It’s been a pretty quiet few days in the world of Nintendo, but as we’re all gearing up for a another weekend of gaming, let’s take a peek at some of the highlights of the week.
First up, there’s a new Nintendo Lego set incoming! Hooray! This one looks spectacular and is essentially a replica of the Mario & Yoshi sprite from Super Mario World. It’s gorgeous, but like all Lego, it’s got a hefty price tag. Speaking of Lego, Eiji Aonuma also commented on the upcoming Lego Deku Tree from The Legend of Zelda.
10:10 Games has shared an official story trailer for Funko Fusion and it appears the game is now due to launch on Switch on 15th November 2024.
As previously revealed, this game will feature all sorts of franchises from Back to the Future to Five Nights at Freddy’s. Here’s a bit about the evil “Eddy”, who threatens every Funko land with his own “distorted image”:
Lego Fortnite and Rocket League also have some themed content.
This week marks the return of Deadpool in cinemas with the new movie Deadpool & Wolverine. Hugh Jackman is even reprising his role as Wolverine, as the unlikely duo set out on an epic adventure to save the MCU in more ways than one.
To celebrate, Epic’s free-to-play battle royale Fortnite has added two new “pen & ink” style skins for Deadpool and Wolverine. These skins can be used in not only Battle Royale but also Fortnite Festival and Rocket Racing. Here’s a look:
In case you missed the previous announcement, it’s Uzuki “the witness of all deaths” and “the Black Monger who lurks in the night”. The Uzuki DLC will set you back $4.99 USD (or your regional equivalent). This character is also available in the season pass for $9.99, which includes four new DLC characters all up.
NetherRealm has revealed animalities for Mortal Kombat 1 in what marks a return of the fatality variant after a 29-year absence.
Animalities, which made their debut in 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3, let the victorious character turn into an animal before tearing their victim apart in typically gory fashion.
During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 attended by IGN, NetherRealm showed off Mortal Kombat 1’s animalities with teaser footage. Rain, for example, turns into a puffer fish who explodes from the inside of his opponent.
A new trailer showed off more animalities, including hyena, hippo, gorilla, t-rex skeleton, and wolf finishers. Of course, Scorpion turns into a scorpion. Mileena turns into a preying mantis.
The animalities reveal came as part of the announcement of Mortal Kombat 1’s second year of content and the Khaos Reigns DLC. Kombat Pack 2 includes another six DLC characters, all of which had been datamined ahead of their announcement. They are:
Cyrax
Sektor
Noob Saibot
Ghostface
Conan the Barbarian
T-1000
Animalities can be performed by all playable fighters and will be available in conjunction with the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns release on September 24.
Meanwhile, all owners of Mortal Kombat 1 will receive a free MK 95 Scorpion character skin, inspired by the original Mortal Kombat (1995) film, available today.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
“It is clear that we have made the wrong calls in several projects, especially outside of our core, and this must change,” writes CEO Fredrik Wester in an interim financial report, released today.
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, Jim is manifesting a comeback for Zelda’s most iconic NPC…
If you have made it past the headline, chances are you fall into one of the following camps. One: You believe that Tingle deserves another mainline Zelda appearance. Two: You hate Tingle and everything he stands for. Three: You think we must have made a typo because there’s no way it’s been 20 years since Tingle last appeared in a mainline game. Four: A strange combination of all the above. Well, buckle up buddy, because here comes the cold, hard facts.
The smash hit Xbox 360-era 2D side-scrolling hack-and-slash game, Castle Crashers, is getting DLC on Steam over a decade after its launch on the platform.
Earlier today, developer The Behemoth unveiled Castle Crasher’s upcoming DLC, Painter Boss Paradise, during a YouTube livestream. The DLC will not only see an artistic update to its ensemble cast and weapons, but it will also let players design their characters using the Steam workshop. Paint Boss Paradise will also introduce a new playable character named Paint Junior, whom the devs describe as someone who can “vanquish enemies with the very power of their imagination.” Seeing as how the live stream is titled “The Behemoth Roadmap,” Painter Boss Paradise’s announcement wasn’t couched with a release date, though The Behemoth says it will divulge those details at a later date.
We used to be enemies. We used to destroy the world around us. Now, we create! Introducing… the Castle Crashers Painter Boss Paradise DLC, coming soon to Steam! 🎨 pic.twitter.com/nZVQuwUUdP
Castle Crashers DLC wasn’t the only thing The Behemoth announced today. In tandem with its yet-to-be-revealed release date tease for Painter Boss Paradise, The Behemoth also listed a slew of updates for its other previous release games:
Battleblock Theater is getting a quality-of-life update addressing visuals, frame rates, and bug fixes on Steam as well as a console port for Xbox Series X/S.
Pit People is also receiving a quality-of-life update
Alien Hominid HD and Alien Hominid Invasion are coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
While working on updates for our entire gaming library, we’re also prototyping for our next game! Ooooh, aaaaaah. Yep, that’s all we have to say about it for now. pic.twitter.com/POqVAGSpxx
Capping off Behemoth’s cavalcade of announcements was a tease saying its next game is being prototyped. Little is known whether or not the upcoming game will be the long-awaited Castle Crasher 2 or if it will be a brand new game entirely. All the same, The Behemoth fans have a lot of gaming to look forward to in the coming days.
In our 9/10 review of Castle Crashers, we wrote, “Castle Crashers takes the best elements of traditional side-scrolling beat-em-ups and adds lots of flair. There’s some great humor here and some nice surprises that will please most. Of course, the most important thing is that it’s a whole lot of fun — especially when you play with friends.”
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
Demos were once a cornerstone of PC gaming and they arguably will be again thanks to events like Steam Next Fest. The latest update to Steam seeks to make those free slices of potential delight easier to find for players, and easier to promote for developers.
Yesterday, SAG-AFTRA officially announced that it is officially on strike; this time, it is for video game voice actors. As the strike commences, many games currently in development will be affected due to the labor strikes. However, one notable game that will not be affected is Rockstar Games’ upcoming open-world game, which is undoubtedly one of next year’s most highly anticipated titles: Grand Theft Auto 6.
First reported by Kotaku and independently verified by IGN, Grand Theft Auto 6 is exempt from the video game voice actor strike. Take-Two declined IGN’s request for comment.
Additionally, this claim of GTA 6’s exemption from the video game voice actors strike can be verified by heading to the SAG-AFTRA database, which includes a search tool allowing SAG-AFTRA members to search for the struck status of video game projects. Below, you can read the message on SAG-AFTRA’s website regarding GTA VI’s exemption.
“While not struck, this game is produced by a struck company. If you have been engaged under a daily contract for this game, you can show solidarity with your fellow union members by choosing not to sign new contracts on the game. However, you may work the game and will not be disciplined for doing so.”
GTA 6 is exempt from the video game voice actors strike because games already in production before August 25, 2023, including live service games, are covered by the previous contractual agreement between SAG-AFTRA and gaming companies. However, actors may still choose not to work on the game in solidarity with fellow members and cannot be penalized by employers.
Upon its initial reveal, Rockstar confirmed that GTA 6 would be released in 2025. However, Take-Two Interactive would narrow that release window in May 2024, when CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN in an interview that the company was “highly confident” that GTA would not be delayed, while also revealing the game would be released in Fall 2025 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
While GTA 6 remains technically unaffected by the strikes, that does not mean the gaming industry will feel the effects of this ongoing labor strike. For more on what the strike means for gamers, check out our FAQ that runs down why the voice actors are on strike and why the union is seeking AI protections in its next contract.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
