughout the game.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is out November 14 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake arriving sometime next year.

Lenovo is offering $15 off select Xbox controllers, including a few limited edition ones, when you apply coupon code “SAVEACCXTRA“. It stacks with instant discounts as well. The limited edition controllers – Sky Cipher Edition and Nocturnal Vapor Edition – haven’t been discounted, ever, so it’s possible that they are unintentionally eligible. In any case, if you’ve been eyeing one of these controllers, do not hesitate or you’ll probably experience FOMO. They are compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC (via Bluetooth, USB Type-C, or Xbox wireless dongle).

Xbox Controllers Currently on Sale

You can quickly browse through all of the listed controllers that are currently on sale above. We picked out the best deals or most interesting products worth mentioning below.

Sky Cipher Special Edition

Nocturnal Vapor Special Edition

Blue

Deep Pink

Shock Blue

Electric Volt