most powerful graphics cards on the market even after the release of the first Radeon RX 7000 series cards. It is designed for gaming enthusiasts, content creators, and professionals who demand the highest levels of performance from their graphics card – and now that the next gen is out, this bleeding-edge card has been heavily reduced. In fact, you can now pick this up on Amazon for $730, a $370 reduction from the $1100 price this XFX Speedster Merc319 card launched at in August last year.
For a limited time, Amazon is offering the excellent Wingspan board game for only $38.81. That’s a substantial 40% off the original retail price of $65. If you missed the deal on Black Friday, this is another chance for you to pick up a highly rated and very accessible board game for a deal-worthy price.
Wingspan Board Game for $38.81
Wingspan from Stonemeier Games is an incredibly good board game. So good in fact that we deemed it the best board game of 2019. Wingspan looks like a deceptively simple game; the endgame goal is to attract as many birds as you can to your wildlife preserve and help them proliferate. There are only four actions you can perform: draw a bird card, play a bird card, get food, and lay eggs. Sounds simple enough, right? Well let’s just say these four actions mask an incredibly complex engine-building game with which you will have to juggle between bringing new birds into the fold and keeping your existing birds well stocked and in a breeding frenzy. Wingspan is infinitely replayable, and you’ll find yourself developing and honing new strategies with every subsequent playthough.
It certainly helps that this is a very accessible game for both casuals and enthusiasts. The board game design is gorgeous, featuring over 170 detailed bird illustations by Elizabeth Hargrave, charming game board backdrops, and cute little tokens and egg minatures. The rules are easy to follow, and each game lasts about an hour, so you won’t need to carve out a huge chunk of time to play it. When we deemed it the best board game of 2019, we valued it against its original retail price; at 40% off this is a steal.
Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer Tech Test just went live, giving you ’til 10am PT/ 6pm GMT on Monday to blow up some tanks. It’s a good chance to try the game out for free.
“Touch grass” has become the rallying cry for angry people on the internet, and it’s most often levelled at gamers. It’s shorthand for “go outside”, or simply “oh my god the thing you’re complaining about is SO TERMINALLY ONLINE that you really should go and do something that isn’t sitting at your computer yelling at strangers on the internet”. It’s sort of like saying “calm down”, but much more evocative: We really all should go outside more, shouldn’t we?
Skull and Bones has been delayed yet again, despite already having being delayed for the fifth time last September. It was due for March, but this latest delay pushes it back to “early” in the financial year 2023-24, which begins in July.
At least it’s (sea)faring better than three other unannounced Ubisoft games, which have been cancelled thanks to Ubisoft’s general underperforming sails. Sorry, sales.
Marvel Snap is excellent, and when you first start playing it chucks new cards at you faster than a confused magician. That slows down once you’ve got a few hours under your utility belt, but developers Second Dinner have some changes in the works that should make rarer cards easier to snag. If you’re saving up for a particular card from the Token Shop, it’s worth checking whether it’s one of 9 cards that are about to get cheaper.
The first “Series Drop” is due to land in an update on January 31st, which will also add a mode that lets you battle your buds.
Yesterday, Netflix announced the game’s arrival on mobile with a trailer. According to Netflix’s in-app description, the mobile port still features controller support and online multiplayer gameplay.
Inspired by arcade beat ’em ups of the ’90s (and including quite a few improvements to their combat systems), TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge sees the classic Turtles, along with a few newly playable characters, taking on new foes through a campaign mode and an arcade mode.
IGN gave TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge an 8 in our review, praising its “fun combat, a charming and nostalgic pixel aesthetic, and one of the best soundtracks of the year so far” despite its occasionally tedious level design.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
In a video posted online today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment confirmed that Simon Pegg will be voicing the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Phineas Nigellus Black, in Hogwarts Legacy.
Pegg, who is famous for his roles in Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and more, breaks down the character’s personality traits and role within the game, describing him as “just a bit of an idiot”.
Xbox is working to reduce our environmental impact to help us reach Microsoft’s goal of being a carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste company by 2030 by rethinking how we design, build, distribute, and use our products.
Last March, we shared an update on our sustainability efforts across hardware, software, waste reduction, and collective action. We are constantly looking at the ways in which we can innovate, learn, and improve upon our measures, as well as continue collaborating with industry partners and game developers. We not only hold ourselves accountable to the carbon emissions in the production and distribution of our products, but to the emissions created with the use of our products in the homes of our fans as well. So, the way we design our hardware and software to be more efficient and optimized for renewable energy can have a big impact.
Today we are sharing updates that are rolling out to Xbox Insiders. The upcoming changes will create opportunities for our collective community of gamers to make choices to reduce environmental impact while gaming.
Xbox is now the first gaming console to offer carbon aware game downloads and updates
Being carbon aware means reducing carbon footprint by optimizing updates and downloads to run at a time when the console can use the most renewable energy. Windows Update became carbon aware last year for Windows 11 PCs, and now Xbox consoles are also becoming carbon aware.
When your console is plugged in, connected to the Internet and regional carbon intensity data is available, Xbox will schedule game, app, and OS updates for your console at specific times during the nightly maintenance window that may result in lower carbon emissions because a higher proportion of electricity is coming from lower-carbon sources on the electric grid. For example, instead of your Xbox waking up during the nightly maintenance window at a random time between 2:00 AM – 6:00 AM, your console will wake up at a time when it can use the most renewable energy in your local energy grid. This decreases fossil fuel dependency and CO2 emissions, and could potentially save you money. While only available to Xbox Insiders that use Shutdown (energy saving) right now, all Xbox gamers will have the chance to update soon so that your Xbox console is carbon aware.
Energy settings that help your Xbox save energy
Starting today, Xbox Insiders will notice that their Xbox Series X|S consoles automatically update to the Shutdown (energy saving) power option. This one-time update to your power settings will reduce your power consumption while your console is off, and will not affect performance, gameplay, or your console’s ability to receive overnight updates to system, games or apps. Remote features are supported while the console is powered-on; however, remote wake is not supported while the console is shut down. You can adjust your settings at any time, choosing what works best for you. Shutdown (energy saving) cuts power use by up to 20X when it’s off compared to Sleep.
As we continue to explore options for all players to reduce their environmental impact, Xbox One consoles will begin to see new power mode options, including shutdown (energy saving) as early as today. Xbox One consoles will be testing multiple messaging options to determine the best way to inform players of the change. This effort is to provide Xbox One gamers an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience.
Shutdown (energy saving) will allow Xbox One consoles to receive system, game or app downloads overnight, just like Xbox Series X|S. With Shutdown (energy saving) selected, Xbox One consoles will experience a slower boot time. Remote features are still supported while the console is powered on.
We encourage all players to learn more about the power setting options available to you. Every small step we take has larger collective impact – and choosing shutdown (energy saving) can have real, meaningful impact. For example, for every 2 consoles that switch to Shutdown (energy saving) for one year, we will save the equivalent amount of carbon removed by 1 tree planted and grown for a decade. This is based on an average of Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles on Shutdown (energy saving) for 20 hours per day for 1 year; actual energy savings and avoided emissions may vary by console and other factors. Using Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator | US EPA.
Improved sustainability with “Active hours” and Sleep
Another energy setting update that will start to roll out to Xbox Insiders today is the new “Active hours” setting. For those that select the Sleep power option, you can now adjust your console’s active hours. Your Xbox will boot quickly and will be available for remote wake during your selected active hours. When your Xbox’s active hours are done for the day, it will fully shut down and will draw 0.5 W vs. 10-15 W while active.
Xbox Series X|S active hours will be automatically enabled and scheduled based on times when the console was previously used
Xbox One consoles will have the option to configure their active hours, which will default to “always active” unless changed
How you can help
We can’t do this alone. We must work together with our players, developers, studios, and the industry if we’re going to help reduce gaming’s impact on the environment. We’re committed to collaborating with our developers, partnering with organizations, and empowering players to make more informed decisions.
Here are some specific ways you can help:
Choose the settings that help you and your Xbox save energy Choose shutdown (energy saving) as a power option on your Xbox. If you are not part of Xbox Insiders and want to adjust your settings to get the best energy saving option prior to the automatic update go to Settings > General > Power options. It will help conserve power and enable carbon aware updates on your Xbox.
Get carbon aware – Choose automatic updates. When you have configured your Xbox to get automatic updates and you have selected shutdown (energy saving) as a power option, you’ll have a carbon aware Xbox.
Shutdown sooner when inactive – Choose a shorter duration for when your Xbox will turn off when inactive. This will help to reduce the amount of time that your console will remain on when inactive before turning itself off. By default, this is set to 1 hour, but you can choose a time that is less than an hour by going to Settings > General > Power options > Customize power options.
most powerful graphics cards on the market even after the release of the first Radeon RX 7000 series cards. It is designed for gaming enthusiasts, content creators, and professionals who demand the highest levels of performance from their graphics card – and now that the next gen is out, this bleeding-edge card has been heavily reduced. In fact, you can now pick this up on Amazon for $730, a $370 reduction from the $1100 price this XFX Speedster Merc319 card launched at in August last year.
Read more
Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer Tech Test just went live, giving you ’til 10am PT/ 6pm GMT on Monday to blow up some tanks. It’s a good chance to try the game out for free.
Skull and Bones has been delayed yet again, despite already having being delayed for the fifth time 
Marvel Snap is excellent, and when you first start playing it chucks new cards at you faster than a confused magician. That slows down once you’ve got a few hours under your utility belt, but developers Second Dinner have some changes in the works that should make rarer cards easier to snag. If you’re saving up for a particular card from the Token Shop, it’s worth checking whether it’s one of 9 cards that are about to get cheaper.
