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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.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Photo Mode Details: 15 Exclusive Screenshots and How It Was Inspired by Mass Effect

When Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases in October, it will include a first for the series — a fully-featured photo mode that will let fans capture personalized moments within Thedas. Photo modes have become a common sight in big-budget games in the years since the release of Dragon Age: Inqusition, but it nevertheless marks an important milestone for BioWare’s fantasy series.

Happily, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s version of the popular mode has plenty of toys for fans who want to indulge their dreams of being a fantasy photographer. Here’s some of what The Veilguard’s photo mode has to offer.

  • Free-roaming camera, tilt, focal length, and lens distortion
  • Depth of Field
  • Auto Focus
  • Distance
  • F-Stop, which lets you control the lighting
  • Vignette mode, which darkens the edge of the screen and gives it a more cinematic look
  • Bloom strength
  • Saturation, brightness, and contrast
  • The ability to hide the player, the party, enemies, or NPCs

Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s photo mode owes a debt to Mass Effect: The Legendary Edition, which introduced a photo mode of its own when it was released in 2021. Director Corinne Busche credits Mass Effect: Legendary Edition producer Brenon Holmes for getting photo mode implemented into The Veilguard.

“Not only did he drive this feature, he did a lot of the work to support it,” she explained. “What I really like is the tab that lets you hide various characters. So hide character, hide party, hide enemies, hide NPCs. You can really curate the shot to your liking…You might be mid-fight with a dragon, but there’s a character in the way, so you can clear them out.”

In the slideshow above, you can see some of the pictures we were able to take using Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s photo mode, including some of its more atmosphere areas. We also grabbed a shot of a cat that we happened to run across, because we love fantasy cat photos.

These aren’t the only images making the rounds, of course. When we posted our exclusive Dragon Age: The Veilguard footage last week, fans were quick to notice the Rooks created by myself and my colleague Alex Stedman. While they weren’t taken in photo mode, I can’t resist posting them here. The hair in particular just looks incredibly good in these shots.

We’ll have lots more coverage later this week (and throughout the month) as our IGN First for Dragon Age: The Veilguard continues. In the meantime, check out our deep dive into The Veilguard’s companions as well as our first preview featuring our impressions.

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.

Satisfactory Review in Progress

This has been a hard review to write. Not because I don’t know what to say, but because every time I dip back into Satisfactory to look up an item name or confirm some detail, I find myself checking in on the state of my workshop, just for a moment, and then several hours have suddenly flown by. That’s the magic of this seemingly benign, inexplicably alluring factory simulator. Whether I’m pulling my hair out trying to troubleshoot a problem on the factory floor or running away from very disrespectful fireball-spitting aliens, every moment spent in this beautifully complex simulator has been worthwhile. Combining the creativity and exploration of Minecraft with the spreadsheet-inducing planning and optimization of Factorio, Satisfactory is not only the best game I’ve played this year, but my favorite automation game of all time – and that’s without even having reached its final engineering challenges after going hard on a fresh world in its 1.0 build for more than 90 hours. Unless the final stretch of leveling up my factory takes an unexpectedly nightmarish turn for the worse, so far Satisfactory has been an unbelievably good time.

Satisfactory is an immediately compelling factory simulator where you and up to three friends are dropped on an alien planet and told you need to establish a base and produce increasingly complicated materials and launch them into outer space to appease your boss. In order to do so, you’ll need to harvest natural resources, develop new technologies, and become a master of conveyor belts, pipelines, and eventually even locomotive operations as you triumphantly grow your tiny headquarters into a planet-encompassing labyrinth of moving parts. More and more is asked of you as you go, and what starts out as a simple process of gathering leaves and mining iron to make basic tools quickly spirals into a convoluted whirlwind of refineries, manufacturing plants, and nuclear power grids, where you’re producing everything from computer chips to rocket fuel.

Each breakthrough moment organically leads to the next mountain to climb.

If you’re wondering how in the heck assembly line optimization could possibly be fun, I understand your confusion. But in the same way that something like No Man’s Sky gives you a ton of creative freedom while providing irresistible goals to chase along the way, Satisfactory never stops giving you exciting new reasons to keep playing I cannot fathom the number of times I promised myself I’d log off after I tweaked just one more thing only to find myself still tinkering away hours later. Each breakthrough moment, like figuring out how oil refineries work and starting the production of plastic, organically leads to the next mountain to climb, like crafting a rifle and producing ammo with the byproducts of said refineries. Before you know it, you hear those alarming morning chirps from birds outside your window and realize you’ve made a mistake.

Managing ever more complex factories can be pretty daunting at times, but Satisfactory does an absolutely stellar job of nudging you to take small, manageable steps with its checklist of projects to tackle, and in no time at all you and your friends are managing sprawling operations that would have seemed unfathomable at the start. The earliest factory I built began as a few buildings scattered about the untainted wilderness, which quickly spiraled into a horrendous and disorderly web of nonsensically crisscrossing conveyor belts that looked like a bowl of wet noodles (naturally, I dubbed the settlement Spaghettysburg). That amateurish anarchy might be unintuitive and less than optimal, but hey, it gets the job done, and I victoriously delivered my eminent Spaghettysburg address to my co-op partners as we launched the fruits of our labor into space amid the mess of mechanical pasta.

The real fun is in watching your mini society evolve.

Later on, my crew’s creations became more structured and efficient, like our coastal oil refinery dubbed Gas Town or our railway system, which we suspended in the air for maximum orderliness. The real fun is in watching your mini society evolve as you solve progressively more difficult engineering challenges, such as optimizing and expanding your power grid to fuel more facilities so you can produce more complicated parts, or running the math on the ideal ore output of a mining rig to figure out the most efficient way to smelt it into ingots. And you don’t have to be a spreadsheet geek like me or dive deep into third-party wikis to simply see a conveyor belt full of unused materials backing up and feel the irresistible urge to do something about it.

As you’re required to make dozens of different components and juggle a large number of demanding processes in order to complete the Milestone deliveries that make up Satisfactory’s larger progression, you’re constantly switching to wherever your attention is needed most, solving problems and using the new technology you create along the way to make your life easier. For example, early on, I built comically long conveyor belts to move resources from other parts of the world to my main factory, but after unlocking new technologies and manufacturing more advanced parts, I was able to automatically transport resources with trucks, trains, and even flying drones, making things faster, cleaner, and frankly, less chaotic in the process. Going from an unwashed, melee-swinging, conveyor belt-abusing troglodyte to a jetpacking, gun-toting man of tomorrow is immensely satisfying, and makes each hard-fought battle of electrical wiring well worth the trouble.

When you’re not juggling the hundreds of things to do with your factory operations, you’ll take to the vast open world to explore the map, battle beasties, evade poison gas and irradiated zones, find hidden treasures, and befriend gross-looking lizard doggos to serve as your loyal companions. Opting for a single, hand-crafted world instead of the more common procedurally generated areas found in some of its peers, Satisfactory’s map has a diverse set of regions with their own vibes and valuable resources to plunder that are awesome to explore and even better to colonize with your hungry machines. As you gain access to new tools, you’ll get better equipment to take out into exploration, which then gives you access to even more areas. For example, crafting a gas mask lets you navigate zones overrun with poisonous clouds, unlocking the jetpack allows you scale cliffs that would otherwise be difficult to reach, and researching explosives allows you to blast through troublesome rocks so you can delve into caves and other blocked off areas. Each of these developments completely changes what’s possible while out in the world, which in turn allows you to acquire better materials to bring back to your base, creating a loop of building and exploration that just doesn’t quit.

It goes from great to downright amazing once you add friends.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much of an alien planet if there weren’t hostile creatures everywhere who are quite interested in seeing your violent demise. You’ll unlock a few melee weapons and some basic guns and ammo, but combat isn’t anything special as it clearly isn’t the intended focus of Satisfactory. It only took me a few hours before I realized I’d seen just about everything combat had to offer, and while it’s not actively bad, it’s just a bit forgettable when the building and exploration are so great. The alien wildlife mostly seems to be there to provide a touch of danger whenever I go looking for new resources, but it’s still a bit disappointing that there only seem to be four types of creatures to encounter, each with a few different variations that make them more deadly but not any more interesting.

Playing Satisfactory alone can be a lot of fun, but once you add friends to the mix it goes from great to downright amazing. Not only does building with friends allow you to get more done quicker and bounce ideas off one another, but you can each take off to a different part of the map and still work towards shared goals by building infrastructure to transport goods and players from place-to-place. One especially cool aspect is that, once you unlock supernatural alien technology that defies the laws of physics (which happens surprisingly early rather than being wasted on the endgame alone), you can begin sharing resources with one another remotely by uploading your bounty to the Dimensional Depot, which anyone can pull items directly into their inventory from at any time. This creates a really cool dynamic, where a player you haven’t seen in the world for several hours can pipe up to ask for help with something, and you can virtually hand them the resources they need to solve their problem.

If there’s one real issue with Satisfactory, it’s that sometimes its ambition exceeds its grasp, leading to a pretty steady stream of performance issues and bugs (at least on the pre-release 1.0 build I had access to for this review). Crashes were a regular occurrence for my crew, especially for those joining my world for multiplayer, and as your factory grows to an absurd size and complexity, you’ll start to see pop-in, weird textures, and framerate dips with increasing frequency. I played on three separate PCs of varying levels of power, and though each could run Satisfactory fine at the outset, by the end only my Ryzen 9 7950X3D/RTX 4090 could run it without at least moderate issues. You’ll likely need a fairly powerful rig to run this one with consistency, but even when it struggled a bit on two of my PCs, those problems were only ever an annoyance rather than anything so severe that they made me want to stop playing.

I’ve played over 90 hours of Satisfactory’s 1.0 release, and I already have a pretty good idea of where I stand with it at this point, but I’ve still got a final round of uber-challenging endgame tasks to complete before I’ve seen it all and can confidently deliver my verdict. For now, I can tell you that there’s a whole heckuva lot to enjoy. Now, if you don’t mind, I really should get back to it – these production pipelines aren’t going to optimize themselves!

Star Wars Outlaws’ First Major Patch Out Now, Tweaks ‘Unfair’ Instant Fail Stealth Missions

Star Wars Outlaws has its first major patch. Title update 1.1.2 weighs in at 1.92GB on PlayStation 5, 2.25GB on Xbox Series X and S, and 1.89GB on PC.

The patch notes, published to Ubisoft’s website, begins by thanking fans “for the amazing positivity and support following the launch of Star Wars Outlaws! Your passion, love for Kay, Nix, our open world and all your amazing creations through our Photo mode has been a real inspiration for the whole team.”

The patch focuses on early feedback to address various issues and PC performance, as well as overall stability, Ubisoft said. Additionally, cross progression and saves through Ubisoft Connect are now available.

But the highlight is an improvement to what Ubisoft called “some challenging stealth moments.” With this patch, it is now less likely to be detected while rolling, and the level of detection is adjusted depending on location.

Creative director Julian Gerighty had admitted Outlaws’ instant fail stealth missions were “incredibly punishing” and signaled they’d be fixed soon. “For me, that is a mistake, and this is something that we’re going to work on improving,” he said.

“I don’t think it means removing the fail state completely, but I do think there are millions of low hanging fruits where we can make it so much more enjoyable and understandable.”

“I think it feels unfair. And believe it or not, this wasn’t our intention. This is more of something that crept in in the last week or so, and that we’re correcting already for a patch that’s coming out maybe in 10 days.”

That patch, out now, also means the Old School Cool trophy can now be unlocked for PS5 players, so they can finally platinum the game.

“As we continue to work on future updates for Star Wars Outlaws, we will keep on carefully listening to your feedback and experience in the game,” Ubisoft said. “Thank you for your support and see you in the outer rim!”

Star Wars Outlaws’ commercial performance is the subject of much debate. Last week, Ubisoft’s share price plunged following the launch of the game, which some analysts predicted will come in below expectations. And this week, a minority investor in Ubisoft called on the company to go private as its share price fell further. Ubisoft has yet to comment.

IGN’s Star Wars Outlaws review returned a 7/10. We said: “Star Wars Outlaws is a fun intergalactic heist adventure with great exploration, but it’s hindered by simple stealth, repetitive combat, and a few too many bugs at launch.”

Star Wars Outlaws – Title Update 1.1.2 patch notes:

New Feature

  • Cross-progression and saving is now available between all platforms through Ubisoft Connect. More info on this here.

Performance & Stability

  • Various crash fixes and stability improvements across all platforms.
  • PC performance improvements and optimization across the game.
  • Improvement for FPS drops during some scenes.
  • VRAM Improvement.
  • Higher graphic fidelity when using ray reconstruction and frame generation technologies.

UI, HUD and Settings

  • Game version will now be visible from the settings.
  • Quality mode will be set as default on console.
  • Corrected default settings for motion blur on quality mode for consoles.
  • HDR Brightness values have been modified.

Graphics

  • Various graphics and lighting fixes.
  • All cinematics now supported on ultra-wide screens.

Audio

  • Fix for potential music loss when fast-travelling in Toshara.

Worlds, Fauna and Flora

  • Many additional idle animations for NPC have been added across all planets.
  • Fixed an issue where the Imperial Speeder Bike 74-z would be missing a part.

General Gameplay

  • It is now less likely to be detected while rolling.
  • Level of detection adjusted depending on location.

MAIN & SIDE QUESTS__ (beware of spoilers)__

Toshara

  • Fixed the issue where the energy barrier in Kerro’s Speakeasy would not be disabled after successfully slicing the terminal.
  • “The Underworld” – NPC numbers have been adjusted and environmental guidance markers added to better facilitate infiltration.
  • “The Mechanics”- Fixed the issue where Kay would spawn outside the quest area if she died inside the wind turbine.
  • “The Wreck” – AI detection has been adjusted.
  • “Hyperspace” – Fixed the issue where no prompt was shown to take off.

Tatooine

  • “Partners” – Fixed the issue where Kay would not gain wanted levels on other planets when reaching the objective “Meet with Hoss in the cantina”.

Akiva

  • “The Veteran” – Fixed the issue where “reporting to the droid” objective would not update after reporting back to MT-7.

Miscellaneous

  • “Old School Cool” trophy can now be unlocked for PlayStation 5 players.
  • Inverting one axis in the controls menu will no longer invert the other one in Photo mode.
  • Nix accessories and treats can now be checked in the loadout menu while Kay Vess is piloting the Trailblazer.

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.

Helldivers 2 Is Giving Flame Weapons One Hell of a Buff

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead is lifting the lid on the game’s hotly anticipated 01.001.007 update with an early look at the patch notes.

The explosive shooter broke records when it launched earlier this year, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time. But Arrowhead has suffered a torrid time of late as it struggles to satisfy Helldivers 2’s fanbase, with recent months in particular resulting in a ‘mostly negative’ recent user review rating on Steam. It’s now up to ‘mixed,’ and Helldivers 2’s overall Steam user review rating remains ‘mostly positive.’

Most of the negativity revolves around a feeling that Arrowhead has been heavy handed in nerfing Helldivers 2’s various weapons and stratagems as it balances the game. The constant nerfs have caused some players to accuse Arrowhead of stripping all the fun out of Helldivers 2, a game that revolves around blowing alien bugs and robots to bits with over-the-top guns and bombs.

This patch, which Arrowhead hopes will make significant changes to the PC and PlayStation 5 co-op action game and bring its disgruntled community back on-side, launches September 17. But before then, we now know Arrowhead’s plan to rebalance Flamethrowers, one of the more contentious weapons in the game.

Flamethrower damage is increased by a huge 33% with the release of the patch, Arrowhead confirmed, and flame weapon armor penetration is increased. “Flamer mechanics will be reverted to the state before the Escalation of Freedom update and flame based weapons can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, and Hulks,” Arrowhead explained.

That last change is key: with an armor penetration increase, flame weapons will now be a viable option against some of Helldivers 2’s toughest enemies, such as the aforementioned Hulks.

This Flamethrower change is just one of what is expected to be a series of buffs to Helldivers 2’s various weapons and stratagems. Arrowhead has said it will reveal more about the patch each day running up to its release, so it won’t be long before fans find out what other buffs are coming their way. For now, here’s what Arrowhead has said about it:

Here’s what to expect from Helldivers 2’s upcoming update, per Arrowhead:

  • We are reworking Armor Penetration, Anti-Tank weapons and enemy armor and health values. As a key part of the rework we have done an initial balancing pass on over 30 weapons and stratagems.
  • We are overhauling a number of different enemies to make them feel more rewarding to kill when you use the proper tools to handle them but ensure they still feel formidable. Enemy bots, including Hulks, will have lower armor, and the number of rockets fired by enemies like the Devastator and Gunship will be limited, making combat more balanced. The armor values of particularly tough bug enemies like the Charger, Impaler, and Bile Titan will also be reduced.
  • Weapons such as the Autocannon, Heavy Machine Gun, and Anti-Material Rifle will be more effective, providing greater loadout versatility. We are also working towards additional improvements for the flamethrower weapons.
  • We’re taking this opportunity to consider new player fantasies and design goals for these weapons and stratagems based on the feedback we’ve received and the trends we’re observing during gameplay.

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.

25 Hardest Bosses in Black Myth: Wukong

Much like the source novel Journey to the West, where the Monkey King Sun Wukong must overcome 81 trials to complete his adventure, the Destined Hero in Black Myth: Wukong must conquer over 80 boss fights to fulfil his destiny .

With so many boss fights to tackle – all of which you can learn the best strategies to beat in IGN’s Black Myth: Wukong guide – we figured it was time to rank the hardest boss fights in the game. With so many to choose from it was hard to whittle down the list of 25, but ultimately these are the bosses that pushed us to nearly break our controllers.

25. Mad Tiger

Okay, Mad Tiger is one of the easiest bosses on this list, but he’s still no cake walk if you’re not a ninja monkey ready kick ass. There’s no finesse to fighting Mad Tiger, – the big fella charges straight at you and can take big chunks of your health if he lands a hit, so time your dodges to perfection and then attack. Simple. Well, kinda.

24. Wandering Wight

The Wandering Wight is an early optional boss that just sort of wanders (hence the name) around the first area of the game. What gives the Wandering Wight a spot on this list is not so much the fight itself but how he’s just just sort of there, so much so you might mistake him for a regular, tough enemy until you attack and realize he has a boss health bar.

It’s therefore likely you’ll die at the hands of the Wandering Wight on your first couple tries, but he’s a sign of things to come. Boss battles in Black Myth: Wukong are sometimes hidden but often they’re very much in plain sight and can happen at any time in the game. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

23. Kang Jin Star

Kang Jin Star is an unassuming boss at first. Her glowing eyes are kinda weird but surely she can’t be that dangerous, right? Oh holy shit, she can turn into a giant dragon that spits lightning death from the skies! In fact all of her lightning attacks deal a ton of damage, and because she has both long- and close-range attacks it’s actually pretty tricky to land a decent hit on her.Plus, like Black Myth’s other lightning-based bosses, her attacks are rapid-fire so you better nail your timing, otherwise you’ll get hit by a thunder blast that’ll fry Monkey’s fur in a flash.

22. Supreme Inspector

When I first saw the Supreme Inspector I mistook him for a giant rooster but the reality is much worse – he’s a winged man with a hand for a head, and it’s every bit as gross as it sounds. He – it? – is tough too, and has a bunch of attacks that slowly chip away at your health unless you’re able to quickly stun him. And watch out for his burning ring too, which by the way, you can blow away with the Plantain Fan.

21. Zhu Bajie

This adorable warthog carries a rake and looks like something from a Disney movie, but he’s actually a ferocious little shit. He wallows in a giant pool of mud, which makes it really hard to move around and dodge his attacks. Worst still, he ditches the cuteness for the second phase of the fight, transforming into a grotesque boar that gouges with foot-long tusks. Survive that and the final part of the battle sees him melting into the mud and charging you down as a huge amorphous rhino thing that does massive damage. No thank you.

20. Red Loong

Despite ditching its human form and going full dragon right from the start, Red Loong is the easiest of the dragon bosses. Like Kang Jin Star and the other dragon bosses, he wields devastating lightning attacks but it’s his speed you really need to watch out for. Keep dodging and focus attacks on the bells on its back to stun him temporarily, giving you a few seconds to tear him a new one.

19. Black Loong

What do Red Loong and Black Loong have in common? Apart from being a giant pain in the butt when it comes to fighting them not much, but one is a long slithering dragon and this guy is a chubby pig-man with a dragon head.

Dual-wielding lightning maces, Black Loong is an optional boss in Chapter 2 but trust us, you should level up before you even think about challenging him. His electrical attacks are more than just visually stunning and do heavy damage whether you’re close or far away, so dodge through his attacks, roll up behind him and stick your staff where the sun doesn’t shine.

18. Whiteclad Noble

Whiteclad Noble is the first multi-stage boss in Black Myth: Wukong, so just when you think he’s down he gets right back up again. He also looks like an old man first time around, but then comes back as a crazy-looking half snake man thing. Shudder.

The key to beating Whiteclad Noble is patience – rushing head on is almost a guaranteed death wish, but dodging his attacks from afar and waiting for the right moment to strike is a sure-fire way to put him down… twice.

17. Tiger Vanguard

Whereas the last tiger boss was all brawn and not much else, this guy has bags of style. Tiger Vanguard is a badass tiger martial artist who you fight in a pool of blood. Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds. Hed hits harder and faster than any of the bosses you’ve previously met too,so make sure you have strong gear and a load of buffs to help in the fight.

16. Emerald-Armed Mantis

Have you ever played against someone in a fighting game like Tekken that just button mashes and seems like they never give you a chance to actually press a button yourself? That’s kinda like what it’s like fighting the Emerald-Armed Mantis. This boss attacks extraordinarily fast and is extremely aggressive, granting you precious few opportunities to turn the tables and land hits yourself. Fortunately, all of your spells work great here: Immobilize can stop it in its tracks, giving you opportunities to stagger, most of its attacks can be reflected with Rock Solid, and Pluck of Many allows you to overwhelm it with clones that can all deal big damage.

15. The Duskveil

If The Duskveil was a member of your family, it’d be the creepy relative no one wants to sit next to. I mean, look at it. No thanks. This skeletal, Wendigo-like monster has ferocious, unrelenting attacks that make this boss fight far more challenging than it has any right to be. His wild swings and combos are difficult to read too, making him a particularly tricky boss to get the better of. Also, every attack, particularly in the second stage, has some kind of twist to it. Dodged his swing? Doesn’t matter, the spikes that shoot out of his arms will tear you to shreds while you’re busy feeling smug.

14. Cloudtreading Deer

Honestly, it’d be great if you could just leave the Cloudtreading Deer well alone. It’s just there, minding its own business in the middle of a grassy field. But he stands in the way of the Destined One becoming a legend, and so, it must die. This four-legged giant hits like a horse — literally, its hind legs kick out with enough force to break your spine in a split second. What makes it extra challenging though is the fact that the first phase has you dealing with potentially getting frozen by its frost enhanced attacks, and the second phase switches gears to force you to handle poison, so you gotta be prepared to deal with both status ailments.

13. Stone Monkey

Unlike some bosses on this list, Stone Monkey isn’t what you would usually call a two-phase boss. Rather, it’s a boss that evolves into the Great Sage’s Broken Shell. And while its second form is the more formidable of the two, the Stone Monkey is no pushover either. For starters, he’s more than twice the size of our furry hero and is super aggressive too, but his attacks are crude and can be dodged fairly easily. He’s way tougher after he becomes The Great Sage’s Broken Shell, and his ranged attacks like the ring of fire are nasty. What is it with this game and burning rings?

12. Yellow Wind Sage

Okay, this guy looks freaking scary. He’s properly huge and carries around a Bhudda head the size of a SUV. The Yellow Wind Sage will be a proving ground for a lot of players, as it’s the first properly tough boss in Black Myth Wukong. Wandering Wight was tough for an early optional boss that just wanders around, the Whiteclad Noble was tough because it’s your first time having to pace yourself for a two phase fight, but The Yellow Wind Sage is difficult in just about every way. It hits like a truck, it varies up the timing of all of its attacks to make the difficult to dodge, and if you don’t have the Wind Tamer Vessel, you’ll have to deal with encroaching sandstorms throughout the second phase as well that make it even harder to land hits on him.

11. Captain Wise-Voice

We’d shake this guy’s hand for having such an awesome name if he wasn’t such an asshole. Captain Wise-Voice is a weird looking thing, with horns and arms and legs sticking out in every direction. It’s insanely tough too with even your strongest attacks barely touching his health bar.

But the real thing that makes this battle difficult is the fact that he can shrink your maximum life bar by half, giving you a smaller margin of error and dramatically reducing the effectiveness of your healing gourd. Oh, and don’t forget that about the laser that shoots out of its metal-orb-brain-thing. So yeah, great name, and also one of the toughest and most annoying bosses you’ll encounter.

10. Yellowbrow

Now we’re in the top 10, things are starting to heat up. While many might mock Yellowbrow’s big, bushy eyebrows, we’re going to give him the respect he deserves because, frankly, he’s a dick.

Armed with an electric mace and an ornate flask, Yellowbrow has hard-hitting area-of-effect attacks that send shockwaves across the entire arena. But the real challenge comes later, when Yellowbrow turns to solid gold, making him practically impervious to attacks. It’s a long and grueling battle, compounded by the fact that his attacks take chunks out of your health while it feels like you’re barely even hurting him, no matter how good your build is.

9. Yaksha King

Welcome to one of the hardest fights in the whole game. The Yaksha King wields two extremely large blades, which sprout out of his arms and grow bigger as the fight goes on. His movements are weirdly timed, which means it can be tough to build up a rhythm and timing your dodges. Even worse, a single hit is enough to take a good chunk of your health, so good luck surviving for more than a few minutes.

The Yaksha King excels at close-quarters combat, which is bad news because you have to get right in his grill to do damage. Between sharp area-of-effect attacks that force you to dodge backwards, and large swings of his sword arm, the Yaksha King is a battle that requires precision and patience to come close to beating.

8. Cyan Loong

Do you always pick a fight with fishermen sitting peacefully by the edge of a lake, waiting for the next bite? If so then Cyan Loong is right up your alley. This optional boss is a large, sword-wielding dragon swordsman who can fly through the air – majestically I might add, he really is a sight to behold. His sword strike is also hard to dodge, meaning the window to land a good hit is small, so don’t waste your opportunity to hit him when the arise.

Like the other Loong fights, Cyan Loong also has electrical attacks, giving him a deadly edge both close- and long-range. Despite all that, he’s still not the toughest Loong fight in the game…

7. Bishui Golden-Eyed Beast

But before we get to that, this fearsome Yaoguai is a fiery berserker whose nonstop attacks means you’ll be spending more time dodging than hitting. Similar to The Duskveil, Bishui incessantly comes at you with his mighty fists and fire breath, leaving you with hardly any breathing room. Honestly, this guy never gives it a rest and it genuinely feels like there’s no opening to retaliate. But if you fancy having a little fun with this hot-headed monster, bait him into a nearby ice cave to cool him off. This changes his fire attacks to ice, which are much easier to deal with.

6. Yellow Loong

And here he is, the hardest Loong in Black Myth: Wukong. Like his peers, Yellow Loong has wildly tricky attacks that are tough to dodge, but that’s not the main reason you’ll struggle. During his second phase, Yellow Loong will constantly make it seem like you need to dodge, only to hold his attacks a few seconds before the real swing of his halberd comes. If you haven’t mastered dodging then you’re gonna be stuck on this brute for hours.

5. Yin Tiger

If you thought Tiger Vanguard and Mad Tiger were tough, you haven’t seen anything yet. Yin Tiger is a giant tiger-headed warrior who carries a greatsword the size of a bus. No, seriously, look at that thing.

The duel that ensues is a total epic and, unsurprisingly for the number five on the list, is also one of the hardest fights in the game. Yin Tiger’s large swings are fast and hit like a truck – a common theme for Wukong’s best boss fights – but Yin Tiger’s speed is what sets him apart from similar bosses. His ability to disappear then reappear out of nowhere makes this challenging boss fight also one of the best in the entire game, and trading blows with Yin Tiger feels like pure kung-fu cinema. It’s hard but man, it’s so good.

4. Scorpionlord

Scorpionlord is a giant scorpion-man. Yeah, count me out. Like the nasty little arachnid he’s based on, Scorpionlord’s giant tail, topped with a poisonous sting, is his deadliest attribute, and he’s able to swing it to hit you. He also has a single giant pincer, but while he might only have one it’s powerful enough to pop your head like pus-filled pimple, so don’t let him get a grip.

That’s easier said than done because Scorpionlord is aggressive with a capital AARGH, and if you make a single mistake you’ll be severely punished.

3. Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master

Hey, you know what? Screw the Hundred Eyed Daoist Master. This half-centipede abomination not only murders a spider-mom in front of her own daughters, his second phase becomes nearly impossible without the help of a sacred side-quest item. Armed with magical abilities, poison breath, a giant sword, and a bad attitude, Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master is one of the hardest bosses in Black Myth: Wykong, and that’s saying a lot because you literally get help from giant spiders when you fight him.

2. Great Sage’s Broken Shell

Some of the best boss fights in video games are ones that tell a story through gameplay and mechanics, and that’s exactly what the final boss battle –not counting the true ending – of Black Myth: Wukong does so effectively. It’s a passing of the torch between the empty shell of the old Sun Wukong and the Destined One.

The fight begins with you fighting what is essentially just a husk of Wukong, but as the fight continues more of the old Wukong starts to return to the Stone Monkey, until eventually you’re fighting a near carbon copy of the Monkey King, who uses all of your own abilities against you, to great –and often amusing – effect. During our playthrough there was a moment where I tried to take a sip from my flask, only for the boss to immobilize me mid-drink, before slowly walking over, grabbing the flask and drinking it himself. It’s one of the coolest moments of any boss battle in recent memory, even if its appeal does wear thin after you’ve been stuck for hours on end without a way to skip the animation.

1. Erlang, the Sacred Divinity

Finally, we’ve made it to the hardest boss in Black Myth: Wukong. Erlang, the Sacred Divinity, is the, shh, secret final boss of the entire game, but you probably also recognise him from the tutorial boss from the opening cinematic. But this isn’t a tutorial anymore. As the final, final boss, Erlang comes at you full power, summoning huge weapons while remaining relatively unharmed thanks to his durable shield. Since Erlang summons numerous, gigantic weapons beyond just his spear, it’s hard to predict his movements; he might summon a giant ax to pummel you into the ground, a giant lightning sword that deals massive area-of-effect damage. He can even take a swipe at you as a freaking tiger.

Erlang has a near limitless arsenal of weapons and spells, and it’ll take a level of cunning on your part to counter, dodge, and survive all of them, which is why we’ve ranked him the hardest boss in Black Myth: Wukong

That is our list of the top 25 hardest bosses in Black Myth: Wukong. Game Science went above and beyond to craft epic, and difficult fights to pit against our Destined Hero, but overcoming each fight also comes with immense satisfaction, and some really great loot. So it’s worth steeling your resolve to try and defeat all the bosses in Black Myth: Wukong.

If your favorite boss isn’t on this list, let us know which ones we missed in the comments. And be sure to check out our Black Myth: Wukong guide for tips on how to defeat these enemies if you’re feeling stuck.

All image credit to Game Science.

Best Xbox Game Pass Deals and Bundles Right Now (September 2024)

With a price hike for existing Xbox Game Pass users coming soon on September 12, there’s no better time than now to stock up on cheap codes to save some cash. If you’re wondering where to find deals like this, don’t worry, we’re here to help you track down the best offers available on Game Pass right now. Offers like this deal on 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate at Woot that’s still holding strong at just $36.49. You can learn more about that deal and other discounts available on Game Pass below.

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Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

Our favorite deal on Game Pass at the moment is over at Woot (an Amazon company). They still have an incredible offer available where you can score 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate for just $36.49. This price definitely won’t stick around for long, so act fast to secure these codes before they’re gone for good.

Considering the new price of Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99/month, you’re saving $23.48 with this 3-month deal. This is the best way to avoid the upcoming Xbox Game Pass price hike in September. By stacking these codes, you can set yourself up to play all of the upcoming Game Pass releases at a lower price. You can prepay for up to 36 months of Game Pass Ultimate, so there’s no better time to stock up.

What’s Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?

Game Pass has a nice rotation of new titles to play every month. If you’re curious about what’s in store for the start of September, we’ve got you covered there as well. The Xbox Game Pass September wave 1 lineup is:

Another massive piece of Game Pass news is that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is officially available to play on Game Pass right now for console, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate users. This features the full package for CoD fans: the campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies modes. Subscribers can also expect to see Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 day-one on Game Pass when it releases on October 25. However, for those subscribing to the new Standard tier (available for $14.99/month), this does not give Game Pass users access to day one releases, meaning Black Ops 6 will likely not be available to those on that tier.

What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?

Unfortunately with new games joining the catalog it means a few must take their leave. Below, we’ve listed the games that’ll be leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 15.

  • Ashes of Singularity: Escalation (PC)
  • FIFA 23 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – EA Play
  • Payday 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Slime Rancher 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • SpiderHeck (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • You Suck At Parking (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Biggest Games Releasing on Xbox Game Pass

Xbox’s Summer Showcase back in June was a massive success, showcasing an incredible amount of new titles coming to the platform. Alongside the aforementioned Black Ops 6, the showcase also included Doom: The Dark Ages, Perfect Dark, Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and so many more. But which of these titles will appear as day-one releases on Game Pass? Thankfully, quite a few! Including all of the previously mentioned titles.

While most of the games listed above have release dates in 2025, or no release dates at all at the moment, the one to keep an eye on for now alongside Black Ops 6 is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Gamescom’s Opening Night Live revealed that Indy’s latest adventure will be available to play on December 9 for Xbox users, so there’s truly no better time to hop on the Game Pass bandwagon.

If you’re looking for even more savings on all things Xbox, have a look at our roundup of the best Xbox deals. There, we’ve highlighted all of the latest and greatest discounts on the platform, from incredible game deals to fantastic offers on high-quality headphones. Or, if you’d rather see what’s going on with other platforms, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Nintendo Switch deals, and our overall roundup of the best video game deals.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to Skip Campaign Early Access

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will not offer campaign early access, Activision has confirmed.

In a statement given to CharlieIntel, Activision said the many Call of Duty developers working on the game are focused on its October 25, 2024 launch.

Activision has released campaign early access for those who pre-ordered recent Call of Duty games, including last year’s poorly received Modern Warfare 3 campaign. The early access periods generally began a week before the full launch, offering fans the chance to play through the story so they can hit Multiplayer and Zombies right off the bat.

But for Black Ops 6, Activision has gone in a different direction. Here’s the statement:

“The team is fully focused on October 25th. We are excited about all the game has to offer across Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies. This year, we made the decision to ensure the community gets to dig in to any and all modes that they want at the same time, so we are back to one massive global launch moment October 25th. As such, there is no Early Access beat this year for Black Ops 6, just the countdown to launch.”

It’s worth noting that Black Ops 6 is the first mainline Call of Duty game to launch straight into Xbox subscription service Game Pass, which may have influenced Activision’s decision to target a singular global launch. Microsoft acquired Call of Duty as part of its $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard last year.

Black Ops 6 just finished Beta Weekend 2, and Activision is set to announce changes for the full launch soon. Black Ops 6 has a new Body Shield feature, a new Omnimovement feature, and various features returning from Treyarch’s 2020 game, Black Ops Cold War. Check out IGN’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Review in Progress to find out what we thought of the beta.

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 Sees Highest Concurrent Player Peak Ever for a Warhammer 40,000 Game on Steam

Space Marine 2 launched proper yesterday, September 9 after four days of early access, and soon shot to record-breaking success for a Warhammer 40,000 game.

Saber Interactive’s action game sees Titus of the Ultramarines go up against the Tyranid horde as well as Chaos Marines in a sequel that arrives 13 years after its predecessor. It includes a campaign that can be played co-op, co-op focused Operations, and a PvP mode.

Space Marine 2 saw a huge 24-hour peak concurrent player count of 225,690 on Steam, the highest peak ever seen for a Warhammer 40,000 game on Valve’s platform, alongside a ‘very positive’ user review rating. Indeed, Space Marine 2 is now the most-played Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer game ever on Steam. To put the launch into context, Space Marine 2 knocked Total War: Warhammer 3’s 166,754 peak concurrents into second place.

Of course, Space Marine 2’s true concurrent peak will be even higher, given the game launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S also. The expectation is Space Marine 2 will enjoy even bigger concurrents as it heads into its first weekend following the global release.

This week, Saber and publisher Focus Interactive detailed Space Marine 2’s first update, which will hopefully fix server problems and crashes, among other things. IGN has reported on the upcoming addition of class matching for co-op, after players found themselves locked in a class standoff ahead of Operations mode missions.

Meanwhile, we also have details on what fans can expect from Space Marine 2’s seasonal post-launch content model. Season 2 runs from October until the end of 2024, and includes a new Operations map, a new enemy, a harder difficulty level, a new weapon, and various other improvements.

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.”

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.