I am most certainly the kind of sucker that has few complaints about Final Fantasy 7 Remake being split into multiple parts. Those are my guys! I love my grumpy idiot all too realistic looking Cloud, I think Midgar being so well realised helps to justify the splitting of the game, and as maximalist as Rebirth is, there’s a quality to it I can’t help but admire, even with its many flaws. Keeping things fresh is still something necessary in dividing the game up though, and in a recent interview, director Naoki Hamaguchi spoke of how he’s trying to do that with the as-of-yet untitled third part.
Games Workshop has revived the Siege of Terra: End of Ruin special edition book after scalpers descended upon its pre-orders, forcing Warhammer.com itself offline.
Siege of Terra: End of Ruin is an anthology of short stories set during the aftermath of the Siege of Terra and the Horus Heresy. For the uninitiated, the Horus Heresy is the Space Marine civil war that took place 10,000 years before the current Warhammer 40,000 setting. It is the foundation of 40K’s grimdark universe, and reveals how the carrion Emperor ended up on the Golden Throne.
Siege of Terra: End of Ruin was a hugely exciting release for 40K lore fans, but its special edition is even more enticing. It features a leather-effect cover with gold foil details, gilt page edges, and a metal emblem of a ruined Imperial eagle.
Games Workshop had signaled the special edition would be available “strictly while stocks last,” and that it would go on sale at 10am UK time on June 10. It also told fans it planned to use a queue system “to ensure fair distribution.” Unfortunately, this queue system caused chaos, with fans desperate to pre-order the book unable to make progress. Amid frantic messages of complaint across social media, Discords, and subreddits, Warhammer.com suddenly… stopped. It was offline, and no-one knew why.
Eventually, Games Workshop issued a statement on the debacle — a rare event in of itself — to say it had brought Warhammer.com offline because it had noticed scalpers were bypassing its systems. “Scalpers attempted to use bots to bypass our normal safeguards,” Games Workshop said. “Our eagle-eyed Tech Priests caught this happening in real-time, so we pulled Warhammer.com offline.”
At the time, Games Workshop promised Siege of Terra: End of Ruin would return, but half a year went by without any news. Now, Games Workshop has announced plans to sell the special edition once again — but with one key chance that has already got real fans excited.
In a post on Warhammer Community, Games Workshop said the special edition of Era of Ruin is being made available this coming weekend as a “guaranteed stock run.” Order it between Saturday and 8am UK time on Christmas Eve, and “you’ll be on the list to receive a copy of this sumptuous edition capping off the Siege of Terra series.”
This means the special edition is a “guaranteed stock product,” with Games Workshop printing the books based on demand. As a result, production and delivery can take up to 180 days.
Reaction to the news among fans is hugely positive, with some declaring it a win for real fans of the Warhammer 40,000 setting and a big L for scalpers. “Era of Ruinin’ Scalps,” declared one fan on the Black Library subreddit. “It’s the best decision they could make,” said another. “The secondhand market is 95% scalpers.” Another fan added: “Print on demand, what sweet words to read!” “Do I need this book? Absolutely not. Will I be purchasing so they see how positive this move is? Absolutely,” declared another fan.
Some are now hoping Games Workshop uses this release method for all its special editions going forward. “I’m totally cool with waiting a bit of time to get my copy if print on demand is an option moving forward,” said one hopeful. “It’s about freaking time. I’ve been saying this for five years. It’s about time they did something sensible,” added another.
“This is REALLY great news, HUGE win by GW and BL. And here I thought we weren’t going to have anything for Christmas, this is the best present. And I hope they see the potential of this kind of order, it could literally change everything. Really really pleasantly surprised.”
Games Workshop has suffered pre-order problems for years now, and special edition book launches are often plagued by scalpers who go on to sell the products at hugely inflated prices. Fans are now crossing their fingers this new method of selling books actually gets them into the hands of real fans.
Image credit: Games Workshop.
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.
I am not someone that thinks you can be therapied out of any kind of mental anguish. Life just doesn’t work that way! Sure, it can be a helpful tool, but sometimes you need to pick up a sledgehammer, go back to your hometown that is filled with robots, and smash it all down. Or, at least that’s the argument that Virtue and a Sledgehammer makes, the latest game from The Red Strings Club and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood developer Deconstructeam.
Warning: this article contains scenes of explicit spoilers.
Resident Evil Requiem launches on the Switch 2 in just under three months, but even now, the game is heavily shrouded in mystery (well, a little less so after the accidental reveal of Leon).
Why We Added a Cozy-Life MMO to a Battle Royale in Super Animal World
Michael Silverwood, Founder & Game Director, Pixile Studios
Summary
Super Animal Royale has received its biggest free expansion yet, Super Animal World, available now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Super Animal World adds a cozy Social Hub with fishing, bug catching, hamsterball races, and story quests alongside the game’s core competitive modes.
Xbox Game Pass members can also claim new Game Pass benefits for Super Animal Royale to celebrate the launch.
Can a combat game be … cozy? It may seem like a contradiction, but after spending over two years layering a cozy game on top of our existing battle royale game, Super Animal Royale, we think we have an answer. But why did we end up gambling on this approach in the first place?
Community-led Coziness
When the first version of Super Animal Royale made its debut seven years ago, many players were drawn in more by the cute animals than the machine guns. For many, it was their first battle royale. This wholesome community turned our short, pre-match lobbies into surprisingly friendly social spaces. In the two minutes before each match, players chatted, danced, and invented their own rituals, including a banana-worshipping cult that’s now a canonical part of our lore.
The creativity and organic community building we saw in these tiny intervals between fights to the death made us wonder what would happen if we gave them a fully persistent social space without limits.
A Whole New World
The result is Super Animal World, an MMO-style Social Hub layered on top of the existing game. Instead of returning to menus and two-minute waiting rooms between matches, hitting play now brings you straight to the island in a 64-player space with fishing, bug catching, hamsterball races, shops, and story quests.
You can explore the Social Hub for as long as you like, chat with characters, accept quests, and then matchmake into Super Animal Royale or our other competitive modes. When you die (or do the winner dance), you respawn back in the Hub to regroup, claim rewards, and head out again for your next battle. We call this new loop the Circle of Super Life.
Find Your Own Pace
Rounds of battle royale in Super Animal Royale are quick, with a winning match often wrapping up in under seven minutes, so the game has always lent itself to that “just one more round” loop. Super Animal World keeps it easy to queue right back into battle, but it also makes the time between matches more meaningful.
You can relax with friends, add to your fish collection, explore new corners of the island, or push a questline forward before your next burst of adrenaline. And for players more interested in socializing and collecting than the competition itself, the Social Hub can be the main attraction. The new structure is both more immersive and more flexible, and we are excited to see the different ways people choose to play now that it’s finally in their hands.
Lore to the Fore
From the beginning, Super Animal Royale has had richer storytelling than you might expect from a multiplayer title, with every corner of the island intentionally crafted to hint at the contents of the secret lore bible we’ve maintained since 2018. Until now, all that lore has been confined to environmental details and external projects like our animated YouTube series, Super Animal Royale Tonight. Super Animal World’s new quest system brings all that storytelling front and center, with over 200 characters to meet, over 350 quests to complete, and over 140,000 words of dialogue to keep the lore hounds in our community busy.
These quests aren’t all talk, though: they’re also the best way to learn to play Super Animal Royale. From the early days, we’ve watched cozy gamers trying their first battle royale parachute onto the island without much instruction, only to be overwhelmed by experienced players. For new players, the quests offer a less punishing way to engage with our combat modes, complete with natural breaks for socializing and exploration.
Visit Super Animal World Today
Super Animal World is a big bet for a small indie team like ours, but it gives us a whole new foundation to build on for years to come. The expansion is available now on Xbox as a free update to Super Animal Royale. Xbox Game Pass members can also claim new Game Pass benefits to celebrate the release.
Layering a cozy game into a battle royale may sound like a mismatch, but we’ve found that these contrasting elements combine into a richer, more satisfying game. We can’t wait to see you give the game a try and step onto Super Animal World, the coziest place to kill your friends.
It’s a fight for furvival! Super Animal Royale is a 64-player, frenetic, top-down 2D battle royale where murderous animals fight tooth, claw, and machine gun across an abandoned safari park. Collect and customize your favorite critters and weapons, then put them to work in solo matches or team up as a squad of up to four players!
With the free Super Animal World expansion, the island has become a living Social Hub where you can relax between matches, meet NPCs, take on story quests, and enjoy cozy activities like fishing, bug catching, and hamsterball racing before dropping back into your next fight to the death. Never return to the main menu, with everything you need available in-world.
Key Features
– Survival of the Fittest: Scavenge a variety of powerful weapons, armor and items to become the apex predator in intense 64-player online matches.
– The Superest World: Explore a massive, beautifully illustrated 2D island and discover its hidden lore, by chatting with its inhabitants and scouring its rich environments for clues.
– Different Stripes for Different Fights: Collect hundreds of animal breeds and customize them with thousands of cosmetic items, weapons, outfits, and even umbrellas!
– Evolving Events & Updates: Enjoy an endless stampede of new content, including seasonal outfits, animals, and weapons to collect.
– The Fast and the Furriest: Flatten your foes while rolling dirty in a Hamster Ball, or mount a Giant Emu and peck your way to the promised land.
– Battle Beyond Royale: infect or be infected by The Cluckles in The Bwoking Dead, or join SAW Security Forces and SASR rebels to capture and control flags in SAW vs Rebellion, a control point mode.
– Cozy Life Between the Chaos: relax and explore Super Animal World with friends between rounds, with seamless matchmaking between the Social Hub and competitive modes, then respawn back to continue the Circle of Super Life.
This month, stalk the streets of ancient Baghdad in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, cut down demons across a fallen empire in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, shred through hell’s underworld in Skate Story, or soar among the clouds in Granblue Fantasy: Relink. All these titles and more are available in December’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup*. Meanwhile, Soulcalibur III brings arcade action to PlayStation Plus Premium. All of these will be available to play December 16, aside from Skate Story, which released into the service December 8.
*Digital PS5 games available to stream from your library will vary over time, region, and country.
PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog
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Assassin’s Creed Mirage | PS5, PS4
Play as a cunning young street thief seeking answers in this majestic Middle Eastern open world. Experience the home of the original Assassins in this exciting narrative-driven, open world adventure. In this smaller scale, back to basics Assassin’s caper, you play Basim, a young street thief seeking answers. Roam the richly-detailed, reactive and vibrant streets of 9th century Baghdad, uncovering the mysteries of the past as you fight to secure your future. Stalk the shadows and become the ultimate assassin. Enjoy 6 hours of extra gameplay with Valley of Memory, the major update that expands Basim’s story and introduces the breathtaking new region of AlUla, with gameplay improvements across the full game.
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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | PS5, PS4
184 AD, Later Han Dynasty China. The land is overcome by chaos and destruction. The imperial dynasty that prospered for many years is now about to collapse. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a dramatic, action-packed story of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms. Fight off deadly creatures and enemy soldiers using swordplay based on the Chinese martial arts, attempting to overcome the odds by awakening the true power from within.
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Skate Story | PS5
You are a demon in the Underworld, made out of glass and pain. The Devil has given you a skateboard with a simple deal: Skate to the Moon and swallow it — and you shall be freed. Ollie, kickflip, and grind your way through the ash and smoke of The Emptylands as you take on a seemingly impossible quest. Learn to master your weight and motion to conquer the weeping concrete. Savour the ritualistic beauty as you set your feet to pop a perfect kickflip. Skate fast to destroy vicious demons, help a forgetful frog, and save other tortured souls on your journey from fragile beginner to hardened skater. Push through hell and discover The Devil’s greatest weakness: humility, perseverance, and a disgustingly sweet backside tailslide. All you need is your skateboard.
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Granblue Fantasy: Relink | PS5, PS4
Explore the Sky Realm, a floating archipelago set against a great blue expanse, and battle to decide its fate in this 3D action RPG. Become captain of a skyfaring crew as you sail with a colourful cast of crewmates on your quest to find Estalucia, a legendary island said to lie beyond the sky’s end. Visit the Zegagrande Skydom and unveil a web of intrigue that will embroil you in a battle for the fate of the entire Sky Realm. Create a party of four, each with unique weapons, skills and combat styles, and master a deep real-time combat system with team-based techniques including Link Attacks and Chain Bursts. Take on quests, battle enemies and score valuable loot solo, or party up with friends for up to four-player co-op.
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Planet Coaster 2 | PS5
Reach new heights of creativity, management, and sharing as you construct the theme parks of your dreams combining epic water rides and coasters to delight and thrill your park guests. Balance thrilling your guests with managing your budget – populate your park with amazing efficiently powered attractions and the right amenities to boost your rating and become a theme park master. Enhanced and improved building and pathing tools let you create spectacular, true-to-life theme parks, complete with sprawling plazas. Dive into a world of creativity with nine distinct themes, from returning classics like Pirate and Western, to exciting new additions in Viking and Mythology. With thousands of themed customizable pieces at your fingertips, every creation will be truly unique.
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Cat Quest III | PS5, PS4
Play as a swashbuckling privateer in this 2.5D open-world action RPG set in a fantastical pirate-themed world, the Purribean — an archipelago swarming with Pi-rats searching for the Northern Star. a long-lost mythical treasure. Alongside your trusty spirit companion, set sail through the Purribean in your very own ship! But beware, the seas are dangerous, and a mutiny is nigh as the hordes of Pi-rats under the order of the Pirate King hunt you down… Cat Quest III is playable either solo or in local co-op.
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Lego Horizon Adventures | PS5
Journey to a distant future, where the land is made of Lego bricks and lush nature has reclaimed the Earth. Join hunter Aloy as she battles to save Earth from an ancient digital demon, and a gang of sunworshippers who want to live in a world without shade so they can soak up the rays while everything burns. Hunt machines on your own as Aloy, or unlock colourful heroes Varl, Teersa, and Erend, and use their unique skills to defeat enemies and overcome challenges. Share the fun with another player online, or via innovative couch co-op on a single screen, so you’re always in the same world together.
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Paw Patrol: Grand Prix | PS5, PS4 No track is too big, no racer too small! Race around Adventure Bay with all your favorite Paw Patrol pups and up to 4 players at once – but look out for the obstacles left by mischievous Mayor Humdinger! The Paw Patrol are on their fastest mission yet, to win the Pup Cup! Drive around iconic locations including Adventure Bay, Jake’s Snowboarding Resort and The Jungle to find out who will be crowned the winner. Play with friends in this multiplayer championship, where you can pick any of your favorite pups including Chase, Skye or Marshall. But watch out, because sneaky Mayor Humdinger could be just around the corner to turn your race into a crazy catastrophe!
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Paw Patrol World | PS5, PS4
Explore the world of Paw Patrol like never before, in a 3D action adventure where anything is possible. Play as your favorite pups, drive their vehicles and save the day by taking on fun rescues and missions. Freely roam Adventure Bay, Jake’s Mountain, the Jungle and Barkingburg, in missions designed for pre-school players. Enjoy a brand-new story and play flashback missions inspired by classic Paw Patrol episodes, either in single-player or with a friend in split-screen co-op mode. And customize your game with countless collectibles, like emotes, pup tags, postcard stamps, costumes, vehicle stickers, and artworks for the Chickaletta Exhibition.
PlayStation Plus Premium
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Soulcalibur III | PS5, PS4
Chosen by history, a man becomes a warrior. Engraved into history, a warrior becomes a hero. Enjoy this timeless tale of swords and souls, transcending history and worlds, destined to be told forever. Experience Soulcalibur III, originally released on PlayStation 2, enhanced with up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters. The Soulcalibur series is a weapon-based fighting series of games where players put their mastery of their character’s weapon to the test. The game features the Chronicles of the Sword mode that fuses real-time simulation with versus fighting-style action. In Soul Arena, choose between Quick Play for relentless battles against CPU opponents and Mission mode for fights set under special conditions.
*PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe lineups may differ by region. Please check PlayStation Store on release day.
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Sony Pictures Core Movie Credit Promo | December 11 – January 12**
Purchase any 12-month PlayStation Plus membership and get movie credit(s) to spend on the Sony Pictures Core app. Dive into epic blockbusters like Venom The Last Dance, 28 years later, Karate Kid Legends, Anaconda, and more***—your next movie marathon starts here****!
**Offer valid between December 11, 2025 to January 12, 2026. Offer available only where no other discount applies. Cannot combine or stack offers. Number of movie credits varies based on plan and membership status. Offer only available when purchased on PS5, Web browser and Mobile (PS App). PS Plus is subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms. Separate download of the Sony Pictures Core App is required to redeem Movie Credits. Must be 18+ to register for a Sony Pictures Core account. Movie Credits must be claimed and redeemed in App by January 12, 2026. Sony Pictures Core terms apply: https://www.sonypicturescore.com/termsofservice ***Titles and availability vary by market. ****Regions: Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, United States.
If you hadn’t already heard, there’s a weird, spiky monolith in the Mojave Desert. Adorned with a massive eye-like orb and a legion of demonic creatures, it’s a hint at something due to be revealed as part of The Game Awards 2025. And, following the registration of a few new trademarks, it seems like we already have the answer as to what it is: a brand new game from Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios called “Divinity”.
If you are one of the millions of players who first learned of Larian through the gargantuan success of Baldur’s Gate 3, then the word Divinity may not mean much to you. Fans of the studio, however, will tell you that BG3’s success is rooted in Divinity, a series of six games that Larian worked on almost exclusively between 2002 and 2017. If this monolith and trademark leak really do point towards Divinity, then the Belgian studio is returning to its original fantasy universe… and likely bringing a whole new fanbase along with it.
If such a currently-very-much-hypothetical game would mark your first foray into the Divinity universe, then you may want a quick primer on what to expect. Let us be your guide to Divinity, and be the first to (very pre-emptively) say…
Welcome to Rivellon
Much like how Baldur’s Gate takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of the Forgotten Realms, Divinity has its own rich, original setting: the world of Rivellon. There are broad similarities between the two; both are rooted in Tolkienesque fantasy tropes, with classically styled medieval landscapes and locations. There are multiple races; like in D&D, you can expect to meet humans, elves, dwarves, lizard-like beings, and the living dead. Magic is commonplace in Rivellon, although sorcery is considered more dangerous and is more heavily regulated there than it is on D&D’s Sword Coast.
Like Baldur’s Gate, Divinity also features a number of more esoteric elements, from steampunk to sci-fi and beyond, that make its world a little quirkier than the lands explored in more traditional fantasy like The Lord of the Rings. Rivellon can also often be a very silly place, and the influence of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels has frequently been felt in Divinity’s writing. In fact, Terry’s daughter, Rhianna Pratchett, even wrote a tie-in novella for the second game. But that’s not to say Rivellon is frivolous – there’s a deep vein of fascinating lore that has been mined over the series’ six installments.
In short, Rivellon is the stage for stories similar to those you enjoyed in Baldur’s Gate 3, but is beholden only to Larian’s rules, rather than those set by the owners of Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast.
What is Divinity?
Divinity is an RPG series, but its evolution has been far from usual. Take a quick look at each of the six games, and you’ll find at least four different approaches. Divine Divinity, the very first game in the series, and its sequel, Beyond Divinity, are Diablo-influenced action RPGs. Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, meanwhile, is a third-person RPG that feels a little closer to the likes of Dragon Age and The Witcher. Divinity: Dragon Commander is a slightly Total War-flavoured strategy game, and the Original Sin duology – the most recent games in the series – are classic-style RPGs that bear the most resemblance to Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian has experimented wildly over the years, and so there’s no clear indication as to what format the next game in the series will use (although considering the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, the sensible bet would be on something similar).
Another unusual element is its approach to the timeline. While Rivellon does have a coherent history and storylines that are threaded across the series, each game is set years (sometimes even centuries) apart, meaning each one is something of a standalone experience. Similar to how Baldur’s Gate 3 demands no experience of the series but has plenty of nods to the two earlier games, you can play Divinity: Original Sin 2 without any experience of its predecessors. I suspect any future game in the series would continue this tradition, especially since Larian now has a legion of new fans who are unfamiliar with the studio’s previous work. If the leaked trademark is to be believed, this new project is simply called “Divinity” – a name that has likely been chosen since it comes with no suggestion that you need to have played multiple other games.
What Does “Divinity” Mean?
Divinity’s name is drawn from its foundational lore. Thousands of years before the events of Divine Divinity, the first game in the series, Rivellon’s ruling body, the Council of Seven, sacrificed themselves to defend the realm from evil wizards. The “Divine Order” was established in remembrance and assigned to pass on their knowledge to the next generations.
By the events of Divine Divinity, a prophecy tells of a messiah who will protect Rivellon from the next existential threat, a demon called Chaos. That messiah, it turns out, is you, and you ascend to become Lucian the Divine – a character that goes on to make appearances in Divinity 2: Ego Draconis and Divinity: Original Sin 2. The concept of the Divine is frequently explored in the stories, although it’s not the central focus of each and every game.
How Similar is Divinity to Baldur’s Gate 3?
Since the series has changed so much over its lifetime, most of the Divinity series is actually pretty different from what Larian created with Baldur’s Gate 3. However, the Original Sin duology is very clearly the blueprint for BG3. These are isometric RPGs set across multiple regions, with tactical turn-based combat and a similar “hands-off” approach to quest design.
While both are worth playing, Original Sin 2 is by far the most accomplished, both in terms of gameplay depth and narrative strength. It is where Larian pioneered the “origin story” characters that would later become the heroes of Baldur’s Gate 3, and Rivellon’s answer to the likes of Astarion, Gale, and Shadowheart are just as brilliantly written. It’s also the game in which the studio established “tags”, the system that provides character-specific dialogue options to help you better roleplay your specific race or class.
Perhaps the Original Sin duology’s most lauded system is its elemental effects – cast a rain spell to make something wet, and then use a lightning ability to conduct electricity through that sodden surface. Tip over an oil barrel to create a puddle, and then shoot a flaming arrow into it to create a blaze. Stab an enemy, freeze their blood, and watch them slip on their own icy innards. Much of this elemental interplay made it into Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s much more pronounced in Original Sin. Expect at least a quarter of your battles to result in arena-wide bonfires.
How to Play the Divinity Games in Order
As previously mentioned, the timeline gaps that separate the Divinity games mean there are no strictly direct sequels, and you can more or less play them in any order you choose. If you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 and are looking to learn more about Divinity, I’d only truly recommend playing Original Sin 2, which is widely regarded as the best in the series. Initially a PC exclusive, it is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and even iPad. But if you really do want to delve into the lore and explore the entire timeline, this is how you’d need to tackle the series:
Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013)
A grand strategy game set thousands of years prior to the events of the RPGs.
Divinity: Original Sin (2014)
A CRPG with turn-based combat, set 1000 years before the original game, focused on a pair of “Source Hunters” tracking down dangerous magic users.
Divine Divinity (2002)
A Diablo-like ARPG that chronicles the ascension of Lucian the Divine.
Beyond Divinity (2004)
The ARPG sequel to Divine Divinity, set 20 years later, tells the story of one of Lucian’s servants, who has been soulbound to an evil Death Knight.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (2017)
A CRPG that’s a sequel to Original Sin in terms of game design, but takes place after the original two games and deals with an outbreak of “Voidwoken” monsters in Rivellon.
Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (2009)
A 3D action RPG set decades after Lucian’s ascension, during an era when the Divine’s adoptive son has become a tyrant, in which you play as a knight who can transform into a dragon.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s Executive Editor of Features.
All these massive, multi-billion dollar acquisitions are getting a bit scary, aren’t they? The one on everyone’s minds at the moment is of course Netflix’s proposed takeover of movie studio giant Warner Bros, offering up a cool $82.7 billion in exchange. This, of course, has an indescribably massive potential to ruin mainstream cinema, but we won’t get into that right this second, because there’s another concern: how much the streamer does not seem to care about the games side of Warner Bros.
Rockstar Games’ firing of more than 30 workers just over a month ago has once again been brought up by UK politicians, with prime minister Keir Starmer calling it a “deeply concerning case” which will be looked into by government ministers. Rockstar have been accused of union busting by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain over the firings, with the union having filed legal claims against the company.
The dismissals reportedly followed a discussion on a union-focused Discord server in which staff cited emails from Rockstar about changes to the company’s internal Slack policies.
Rockstar’s controversial recent firing of 31 Grand Theft Auto 6 staff has now reached UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has described the matter as “deeply concerning” and pledged that ministers would invesigate.
The layoffs, which took place at the end of October, were raised in the UK’s Parliament during today’s session of Prime Minister’s Questions, by Rockstar North’s local MP Chris Murray.
“The video games company Rockstar in my constituency last month fired 31 employees without providing evidence or union representation,” Murray told the Prime Minister. “The [Independent Workers Union of Great Britain union] IWGB alleges union busting. Having met Rockstar they failed to reassure me they are following employment law and I share concerns about union busting.
“Given this government is responsible for the biggest increase in workers rights in a generation,” Murray continued, “does the Prime Minister agree all companies regardless of profit size must follow UK employment law and all workers have the right to join a union?”
“It’s a deeply concerning case,” Starmer replied. “Every worker has the right to join a trade union and we’re determined to strengthen workers rights and ensure they don’t face unfair consequences for being part of a union. Our ministers will look into the particular case that he [Murray] raises and will keep him updated.”
For its part, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two Interactive previously described the firings as due to “gross misconduct, and for no other reason.” IGN has contacted Take-Two again for further comment today.
Several reports on the issue, including by Bloomberg and People Make Games, have examined what is alleged to have occured in more detail. Bloomberg was first to report that the workers were all UK and Canadian employees who had been members of a private chat server on Discord, where union organization had been discussed.
A subsequent report by People Make Games, meanwhile, revealed that employees on that Discord server had shared and discussed a specific message from Rockstar management regarding changes to the company’s Slack message policy, designed to cut down on off-topic conversations. It’s this sharing and discussing of an internal policy that is believed to have given Rockstar its legal justification to fire these workers.
But was this drastic action, which saw some employees who had worked at the company for over a decade marched out of the office by security, justfied? The IWGB previously branded Rockstar’s decision as “the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry,” made with “flagrant contempt for the law and for the lives of the workers who bring in their billions.”
In a statement sent to IGN today, MP Chris Murray shared further, eyebrow-raising detail of his attempts to discuss the matter with Rockstar itself, including a joint meeting alongside fellow Edinburgh MPs Tracy Gilbert and Scott Arthur at Rockstar North’s offices which began with a standoff over the need to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
“The meeting began with us as MPs refused entry unless an NDA was signed, a request they eventually withdrew after it being made clear this would not be signed,” Murray said.
He continued: “The meeting only entrenched my concerns about the process Rockstar used to dismiss so many of their staff members. I was not assured their process paid robust attention to UK employment law, I was not convinced that this course of action was necessary, and alarmingly, I did not leave informed on exactly what these 31 people had done to warrant their immediate dismissal.”
Following Grand Theft Auto 6’s most recent delay, the highly-anticipated blockbuster is now set to arrive on November 19, 2026. Despite the extra wait, the game is projected by some analysts to make $3 billion in its first year on sale and said by others to be one of the most important game releases of all time.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
