Is there a Marvel supervillain themed around PC game memory requirements? Let’s assume that there is, and that her name is Dr RAMsbottom. For too long has Dr RAMsbottom – aka the Bottlenecking Belle, aka Zero Sub Sixty – plagued the lives of Marvel Rivals players. For too long has she reduced our superheroic exploits to an unsightly stop-motion parade.
Be of good heart, ye Rivals, for the boffins at NetEase (the ones that weren’t suddenly laid off in February) are devising some countermeasures. Specifically, they’re thinking about adding a box you can tick to somehow cut back the game’s memory usage “significantly” and improve your frame rate.
Horizon: Zero Dawn composer Joris de Man has expressed a tentative interest in the return of Guerrilla’s Killzone shooter series, which was once touted as PlayStation’s answer to Halo, Call Of Duty, and Gears Of War.
Nintendo dropped a load of new surprises as part of its latest Direct presentation, including a brand-new mobile app called ‘Nintendo Today!‘.
In it, the app describes how to set up one of its two widgets on your phone homescreen, and it’s here that we can see something quite interesting. In the accompanying screenshots, an app icon for ‘My Nintendo’ can be seen in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Nintendo has shared all sorts of new and exciting reveals for the Switch this week, but it’s not the only company that’s been busy. Third-party developer and publisher Ubisoft has announced it will be “accelerating its transformation” with a new dedicated subsidiary for Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series, and it’s backed by Tencent.
The Chinese video game company will be investing €1.16 billion (approximately 25%) for a “minority stake in the new subsidiary” valued at around €4 billion. The focus will apparently be to build and create gaming ecosystems that are “truly evergreen and multiplatform”.
Springtime savings have been popping up left and right on a variety of items lately, and if you’ve been looking to score some sweet deals on video games, now’s your chance. Not only are there some great deals on games in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, but other retailers like Woot (an Amazon-owned online retailer) and Walmart are offering discounts you definitely don’t want to miss.
Woot, in particular, has some of the best deals we’ve seen so far this year on games, including 53% off Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for PS5 and 64% off Metaphor: ReFantazio for Xbox Series X. You can see those deals and so many more of our favorites at the moment below.
Spring Sale Video Game Deals
A lot of the Woot deals are only available for a limited time, though. So if one of the games above has caught your eye, you’ll want to act fast to pick it up now at its discounted price or before it sells out for good. There are several more games on sale right now at Woot that are worth looking at as well. Have a look at the retailer’s ‘Spring Video Game Sale!‘ page to see what else has been marked down.
More Deals in Amazon’s Spring Sale
Outside of video game deals, there are plenty of discounts worth exploring in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. This includes some stellar price drops on 4Ks and Blu-rays and a “3 for 2” offer that can be used on a selection of books, comics, movies, and more. Some of the items included with that offer are also on sale, so it’s a win-win to stock up and save on certain items that catch your eye. It’s also worth checking out our breakdown of the best deals under $25 to see even more of our favorite items from the sale that fall on the cheaper side.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Everything is IP, all of the time, everywhere you look now, because big wigs in suits have got it in their heads that original, uniquely appealing content just can’t win over a combination of pixels that resemble something someone already likes. Sea of Thieves is no stranger to crossovers, with big, thematically relevant ones like Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as some smaller ones like Halo and Banjo Kazooie. Today’s crossover is one of the smaller ones, this time with, uh… Destiny. The sci-fi, first-person shooter. Huh.
Today, Nintendo introduced Virtual Game Cards, a digital game-sharing feature coming to Switches 1 and 2 that lets you move your digital purchases between your consoles and lend them to people in your family Nintendo Account group.
A note on Nintendo’s webpage detailing the upcoming feature mentions that “Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games” can only be moved between Switch 2 systems, naturally, but it also mentions something else: “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games”.
Well, there you have it folks. After months of uncertainty over share price falls, major game delays and squabbles with investors, Ubisoft have opened up a new subsidiary to look after their biggest-selling Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry games, with Tencent chucking in a whopping €1.16 billion – meaning that the latter will have a 25% stake in the new spin-off business when all is said and done.
Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games has fully detailed the first major content update since the action RPG’s early access launch last year.
Dawn of the Hunt goes live at 9pm CET on April 4, and adds the new Huntress class. The Huntress is a Spear and Buckler user specialising in hybrid melee and ranged combat. Elsewhere, there are five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich.
Players can also expect dozens of new encounters in the endgame, significant mechanical overhauls, over one hundred new unique items as well as significantly expanded crafting options.
The long wait for the Path of Exile 2 early access launch finally came to an end when it released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on December 6, 2024. It saw massive success, securing its place as the 15th most-played game Steam game ever.
But the game ran into issues, both technical and in design. GGG has worked to update the game in the months since, culminating in next month’s Dawn of the Hunt release.
At the same time, GGG continues to operate the first Path of Exile game, which still enjoys a healthy playerbase on Steam, as a live service. But this has proved challenging. In January, GGG was forced to apologize to fans of the first game after putting a new update on hold until a crucial update for Path of Exile 2 was released.
Here’s everything you need to know on Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt:
Obliterate your enemies with the hybrid ranged and melee Huntress
Step into the bloodstained boots of the Huntress, a dexterous and ferocious spear-wielding warrior. Banished from her homeland, she now stalks her prey using both ranged spear throws and close combat attacks. Her brutal arsenal is designed to make combat feel like a relentless pursuit, always in motion, moving into and out of melee range at a moments notice.
The Huntress can also Parry incoming attacks from monsters, stunning them before following up with one of several counterattacks. For example, use Disengage after a Parry to quickly jump back, gaining a Frenzy charge, then follow up with an empowered spear throw.
Stalk your prey with an array of elemental spear attacks that empower the Huntress to use some of the longest combo chains we have created on any class.
Create mayhem with five new ascendancy classes With five new Ascendancy Classes, Dawn of the Hunt introduces fresh new ways to expand your build options.
Ritualist (Huntress) – The Ritualist sacrifices flesh and blood, unleashing corrupted lifeforce upon their foes. She delved into the forbidden depths of Azmeri traditions, wielding blood sacrifice and plague as weapons
Amazon (Huntress) – A peerless hunter who thrives on precision and elemental fury. The Amazon Ascension forges warriors into elite hunters, sworn to protect Azmeri Elders with lethal precision.
Lich (Witch) – The Lich tears their own soul apart, becoming a master of undeath and chaos. The Lich is a master of Chaos and Curses who can use her own life to enhance her Energy.
Smith of Kitava (Warrior) – The Smith of Kitava forges weapons of destruction in fire and suffering. Embrace sheer power and take Smithing skills to greater heights by resonating with the insatiable one – Kitava.
Tactician (Mercenary) – the Mercenary Tactician brings military-grade brutality to the battlefield. As a former trained Blackguard Elite, the Tactician is able to decimate the monsters of Wraeclast while earning a healthy income at the same time.
Sharpen your arsenal with new skill and support gems As well as 20 New Spear Skills designed for the huntress, we have two other much anticipated abilities.
Raise Spectre – This skill lets you trap and summon the souls of almost any monster in the game. With hundreds of monster variants in Path of Exile 2, expect endless experimentation to find the perfect undead army.
Summon Rhoa Mount – Call forth a Rhoa to fight by your side or mount it to move at full speed while attacking. But beware, taking too much damage can knock you off, leaving you vulnerable to a brutal fate.
This expansion also brings a massive overhaul to character development by adding over 100 new Support Gems to enhance build diversity. Support gems add a variety of interesting effects to your existing skills, modifying them in game changing ways.
For example, Haemocrystals turn bleed effects into explosive Vaal crystals, and Caltrops allow your existing skills to litter the battlefield with slowing hazards.
Unlock greater potential with Over 100 new Unique Items Dawn of the Hunt brings a stronger focus on Mid and Endgame Unique items, ensuring high-level characters have more thrilling bounty to chase.
Unbridled power awaits with new crafting tools New crafting tools have been introduced as rewards across many areas of the game:
Over 20 new runes have been added allowing you to craft new mods onto your gear
Runes now scale with multiple tiers, allowing for stronger mods that remain viable in the endgame.
We’re expanding crafting options further by introducing more specialized socketable mods, with the first wave arriving in the upcoming content update.
Darkness lurks ahead The Azmeri Spirit has made itself present in Wraeclast. When approached, these wisps will flee, and monsters it comes into contact with will be infused by it, making them more powerful. Wisps will also find and possess Rare or Unique monsters, granting them powerful new abilities, and powerful new rewards. There are twelve distinct types of wisp, each with their own mechanics and rewards.
New Maps Dawn of the Hunt adds eight new Maps offering fresh challenges and rewards. Each of them come with interesting new encounters.
Be forced to fight mirrored Rare monsters in a shifting, warped reality in The Fractured Lake, or be thrust into the wild Ezomyte Forests of The Phaaryl Megaliths where rune-carved stones surge with energy. Survive the storm-fueled gauntlet of deadly boss waves, and you’ll earn full boss rewards and exclusive Runes
Unique Strongboxes
Find four new Unique Strongboxes, each with deadly mechanics and valuable rewards.
Ogham’s Legacy features a rune-carved stone and a slain creature that, when activated, revives as a powerful Rare. Each defeat triggers another resurrection with added modifiers making the fight progressively more difficult, but also more rewarding.
Ixchel’s Torment harnesses ancient Vaal thaumaturgy, unleashing Chaos-empowered guardians to protect a powerful artifact. Victors will be rewarded with a unique item featuring a specific Corrupted outcome.
Corrupted Essences
Essences receive major upgrades, with four new Corrupted Essences – Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity – offering new combat mechanics and powerful new crafting outcomes, such as guaranteed double Enchantments when using a Vaal Orb on belts.
Cleanse the Corruption Corruption has continued to spread throughout Wraeclast and has formed into larger and larger zones. In the centre of each one lies a Corrupted Nexus, the home of three new terrifying bosses, amalgamations of Corruption itself.
Upon defeating these bosses, any remaining areas within the zone of Corruption will become cleansed. Cleansed Maps have additional new monsters, a new boss and their own set of Modifiers and rewards.
Duel with Rogue Exiles On your travels you will sometimes encounter Rogue Exiles – others like you who have been exiled and are openly hostile. They will challenge you – a fight to the death. These Exiles have capabilities to Dodge Roll, avoid your abilities with smart pathfinding, smart-targeting, and much more action-packed gameplay. Rogue Exiles use the same skills available to players, and even the same items. They aren’t just dressed up in those items, they know how to take advantage of the Uniques they are using.
Of course, if you are able to slay these Exiles, those items will all drop on the ground!
Dynamic improvements to endgame Dawn of the Hunt significantly rebalances the endgame. The number of towers has been drastically reduced but they have been made much more powerful. Tablets now affect twice as many areas and running higher tier Maps in Towers increases this number further still. In addition, each Tower will be able to consume up to three Tablets at once.
These changes significantly reduce the amount of busy work required in endgame while improving your ability to use them. On top of that, Towers can now spawn with all mechanics, and have their own new Bosses!
Prepare for the Hunt Rise as a hunter, or fall as prey on April 4th. The Dawn of the Hunt content update will also be made available in existing Early Access leagues for those wishing to play their existing characters. It is recommended to start anew in a fresh economy to get the full, recommended experience in the Dawn of the Hunt leagues.
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.
