Author: Game Infliction

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass December 2025 lineup, which is headlined by NetherRealm’s gory fighting game Mortal Kombat 1.

Also coming to Game Pass in the coming weeks as day one launches are first-person sci-fi horror Routine and soulslike deck builder Death Howl.

Available today, December 2, is Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) across Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. Tomorrow, December 3, sees Monster Train 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) and Spray Paint Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC) both hit Game Pass Premium.

December 4 is a decent day for Game Pass, with 33 Immortals (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) both arrive on Game Pass Premium. The aforementioned Routine (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) launches day one on Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass.

Moving on to December 9, A Game About Digging A Hole (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) arrives on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass, as does Dome Keeper (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC). Death Howl (Handheld & PC) is a day one Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass release, also on December 9.

Here’s a big one: Mortal Kombat 1 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) arrives on Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass on December 10. A day later, on December 11, something that couldn’t be more different hits Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass: Bratz: Rhythm & Style (Cloud, Console, and PC).

December already got off to a big start on Game Pass with yesterday’s launch of retro beat ’em up Marvel Cosmic Invasion as a day one release. Meanwhile, on December 3, three more games hit Game Pass Essential: Stellaris; World War Z: Aftermath; and Medieval Dynasty.

Xbox Game Pass December 2025 lineup:

• Monster Train 2 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – December 3, Now with Game Pass Premium
• Spray Paint Simulator (Cloud, Console, and PC) – December 3, Now with Game Pass Premium
• 33 Immortals (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC) – December 4, Now with Game Pass Premium
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – December 4, Now with Game Pass Premium
• Routine (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – December 4, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• A Game About Digging A Hole (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – December 9, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Death Howl (Handheld & PC) – December 9, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Dome Keeper (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC) – December 9, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Mortal Kombat 1 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – December 10, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass
• Bratz: Rhythm & Style (Cloud, Console, and PC) – December 11, Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, PC Game Pass

Microsoft’s post on Xbox Wire suggests this is the entire lineup for December 2025, but it only takes us to December 11. “We hope you have a chill rest of your December,” Microsoft said. “May your batteries be always charged, your sessions always end in GG’s, and you always have the perfect game queued up next. We’ll be back to talk about what’s coming soon in early 2026! Cheers!”

However, this leaves the door open to potential Game Pass shadowdrops, should next week’s The Game Awards have something up its sleeve.

As always a number of games leave Game Pass this month. You can save up to 20% off your purchase to keep them in your library.

Leaving Xbox Game Pass in December 2025:

December 15

• Mortal Kombat 11 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Still Wakes the Deep (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Wildfrost (Cloud, Console, and PC)

December 31

• Carrion (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Hell Let Loose (Cloud, Console, and PC)

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.

GameStop has highlighted its recent payout of more than $30,000 for a rare Pokémon card as evidence that the chain’s trade-in program offers fair value — while simultaneously admitting the card had actually been worth at least $3,000 more.

In its latest publicity stunt aimed at getting gamers’ attention, GameStop issued a typically jocular statement on social media declaring its record $30,494.70 payout for a PSA 10 Holo Gengar was a “historic” moment for the company.

“Any trolls who publicly claim that GameStop trade-in values are bad are hereby factually and demonstrably incorrect,” the chain wrote. “Any prior and ongoing objections to our trade values are now deemed without merit and factually invalid,” it continued, while admitting the card had actually been worth $33,883 — several thousand dollars more.

A Statement from GameStop pic.twitter.com/Qho0M7xzko

— GameStop (@gamestop) December 1, 2025

To be fair to GameStop, the chain does not hide the fact it paid $3,388.30 less than what it describes as the “fair-market valuation” for the card. Indeed, the company simply states it handed over its payout “upon completion of all required inspection, verification, and compliance procedures” — processes, the statement appears to suggest, which come at some cost.

But many responses to GameStop’s social media post have pointed to the chain still having “shorted” the card’s owner, and suggesting the card would have reached a higher value at auction. Others have noted GameStop’s own trade-in FAQ page states that the chain has a $1,500 upper limit for trade-in value, something that suggests this particular sale is something of an anomaly. IGN has contacted GameStop for more.

In its post, GameStop states its payout was executed “in accordance with the established terms and conditions governing the Power Packs Buyback Program,” an offer that some customers have criticized for allowing the retailer to repeatedly make money from the same high-value cards.

An example of this would be a customer buying a $100 Power Pack (a blind box with a rough value of a $100) from GameStop and finding a card that is indeed worth $100 inside. If it’s a card they don’t want, GameStop offers an Instant Buyback offer that’s worth 90% of the card’s value minus an additional 6% commission fee. Here, the card seller gets $84.60 back, while GameStop retains a $100 card, which they can sell again for $100 — and continue to repeat the process.

“They’re not speculating on card value,” one fan wrote in a reddit thread on GameStop’s scheme posted a few months ago. “They control the supply, the pricing tier, and the resale loop. It’s vertical integration disguised as a loot box.

“PowerPacks aren’t just about cards. The real edge is the buyback loop. On average, GameStop pays less than market for returned cards, then sells them again at full price. Every cycle is a profit opportunity. It’s repeatable. Scalable. Efficient. And it doesn’t rely on retail footfall or console cycles. PowerPacks might end up being GameStop’s most profitable product yet.”

Earlier this year, GameStop attempted to turn its high-profile Switch 2 stapler snafu into a social media opportunity by auctioning off the now-infamous piece of stationary that one employee used to puncture dozens of Switch 2 screens on the console’s launch night.

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

In a recent Japanese interview with Real Sound, Metal Gear series producer Noriaki Okamura discussed what’s next for the franchise after the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.

“Right now, we’re still thinking about what to make next,” Okamura said. “Since we created an opportunity (with MGS Delta) for new players to experience the Metal Gear series, I do want to continue with it.”

He continued: “It could be a remake, or we might challenge ourselves by creating a brand new game. The Metal Gear series is part of videogame history, spanning pixel art to cinematic presentation, and so each title requires a different approach to expressing and remaking it.

“We won’t apply the methodology used to make the recent MGS Delta to all other games in the series — rather we intend to find the best approach for each specific game.”

Okamura also touched on the amount of time it took for the team at Konami to be in a position to remake Metal Gear Solid 3. “Most of the original staff members had left and the team had been reorganized, however we gathered people together and finally arrived at the point where we could make MGS Delta. As a team, we are confident that we achieved a level of quality that not only preserves the appeal of the original but also that modern players could enjoy. We are currently working out concrete plans for what we are going to do next.”

However, when asked about the possibility of a Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots remake, Okamura remained cautious, saying: “the hardware back then required very specific designs to get the most out of the 3D technology that was available at the time, so MGS4 ended up with some pretty unique code. It seems like it would be quite a challenge to bring that into the present day.”

At the moment, 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4, which ties up all the loose ends in Solid Snake’s story, is only playable on PlayStation 3. Based on the original game release order and rumors, a remastered port of MGS4 is expected to be included in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2, however Konami has yet to announce the official line-up for this second anthology of MGS games to be released on current gen platforms.

While Okamoto’s comments address a remake rather than a remaster, his thoughts on MGS4’s unique code may explain why it is taking Konami so long to release Volume 2. Okamura previously said that the team are taking their time on Volume 2 to avoid the performance issues that dogged Volume 1 at launch: “we’re going to do everything we can not to repeat that, but we just have to ask for everyone to give us time.”

Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.

A Fortnite artist has been forced to defend their work after fans suggested numerous images found within the game’s new season are AI-generated, including a suspicious-looking poster showing a character in a hammock with an odd number of toes.

Last night, freelance artist Sean Dove took to Instagram in response to fan claims that his Studio Ghibli-style depiction of Back to the Future hero Marty McFly was the product of AI generation. Dove, a frequent Fortnite collaborator, showed off his manual process for drawing the image. But while he drew the Ghibli-esque main character himself, Dove admitted he may still have inadvertantly included AI elements in the background.

“I guess someone on reddit thinks this was AI,” Dove wrote. “I think the culprit is a clock in the background. I grabbed some clocks off image search, collaged them, and halftoned them. The numbers are bad, entirely possible I grabbed an AI clock and wasn’t paying attention.”

And while Dove has personally responded, Fortnite developer Epic Games has so far remained silent on the topic, as fans on reddit create numerous threads pointing out other examples of images they think show signs of AI generation. (IGN contacted Epic Games for this story, but did not receive a comment back.)

Most egregious, according to fans, is an in-game poster for a location named Mile High Retreat. The image shows a pair of legs sticking out from a hammock, with five toes visible on one foot and four visible on another.

Another in-game poster being scrutinized by fans depicts the game’s glassy-eyed Tomatohead character as the host of Sauce Talk, a Hollywood-style chat show. And there’s discussion too around a mysterious song, Latata, set to be used in an upcoming emote. The music does not appear to come from a recognizable source, though some fans have suggested the audio has been sourced from stock music, rather than anything specifically AI-made.

Amid all the confusion, and lack of clarification from Epic Games itself, what’s clear is that Fortnite fans are keen to push back against the perception of AI art usage within the game. An enormous thread on reddit is tracking every example where players have doubts of images being made by human hands, and searching for more.

“Awful decision,” wrote one player. “I hope it gets amended. As others have said, the art and style of this damn game is one of the main reasons we love it. Generative AI has no place in it.”

“I thought things like Darth Vader were cool, using AI to achieve something that simply wouldn’t be possible without it,” another fan wrote. “But, that was the only case so far that I’ve genuinely found neat. Creating art is something humans, and especially Epic due to their money and resources, are very capable of doing.”

Epic Games is no stranger to AI technology, of course, having previously used generative speech technology to reproduce James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader portrayal. But despite having the rights and approval of Disney, the character’s inclusion proved controversial, especially as players quickly began making Vader say things more aligned with the dark side of the Force.

Last week, Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney suggested that Valve should ditch Steam’s AI Generated Content Disclosure label for games, as he believes AI use will become so ubiquitous it will make any warning redundant. “Why stop at AI use?” Sweeney wrote on social media. “We could have mandatory disclosures for what shampoo brand the developer uses. Customers deserve to know lol.

“It doesn’t matter any more,” he continued. “The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production.”

Speaking of AI artwork, boot up Fortnite anytime recently and you’ll be greeted by a menu screen with dozens, if not hundreds, of user-made experiences that use AI artwork for their thumbnails, something Epic Games has previously said it is pointless to police, as technology rapidly improves to the point where AI images become almost impossible to distinguish.

Indeed, if nothing else, the whole matter has simply highlighted the increasing difficulty in 2025 of being able to tell what is AI-generated, and what is not.

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