Avatar: The Last Airbender is the latest franchise to collaborate with ever popular battle royale Fortnite as content based on the beloved animated series arrives in store today, April 9.
Revealed in a post on X/Twitter, below, a handful of main characters from the show will be available in the Fortnite Shop, but interestingly not the last airbender himself. Fortnite leaker Shiina suggested Aang will be included as part of an Event Pass later instead of being immediately purchasable.
In the meantime, however, fans can buy skins of water bender Katara, earth bender Toph, and fire bender Zuko, with the trio joining the titular character from Avatar: The Legend of Korra, who arrived on April 2.
Yip yip! Get ready, Avatar: The Last Airbender is coming to Fortnite.
Publisher Epic Games is yet to share what the skin packs for these new characters include, as only a short trailer was released alongside the announcement post. It recreates the scene from the opening of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as Katara approaches an iceberg containing Aang and his flying bison Appa before it and the trailer explode into snippets of fighting from the three new characters.
Collaborations like this are now part of the norm for Fortnite, which has also seen crossovers with Alan Wake, Eminem, Family Guy, LEGO, Metal Gear Solid, Lady Gaga, and so much more — and that’s all in the last six months.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Ahhh League Of Legends, a MOBA that occupied my university years. While I’d argue climbing the ranked ladder with my housemates were some of the best game moments I’ve ever had, I’d also argue giving up League was necessary. I became too involved, too close to the toxicity. But now League’s threatening to drag me back in with something I hadn’t seen coming – a Vampire Survivors-like PVE mode. No! I must resist (I will be on it immediately when it arrives).
Staff at UK retailer GAME are reportedly facing redundancies as the firm moves most of its workforce under zero hour contracts.
As reported by Eurogamer, it’s not currently known how many employees will be laid off, but it’s understood that all non-managerial staff will now be on zero hour contracts going forwards. For those who might not be familiar with the UK scheme, zero hour contracts offer up no guarantee of work for the employee, as the employer is not under any obligation to set a minimum number of working hours.
Let’s start with what we know. Update 01.000.202 tweaks stats user interface for weapons to take into account any explosive damage done by them. According to Arrowhead,this is to give weapons that do damage with explosive projectiles a more fair representation in the UI. Most notably affected is the PLAS-1 Scorcher, the developer added.
Then there’s a long list of crash fixes, which are certainly welcome. Arrowhead also updated its ‘known issues’ list to add scopes on some weapons, such as the the Anti-Materiel Rifle, that are slightly misaligned, and the area around Automaton Detector Tower that makes blue stratagems such as the hellbomb bounce and be repelled when trying to call them down close to the tower. Of course, with the Automatons dealt with, it’s not possible to play on Automaton planets. They’ll be back, sure enough. Meanwhile, there is no mention of the ‘rogue Item’ currently in the game that Arrowhead has warned players off buying.
If you’re looking for more on Helldivers 2, check out IGN’s feature on the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2, a player who has answered over 100 SOS Beacons as part of a mission to help others.
We have updated the stats UI for weapons to take into account any explosive damage done by them. This is to give weapons that do damage with explosive projectiles a more fair representation in the UI. Most notably affected is the PLAS-1 Scorcher.
Fixes Crash fixes
Fixed some crashes that occurred when deploying to mission.
Fixed some crashes that occurred during extraction and right after it.
Fixed crashes that could occur if the squad deployed a large amount of support weapons.
Fixed various crashes that could occur during gameplay.
Fixed a crash that could occur when using heat based weapons.
Fixed crashes which could occur if a player died while using the jetpack.
Fixed crash which could occur when large volumes of enemies were present.
Fixed crash which could occur when the player picked up a snowball.
Fixed crash which could occur when completing an objective.
Other Fixes
Fixed hang that could occur while navigating the social menu.
Picking up Medals and Super Credits will no longer lock the player in place.
Known Issues
These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed. This list is not exhaustive, and we are continuing to identify issues and create fixes. These are organized by feedback, reports, severity, etc.
Various issues involving friend invites and cross-play:
Player name may show up blank on the other player’s friend list.
Friend Request cannot be accepted when the requesting player changed their username before the request was accepted.
Cross-platform friend invites might not show up in the Friend Requests tab.
Players cannot unfriend players befriended via friend code.
Players cannot unblock players that were not in their Friends list beforehand.
Damage-over-time effects may only apply when dealt by the host.
Players may experience delays in Medals and Super Credits payouts.
Enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions.
Certain weapons like the Sickle cannot shoot through foliage.
Scopes on some weapons such as the Anti-Materiel Rifle are slightly misaligned.
Arc weapons sometimes behave inconsistently and sometimes misfire.
Spear’s targeting is inconsistent, making it hard to lock-on to larger enemies.
Stratagem beam might attach itself to an enemy but it will deploy to its original location.
Explosions do not break your limbs (except for when you fly into a rock).
Area around Automaton Detector Tower makes blue stratagems such as the hellbomb bounce and be repelled when trying to call them down close to the tower.
Planet liberation reaches 100% at the end of every Defend mission.
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.
Noita! A wizardly 2D dungeon crawler without compare, in both good and deranging ways. Man, it feels like only yesterday I equipped something without looking and suddenly everything that damaged me caused me to teleport at random. I flew through entire levels this way like a Tardis set to shuffle, bumbling into one enemy posse after another, granted a few seconds at a time to assess my surroundings before the sorcery swept me deeper.
Behind me, meanwhile, whole layouts exploded as lakes of pixelated lava, acid and other substances which I’d nudged in passing overflowed and combined and transformed. Noita! Heaven help us all, they’ve released a big new update, after all these years.
There’s what looks like a bug (not that kind!) in Helldivers 2 that has left some players scratching their heads — and the developer of the game is certainly having fun with it.
Players noticed the unannounced addition of the ‘Catalogue Expansion’ ship module for the bridge. According to its description, this adds “new stratagem permits” to the ship management terminal for purchase. But the description for its upgrade effect is lifted from the ship module viewed prior, rather than its own distinct descriptor.
Developer Arrowhead then leaned into the Helldivers 2 narrative to warn players not to buy the ship module with a statement written as if it were coming from the game’s fictional Super Earth government:
“ALERT: ROGUE ITEM DETECTED,” the statement published to the Helldivers Discord begins. “The Ministry of Truth has confirmation that a rogue item called the ‘catalog expansion’ is temporarily visible in the Ship Management menu and, in accordance with regulations, we instruct all Helldivers to avoid this rogue item until further notice. The Ministry of Truth cannot confirm the reliability or safety of this item, nor can they confirm its origin.”
Of course, that statement sparked something of a frenzy, with players jumping into the game to buy the ship module just to see what all the fuss was about (it doesn’t appear to do anything). But while it seems clear that this ship module relates to a bug of some kind, some players were left confused. “Leaning into the game’s narrative here is actually really confusing me,” said redditor Reasonabledwarf. “Are they telling us to not buy it, or not buy it wink?”
Others believe the statement is Arrowhead leaning into the game’s narrative to admit there are new stratagems and ship modules coming to Helldivers 2. New stratagems are expected at some point, of course — Arrowhead has released a handful since the game’s explosive launch in February. “Its description in-game is having me believe that this is their way of ‘announcing’ that there are new stratagems on the way,” offered xXzeregaXx. “They are basically telling us ‘oops’ that shouldn’t be there, don’t buy it right now. It’s not ready to be released,” added OmegaXesis. “But this is also hinting that new stratagems and ship upgrades are probably on their way.”
If you’re looking for more on Helldivers 2, check out IGN’s feature on the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2, a player who has answered over 100 SOS Beacons as part of a mission to help others.
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.
The new Mortal Kombat game Mortal Kombat 1 is still rolling out new fighters for its Kombat Pass and the next one on the way has now been officially teased. It’s Ermac and the first official teaser for this character has now been shared by the official Mortal Kombat social media account.
A full gameplay trailer of Ermac will be released later this week. The current teaser features a brief exchange between Kung Lao and Ermac. This same teaser also reveals Mavado – the next Kameo fighter coming to Mortal Kombat 1.
Hey Xbox Insiders! We are releasing a new Xbox App and Game Bar app for Windows builds to Xbox Insiders who are enrolled in the PC Gaming Insiders preview! Thank you all for being Xbox Insiders. Continue read to learn about fixes and known issues. Make sure that you update the Xbox app, Gaming Services and Game Bar to ensure you get all of the fixes!
Versions of PC Gaming prerelease products:
Xbox App version: 2404.1001.12.0
Released: 4:00 p.m. PT – April 8th 2024
Game Bar version: 7.124.3191.0
Released: 4:00 p.m. PT – March 21st 2024
What’s New
Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)
Starting today, Xbox Insiders playing cloud games via xbox.com/play will notice a controller icon in the guide when connected and playing on a browser. This supports users in connecting a controller when playing on a browser.
Note: Users on browser will need to enable Preview features on their browser to gain access to the feature. This is done by clicking on your profile picture at xbox.com/play and then select Settings and then enable “Preview features.”
Xbox App Bug Fixes:
Fixed an issue that could cause users to encounter an error when deleting game captures.
Resolved an issue where some users would see an error trying to complete a purchase.
How to Get Xbox Insider Support
Don’t forget! If you encounter any issues, you can leave feedback by navigating to the feedback option on your profile menu.
You can also provide feedback, as well as interact with the community, on the Xbox Insiders Subreddit. Please be as specific as possible when providing feedback.
When posting to the subreddit, please look through most recent posts to see if your issue has already been posted or addressed. We always recommend adding to threads with the same issue before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can!
For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information!
Thank you to everyone who participates in the Xbox Insider Program! Your feedback helps us continue to build a great gaming experience in the Xbox app on PC.
Stellar Blade launches in just a few short weeks on PS5. You may have already sampled the action adventure firsthand by way of the recently released demo in which Eve, a member of the 7th Airborne Squad, is sent to a desolated Earth on a mission to reclaim the planet from the mysterious, malevolent Naytiba and save humankind. If so, you’ll have had a taste of the game’s mechanics and combat, its story, and creature design. To dig in further, we sat down with Stellar Blade director Kim Hyung Tae (who is also founder of Stellar Blade development studio Shift Up) and technical director Lee Dong Gi to learn more about the studio’s background, the game’s inspirations and more.
Stellar Blade director, Kim Hyung Tae (left), and technical director, Lee Dong Gi (right) of Shift Up
It all began with a collective passion to create action games for video game consoles
PlayStation Blog: As Stellar Blade is a brand-new title, how and when did the idea of developing this game emerge?
Kim Hyung Tae (Kim): About five years ago, when we were talking about what mobile game title should be released after Destiny Child. We were initially thinking about creating Goddess of Victory: Nikke into a duology game for the Android and iOS platforms. It was during that process that the urge to develop a console title emerged as our second project. I have been a long-time fan of video game consoles and have always wanted to develop action games for them. The idea attracted a group of members with a shared passion, and that’s how the idea of developing Stellar Blade emanated.
With Stellar Blade being Shift Up’s first title developed for video game consoles, did you encounter new challenges or hurdles?
I am being realistic in thinking our fans would not be lenient and forgiving just because this is our debut title for game consoles. Instead, we held the same high standard that console gamers hold for their games and ensured that Stellar Blade would be on par with those games in terms of quality.
Can you tell us about the concept and theme of Stellar Blade? The theme I dedicated to Stellar Blade is humanity. The story is about what makes us human and defines us as human–it’s quite universal. The story came to my mind one day as I witnessed taxi drivers on strike.
The strike erupted when technologies for self-driving cars began advancing, almost hinting at the implementation of autonomous cars in the near future. This instilled fear among taxi drivers that these technologies would eventually take over and replace their jobs. As I watched them on strike, I asked myself what I would do if this were to happen to me, if one day humans were entirely replaced by something non-human. This is where the theme for Stellar Blade originates. Having said that, the game’s focus should not be on that; we tried to create an action adventure game that players can enjoy as they follow Eve’s story.
Stellar Blade reimagines the style of ‘80s and ‘90s sci-fi
The story takes place on Earth, which is ravaged by unknown creatures. Can you tell us more about the abandoned planet?
We have designed the game so that the backstory of the desolated Earth will reveal itself as the game progresses. The story begins at the point in time after Earth was ravaged by mysterious creatures called Naytiba, leading the decimated human race to flee to an outer space colony. Feeling defeated and tired of life in space, humans decide to battle Naytiba to reclaim their motherland. Players will learn the backstory and the incidents in between as they progress through the game. After discovering the truth, Eve will be faced with a decision and what she chooses is in the players’ hands.
No one knows what the Naytibas are, where they came from, or even what they want. This is where Eve comes in: to uncover the mystery surrounding these unknown creatures.
From the last remaining city on Earth, Xion, to the vast wasteland and the great desert beyond, what special attention and consideration went into designing this post-apocalyptic world? Post-apocalypse has been one of the longest-running genres in the game industry, among many others. So, for us to avoid monotony and make Stellar Blade a unique post-apocalyptic story was a major challenge. However, on the contrary, we wanted to stay away from making it eccentric or including bizarre elements so that it would be different. We decided it was best to reimagine and render the elements from ‘80s and ‘90s sci-fi for Stellar Blade.
People have their own vision of what a post-apocalyptic world is like based on what they’ve envisioned in their heads or seen in movies and such. I’m sure many players will appreciate and admire the details and attention that went into making the post-apocalyptic world in Stellar Blade vivid and realistic. A younger generation of gamers, on the other hand, will probably find our rendition of the post-apocalyptic world quite novel.
Is there any movie in particular that you took inspiration from? There are quite a few. However, one of the most inspirational, in terms of theme and design, is the sci-fi manga Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro sensei. It was released as an action film in 2019 under the title Alita: Battle Angel. I’d say I took a lot of inspiration from that movie.
The contrast between extinct Earth and Eve from space
Now, let’s move on to the main character, Eve. Can you tell us the concept and design that went into creating her?
Kim: Eve is an Airborne Squad member who is sent to Earth from an outer space colony. Despite being an accomplished soldier, there is a cultural disconnect between where she is from and Earth. So, we wanted Eve’s design to allude to the incongruity of her surroundings. Take a look at the atmosphere on Earth. It is barren, dry. Its cities are falling apart. A sharp contrast to Eve’s athleticism and fluidity.
How about other human characters? What kind of attention went into creating them?
Most of the characters are cyborg-like. To design these characters, we adjust their designs to reflect the available technology. While Eve and their Airborne Squad companions look sophisticated, albeit simple, we gave the survivors of the earth, living in a harsh environment, a minimal, pieced-together look. Although Xion’s surviving residents refer to Eve as “Angel,” it’s also a fact that some begrudge her for her extravagant machines and technologies.
Malevolent Naytiba come in different forms, such as biological or mechanical. Can you tell us about the design and concept that went into designing them?
We focused on giving the Naytiba repulsive and appalling looks. Many have no eyes or have supernumerary body parts, like a face on an odd part of the body, to evoke a sense of uneasiness. Some of the Naytiba can merge with humans and machines, so they take on different appearances.
An action game that is challenging yet fun for everyone
Stylish action is one of the key elements of Steller Blade. Please tell us what you did to achieve the stylish action and also what the highlights of the game are.
We designed the game so everyone can enjoy the action in Steller Blade. But we don’t want it to be a game where players simply attack the enemies aggressively and perform combos against them. It’s important that players observe the enemies’ movements closely and grasp the combat flow to respond appropriately. Skills increase through the skill tree, but equipment such as Exospine and Gear will also further increase them. As each piece of equipment performs differently, players should choose their battle style to be speed-focused, aggressive to overwhelm enemies, or cautious throughout the enemy attack.
The difficulty is set to be challenging to a reasonable extent. As such, players might find themselves needing to go back to defeat bosses. The difficulty can be adjusted during the game, so I encourage players to challenge themselves at a difficulty level they feel comfortable playing. For novice action game players, there is an Action Assist in the Story Mode that I highly recommend they take advantage of.
How exactly does this Action Assist help players?
For example, during crucial moments, such as figuring out the boss’s attack pattern for counterattacks, the movement slows down to make it easier to attack. When using a certain UI, the right timing for parrying and dodging will be displayed, making it easier for players to counterattack. This feature makes the game more approachable and enjoyable, even for those who usually steer away from action games. After completing the game, players can also play Hard Mode.
Stellar Blade is said to leverage some of the unique features of the PS5 console hardware, such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. What type of experiences can players expect? Lee Dong Gi (Lee): We harnessed these features to enhance the immersive experience. In certain scenes, haptic feedback allows players to sense the mood and feel the atmosphere surrounding the characters. At the beginning of the game, there’s a scene with a drone in which players can fully take advantage of these PS5 features. Apart from that, we’ve incorporated extensive levels of different adaptive trigger resistance assigned to the type of gun being used.
Is there anything else we didn’t touch today that you want us to know?
Kim: I think frame rate is one of the most important factors for action games. Stellar Blade offers three modes: Performance Mode, Balanced Mode, and Resolution Mode. Performance Mode supports gameplay at 1440p and 60fps, while Balanced Mode can achieve 50 to 60 fps for 4K resolution.
Lee: The Resolution Mode performs at 30fps for 4K resolution. I highly recommend this mode to those who want to enjoy the beautiful graphics. We hope everyone will select the mode that best suits them to maximize their experience.
Paramount wants its live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies to become “Avengers-level” cinematic events that bring together some of the franchise’s biggest characters.
Franchise and series executive producer Toby Ascher spoke about how Paramount is looking at Sonic and his friends through a wider lens during an interview with Paste Magazine. He says that the goal is for shows like Paramount+’s upcoming spinoff series Knuckles is to look at “supporting characters in depth and really build them out in cool ways.” Movies, meanwhile, will focus on a larger cast of characters and more epic narratives.
“We got really excited about the idea of expanding our characters in our world into television, specifically, because it gives us a platform to really do character studies,” he said. “We knew that, with Shadow coming into Sonic 3 and some of the bigger things that we want to do, the Sonic franchise on the movie side is going to be these Avengers-level events. They’re going to be these big, exciting stories that have a lot of different characters.”
Ascher reminds fans that when Sonic the Hedgehog 3 comes to theaters later this year, it will introduce one of the franchise’s most important characters: Shadow the Hedgehog. He’s the Vegeta to Sonic’s Goku and has proven to be a formidable foe in the past, but the series has plenty more to pull from that we have yet to see. One character fans have begged for since the live-action movies began is Metal Sonic, and with dozens of other games, shows, and even comics to pull from, there’s no telling how Paramount will proceed.
Knuckles will star in his own show when it premieres later this month on April 26, and we’ve already seen that it does use the opportunity to introduce even more characters. No other spinoff shows have been announced yet, but the door does seem to be open for more. Ascher says they started with Knuckles because Idris Elba’s comedic take on the character was strong enough to support a show.
“We thought we could translate that into a full series,” he explained. “I think it’s by far the funniest version we’ve had in any of the Sonic movies so far. It leans into weird comedy partially because of Adam Pally and because of what Idris brings in a really great way.”
It looks like Paramount is committed to making the mainline films feels huge. In addition to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introducing Shadow, the film will callback to the ultimate lifeform’s first appearance by including Sonic Adventure 2’s main theme, Live and Learn. It’ll also play into that character’s background by including one of his most important friends, Maria Robotnik. We have yet to actually see the film for ourselves, but with its release date set for December 20, 2024, we hopefully won’t have to wait too long to at least see a more substantial trailer.
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.
