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PlayStation Plus Game Catalog Additions for September 2024 Revealed

Sony has revealed the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for September 2024, which includes The Plucky Squire, Far Cry 5, and more.

Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 13 games are joining the library, nine on the PlayStation Plus Extra tier and four on the PlayStation Plus Premium Tier through the Classic Games Catalog and PSVR2 offerings. They’re available September 17.

September perhaps doesn’t have as many heavy hitters as last month, which included The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Wild Hearts, Ride 5, Watch Dogs 2, Cult of the Lamb, and more.

PlayStation Plus Games Catalog Additions for September 2024

The Plucky Squire is certainly the headline game this month as it launches straight onto PlayStation Plus, letting players explore its blend of 2D and 3D gameplay elements. “The Plucky Squire follows the magical adventures of Jot and his companions, storybook characters who discover a three-dimensional world outside the pages of their book,” reads the official synopsis.

Under the Waves is a narrative driven adventure game about grief, set in the North Sea in a techno futuristic 1970s. Players are offered the chance to not just explore a deep and dark surreal underwater landscape but also the very depths of the human psyche.

Adventure and exploration game Night in the Woods is up next, letting PS Plus users who haven’t already experience the 2017 game. “Night in the Woods’ exploration of young adulthood manages to be charming, funny, and devastatingly sad all at once,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Very different, Chernobylite is promised to be a science-fiction survival horror experience, mixing the free exploration of its disturbing world with challenging combat, unique crafting, and non-linear storytelling. It was released in 2021 and has a sequel on the way.

The football version of NBA Playground arrived in 2023 as Wild Card Football. Its developer Saber Interactive said it “takes the fun and excitement of football over the top with exciting arcade action and features a massive roster of hundreds of real-life football players with detailed player models and animations.”

One for science fiction and grafting fans, Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, and the maintenance of space works. It was announced a decade ago but only arrived in 2019, and joined PlayStation Plus rival Xbox Game Pass in February 2024.

Looking to be as wild and wacky as some real road trips, Road 96 lets players travel through a procedurally generated adventure again and again. “Road 96 is a fascinating and frequently tense adventure that manages to keep its story on track despite the odd bump in the road,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

Players may be able to complete Ben 10 faster than they can say “it’s hero time” but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a lot of fun, right? “As Ben Tennyson, it’s up to you to save the world,” reads the synopsis. “Take on some of Ben’s most infamous enemies, including Zombozo, Queen Bee, and the Weatherheads.”

The penultimate (for now) entry in Ubisoft’s open world first-person shooter series, Far Cry 5 takes players to the deep south of the U.S. as they look to escape from and destroy a doomsday cult attempting to take over the entire country. It also earned an 8/10 in IGN’s review: “Far Cry 5 is another wide-open playground with all the necessary ingredients for causing a real ruckus: loads of enemies and allies, temperamental wildlife, and plenty of explosions.”

Pistol Whip is September’s virtual reality game as it gives PSVR2 users an action packed rhythm game blended with the first person shooter genre. “Pistol Whip is a VR highlight with fast-paced rhythm shooting, an exciting soundtrack, and an enticingly abstract art style,” IGN said in another 8/10 review.

Did you know Clank, of Ratchet and Clank fame, had a secret agent alter ego? No? I guess that’s the point! Secret Agent Clank is a PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable game from 2008 making its way to the PS Plus Classic Games Catalog. IGN’s 6/10 review said we don’t hate the game, but are just disappointed in it.

Sky Gunner is a third-person combat flight simulator from 2000, originally released on the PlayStation 2. It’s now been enhanced with up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters, however, clearing the runway for takeoff in the modern era.

Though perhaps not quite as iconic as Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon, Mister Mosquito still pulled in a decent review. “It’s a little short and about $10 more that [we’d have cared] to pay for it, and it has a few camera and control problems, but the game’s creative premise, it’s brave completion, and the phenomenal amount of laughter and fun to be had here shouldn’t be ignored,” IGN said in 2002.

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

Will PS5 Pro Run GTA 6 at 4K60? Probably Not, Say the Experts

The PS5 Pro is now a fast-approaching reality. The $700 mid-generation upgrade arrives on November 7, approximately a year in advance of the game that will likely push the four-years-old base PS5 to its very limits: Grand Theft Auto 6. But how essential will the PS5 Pro be to enjoying GTA 6 at its very best? It’s a question more complicated than it first seems.

“I think there’s good evidence to suggest that the [GTA 6 trailer from last year] was running on either PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X,” says Richard Leadbetter, technology editor at Digital Foundry. As such, the impressive level of graphical detail seen in that trailer should be achievable using the power of the original 2020 model PlayStation 5. It stands to reason, then, that the new PS5 Pro will be more than capable of delivering what we saw in that short glimpse of Vice City.

Frame rates, though, are an entirely different thing. When asked if GTA 6 could realistically run at 60 frames-per-second on the PS5 Pro, Leadbetter is blunt in his analysis: “No. Grand Theft Auto games have always run complex simulations that push the CPU hard, which is why every GTA game has initially launched on their target platforms at 30fps (or lower!).

“The PS5 Pro uses the same CPU as the PS5 and it would be extremely challenging to hit 60fps if the base PS5 version is targeting 30fps,” he explains. “This isn’t a GPU problem, it’s a CPU problem.”

There’s a multitude of simulation work running concurrently and constantly in GTA to keep its open world ticking. Every street is, at the very minimum, a stage for complex traffic and pedestrian simulations – AI routines and physics calculations that bring those roads and sidewalks to life. GTA 6 will very likely feature one of the most realistic depictions of city life we’ve seen in a video game, and so will be significantly taxing on the CPU as it renders all sorts of NPC behaviours. That leaves little bandwidth to boost those frame rates.

Grand Theft Auto games have always run complex simulations that push the CPU hard, which is why every GTA game has initially launched on their target platforms at 30fps.

Still, thanks to the PS5 Pro’s other enhancements, GTA 6 will undoubtedly look better on the new console. It just likely will not be the 4K 60fps experience many will be expecting following Sony’s boastful presentation. “What you will get will be higher quality visuals, but likely still running at similar frame-rates [to the base console],” says Leadbetter. “If GTA 6 can’t sustain a locked 30fps (GTA 4 and GTA 5 couldn’t on PS3 and Xbox 360), PS5 Pro can run the CPU with a 10 percent bump to clock speeds – so you may get more stable performance.

“Of course, all bets are off if Rockstar is targeting 60fps on the standard PS5 – but we’ve seen no evidence so far to suggest it is.”

While it seems unlikely that the PS5 Pro will run GTA 6 at 4K 60fps, there’s still reason to believe the new console will prove an impressive machine. Right now, though, there’s little evidence of its transformative abilities. “I think the hardware’s certainly capable, but the actual presentation confused me,” says Leadbetter. “Nine minutes just isn’t really enough to describe in depth the features the machine has and the philosophy behind the design.”

Leadbetter also notes that the games showcased during the presentation were already fantastic graphical showcases in their original forms, and so were not ideal demonstrations of the Pro’s machine learning-based upscaling technology. Why was it the already gorgeous Horizon Forbidden West and Spider-Man 2 being shown off when we could have seen how transformative PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution could be for games that have shaky image quality on the standard PS5?

“Combine that with poor presentational techniques and YouTube’s inadequacies as a video delivery platform and you didn’t see much of an improvement,” says Leadbetter.

While Sony has chosen to so far only preview enhancements to games that barely require them in the first place, we can at least be relatively confident that those titles in desperate need of a performance boost will be catered for. The PlayStation Blog states that up to 8,500 games will be improved thanks to the PS5 Pro Game Boost feature.

We might even finally get Elden Ring locked to 60 frames per second.

“I think [the improvements will] be quite cool actually, assuming the extra 45 percent of GPU power is fully available to existing games,” enthuses Leadbetter. “Many titles have dynamic resolution scaling. You should see clear image quality improvements there. Similarly, a lot of games have frame-rate issues in their 60fps performance modes – I’d expect those to be cleaned up. We might even finally get Elden Ring locked to 60 frames per second.”

One thing Leadbetter thinks is less likely to make an impact is the Pro’s 8K capabilities. While he foresees a very small number of tech-focused developers, like Gran Turismo 7 creator Polyphony Digital, making 8K resolution options available for PS5 Pro, he doubts other studios will work on such modes “because the audience out there is vanishingly small.”

“I had an 8K screen for four years, but even as an RTX 4090 owner, I have little interest in 8K gaming when high frame-rates at max 4K are so much more desirable,” he says.

Talking of Nvidia’s RTX graphics cards, PC gaming has been the much-debated topic following Sony’s reveal of the PS5 Pro’s eye-watering $699.99 price tag. I’ve seen several suggestions across social media that it’s better value to just save up a ‘little extra’ money and buy a PC that will prove more powerful than the PS5 Pro. It’s an argument I personally think is flawed – a strong 4K, high frame-rate PC will set you back notably more money than the cost of the new console. And, when it’s built, it simply won’t be capable of doing the thing many prospective PS5 Pro owners want: playing GTA 6 at launch with the best possible graphics. (GTA 6 will ship on console first, remember.)

Leadbetter has a similar outlook. “You will struggle to get that kind of visual quality on a similarly priced PC,” he says. “The closest GPU on the market now with that kind of feature set and performance is the RTX 4070 – which is a fair bit better, I’d say. But your base cost there is $540/£480. And then you need to factor in CPU, motherboard, memory, storage, power supply and case.

“You could offset the extra cost against the fact that you don’t need extra subscription costs over time, I suppose, but I think you’re missing the fundamental point of what PS5 Pro is and who is going to buy it.

“It’s a console, not a PC – and there are still key differences there, not least in a viable living room experience. I’d also say the Pro is designed to appeal to core PlayStation users with a library built up over many years. That library will not transition over to PC so those users are effectively starting from scratch.”

Of course, that’s not to say that the PS5 Pro is a ‘good deal’. “That user base likely has a physical game library, too – so the notion you don’t even get a disc drive for your £699/$699 is nuts,” Leadbetter concludes.

There may be other people looking at the PS5 Pro and failing to see a good value proposition, too, although for entirely other reasons. “I think Phil Spencer watched the presentation and felt vindicated in the decision not to make a ‘pro’ console for this generation,” Leadbetter theories. “Xbox players already have a great way to play high-end Xbox games – and that’s on PC, where the enthusiast has more freedom to pick and choose the kind of hardware they want.”

It’s true: Microsoft has been running three different platforms from the very start of the generation, offering a solution for players of all tastes and budgets. It is arguably Xbox’s biggest advantage over PlayStation. Who needs a Series X-X when you can play Starfield at 4K60 on a PC? Avowed’s 30fps lock simply isn’t a problem if you’ve already shelled out for an RTX 40-series graphics card.

But, as we’ve already said, the PS5 Pro is not a PC. It’s a different beast entirely. Is it the console the PlayStation hardcore needs, though? Let’s see how fast it flies off the shelves this November.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. Additional reporting by Alex Simmons.

This Week’s Space Marine 2 Patch Is the ‘First Quick Fix’ — Bigger Patch Due Later in September

Space Marine 2 has its first patch following its record-breaking launch, but don’t expect big changes — those are coming in a larger update due later in September.

Publisher Focus Interactive announced that a small hotfix (hotfix 2.1) is out now for the Saber Interactive-developed Warhammer 40,000 action game across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S (check out the patch notes below).

It focuses on crashes and bug fixes, with a PC-only optimization for behavior on high-end CPUs thrown in. The big, hotly anticipated patch that Focus has already confirmed adds the much-needed ultrawide support and private PvE lobbies is due out later this month.

We’ve got plenty more Space Marine 2 coverage, including details on its post-launch roadmap, the upcoming addition of class matching for co-op after players found themselves locked in a class standoff ahead of Operations mode missions, and a report on those creepy flying babies you keep seeing on the Battle Barge.

IGN’s Space Marine 2 review returned an 8/10. We said: “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 may not break the third-person shooter mold, but it looks amazing, makes good use of its Warhammer lore, and has brutal combat that just feels great.”

Space Marine 2 hotfix 2.1 patch notes:

Crashes and bug fixes

  • Fixed some rare possible crashes when starting the game
  • Fixed a rare possible crash that occured during the first cutscene
  • Fixed several other rare crashes
  • Fixed several rare bugs that were causing soft locks in the story mode

PC Only

  • Optimized CPU behavior on high end CPUs

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.

This Year’s Pokémon TCG Trick or Trade Boosters Are The Best We’ve Ever Seen

The Pokémon TCG Halloween Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle is back, bringing a spooky twist to your collection on All Hallows Eve. With 35 mini boosters in each bundle, you’ll have plenty of chances to pull some of your favorite Pokémon, all with a cute Pikachu Halloween stamp.

It’s a brilliant product for collectors, kids, or anyone looking to hand out something cooler than sweets this year. Plus, the whole set of 30 cards can be completed with just one bundle, which is perfect for those who like a challenge but don’t want to break the bank.

If you’re after a fun, seasonal Pokémon product that’s easy to collect, the Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle 2024 is it. It’s only $15 for 35 mini boosters (see here), and this year’s is one of the best ever, with cards like Okidogi, Munkidori, and Gengar making appearances, it’s a great mix of reprints and new faces. Check out our full preview of the 2024 set right here.

Rather than a than a hardcore gaming set, consider the Trick or Trade boosters as more of fun collectible for all ages. The focus here is on the Halloween aesthetic, with reprints like Pikachu and Gengar looking extra spooky with their new stamps. However, you’d be surprised at how many of the cards still have solid abilities for casual play. Plus, you’ve got new cards from the Scarlet & Violet set, like Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, to add a fresh vibe.

Each set is packed with 35 mini boosters, containing 3 cards in every “mini-booster”. The entire set of 30 cards can be completed by grabbing just one bundle. Unlike regular packs, these cards aren’t about game-changing pulls or competitive play but more about celebrating Halloween with a collectible twist. The nine Cosmo holo cards add a bit of shine to the whole experience, making cards like Pikachu and Mimikyu even more special. We love the 2024 set, and highly recommend it for anyone Pokémon fans getting into the Halloween spirit.

Our Top Trick or Trade Pulls, and How To Play Them

Darkrai 136/197 OBF

  • 130 HP (Dark)
  • [D] Dark Slumber 20: Your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now Asleep.
  • [D][D][C] Night Cyclone 120: Move all Energy from this Pokémon to your Benched Pokémon in any way you like.
  • Weaknesses: [G] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C] [C]
  • How to Play: Start using Dark Slumber to disrupt your opponent’s Active Pokémon, especially if they rely on big attacks. Then, follow up with Night Cyclone for a solid hit while moving your Energy to a fresh attacker on your bench. This keeps your momentum going even if Darkrai is knocked out.

Fezandipiti 096/167 TWM

  • 120 HP (Psychic)
  • Ability: Adrena-Pheromone: If this Pokémon has any [D] Energy attached and is damaged by an attack, flip a coin. If heads, prevent that damage.
  • [P] Energy Feather 30x: This attack does 30 damage for each Energy attached to this Pokémon.
  • Weaknesses: [S] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Load Fezandipiti with energy and let it rip. The more energy attached, the more devastating it becomes. Its ability makes it a frustrating opponent, as it can dodge attacks.

Flutter Mane 078/162 TEF

  • 90 HP (Psychic)
  • Ability: Midnight Fluttering: As long as this Pokémon is in the Active Spot, your opponent’s Active Pokémon has no Abilities, except for Midnight Fluttering.
  • [P][C] Hex Hurl: Put 2 damage counters on your opponent’s Pokémon in any way you like.
  • Weaknesses: [S] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: This card works best to cripple Ability-based decks. Use Flutter Mane early to control the board and stack damage across your opponent’s team with Hex Hurl.

Gengar 057/091 PAF

  • 130 HP (Dark)
  • Ability: Night Gate: Once during your turn, you may switch your Active Pokémon with 1 of your benched Pokémon.
  • [D][C] Nightmare 100: Your opponent’s Active Pokémon is now asleep.
  • Weaknesses: [F] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Gengar’s Night Gate ability gives you flexibility in battle. Its high damage output and sleep effect make it a solid attacker that’s tough to counter.

Mimikyu 037/031 PAF

  • 70 HP (Psychic)
  • Ability: Safeguard: Prevent all damage done to this Pokémon by attacks from your opponent’s Pokémon ex and Pokémon V.
  • [P][C] Ghost Eye: Put 7 damage counters on your opponent’s active Pokémon.
  • Weaknesses: [S] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Mimikyu’s great against ex-heavy decks. Its Safeguard ability keeps it safe while Ghost Eye quietly racks up damage.

Munkidori 095/167 TWM

  • 110 HP (Psychic)
  • Ability: Adrena-Brain: Once during your turn, if this Pokémon has any [D] Energy attached, you may move up to 3 damage counters from 1 of your Pokémon to 1 of your opponent’s Pokémon.
  • [P][C] Mind Bend 60: Your Opponent’s Active Pokémon is now confused.
  • Weaknesses: [D] x 2
  • Resistances: [F] – 30
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Munkidori excels in control decks. Use its ability to spread damage across your opponent’s Pokémon while keeping your side healthy. The Confusion effect from Mind Bend can throw off your opponent’s strategy.

Okidogi 111/167 TWM

  • 130 HP (Fighting)
  • Ability: Adrena-Power: If this Pokémon has any [D] Energy attached, it gets +100 HP, and the attacks it uses do 100 more damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon (before applying Weakness and Resistance).
  • [F][F] Good Punch 70
  • Weaknesses: [P] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C] [C]
  • How to Play: This card is a tank. Stack it with [D] energy to boost its HP and power its punches. Combine it with cards that can recycle [D] energy to keep Okidogi in fighting form.

Pikachu 018/091 PAF

  • 70 HP (Electric)
  • [C] Growl: During your opponent’s next turn, the Defending Pokémon’s attacks do 20 less damage (before applying Weakness and Resistance).
  • [E][C] Pika Bolt 30
  • Weaknesses: [F] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Pikachu’s all about early-game setup. Use Growl to buy time while you charge up Pika Bolt or set up your bench.

Sinistcha 022/167 TWM

  • 70 HP (Grass)
  • [G] Put 4 damage counters on your opponent’s Pokémon in any way you like.
  • [G] Spill The Tea 70x: Discard up to 3 [G] energy cards from your Pokémon. This attack does 70 damage for each card you discarded in this way.
  • Weaknesses: [F] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Sinistcha is great for spreading damage and unloading a massive hit. Use its first attack to soften your opponent’s bench, then spill the tea for huge damage.

Teal Mask Ogerpon 024/167 TWM

  • 110 HP (Grass)
  • Mountain Stroll: Search your deck for up to 2 Basic Energy cards, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.
  • [G][C] Ogre Comeback 20+: This attack does 20 more damage for each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon.
  • Weaknesses: [F] x 2
  • Resistances: N/A
  • Retreat Cost: [C]
  • How to Play: Teal Mask Ogerpon shines in battles where your opponent builds a wide bench. Use Mountain Stroll early to stack energy in your hand, then unleash Ogre Comeback when your opponent has a full bench for severe damage. It’s best used in the middle of a match when your opponent will likely have more Pokémon on the bench.

Looking for more Pokémon cards? We’re busy updating our Pokédex of Pokémon TCG daily deals to grab trainers bargains on boosters, elite trainer boxes and more, so make sure to swing by our Best Pokémon TCG deals or the full release schedule for Pokemon TCG in 2024. We’ve also recently previewed the upcoming Stellar Crown sets, and the pull rates are fantastic.

Christian Wait is a UK-based freelancer for IGN, you can follow him @ChrisReggieWait on Twitter/X.

Most of Those Creepy Flying Things in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Aren’t Lobotomized Babies — the Truth Is Much Weirder

Space Marine 2 has broken free from the shackles of its Warhammer 40,000 setting and made inroads into the gaming mainstream, and that means there are plenty of players new to its grim dark far future.

For them Space Marine 2 is a somewhat bewildering experience, as it leans on much of the lore that Warhammer 40,000 owner Games Workshop has built over decades, with hundreds of novels, rule books, and magazine articles fleshing out the background fans know intimately.

Warhammer 40,000 fans have enjoyed seeing newcomers react in shock at just how grim and dark Space Marine 2 is. And it’s not just the extreme gore, mass death, and terrifying alien enemies that appear in the game either. Perhaps the most disturbing element of Space Marine 2 that newcomers are seeing for the first time are lobotomized babies.

A tweet from Forbes writer Paul Tassi, below, sums up the reaction to Space Marine 2’s winged babies, who seemingly fly about the Battle Barge, the spaceship on which the Space Marines live and plan their missions, performing monotonous busywork.

On the face of it, the apparent “good guys” of Space Marine 2’s story have lobotomized babies cleaning up their mess. Sound messed up? Welcome to Warhammer 40,000’s Imperium of Man, a fascist regime always on the brink of extinction and an extreme vision of the far future in which pretty much anything goes.

Warhammer 40,000 is intended to be grim and dark, and so stuff like this is par for the course (lobotomized babies aren’t close to being the most disturbing thing in the setting, if you fancy some light reading, check out what the Drukhari get up to in their spare time). Space Marine 2’s far future is a truly miserable place to be, a place in which countless humans die every day from all manner of horrors, be those alien, demon, or humans themselves. Humanity, bogged down by excruciating bureaucracy and religious fanaticism, has collapsed. There is no respite, no joy, only inevitable death.

With that in mind, Warhammer 40,000 fans are used to things like a “lobotomized church menial cyborg flying baby,” as X/Twitter user ChronoTheHarlequin pointed out. The thing is, with this one in particular, it gets even weirder.

As the unofficial Warhammer podcast Adeptus Ridiculous clarified, most of these things aren’t actually lobotomized babies. Most are built from the ground(?) up as flesh automatons with computers for brains (A.I is banned in the 40th millennium because of… reasons). Why do they look like babies? Apart from Warhammer 40,000 being all heavy metal and gothic, according to the lore, it’s for “ceremonial purposes.”

I’m loving Space Marine 2 and its attention to detail. The developers at Saber clearly love Warhammer 40,000 and made the effort to capture its oppressive, soul destroying atmosphere. I’ve particularly enjoyed the flavor dialogue you hear from the humans who are charged with keeping the Battle Barge afloat. Some bemoan a lack of sleep because of how hard they’re forced to work. Others express concern at the prospect of making even a single mistake. Given the truly miserable galaxy in which they live, these chaps are the lucky ones. And don’t get me started on the servitors.

We’ve got plenty more Space Marine 2 coverage, including details of its first patch, its post-launch roadmap, and the upcoming addition of class matching for co-op, after players found themselves locked in a class standoff ahead of Operations mode missions.

Image credit: Games Workshop.

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.

Best PS5 and PlayStation Deals Today (September 2024)

The summer sale events may be winding down, but there are still quite a few discounts lingering around for PlayStation fans. And with the brand new PS5 Pro just announced with a hefty price tag, there’s really no better time to take advantage of PS5 deals. We’ve gathered up some of our favorite offers below, including some excellent discounts on games such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $24.99, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 for $19.99, and God of War Ragnarök for $39.99. These deals only scratch the surface of what’s available now, though. Below, you can also find other deals on everything from consoles to SSDs and even information on where to buy a PS5 now.

Navigate to:

What to Buy Ahead of the PS5 Pro’s Release

The PS5 Pro has finally, officially been announced with a monumental price tag of $699.99. Preorders aren’t live yet, though you can keep your calendar marked for September 26 on PS Direct (October 10 for other retailers), and the console will officially release on November 7. It was also revealed during the 9-minute presentation that the new console does not come with a disc drive or the vertical stand. So, before preorders go live, we thought it best to point you in the direction of these items so you can purchase them now in the event they sell out. The PS5 Disc Drive will cost you $79.99 and the vertical stand will set you back $29.94.

Best PS5 Video Game Deals

There are plenty of excellent PS5 game deals to check out at the moment. Some of our favorites are on Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $24.99 at Woot, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 for $19.99 at Amazon, and God of War Ragnarök for $39.99 at Walmart. You can see even more of our favorite game deals below.

Perfect PS5 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $135

SSD prices have been rising in 2024 but, with significant discounts available, now is the perfect time to buy. This is one of the best deals on a 2TB SSD at the moment: You can score the WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD (with a heatsink!) for just $135 at the WD Store. Make sure you use the code ‘NVGDAY10‘ at checkout to take full advantage of this offer. You can see even more of our favorite SSD deals below.

PlayStation Portal Back In Stock

Best PS5 Headset Deals: 63% Off the Razer Kaira Pro Dual Wireless Gaming Headset & More Deals

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

More PS5 Gaming Headset Deals:

How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles

If you’re looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and we keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Capcom Confirms Dragon’s Dogma 2 Update for All Platforms as Well as PS5 Pro Enhanced Patch

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set for an update for all platforms in addition to the recently confirmed PS5 Pro Enhanced patch.

Last night, Sony announced the $700 PS5 Pro alongside a list of first and third-party games that will have what are called PS5 Pro Enhanced updates when the console comes out on November 7, 2024. Sony has indicated up to 50 PS5 Pro Enhanced games will be available for launch.

Capcom’s action RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 is among them. Like Sony’s announcement of the PS5 Pro, Dragon’s Dogma 2’s PS5 Pro Enhanced patch is light on details. All Capcom has said so far is that it will offer “a gaming experience that takes advantage of PS5 Pro’s features.”

The hope is that Dragon’s Dogma 2 will run at 60 frames per second and 4K resolution on PS5 Pro flawlessly. Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched in March on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S with a number of performance problems that subsequent updates have sought to tackle. Frame-rate is a particular problem especially in areas with lots of NPC. Now, Capcom has indicated that more updates are to come.

“We will soon be releasing an update for all platforms that will further improve CPU load, reduce crashes and bring additional adjustments,” Capcom said. “Further details will be announced as soon as they are ready.”

Dragon’s Dogma 2 arrived more than a decade after its predecessor and proved a monster hit for publisher Capcom despite controversy, selling 2.5 million units in 11 days amid microtransaction and the performance complaints.

In our 8/10 review, IGN said: “More of a redo than a sequel, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a strange and wonderful action-RPG that bolsters the original’s strengths without addressing its weaknesses.”

Meanwhile, we’ve got plenty of PS5 Pro coverage, including a list of all the PS5 Pro Enhanced games confirmed so far.

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.

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Had a ‘Pretty Rough Launch’ So Konami Says It’s Being More Careful With Vol. 2

Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is in the works, but getting it on store shelves will be easier said than done.

Metal Gear series promotions director Jiro Oishi and production producer Noriaki Okamura touched on plans for its tactical espionage action franchise in a recent Production Hotline episode posted by Konami. During a Q&A segment, Okamura acknowledged the fans eagerly waiting to learn which games will be included in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2. However, bringing some of the newer titles to modern audiences comes with a unique set of issues, including a desire to dodge the problems Vol. 1 faced at launch.

While Okamura assures that an additional entry in the Master Collection is in the works, the team doesn’t want to run into the same issues that plagued Vol. 1 buyers at launch. PC players, for example, were quick to criticize the Metal Gear Solid collection’s lack of display settings and locked 720p resolution. These issues as well as others saw its Steam reviews brought down to “mixed,” though it did eventually bounce back, with many titles from the collection now boasting a “very positive” banner.

“We’re also worried about how Vol. 1 had a pretty rough launch, with all of the issues,” Okamura added, “so we’re going to do everything we can not to repeat that, but we just have to ask for everyone to give us time.”

There’s more than one reason Konami wants Vol. 2 to stay in the oven for a while longer, though. Games from last year’s collection, such as Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, are based on pre-existing HD ports. It helped streamline the process for Konami, but it won’t have that leg up when it comes to the remastered versions of more recent Metal Gear titles.

“We had HD ports of MGS1, 2, and 3. Or, sorry, not really for 1, but the other two,” Okamura said. “But most of the titles released after those don’t have a pre-existing HD port we could use. Some are in HD, but those would all be really big titles, and that comes with its own set of issues.”

It’s because of these hurdles that Konami says it will “be a little while” before it commits to a lineup or release date for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2. So, while Okamura isn’t ready to confirm whether fans will finally get the long-awaited Metal Gear Solid 4 port they’ve always dreamed of, he at least notes that they’ll reveal more information when the team is ready.

Konami isn’t ready to announce a Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 release date, but that won’t stop fans from guessing which titles will make the cut. Players were able to uncover evidence that games like Metal Gear Solid 4, 5, and Peace Walker will join the collection late last year. Konami itself has teased more to come in Vol. 2 since last October, going as far as to tell fans to “stay tuned” just last month. IGN was also able to confirm the list of suspected titles for Vol. 2 last year.

Meanwhile, a remake titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, is expected to arrive sometime this year. You can check out our first hands-on preview here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

PlayStation 5 Pro: 5 Burning Questions We Have About Sony’s New Console

At long last, Sony has peeled back the curtain on the PlayStation 5 Pro. This new console will be significantly more powerful than the standard PS5, delivering new upscaling tech, better framerates, and significantly improved ray tracing capabilities. But that increased power also comes at an increased cost.

While we wait for the November 7 release of the PS5 Pro, let’s break down the biggest questions surrounding this new console right now. Is the higher price tag justified? How many games will actually take advantage of this raw horsepower? And why the heck are we still being charged extra for a stand? These are our PS5 Pro burning questions.

Is It Really Too Expensive?

The PlayStation 5 Pro was easily one of the worst-kept secrets in the gaming world, so the announcement didn’t exactly come as a surprise to most gamers. What did shock many, however, was the price tag. Sony is charging $699 for the Pro, which is quite a jump over the $449 MSRP of the disc drive-less standard PS5. A lot of gamers feel that the PS5 Pro is simply too expensive.

But is that a fair assessment? Yes, the price difference is quite a bit more than what we saw with the PS4 and PS4 Pro. But Sony is specifically touting the majorly upgraded GPU. When you consider that, on the PC gaming front, a decent midrange card like a Radeon RX 6800 costs in the neighborhood of $500 on its own, is $699 for a full-fledged, high-end gaming machine really such a bad deal?

Consider also that the PlayStation 3 originally launched at $600 back in 2006. This isn’t the first time Sony has put out new hardware at a significant premium over competitors. The PS3 may have been twice the price of the Nintendo Wii at the time, but it was also immensely more powerful. And let’s not forget that the newly announced iPhone 16, which is designed to play AAA games with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, starts at an MSRP of $999.

Is $699 for a full-fledged, high-end gaming machine really such a bad deal?

On the other hand, the PS3 comparison doesn’t quite hold water when you consider that that console represented a generational leap forward in graphical fidelity. The PS5 Pro is merely a mid-generation overhaul of an existing console.

And as for the iPhone, it may be quite a bit more expensive than a PS5 Pro, but it’s also a far more versatile multimedia device (and, of course, a phone!). A Steam Deck may be a better point of comparison, and even the highest-end model is still cheaper than the PS5 Pro.

At the end of the day, the PS5 Pro probably isn’t overpriced for what it offers. Yes, you can build a modest gaming PC for $699, but that PC is not going to be capable of competing on the same graphical playing field. Even with a price tag this high, we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony is selling this console at a loss.

The real question is whether the PS5 Pro offers enough benefits to justify the 64% increase in price over the base model. We’ll have to wait until we see real-world benchmarks and get an idea of how games actually look and perform on the new console.

How Many Games Will Be PS5 Pro Enhanced?

The main selling point of the PS5 Pro is obvious – it’s meant to offer superior game performance compared to the standard PS5. The goal with this system is to eliminate the need for separate performance and fidelity modes. No longer do gamers need to choose between a high, stable framerate and the best possible resolution. The Pro does both at the same time.

It remains to be seen when and even if we’ll see games developed from the ground up with the PS5 Pro in mind. But we do know that many existing PS5 games will be “PS5 Pro Enhanced,” meaning they’ll receive updates to take full advantage of the more powerful hardware. That list includes Alan Wake 2, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, among many others.

The question is just how many games will be PS5 Pro Enhanced. Will this become a standard feature going forward? Will Sony make it mandatory for new games to support the PS5 Pro? Will we continue to see older first-party titles added to the PS5 Pro Enhanced lineup, such as the God of War games or the earlier Spider-Man games?

And what about the PS4 catalog? We know that Sony is looking to enhance last-gen games as well through features like PS5 Pro Game Boost and Enhanced Image Quality. Just how much of the PS4 back catalog is supported, and will we see new games added to that lineup over time?

How devoted is Sony to ensuring that new and existing games take advantage of this more powerful hardware? And more to the point, what happens if the PS5 Pro doesn’t sell well out of the gate? Sony made a big push with VR gaming when the PSVR2 hit in February 2023, but that’s since tapered off as it’s become clear the headset is a niche product. If gamers aren’t sold on the PS5 Pro’s higher price tag, how aggressive will Sony be in marketing the PS5 Pro Enhanced catalog 6-12 months down the line?

Will Developers Charge for PS5 Pro Enhancement?

We imagine Sony wants as many games as possible to be included in the PS5 Pro Enhanced catalog, and that every major game in development right now probably includes PS5 Pro support in one form or another. But will we see some developers charge for the ability to take advantage of the new hardware? Will “PS5 Pro Enhanced” become a paid upgrade in some cases?

For the most part, we’d guess not. Sony gave no indication in their presentation that these would be paid upgrades, and it might be a tough sell to expect gamers to fork over the money for the new hardware and pay even more on top of that to actually enjoy the full benefits of gaming on the PS5 Pro.

In the case of games that are also available on the PC, we imagine that most of the work has been done already when it comes to making enhanced game modes available for better hardware. In short, we doubt “PS5 Pro Enhanced” will be a paid upgrade in most cases, except when significantly more work is being done to update the base game for the new hardware. Charging more simply for a better framerate and resolution isn’t going to cut it.

How Much Better Will GTA 6 Look on PS Pro?

At this point, the PS5 Pro’s success may be inextricably tied to Grand Theft Auto 6. GTA 6 is quickly shaping up to be one of the most important games ever released, and it’s going to be a huge system seller. Will it wind up being the biggest argument in favor of buying a PS5 Pro?

The trailer for GTA 6 is nothing if not visually stunning, leaving us to wonder if the actual game can truly live up to that early tease. The incredibly detailed character models and environments and advanced lighting techniques promise to push the current-gen consoles to their limits. The standard PS5 and the Xbox Series X will probably be lucky to run at a stable 30 fps. Just how much better will the experience be on the PS5 Pro?

Based on our technical analysis of the GTA 6 trailer, the game seems to be running at 30 fps at an internal base resolution of 1440p. Can the PS5 Pro beat that? Will this be the only way to play GTA 6 at 60fps and/or 4K resolution? Is this where we’ll see what Sony’s new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution tech is capable of?

With GTA 6 not hitting the PC immediately, it’s probably safe to assume that the PS5 Pro version of the game will be the best-looking and best-playing version of the game out of the gate. But just how stark a difference will there be? Will the game simply run more smoothly, or will it truly feel like a mid-generational leap in quality? If it’s the latter, we could see a whole lot more gamers suddenly making the switch to the PS5 Pro a year from now.

Why Aren’t the Disc Drive and Stand Included?

As we’ve already explored, the PS5 Pro probably isn’t overpriced given the sheer, raw processing power Sony is working with here. But that doesn’t mean $699 isn’t a hard pill for most gamers to swallow. And Sony has made it that much more difficult to stomach by omitting two basic pieces of hardware – the disc drive and the stand.

The absence of the disc drive isn’t necessarily surprising, given how both Sony and Microsoft have begun to downplay discs in recent years. And it’s not as if the option isn’t still there. It just requires gamers to fork over $80 for the disc drive attachment.

Still, the absence of a disc drive stings. Sony really couldn’t have thrown us a bone and included a disc drive with their most expensive version of the PS5? With ridiculously high resolution being the big selling point here, don’t you want to encourage owners to take full advantage of the system and watch 4K Blu-rays rather than stream all their video content? And what about the people who are upgrading from a standard PS5 with disc drive to the Pro? Why force them to choose between paying an extra $80 and paying to “upgrade” to digital versions of their games?

And what about the people who are upgrading from a standard PS5 with disc drive to the Pro? Why force them to choose between paying an extra $80 and paying to “upgrade” to digital versions of their games?

As for the stand, that’s just rubbing salt in the wound. Is it really necessary to charge $30 for a vertical stand? Sony really couldn’t have just thrown in the darned thing to the people forking over the better part of a month’s rent on their new console?

The real problem here is that these extra purchases quickly add up. If you want to be able to display your PS5 Pro standing up and use your collection of physical games and Blu-rays, suddenly the cost of a PS5 Pro is approaching $800. In this economy? Sony might be asking too much of gamers by nickel and dining them with these extra add-ons.

But what do you think? Is the high price tag justified? Will the PS5 Pro be the ultimate way to play GTA 6? What are your biggest questions surrounding the new hardware? Let us know in the comments below.

You Can Get a Pretty Decent Gaming PC for Nearly the Same Price as a PlayStation 5 Pro

For a limited time, Walmart (via the HP Store) is offering an HP Victus gaming PC equipped with the GeForce RTX 4060 GPU for only $749.99 shipped after a $450 instant discount. This is a solid 1080p gaming PC at an incredible price; in fact, I don’t think we’ve ever seen another gaming PC equipped with an RTX 4060 GPU for cheaper.

HP Victus RTX 4060 Gaming PC for $749.99

This Victus is HP’s budget line of gaming PCs. It might be as flashy as the OMEN series, but it’s a good looking compact chassis with adequate cooling and – depending on how it is specc’ed – equally as competent. This particular model features an Intel Core i5-14400F CPU, GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The Intel Core i5-14400F processor is Intel’s newest generation CPU and features a Max Turbo frequency of 4.7GHz with 10 cores, 16 threads, and 20MB of total cache. This is a good gaming chip that won’t bottleneck your RTX 4060 GPU.

The RTX 4060 is considerably more powerful than the RTX 3060 and almost nearly matches the RTX 3060 Ti. I would recommend this card for comfortable 1080p gaming. You could also run games at 1440p with relaxed graphic settings, but at that point I’d recommend upgrading to an RTX 4060 Ti or higher. Because it’s a current generation card, the RTX 4060 supports DLSS 3.0. It gives you a very nice framerate boost without sacrificing too much visual quality. It’s basically like selecting Peformance mode instead of Quality mode on your PS5 gaming console.

For those of you on a budget, the RTX 4060 is going to be your best NVIDIA GPU that you’re going to find for under $1000, and this HP Victus is well under that threshold. What’s more, this is a pre-built HP config with a manufacturer’s warranty, so you’ll avoid the hassle of building DIY and dealing with component warranties. Check out our best budget gaming PCs of 2024 to see what other alternatives we recommend.

Comparing it to the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro

The PlayStation 5 Pro was just announced with a launch MSRP of $700. Although the price of the PS5 Pro and this PC are pretty similar and they can both play games well, it’s certainly not an apples to apples comparison. We actually wrote a lengthy article on the tradeoffs between console gaming and PC gaming in general, but here’s a quick list of bullet points comparing these two models specifically.

The advantages of the PlayStation 5 Pro

(1) Full access to the hundreds of games in the PS5 library

(2) Plug and play right out of the box

(3) Better performance; able to play games at legit 4K

(4) More storage capacity (2TB standard)

(5) VR capable with a PSVR2

The disadvantages of the PlayStation 5 Pro

(1) The PlayStation 5 Slim exists and costs $250 less

(2) Most games are expensive and it adds up fast

(3) No disc drive (costs extra), so you can’t play 4K Blu-ray movies

(4) One trick pony; doesn’t do much else besides being a gaming and multimedia device

(5) No future upgradeability

(6) Wonky keyboard/mouse support

The advantages of this gaming PC

(1) Full access to tens of thousands of games on the PC

(2) General utility (more than just a gaming box)

(3) Plenty of affordable games that are just as good as the AAA titles

(4) Future upgradeability

(5) Prebuilt so mostly plug and play

(6) VR capable with a Meta Quest, Valve Index, HTC Vive, etc

(7) Universal keyboard/mouse and controller support

The disadvantages of this gaming PC

(1) An RTX 4060 on a Windows OS can realistically run games at 1080p-1440p, not 4K

(2) Much less plug and play friendly than a gaming console

(3) Doesn’t include a disc drive either

Looking for more alternatives? Check out the best budget gaming PCs of 2024.