Palworld Crossplay, Final Boss, and More Coming as Pocketpair Reveals 2025 Roadmap

Palworld released in Early Access one year ago today and, to celebrate, developer Pocketpair has revealed its 2025 roadmap includes crossplay, a final boss, and more.

An X/Twitter post revealed the “future roadmap” and then asked fans to continue supporting Palworld in its second year, suggesting all of this will arrive in 2025 (and perhaps the first three weeks of 2026). “We’ve been updating the game since the start of Early Access, and we’ll continue to update Palworld as we prepare for the official release,” Pocketpair said.

Alongside cooperative crossplay and a final boss and “ending scenario,” Pocketpair revealed “world transfers for Pals,” further ways to strengthen and improve Pals, “various new content such as new Pals and technologies,” and game collaborations such as the one with Terraria.

Also coming are improvements to world object placements, improvements to base Pals, improvements to optimization, and improvements to the user experience.

Pocketpair obviously didn’t mention what could be its biggest event of 2025 — the conclusion of its legal battle with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo.

Palworld, an open-world, multiplayer survival game dubbed “Pokémon with guns” by some, gained a staggering 25 million players in one month when it launched last year. Many drew further comparisons between it and Pokémon upon release, claiming various Pal designs were practically direct copies of official pocket monsters.

The Pokémon Company said in January 2024 that it intended “to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights” but went quiet for months after. Finally, however, in September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced it had launched a patent lawsuit against Pocketpair.

The developer didn’t appear particularly deterred by the lawsuit, initially saying “we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon” before going on to release Palworld on different platforms afterwords, and even release one of its older games on Nintendo Switch.

It later revealed the lawsuit was directed at patents that involve a catching mechanic: Pokémon are famously captured with Pokéballs, and Palworld are caught with a spherical object called a Pal Sphere.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Rumour: Diablo 4 Is Claimed To Be In Development For Switch 2

While Halo’s arrival is reiterated.

A new claim states that Blizzard’s Diablo 4 may currently be in development for Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 hardware.

This comes from eXputer writer ‘eXtas1s’ who, in a newly uploaded video (thanks, VGC) states that the game will likely make its way to the new console in 2025 while also reiterating Nate the Hate’s previous Switch 2 claims regarding Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Flight Simulator.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Hollow Knight: Silksong Dev Insists ‘The Game Is Real, Progressing, and Will Release’ as Fans Obsess Over a Picture of Chocolate Cake

Hollow Knight fans have been through the wringer recently, with cryptic X/Twitter activity from one developer sparking rampant speculation that the hotly anticipated follow-up Hollow Knight: Silksong will finally re-emerge at Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct in April — and potentially even release on Nintendo’s next-gen console as a timed launch exclusive.

It all started when supersleuths on the Hollow Knight subreddit noticed that on January 15, co-director of Team Cherry William Pellen had changed his Twitter/X profile picture to a picture of a chocolate cake. Alongside this, Pellen tweeted: “something big is coming. keep your eyes closed tomorrow.”

At the time, Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal was rumored for January 16, and so it proved — that was the day Nintendo finally announced the Switch 2. Had Pellen really asked followers to keep an eye out for the Switch 2 reveal? If so, why?

Fans then reverse-searched the picture of the cake, leading them to a recipe for Brooklyn Blackout Cake on cooking website Bon Appétit. The date the recipe was published: April 2, 2024. The date of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is April 2, 2025.

Fans also wondered what Pellen’s new X/Twitter handle, @everydruidwaswr, meant, if anything. Redditor Representative-True speculated that the “wr” in “everydruidwaswr” was the start of a word, perhaps “wrong,” or perhaps stands for “was wrong,” and pointed to the Druid of the Moss Temple Silksong NPC as evidence of… something.

Pellen had a new X/Twitter name to go along with the new handle and profile picture: “little bomey.” Fans noticed Little Boomey is a wine from Southern Australia, where Team Cherry is based, but the spelling is different. The upshot of all this was that some fans thought Pellen had kicked off a Silksong alternate reality game (ARG), but over the weekend comments appeared to pour cold water on this theory.

First, Hollow Knight YouTuber fireb0rn tweeted to say Team Cherry marketing and publishing chief Matthew ‘Leth’ Griffin had got in touch “to confirm there was no Silksong ARG and that the changes to William’s account and the tweet were a nothingburger. Apologies to have misled everyone. The cake was a lie.”

And in a post on the Hollow Knight Discord, Griffin backed this up, saying: “It wasn’t [an ARG]. But it was still some impressive sleuthing skills by the fans… like ya’ll are WAY beyond those 2020 riddles now.”

Griffin himself followed up to respond to one fan who wondered if Team Cherry had given up on Hollow Knight: Silksong. “Yes the game is real, progressing and will release,” Griffin tweeted.

This has done little to calm all the speculation, as you can perhaps imagine. And at the time of this article’s publication, Pellen’s tweet remains online. Pellen himself has yet to explain whatever his X/Twitter activity is all about, either.

It’s worth remembering that when Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced, Team Cherry confirmed the launch platforms as Windows, Mac, Linux, and Nintendo Switch. But that was six years ago. We have a few months to find out what this all means, but in the meantime, check out everything announced at Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal.

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.

GTA 6 Price: Many in the Video Game Industry ‘Hope’ for $80 if Not $100, Analyst Says

There is “hope” among some within the video game industry that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be priced between $80 and $100, one analyst has said.

In a wide-ranging presentation on the state of gaming in 2025, Epyllion CEO Matthew Ball said Rockstar’s guaranteed mega-hit “could re-establish packed video game prices after decades of deflation despite rampant cost growth.”

GTA 6, due out fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, is the long-awaited follow-up to 2013’s record-breaking GTA 5. Analysts have projected it will make an eye-watering $3 billion in its first year on sale, with $1 billion in pre-orders before it even launches. It seems likely that GTA 6 will be the biggest entertainment launch in history, with revenue ahead of any film.

But how much will GTA 6 cost the gamer? Most triple-A video games cost $70 as standard after a $10 price hike that kicked in with the current generation of consoles in 2020. Could Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two use GTA 6 as an opportunity to go higher five years later?

In his report, Ball reported that “some gamemakers hope GTA 6 will be priced at $80 to $100, breaking the $70 barrier and helping $50 titles to move up to $60, $60 to do $70, $70 to $80 etc.”

While this price hike would certainly raise eyebrows with the video game audience, Ball argued that a $70 GTA 6 would be the “cheapest” GTA game ever released, in real terms. That is, when taking inflation into account. In real terms, $91 would be average, Ball said.

“Packaged game prices have never been lower in real terms than they are today — even though budgets are at all-time highs and player growth is stalled,” Ball said in the report. “GTA 6 could re-establish packed video game prices after decades of deflation despite rampant cost growth.”

Ball’s report has sparked a discussion about the value of video games and the likelihood that Rockstar would actually go through with an $80 to $100 price range for GTA 6. Reacting to Ball’s comment, Michael Douse, publishing director at Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, tweeted: “You’re not supposed to say this out loud!”

He continued: “A good company raises salaries in-line with inflation so that their staff don’t die or something, but games prices haven’t risen with inflation. This isn’t the reason the industry is in the shit for now, but it is an uncomfortable truth. On the other hand, the responsibility for a game developer is to make sure that the game they show lives up to that promise, and that investment from the player.”

There are a number of burning questions when it comes to GTA 6, including how exactly Rockstar will package the release. With GTA 5, Rockstar threw in its mega money-spinner GTA Online for free. Will it do so again with GTA 6? Could the single-player portion of GTA 6 be sold for the standard $70, but if you want GTA Online as well it will cost you more? And what about the inevitable microtransactions? Will pricing for those in the new GTA Online rise as well?

Taking to social media to follow-up on his report, Ball said he doesn’t actually think Rockstar will go to $100 with GTA 6, betting instead it will stick with $70 or at a push go for $80. “What I said is many in the market hope for $80 if not $99.99,” he clarified.

Might a price hike spark a backlash, though? “Can’t really speculate on a game that is barely even revealed,” Ball continued. “But the $70 bump from $60 in 2020 (which bought under three years of inflation control) was pretty without issue.”

Whatever price GTA 6 ends up selling for, its huge projected revenue is up against similarly huge development costs, estimated from the high hundreds of millions to as much as $2 billion. There’s a lot riding on GTA 6, then, but not just for Take-Two and Rockstar. In March last year, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella predicted Rockstar’s surefire hit would spark “renewed interest” in video games, before going one step further: “There’s probably never been a more important thing to ever release in the industry, so no pressure.”

GTA 6 is the kind of game that will sell consoles, too. Sony’s PS5 Pro will no doubt benefit greatly from interest in GTA 6, too. Let’s remember: GTA 6 is not coming out on PC at launch; to play you must own a PlayStation or an Xbox.

The almost guaranteed success of GTA 6 comes amid one of the toughest periods for the video game industry in recent memory. More than 33,000 people have lost their jobs since 2022, with huge layoffs at the likes of Microsoft and Sony. Indeed, Take-Two itself has suffered layoffs and studio closures.

All eyes are on Rockstar for a firm GTA 6 release date, or, as some are predicting, a delay into 2026. While you wait to find out, IGN has much more on GTA 6 to check out, including an ex-Rockstar dev who says the studio probably won’t be able to decide whether GTA 6 is delayed until May 2025, the boss of Take-Two’s coy response on whether GTA 6 is coming to PC, and the expert opinion on whether the PS5 Pro will run GTA 6 at 60 frames per second.

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.

Dino Crisis-esque horror Code Violet won’t be coming to PC because the risk of “vulgar” mods isn’t worth the “extra money”

Ok, let’s get it out of the way up top: I probably won’t be losing any sleep over dinosaur horror game Code Violet not coming to PC either. While I’ve still got a pavlovian response to anything that reminds me even a little of Capcom’s sadly abandoned Dino Crisis series, the trailer below doesn’t inspire all that much confidence this one will pick up the mantle.

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Guilty Gear Strive Estimated Switch File Size Revealed

Bringing the fight to Switch next week.

The Switch 2 is all the focus this week (well, mostly), but there are still some great games on the way to the Nintendo Switch in 2025. Apart from Donkey Kong, which rolled onto the original hybrid system this week, next week sees the arrival of the Arc System Works fighter Guilty Gear Strive.

If you are planning to download the Switch eShop version of this game, be prepared to potentially make some space because according to the official listings, it will take up around 13GB. This version also includes rollback netcode and comes with 28 characters at launch.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Guide: Best Lord Of The Rings Games, Ranked – Switch And Nintendo Systems

Every Lord of the Rings game on Nintendo platforms.

One list to rule them all, One list to find them, One list to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. That’s right, precious, it’s time to rank the Lord of the Rings games on Nintendo platforms.

It began with the forging of the Great Adaptations. One was given to the SNES, immortal, wisest, and fairest of all consoles. Five to the GBA and GameCube, great consoles and pillars of the nostalgia halls. And three, three games were gifted to the DS, which, above all else, needed more power… (Yeah, there was also a bunch on Wii, 3DS, Wii U and Switch, but we wanted to keep the Galadriel thing running as long as possible.)

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

I’m Getting Epic Pulls Thanks To These UK Pokémon TCG Booster Bundle Deals

Pokémon TCG is popping right now, and it’s not going to slow down throughout 2025 thanks to Prismatic Evolutions, the upcoming Journey Together expansion and the heavily rumoured return of Team Rocket cards. The current problem is stock, which is a massive challenge when finding recent sets for RRP in stores. Luckily, Amazon has our backs with Booster Bundles from Scarlet and Violet, including the immensely popular Surging Sparks.

UK Deals: Pokémon TCG Booster Bundles

What’s the point of ripping open boosters if you have nothing to chase? The good news is all of the below Booster Bundle deals have some immense chase cards that are either starting to even out or skyrocket in value. This is the best way to avoid the pricey world of single-card sales. Imagine buying a selection of Booster bundles and finding a £100+ banger? It’s not guaranteed, but it’s the thrill of the chase, right?

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Surging Sparks Booster Bundle

Pikachu ex 238/191 (SIR)

Surging Sparks is starting to calm down on the singles market thanks to recent restocks, but Pikachu ex-SIR still holds its value. Granted, it’s a much more respectable £280, but that’s still a lot of money for many people for one card. It’s a damn sight cheaper than November 2024 when this card was selling for well over £400, with some listings touching £500. Long story short, grab some Surging Sparks booster bundles while they’re in stock and cheap. You never know!

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Temporal Forces Booster Bundle

Raging Bolt ex 208/162 (SIR)

Honestly, I hated this Paradox rehash of Raikou when Scarlet and Violet DLC 2 dropped, but Raging Bolt has grown on me. Everyone wants Pokémon to take more risks with their games, so complaining about them taking risks is a bit of an oxymoron to me. This bad boy is currently zapping around the singles market for around £90. That’s a slow creep from around the mid-£70 mark around November 2024, but it’s a climb nonetheless. As this set runs out of stock, this price is bound to get higher, so get ripping some Temporal Forces.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade Booster Bundle

Eevee 188/167 (IR)

You thought I’d go for Greninja’s ex (SIR) for this one, right? Too obvious and Illustration Rares need some love. Most of these cards are slept on right now, so it’s a great time to snap them up. Eevee IR is a prime example of how Illustration Rares will climb in value for their artwork; don’t sleep on them. Eevee IR is currently going for around £70, which has jumped from around £50 in October and November 2024.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Shrouded Fable Booster Bundle

Cassiopeia 094/064 (SIR)

Shrouded Fable has shade thrown at it in the Pokémon TCG community. Still, plenty of awesome Chase cards have settled in price and are valuable. Cassiopeia 094/064 (SIR) is one of the coolest trainer cards, Secret Illustration Rares. It goes for around £40/£50 on the single card market, which is a nice settling point from its £35/£40 value at the end of 2024. Suppose you’re a big fan of Fezandipidi, Okidoki, Punkidori and Pecharunt. In that case, this is a top mini-expansion to rip open.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown Booster Bundle

Terapagos ex 170/142 (SIR)

My take on the Scarlet and Violet era is solid artwork is and will be more valuable than Pokémon. We’re seeing bloody Magikarp cards going for good money right now; go back to the early 2000s and tell yourself that and kill yourself from the bans. Terapagos ex 170/142 (SIR) is one of the weirder legendaries in Pokémon. Still, it’s the basis of Terastalisation and featured heavily in Pokémon Horizons anime. It’s a stunning card that fetches around £70 raw, which is a nice settling point between the £60 to £90 fluctuations we saw back in 2024. Stellar Crown is also a slept-on set, but there are many superb Illustration rares and chase cards like this. Get those booster bundles ripped!

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.