Studio MDHR made an appearance at Summer Game Fest 2026 with two big game reveals: Mighty Cuphead Adventure and a new hand-animated Cuphead game.

Host Geoff Keighley introduced the new titles before handing the stage to the independent game developer. In typical MDHR fashion, it used a puppet show for the grand reveal, showing off gameplay footage for its pixelated Mighty Cuphead Adventure game, while promising that a hand-drawn Cuphead follow-up is also in early development.

You can see first gameplay for the former below.

For all of the biggest highlights from the show, you can see everything announced at Summer Game Fest 2026.

Developing…

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Legendary video game developer Fumito Ueda has revealed the official title of his upcoming game, gen ATLAS, at Summer Game Fest alongside a new trailer.

Formerly known as “Project Robot”, it’s the first game from the Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian creator’s new studio, genDESIGN. Described as a “single-player, open-world, action-adventure”, it will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC via the Epic Store.

It will mark the first time a Ueda game has not been exclusive to PlayStation, after he left Sony during the completion of The Last Guardian and the subsequent closure of Japan Studio years later.

Further details are given regarding its setting, which definitely makes gen ATLAS sound similar in tone and theme to the developer’s previous works. “Without knowing why, you awaken on an abandoned planet,” a press release reads.

“Before you lies a vast, silent world. Colossal structures stretch over endless plains, deserted facilities, and an ever-changing sea. The remnants of some grand design litter the planet’s surface. As you journey deeper into this strange world, a colossal robot awaits. Its overwhelming power opens paths to places once beyond reach, transforming your conception of the world. Across an endless expanse of time, the remnants of those forgotten constructs begin to move once more…”

A small human accompanying a giant creature on a journey, you say? It certainly sounds like a Fumito Ueda game. “The team and I are grateful to all the fans who’ve been eager to learn more about our game,” says Ueda. “Their passion and enthusiasm has always motivated and inspired us. We hope to share an experience that inspires moments of quiet wonder and discovery.”

No release date or window has been given for gen ATLAS as of yet. Those who eagerly awaited his previous game, The Last Guardian, will be familiar with this scenario, as the PS4 exclusive famously took nine years to make, as it disappeared and reappeared over the course of its long development. It has already been a decade since its release, so let’s hope it isn’t too much longer until we have another Ueda game in our hands again.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Capcom has revealed a Resident Evil: Code Veronica remake, just named Resident Evil Veronica, delighting fans of the franchise watching this year's Summer Game Fest livestream.

Footage showed an unnamed female character being shown around a Parisian apartment (though the clue here is she's the sister of someone else here on a secret mission). The footage concludes with the reveal that this is none other than Claire Redfield (sister of Chris) — and this is a reimagined take on the classic Code Veronica story.

While great news for Resident Evil fans, the announcement does not come as too much of a surprise. Previous reporting had pinned a Code Veronica remake for a 2027 release, and tipped its reveal as taking place this year following the launch of Resident Evil: Requiem.

IGN previously verified that a new version of the game is indeed in development, alongside a further-off Resident Evil Zero remake as well. MP1st, meanwhile, has claimed that the game had been pencilled in with a Q1 2027 launch window. And of course, this remake follows Capcom's previous new versions of Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4.

Resident Evil: Code Veronica originally launched in 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast. It's not a mainline numbered entry in the series, but it remains beloved by fans and considered a core part of the franchise's story. Its narrative takes place around the same time as Resident Evil 3, but instead features Claire and Chris Redfield on a remote prison island and then in Antarctica. And yes, fan-favorite baddie Wesker is also involved.

To catch up on all the announcements from tonight, be sure to check out IGN's roundup of everything announced during Summer Game Fest 2026.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Kane Parsons, the young director of Backrooms, has expressed interest in directing a Portal film. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Parsons noted that a Portal adaptation is a dream project. This isn't because Parsons has an interest in becoming an IP merchant, quite the opposite. When speaking on The Town podcast, Parsons outright said he was uninterested in doing a Star Wars film and that the only IPs that were attractive to him were a select few from his childhood in the 2000s. He neglected to name them because he's actively exploring those as options, but it led some to believe he may be looking into adapting Portal.

Parsons grew up with Valve titles like Half-Life and Portal, even going as far as making a Portal short film on his YouTube channel long before he'd ever make the Backrooms series. The franchise also shares some similarities with large, vapid rooms that have an eerie quality to them. Some have drawn connections between the liminal space horror of something like Backrooms to the unnerving nature of Aperture Science's sterile test chambers and more specifically, the corridors and caverns tucked behind some of these chambers in Portal 2.

There have been attempts to adapt Portal in the past. Director JJ Abrams was once attached to bring both Half-Life and Portal to the big screen through his production company, Bad Robot. However, that announcement was made in 2013 and it doesn't seem like there has been much movement since. Abrams noted to IGN in 2021 that Portal was still in development at Warner Bros., but once again, it has been very quiet.

It's unclear what the hold up has been, but with there being a major boom in gaming adaptations, it seems only logical that someone out there would want to bring Portal to life. Parsons may be the guy for the job, but we'll have to wait and see if Valve agrees with his vision. It's possible that Bad Robot and WB may also be sitting on the rights, which could create other complications. However, after seeing how successful Backrooms has been, it would be silly to not get Parsons lined up for his dream project.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

The advantage of Magic: The Gathering having a colossal release year with more sets than we know what to do with is that we’re never too far from shiny new cardboard.

It also means we can see what’s coming, and we’ve got good news if you’re excited for Reality Fracture - it’s seeing early discounts on Play Booster Boxes at Amazon. It’s only a relatively slim $10 saving, but thanks to Amazon’s Pre-Order Price Guarantee, if it drops further, you’re guaranteed the best price.

Reality Fracture Sees Early Discount At Amazon

The next entry in PlayStation's Horizon franchise might be right around the corner, as NCSoft has announced plans to see its MMORPG spin-off, Horizon Steel Frontiers, launch in the first half of 2027.

The publisher announced the news in its latest Investor Relations PowerPoint presentation. Buried on a slide detailing its upcoming game pipeline, Horizon Steel Frontiers can be seen leading its portfolio with plans to launch in the first half of next year.

Should the release timeline stick, it'll mean Sony's franchise could receive its next installment in as soon as one year. Meanwhile, PlayStation and developer Guerrilla Games' other multiplayer offshoot, Horizon Hunters Gathering, still remains without a release date.

While Guerrilla's game is still searching for a place on the calendar to bring PC and PlayStation 5 players tactical co-op action, NCSoft has promised that Horizon Steel Frontiers will be a mobile-first experience that will introduce fans to an MMO take on the series. Announced in November 2025, this is a multiplayer-centric experience that seems to put Aloy's story on the back burner to follow machine hunters in the Deadlands.

Players will work with and against one another, with its reveal video showing some of the Monster Hunter-like action to expect. Although the MMORPG spin-off is being developed with mobile devices in mind, PC players will also be able to play through NCSoft’s game platform, Purple.

PlayStation started its Horizon franchise with Horizon Zero Dawn for the PS4 in 2017. Its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, followed in 2022, and the franchise has exploded with new entries since. Horizon: Call of the Mountain, a VR game, launched in 2023, with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and Lego Horizon Adventures then both launching in 2024. Horizon Hunters Gathering and Horizon Steel Frontiers are only the latest games to expand on Sony's growing franchise.

While we wait to see when exactly the latter will launch, you can read IGN's full breakdown for its reveal trailer. You can also check out our interview with NCSoft to learn more about its connections to the franchise and its gameplay.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

It's almost time for Summer Game Fest, Geoff Keighley's annual summer showcase packed with game reveals, new trailers, and fresh updates on upcoming titles. The two-hour livestream kicks off Friday, June 5, at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm UK time, and we'll have live updates below, reporting on everything you need to know as it happens direct from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

We're hoping for a big one this year, following Sony's State of Play earlier this week. But what should we expect to see? Well, there's one game we know will be at Summer Game Fest: Star Wars: Zero Company, the X-COM-inspired take on a galaxy far, far away. A new gameplay trailer is due for that. We also know Guild Wars, ArenaNet's MMORPG series, will be at Summer Game Fest in some capacity. Could we finally see a Guild Wars 3 announcement? Clutch, the new open-world driving game from former Forza Horizon developers, will be at the show, as will Epic Games with a new trailer for the upcoming season of Fortnite. And the newly formed Paramount Games Studio will announce its first game, which, according to Variety, is a AAA title, during Summer Game Fest.

There are all sorts of rumors floating around about other games that may turn up at Summer Game Fest, but one game I'm pretty confident won't be at the show is Grand Theft Auto 6. Let's be honest, Rockstar Games plays by its own rules. If and when it decides to release a new trailer for the game, it'll do so on its own terms (and probably on some random Tuesday or something).

While we wait for Summer Game Fest to start, let us know in the comments which games you hope to see at the show!

Blood Message

NetEase brought Blood Message to SGF.

gen Atlas

Fumito Ueda is back! The creator of masterpieces such as Ico and Shadow of the Colossus is working on a sci-fi game. This time, there are enormous robots to climb up. It looks looks fantastic and emotion, as you'd expect.

Alien: Isolation 2

Creative Assembly showed up at SGF to show a new trailer for Alien: Isolation 2, which looks terrifying indeed. Creative director Al Hope took to the stage to say the developers are creating a game all about escaping a xenomorph. The action is set on a station on a planet now, so you're not locked into a spaceship. Still... scary stuff!

Cuphead sequel and Mighty Cuphead Adventure

Studio MDHR announced a Cuphead sequel! It's still in the early stages, so we don't know much about it, but we did learn a small team in the studio is working on something completely different, and we got a quick look at it: Mighty Cuphead Adventure! It's a new retro action platformer shooter in the 8-bit style.

Resident Evil Veronica

The first announcement at SGF is Resident Evil Veronica, a remake of Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. It's due out in 2027! This one had been heavily rumored, but it's great to see it finally officially out in the wild.

And we're off! Keighley is really hyping this one up, saying we've got a great show ahead. Half-Life 3 confirmed?

Right! Just over 20 minutes until Summer Game Fest gets underway! Geoff Keighley has tweeted to say today's final announcement will be a single-player, narrative game, which seems like a decision made in response to the fallout from Highguard's ill-fated reveal at The Game Awards 2025. "Thank you for the feedback!" he said. But what could it be? Half-Life 3, right? RIGHT?!

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

This year's IGN Live event kicks off this weekend, and to celebrate, Humble Bundle has dropped an excellent IGN Live game bundle that's full of some exciting picks, including Control, TOEM: A Photo Adventure, and seven more. If you pay at least $10, you can add all nine of the games in this bundle to your PC library.

Considering they have a total value of $261, that's a fantastic offer to take advantage of, and one that won't be around for long (only 19 days remaining at the time of this writing). If you like what you see, now is definitely the time to make a move on this bundle. Check out all of the games available in it below.

Even after more than two years since its debut at The Game Awards, Archetype Entertainment's sci-fi action RPG Exodus remains one of the industry's most intriguing mysteries.

Between cinematic trailers, a steady drip-feed of gameplay teases, and a full gameplay reveal expected soon, the former BioWare developers behind the project have only just begun to reveal the scope of the ambitious science fiction universe they're building.

While we've seen glimpses of that world, some of the deepest insights so far have come through a series of official novels written by acclaimed sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton. And, ahead of the release of the second book in that series, IGN can exclusively reveal an extract from "Exodus: The Helium Sea".

Exodus: The Helium Sea - Exclusive Excerpt

IT HAD TAKEN Chief Octain and his small team of engineers a frantic thirty minutes to load a worn-out remote maintenance pod with modules from other ancillary craft. Even as the old pod was ejected from the Diligent’s hangar, they were still running diagnostics, praying the kludge would work—at least for a while.

It drifted away from the kilometer-long starship, cold gas thrusters burping to stabilize its slow tumble. Sensors started to scan around. On one side of the pod was a broad circle of darkness where the lonely Gate of Heaven blotted out the shimmering multicolored clouds of the Poseidon Nebula, which surrounded the Kelowan system.

The Diligent’s green-and-orange navigation strobes were visible against it as the ancient starship glided in toward the center of the colossal Elohim machine. On the opposite side, where Kelowan’s star gleamed warmly, the pod’s onboard network identified the thirteen bright lightpoints of the habitable planets.

Hexagonal panes, jutting out from the pod’s fuselage like a set of dark asymmetric sails, changed their array phasing to focus on those distant gleams of life. There was also an omnidirectional broadcast, boosted by additional power cells, that the technicians hoped would last long enough as they handled voltage levels far beyond their intended limits.

The transmission began. Like the pod itself, it was a hastily contrived message that the human societies of the Kelowan system would come to call The Sibling Plea.

Finbar Jalgori-Tobu sat on a chair in the Diligent’s command and control center, looking worn to the point of illness as he stared unflinchingly into the camera. He was flanked by his sisters. One, Otylia, was his twin—now separated by forty years biological aging from the cost of time dilation, but their similarity still obvious nonetheless.

The other was his elder sister, Zelinda, the ex-marchioness of Santa Rosa, whose reign lasted less than an hour after her mother had been killed.

That death was the culmination of events whose firestorm of memories were plaguing Finn’s mind at a debilitating level. Ever since he’d bought the Diligent in exchange for Hafnir—a broad tract of coastal land he owned, so the passengers could settle there—he’d had one objective.

He was going to be a Traveler: one of the humans who had their own starships, unearthing technological Celestial treasure from Remnant Era worlds, and bringing it home to help humans live with dignity in star systems whose Celestial overlords were implacably hostile—when they could actually be bothered to even acknowledge humans.

Owning the Diligent had given him a unique opportunity to strike a blow for human freedom. His erstwhile friend, and fellow Traveler, Gyvoy Enfoe, had provided them with a chance to strike a real blow for the humans of the Kelowan system.

Millennia ago, Celestials had started moving Dolod, a gas giant from another star system, using one of their Archimedes Engines to fly it to Kelowan. Dolod was a strange world even by the standards of the Centauri Cluster: an iron exotic, which, if it was steered into orbit close enough to a star, would literally rain iron. The metal could be harvested from the atmosphere at a cost far lower than humans mining it from the ground on a solid world—a change that would impoverish the human economy. Gyvoy’s plan was enticingly simple.

Instead of allowing the Archimedes Engine to bring Dolod neatly into orbit, they could send it back out into interstellar space, leaving the economy of the Kelowan system unchanged. All they had to do was find a copy of the Archimedes Engine’s operating system, which would allow a uranic human to change Dolod’s course. Gyvoy, naturally, knew where to find a copy of the operating system; and Finn was a uranic human, one whose DNA had been altered so he could interface directly with Celestial technology.

It was, Finn decided at the time, the wish of the Goddess Asteria Herself that had brought them all together. Then, when the Diligent returned to the Kelowan system, he found his homeworld of Gondiar was under Celestial martial law.

His parents had been killed, and his siblings were running for their lives. In his grief and outrage, he saw an opportunity to strike back against the Celestial monsters, and instead of using the Archimedes Engine to slingshot Dolod out of the Kelowan system, he used the momentum transfer to fling Boksrock—a small lifeless world—directly at the capital planet where hundreds of millions of Imperial Celestials lived.

Only after he’d done that did he discover that he’d been played by Gyvoy, who wasn’t even human. The socalled Traveler was actually an Imperial Celestial agent, whose organization had their own very different agenda. Not only had Finn been completely fooled into committing what was essentially a declaration of war between humans and Celestials, Gyvoy had somehow managed to vanish, making Finn look even more guilty.

The Diligent had no choice but to flee to another star system, confirming their guilt—although Zelinda had said they had a last chance to try and mitigate what’d happened by an appeal to the Empress of the Crown Dominion. Finn thought it a useless gesture, but by then he knew his ability to make any sort of decision had been swept away by misery and guilt, so he just agreed to everything she suggested.

“I would like to address this message directly to the empress herself,” Zelinda said with perfect composure. “Majesty, my family has been in service to you since the time humans first arrived in the Crown Dominion. We have served faithfully for all that time, and still consider ourselves loyal to you.

“Empress, we also have information that confirms that the so-called rebellion that occurred on Gondiar, which General Avone-Valerio now seeks to suppress, was also manufactured by a foreign dominion.

“Humans have been manipulated by an archon. He is a Celestial currently disguised as Gyvoy Enfoe, and we believe he has somehow escaped Dolod.

“In this assumed form, he’s been using some kind of neural compulsion to control various humans, including my brother Finbar. I’m sure you must realize by now that it is not possible for a human—even uranics like us—to alter the operation of an Archimedes Engine. We are not responsible for Boksrock’s orbit being changed, nor is this atrocity the result of some group of human malcontents attacking Kelowan. Humans benefit enormously from our allegiance to the Crown Dominion, and we do not want that to change.”

Otylia cleared her throat. “The broadcasts from my ex-husband, Josias Aponi, are fake, cooked up by a CI routine. The Goddess alone knows, Josias is not a perfect man, but he is not stupid. More than all of us, he understands the insanity of a collapsing society, for he has witnessed it firsthand. He has walked on Old Earth, and he fled Sol because of what he saw there. That is not him in the messages agitating for further disobedience, so don’t fall for it, I implore you.”

“I was on the Archimedes Engine station,” Finn confessed at last, his eyes filling with moisture. “The archon pretending to be Gyvoy put me there. In Kingsnest, he gave me the technical knowledge of the engine’s operating system. He twisted my mind so that I had to do what he wanted—to kill Kelowan. I don’t know which dominion he comes from, but I know he left me there and flew to another station; I don’t know which one.

“Empress, I urge you and all your forces to find him. Find out who he really is and what he wants. So many people will suffer and die until he is caught and stopped. I am so sorry for what’s happened. I wasn’t . . . It wasn’t me that did this. I would never . . .” His lips pressed together and he turned from the camera, his distress obvious. Otylia’s hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

“We have nothing to gain from telling you this, Empress,” Zelinda said. “So I hope you will at least consider what we have told you.” She inclined her head respectfully. “The Jalgori-Tobu family remain your loyal subjects.”

The message ended and began to repeat. Another kind of light illuminated the modified pod as the Diligent entered the ingress Gate—a ring of bright radiance that flared around the machine’s rim and flowed fast down the concave surface until it was a single point at the center. The Diligent formed a small dark speck within the glare, then vanished, flung along the line of quintessence to Capo Frois by a science no human would ever understand.

Left behind, the pod continued to play the message continually for the next three and a half hours until a Celestial cargo starship arrived at the Gate. It fired a single maser cannon shot at the pod, vaporizing it. The starship sailed onward with cosmic indifference, to be embraced by the Gate and dispatched across interstellar space.

THE DREADNOUGHT DRACAENAE, flagship of the Royal Wynid fleet, had been accelerating at three gees ever since Boksrock’s trajectory became apparent. It was surrounded by the rest of the fleet’s warships, arrayed in a neat spherical formation across six thousand kilometers. They were heading directly for Kelowan, with Thyra announcing in a systemwide broadcast that they were going to oversee the planet’s evacuation.

She’d spent most of that time on the bridge, with brief sojourns to the admiral’s day lounge next door for meetings with senior fleet intelligence analysts and department heads. It had taken what remained of the court on Kelowan five hours after the destruction of Carolien-Amaia’s fast-evacuation craft to message the Dracaenae with the admission that the empress was dead.

Verak’s security office claimed that somehow the Human Liberation movement had managed to sabotage the emergency vehicle Carolien-Amaia was using to reach orbit and the safety of her dreadnought. She’d launched from the palace as soon as the news broke that the humans on the Diligent had managed to fling Boksrock at Kelowan. Worse than the anguish of that outrage was that the Verak security office didn’t understand how they’d done it. Their best—in fact only—theory was that some unknown Remnant Era weapon had been used.

Three hours after the official notification, Thyra had received an ultra-secure message from Queen Luus-Marcela. She was quietly pleased to note her sister queen’s usual mien of superiority had been vanquished by shock. It didn’t take a neural connection to know exactly what Luus-Marcela was thinking. If they can kill the empress . . .

“I’m heading straight for Kelowan,” Luus-Marcela said. “We’re going to need all the engine power we can muster to get the habitats clear of the georing. You’ll be thinking the same, so we’ll exchange real-time comms when we’re in range.” She hesitated, drawing a breath. “Dearest Helena-Thyra, I acknowledge you are now Empress of the Crown Dominion. I hope the other two queens will be civil about this, because we’re on the brink here. We’ll have to rewrite the Accord to reflect what’s happened, of course. Whoever these shits are, they took out poor Carolien’s princesses as well, so it’s the end of her line. First priority is to save Kelowan’s population—got to love the irony in that, eh? And, Empress, you have to prioritize finding out which goddess-cursed dominion did this. It’s a declaration of war. They’ll come for all of us now. We have to strike back so hard the whole cluster will think we’ve resurrected the Remnant Era.”

Her image vanished.

Thyra turned to Lord Bekket, her father, and Iuntin, who was masquerading as Ualana-Shoigu in order to pass as her chief archon. No one else was in the day lounge. The three of them gripped hands to give themselves a secure neural connection.

“I see her sympathetic side immediately put in an appearance,” Bekket sneered. “That talk of losing the princesses: she’ll want to carve up Verak between the remaining queens.”

“Naturally,” Iuntin said. “There is a strong precedent, as this is what happened to Kelowan after the Accord invasion. Mind you, they did kill every member of your grandmother’s family.” His lips rose to a thin smirk. “Or so they thought.”

“Indeed,” Thyra said. “Right now, I’m more concerned with those goddess-bedamned Jalgori-Tobus. Everybody in this system has accessed their message. There are going to be questions—especially once Ramona-Nuk and Inessa-Marwa arrive with their fleets, which is going to be any day now. How the hell did they find out Uncle Dagon’s an Imperial Celestial?”

“Don’t worry about your uncle,” Iuntin said. “He and your aunt can take care of themselves. Hell, they’ve been around almost as long as me.”

“Everyone is going to be looking for him.”

“So? He’ll just morph out of his current form when the time is right. His body was modified to do just that.”

Thyra gave him a careful look, keeping her own thoughts level. “You said you transferred your personality into this Shoigu host. Are you also simultaneously in your own body?”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her father’s surprise, the briefest flinch, but she knew he was as startled as she was. But like her, his thoughts remained unruffled. She experienced a flutter of apprehension as another of those rogue thoughts snuck into her mind: So what else is Iuntin keeping from me? “So which is really you?”

“We both are. I will merge our memories as soon as this is over, and Shoigu’s body will be disposed of.”

“I see,” Thyra replied neutrally.

“Dagon can’t change his appearance just yet,” Bekket said. “We need the two human mercenaries he and Liliana are using to complete their part of the plan. The annexation of Capo Frois has to happen so we can isolate the three remaining queens. Once they’re out of the way, you can start to amalgamate the Crown Dominion star systems ready for Khepri’s rule.”

Iuntin shrugged. “However, Thyra is correct about the Jalgori-Tobu message being unfortunate. It makes ongoing operations difficult for Dagon. And people will also doubt any further proclamations from Josias.”

“Dagon can handle a few humans,” Bekket said. “But denouncing the Josias broadcasts as CI fakes is a slippery slope. Once you start decrying your opponents as unreal, you open yourself up to the same question. Was the Jalgori-Tobus’ message a fake, too? If so, who made it? Why? The Jalgori-Tobu siblings have made an elementary political mistake by flaunting their honesty and earnest integrity.”

“Maybe,” Iuntin said uncertainly. “But it was Otylia, his own wife, who exposed the deceit.”

“Was it? We know that, but doubt will grow across the Kelowan system. Conspiracy theories are a treacherous mind virus; they never stop feeding on themselves to multiply—the only true example of perpetual energy. My agents will release a plethora of counter theories progressively growing more extreme. Ultimately, this first spark of uncertainty the Jalgori-Tobus have unleashed will kindle a firestorm. Nobody will know what to believe.”

“We have to address this head-on,” Thyra said. “Every archon in the Kelowan system is now desperate to find Uncle Dagon. I will have to sound plausible when I meet the other queens.”

“You will simply agree with them that finding the Gyvoy character is of paramount importance,” Iuntin ventured. “People will accept that this hunt will probably take years. And if opinion shifts that this is not just a human rebellion, so what? Then everyone will start obsessing over which dominion is behind it. The human rebellion was always a diversion for our benefit. If anything, the Jalgori-Tobus denouncing Josias and Gyvoy only adds to the intrigue of foreign intrusion. Dagon is safe in the Arcadia’s Moon. It’s a good ship—strange, but more than capable. Not that anyone knows that’s where he is. They’re stealthed and presumably already on their way to the Capo Frois ingress Gate. I advise you not worrying about Dagon.”

“Very well.” Thyra gave a reluctant nod. “But we do have to take care of the Diligent.”

“It will be destroyed,” Iuntin said. “Squadron Twenty-Three will make sure of that. Our triumph is inevitable.”

“I appreciate your optimism,” Thyra said. After the first thrill of meeting Iuntin, she wasn’t sure she approved of him; he always gave the impression he was talking down to her.

The dreadnought’s network alerted her that Queen Inessa Marwa’s fleet had begun to arrive through the Cheluli egress Gate. She brightened. “Ah, some politics to deal with. Let’s see how quickly my dear sister queen falls into line.”

Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.

Forza Horizon 6 for PC and Xbox was released just last month. This is the perfect excuse for you to finally upgrade from a controller to a bona fide racing wheel. Logitech via its official eBay store is offering a fantastic deal on its most popular racing wheel. Right now you can pick up a refurbished Logitech G29 Racing Wheel and Pedal Set for PS5 and PC for just $145 shipped. The G29 retails for $330 new. It comes with a 1 year Logitech warranty, which isn't quite as long as the 2 years you get purchasing new, but a lot better than the standard 3 to 6 months you typicall get with a recertified model.

Save 56% Off the Logitech G29 Racing Wheel and Pedal Set

June's State of Play certainly proved that September will have no shortage of games to play, but if Onimusha: Way of the Sword is at the top of your list, you can get a preorder in for it right now ahead of its September 25 release.

There are quite a few different editions to explore as well, with each available at different prices. For fans looking to preorder a physical copy, there's a standard release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X for $69.99 and a steelbook release for PS5 and Xbox Series X for $74.99. The latter, in particular, looks like quite a fun pickup.

There are also digital copies available to preorder across various storefronts, including PlayStation, Xbox, and places like Steam and Fanatical for PC players. These digital copies come in three different editions that vary in price - Standard, Deluxe, and Premium Deluxe - which you can learn more about below.

Preorder Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Standard Edition

Preorder Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Steelbook

PS5 (Physical)

• See at Amazon - $74.99
• See at Best Buy - $74.99
• See at GameStop - $74.99

Xbox Series X (Physical)

• See at Amazon - $74.99
• See at Best Buy - $74.99
• See at GameStop - $74.99

This steelbook edition is quite a fun release, thanks to its more vibrant cover art. It's available to preorder for $74.99 and comes with the base game alongside the preorder bonuses detailed further down. You can see the cover art for the steelbook in closer detail below.

Preorder Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Digital Deluxe Edition

Digital

• See at PlayStation Store - $79.99
• See at Xbox - $79.99

PC

• See at Fanatical - $65.59 $79.99 (18% off)
• See at Green Man Gaming - $79.99
• See at Steam - $79.99

Digital shoppers can enjoy some extras through the Deluxe Edition of the game. Available for $79.99 (or a little less at Fanatical right now), this version comes with the Deluxe Kit, which can be seen in the image above. This includes:

• Outfit for Musashi
  • Red Armor
• Sword Appearance
  • Raizan
  • Enryuu
  • Bamboo & Panda
  • Whittled Oar
• Charms
  • Oni Lady
  • Little Dancer
  • Mentor
• Oni Gauntlet
  • Crimson Lotus

Alongside the main preorder bonus that's detailed below, this also comes with an extra preorder bonus of the White Monkey Charm and White Lion Sword Appearance.

Preorder Onimusha: Way of the Sword – Digital Premium Deluxe Edition

Digital

• See at PlayStation Store - $89.99
• See at Xbox - $89.99

PC

• See at Fanatical - $73.79 $89.99 (18% off)
• See at Green Man Gaming - $89.99
• See at Steam - $89.99

Available for $89.99 (or for a little less at Fanatical), the Premium Deluxe Edition is packed with even more bonuses. Alongside the Deluxe Kit above, this edition also comes with a Premium Kit, which contains:

• Outfit for the Oni Lady
  • Bird Call
  • Snow Camellia
  • Elegance
• Outfit for Okuni
  • Flower Dance
  • Goldfish Dance
  • Oni Dance
• Haori
  • Hellfire
  • Moonlight
  • Cloudbiter
• In-Game Mini Digital Soundtrack

Similar to the Deluxe Edition, it also comes with the extra preorder bonus alongside the main one of the White Monkey Charm and White Lion Sword Appearance.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Preorder Bonus

While the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe digital preorders come with extra bonuses, each copy of the game comes with the Lion Dog Charm and Sealed Curse Sword Appearance, which you can see in the image above.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Demo Available Now

Curious to test out Onimusha: Way of the Sword before preordering it? The good news is a demo is now available to try out.

According to a PlayStation Blog post from Capcom Producer Akihito Kadowaki, "about 30 minutes of the early story is available" to play. In it, you can "try out the many techniques such as Parry, Deflect, Issen, Oni Armament, absorbing souls, and more. Step into the Kiyomizu-dera Temple stage and battle against your arch-rival, Sasaki Ganryu."

Plus, Kadowaki notes if you "have a save data from the demo, you can obtain the Charm: Kubi Akari in the full game, which grants a beneficial effect to Musashi." Check it out below.

What Is Onimusha: Way of the Sword?

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a brand new release in Capcom's series. Per a PlayStation Blog post, it's a "blood-soaked sword-fighting saga where Miyamoto Musashi gains the power of the Oni. Set in Kyoto during the early Edo period, Musashi must face the bizarre, monstrous Genma who run rampant in the historic city."

IGN's Matt Purslow played a demo of it during last year's Gamescom and wrote in his preview that, "The gamescom demo may have been short – little more than some winding paths and a boss fight in a temple – but it’s more than enough to convince me that Onimusha: Way of the Sword is built on rock-solid swordplay fundamentals."

Other Preorder Guides

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has revealed new content coming to the underwater survival game in the weeks and months ahead, teasing a new vehicle and new region centred around the Collector Leviathan as part of update 1.1.

Smaller upcoming updates will improve the currently limited Biomods system, adding more passive slots and new options for “deepening early-game survival strategies.” To improve the multiplayer experience, proximity voice chat, emotes, and expanded character customisation are all in the works. Unknown Worlds has indicated the popularity of multiplayer in Subnautica 2 took the team by surprise, so it’s playing a little bit of catch-up here.

But the most exciting additions are set for a larger content update (early access 1.1), which will add a new vehicle and a new region to explore centred around the Collector Leviathan. In a developer update, design lead Anthony Gallegos discussed the new region, which will contain new creatures, new resources, and will be progression and story driven. It will also add a new chassis, which “brings back one of the most requested player experiences,” Gallegos teased. “So, get ready to get stompy.”

That suggests a Subnautica 2 version of the Prawn suit, a bipedal mechanical walker from the previous game, which is sure to go down well with players. “Our goal is to let you jump in without having to start a new save,” Gallegos continued. “Rather, pick up right where you left off. I really think it's going to be the scariest the game has been yet, and I can't wait for you to try it.”

The announcement comes following the release of a hotfix that modifies the behavior of creatures in response to complaints about not being able to kill predators. Not being able to directly kill fish in Subnautica 2 is the game’s hottest topic, and while Unknown Worlds has promised to add “mitigation” to the game so you can better deal with predators, it will never allow you to kill them.

Earlier this week, we reported on fresh comments from Gallegos, who countered the narrative that Unknown Worlds set out to create a “pacifism game.” That, Gallegos told MinnMax in a fascinating new interview about the design of Subnautica 2, just isn’t true.

While the killing fish debate rages on, Subnautica 2 is a clear success. It has sold a huge 4 million copies since its early access launch on May 14, achieving more than 467,000 peak concurrent players on Steam — success Gallegos said took the team by surprise. Subnautica 2 has sold so well that publisher Krafton has reportedly agreed to pay a $250 million earnout to the developers — a bonus that was at the heart of its high-profile legal dispute with the fired Unknown Worlds leadership.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

If you found yourself lurking around Kickstarter a few months back, or really the internet in general, you probably heard something about The Official Cyberpunk Trading Card Game.

Pulling in more than $28 million dollars and taking the top spot as the most-funded game on the crowdfunding platform, the TCG based on CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 RPG continues to evolve and change post-campaign.

Recently, the folks at WeirdCo have released big updates coming to the game that not only tweak terminology but also add in some massive game-design-shifting changes. Here is the full blog post, but here are the changes that are coming to the Cyberpunk TCG:

• The starting phase has gotten a name change, and its structure has been tweaked
• The “Play” and “Attack” phases have been combined into a single “Main” phase
• Opponents can react to a declared attack
• A new “Quick” keyword on cards has been created that can be played in response to an attack
• The cost to flip one of your legends has been reduced to 1 Eddie instead of 2
• You need 7 gig dice now to win instead of 6

So let’s break things down a bit. The changes that Weird Co. has shared range from minor adjustments for the sake of clarity to large new mechanics that, debatably, are some extensive game design adjustments. On the lighter end, the name change for the first phase of a turn and the creation of the “Main” phase, and the more malleable and flexible early turn structure are welcome and act more as just solidifying and adapting to how folks have naturally played the game. As someone who has played Magic: The Gathering for over 20 years, changes like these feel natural. Untap, draw, play. Familiar.

The new Main phase is also a pleasant change that focuses on giving players more flexibility in how they take their turns. The big update here is that you can take the available actions of selling a card for a resource, calling (flipping) one of your Legend cards, playing cards, activating effects on your cards, or making an attack in any order. Previously, the order was rigid, where you had to play your cards before making the attack, and once doing so, your turn was over. Now, being able to attack and play cards as you wish and giving you control over when you pass will go a long way in improving the general feel and flow, which I am 100% here for.

The two changes I would classify as mid-tier changes, ones that will impact the game but not in a drastic way. Previously, the game would end if you started your turn with six “gig” dice in front of you. Considering each player has six dice they will assign, this meant that the first player could simply turtle up and play completely defensively and win due to meeting that criteria first. This has been increased now to needing seven dice to win, requiring you to have stolen at least one die from your opponent. It makes sense, will help the game go on a bit longer, and force some interaction beyond simply hiding behind a wall of blockers.

The second of these tweaks is that flipping one of your Legend cards, calling them to action, now only costs a single Eddie resource instead of two. Honestly, the fact that you don’t know which Legend is which (unless you use another card to peek), I’m still not entirely sold on the mechanic in general, but this cost reduction does help things. With games playing out fast, spending two of your rather limited resources on your turn to flip one of your Legends rarely felt like a better proposition than playing a cheap unit to serve as a blocker or another attack to steal more dice.

A prospect that appears to be shared by many, as in the update announcement, the team specifically mentions “During Alpha testing, we discovered that it was possible to win games consistently without flipping multiple Legends. While we don’t necessarily want players to have to flip all three of their Legends every game, we do want flipping Legends to be an exciting and impactful highlight in the vast majority of Cyberpunk TCG games,” so fingers crossed.

By far the biggest change, well, more like an addition, is that the person being attacked can actually do something more than just blocking (if they have a Blocker that is)! Hallelujah! Now, when you are attacked, you can react by assigning a blocker as you could before, but now you can also flip one of your Legends (for the updated cost) or utilize cards with the new “Quick” keyword. This new mechanic, which allows cards either from your hand or that are already on the field, will allow players to pull off battlefield tricks and make attacking a bit more exciting, since you will never know what your opponent may have in their hands.

I love this, as tricks like counters and trap cards are some of the most exciting parts in card games, and their absence during the Alpha rules and cards was an uncomfortable void in the game. To be clear, this is a great addition, and what has me the most excited from the announcement, but it also is a pretty big change, and I find myself wondering - how many of the cards will have to be redesigned now around this new mechanic?

I am someone who is no stranger to backing games in crowdfunding and am well aware that “all rules are subject to change” is a pretty standard note on the campaign pages. Balancing and adjustments are common with games evolving all the time, but to me, this is a massive game design change. A far rarer occurrence, and one that I can’t recall seeing in other TCG crowdfunding scenarios. It makes me start to wonder if the Cyberpunk TCG may have come to Kickstarter a bit underdone, or had its focus devoted elsewhere. A concern that I have mentioned previously is that backers are a bit like ‘guinea pigs’ right now, with the folks at WeirdCo laying down the tracks while the train is going full steam ahead. A feeling only made a bit stronger that they are looking to fill a Senior Game Designer role currently.

It will be interesting if Cyberpunk 2077 TCG gets any more big changes leading up to launch. I am firmly in the camp that all of these updates are great for the game in the end. I am eager to see what sort of nifty effects are planned to use the Quick keyword and if the Legend cost reduction will actually change my mind on their value. Players still have a bit of a wait until they will be stealing gigs in their local game store, but with the success that the Kickstarter had, the team at WeirdCo has the funds to really massage the systems to knock the gameplay out of the park. Now, we just have to wait and see what the final product will look like.

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.

Crimson Desert continues to evolve at a rapid pace. This week’s update adds a number of quality-of-life changes, makes the Wyvern a mount, and adds a pinball minigame, because why not?

Pearl Abyss has released major updates for the single-player open world action adventure game pretty much every week since launch. It has changed significantly, with everything from combat to endgame reworked. And every now and then, Pearl Abyss will just throw a curve ball in a patch, seemingly just for fun, to keep players on their toes. This week, it's a pinball machine. Random, but brilliant!

The Pinball minigame is located to the inn near the Delesyian Institute. The patch adds the Marni Token Exchange where tokens obtained from the Pinball machine can be exchanged for various items, including the Material Box of Fortune, Abyss Artifact, two types of Artifact Chests, a Helm, 13 types of furniture, and three types of gear crafting recipes.

Pinball isn’t the only minigame added with today's patch. Crimson Desert also now has the Orb Roll minigame at the Great Gate of Urdavah.

Meanwhile, the Re-Blockade feature is improved with the addition of the Battle and Reconstruct stages. For major strongholds, players can request Protection through the contribution assessor (formerly known as the manager of the contribution shop) in each region to suppress Re-Blockades. Liberating strongholds rewards contribution, provisions, trade goods, and other items.

Elsewhere, Kuku Bird Chicks and Baby Wyverns can grow after being fed. After reaching a certain level of growth, they can be registered as special mounts. And here’s a really helpful user interface change: the category tabs in the Mission Dispatch menu are now mission-based, not region-based. The patch notes, courtesy of Steam, are below.

The release of update 1.10 comes hot on the heels of Pearl Abyss’ announcement of a summer roadmap of content, as well as confirmation that DLC is in development. Outlining content updates planned for June to September, Pearl Abyss confirmed story refinements, new combat challenges, cross-save support, and quality-of-life improvements set for the single-player open world action adventure game. Pearl Abyss only teased the DLC, confirming its existence and that it was being worked on. But it did describe it as a “meaningful addition to the player’s journey.”

Crimson Desert update 1.10.00 patch notes:

New Additions

• Improved Re-Blockade.
  • Improved the flow before and after blockades by adding the stages "Battle" and "Reconstruct".
  • For major strongholds, players can request "Protection" through the contribution assessor (formerly known as the manager of the contribution shop) in each region to suppress Re-Blockades.
  • Liberating strongholds rewards contribution, provisions, trade goods, and other items.
• Added the "Pinball" minigame to the inn near the Delesyian Institute.
  • Added the "Marni Token Exchange" where tokens obtained from the Pinball machine can be exchanged for various items.
  • Obtainable items: Material Box of Fortune, Abyss Artifact, 2 types of Artifact Chests, a Helm, 13 types of furniture, and 3 types of gear crafting recipes
• Added the "Orb Roll" minigame at the Great Gate of Urdavah.
  • Obtainable items: Material Box of Fortune, Abyss Artifact, 2 types of Artifact Chests, golden apple, 3 types of carpets, 3 types of lights
• Added a new mount: "Wyvern".
• Added a new pet: "Kuku Bird Chick".
  • Kuku Bird Chicks and Baby Wyverns can grow after being fed. After reaching a certain level of growth, they can be registered as special mounts.
• Added new mount equipment, the "Wyvern Saddle".
• Added new pet equipment, the "Small Kuku Bird Eggshell" and the "Small Wyvern Aviator Hat".

New Additions

Content

• Improved locked items so that Abyss gear can be removed from them.
• Improved the Large Farming Scythe so that it can used to obtain gatherable items.
• Added a "Carpet" category to the house decoration category.
• Added carpets to the items sold at some dyehouses.
• Added a cat tower to Furlington Farm in the Azerian Estate.
• Improved the animation of feeding certain wild animals while holding them.
• Changed the item description for "Sigil of Valor".
  • Can be equipped on: Dogs, Baby Wyverns
  • After the next patch, the Iron Eagle and Phoenix will also be able to equip the Sigil of Valor.
• Added a map to the constellation research journal and improved it so that the location of constallations can be found through it.
• Changed the carry postures for certain pets.

Controls

• [Controller] Changed the basic interaction (Y/△) to not operate as a long press when using the "Default" customization preset.
• [Controller] Changed Axiom Force so that its buttons can be customized.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Fixed an issue where, when customizing secondary keys, the customization setting would not save properly.

Combat / Action

• Added a ground attack skill to Blackstar.
• Improved it so that, if you change your element slot or arrow/bullet/small cannonball slot during a boss battle, the changes are kept even after dying and retrying.
• [Damiane] Adjusted the damage of unarmed skills.
• Improved arrows so that normal arrows are used first when Replenishing Arrows run out.

UI Fixes & Improvements

• Changed the category tabs in the Mission Dispatch menu from region-based to mission-based.
• Added knowledge on "Dye Colors" and "Small Tools" in the Journal > Knowledge > Gatherables menu.
• Fixed an issue where some key guide information displayed at the bottom-right would not appear in certain situations.
• Added a level of growth UI to the inventory, allowing you to check the growth levels of pets and horses.
• Improved the Photo Mode UI.

Localization

• Fixed various localization errors and improved localization quality across all languages.

Others

• Fixed an issue where, after winning a Rematch, progress would not be maintained properly and revert to a previous state.
• Fixed an issue where some bosses would damage themselves while attacking.
• Fixed an issue where attack animations would cancel when using Axiom Force or Force Palm while on a mount.
• Fixed an issue where a double jump would sometimes activate even when the controls for Vault were inputted only once.
• Fixed an issue where Vault could not be used as a Counter.
• Fixed an issue where the character's attack power was not properly reflected when using Kliff's Nature's Echo and Damiane's Reckoning.
• Fixed an issue where Force Current could not be used properly during the "Repair the second pensive statue" mission of the "Jijeong Temple in Chaos" quest.
• Improved homing skills and items so that they no longer target unintended objects.
• Fixed an issue where, if a pet picked up certain items while the inventory was full, the items would disappear without being obtained.
• Fixed an issue where, after placing a Legendary Fish in the pond and loading, additional Legendary Fish appeared in the pond.
• Changed Legendary Fish so that they cannot be used from quick slots.
• Fixed an issue where some knowledge could not be obtained in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where the map could not be closed in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where crashes would occur on the dye menu in certain situations.
• Improved terrain and object placement in passage areas so that wagons can travel more smoothly in some regions.
• Fixed an issue where characters mounted on a mount could not be controlled in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where horses could not be changed at the stable in some save files.
• Fixed an issue where the Contribution UI would sometimes appear upon re-entering the game.
• Fixed an issue where the effect of Focused Force Palm would continuously remain in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where disbanding comrades while mounted on a horse would dismiss the horse as well.
• Fixed an issue where bounty quests would not progress properly in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue where dialogue would overlap during combat with Sir Catfish.
• Added animations for placing live fish into and taking them out of the inventory.
• Changed the release function so that summoned pets can also be released.
• Fixed an issue where bird pets would sometimes lift gimmick elements.
• Improved the appearance of some outfits and characters to look more natural.
• Changed the circus sign lights so that they shine even from a distance.
• Fixed an issue where evade could not be performed while using Examine during the faction quest "Bandits Riding Wolves".
• Fixed an issue where NPCs related to the quest "Swift Delivery, Safe Borders" would not appear.
• Fixed an issue in the quest "Harvest of Greed" where the wagon disappears upon retrying the quest after the culprit dies.
• Fixed an issue where certain objects would sink abnormally into the terrain.
• Fixed an issue where, if Kliff died while accompanying the player, he could not be summoned again even after sufficient time had passed after being disbanded.
• Fixed an issue where the camera would not follow the locked-on target while in Focus mode.
• Fixed an issue where unnatural effects would appear when the character collided with certain furniture.
• Fixed an issue where the patterns of certain tattoos would not display properly.
• Fixed an issue where notifications for knowledge entries that did not exist in the Knowledge menu would display abnormally.
• Fixed an issue where rain would appear indoors.
• Fixed an issue where rendering was unstable in certain areas when the terrain was wet from rain.
• Improved the visual effect of rain to show the rain making the ground wet appear more clearly.
• Mitigated an issue where the appearance of the previous equipment would briefly appear when changing equipment in shops.
• Fixed an issue where the power core would intermittently fail to operate after moving to the Fleet of Archives Abyss.
• Fixed an issue where the barrier in the 'Fleet of Archives' Abyss would become disabled when approached.
• Fixed an issue where some text UI overlapped when buying the Writ of Absolution on a 5K monitor.
• Fixed an issue where two alchemy materials were consumed at a time when using alchemy materials on Hard difficulty.
• Changed the contribution shop and manager of the contribution shop's name to contribution office and contribution assessor.
• [Keyboard/Mouse] Improved archery/shooting contests so that the character immediately enters aiming mode when the contest begins.
• [Damiane] Added a turn and a roll animation while equipped with a musket.
• [Damiane] Fixed an issue where the greatsword's appearance would appear abnormal after giving up during a Rematch.
• [Damiane] Fixed an issue where the shield's appearance would remain abnormally after using the Shield Toss ability.
• [Oongka] Improved the effect of the Devastation ability.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players are having a blast with the games new mode, Black Ops Classic. The new mode was released today as part of the game's Season 4 update and brings some radical changes to the gameplay of Black Ops 7. The new limited-time mode strips out omnimovement, sliding, and simplifies the overall gameplay experience to be more akin to classic Black Ops games like Black Ops 1 and 2. Players also can't use things like stims, an equippable that lets you immediately heal mid-battle.

"We wanted to get as close to a classic movement set (Black Ops 2 as a target) as we could, so Omnimovement, Wall Jump, and Slide are restricted in Black Ops Classic along with some additional feature restrictions," said Black Ops 7 design director Matt Scronce on X.

The mode also limits players to maps from classic Black Ops titles, including Firing Range, Summit, Raid, Nuketown, and more. It's by all intents and purposes Black Ops as you remember it, save for some changes to the visuals and different weapons.

So far, players seem to be really enjoying the old-school throwback.

"Black Ops Classic is exactly what Black Ops 7 should have been," said one player, and they're not alone.

Another player concurred, stating that the mode should remain in Black Ops 7: "Played one match of Black Ops Classic and yeah I’m gonna need this to be a permanent mode."

"Very fun and fixes a ton of issues I have with BO7. Almost got a nuke," said another fan.

Some are noting that the changes are so radical they're having a hard time adjusting to them, because they're so used to the controls of modern Call of Duty. As of right now, it remains to be seen whether or not this will actually drive players to the game. The mode comes eight months after Black Ops 7's initial launch, and four months before the release of Modern Warfare 4 – which may mean it's too little, too late for some players who bounced off the game in its earliest days.

The movement of Black Ops 7 has been a hot topic since its arrival, with some feeling like omnimovement and wall jumping overcomplicates the gameplay. More traditional movement, however, focuses on a player's gun skills rather than their ability to dodge bullets by moving around like a lunatic.

Even if this mode doesn't change the tides for Black Ops 7, the future is looking bright. We recently went hands-on with Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer ahead of the game's official reveal and had plenty of glowing things to say about it. Modern Warfare 4 won't feature omnimovement, and will instead focus on fluid but more grounded movement.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

The Xbox Series S is taking some heat once again following comments made by the founder of Moon Studio, the team behind action RPG No Rest for the Wicked, which has been available on Steam Early Access since 2024.

During the PlayStation State of Play, it was confirmed the game was coming to PS5 this October in celebration of its 1.0 release, but Xbox users will have to wait. This isn't due to any kind of marketing deal with PlayStation. Rather, it has to do with limitations with the Xbox Series S. In response to a fan inquring about the lack of an Xbox release date, studio founder and game director Thomas Mahler pointed to the Series S.

"Series S is making that rough," said Mahler in a comment on Discord. "We'll ship it after in a good way once it's optimized like crazy for Switch 2 and Xbox."

Another user joked that a mobile version would follow the Xbox and Switch 2 versions, to which Mahler responded: "Series S and mobile specs aren't too far apart at this point."

This is hardly the first time something like this has happened. The Xbox version of Black Myth: Wukong was delayed by a year and it was heavily rumored that it may be due to difficulties developing for the consoles. Microsoft responded to these rumors noting that it had not been informed of such troubles, but developer Game Science later suggested those rumors may have had some truth to them. Game Science CEO Yongar Feng-Ji noted in January 2025 that the Xbox Series S' 10 GBs of shared memory was creating issues with optimization. When the game was eventually released on Xbox, the studio confirmed that the delay was a result of spending extra time trying to optimize the game specificially for Xbox.

Baldur's Gate 3 also suffered issues when it came to developing for the Xbox Series S. The game had a staggered release across platforms, arriving in August 2023 for PC, September for PS5, and December for Xbox. That wasn't by choice, necessarily. Larian had troubles getting split-screen co-op to work smoothly on Xbox Series S. The studio even enlisted the help of Microsoft's own engineers to help get it all functioning.

With all of this said, there has been a lot of discussion throughout the current console generation over whether or not the Xbox Series S is worth the hassles. Microsoft mandates that all Xbox Series X titles must also work on Series S with full feature parity, but it has led to some games being released later on the platform. It begs the question whether Project Helix, the next Xbox console, will have a cheaper and weaker variant – or if Microsoft will go all-in on one SKU. Given how aggressive Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma has been, it's hard to imagine the company doing two consoles again, but we'll just have to wait and see.

For now, No Rest for the Wicked will release on PS5 on an unspecified date in October. The Xbox release date is currently to be confirmed.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

Summertime is right around the corner, but if you're hoping to avoid hot weather by hanging out inside, Humble Bundle is here to help keep you busy with some PC games. A brand new Humble Choice lineup has dropped for the month of June, and it's filled with some excellent games to add to your online library.

Octopath Traveler II, The Riftbreaker, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure are just a few of the PC games included in this month's drop, but you'll also get five more. As for how much all eight of these games cost? Just $14.99 when you sign up for a Humble Choice membership. That's a fantastic deal compared to grabbing them all at their retail prices, and that's not even the end of it.

A free month of IGN Plus is also thrown in the mix, which allows you to get rid of ads on the site, score some free games, and more. Check out the full lineup of games below, and head to the link to sign up.

Humble Choice June 2026

God of War developer Santa Monica Studio has discussed Kratos' future as the figurehead of its flagship franchise, following the reveal of its Faye-starring next chapter, God of War Laufey.

Speaking in an interview uploaded to PlayStation's YouTube channel, Santa Monica Studio head of creative Cory Barlog said that "there's always going to be Kratos games" — a position backed up by a later post from the company's official social media account, which stated that the studio had "many more stories to tell with him."

Early reaction to God of War Laufey has been mixed, with some fans praising the game's combat and visuals, while others have been criticizing the simplistic gameplay seen in Laufey's opening section — and, predictably, the fact that fan-favorite Kratos wasn't center stage. (For a full catch-up, we’ve got an explainer on Faye herself for more on her story.)

"Faye is, while it's a different thing, it's still part of the larger tapestry of what we truly really want to explore, all of these different characters in there," Barlog said of the new game. "But there's always going to be Kratos games, like, throughout the whole history. We're super excited about that."

"Oh for sure," added God of War Laufey director Ariel Lawrence. "We can't not tell stories about the big guy."

Our first glimpse at God of War Laufey, seen in a 20-minute gameplay segment aired at the end of this week's PlayStation State of Play showcase, began with Kratos and Atreus burning Faye's body — as seen in 2018's God of War. Kratos then pops up again shortly after, aiding Faye while she's briefly imprisoned. It remains unclear if Kratos will make any other appearances before Laufey's credits roll, or if these brief glimpses of the hero are it, as he's then busy with the events of God of War Ragnarök.

"Kratos is the God of War – we have many more stories to tell with him," Santa Monica Studio's official X/Twitter account wrote in a post issued last night. "For now, we're excited to take fans on a journey into the afterlife of the gods with Faye and hope you’ll come along for the ride!"

Of course, Santa Monica Studio has also announced a remake of the God of War Greek trilogy remake — which, of course, will see Kratos back in the spotlight. The original God of War launched back in 2005 for PS2, with its sequel arriving two years later. God of War 3, for PS3, then debuted in 2010. No release date for the God of War Trilogy Remake was announced, and work is still in its "early stages."

"We'll always tell stories about Kratos, but I think for us, it was just a chance to talk about somebody who was so pivotal to the beginning," Barlog told IGN previously in an exclusive interview, which discussed why Faye was chosen as the protagonist. "For us, it's not a departure; it's more of an expansion," he added.

Here's everything announced at State of Play June 2026 if you need a catch up on what else PlayStation has in store.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

It’s that time of year when it's fun to just wildly speculate about what we might see from Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest. Little is known, apart from a few games and studios that have already been teased, and so this gives me plenty of room to dream about what surprises the show may have in store. Taking place on June 5 at 2pm PT/5pm ET/10pm BST, here’s how to watch the stream. Let’s not waste any more time, though, and get straight into what to expect from it.

What We Know

We’ve been promised a world-first look at Star Wars: Zero Company, the X-COM-inspired take on a galaxy far, far away. A turn-based tactics game co-developed by Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment, it places us in control of a mercenary group tasked with fighting in the shadows of the Clone Wars. Sign me up.

Guild Wars developer ArenaNet is confirmed to be attending. Could this finally mean a reveal for Guild Wars 3? The base-game release of Guild Wars 2 came out way back in 2012, and the free-to-play MMORPG series has been ticking over with expansions and updates ever since.SGF could well be time to see the next numbered game in the series. Or maybe it’s just a new expansion. I don’t know.

Blood Message is one of those games that could blow up if it gets another impressive showing. Set during the Tang Dynasty, it blends stealth and melee combat together as you play as a messenger and his son on a dangerous, linear journey across Asia. A cinematic action-adventure from Chinese studio 24 Entertainment Lin'an, its first teaser, shown last summer, looked stunning, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in action here.

Teased earlier this week, new driving game Clutch will also be in attendance. Made by a team of ex-Playground devs at new studio Maverick Games, let's hope this open-world narrative racer will pack some of that Forza Horizon punch.

Finally, Epic Games will be showcasing a new trailer for its upcoming new season of Fortnite, Runners, which will be revealed by its star, Ben Starr.

Hopes and Dreams

Now for the fun bit. First up, let’s try to answer the one question we all have on our lips when a Geoff Keighley show comes around. Will Hideo Kojima make an appearance? I don’t know, but I’m going to lean towards a ‘yes’ this time. It’s probably far more likely that he’ll come with a new look at his Xbox exclusive horror game OD: Knock, than it is his upcoming stealth-action PlayStation game, Physint, but honestly, I’ll take either.

Another developer that’s no stranger to a stage like this is FromSoftware. It’s been a while since we’ve heard about its Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive PvPvE action RPG, The Duskbloods. Or, if we’re really dreaming, another brand-new announcement from the Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne studio.

Speaking of dreaming, I personally would love nothing more than to finally see what Persona 6 looks like. 2026 will mark 10 years since the last mainline entry in the beloved RPG series, and I need it back in my life. I’d also take a look at remake Persona 4: Revival, just to tide me over.

The fact that some of the bigger video game publishers don’t host their own showcases anymore means the likelihood of them showing up at SGF is only increased. For example, this feels like the perfect time for Ubisoft to give us another look at Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced ahead of its July 9 release. With new Far Cry and Ghost Recon games reportedly on their way before 2029, too, could we see either of these revealed?

Similarly, EA could show up and surprise us. It feels like we should be getting closer to knowing more about the third part of Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi trilogy, so maybe that will be here. And do we dare dream of seeing anything of BioWare’s Mass Effect 5? It’s a long shot, but I’d love it. Speaking of Mass Effect, though, there are a couple of games that appear to be taking the spirit of the beloved sci-fi RPG series into their own creations. Exodus has its own dedicated stream attached to the end of the Future Games Show Summer Showcase on June 6, so that may not turn up for SGF, but The Expanse: Osiris Reborn from Owlcat Games could well do.

Capcom has plenty going on already, but could it throw another new game into the mix? Rumours have been circulating about a new Devil May Cry for a while now, so perhaps, if it exists, we’ll see it here. More likely, though, is some story DLC for Resident Evil Requiem. And what about Konami, who has seen a bit of a resurgence of late. Is it time to see what Bloober’s remake of the original Silent Hill looks like? Or, which Metal Gear Solid could be undergoing the remake treatment next, following the success of Snake Eater?

And then there’s Square Enix, which has yet to reveal what the third part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be called. Could June 5 be the day we find out? Let’s hope so. And, yes, there will always be whispers of Kingdom Hearts 4, as fans clutch their keyblades close to their hearts in hope of a reveal. I wish you all the best.

I’m sure that one day, Judas will eventually come out. Ken Levine’s ambitious project has been teased for years and years now, and we’d love to know a release date. We’ll take more gameplay, though. Levine’s previous creation, Bioshock, is, of course, getting a fourth entry of which we’ve heard nearly nothing about. Again, it feels like a long shot, but you never know.

As for things that are incredibly unlikely,, no, we won’t see anything related to GTA 6, nor would I get your hopes up for a look at The Witcher 3’s freshly announced Songs of the Past expansion in action, as CD Projekt Red has said that won’t come until later in summer at Gamescom. Feel free to still dream, though.

And that’s all the speculation I have for you ahead of the show. I can’t list literally every video game that is, or may be in development around the globe, but I’ve given it a decent shot. What are you most excited to see at Summer Game Fest 2026? Let us know in the comments!

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

During PlayStation's June State of Play, a brand new trailer for Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis revealed that the game would be released next year on February 12. While that may be quite a way away from now, the good news is preorders are now live for it, which is great for fans hoping to secure a copy of this remake.

There are three editions available to preorder: Standard, Deluxe, and a huge Collector's Edition. Of course, each of these comes in at different price points and also comes with different bonuses, which we've broken down below. Only a select few retailers have preorder pages up at the moment, but we'll be sure to update with more as they pop up.

Preorder Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis – Standard Edition

PS5 (Physical)

• Best Buy - $59.99
• GameStop - $59.99
• Amazon - $59.99

Xbox Series X (Physical)

• Best Buy - $59.99
• GameStop - $59.99
• Amazon - $59.99

Nintendo Switch 2 (Physical - Game-Key Card)

• GameStop - $59.99

Digital

• See at PlayStation Store - $59.99
• See at Xbox - $59.99

PC

• See at Steam - $59.99

The Standard Edition of the game is listed for $59.99 and can be purchased as either a physical or digital copy. Physical copies are available for PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2. It's worth keeping in mind that the latter comes as a Game-Key Card, meaning you'll have to download the game to play.

Digital versions are available to preorder from places like the PlayStation and Xbox storefronts, and PC players can get preorders from Steam. There's also a fun preorder bonus you'll get for buying early, which you can learn more about below.

Preorder Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis – Deluxe Edition

PS5 (Physical)

• See at Amazon - $69.99
• See at Best Buy - $69.99
• See at GameStop - $69.99

Xbox Series X (Physical)

• See at Amazon - $69.99
• See at Best Buy - $69.99
• See at GameStop - $69.99

Nintendo Switch 2 (Physical - Game-Key Card)

• See at GameStop - $69.99

Digital

• See at PlayStation Store - $69.99
• See at Xbox - $69.99

PC

• See at Steam - $69.99

Similar to the Standard Edition above, the Deluxe Edition comes in both physical and digital formats, though it comes with some extras alongside the main game and preorder bonus. They are:

• Lara Croft Parisian Fugitive Outfit
• DLC Story Pack
• Preorder Bonus for Deluxe Edition: 48-Hour Early Launch Access

Preorder Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis – Collector’s Edition

PS5

• See at Best Buy - $199.99
• See at Amazon - $199.99

Xbox Series X

• See at Best Buy - $199.99
• See at GameStop - $199.99
• See at Amazon - $199.99

Nintendo Switch 2 (Physical - Game-Key Card)

• See at GameStop - $199.99

The Collector's Edition is for those who want to go all-out with their purchase. Priced at $199.99, it comes with plenty of fun extras alongside the full game and main preorder bonus. Here's what you can expect from it:

• Premium Steel Case
• Croft Signet Pin
• Triumvirate Talisman Keychain
• Mini Art Book
• Lara Croft vs. The T-Rex Statue
• Lara Croft Parisian Fugitive Outfit
• DLC Story Pack
• Preorder Bonus for Collector's Edition: 48-Hour Early Launch Access
• Collector's Box

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Preorder Bonus

While the Deluxe and Collector's Editions come with an exclusive preorder bonus of 48-hour early access, every version comes with the Survivor Outfit preorder bonus, which you can see above. Look familiar? It's Lara's outfit from the 2013 Tomb Raider game!

What Is Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis?

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a reimagining of the original Tomb Raider from 1996, featuring "visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, modern game design, and new surprises, while honoring the spirit and atmosphere of Lara’s debut adventure," according to the Tomb Raider website.

Global Head of Content and Community at Amazon Game Studios, Michael Lovan, adds to this in a PlayStation Blog post, writing "From your first plunge into Peru’s Lost Valley to your first glimpse at the crumbling ruins of Greece, every environment has been expanded with stunning new visuals, an immersive soundscape, and modernized gameplay that makes exploration, combat, and puzzles feel fresh."

If you can't wait to jump into Lara's original adventure rendered in brand new, modern graphics, get a preorder in at one of the links above so you're ready to play in February.

More Preorder Guides

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.