I found the opening 15 minutes of EvoCreo’s demo to be a laugh riot, mostly because I accidentally named my character “Help”, not “Helen”. This lent a certain urgency to all the routine scene-setting and tutorial dialogue. Help, Farmer Whatshisname is looking for you! Help, I’m adding a map feature to your tablet! Help, there are over 170 Creos to discover! Given that RPGs can be sluggish at first, I think I’m going to adopt this as standard practice going forward. Nothing gets you over the opening hump like the impression that everybody you speak to has just escaped from a burning house.
Ubisoft has shut down its Halifax Studio, just one month after 61 of its 71 workers voted to unionize.
The publisher shared this news in a statement to IGN today, confirming that 71 positions had been impacted and claiming this move was part of its wider two-year effort company-wide to “streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.” “We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance,” the company added.
This comes just one month after 61 of Ubisoft Halifax’s employees voted to unionize with the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada, which is itself part of CWA (Communications Workers of America) in Canada. The union was officially certified six months after employees announced their intentions to unionize, and after 74% of eligible employees consisting of producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers, and testing voted in favor. It marked the first Ubisoft union in North America.
Ubisoft has claimed that the closure of Ubisoft Halifax is unrelated to the union, and is instead a part of its larger restructuring and cost-saving efforts, as well as declining revenues from Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion, which will also be winding down operations as part of this decision. The publisher has been undergoing significant cuts, laying off employees in batches over the last few years, shutting down studios, and canceling multiple projects amid a series of disappointing releases and falling revenues. Last year, Ubisoft turned outside the company for assistance, creating a new business entity to manage Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six with a 25% stake from Tencent.
IGN has reached out to Ubisoft Workers of Canada: Halifax and CWA for comment.
Ubisoft Halifax began as a branch of Longtail Studios, which was founded in New York City in 2003 by Ubisoft co-founder Gérard Guillemot, with branches in Quebec and Halifax being added in later years. It was best-known for its work on the Rocksmith series, as well as various early mobile and Nintendo DS games. In 2015, Ubisoft acquired Longtail and renamed it Ubisoft Halifax, putting it to work on mobile games such as Assassin’s Creed Rebellion and Rainbow Six Mobile.
Two years ago, we told the story of a 2008-2009 unionization drive that took place at the Quebec Longtail studio that was ultimately unsuccessful due to what our sources claimed were fairly open union-busting efforts by its management, including mass layoffs attributed to economic conditions. Both Longtail Halifax and Quebec were ultimately folded into Ubisoft in subsequent years.
Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Right, get ready for some chatter about where the contents of our collective wallets have gone over the past year. Valve’s list of the highest-grossing games on Steam in 2025 has emerged from the great mists, and in a nice revelation, features a larger number of fresh releases than last year’s ranking. That’s alongside all of the moderately to quite old stuff which more folks keep hopping on the train of with every passing 12 month period.
Cast n Chill is one of those games that, the instant I clapped eyes on it, and even with other people telling me that it’s real good, I got the feeling I’d just never get around to it.
That’s not to say fishing isn’t for me or anything. I have fished in real life. Oh yes. My dad used to take me when I was a kid, back in the 1850s, and I even have some very fond memories of fishing-related stuff as a result; sticking hooks through squirming maggots and watching the pus run out of ’em, pouring soapy water on the back lawn to get some worms, and the stink of a fish that I’d taken home to eat (Victorian times just hit different) but forgot about and left in my bag. Yeah, that stank.
If you think it’s okay to share spoilers of a 26-year-old game, you may want to think again after Square Enix made it clear that anyone willfully spoiling Dragon Quest VII Reimagined may be “temporarily or permanently banned.”
According to the company’s usage policy, and reported by Automaton, anyone sharing details of the plot — be it from the demo, the original story, or the new story elements in the remake, which releases next month — must use spoiler tags. This means players cannot share images, videos, or even livestreams of any gameplay past the Malign Shrine: Throne Room’s boss battle before the February 5, 2026 release date.
“No spoilers please,” the publisher stressed. “In order not to spoil other players’ enjoyment, you must mark all content that includes details of major plot developments with a clear spoiler warning.
“Please refrain from livestreaming or posting videos/images of gameplay after the boss battle in the Malign Shrine: Throne Room until February 5 2026.”
While that may sound fair enough, don’t forget that the digital deluxe edition provides players with two days’ early access, which players and streamers won’t be able to share their experience from before the release date. Anyone sharing images or videos should also attribute copyright to Armor Project, Bird Studio and Square Enix, and failure to adhere to any of these rules may result in temporary or permanent suspension of your game access.
“You must immediately comply with any request from Square Enix to remove Materials from any shared content, regardless of whether Square Enix provides a reason for the request,” the notice adds. “Square Enix reserves the right to require or seek removal of any content incorporating the Materials that it deems to be inappropriate in its sole discretion. If you do not adhere to these Guidelines, Square Enix may, in addition to objecting to your use of the Materials, temporarily or permanently suspend you from using the Game.”
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is set to release on February 5 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Announced in September’s Nintendo Direct, it lets you rediscover a tale of plucky companions brimming with joy and heartbreak as you discover the truth behind why your kingdom is the only remaining island in the world. The game features a new art style that blends diorama visuals with Akira Toriyama’s iconic character designs, as well as a streamlined main story.
“While many aspects of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined are still a mystery, all of those special little qualities and personalities that have kept this series going for almost 40 years are still on display,” we wrote in IGN’s Dragon Quest VII Reimagined preview, shared towards the end of last year.
“I am eager to see all that this new version has to offer and just how the removal of some story beats and addition of new ones impacts the overall campaign, along with what the new gameplay mechanics bring to the Dragon Quest DNA. 2026 may just be the year that the rest of the world really sees what has made Dragon Quest VII the best-selling entry over in Japan, giving it the stage to finally shine.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
The most expensive Pokémon card in the world has been put up for sale by Logan Paul, the wrestler and influencer who previously paid $5.3 million for it.
Paul’s mint condition, PSA 10-rated Pikachu Artist holds the Guinness World Record as the most expensive Pokémon trading card in existence — but it seems like the card could now be sold for an even higher amount.
If you have a few million dollars spare to make a bid, Paul has said he’ll add to the card’s value by throwing in a bejeweled chain (which he says is worth another $75,000) and hand deliver it to the auction’s ultimate winner. Paul wore the card and chain during his WWE debut at WrestleMania 38, and again for his bout against Anthony Joshua in Miami last month.
Whether all of this does ultimately add to the card’s value or not, the sale via auction site Goldin has already attracted interest — with early bids up to $2.1 million and 39 days still to go.
Why is this card so expensive? Only 40 copies of the Pikachu Illustrator card were ever manufactured, and given away to winners of a 1998 Japanese fan contest. Of these, only one has been given the unsurpassable PSA 10 quality rating — and it’s this card that Paul bought back in 2021 in an exchange for a lower-grade Pikachu Illustrator (valued at $1.275 million) alongside $4 million in cash.
In the ranks of expensive collectible card game sales, Paul’s $5.3 million card stands several million higher than anything else, including a Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus sold in 2024 for $3 million in bitcoin. The only question now is how high this new auction reaches.
Cannily, Paul has set the sale to end next month, in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, when excitement around the brand will be at its peak. Fans are expecting a major announcement by The Pokémon Company, with new video games and a 10th generation of the franchise’s creatures anticipated, alongside more details of the promising-looking Pokémon life simulation spin-off Pokémon Pokopia. Paul, meanwhile, is likely anticipating a healthy payday.
Image credit: Goldin, Bradlee Rutledge/WWE via Getty Images
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
“Weird spiderwebs appearing at odd hours of the night in Rockstar’s open world game Red Dead Redemption 2?” you chortle. “That sounds like the testimony of crazy old Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, the guy who writes about new Molyneux projects like a pauper child returning from market with a handful of magic beans”. Mates, I promise I haven’t fallen victim to a scam of some kind. There are weird spiderwebs in RDR2. I read about it on the internet!
The spiderwebs appear to be part of a huge Easter egg puzzle the community (aka Youtubers, Xitter users and redditors) are now attempting to solve – an Easter egg that has allegedly lain uncracked since the game’s initial release in 2018. Spoilers to follow, of course.
Southern California police are investigating a wave of similar burglaries involving trading card businesses in a bid to establish whether they are linked.
Thieves made off with thousands of dollars’ worth of trading cards over the weekend, targeting a trading card store in Simi Valley, California, in the early hours of Sunday morning, January 4.
As reported by KTLA, the thieves targeted rare Pokémon and sports trading cards at Simi Sports Cards, making off with “almost every card” in just three minutes. You can see the robbery take place in the Instagram footage, below.
Owner Jake Miller said: “They took single cards from our show cases [after] busting them open. We have five display cases in here, and they were all full — almost every card was stolen. It’s several hundred cards, as well as some sealed boxes.”
The store isn’t certain of the exact amount taken, but Miller estimates it’ll cost around $50,000 to put things right and upgrade the store’s security systems.
“Card stores in greater Los Angeles and Ventura County are being hit RELENTLESSLY and we were once again victim this weekend,” reads the Instagram post. “Sunday morning at 3:30am we were broken into by a group of 5 thieves who stole most of our singles inventory. Simi Valley was once known for law and order, what is happening?”
The Simi Valley Police Department said it was aware of similar burglaries involving trading card businesses that occurred over the weekend in surrounding communities. “SVPD Property Crimes Detectives are working closely with neighboring law enforcement agencies to determine whether these incidents may be connected,” it said in a statement published online.
That’s a reference to a man who reportedly purchased a rare Pokémon card “worth six figures” from a store in LA’s Sawtelle neighborhood and, that same day, was tracked to his vehicle and robbed at gunpoint. It’s unclear whether the two incidents are related, or indeed if either crime is connected to the same thieves who targeted a different store in Burbank just last month, stealing $100,000 in merchandise.
NEW: Burglars ransack card shop and steal $100,000 worth of rare Pokémon and sports cards
The owner believes the thieves knew exactly where the merchandise was and planned the job ahead of time
Anyone who may have information related to the burglary or who observed suspicious activity in the area is encouraged to contact the Simi Valley Police Department: 805-583-6950.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Fallout 3‘s at its best during your first trip into the war-torn ruins of downtown DC. Rather than an open and desolate expanse, you’re navigating tight underground passageways by Pip-Boy light, occasionally emerging into the daylight to fight through patches of ruined city often littered with battered landmarks. Bethesda had initially envisioned this urban jungle to be even more of an expansive labyrinth, and a group of modders have now had a crack at resurrecting the cut areas to create their own version of that more expansive DC.
Accessory manufacturers GameSir and Hyperkin have joined forces to produce a fully modular controller that’s compatible with the Switch and Switch 2: the GameSir x Hyperkin X5 Alteron.
Ignoring the terrible name for a moment, this thing actually looks pretty neat. Utilising an extendable telescopic arm design, you can clip it onto your Switch, Switch 2, iPhone, iPad, or Android devices for instant handheld play. It also comes with Bluetooth technology to allow for PC gaming, if you wish.
