“While GTA lets players experience a fictional underworld of lawless enterprise, the entities behind PlayerAuctions own and operate a real one”. So claims a lawyer for GTA 6 and Borderlands publisher Take-Two Interactive in a complaint filed on Tuesday against third-party asset marketplace PlayerAuctions. They accuse PlayerAuctions – who have already faced similar accusations from Roblox – of selling modified player accounts obtained by hacking, via Polygon.
(I have no choice but to respect the hustle of trying to make GTA’s “fictional underworld of lawless enterprise” sound as cool as possible during a lawsuit. “While GTA lets players do cool and fun fake crimes…”)
“The website PlayerAuctions.com offers a vast online marketplace containing thousands of listings for unauthorized, infringing GTA V content – including heavily modified player accounts, in-game assets, and virtual currency – all gained by using hacking software, cheats, and technical exploits,” continues the complaint.
Verity Amersham’s pockets are overflowing. Her school uniform hides a paperclip, a safety pin, two school badges, two books, a bottle of wine, a bottle of chloroform, a handwritten note, and more. None of it will do any good, as I have failed once again. Verity will be expelled from school.
I have saved Verity from her fate previously. Expelled! is Inkle working in their Overboard! mode, which Alice B so enjoyed upon its surprise release in 2021. Here, again, you play and replay a short 45-60 minute story, trying new ideas and learning more each time. It also returns to the interwar years for a different kind of pastiche of golden age mystery fiction: the school story.
Nintendo has announced it will be rolling out Splatoon 3‘s first update of the year this week – bumping the game up to Version 9.3.0.
This update will include adjustments to weapons, Splatfest changes, and all sorts of bug fixes. You can see a rough machine translation of the Japanese patch notes below (note: This post will be updated with English patch notes when they go live).
PlayStation Store welcomes a new promotion tomorrow: Mega March! For a limited time*, you can enjoy discounts across a variety of games on the storefront, including the likes of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, Diablo IV and many, many more.
Get a preview of just some of the game deals below, then head to PlayStation Store when the promotion goes live to see the full list and find out your regional discount.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
60 Seconds! Reatomized
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection
ACM – Deluxe Edition
AEW: Fight Forever
AFL 23
Alaskan Road Truckers
Alien: Isolation – The Collection
Aliens: Dark Descent
Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs (PSVR2)
Another Crab’s Treasure
AO Tennis 2
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy
Arcade Game Series: Pac-Man
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Deluxe Edition
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Gold Edition
Assassin’s Creed Origins – Deluxe Edition
Assassin’s Creed Origins – Season Pass
Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Season Pass
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Meteor Expansion
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Ragnarok Edition
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Deluxe PS4 & PS5
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars Deluxe Edition
Astral Ascent
Batman: Arkham VR
Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle
Bee Simulator
Ben 10
Beyond the Dawn Ultimate Edition
Biped
Bloodborne Complete Edition Bundle
BloodRayne 2: ReVamped PS5
BloodRayne: ReVamped PS5
Builder Simulator
Bus Simulator
Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop – Gold Edition
Call of Duty Ghosts & Season Pass Bundle
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – Digital Pro Edition
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Edition
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Digital Deluxe Edition
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
Call of Duty: WWII – Digital Deluxe
Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War – Standard Edition
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions – Deluxe Edition
Cartel Tycoon
Cat Quest III: The Fur-tastic Trilogy
CATAN® – Console Edition
Catherine: Full Body
Cities: Skylines – PlayStation 4 Edition
Cities: Skylines PS5
Clock Tower: Rewind
Code Vein
Code Vein – Season Pass
College Football – AFB Bundle
Construction Simulator
Contra Anniversary Collection
Contra: Operation Galuga
Core Keeper
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Crysis Remastered Trilogy
Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon II
Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition
Darkest Dungeon®
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle PS5
Dead by Daylight: Donut Chapter
Dead Cells: DLC Bundle
Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Bundle
Dead Island 2 Expansion Pass
Dead Island 2 Main Game
Dead Island: Definitive Edition
Dead Rising 2
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Dead Rising 4: Frank’s Big Package
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
DEATHLOOP Deluxe Edition
Demeo
DEMON SLAYER : KIMETSU NO YAIBA THE HINOKAMI CHRONICLES
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Core Add-on Bundle
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Ultimate Edition
Demon’s Souls Digital Deluxe Edition
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Diablo® IV Base Game Bundle
DIGIMON SURVIVE
DiRT Rally 2.0: Game of the Year Edition
Dishonored® Definitive Edition
Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider™
DOOM 3
DOOM Eternal Deluxe Edition – PS4 & PS5
Dragon Age: Inquisition Deluxe Edition
Dragon Ball Xenoverse
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT Legendary Edition
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2 DeluxeEdition
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing (BASE GAME)
DREDGE
DREDGE – The Pale Reach
Dying Light – Hellraid
Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Digital Deluxe Edition
Dysmantle
End of Zoe_PS5
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
ENDER MAGNOLIA
Exoprimal_PS5
Extra Content Shop All Access Voucher PS4 & PS5 (PS5)
Fallout 4
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension
Far Cry 4
Far Cry 5
Far Cry New Dawn – Ultimate Edition
Far Cry® 6 – Game of the Year Edition
FAR CRY®6 Standard Edition
Fear the Spotlight
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES Remastered Edition
Final Fantasy IX – Digital Edition
Final Fantasy VII
FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH
Final Fantasy VII Remake
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE & REBIRTH Twin Pack
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Final Fantasy XV – Royal Edition
FINAL FANTASY XVI
First Responder Police Firefighting Bundle
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted
Football Manager 2024 Console
For Honor – Standard Edition
For Honor – Ultimate Edition
Forspoken Digital Deluxe Edition
FRONT MISSION 2: Remake
Funko Fusion + Bob Ross Bundle
G.I. JOE: WRATH OF COBRA
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection
Ghostwire: Tokyo Deluxe Edition
God Eater 3
God of War
God of War Ragnarök
Golden Idol Mysteries
Golf With Your Friends – Olympus Odyssey Course
Golf With Your Friends – Peaceful Pines Course
Gran Turismo 7 Standard Edition
Graveyard Keeper: Last Journey Edition
Gravity Rush Remastered
Greedfall
GRID Legends (PS5)
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone Bundle
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone Mega Mix Encore Pack
Hell Let Loose – Ultimate Edition Upgrade Bundle
Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice
Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue
High On Life
High On Life Bundle
High On Life: High On Knife
HITMAN 3 – Trinity Pack
Homefront: The Revolution
Hotel Renovator – Five Star Edition
House Flipper
House Flipper – Garden
House Flipper – Luxury
House Flipper – Pets
House Flipper 2
House of Golf 2
Human: Fall Flat
Humankind Heritage Deluxe Edition
Hunt: Showdown 1896
Hunting Simulator 2 Elite Edition
inFAMOUS Second Son
Infinity Strash: DRAGON QUEST The Adventure of Dai
Injustice 2
Injustice: Gods Among Us – Ultimate Edition
Inscryption
JUJUTSUKAISEN
Jurassic World Evolution 2: Park Managers’ Collection Pack
Just Cause 4: Reloaded
Killer Frequency
Killing Floor 2
Killing Floor 2 – Ultimate Edition Upgrade
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
Kingdom Hearts III – Re:Mind
KINGDOM HEARTS Melody of Memory
Kingdoms and Castles
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered™
LEGO DC Super-Villains
LEGO DC Super-Villains – Season Pass
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 – Season Pass
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Deluxe Edition
LEGO The Incredibles
LES MILLS BODYCOMBAT
Life is Strange 2 – Complete Season
Life is Strange 2 – Episode 2
Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Life is Strange: Double Exposure – Ultimate Edition
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – Ultimate Edition
Little Nightmares
LIVE A LIVE (PS5)
Madden NFL 25 – AFB Edition
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – Character Pass
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – Standard Edition
Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition
Medieval Dynasty
Mega Man 11
Mega Man 30th Anniversary Bundle
Mega Man X Legacy Collection
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection
METAL GEAR SOLID 1
METAL GEAR SOLID 2
METAL GEAR SOLID MASTER COLLECTION Vol.1
Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Game of the Year Edition
Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Definitive Edition
Miraculous: Paris Under Siege – Deluxe Edition
Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten
Monster Hunter Stories
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Deluxe Edition
Morbid: The Lords of Ire
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Kollection
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Add-On Bundle
Mortal Shell
MotoGP™22 PS4 & PS5
MudRunner – American Wilds Edition
MX vs ATV Legends – 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Edition
MXGP 24: The Official Game
My Friend Peppa Pig: Complete Edition
My Hero One’s Justice
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker – Season Pass 2
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered
Neva
NHL 25
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
NieR:Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition
OCTOPATH TRAVELER 2 Main
Okami + Kunitsu-Gami Bundle
Okami HD
One Piece: World Seeker
Onimusha: Warlords
Outcast – A New Beginning
Overcooked! + Overcooked! 2
Overpass 2
Pacific Drive: Deluxe Edition
Palworld
Party Animals
Party Animals Deluxe Group
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Paw Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls
PEAKY BLINDERS: THE KINGS RANSOM VR
Persona 3 Reload Digital Deluxe Edition
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Persona 5 Tactica
PGA Tour 23
Phasmophobia
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition
Planet Coaster 2
Planet Zoo: North America & Europe Bundle
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville: Deluxe Edition
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a series of deck-building card games that you can build and curate to your dark heart’s delight. It’s a cooperative game, so you and your fellow players are working together to take on the horrors that await.
It’s also part of the extensive world in the Arkham Horror Files family of board games, card games, and the newest, the nicely accessible Arkham Horror: The Role-Playing Game (see on Amazon) and subsequent newly released matching expansive rulebook.
The card deck-builder Arkham Horror card game has been around since 2016. It has seen multiple expansions and revisions since its original printing. Buying the game is also not entirely straightforward outside of the base deck and campaign, as there are multiple ways to build, curate, and personalize your experience.
Featured in this article
Here’s a swipe-able, all-in-one carousel of everything discussed in the article, for those who feel confident enough about their Arkham Horror: The Card Game knowleged to skip the blurbs. For everyone else, keep on reading.
The Base Game
The core set contains all you need to get started. It contains five pre-built investigator decks that let you dive into the first scenario: the Night of the Zealot campaign. This will give you a great, replayable taste of the Arkham Horror Card Game world. And if you like it, you have a huge selection of expansions to consider.
Arkham Horror Card Game Expansions
Arkham Horror’s card game expansions are a bit different than the board game version. For the board games, expansion boxes include the full stories and scenarios as well as the new investigators to join in on the fun. The card game operates a bit differently. You can buy campaign expansions to add new stories to your game, and/or you can buy investigator expansions to add new characters. In other words, the new stories and new characters are sold separately. This might not be ideal for everyone, but it allows you to choose how much of an experience you want to invest in at a certain time, since you can play an expansion scenario without the newer investigators if you want to.
The Dunwich Legacy
The Dunwich Legacy was the first expansion released. It’s meant to be a gentle step up from the base game, with a user-friendly set of scenarios. In it you search for lost investigators, which coincidentally seems to tie into how the entire card game franchise builds upon itself by adding new investigator sets in each expansion release.
The Path to Carcosa
A theatre production comes to Arkham in this expansion. The added rules in this one are fairly user-friendly for new playersm but the expansion isn’t easy enough for vets to dismiss. If you have the older first edition of this expansion, you may still find the differences in this second edition engaging enough to warrant a purchase.
The Forgotten Age
This expansion has you explore the ruins of an Aztec city, with a mystery that threatens to unravel the fabric of time iteslf. This is a very difficult campaign, so it’s not recommended to newcomers until they’ve played through some of the others first. It’s also on its second edition version now.
The Circle Undone
This expansion has affectionately been called “the witches pack.” The new investigators introduced in this expansion have some powerful bonuses that are a delight to use. That’s a relief, because the campaign is one of the tougher ones of all the expansions as well. If you plan to get this campaign, you should absolutely consider getting the investigators.
The Edge of the Earth
The antarctic tundra is a classic location for Lovecraftian horrors to reside. So that’s exactly where this expansion brings you and your fellow players: to the deep freezing cold. Peril lurks around every corner, so choose your steps wisely, with or without the coordinating investigators.
The Scarlet Keys
This campaign expansion has you traversing the world as you delve into an international conspiracy involving the collection of keys and a race against the Red Coterie. With or without the investigators, this expansion is less linear to explore than most of the others.
The Dream Eaters
This campaign includes two four-part storylines: Dream Quest and the Web of Dreams stories. You can play these separately if you’re tight on time, or you can combine them together into a longer eight-part story.
The Innsmouth Conspiracy
This expansion puts you and your fellow players in an ever-changing world that morphs based on water levels that can flood various locations. This adds a dynamic layer to the strategic decision-making you’ll need to employ as you play through it.
The Feast of the Hemlock Vale
The Feast of the Hemlock Vale is a newer expansion that brings players to Hemlock Vale, where residents are preparing for a festival while somehow remaining blissfully unaware of dangers like mutated wildlife and a sinister presence lurking around them. You have three days to investigate the strange happenings, with different dynamics depending on whether it’s day or night.
The Drowned City
The newest expansions for Arkham Horror is The Drowned City. In this one, the big squiddy lord from Lovecraftian lore has awakened, and it’s up to you and your team to save the day.
Other ways to expand your deck-building adventures in Arkham
Starter Decks
Interested in adding another character to your roster but aren’t sure if you’re ready to jump into a full expansion? You can buy a few starter investigator decks. These decks are less expensive and will give you more investigators to help you through your game.
That said, these characters may not be as great as the investigators that you’ll find in the larger boxes that are connected to campaigns (see above). There are five to choose from: Harvey Waters, Nathanial Cho, Jacqueline Fine, Winnifred Habbamock, and Stella Clark. All of them are $16.99 but can be found cheaper and on sale from time to time.
Scenario Packs
There are also several standalone scenario packs available to purchase. These offer a smaller dose of action than the full expansions above. They cost $21.99 each. Murder at the Excelsior Hotel has been regarded as one of their more entry-level scenarios, so if you’re looking for something smaller before committing to something bigger, like an expansion, you might want to check that one out.
Return to boxes are revamps and additions to select campaigns. They require the base campaign set to play them, and while they are a bonus, they are best suited for folks who are serious about Arkham Horror: The Card Game. They are considered to be luxury items, essentially. And some of them are not the easiest to get a hold of. In fact, when going to create this list, I found that some were discontinued or not easily found through sites like Amazon or even Asmodee itself.
Five return-to-boxes are currently available: Night of the Zealot (the campaign in the original starter box), Dunwich Legacy, Circle of Carcosa, Circle Undone, and Forgotten Age. Some enthusiasts say that Forgotten Age fixes some of the complexities in the original expansion. As you can see, when you click the name of Night of the Zealot, these are out of print, so collectors may find them difficult to come by.
Parallel Investigator Packs
Parallel investigators are alternate versions of investigators that have abilities different from those of their original counterparts, including enhanced abilities and stats. Like Return to Boxes, these are not as easily found at big retailers. Collectors will have to look around for them to get them.
The Bottom Line
If you are a fan of Lovecraft mythos-themed games, Arkham Horror is a universe you’ll absolutely want to explore. One awesome thing about Arkham Horror: The Card Game is that you can play it as a solo game, as well as with friends. The universes and iterations of games make for lots of capacities for adventure, with seemingly endless replayability for several of them.
That said, like the board games, the card games absolutely veer on the more difficult side. They have quite a bit of chance, which can drastically increase replayability as well as frustration. Setup and learning time can also take a few minutes. You’ll find that the card games are easier to set up than the board games, even without expansions, which makes the journey through less painful.
Jennifer Stavros is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything from comics, games, technology, and nerd culture. She has over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, including testing and writing for Wired, Inverse, and more. Follow her on Twitter or watch her on Twitch under the handle @scandalous.
Today marks the release of Beyond the Ice Palace 2, and no, you’re not imagining things — this is a sequel the 1988 Amiga, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platformer.
Taking the shape of a Soulslike Metroidvania, Beyond the Ice Palace 2 sees you take up the chains of the Cursed King who has broken from from imprisonment. Touting some brutally difficult combat and platforming and some excellent pixel art, it takes the classic formula established 37 years ago and brings it up to a more modern standard.
Hazelight’s latest co-op adventure, Split Fiction, has officially surpassed one million copies sold in the first 48 hours, setting a new record for the studio.
This news was announced on BlueSky, with the official account saying, “The love you all show for our game is overwhelming! 😍 Everyone here at Hazelight are beyond happy – and we can’t stop enjoying your amazing reactions! 🤩”
Notably this is one million copies sold, which means it’s possible that far more than that are playing Split Fiction. Every copy of the game comes with a Friend’s Pass that lets a friend play the entire game in co-op with the purchaser for free. While not everyone will take advantage of that option (some will play local co-op, some may play with someone who already owns the game, etc), that’s still a whole lot of people playing Split Fiction.
This is a huge sales jump from Hazelight’s last game, It Takes Two, which didn’t reach the one million milestone until a month after launch. But that in and of itself was deemed an impressive milestone, with studio head Josef Fares saying at the time that it proved players want co-op games.
We really dug Split Fiction, calling it “a rollercoaster of constantly refreshed gameplay ideas and styles – and one that’s very hard to walk away from” in our 9/10 review.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
