Mortal Shell, in which case all you have to do is wait a month for the title to be re-added. The fantasy Soulslike had left the service on November 30th last year, but now it’s back, this time with the Enhanced Edition.
You might remember in one of 2021’s stranger collaborations, Fujifilm teamed up with Nintendo to let you produce polaroids of your favourite Switch screenshots via the Instax mini Link printer. These snaps could then be personalised with all kinds of Nintendo-themed frames and stickers including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario and Pokémon Snap. Now, Fujifilm has announced that Splatoon will be the next franchise to get in on the polaroid personalisation.
In a new update for the Instax mini Link for Nintendo Switch app (coming 19th January), the squid kids take centre stage as a batch of Splatoon 3-themed stickers and frames ink their way onto the customisation options. Ever wanted to pose with an Octoling in a polaroid (never mind how specific that dream may be)? This is your chance.
Overwatch 2‘s second season has been all about Greek mythology, with several characters receiving skins based on iconic Greek gods. But now that the festive winter event has wrapped up, Overwatch 2 is debuting its next limited-time event Battle for Olympus later today, and it’s reimagining seven characters’ abilities. The free-for-all deathmatch mode begins today and will be around until January 19th.
Sony’s CES 2023 press conference has wrapped up, and the company shared a handful of updates for PlayStation gamers. The headline is Project Leonardo, which is a brand new accessibility controller kit in development for PlayStation 5. Sony also shared updates on the Gran Turismo movie, PSVR 2, and more. Read on to learn about everything announced at today’s event.
Project Leonardo Revealed: New Accessibility Controller Kit for PlayStation 5
Project Leonardo is PlayStation’s brand new accessibility controller kit that’s currently in development. There’s no word yet on a release date or price, but Leonardo aims to “”remove barriers to gaming and help players with disabilities play more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods on PS5.” It was developed with contributions from accessibility experts, community members, and game developers.
Gran Turismo: The Movie Sneak Peek Revealed
Sony shared a first look at the upcoming Gran Turismo movie, which is set to hit theaters this August. The footage had words from stars Archie Madekwe, Orlando Bloom, and David Harbour, and showed off the movie’s combination of real-life racing and Gran Turismo action.
PlayStation 5 Passes 30 Million Units Sold
PlayStation’s Jim Ryan announced on stage that the PlayStation 5 has passed 30 million units sold. Ryan also stated that the PS5 shortage is essentially over, saying, “Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward”. The last official update we had on PS5 sales numbers was back in November, when Sony revealed the console had passed 25 million units sold.
Gran Turismo 7 is Getting PSVR 2 Support, and Beat Saber Is Coming to PSVR 2
Gran Turismo 7 will have PSVR 2 support when the new VR platform launches next month. The VR features will be available as a free upgrade for those that own Gran Turismo 7. VR hit Beat Saber is also heading to PSVR 2, although a release date was not announced.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
The Japanese developer Monolith Soft has been growing in size year after year. In a previous update – dating back to 2021, the company revealed its employee headcount had jumped from 261 (in December 2020) to 272.
As highlighted by Twitter user and gaming enthusiast Stealth, the latest update for 2022 is slightly different – with new annual data revealing the amount of employees at the company has dropped from around 272 staff down to 264 as of December 2022. This is just an interesting fact, and there’s nothing to necessarily worry about.
Accessibility is an important topic to us at PlayStation, and we want to continue raising the bar to enable every gamer to experience the joy of play. Whether it’s the robust accessibility options in PlayStation Studios games like Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarök or Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part I, or the wide array of features in our PS4 and PS5 console UI, we’re passionate about reducing barriers to play for every gamer.
Today at CES, we announced the next step in our journey to make gaming more accessible: Project Leonardo for PlayStation 5. Developed with key contributions from accessibility experts, community members, and game developers, Project Leonardo is our codename for a new highly customizable controller kit that works “out of the box” to help many players with disabilities play games more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods.
Through conversations with accessibility experts and incredible organizations like AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up, we’ve designed a highly configurable controller that works in tandem with many third-party accessibility accessories and integrates with the PS5 console to open up new ways of gaming. It is built to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control, including difficulty holding a controller for long periods, accurately pressing small clusters of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on a standard controller.
Here are some of the key features:
Highly customizable play experience
Hardware customizations. Project Leonardo for PS5 is a canvas for gamers to craft their own play experience. It includes a robust kit of swappable components, including a variety of analog stick caps and buttons in different shapes and sizes.
Players can use these components to craft a wide array of control layouts. And the distance of the analog stick from the game pad can be adjusted to suit the player’s preference. These components allow players to find a configuration that works for their strength, range of motion, and particular physical needs.
Software customizations. On the PS5 console players have an array of options to tailor their Project Leonardo play experience:
Button mapping
The controller’s buttons can be programmed to any supported function and multiple buttons can be mapped to the same function. Conversely, players can map two functions (like “R2” + “L2”) onto the same button.
Control profiles
Players can store their programmed button settings as control profiles and easily switch between them by pressing the profile button.
Up to three control profiles can be stored and accessed by the player from their PS5 console at any time.
Works collaboratively with other devices and accessibility accessories
Project Leonardo can be used as a standalone controller or paired with additional Project Leonardo or DualSense wireless controllers. Up to two Project Leonardo controllers and one DualSense wireless controller can be used together as a single virtual controller, allowing players to mix and match devices to fit their particular gameplay needs, or to play collaboratively with others.
For example, players can augment their DualSense controller with a Project Leonardo controller or use two Project Leonardo controllers on their own. A friend or family member can also assist by helping to control the player’s game character with a DualSense controller or a second Project Leonardo controller. The controllers can be dynamically turned on or off and used in any combination.
Project Leonardo is expandable through four 3.5mm AUX ports to support a variety of external switches and third-party accessibility accessories. This enables users to integrate specialty switches, buttons or analog sticks with the Project Leonardo controller. The external accessories can be dynamically connected or disconnected, and each can be configured to act like any other button.
Flexible, adaptable design
Project Leonardo’s split, symmetric design allows players to reposition the analog sticks as close together or as far apart as they like. The controller lies flat and does not need to be held, so players can lay it on a tabletop or a wheelchair tray. It can be easily secured to AMPS mounts* or tripods, and can be oriented 360 degrees for the most comfortable use. Players can also program the “north” orientation on the analog sticks to match their preferred controller orientation.
Sony Interactive Entertainment designer So Morimoto shares some insights on how his team approached the industrial design of Project Leonardo:
“Project Leonardo is part of the PS5 product family and is based on the same design concept. We were inspired by the idea of all players enjoying the world of PlayStation together. Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use. We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping.
“Because players can customize Project Leonardo according to their needs, there is no one ‘right’ form factor. We want to empower them to create their own configurations. The controller can also flexibly accept combinations of accessibility accessories to create a unique aesthetic. I am excited that the design will be completed through collaboration with players rather than presenting them with a single form factor.”
– So Morimoto, Designer, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Looking ahead
Project Leonardo is currently in development and we continue to gather valuable feedback from the community. We’d like to thank all the wonderful organizations and accessibility experts who are supporting us in this effort.
We are also grateful to everyone in the community who has advocated for greater gaming accessibility. You are the reason we do our work and your passion inspires us every day. It’s truly a privilege for us to create products that better serve your needs. We look forward to sharing more in the future, including additional product features and launch timing.
*AMPS is an industry-standard mounting screw pattern for attaching devices to equipment, including accessibility equipment.
Gran Turismo 7 is getting support for PSVR 2, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan announced tonight during Sony’s CES 2023 press conference.
Released nearly a year ago, Gran Turismo 7 is the eighth mainline installment in Sony’s long-running racing sim franchise. In our review of Gran Turismo 7, which we gave a 9, my colleague Luke Reilly praised the title’s graphical fidelity, an abundance of racing options, and the haptic feedback available thanks to the PS5’s DualSense controller.
Gran Turismo 7 for PSVR 2 will be available as one of many launch title games when the PSVR 2 releases on February 22, and will be a free upgrade for those that own Gran Turismo 7. Additional launch titles confirmed for Sony’s second-generation VR headset include Horizon: Call of the Mountain,No Man’s Sky, and Resident Evil Village.
In addition to news of Gran Turismo 7’s VR mode for PSVR 2, Sony’s CES 2022 press conference also shared a sneak peek at the Gran Turismo movie, which hits theatres later this year. Alongside the announcement of Project Leonardo, a new accessibility controller kit compatible with the PS5.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Happy New Year! It’s a fresh start for Xbox in what should be a huge 2023 for them. We discuss the one thing Microsoft needs to do ASAP in order to get the year off on the right foot, and then we make a total of nine predictions for Xbox’s year.
Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase:
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
As a woman who will probably some day have to wear an engagement ring, I have spent some amount of time thinking about what designs I actually like. Unfortunately, it turns out that most of them are designed to tear up any kind of knitted sweater as soon as you put your arms into the sleeves, and I cannot for the life of me understand how this is still a thing. I like wearing knitted sweaters!
The reason I bring this up is because this 1-carat solitaire ring, which comes in all gold, all platinum, and a mix of platinum and gold accents, looks like it was precision-engineered to ruin every single piece of knitwear known to man. However, it is also Pikachu-themed. I am torn.
Mortal Shell, in which case all you have to do is wait a month for the title to be re-added. The fantasy Soulslike had left the service on November 30th last year, but now it’s back, this time with the Enhanced Edition.
Overwatch 2‘s second season has been all about Greek mythology, with several characters receiving 
