Category: Gaming

The Communications Workers of America union has expressed delight in Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard, calling it a “new day” for workers at the Call of Duty maker.

The CWA, the largest communications and media labour union in the United States, said the completion of the $69 billion buyout represents “a milestone in the effort to improve working conditions in the video game industry”.

Microsoft is set to remain neutral when Activision Blizzard employees express interest in joining a union, providing a clear path to collective bargaining for almost 10,000 workers, the CWA said. Activision Blizzard has been accused of fighting union efforts at every turn.

In recent years Activision Blizzard employees have issued a number of complaints about sexism, a toxic work culture, and even walked out over reports controversial CEO Bobby Kotick failed to make the company’s board aware of allegations of rape and other serious misconduct. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard in July 2021, alleging a retaliatory “frat boy” culture. Activision Blizzard has denied the accusations. Kotick is set to exit Activision Blizzard at the end of the year.

Following the buyout, Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr said: “Over two years ago, workers at Activision Blizzard’s studios captured the country’s attention through walkouts and other protests over discrimination, sexual harassment, pay inequity, and other issues they were facing on the job.

“Their efforts to form unions were met with illegal retaliation and attempts to delay and block union elections. Now these workers are free to join our union through a fair process, without interference from management. Microsoft’s high-road approach should be the norm across the industry.”

The provisions of the neutrality agreement, which goes into full effect 60 days after the close of the acquisition, are:

• Microsoft will take a neutral approach when employees covered by the agreement express interest in joining a union.
• Covered employees will be able to easily exercise their right to communicate with other employees and union representatives about union membership in a way that encourages information sharing and avoids business disruptions.
• Employees will have access to an innovative technology-supported and streamlined process for choosing whether to join a union.
• Employees can maintain confidentiality and privacy of that choice if they wish.
• If a disagreement arises between CWA and Microsoft under the agreement, the two organisations will work together promptly to reach an agreement and will turn to an expedited arbitration process if they cannot.

In December, around 300 quality assurance workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Media, which owns the likes of Starfield developer Bethesda, Redfall developer Arkane, and Wolfenstein developer MachineGames, formed a union with the CWA. At the time, Microsoft said it would remain neutral in the process and not try to dissuade workers from achieving formal recognition, and has since recognised the union. In April, ZeniMax Workers United of CWA announced the start of bargaining for its first ever contract with ZeniMax and Microsoft.

Speaking following today’s groundbreaking news, CWA Local 6215 member Dylan Burton, a Quality Assurance Tester at id Software, ZeniMax, in Dallas, Texas, said: “Every Activision Blizzard worker should take advantage of this opportunity to have a legally-protected voice.

“Management may come and go but a union contract means that no matter who is in charge, the standards are the same and they have to treat you with respect. During our union organising campaign, Microsoft was true to its word. We were able to decide for ourselves, and no-one faced any retaliation for supporting the union.”

Microsoft president Brad Smith reaffirmed the company’s commitment to labor principles in a short statement.

In June of 2022, Microsoft announced to our employees and workers around the globe four principles explaining Microsoft’s approach to labor organizing. And in the weeks that followed, Microsoft and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) announced a groundbreaking neutrality agreement for the tech industry and labor sector, designed to go into effect if Microsoft was successful in its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. 

Now, more than sixteen months later, as Microsoft has closed its transaction to acquire Activision Blizzard, we affirm our commitment to our labor principles and innovative approach to union partnerships.  Microsoft remains steadfast in our support of our current and future employees in whatever choice they make about their workplace and their representatives.  We look forward to meeting, listening to and learning from our new Activision Blizzard employees and continuing our collaborative engagement with CWA and the workers it represents.

The video game industry is witnessing a growing labour movement in games that includes Sega, Workinman Interactive, Blizzard Albany, Raven Software, the aforementioned ZeniMax QA, video game voice actors, and most recently, Avalanche. 2023 has been a particularly brutal year for the industry, which has seen thousands of staff let go, studios shuttered, and projects cancelled.

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.

One of the hottest topics in video games is the future of physical media, with both Microsoft and Sony making moves to suggest digital will eventually win out.

The huge Xbox leak of last month revealed Microsoft’s alleged plan to launch a digital-only mid-generation console refresh of the Xbox Series X and S. And this week Sony announced a mid-gen refresh of the PlayStation 5, with a smaller console that comes with a detachable disc-drive.

Now Ubisoft has snapped up the cloud gaming rights for all Activision Blizzard games as part of Microsoft’s $69 billion deal for the Call of Duty maker, the French mega-publisher has issued a blog post featuring an interview with Chris Early, Ubisoft’s SVP, Strategic Partnerships & Business Development, who was asked: what do you think of the future of physical media in games?

Here’s his response: “There’s a collector edition market. There’s the aspect of gifting physical items and allowing access for people to be able to easily purchase a game in a store and gift them to their friends or family. Some people will always want to own the physical disc. I just don’t think it’s going away. Do I think physical sales might get lower over time? Sure, but will it ever completely go away? I don’t think so.”

Early’s answer will do little to reassure those concerned about the perhaps inevitable extinction of physical games. It suggests discs will become a niche for collectors as the dominance of digital grows ever further.

PlayStation 5 2023 Redesign – First Images

Reacting to the PS5 slim announcement, analysts suggested this trend will accelerate. 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: “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.”

A new Mario game is upon us and Dale is here to give us his preview thoughts of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. He’s joined by Cardy and Jesse as a rambling episode loses all control as under-the-radar horror movies are recommended, crisps are talked about, Bob the Builder makes an appearance, and there’s quite frankly too much David Beckham chat.

Have any thoughts about The Endless Search theme? Got any good demo disc stories? Get in touch at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com

IGN UK Podcast 718: Nando’s with David Beckham

Microsoft has released an emotional trailer to celebrate its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, showcasing the wealth of games Xbox now owns (and seemingly what it finds most important and wants to show off).

The titles that now come under the Xbox Games Studios banner is a little eye-watering, with some of video games’ biggest franchises of all time featuring in the trailer. World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Diablo, Crash Bandicoot, and Candy Crush all feature alongside franchises Xbox already owned like Halo, Fallout, Forza, and Starfield.

The trailer (above) was released alongside Microsoft’s announcement that it now owns Activision Blizzard, with the $68.7 billion deal the biggest in gaming history. You can read about the full acquisition, from its reveal in January 2022 to completion in October 2023, in IGN’s full timeline outlining all the challenges Microsoft had to overcome.

Xbox uses its franchises to welcome Activision, Blizzard, and mobile publisher King into its company. A World of Warcraft cutscene, for example, has one character say: “This is home now. Family.” Another from Pyschonauts 2 replied: “That’s cute.”

It’s Starcraft’s Tychus Findlay who perhaps best sums up what Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is feeling at the moment, however. “Activision, Blizzard, [and] King join the Xbox family,” the trailer reads, before Findlay chimed in: “It’s about time.”

Other games featured in the trailer include Microsoft Flight Simulator, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Sea of Thieves, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Fallout Shelter, Spyro, Minecraft, Hi-Fi Rush, and Doom Eternal.

Plenty of other news is arriving alongside Xbox’s announcement, of course, including that controversial Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will remain boss the Call of Duty maker until the end of 2023. Kotick said Xbox boss Phil Spencer had asked him to stick around as CEO to the end of this year, suggesting an exit in 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Two independent game developers have announced Don’t Scream, their new Unreal Engine 5-powered, found-camcorder-footage horror game set in the early ’90s that leans into an incredibly unique hook: you have to literally stay quiet while playing it. So yes, a microphone will be required to play. Check out the gameplay reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Time will only progress when you move in the Pinewood Forest, and the events are all dynamic, meaning you don’t know what might make you scream next. How long, you might ask? The scene lasts for 18 minutes. The developers call it “the perfect game to scare the pants off your friends and family.”

The developers also laid out these three microphone-related tips:

“1. Calibrate Your Microphone:

Set it up in-game. It’s not just tech setup; it defines your challenge. A mere squeak or quiet gasp could be flagged as a scream, pushing you to restart.

2. Mind Your Voice:

You can talk during gameplay, but keep it low – slightly softer than normal. Too loud and it’s game over.

3. Play Fair:

You could bypass calibration to shout through scares, but it’d spoil the thrill. For a genuine horror experience play as designed.”

Wishlist Don’t Scream on Steam if you’re interested in learning more and tracking its progress.

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.

Following confirmation of Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard, controversial CEO Bobby Kotick has confirmed he will remain boss of the Call of Duty maker only until the end of 2023.

In an email to all Activision Blizzard employees, Kotick said Xbox boss Phil Spencer had asked him to stick around as CEO to the end of this year, suggesting an exit in 2024.

“I have long said that I am fully committed to helping with the transition,” Kotick said. “Phil has asked me to stay on as CEO of ABK, reporting to him, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023. We both look forward to working together on a smooth integration for our teams and players.”

Kotick stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars from Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard. Last year, Reuters reported the CEO was set to receive a windfall of at least $390 million, the majority of which is based on stock purchased and awarded through incentive based compensation.

Kotick leaves Activision after 30 years as CEO and with clear financial success under his tenure, but his time at the top has been mired in controversy. Employees have issued a number of complaints about sexism, a toxic work culture, and even walked out over reports Kotick failed to make the company’s board aware of allegations of rape and other serious misconduct. Activision Blizzard has said independent reviews investigated the allegations of sexual harassment and management’s response and found both claims to be untrue.

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, now the Civil Rights Department, sued Activision Blizzard in July 2021, alleging a retaliatory “frat boy” culture. While this lawsuit is ongoing, Activision Blizzard has pointed out that so far, no judge has found the allegations to be true.

And just last week, Activision Blizzard was hit with another National Labor Relations Board complaint by the Communication Workers of America union.

Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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.

After one year, eight months, and 26 days, Xbox has finally completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, meaning it now owns premium video game franchises including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Diablo.

Microsoft announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard on January 18, 2022 but unlike its relatively smooth acquisitions of studios like Starfield and Fallout maker Bethesda, the historic $68.7 billion deal was almost brought to a halt several times.

The deal seemed doomed at times, with the United States’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC), European Union, and UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) all bearing down on Xbox and Activision Blizzard. The pair emerged successful, however, as the deal was finally closed on October 13, 2023.

IGN has outlined every challenge faced by Microsoft and Activision Blizzard below, providing a complete history of the deal and how they finally managed to push it through.

First Concerns Raised by U.S. Senators

The first in a long line of concerns surrounding the Activision Blizzard acquisition arrived on April 1, 2022 as four U.S. senators including Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenging consolidation in the tech industry.

Sanders alongside Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse, wrote they were “deeply concerned” about the deal’s impact on workers. The senators referenced the wave of sexual harassment and other allegations issued against Activision Blizzard, saying the acquisition could “further disenfranchise these workers and prevent their voices from being heard.”

The letter continued: “The FTC should assess whether the ways in which these companies have failed to protect the rights and dignity of their workers are driven by monopsony power or amount to anticompetitive harms in our labour market, and if so, if the merger will exacerbate these problems.”

Wall Street Questions Viability Despite Shareholder Approval

What could have been a strong step forward for the deal only raised more questions as, on April 28, 2022, 98% of Activision Blizzard shareholders voted to approve the company’s acquisition by Microsoft.

The deal was approved at $95 a share, but shareholders grew concerned as this number had been slowly lowering at the time to the low $80 range and as low as $75.60 on April 29. This was interpreted by some as a lack of shareholder confidence around the deal’s ability to ultimately pass.

Despite dipping further towards the end of the year, however, and encountering some other ups and downs, share prices began steadily rising again as of May 2023.

UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority Launches Investigation

What would become the biggest hurdle for Microsoft and Activision Blizzard to overcome began on July 6, 2022 as the UK government’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) announced an investigation into the deal.

Responsible for ensuring fair competition between businesses in the UK, the CMA said it intended to “consider whether the deal could harm competition and lead to worse outcomes for consumers”, citing concerns around high prices, lower quality products, and reduced choice.

Microsoft maintained confidence in the face of the investigation, saying it expected and thought it appropriate the deal should be scrutinised by regulators. “We have been clear about how we plan to run our gaming business and why we believe the deal will benefit gamers, developers, and the industry,” Microsoft corporate vice president and general counsel Liza Tanzi told IGN at the time.

Call of Duty Becomes the Centre of Debates

As an Activision Blizzard game and the most popular release each year, Call of Duty quickly became the centre of conversations surrounding the deal. While questions were raised from day one, and Microsoft and Sony threw accusations and condemnations towards each other fairly regularly, actual possibilities surrounding exclusivity only emerged later.

On September 1, 2022 as the CMA recommended a second phase investigation into the deal, Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass would receive new Call of Duty games day one, but this wouldn’t impact their launch on PlayStation. Talks between the console competitors began behind the scenes too, with Xbox allegedly offering to bring Call of Duty to PlayStation for three years beyond the current contract.

PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan raised an issue with the plan a few days later on September 7, however, calling Microsoft’s proposition an “inadequate” solution on “so many levels”. Ryan highlighted the impact on gamers, saying he and Sony “want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”

CMA Raises More Concerns as Xbox and PlayStation Squabble

An update from the CMA on October 12, 2022 raised several areas in which the competition regulator had concerns over the deal. “There is a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition in gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services, and cloud gaming services,” the regulator said.

The increased scrutiny from the CMA triggered a wave of new arguments from both Xbox and PlayStation, as the former tried desperately to see the deal through and the latter sought to block it. This led to many unusual statements over the next couple of months from Microsoft in particular.

Xbox essentially called PlayStation too big to fail, for example. “While Sony may not welcome increased competition, it has the ability to adapt and compete,” it said, adding that Xbox has a “number of significant disadvantages” in streaming. Microsoft president and vice chairman Brad Smith also said Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was fair because PlayStation has significantly more exclusive games.

Looking to put the Call of Duty argument to bed (though it continued for several more months), Xbox boss Phil Spencer said on October 31 the company would continue to release the shooter on PlayStation “as long as there’s a PlayStation out there to ship to”. This was followed by an offer from Xbox on November 11 to keep Call of Duty on Sony’s consoles for ten years alongside similar commitments to Nintendo.

The Federal Trade Commission Enters the Fray

In what appeared at the time to be the biggest hurdle for Microsoft at the time, the United States’ Federal Trade Commission sued to block Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In a statement, the agency said Xbox would “gain control of top video game franchises” and therefore “harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscriptions services by denying or degrading rivals’ access to its popular content.”

The FTC pointed to Microsoft’s history of acquisitions and making those games exclusives, like it did with Bethesda and games including Starfield and Redfall. Xbox again remained confident, however, with Microsoft president Brad Smith saying it will “continue to believe that [its] deal to acquire Activision Blizzard will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers”.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick chimed in too. “This sounds alarming, so I want to reinforce my confidence that this deal will close,” he said in an internal memo delivered to employees.

European Union Issues Antitrust Warning

The European Union became the latest government body to target the deal on February 3, 2023 when it issued a formal antitrust warning to Microsoft. The statement of objections was not made public but the EU had previously raised concerns over the exclusivity of Call of Duty.

Microsoft said it was still committed to “finding a path forward” for the deal. “We are listening carefully to the European Commission’s concerns and are confident we can address them,” a spokesperson said at the time.

CMA’s Provisional Report Says Deal Could Harm Gamers

Just days after the European Union issued its antitrust warning, the CMA delivered a blow of its own by stating the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal could harm gamers. Outlined in its provisional report on February 8 the CMA reiterated several previously mentioned complaints alongside the impact on cloud gaming.

It noted that Microsoft already accounts for 60% to 70% of this market, and adding the likes of Call of Duty to their current Cloud offerings in an exclusive manner could “alter the future of gaming” and potentially harm UK gamers.

Microsoft and Activision responded to the claims, with the former promising again that it will bring Call of Duty to other platforms. “When we say equal, we mean equal. Ten years of parity. On content. On pricing. On features. On quality. On playability,” Microsoft added.

Activision also remained hopeful about its ability to convince the CMA of the deal’s consequences. “These are provisional findings, which means the CMA sets forth its concerns in writing, and both parties have a chance to respond,” it said. Putting its money where its mouth is, Microsoft signed a ten year deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to its platforms on February 21.

CMA Blocks Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Though things seemed to be going a little better for Microsoft on March 24, 2023, when the CMA announced it was now less concerned about the Activision Blizzard deal going through, the competition regulator surprised the industry when it moved to block the deal on April 26.

Its official verdict came without PlayStation’s complaints or Call of Duty exclusivity at the forefront, however, as cloud gaming instead emerged as the main reason for blocking the acquisition. “The deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market, leading to reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come,” the CMA said.

It added that Microsoft failed to provide a solution to its concerns over the deal’s impact on the cloud gaming market.

Microsoft retaliated by saying it would appeal the decision, saying it is “disappointed” by the result that “appears to reflect a flawed understanding of this market”. Microsoft president Brad Smith spoke out against the CMA the following day, saying “people’s confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken”.

European Commission Approves Deal

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was approved by the European Commission (EC) on May 15 with a verdict that directly countered that of the CMA’s. Though it reached similar conclusions — that the deal would not harm the console market but could harm cloud gaming — the EC was satisfied with Microsoft’s proposed remedies for these concerns.

“The commitments [offered by Microsoft] fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation,” said the EC’s statement.

Addressing its concerns that the deal going through would monopolise the sector, Microsoft offered a 10-year licensing commitment for consumers in the European Economic Area. This commitment guarantees that Activision Blizzard games will not be locked to Game Pass Ultimate or the Xbox Cloud Gaming platform.

Microsoft versus the Federal Trade Commission

Following a five day court battle with the FTC, Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard finally got a win as Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled in favour of Microsoft. “Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been described as the largest in tech history,” Judge Corley said on July 11.

“It deserves scrutiny. That scrutiny has paid off: Microsoft has committed in writing, in public, and in court to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for ten years on parity with Xbox. It made an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Switch. And it entered several agreements to for the first time bring Activision’s content to several cloud gaming services.”

The trial brought forward several stories of its own, including Microsoft’s next generation plans and an admission it has “lost the console wars”, among other statements it would likely rather keep quiet. The FTC wasn’t happy with the verdict, of course, and immediately filed an appeal challenging the verdict.

Looking to Overcome the CMA

Microsoft’s win against the FTC seemingly gave the deal new legs as both Xbox and Activision Blizzard quickly moved to address the CMA. The deal was being approved by other regulators across the world too, including China, New Zealand, and Japan, essentially leaving the UK as the final hurdle to overcome.

Microsoft had submitted its appeal in May, but the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) later paused it on July 17 to allow both parties more time to negotiate. Microsoft and Activision meanwhile postponed the merger deadline by three months, moving from July 18 to October 18.

“The recent decision in the U.S. and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming,” said Activision Blizzard CCO and executive vice president of corporate affairs Cheng Meservey.

A month later, on August 22, 2023, Microsoft submitted a new deal for review with the CMA. It restructured the deal to buy a “narrower” set of rights, which included signing a deal with Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft to sell the cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years (excluding the European Economic Area).

Crossing the Final Regulatory Hurdle

Microsoft’s nearly two year pursuit of Activision Blizzard was finally completed on October 13, 2023 as the CMA finally cleared the deal. The CMA framed its decision as a victory for the preservation of competitive prices and better services in cloud gaming.

“In August this year Microsoft made a concession that would see Ubisoft, instead of Microsoft, buy Activision’s cloud gaming rights,” the CMA said. “This new deal will put the cloud streaming rights (outside the European Economic Area) for all of Activision’s PC and console content produced over the next 15 years in the hands of a strong and independent competitor with ambitious plans to offer new ways of accessing that content.”

Anticipation built across the industry as stock in Activision Blizzard was halted overnight, and Microsoft finally announced that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the largest in video game history, was now complete.

“We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer said.

“And today, we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox. They are the publishers of some of the most played and most beloved franchises in gaming history across console, PC and mobile. From Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft to Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga to Farm Heroes Super Saga, their studios have pushed the boundaries of gaming for players around the world.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Most Sonic games put the pedal to the metal, having you travel at blindingly fast speeds while avoiding hazards on your way to the goal. Unlike its predecessors, however, Sonic Superstars trades that traditional breakneck pace for new abilities, more exploration, multiple mini-games, and slightly more challenging bosses. Most of that stylistic shift works well for the majority of Superstars’ roughly 15-hour multi-campaign story – the new Chaos Emerald powers are an excellent addition to the formula, helping you make the most of stages that focus a little less on sprinting blindly to the end the first time through and more on hunting down secrets as you do. But while this slightly different flavor of Sonic can be fun, I couldn’t help but feel like Superstars was missing the main thing I love about the series: Speed.

Sonic Superstars has three main game modes – a campaign with three individual stories that unlock subsequently after finishing the previous one, an eight-player battle mode, and a time attack mode. The story mode has you traveling across 11 Zones all over the new Northstar Islands, showcasing flashy levels that occasionally draw inspiration from other well-known stages in Sonic’s history. For example, the Speed Jungle Zone brings back the use of vines from the original Sonic the Hedgehog’s Jungle Zone, Pinball Carnival puts both a fun and spooky twist on Sonic 3’s Carnival Night Zone, and the Press Factory is a more industrial version of the Press Garden Zone from Sonic Mania. They are all incredibly charming, and while the backdrops sometimes make it difficult to differentiate what’s in front of you, they nail the classic aesthetic Sonic fans like myself have come to love.

I don’t think any of the new stages will crack the top of my list of all-time Sonic favorites, but there are a lot of great additions to the series here, and I enjoyed that each one has a cool quirk to it. One has a giant snake burrowing throughout the level that gives you a slight bounce when moving along it, while another has patches of thick fog that obscure your vision, and the only way to gain partial vision is by running through a group of butterflies that follow and help illuminate the way. Golden Capital was a particular standout by having you flip the stage, swapping between the foreground and background, and showering you with rings every step. I also really enjoyed Lagoon City, which felt like a giant water theme park and made the best use of the new water power granted by one of the Chaos Emeralds. Things like this made me hope to see similar creativity in future 2D sonic games.

But while I undoubtedly enjoyed playing through these stages, they can have some questionable placements of hazards and enemies, and their choice to focus on platforming over speed is ultimately a disappointing one. There are multiple routes to take in each level: The higher you ascend, the faster the route, while the lower routes focus even more on the platforming side. At first it was fun to explore those lower routes, using different playable characters and the various Chaos Emerald powers to explore their less streamlined paths for secrets. But after discovering my only reward for that exploration was either more rings or a currency used on cosmetics in the lackluster multiplayer, there wasn’t much incentive to try and navigate the extra hazards and enemies.

That meant I eventually just wanted to stick to some good old fashion going fast, but even when I took the highest routes, I didn’t feel the speed I’ve come to expect over the past 30 years of Sonic. It wasn’t until after the 15 hours I spent clearing all the story content that I was able to go back and start to finding more efficient routes in order to get a better feeling of that speed. Still, that doesn’t help the fact that everything feels a bit too slow out of the gate for your first playthrough, especially before you’ve found all seven Chaos Emeralds and are able to go Super Sonic.

Collecting the Chaos Emeralds is more straightforward than ever this time, as the increased focus on exploration encouraged me to seek out the giant golden rings that hide them during my travels. Finding one sends you off to play a short minigame where you have to chase the Chaos Emerald by swinging from point to point until you catch up to it, finally unlocking it when you do. These ended up being the one minigame I didn’t mind stopping for as they were entertaining and also rewarded you in the form of new Chaos Emerald powers.

That’s right, Chaos Emeralds are no longer relegated to only granting Sonic the ability to go Super, as each one now grants a unique power. The Avatar and Bullet abilities became quick favorites of mine, as the former creates clones that race across the screen, destroying enemies, gathering rings, or breaking walls to open up new routes, while Bullet lets you launch yourself in the direction of your choice multiple times during its duration. Bullet became extremely helpful when playing as Sonic specifically, too, as he lacks the extra movement options you get when playing as Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. There is also a fresh addition to the cast in the form of Trip, a mysterious new character (designed by Sonic and Eggman creator Naoto Oshima) who initially travels with Fang before playing a more prominent role in the overarching story after finishing the first of the three campaigns.

Each of those stories pits Sonic and friends against Eggman and Fang, though Eggman does most of the heavy lifting. He’ll challenge you regularly with various egg machines shaped like clowns, dragonflies, giant mechs, and more, but some of these bosses seem to drag on and on. Long gone are the days of constantly bouncing off one of Eggman’s machines to destroy them quickly and efficiently – many of the bosses in Superstars are either immune to regular attacks or will move to the background to continue after them, making them untargetable except for specific attacks you can counter. This isn’t an uncommon tactic for bosses in other games, but the issue here is how often you must dodge the same simple attack patterns before the boss goes down. Some of the worst offenders could double or even triple the completion time for their accompanying stage, which is much longer than previous Sonic games.

While Fang is only more of a hindrance in the first campaign, he truly shines once you get to the second. He might have some of the most challenging boss fights in any sonic game, with small vulnerability windows to take damage, multiple phases, and numerous one-hit kill attacks that ignore your collection of rings. This started as a welcome difficulty spike but became flat-out frustrating after fights started to drag on for four or fives minutes through multiple phases, forcing me to start from the beginning due to a lack of checkpoints. The final campaign culminates in a race against the clock battle in what I imagine was intended to be the final rush of the whole story, but instead it just comes across as tedious – a trait many of the more drawn-out boss battles share across all three stories.

One of Superstars’ best features is its phenomenal soundtrack, with music that matches the theme of each stage perfectly. Throughout my 20 hours completing all the story modes and practicing routes in time attack, I couldn’t find one that didn’t have me tapping my toes to their percussive and electronic beats. Nearly every track, with a special shout-out to Lagoon City Act 2, had me replaying their stages just to idle and listen to their music. (I just wish there was jukebox to listen to them independently.) Unfortunately, the sound design isn’t up to the same standard when it comes to the sound effects of various enemies, attacks, or moving vehicles you will ride. I don’t know who thought listening to the sound of constantly buzzing bees or lasers bouncing off of armor for minutes on end was a good idea, but I ended up muting my TV when I replayed certain boss fights in the second campaign to keep myself from getting a splitting headache.

Superstars also includes four-player drop-in/drop-out local co-op, but as great as this sounds, it could be better in its execution. Playing with just two players, we found the experience clever at its best and frustrating at its worst. The camera doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason for who it decides to follow – sometimes it would track me as Sonic as I sped past my co-op partner playing Knuckles, while other times, it would allow me to run off the screen while he climbed a wall. On another occasion, I didn’t quite make a jump while my partner did, but the camera chose to follow me to a worse path for some reason. This type of thing was a constant occurrence. On the bright side, players who get left behind due to the inconsistent camera choice only need to press a button to return with all their rings intact, but it was still frustrating to go Super Sonic only to lose it three seconds later because the camera decided to follow someone else.

Speaking of shortcomings, it’s a shame that Superstars doesn’t feature any accessibility settings, and many actions require repetitive button presses. This would be fine if it weren’t a common occurrence, but anyone who wants to make full use of flying as Tails needs to constantly press the jump button to ascend in height. There are also a few sections where you ride in a drill and have to do the same to progress. The worst offender is one of the later bosses that can capture you in an electric web, and if you fail to break free via button mashing, it hits you with a one-hit KO move. I don’t find button mashing very fun at the best of times, let alone when it’s used so frequently with no option to change to something simpler.

Outside of the story modes, the battle mode and Time Attack mode are pretty barebones. I don’t expect a lot from a Time Attack mode, and this one at least does have simple leaderboards to see others and your best times. It’s serviceable if you wanna see just how fast you gotta go, but it’s a bummer that you can only challenge the ghost of your own best times and not those who may have ranked higher on the leaderboard, which would be immensely helpful in learning the best routes to improve my own times.

As for the eight-player battle mode, everyone but the most die-hard Sonic fans will probably abandon it as soon as they finish their first match. You and up to seven others create a robot based on a variety of animals and Sonic characters (as well as Sega’s iconic Nights) to compete in three random minigames across various maps, which are equally simple and only mildly entertaining at best. I only saw four minigame options in the 10 or so matches played: A standard race-to-the-finish on a shortened version of one of the campaign levels, a Survival game (the best of the bunch) which challenges you to stay on crumbling platforms while avoiding rockets being fired at you, a game called Star Snatcher that has you running through an endless version of a stage to collect more stars than your opponents, and finally Zap Scrap, which has you blasting opponents with sparks of electricity for points. Zap Scrap has the most depth, as you can collect powerups to change your small projectile into a broad horizontal beam that travels the entire arena, but that doesn’t mean it stays interesting long

The higher you place after three rounds the more giant Sonic coins you’ll be rewarded with, which you can spend in the shop to customize your avatar. It’s fairly harmless, but the main issue with this cosmetic system is that the items you purchase cost between 10 and a whopping 200 coins, the former being for paints to change the color of your robot and the latter being unique accessories like an emergency vehicle light. This wouldn’t be a huge issue, but you have to buy paints for each part separately since they are single-use, which adds up pretty quickly.

You can also earn these coins during the campaign, as anytime you pass a checkpoint with more than 50 rings, it opens a portal that takes you into the classic Sonic minigame, where you must maneuver around the inside of a rotating set of blocks to reach the goal. You have to go through three separate levels, collecting those giant Sonic coins at the end of each. Twists are added to the formula as you get deeper in, too, such as special blocks that reveal new paths and hazards that end the minigame if you fall into them. These were fun initially, but as they began to repeat themselves, I started avoiding them sometimes during the first campaign, and then almost every time in the second and third, because they just slowed the pacing of a stage down even further.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt used AI to replace a deceased voice actor after gaining permission from the family.

Miłogost Reczek was a Polish voice actor best known as the Polish dub for Homer Simpson in The Simpsons Movie, as well as Vesemir and Thaler in The Witcher games and doctor Viktor Vektor in Cyberpunk 2077. He died in December 2021 aged 60.

Bloomberg reported Reczek’s family gave CD Projekt permission to recreate his voice using AI for the recently released expansion, Phantom Liberty. CD Projekt localization director Mikołaj Szwed is quoted as saying the developer didn’t want to find a replacement for the late actor and re-record his lines. “We didn’t like this approach,” Szwed explained, as Reczek “was one of the best Polish voice talents” and his performance “was stellar”.

CD Projekt instead hired a different voice actor who performed new lines for Vik, then used voice-cloning software Respeecher to change the dialogue so it sounded like Reczek. Szwed said: “This way we could keep his performance in the game and pay tribute to his wonderful performance as Viktor Vektor,” Szwed said.

The use of AI in video game development is one of the hottest topics in the industry, with voice actors in particular expressing concern about the future of their profession. Last month, members of Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted to authorise a strike as a part of the resumption of bargaining over the guild’s Interactive Media Agreement, which governs voice, motion capture, and other actors working in video games. While this doesn’t mean a strike is currently happening, it does mean that SAG-AFTRA negotiators have the power to call one if negotiations continue to stagnate.

One of the key issues is the need for protection against the encroachment of AI technology. “We want to ensure that they don’t replace all the humans with computers,” Interactive Negotiating Committee member Zeke Alton told IGN. “Not a prohibition on it, but just as we move forward with the technology, how do we move with it and not get left behind.”

“We’re having the argument now specifically about these AI algorithms and they are wiping out large portions of the workforce,” Alton continued. “And so if we lose that and set the precedent for corporations to remove the lower levels of their workforce using algorithms, that then proliferates into every workforce on the planet, and that can have disastrous results for the economy and for society as a whole. That’s why this is an existential fight, not just for us, but to anybody else out there watching: you’re next. And would you like to have the precedent of being protected or the precedent of being removed?”

In the summer, voice actors called out AI-generated explicit Skyrim mods, and in July, Victoria Atkin — who played Evie Frye in 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate — called AI-generated mods the “invisible enemy we’re fighting right now” after discovering her voice was used by cloning software.

Despite these concerns and amid strike action, the use of generative AI in the entertainment industry has been rapid. Disney has used AI to replace deceased actors such as Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher, and recreate a younger Mark Hamill, in the Star Wars franchise. AI was also used to de-age Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

In April, as part of an investigation into the rise of AI, Pawel Sasko, CD Projekt Lead Quest Designer, told IGN: “I really believe that AI, and AI tools, are going to be just the same as when Photoshop was invented. You can see it throughout the history of animation. From drawing by hand to drawing on a computer, people had to adapt and use the tools, and I think AI is going to be exactly that. It’s just going to be another tool that we’ll use for productivity and game development.”

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.

Microsoft’s long-running pursuit of Activision Blizzard looks set to end today after the UK finally cleared the deal and stock in the Call of Duty maker was halted.

In April, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the acquisition, citing competition concerns around cloud gaming. Since then, Microsoft has defeated the U.S.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in court, obtained approval from key regulator the European Commission, and secured an agreement with console rival Sony for the provision of Activision games on PlayStation for a decade.

In August, Microsoft submitted a new Activision Blizzard deal for review to the CMA that involves selling off Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft, which would be free to port cloud versions of Activision Blizzard games to any platform.

Now, the CMA has cleared the tweaked $69 billion deal — the largest in video game history — and paved the way for Microsoft to buy Activision. The CMA framed its decision as a victory for the preservation of competitive prices and better services in cloud gaming. “In August this year Microsoft made a concession that would see Ubisoft, instead of Microsoft, buy Activision’s cloud gaming rights,” the CMA said. “This new deal will put the cloud streaming rights (outside the EEA) for all of Activision’s PC and console content produced over the next 15 years in the hands of a strong and independent competitor with ambitious plans to offer new ways of accessing that content.

“The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers. It will allow Ubisoft to offer Activision’s content under any business model, including through multigame subscription services. It will also help to ensure that cloud gaming providers will be able to use non-Windows operating systems for Activision content, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.”

Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft, said: “We’re grateful for the CMA’s thorough review and decision today. We have now crossed the final regulatory hurdle to close this acquisition, which we believe will benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide.

Meanwhile, trading in shares in Activision Blizzard were halted alongside the alert “news pending”, suggesting the deal is set to close imminently.

Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick emailed staff to hail the news. “We now have all regulatory approvals necessary to close and we look forward to bringing joy and connection to even more players around the world,” Kotick said.

“Our board chair Brian Kelly and I are incredibly proud of all of you and your accomplishments over the last four decades. We’re excited for our next chapter together with Microsoft and the endless possibilities it creates for you and for our players.”

Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard: The Story So Far

When the deal closes, Microsoft will own the likes of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. Xbox is expected to add many of Activision Blizzard’s games into its subscription service, Game Pass, although Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 will be held back until next year.

However, the FTC is soldiering on with its attempt to unravel the deal, despite losing its high-profile court case in the summer. The FTC is waiting for a decision on its trial verdict appeal before moving forward with its own in-house trial, although both will come after Microsoft seals the deal.

And in a new development, the FTC filed a submission to re-open discovery in order to gain more information on Microsoft’s cloud gaming divestiture deal with Ubisoft, and its deal with Sony to ensure Call of Duty remains on PlayStation consoles.

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.