Hot on the heels of a backlash against Diablo 4 portal reskins that cost the same as Palworld comes a new microtransaction horror: a horse bundle that costs more than Diablo 4 itself.

This week, Blizzard released the new Vitreous Scourge mount, which can only be bought as part of a $64.99 bundle that throws in 7,000 Platinum. For context, Diablo 4 itself currently costs $41.99, and there is no way to buy the Vitreous Scourge mount outside this bundle.

Here’s what you get from the Vitreous Scourge pack, per Blizzard:

Charge in atop crystal and bone

Manifest crystalline might and traverse Sanctuary with the Vitreous Scourge. The Vitreous Scourge pack includes Crystal and Bone bundle containing the Crystal-clad mount, Crystal and Bone Cage mount armor, two mount trophies, and 7,000 Platinum.

Crystal and Bone: A great many maladies plague the unfortunate inhabitants of Sanctuary. One is a spreading corruption that crystalizes both flesh and bone.

7,000 Platinum can be exchanged to customize your in-game experience with purchasable cosmetic items from the Shop, used to unlock access to the premium Battle Pass, and Battle Pass Tier Skips.

Are you playing Helldivers 2 and wondering if the developers will ever add a player versus player mode? Don’t hold your breath — the boss of developer Arrowhead Game Studios has said it’s never going to happen.

Responding to a user on Twitter/X, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt said the developer will “never” add PvP to Helldivers 2 in order to reduce “toxic elements” from the community.

“Hey; We’ll ‘never’ add a PvP-mode,” Pilestedt said. “This is to reduce toxic elements from the community.

“We want an environment that’s supportive, fun and where we all are fighting on the same side!”

Helldivers 2 is a co-op third-person shooter in which players squad up to take on alien bugs and automatons across big maps packed with over-the-top action, explosions, and a generous number of epic moments.

While there is no PvP mode, players are as much a danger to each other as they are to the enemy. Helldivers 2 is a game with friendly fire, which means a stray bullet from a squadmate can be disastrous. Turrets, too, can kill your friends, or even you, if you happen to get in their way. And devastating orbital strikes can be a menace to your friends as well as enemy outposts.

One of the cool things about Helldivers 2 is that players have established an ‘unspoken’ co-op etiquette, which is useful for a game in which voice comms are rarely used when playing with randoms. From what I can tell, griefing is an unusual occurrence in Helldivers 2, but it does happen. I’ve seen some players report they’ve encountered players who’ve engaged in a spot of teamkilling. Some are even orbital-striking the entire group as soon as they spawn onto the map, only to do it again seemingly just for a laugh. And teamkilling during an extraction, or kicking a teammate during extraction after a 40-minute mission does sometimes occur.

Pilestedt also responded to a user who accused Arrowhead of being “scared” to add PvP to Helldivers 2, denying that was the case. “Not scared,” Pilestedt said. “Just we don’t want the toxicity that naturally comes with it. There are plenty, actually most, games that provide PvP.

“We make games for people that just want to have a challenging time with friends but in a PvE setting.”

Pilestedt then pointed players who want a PvP experience to extraction shooter Escape from Tarkov: “If you want PvP I recommend @tarkov,” Pilestedt said.

According to Pilestedt, Helldivers 2 has already sold one million copies across PlayStation 5 and PC, smashing all expectations in the process. And despite various matchmaking issues, Helldivers 2 shows no sign of slowing down. Check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 tips and tricks for getting started if you’re jumping in.

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.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preorders are currently down to just £55.99 in the UK right now. This is a tremendous deal, and guaranteed to arrive on launch day February 29. All you need to do is use code REBIRTH20 at checkout when preordering at Currys. This is the best Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preorder deal in the UK right now, but, the only caveat is that this deal has sold out a few times before, so there could be a limited time frame to take advantage.

It was also announced at the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play, that a demo is now available to download via the PlayStation Store. It will let fans play as Cloud and Sephiroth in a sequence from the early part of the game among other content. This is a great opportunity to try the game out before you commit to purchasing via the deal we mentioned above.

In our final hands-on preview of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we said: “This second game in the reimagined trilogy is like an extension that flows out of its predecessor rather than another radical rethink. But Rebirth is layered with several new ideas that, at least across the duration of a recent three-hour playable demonstration, suggests Cloud and co’s upcoming journey will feel like a genuine sequel rather than a full-priced expansion.”

There’s also a new relationship system, called Bonds of Friendship, that has been added to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. As explained in the system’s tutorial, “the strength of these bonds can alter portions of the story.” One of those story moments is the Gold Saucer date, and you’ll be able to see how your potential partner feels about you via a variety of emoji-like faces.

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

The developer of Palworld has commented on the debate around the declining number of people playing the game since launch, calling the discourse “lazy”.

Taking to Twitter/X, Pocketpair community manager Bucky, who has become the voice of Palworld’s development team in the West, reflected on the game’s first month since going on sale in early access form across PC and Xbox Series X and S.

“In May of 2023, I was convinced that Palworld could break the 50,000 player mark,” Bucky said. “Anything above that seemed unobtainable though, and I certainly never expected it to reach into the millions.

“It has taken years to get to this point, and Palworld only really begins from here. Everyone is working hard to fix the issues and prepare new content and Pals. Some of you may have had your fun over the last three weeks and found yourself putting the game down. That is fine.”

Palworld’s astonishing launch saw 12 million sales on Steam alone and a peak concurrent player count of 2,101,867, the second-highest of all-time on Valve’s platform. Over on Xbox, Palworld is the biggest third-party launch on Game Pass ever with over seven million players and a daily player peak of just shy of three million. While the concurrent player count on Steam has fallen steadily since the peak, it’s worth pointing out Palworld is currently the third most-played game on Steam behind only Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. It remains hugely popular.

Still, that hasn’t stopped some from proclaiming the Palworld party is over, and it’s this sentiment that Pocketpair appears keen to counter.

“This emerging ‘Palworld has lost X% of its player base’ discourse is lazy, but it’s probably also a good time to step in and reassure those of you capable of reading past a headline that it is fine to take breaks from games,” Bucky said.

“You don’t need to feel bad about that. Palworld, like many games before it, isn’t in a position to pump out massive amounts of new content on a weekly basis. New content will come, and it’s going to be awesome, but these things take a little bit of time.

“There are so many amazing games out there to play; you don’t need to feel guilty about hopping from game to game.

“If you are still playing Palworld, we love you. If you’re no longer playing Palworld, we still love you, and we hope you’ll come back for round two when you’re ready.

“Play lots of games, try different genres, and frequently flick through indie libraries to find hidden gems.”

Last month, Pocketpair said Palworld would get PvP, raid bosses, and new islands in future updates, but it has targeted critical issues first. Crossplay between Steam and Xbox is also in the works (presumably this will up the co-op player count on Xbox at the same time), as well as improvements to the building system.

Clearly, the success of Palworld has taken Pocketpair — and the video game industry — by surprise, so much so that the developer has issued a recruitment drive, saying it’s “overwhelmingly short of people”.

While Palworld is one of the biggest game launches ever, it’s also one of the most controversial. Pocketpair has said its staff have received death threats amid Pokémon “rip-off” claims, which it has denied. Soon after launch, Nintendo moved quickly to remove an eye-catching Pokémon mod, then The Pokemon Company issued a statement, saying: “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon.” IGN asked lawyers whether Nintendo could successfully sue.

If you’re playing, be sure to check out IGN’s interactive Palworld map.

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.