Category: Gaming

Sega is delisting individual versions of the included classic Sonic games from digital storefronts in anticipation of Sonic Origins.

Sega announced in a press release that Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD will not be available as standalone titles as they will be a part of Sonic Origins which compiles the Blue Blur’s earliest adventures in one collection.

The press release says Sega plans to remove the digital versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD from digital storefronts on May 20. There are a couple of exceptions, as Sonic 1 and 2 will still be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop through the Sega Ages collection, and Sonic 2 will remain on the Sega Genesis Nintendo Switch Online app.

If you want just one of these games and don’t want to pay for Origins, you have less than a month before these cheaper options disappear. Right now on Steam, you can grab Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles, and CD for $4.99 each. Combined, this comes out to $20, which is significantly less than Sonic Origins’ $39.99 standard/$44.99 digital deluxe price point.

However, these $5 versions are basically ports of the original Genesis trilogy, while Sonic Origins features digitally remastered versions of Sonic’s earliest adventures, which explains the higher price point.

In addition to the remastered versions of the game, Sonic Origins also includes a mirror mode, boss rush, music library, difficult missions, and more. But to access all the content, you’ll need to preorder the digital deluxe edition or piecemeal it together through DLC, which many Sonic fans aren’t happy about.

The negativity surrounding Sonic Origins’ release is a blemish on what is otherwise a fairly positive time for Sonic fans. Beyond Origins, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie series has been a success among fans and critics, while 3D Sonic fans are looking forward to the series’ first “open-zone” adventure in Sonic Frontiers. And, Sonic even just got an official new game inside of Roblox.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Game developers are reportedly now required to create timed game demos for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. Going forward, any game that costs $34 or higher must have an accompanying game trial for Sony’s subscription service that lasts for at least 2 hours.

According to a report from Game Developer, many studios received this news in a new update in Sony’s developer portal and were reportedly not provided any previous communication about such a change. This new policy doesn’t apply retroactively or at all to PlayStation VR games. However, developers who plan to launch PlayStation games in the future will have to adhere to these updated guidelines.

Developers reportedly have up to three months from the release of their games to put out a timed trial and they are required to be available on PlayStation’s subscription service at a minimum of 12 months.

Custom game demos for the service will reportedly be considered, but it seems like Sony will only approve them on an individual basis. This new policy is also separate from normal demos and developers are still allowed to pursue initiatives like free-to-play weekends for all PlayStation owners.

Sony announced its rebranded subscription service last month and unveiled the three new tiers for PlayStation Plus. It’s set to launch next month in Asian markets (excluding Japan) on May 23. Japan soon follows on June 1, with the Americas on June 13 and Europe on June 22.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Telltale’s The Walking Dead was originally pitched as a Left 4 Dead spin-off game, before the team took the idea to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.

In a documentary celebrating the game’s tenth anniversary, as spotted by Eurogamer, the game’s original developers revealed they were at first in talks with Valve about a Left 4 Dead narrative-led spin-off.

A simple prototype was made but the plans fell through, and only later did Telltale approach The Walking Dead’s creator Robert Kirkman about setting a game in his universe.

“The very first Walking Dead prototype, which actually was for a different zombie thing that ended up turning into the Walking Dead, the first conversation was actually with Valve,” said season design and direction lead Jake Rodkin. “It was about: what if we did a narrative side-story in the universe of Left 4 Dead?”

The protype was a completely text-based game that presented options for the player to choose, instead of seeing them actually play out in the game world as in the final version of The Walking Dead. The gameplay saw players attempting to ‘spin plates’ by looking after a number of characters simultaneously, with bad or late decisions causing thwir narratives to go wrong.

“Thematically that’s a lot closer to what The Walking Dead was about than Left 4 Dead, or even a lot of other zombie franchises, so it ended up being a really good fit,” Rodkin added.

“I’m really glad that didn’t work out!”, Robert Kirman added about the Left 4 Dead idea.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season One became a huge critical and commercial success and essentially inspired an entire generation of games at the studio.

In our 9/10 review of Season One, IGN simply said: “The Walking Dead: The Game demands to be experienced.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

The latest addition to the Vampire Survivors roster is a dog that farts flowers, part of an update that also adds a new challenge map called The Bone Zone.

The game’s most recent patch notes revealed the addition of O’Sole Meeo the dog, whose weapon of choice is an array of really quite beautiful flowers that come in all shapes and sizes.

You can check out O’Sole Meeo in glorious action in the tweet below:

See more

You cannot pet the dog in Vampire Survivors. ❌✋🐶#youcannotpetthedog #VampireSurvivors #DogsInGames @CanYouPetTheDoghttps://t.co/EeUlfxirua

— Vampire Survivors 🦇 Available on Steam! (@poncle_vampire) April 25, 2022

The patch also adds a hard Challenge Stage called The Bone Zone – in which hundreds of skulls will come after you – a new weapon, one more rank for the Reroll and Skip power ups, two Arcanas, and a handful of minor tweaks and bug fixes.

Developer Poncle announced in March that it would be adding five more levels, nine more characters, 16 more weapons, and two more power ups, plus more achievements and Relics as a result of Vampire Survivors’ popularity.

In our 7/10 review, IGN said: “It may look extremely basic, but if you give Vampire Survivors’ clever one-stick shooter idea a chance to sink its teeth into you it might not let go for a while.”

Below the following video, we’ll explain how you can unlock O’Sole Meeo, but if you want to keep that surprise for yourself, turn back now.

The new content comes after Vampire Survivors shot to success on Steam after launching in Early Access last December.

O’Sole Meeo isn’t available upon opening Vampire Survivors for the first time but can only be accessed after unlocking all the basic stages in the game.

Following this, players must head into the Gallo Tower area and kill 3,000 Dragon Shrimp across any number of runs and with any character. Upon doing so, O’Sole Meeo will unlock through a new achievement.

Players who’ve already massacred hoards of Dragon Shrimp will unlock the new character after completing any run in the game, or even by starting one and immediately quitting.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

The much-anticipated support for variable refresh rate (VRR) is coming to the PS5 this week.

Variable refresh rate syncs the refresh rate of the display to the game’s output. This helps get rid of screen tearing and frame pacing issues that can happen if the game runs at a lower or higher frame rate than the display. The increased smoothness can also decrease input lag which essentially allows quicker reactions when you press a button on the controller.

Until now, VRR was only supported on Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and X consoles.

Sony’s SVP Hideaki Nishino announced the update in a PlayStation Blog post. People with HDMI 2.1 VRR-compatible TVs and monitors will be able to take advantage of the feature.

Sony says that VRR will be supported on previously-released games via a patch and future games will include support at launch. VRR can also be applied to games that don’t officially support it which could improve video quality. You can always turn it off if you experience any visual problems.

To start, the following games will receive VRR patches:

• Astro’s Playroom
• Call of Duty: Vanguard
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Destiny 2
• Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
• DIRT 5
• Godfall
• Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Resident Evil Village
• Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
• Tribes of Midgard

The company didn’t specify exactly what day the update will land, but did advise keeping your PS5 connected to the internet. This is a much welcome update to the PS5, that puts it more in line with the competition from Xbox.

PS5 owners also more news to celebrate, especially if they’re a fan of PS1 games. A number of Syphon Filter games recently passed certification in South Korea which could mean they’ll likely be included in the all-new PlayStation Plus Premium tier. The ugraded PlayStation Plus is due to launch on June 13, 2022 in the Americas.

David Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and gaming. He also strongly believes that sugar does not go in grits. Follow him on Twitter @shortblktechie

The winners of the Gayming Awards 2022 have been announced, with Life is Strange: True Colors beating out Boyfriend Dungeon, Psychonauts, and Unpacking to win Game of the Year.

The winners of the first ever live Gayming Awards were announced via a stream from the Troxy Theater in London on April 25. The biggest winner of the night was Life is Strange: True Colors, which triumphed in all three categories that it was nominated in, comprising Game of the Year, Authentic Representation, and Best LGBTQ Character.

In total, there were 11 categories honoring a selection of video games, tabletop games, comic books, and esports players that have championed diversity and inclusivity globally in 2022. Additionally, Tanya DePass picked up the Gayming Icon Award in recognition of the positive impact that the author and activist has brought to the LGBTQ community within gaming.

Prior to the event, Gayming Magazine also inducted six streamers into its Rising Star Class, which is new for 2022. The streamers were chosen to be part of this prestigious new class because they have all “made incredible strides in their streaming career over the last year and have made significant contributions to the LGBTQ+ world within the gaming space.”

“It was such an honor to celebrate these amazing creatives tonight,” said Robin Gray, CEO and founder of Gayming Magazine and the Gayming Awards, which initially launched in 2021 as an online event. “In our second year of the awards, it was important for us to again recognize all the LGBTQ representation in game and in the industry.”

The full list of winners from the Gayming Awards 2022 follows:

Game of the Year

• Life is Strange: True Colors – WINNER
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Psychonauts
• Unpacking

Gayming Magazine Readers’ Award

• Resident Evil Village – WINNER
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Forza Horizon 5
• Metroid Dread
• Sable
• Shin Megami Tensei V
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
• The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Industry Diversity Award

• Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame pledge – WINNER
• I Need Diverse Games
• London Gaymers
• Women in Games International

Authentic Representation Award

• Life is Strange: True Colors – WINNER
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Unpacking
• Unsighted

Best LGBTQ Character Award

• Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors – WINNER
• Helmut Fullbear & Bob Zanotto, Psychonauts 2
• Steph Gingrich, Life is Strange: True Colors
• Meredith Weiss, Lake

Best LGBTQ Indie Game Award

• Unpacking – WINNER
• A Year Of Springs
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Lake
• Sword of the Necromancer
• When The Night Comes

LGBTQ Streamer Rising Star Class of ’22

• ItsMeHollyy
• Cruuuunchy
• CoderGirlChan
• LuciaEverblack
• Luke_Boogie
• Trish Olson

LGBTQ Streamer of the Year

• Aimsey – WINNER
• BlizzB3ar
• CriticalBard
• Eevoh
• Eret
• Nihachu
• ReadySetBen
• RekItRaven
• Sammy M Jay
• Shaaba and Jamie
• Shawn
• Toph

Best LGBTQ Comic Book Moment

• The Pride Omnibus – WINNER
• DC Pride #1
• Killer Queens
• X-Factor #10

LGBTQ Tabletop Game Award

• Adventuring With Pride: Queer We Go Again – WINNER
• The House Doesn’t Always Win
• Thirsty Sword Lesbians
• Wanderhome

Best LGBTQ Contribution to Esports

• Emi “CaptainFluke” Donaldson – WINNER
• Amanda Stevens
• Cloud9 White Valorant Team
• Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association [CMSA]

If you’d like to find out more about Gayming Awards’ Game of the Year for 2022, check out IGN’s review of Life is Strange: True Colors, which praised Deck Nine for creating “the best game in the series to date,” thanks to “consistent writing for both main and side characters, a compelling mystery story with good pacing, useful supernatural abilities,” and so much more.

Another game will take the coveted top spot in the Game of the Year category when the show returns in early 2023, with the ceremony moving stateside to New York City for Gayming Awards 2023: Live on Broadway. Tickets are also still available for Gayming LIVE, with a 30% discount applied to all ticket purchases using the ‘GaymingAwards’ code up until April 29.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Meta announced today that it will be opening its first retail store at its Burlingame, California campus in early May.

This will be Meta’s first hardware retail store and it will open starting on May 9 from 11 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. The idea of the store is to allow users to get hands-on experience with its products, similar to how Apple’s retail stores allow customers to interact and demo various products in the tech giant’s ecosystem before buying.

The new retail store will feature a dedicated space to test the Meta Quest 2. This includes trying games such as Beat Saber, Real VR Fishing, and GOLF+, and an option to take home a mixed reality recording of you trying out the virtual reality headset.

A picture of Meta’s retail store. | Image: Meta

Meta’s retail store will also include a demo area for customers to test video calling videos on the Portal videophones and an opportunity to demo the Ray-Ban Stories, a pair of smart glasses released by Meta last year in collaboration with the luxury sunglasses company Ray-Ban.

This is not the first time Meta provided a chance for potential buyers to try its VR headset. Back in 2016, Meta teamed up with retail chain Best Buy to provide VR demo stations.

While the retail store sounds spacious, Meta notes that the storefront is only 1,550 square feet. This is unsurprising given that the location is near the Meta Reality Labs headquarters and not located in a major metropolitan city such as NYC or Los Angeles.

News of Meta opening its first hardware retail store come as the company is preparing to develop new products in the VR and AR market. Current projects in the works include Project Cambria, a high-end headset that focuses on face and eye-tracking.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Microsoft’s Xbox Series hardware was the best selling platform of the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 per dollars made. The NPD Group’s latest analysis revealed that the combined front of Xbox Series X and S topped not only March’s sales figures but the entirety of Q1, despite the PlayStation 5 leading the way early on in the year.

While the Xbox Series made the most money, Nintendo’s Switch took first place in terms of units sold both for March and Q1.

It also marked the most successful March for Microsoft in over a decade, as its previous best for units sold was set in 2011 when the Xbox 360 was still the latest available console. Its record March in terms of dollars made came in 2014 after the Xbox One was released.

Hardware sales across all platforms dropped 24% compared to Q1 2021, accessories fell 16%, and games 7%, amassing to an overall decline in games industry spending (incorporating hardware, accessories, and games) of 8%.

Elden Ring remained on top of software sales in March, growing by a double-digit percentage compared to its launch month of February. It’s still the best-selling game of the year and is now the second-best selling game of the last 12 months, falling only to Call of Duty: Vanguard.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Activision has very high expectations for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.

The publisher said in its first quarter financial results that the sequel to its 2020 Battle Royale will feature “groundbreaking innovations” that will be revealed later this year.

“Development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences, led by Infinity Ward, is proceeding very
well,” Activision said. “The new free-to-play Warzone experience, which is built from the ground-up alongside the premium game, features groundbreaking innovations to be revealed later this year.”

The report didn’t indicate a release date for Warzone 2 but at least said that fans will hear more about it relatively soon.

Activision announced the sequel in February, saying it would be built in a new engine and feature an “all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode”.

Developer Infinity Ward’s co-studio head Pat Kelly admitted that it “f**ked stuff up” in the original Warzone as the team is “not happy” and “determined to fix the issues with the game”. Fans had criticized its overall stability and lack of content, especially given the install sizes that Infinity Ward itself admitted were “f**king crazy”.

Warzone was refreshed with its Season Two Reloaded update, and Infinity Ward certainly tries to keep things interesting with its various events. These include the additions of Godzilla and King Kong plus colossi from both the anime and rap worlds with Attack on Titan and Snoop Dogg DLC.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Diablo: Immortal is now coming to PC as well as mobile – and it will arrive for both platforms on June 2.

The MMO was originally announced solely for Android and iOS, but Blizzard Entertainment revealed in a blog post that a PC port will be released in open beta alongside the mobile version.

Cross-play and cross-progression will be available immediately on both versions, meaning players on mobile can play with those on PC, and users can continue their gameplay seamlessly when switching platforms. Classic mouse and keyboard support will be available on the PC version, alongside controller support.

Blizzard said in another blog post dedicated to the PC version’s development that, for long-time fans, the port “will feel a little different from other PC Diablo games” as it originally only planned to make the game for mobile.

The PC version is therefore “an experiment”, which is why its only launching in beta and not as a full version. “It is important for us to assure you that Immortal will deliver an uncompromised AAA mobile experience when played on Windows PC,” the post said.

Blizzard decided to make this version when it decided that many fans would try and emulate the mobile game on PC anyway, and would rather make a fully functioning, native version than see players struggle through a substandard experience.

Diablo: Immortal was announced at BlizzCon 2018 and was rumoured to release on June 30 after a date appeared to those who pre-registered for the game on Apple devices.

It was almost immediately met with negative fan reception due to its mobile-only plans and then-Blizzard Entertainment president J. Allen Brack said the company learned that “fundamentally our roots are PC” as a result of the reveal.

However, once the game hit alpha, we called it a hell of a good time, even if it did come with some problems.

Brack stepped down from the his position after Activision Blizzard was hit with a discrimination and harassment lawsuit from the state of California last year, the first in a long series of accusations that have since been made against the company.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.