With Diablo IV Season 2 just around the corner, Blizzard’s developers have once again gotten together for a campfire chat to detail some of the major planned changes coming to Season of Blood. They are part of what Blizzard is calling its “five-point strategy” to “focus on addressing player feedback and making systemic improvements.” You can find the full patch notes here.
Designers Adam Jackson and Charles Dunn joined community lead Adam Fletcher to discuss the changes coming to Patch 1.2.0, including updates to the elemental resistances, damage buckets, and elemental resistances. Blizzard also says it will also seek to address feedback around unique items, which have been controversial since Diablo IV released earlier this year.
In particular, Blizzard hopes to make unique items “more exciting and impactful” with completely new stats, updated unique effects, and other improvements. The changes are intended to address what Blizzard considers to be an issue with the items generally not being exciting enough, which is at odds with their extreme rarity.
“Can’t wait to see this whole new crop of uniques. Some classes really needed it,” one user responded on Reddit.
Resistance and damage mechanics are also getting reworked
In addition to uniques, Blizzard is planning major updates to elemental resistances, which the developers will “become a much more important part of a character’s survivability.” The current system uses an “inverse multiplicative” model that will allow players to stack resistances infinitiely but with diminishing returns, meaning you can never get 100 percent resistance to any one element.
The new model will be additive, Blizzard says, but with a base cap of 70 percent. Additionally, armor will now only resist physical damage.
“By utilizing methods such as itemization, the Skill Tree, Elixirs, and the Paragon Board, the more resistance you have against a particular element and the more valuable each percentage is for total effective life,” Blizzard explained in a follow-up release. “For example, going from 60-65 percent Fire Resistance is much more valuable than going from 20-25 percent.”
Fans seem pretty happy with the change, with several comparing it to a similar system in Diablo II.
“I am EXTREMELY happy that they’re making the resistances additive with a cap,” one player wrote. “That was one of the more enjoyable aspects of D2, trying to solve the resistance puzzle with your gear. Looking forward to this!”
Aside from resistances, Blizzard hopes to better balance classes so certain playstyles don’t dramatically outperform others, including capping bonuses for vulnerable, critical, and overpower damage. Other planned updated include a “slew” of class improvements, including increasing the damage of the Barbarian’s Blood Rage skill and increasing the ramp-up speed to the Sorcerer’s Incinerate skill. Blizzard also says it will make it easier to respec characters while offering training dummies to test out damage.
Blizzard has sought to placate Diablo IV’s community since the release of Season 1, which featured heavy class imbalances and other issues. The release sparked a major backlash that sent Blizzard scrambling to address the community’s feedback as quickly as possible. This time around, fans seem a bit happier with the changes.
“Overall, I think this patch is a huge step in the right direction based on player feedback. They get a lot of flack because of how the game launch, but I got my time out of it. I figured the development process had a lot of issues/staff changeup, crunch time, Activison “WE NEED TO MAKE MORE MONEY!!” design and marketing and I have been sticking it out with the team knowing they are listening and knowing it is going to take time to make the game better,” one user wrote. “This patch is a bigger stride in the right direction than I was expecting, so I am very excited to come back on the 17th. I’ve had my fun with D3 Season 29 for the past couple weeks. I’m glad I get time to farm these uniques and stuff.”
We wrote in our original review, “Diablo IV takes the strategy of refining things the series already did so well rather than giving it a more substantial overhaul, and that careful and reverent path has shaped this massive sequel into one of the most polished ARPGs ever created, which makes slicing through the legions of the damned a hell of a good time.”
In a reassuring nod to gamers’ storage needs, Sony has officially confirmed that its PS5 Slim console will maintain its expandable storage capabilities, ensuring players will still have the option to add extra storage to their console if they desire.
A PlayStation spokesperson told IGN via email that the PS5 Slim that “there are no changes with the new model,” meaning the process of removing the back cover panel of the console and manually installing an additional SSD.
Either way, the PS5 Slim will include more memory than the launch version, sporting 1TB of internal SSD storage instead of the 825GB found on the launch model (which only 667GB was useable). Nevertheless, the PS5 Slim’s continued support of expandable storage figures to be a big plus for those looking to buy the redesign.
With many blockbuster games launching on Sony’s ninth-generation home console featuring hefty file sizes, the option to throw in an M.2 SSD to expand the storage on the system is a nice feature, especially when you consider that last month a software update rolled out, allowing support for up to 8TB of additional SSD storage.
As with the launch model, you can’t just throw any M.2 SSD inside the PS5. Sony has previously said that the M.2 SSD needs to be PCIe Gen4, and while it said the read speeds need to be at minimum 5,500MB/s, several users have tested out that a slower read speed M.2 SSDs will work inside the console.
Sony will release the PS5 Slim sometime next month. For more, check out our piece on how the PS5 Slim compares side-by-side with the launch model and the Xbox Series consoles. If you plan to buy a PS5 anytime soon (Slim or not), check out the best PS5 SSD deals.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Using the disc drive and controller as a reference, IGN’s Armando Torres mocked up a rough size comparison between the two consoles, which you can see above.
Sony says the “new PS5 has been reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to previous models.” The original PS5 was 390 mm x 260 mm x 104 mm (15.4 in x 10.2 in x 4.1 in), and the new model will be approximately 358 mm x 96 mm x 216 mm (14.0 in x 3.7 in x 8.5 in).
Meanwhile, the PS5 Digital Edition launch model is 390 mm x 260 mm x 92 mm (15.3 in x 10.2 in x 3.6 in), while the new PS5 Digital Edition will be 358 mm x 80 mm x 216 mm (14.0 in x 3.1 in x 8.5 in).
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are obviously very different from the old and new PS5s, but we thought we’d compare them so you can see how they’ll all stack up in your home. The Xbox Series X is 152.4 mm x 304.8 mm x 152.4 (6.0 in x 12.0 in x 6.0 in) and the Xbox Series S is 279 mm x 149.8 mm x 66.0 mm (11.0 in x 5.9 in x 2.6 in).
For an accurate idea of how all the consoles compare, we used the site CompareSizes to generate a rough picture of all them all together.
While the new PS5s aren’t any more powerful than the launch models, there are some key differences. First of all, both models now have 1TB of storage, which is up from the 825GB offered in the launch models. Furthermore, Sony is offering the option to add an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive to the PS5 Digital Edition at any time for $79.99. The new models also have four separate cover panels, with the top two sporting a glossy look and the bottom remaining matte.
It’s also important to note that the new PS5 Digital Edition has gone up in price by $50 when compared to the launch model. So, the new PS5 model with the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive already installed will be the same price as the original at $499.99 and the new PS5 Digital Edition will now be $449.99 instead $399.99.
Additionally, Sony will be selling a new vertical stand that will be available for $29.99, but it will be including a horizontal stand with both models.
Sony has confirmed the heavily rumoured PlayStation 5 slim, which is due out for this holiday season.
The smaller PS5 design comes with 1TB storage for the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, up from 825GB in the original versions of the console, and the new model provides the option to add an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive to PS5 Digital Edition.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sid Shuman, Senior Director, SIE Content Communications, said Sony created this new PS5 “to address the evolving needs of players”.
“Our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility,” Shuman said. “The same technology features that make PS5 the best to play are packed into a smaller form factor, along with an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.”
PlayStation 5 2023 Redesign – First Images
The new PS5 has been reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to the previous models, Sony said. There are four separate cover panels, with the top portion in a glossy look, while the bottom remains in matte. If you buy the PS5 Digital Edition, you can add the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive for PS5 later, as it will also be sold separately for $79.99 | €119.99 | £99.99 | 11,980 JPY.
The new PS5 model will be available starting this November in the U.S. at select local retailers and direct.playstation.com where available, Sony added. It will continue to roll out globally in the months that follow. Once inventory of the current PS5 model has sold out, the new PS5 will become the only model available.
Here are the recommended retail prices for the new PS5 model, beginning with the rollout in November at participating retailers:
U.S.
PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – $499.99
PS5 Digital Edition – $449.99
Europe
PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 549.99 EUR
PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 EUR
UK
PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99
Japan
PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 66,980 JPY (includes tax)
PS5 Digital Edition – 59,980 JPY (includes tax)
It’s worth noting the PS5 Digital model has gone up in price with the introduction of the slim version. The original PS5 Digital Edition costs $399.99, whereas this slimmer PS5 Digital Edition costs $449.99. This means the slimmer PS5 with a disc drive costs $50 more than the slimmer PS5 Digital Edition.
A horizontal stand is included with the new PS5 model. A new vertical stand compatible with all PS5 models will be sold separately at $29.99 | €29.99 | £24.99 | 3,980 JPY.
And here are the specifications for the new PS5 models:
Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners, tweeted to say “this is more indicative of Sony’s current thinking around its approach for next gen”. “If the new Digital Edition does gain traction and we see a continued trajectory of increased digital software sell through, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony makes digital + disc drive add on the default option for next gen.”
Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere, added: “With the ability to upgrade the new Digital Edition of the PS5, Ampere expects there to be a larger share of total sales for this version versus the previous. Ampere data shows that the share of sell-through for the Digital Edition up to the end of June 2023 was only 16%. More gamers buying into the digital edition of the console will drive more sales of digital games through the PlayStation storefront. This will drive more storefront revenue for Sony and support its profit margin objectives.”
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.
Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi has revealed Nintendo’s reasoning behind the dissappearance of Sheikah technology in the latest entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise, and hinted at why NPCs haven’t bothered to investigate the vanishing.
While the setting in Tears of the Kingdom is the same as that of Breath of the Wild, the Hyrule experienced by players exploring Tears of the Kingdom is radically altered when compared to that seen in 2017’s Breath of the Wild. For one, the sky is quite literally falling, and vast chasms have opened leading to a new hidden realm below. Amid the confusion, the Sheikah technology and shrines that once dotted the landscape have disappeared, as have the guardians and the four divine beasts that watched over it, leaving many fans to wonder why.
“They disappeared after the Calamity was defeated (sealed),” revealed Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi in a new Telegraph interview. “All of the people of Hyrule also witnessed this, but there is no one who knows the mechanism or reason why they disappeared, and it is considered a mystery. It is believed that since the Calamity disappeared, they also disappeared as their role had been fulfilled.”
Fujibayashi went on to note that the people of Hyrule are accustomed to seeing dramatic changes overtake the world around them, so it makes sense that they would accept the disappearance of the tech as just another happening in a world gone mad. The desensitized nature of Hyrule’s citizens also explains why NPCs rarely if ever talk about the conspicuous absense of the shrines and other oddities. After all, compared to witnessing the rise of a demon king and seeing a castle borne into the sky atop pure malice, the fact that some tech has gone missing barely seems worthy of discussion.
“Thus, people have simply assumed the reason behind the disappearance to likely be related to ancient Sheikah technology and it seems there is no one who has tried to explore the matter further,” continued the director.
Thankfully, the content gap that might have been left by the missing Sheikah tech in Tears of the Kingdom has been amply filled by the appearance of an entirely different breed of mysterious and ancient shrines, monster forts, an archipelago of floating islands, and the cavernous expanse of the deep.
“In the first place, the reason I decided to make this a sequel to the previous work was because I thought there was value in experiencing a new game in that Hyrule place,” said Aonuma at the time. “If that’s the case, if a new reason arises, we might return to the same world again. Whether it’s a sequel or a new work, I think it’s going to be a completely new game, so I hope you’re looking forward to it.”
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
It’s not the first Amazon mega-sale for Prime members of the year, but it’s a good one nevertheless. The Big Deals Days sale is live October 10-11, dropping prices on all sorts of items, including Nintendo Switch games. You can find some big discounts on a wide array of items, including Switch games, console bundles, and accessories. We’ve sifted through all the deals to bring you the absolute best ones in this sale. Just remember that you’ll need to be a Prime member to access most of these deals from October 10-11 – you can get a 30-day free trial here.
TL;DR – Best Switch Prime Day 2 Deals
Prime Day: Best Nintendo Switch Game Deals
Prime Day 2 has served up a whole platter of awesome Switch game deals, including Bayonetta 3 for $36.99, Metroid Dread for $39.99, and a lot more to get stuck into. Check out the rest of the deals just below.
Prime Day: Nintendo Switch Storage Deals
It’s easy (and increasingly cheap) to add a bunch of extra storage to your Nintendo Switch. All you have to do is pick up a microSD card, pop it in, and you’re good to go.
Perfect for Switch
Samsung Evo Select 512GB U3 A2 Micro SDXC Card
Prime Day: Nintendo Switch Console Deals
If you’re in the market for a Switch console, you’ll be pleased to know that Nintendo’s standard Black Friday bundle is back for October Prime day. You get a standard Switch, plus a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, plus three months of Nintendo Switch Online. The other latest model of Switch is the Mario Red OLED. It’s not exactly on sale, but it’s new and it looks fantastic.
Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle
Includes Switch console, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (digital), and 3 months individual Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Mario Red Edition – Red
Prime Day: TV Deal for Nintendo Switch
While you don’t strictly need a TV to play Switch thanks to its hybrid handheld nature, there’s nothing like playing Tears of the Kingdom on a giant OLED television. Pick up one of these TVs if you enjoy playing games on a giant display, in addition to in handheld mode.
For more savings across the broader spectrum of games, including PlayStation and Xbox, check out the best video game Prime Day 2 deals.
Between the launches of Major League Cricket in the United States and the Women’s Premier League in India, and Ben Stokes’ Bazballing Brits putting bums on seats in the Test arena, the past couple of years has been an exciting period of expansion and evolution for the sport of cricket in all of its forms – well, except for one. Cricket 24, the latest video game version of the most beer-friendly of summer sports from developer Big Ant Studios, finds itself stuck in the past like a handlebar moustache on an Aussie fast bowler – offering a brand of bat-on-ball gameplay that’s almost indistinguishable from the now two-year-old Cricket 22. A sprinkling of new and only partially implemented player licences, slight visual improvements, and the addition of Adam Gilchrist to the perennially misfiring commentary team don’t really combine to provide a compelling enough reason to bring returning fans back through Cricket 24’s turnstiles.
To be fair, you might assume that adding licensed Indian Premier League teams, the Pakistan Super League competition, and a handful of new national teams would be a boon for Cricket 24 of, well, David Boon proportions. Sadly, most of these additions come with compromises. Only eight out of the 10 IPL teams are actually featured, with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore noticeably absent, and the actual IPL tournament itself isn’t available to play unless you want to cobble together a rough approximation of it yourself using a combination of the competition editing tools and the community-created squads. It makes for a slightly less ideal way to experience one of the crowning jewels on the cricketing calendar.
Meanwhile both the PSL competition and all of its teams are fully licensed, yet few of the Pakistani players feature their actual likenesses. This is apparently since they won’t have their faces scanned by Big Ant’s photogrammetry rig and added into Cricket 24 until the Pakistan team arrives in Australia for a Test tour this December. Conversely, despite the fact a number of the top Indian players make an appearance in Cricket 24 via their IPL teams, you can’t actually place them into the Indian team itself because it remains unlicensed. Indeed, trying to make sense of Cricket 24’s complicated web of licensed and unlicensed content gave me such a headache that I briefly considered calling for a concussion substitute to complete this review for me.
Trying to make sense of Cricket 24’s complicated web of licensed and unlicensed content gave me such a headache that I briefly considered calling for a concussion substitute to complete this review for me.
Still, Cricket 24 boasts over 300 players that have had their faces scanned and slapped onto the bodies of their in-game counterparts, and certainly the likes of Aussie captain Pat Cummins and Afghan superstar Rashid Kahn look reasonably close to the real deal. Licensed uniforms also look the part, and there’s some improved lighting and texture work on display in this year’s instalment, such as the gold foil that adorns the Mumbai Indians’ playing strip or the gloss on the stickers of the many licensed bats.
Yet elsewhere there’s also some attention to detail that’s notably lacking, particularly in terms of hairstyles and signature accessories. A strange, slicked-back mullet makes Spencer Johnson from Brisbane Heat look closer to Don Johnson from Miami Vice. Meanwhile England’s Stuart Broad, who remains unretired in Cricket 24 and therefore able to take David Warner’s wicket at will for many more years to come, isn’t rocking the Karate Kid headband that became a goofy on-field fashion choice for him in the latter part of his career.
Crease is the Word
In terms of the actual action out in the middle, Cricket 24 provides a pretty similar experience to that of Cricket 22. Cricket 24’s batting feels smooth and responsive, its bowling offers the same large variety of delivery types to set up each batsman with, and its difficulty settings are customisable to the point that you’re given the power to tailor the experience to suit virtually any skill level. Whether you want to drop it down for a carefree tonk-a-thon or dial it up to the point that batting becomes a nerve-shredding simulation where timing and shot choice is paramount is up to you – provided you’ve got the patience to tinker with its slightly overwhelming list of adjustable gameplay sliders.
Fielders regularly score direct hits at the stumps despite appearing to throw the ball in the entirely opposite direction.
However, Cricket 24 is a bit like the Sex Panther cologne of cricket games – 60 percent of the time it works every time. Cricket 24’s otherwise enjoyable simulation can often erode faster than Johnny Bairstow’s ability to concentrate at the crease. Many of the issues are messy but ultimately fairly minor distractions, like how highlight replays will be out of focus, or how camera angles will switch to the inside of player models or stadium seating, or even how the ponytails on certain players will suddenly morph and stretch into the air as though they’ve got a symbiotic tendril sprouting out of the back of their head. They’re not the only ones who appear to have freakish super powers either, with fielders regularly scoring direct hits at the stumps despite appearing to throw the ball in the entirely opposite direction.
Not to be outdone by the onscreen sloppiness, new commentator Adam Gilchrist awkwardly slots into a commentary team that once again seems to be watching an entirely different match to the one you’re playing, and will insist that every shot was played up and over the infield when it was clearly played along the ground, or declare a match to be a one-sided contest when you’ve only won by a handful of runs. As a proud supporter of the Aussie team I never thought it could be possible to feel even an ounce of agitation towards Gilly, yet here we are.
Considerably more damaging to matches, though, is Cricket 24’s infuriatingly iffy fielding AI, which manages to completely sour potentially momentous occasions on a regular basis. My first PSL match finished as a tie and thus went into a super over, and with my Lahore Qalanders needing 12 runs off six balls it felt as though the match was surging towards a nail-biting end. However all the tension was sucked out of the match in an instant, when I pulled a short ball towards the boundary and managed to run five runs while the fielder at deep square vibrated on the spot as though he was being electrocuted instead of simply returning the ball to the keeper.
Fielding here feels less Cricket 24 and more cricket under 10s.
Similarly, in Cricket 24’s career mode I toiled away without luck while bowling for my first couple of club matches before finally catching the edge of the bat with a beautifully pitched-up outswinger in my third game, only to watch the ball sail directly in between the waiting hands of first slip and crash squarely into his groin as he stood there spreadeagled and unmoving, like one of those plastic fielders from Crown and Andrews’ tabletop Test Match. Despite it being described as “completely overhauled” by Big Ant, for the most part the fielding here feels less Cricket 24 and more cricket under 10s.
Grade Expectations
Mind you, despite the fact it robbed me of my first wicket in admittedly hilarious, Homer Simpson-pleasing circumstances, that was still one of the more memorable moments from my time with Cricket 24’s career, since the multi-season single player mode in this year’s game is somehow even more streamlined and light on presentation than the already fairly bareboned equivalent in Cricket 22.
Certain player management features have been thrown out entirely with nothing added to take their place. The option to complete training mini-games in the gym or go for a net session in order to boost your stats in between matches is no more; instead you either sit alone in the change room, head off to the sauna to reduce your player’s fatigue, or just hop straight onto the team bus for the next match on the calendar. It quickly became a bit of a monotonous grind, and after investing dozens of hours in Cricket 22’s career mode there just didn’t appear to be any really meaningful additions here to keep me invested for another go around. In the end I bounced off Cricket 24’s career mode before my created player had even graduated to an Australian state side, let alone national duty.
Cricket 24 Review Screens
Ultimately it would appear that Big Ant has put most of its energy into securing licences for Cricket 24 rather than making any really significant strides in the gameplay department. As someone who’s been playing the Melbourne-based developer’s cricket simssince Don Bradman Cricket 14, I’d argue that the lack of licensing isn’t really a problem that needs prioritising. At least, not for as long as the still excellent in-game creation tools and a community of talented fans are around to render the players, uniforms, and stadia that Big Ant is otherwise unable to secure.
Instead, I’d gladly give up a fully licensed Thailand team or any number of real-world bat sponsors if it meant that I was able to play against AI that didn’t force Jimmy Anderson to bowl bouncers in the first few overs of a Test match or keep the field set back to save boundaries when I only need one run from 10 deliveries, or indeed if I could play on a wicket that visibly wore over time rather than remaining pristine from the coin toss all the way through to the evening of day five. It’s for these reasons and many others that Cricket 24 is hard to recommend over Cricket 22. Sure, the older game is also plagued by a lot of these same problems, but at least you can probably pick it up for less cash. It’s also bitterly disappointing that the Pro Team mode that was listed as a feature as part of Cricket 24’s initial announcement, is nowhere to be found at launch.
Since 2016, Mojang has been hosting an annual mob vote that lets players choose the next creature it adds to Minecraft. In recent years, though, players have grown increasingly unhappy with the tradition, and this year they’ve taken to “unionizing” to express their disappointment.
Last Thursday, the team behind Minecraft revealed 2023’s mob vote and its three options: a crab that drops claws that can boost a player’s reach when placing blocks, an armadillo that drops scutes which can be crafted into wolf armor, and a penguin that boosts the speed of nearby boats. However, quite a few players have become disillusioned with what they perceive to be lost content.
Now, fans on TikTok are creating and spreading war propaganda-inspired posters to encourage other players to “unionize” and boycott the mob vote. Many of these posters have adopted communist terminology, with some players calling others “comrades,” while others have praised modders for bringing Mojang’s “scrapped” mobs into the game.
currently obsessed with minecraft union propaganda on tik tok as people unionize to end the mob vote pic.twitter.com/aQz3iowf2I
These efforts have resulted in a particularly large Change.org petition. At the time of writing this, the petition has over 220,000 signatures, and it’s seen a steady increase over the past day.
“The Mob Vote generates engagement by tearing the community apart, leaving fantastic ideas on the cutting room floor, and teasing content that will never be seen in the game,” the petition states. “That, mixed with the fact that Mojang somehow releases less content WITH Microsoft’s backing than they did without, means players see minimal content to the game they love, and watch as possibly the one thing to get them to play again is ripped from them.”
Unless the anti-mob vote camp succeeds, the vote is slated to go live on October 13, and the results will be announced during Minecraft Live two days later. It’s worth noting that the discarded designs will only be baseline concepts, with only the winner entering full development, so little will be lost beyond the basic ideas presented in the poll.
10 Best Selling Video Games of All Time
We gave Minecraft a 9 in our 2011 review, calling it “an open world, a blank page just daring you to jump in and do with it what you will.” The game has received quite a few expansions since then, though, with its most recent major update adding mobs and more features for player customization. It’s also hosted an impressive number of dedicated players, including this fan who has been building all of Breath of the Wild in Minecraft.
Update: This story has been edited to clarify the state of the content presented in the mob vote.
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.
Activision Blizzard has given the first glimpse of their plans for Xbox Game Pass once the Microsoft deal has closed, saying they expect to start bringing their games to the service next year.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to close this Friday. Even still, in a statement on X/Twitter today, the company said not to expect titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV to hit Game Pass this year.
It’s awesome to see anticipation building for Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III. As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass.
“As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass,” says the statement. “While we do not have plans to put Modern Warfare III or Diablo IV into Game Pass this year, once the deal closes, we expect to start working with Xbox to bring our titles to more players around the world. And we anticipate that we would begin adding games into Game Pass sometime in the course of next year.”
The kinds of titles that could start coming to Game Pass once the deal is final has been one of the major issues as Microsoft continues to work to push the deal through. It was addressed back in June during its big FTC trial, during which Xbox vice president Sarah Bond pointed out that a current agreement in place keeps Call of Duty from hitting Game Pass before January 2025.
That doesn’t, however, count out games like Diablo IV from coming to the service next year, along with hundreds of other games that Activision Blizzard has published. Microsoft’s massive Bethesda acquisition famously brought tons of that publisher’s games to Game Pass, including those from the Doom, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout franchises.
It’s only the latest bit of news that will inevitably come out regarding the closing of the $69 billion buyout. The Verge reported that the deal is expected to be complete just days before the Oct. 18 deadline that was agreed upon by Microsoft and Activision following a longbattle in variouscourts.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Halo Infinite Season 5 is arriving just in time for the multiplayer’s second anniversary and it’s bringing a whole lot of new content and quality-of-life updates for players to sink their teeth into.
The new season, Reckoning, is bringing new maps, modes, and a new battle pass with Flood-themed cosmetics when it launches on Oct. 18.
Reckoning’s biggest adds are its two Arena Maps, which are both completely new. Forbidden is a straight-forward, symmetrical map that prioritizes short and mid-range combat while Prism is set in the same mines where the Covenant harvests crystals for The Needler, one of the Halo franchise’s most iconic weapons. It’s also strewn with environmental hazards and old mining equipment and seems well-suited for sniping and ranged combat. IGN’s Stella Chung breaks it all down in the video below.
The new mode may be more familiar to fans of previous Halo games. Extraction from Halo 4 is returning as a new PvP option. Both of Season 5’s new maps are compatible with the mode, though it’s unclear if Extraction will work on all Arena Maps, or only Forbidden and Prism. Firefight: King of the Hill is also coming to Season 5, though it sounds like this new PvE option isn’t going to be included when the new season launches.
Releasing as Spooky Season hits a fever pitch, the cosmetics in Reckoning’s battle pass are all inspired by Halo’s zombie-like alien hivemind, The Flood. Dedicated players can also earn Master Chief’s armor from Halo Infinite’s campaign mode: The Infinite Mark VI Armor alongside some exclusive coatings.
The update’s also bringing a new AI toolkit to Forge Mode, opening the door even further for players to stretch their imagination — and the game’s engine — to its limits.
343 hasn’t released a full list of the Update’s changes, including patch notes, just yet, but promises tweaks to Battle Pass progression, cosmetics, menus, and more. To see it all in action, check out this video featuring gameplay on some of the new maps and modes coming in Reckoning:
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This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
