For those who already own the games on Switch, the ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Edition’ upgrade pack will set you back £16.99 / €19.99 — more than double the £7.99 / €9.99 required to upgrade Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
11 bit studios has announced Frostpunk 1886, a remake of the first game due out in 2027.
The Polish developer is using Unreal Engine 5 for this project, which it has revealed just over half a year after Frostpunk 2 came out. The first Frostpunk launched in 2018, so assuming the remake does come out in 2027, it’ll be nearly a decade on.
Frostpunk is a city-building survival video game set in an alternate history late 19th century. You build and maintain a city during a worldwide volcanic winter, managing resources, making choices on how to survive, and exploring the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items.
IGN’s Frostpunk review returned a 9/10. We said: “Frostpunk deftly mixes a variety of thematic ideas and gameplay elements into an engaging and unique, if occasionally unintuitive, strategy game.”
Frostpunk 2 fared a little less well in IGN’s review, getting an 8/10. We said: “Thanks to a ground-up rethinking of its ice-age city builder mechanics, Frostpunk 2’s larger scale is less intimate but more socially and politically complex than the original.”
11 bit insisted it still plans to update Frostpunk 2 with DLC and a console launch while working on Frostpunk 1886.
“With the studio’s proprietary Liquid Engine, which powered not only the original Frostpunk but also This War of Mine, no longer in development, the team has long sought a new foundation to carry forward the legacy of the first game,” 11 bit said.
“While Frostpunk 2 continues to forge ahead with free major content updates, a console launch, and DLCs, this newly announced project marks a return to the franchise’s roots, offering both newcomers and longtime citizens of New London an evolved take on the harsh, morally challenging survival experience that started it all.
“But Frostpunk 1886 — so titled to honour a pivotal moment in the timeline of the universe, when the Great Storm descended upon New London — is no mere visual overhaul. It builds upon the core of the original, expanding it with new content, mechanics, laws, and — perhaps most excitingly — an entirely new Purpose path, offering a fresh experience even for the most seasoned players.
“Reimagining Frostpunk in Unreal Engine also allows the game to become a living, expandable platform, bringing with it long-awaited mod support — a community request that was previously impossible to realize due to technical limitations of the original engine — as well as the possibility to add future DLC content.”
11 bit studios said its fans can “look forward to a future where Frostpunk 2 and Frostpunk 1886 evolve side by side — two paths forged in parallel, each carrying the vision of survival into unrelenting cold.”
The studio is also working on The Alters, which is due out in June.
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.
There’s still no solid release date for Subnautica 2, but the studio making the fishy survival game have given folks a glimpse beneath the surface of development in a devlog video. There are shots of a bubbly submarine speeder pod, and a brief sighting of a sea creature that does an annoyed underwater bark at you, before headbutting something it doesn’t like. We also get some idea of co-op, with footage of two players helping each other out – a feature that’ll be new to this sequel.
EA has added a paid season pass to FC 25 in a first for its long-running soccer series.
The EA Sports FC 25 Premium Pass is live now in-game and can be obtained with the earnable in-game virtual currency (500,000 UT Coins) or the virtual currency paid for with real-world money (1,000 FC Points, which cost $9.99).
The paid track includes exclusive content and, crucially, tradeable packs. This means players of Ultimate Team (FC’s most popular and controversial mode) can sell the rewards obtained in the Premium Pass to other players for in-game currency that can then be used to buy the next Premium Pass (assuming they earn enough coins from the sale of those items in the auction house, of course).
Rewards include a number of powerful cards, such as Immortal Icon Franck Ribéry, and powerful Evolution consumables that are used to improve cards you already own.
Some players are already hitting out at EA for the decision, pointing out this $9.99 Premium Pass comes on top of what is already a premium game and, when it comes to Ultimate Team, an already heavily-monetized game mode. Critics are also suggesting that the Premium Pass offers a direct way to buy powerful cards which can then be used in competitive multiplayer.
Others, however, are pointing out that you still need to level up to unlock most of the rewards, and you can pay for the premium track with coins earned through gameplay alone, so technically everything here is earnable by just playing.
And effectively, Ultimate Team store packs already offer a direct purchase route, given there are many that now include guaranteed cards of a certain power level. However, this paid season pass is the closest EA has come to just letting fans buy Ultimate Team players directly.
The addition of FC’s first ever paid season pass may be an attempt by EA to further monetize its money-spinner now the game is available at a heavily discounted price and ahead of FC 25’s expected arrival in console subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus.
It’s also worth noting that back in January EA lowered its financial forecast for its fiscal year, pointing to the “underperformance” of EA Sports FC 2025 (which accounted for the “majority” of the shortfall) and BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
In a blog post, EA said the Premium Pass is “purely additive” and promised not to shift rewards from the standard tier of the Season Pass to the Premium Pass.
“While our Season 7 Premium Pass rewards are locked in, we’ll be monitoring your feedback to make sure we deliver the best experience possible in whatever mode you play in FC moving forward,” EA said.
The launch of the Premium Pass at the beginning of EA’s new financial year is telling (EA reports the results of its FY 2025 in May), and it looks like a clear set-up for the inevitable EA Sports FC 26. The question for EA is, will the Premium Pass do the business it needs without causing ruptions in its community?
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.
Switch 2 is on the way and being a next-generation system its games are naturally going to take up a little more space.
We’ve had the rundown about various first-party titles and how much they’re expected to use of the 256GB internal storage and now some estimated file sizes for third-party games have surfaced. This information has been shared by Necro Felipe of Universo Nintendo (via GoNintendo):
Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighters Edition is set to release for Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5. This edition throws 26 fighters into the mix across 20 stages. You can preorder it now (see it at Target). For more details, keep on reading.
Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighters Edition for Switch 2
Unlike many first-party Switch 2 games, this one is releasing at the relatively wallet-friendly $59.99 price. Some other Switch 2 games, including original Switch games that have been enhanced for Switch 2, are releasing for $69.99 or eve $79.99 in the case of Mario Kart World and Tears of the Kingdom.
Note: This is a Game-Key Card
Some Nintendo Switch 2 games come in the form of game-key cards, including this one. Game-key cards are physical cards that look basically like Switch 2 cartridges, but they don’t actually contain the game on them. Instead, you’ll need to insert the card into your Switch 2 and then download the game from the eShop. Note, it’s a 50GB download, so you might want to pick up a microSD Express card to add some extra storage.
What Is Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighters Edition?
This edition of Street Fighter 6 comes with all the base fighters, plus the additions from the first two years. That means you get 26 fighters and 20 stages.
As for the game itself, we loved it. From our 9/10 Street Fighter 6 review: “Street Fighter games are always benchmark moments for the 2D fighting game genre, but Street Fighter 6 feels extra special. The Drive System is an incredible addition to the fighting mechanics that gives you a veritable Swiss Army knife of options and meter-management decisions right from the start of every single round, the starting roster is the best Street Fighter has ever seen, its online netcode through three betas has been impeccable so far, and the number of smaller details that it nails right out of the gate is unprecedented. It’s so good that even the poor story and extremely slow progression of the single-player World Tour amounts to only a jab’s worth of damage on its metaphorical health bar. Whether you’re completely new to fighting games or are a seasoned vet, Street Fighter 6 is a must play.”
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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is set to release exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5. It includes the original Nintendo Switch game with some Switch 2 enhancements, plus Zelda Notes via the Nintendo Switch app. It’s available to preorder now (see it at Target). Read on for the details.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
You’ll probably notice that the price is higher than the typical video games you may be used to purchasing. That’s because Nintendo is pricing its Switch 2 games using a varying scale. This original game was one of the few original Switch games to hit the $69.99 price. Nintendo is keeping that price, and adding $10 for the Switch 2 glow-up. I don’t love that.
Upgrade Pack Is Also Available Separately
This version of the game comes with the original Switch game, plus the Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack. If you already own the original game for Switch, you can purchase the upgrade pack separately for $10 and save some money.
Upgrade Pack Is Free with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
If you already own Tears of the Kingdom and you’re a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, you get the upgrade for no additional charge. It comes included in your subscription.
What is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition?
This package includes the full original Switch game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, plus the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack. That gets you upgraded performance, with things like faster frame rates and load times, plus enhanced resolution and textures. Basically, the is looks and runs better on Nintendo Switch 2 than it ever did on the original Switch.
From our original 10/10 TotK review: “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up to one of the greatest games ever made, somehow improving upon it in nearly every way – be that with simple quality-of-life improvements, a genuinely exciting story, or wildly creative new building mechanics that make you rethink what is possible. It both revamps old ground and introduces vast new areas so immense it somehow makes me wonder if Breath of the Wild was actually all that big, with an almost alarming number of tasks to complete, mysteries to discover, and delightful distractions to keep you from ever reaching that place you naively thought you were headed. Nintendo has followed up a triumph with a triumph, expanding and evolving a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.”
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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch 2, we are getting that old familiar pang…for some slick new accessories.
Yes, we all know that picking up lots of new bits and bobs for a new console is almost as exciting as playing it, and so we’ve put together this list of all first-party accessories that we are currently aware of, alongside some choice third-party additions.
Game Week Sale is live now! For a limited time*, you can enjoy price reductions across a selection of titles, including Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Deluxe Edition (20% off), EA Sports FC 25 (70% off), Dynasty Warriors: Origins (20% off) and many more.
Mario Kart World is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive game that’s set to release alongside the upcoming console’s launch, on June 5. An open-world racing game, Mario Kart World is packed full of characters, vehicles, and regions from the Mushroom Kingdom for you to explore in a free-wheeling manner. You can preorder the game now at various retailers (see it at Walmart). Let’s take a look.
Unlike many video games these days, Mario Kart World is only available in one edition. You can pick it up all by itself for $79.99, or bundled with the Switch 2 console for $499.99.
Switch 2 Super Mario Kart World Bundle
If you buy the Switch 2 bundle that includes Super Mario Kart World, you can save $30 versus buying the console and game separately. Note that the console bundle includes a digital copy, so you won’t get the actual cart or game box if you go that route. If having a physical game is important enough for you that you’ll throw in an extra $30, by all means, proceed with your preorder.
Yes, the MSRP Is $79.99
Purchased by itself, the game costs $79.99, which is $10 more than standard price of AAA PlayStation and Xbox games this generation. While I don’t love seeing game prices getting hiked up between generations, I know games are more expensive to make than ever these days. In any case, I’m hopeful it indicates the scale of Mario Kart World makes it worth the extra money.
What Is Mario Kart World?
Mario Kart World promises to be the biggest Mario Kart game yet. It’s designed as an all-encompassing open world, much like the Forza Horizon series. In Grand Prix mode, you can even drive from the end of one track to the start of the next after finishing a race.
The tracks in Mario Kart World are altered by things like weather conditions and the time of day, which can affect your visibility and traction as you race around. You can also veer off the actual track at any point and drive “virtually everywhere,” according to Nintendo. Each race has 24 drivers, more than any previous Mario Kart game.
Knockout Tour is a new mode that lets you race from one corner of the open world to the other. Along the way, you’ll drive through checkpoints that have placements listed on them; if you’re lagging behind the required placement as you reach a checkpoint, you’ll be eliminated from the race.
If that sounds too hectic to you, you can choose to drive anywhere you want in the world in Free Roam mode. You can team up with friends as you leisurely cruise around, and take photos along the way.
More info about Mario Kart World is coming during an April 17 Nintendo Direct. In the meantime, take a look at our Mario Kart World hands-on preview for more info.
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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
