Xbox is dedicated to bringing the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet – and that includes how we support those making the games. As part of that mission, we’re revealing Game Maker’s Journey, a new documentary focused on pioneering Nigerian videogame studio Dimension11 and its debut release, Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water.
We’re delighted to announce that Game Maker’s Journey will take us to Ile-Ife, Nigeria and tell us how Dimension11 is breaking new ground, transforming Nigeria’s rich history and the ancient Yoruba religion and into a dynamic and immersive gameplay experience.
Watch the full documentary below:
Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water is narrative action-RPG rooted in Nigeria’s Yoruba culture, and the immersive nature of gaming will allow players to experience and learn about it in an all-new way. Dimension11 are part of the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program. The program’s mission is to empower underrepresented creators to bring their creativity, innovation, and originality to Xbox.
“We set out with a dream to tell African stories to a global audience and Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water was born out of that dream,” says Dimension11 Creative Director Winston Ohunyon.
“Through the help of ID@Xbox’s Developer Accelerator Program, this dream has become an achievable goal. I am immensely grateful for their support as well as the creative vision of the folks behind Game Maker’s Journey.”
“When I first met the Dimension 11 team as part of Game Camp Africa, it was clear to me that this studio had immense talent, expertise, and passion,” says James Lewis, Head of the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program. “Dimension11 and Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water exemplify the type of teams and projects that we strive to support with the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program.”
Game Maker’s Journey: Dimension11 is available to watch now, and you can find more on the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program here.
The polls for the PlayStation Game of the Year 2024 awards closed last week and with the numbers crunched – totalling over 1.6 million votes globally – we can reveal this year’s top contenders across the 19 categories, as shaped solely by your choices. While four titles earned trophies per category, there were numerous games that received support from players worldwide, either through selecting from shortlists or write-in options. A thank you to those who voted, and of course, to those creators and teams whose creativity and craft has been shared and enjoyed on PlayStation consoles the world over.
Before we dig into the winners, a quick reminder on the category guidelines:
As with the majority of the other categories, Best Multiplayer Experience focuses on titles released in 2024. Best Ongoing Game focuses on titles that have seen new, large scale content or game-changing updates launch over this past year.
Best Rerelease is categorized as titles that, in the main, feature upgraded visuals and some QoL improvements but otherwise hew close to their original launch version. This category does not include full-scale remakes of older titles. Those are eligible for Game of the Year consideration.
Due to the polls closure date, some titles weren’t eligible for inclusion. Those titles will be eligible in next year’s Awards.
If a title won a Platinum Trophy in a category any previous year, it won’t be eligible for inclusion in the same category this year to allow other titles a chance to shine. As such Grand Theft Auto VI isn’t included in The Most Anticipated Game of 2025 and Beyond category – as it earned the Platinum in 2023’s Awards.
Congratulations to everyone who released titles this year.
Best New Character
Platinum Trophy: Eve (Stellar Blade)
Gold Trophy: Jane Harrow (Call of Duty: Black Ops 6) Silver Trophy: Emmrich Volkarin (Dragon Age: The Veilguard) Bronze Trophy: Ryoma Sakamoto (Rise of the Rōnin)
The Best New Character category received the highest number of write-in votes, so a shout out to – amongst others – Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Strohl, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s Wuk Lamat, and Helldivers 2’s General Brasch, all of whom have fans across the globe. The majority of the votes however were split between Stellar Blade’s Eve, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Jane Harrow, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Emmrich Volkarin and Rise of the Rōnin’s Ryoma Sakamoto.
Best Story
Platinum Trophy: Silent Hill 2
Gold Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Silver Trophy: Stellar Blade Bronze Trophy: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
The Best Story category had strong competition this year, including new gripping narratives in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Stellar Blade. Two unforgettable remakes duked it out for top position: Silent Hill 2 and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. The votes for number one were remarkably close.
Ultimately, James Sunderland’s surreal return trip to Silent Hill took the top spot. Bloober Team and Konami’s remake of this PS2 classic captured the dreamlike essence of the original title while enhancing it with high-fidelity facial capture to add extra nuance to the town’s troubled visitors. We’ll see Silent Hill 2 in our restless dreams for years.
Best Graphical Showcase
Platinum Trophy: Black Myth: Wukong
Gold Trophy: Astro Bot Silver Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Bronze Trophy: Stellar Blade
You know that moment when you’re playing a game and you just have to stop and say wow? 2024 has been choc-full of those thanks to a line-up of gorgeous games which have pushed the boundaries of what is possible graphically. Adventures like Stellar Blade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth brought a realistic style to their fantastic worlds, while the bright and playful planets inhabited by Astro and his bot buddies captured the hearts (and eyes) of gamers everywhere.
Perhaps one of the most memorable of those moments is the opening of Black Myth: Wukong, which sees you raising your staff in a stunning fight amidst the clouds. But that’s just the beginning; the action epic’s towering mountains, dense forests and glistening snowfields really highlighted just how beautiful PS5’s visuals can be, helping it claim this year’s Platinum trophy.
Best Art Direction
Platinum Trophy: Astro Bot
Gold Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Silver Trophy: Silent Hill 2 Bronze Trophy: Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero
The games of 2024 brought top-tier artistic visions to life, from harrowing horrors to fantastical creatures. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero captured the source material perfectly, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth featured top-tier character and boss design, while Silent Hill 2 beautifully recaptured the moody atmosphere of the PS2 original with a fresh aesthetic.
However, Team Asobi’s Astro Bot leaped up to claim top prize in the category. The platforming adventure’s Bots sport loving homages to classic game characters decked out in gear that thoughtfully distills the original character design. Each stage is a visual banger to boot, including inventive knife-juggling ghosts, traditional Japanese architecture, and outlandish sci-fi contraptions. Congrats to Team Asobi.
Best Audio Design
Platinum Trophy: Astro Bot
Gold Trophy: Silent Hill 2 Silver Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Bronze Trophy: Stellar Blade
This year our ears rang with clashing metal, buzzing gadgets, and small towns creaking and moaning, breathing detailed life into the environments we played through. But it was Astro Bot’s all-encompassing auditory adventure that blasted it to the top spot. From Astro’s pitter patter adjusting to whatever terrain he crossed, to the squishes, bangs, and pows of his power suits, every level filled players’ ears with a galaxy of sound.
2024 featured stiff competition in the soundtrack department. Astro Bot introduced new tracks we’ll be humming well into 2025. Silent Hill 2 brilliantly recaptured Akira Yamaoka’s eclectic and moody sounds, and Stellar Blade’s soundtrack was, well, stellar.
However, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth secures the top position for Best Soundtrack. It’s no wonder, as the original PlayStation game is considered to have one of the greatest soundtracks in the history of the medium. Each track in Rebirth is stunningly fleshed out with broader instrumentation, from the soothing town of Kalm to the rousing boss battles against Sephiroth. This year, one of the best soundtracks ever only got better.
Best Use of DualSense
Platinum Trophy: Astro Bot
Gold Trophy: Stellar Blade Silver Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Bronze Trophy: Silent Hill 2
If you’ve heard the clash of Eve’s blade ring out from its speaker, or felt the pitter-patter of the rain in Silent Hill, you know how much more immersive the DualSense can make your games. And this year, many developers made the most of its features to make their games more terrifying, challenging and enjoyable.
With Astro Bot, winner of this year’s Platinum trophy for use of DualSense, Team Asobi built on what they created in the past. From rolling Astro around in a LocoRoco-inspired world to clearing the path with a blow of your breath, every element of the adventure is developed with the controller in mind, adding to the enjoyment of an already joyful game.
Best Accessibility Features
Platinum Trophy: Astro Bot
Gold Trophy: The Last of Us Part II Remastered Silver Trophy: Silent Hill 2 Bronze Trophy: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Team Asobi has not only crafted an epic, nostalgic adventure paying homage to PlayStation’s extensive 30-year history, they’ve also championed accessibility by design! High contrast visuals, a streamlined, Access Controller-friendly control scheme, and truly unique implementation of haptic feedback with visual cues in tow, ensure players can explore a bevy of vibrant worlds alongside Astro.
Best Multiplayer Experience
Platinum Trophy: Helldivers 2
Gold Trophy: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Silver Trophy: Fortnite Bronze Trophy: Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero
Dispensing peace doesn’t come easy, but the taste of liber-tea is that much sweeter when shared with a team. This year players united under the Helldivers 2 flag of democracy to fight off bots and bugs. Whether you dropped in with friends or completed mission objectives with strangers online, we salute you.
Best Ongoing Game
Platinum Trophy: Fortnite
Gold Trophy: Final Fantasy XIV Online Silver Trophy: Call of Duty Bronze Trophy: No Man’s Sky
Nothing lasts forever, but some games have evolved into an ever-growing ecosystem. Constant updates bringing new fierce competitions in Gran Turismo 7, rebuilding a universe from the ground up in No Man’s Sky and exploring new frontiers in Final Fantasy XIV Online.
With constant innovation, never-ending stories, and a whole galaxy to explore there was one game that has withstood the test of time above the rest. Fortnite. Whether it’s dancing with Snoop Dogg, tackling teams with the TMNT, or just hanging with your best friends and anime characters, Fortnite appeals to the imagination of us all. Add in modes like LEGO, car racing, and even an FPS, and you have a game that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Best Expansion
Platinum Trophy: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Gold Trophy: God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla Silver Trophy: Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide Bronze Trophy: Alan Wake 2: The Lake House
Wanted to explore more of Kratos’ history? God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla delivered. Craved a new Final Fantasy XVI story? 2024 had you covered. Needed more Alan Wake in your life? Yup, got that too.
There was no shortage of expansions of already fantastic games this year. God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla took you to the trials of the Norse afterlife, while Alan Wake 2: The Lake House acted as an unnerving addendum to an already terrifying adventure. Meanwhile, we left the Lands Between to journey to the Land of Shadow in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. Easily one of the biggest expansions of the year, it brought dozens of new enemies and bosses to face, a whole new map to explore and countless new ways to grow your Tarnished’s armoury. The sheer amount of content aside, Shadow of the Erdtree also introduced one of FromSoftware’s most challenging boss fights ever, adding a delicious and deadly cherry on top of an incredible adventure.
Best Sports Game
Platinum Trophy: EA Sports FC 25
Gold Trophy: WWE 2K24 Silver Trophy: F1 24 Bronze Trophy: NBA 2K25
High-scoring action was plentiful for sports game players in 2024. F1 24’s improved Dynamic Handling dazzled adrenaline junkies with realistic heart-pumping races, while WWE 2K24 came off the top rope to deliver nostalgia by bringing back fan-favorite match types.
The competition was strong but EA Sports FC 25 took home the chip, securing the Best Sports Game title for 2024. The new FC IQ feature overhauled tactics and delivered the most strategic control over gameplay in the franchise’s history. EA Sports FC 25 also made it easier to pick up and play with friends in the 5v5 Rush mode, as smaller teams bring more time on the ball for players who want to be close to the action.
Best Rerelease
Platinum Trophy: The Last of Us Part II Remastered
Gold Trophy: Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Silver Trophy: Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Bronze Trophy: Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
The Last of Us Part II Remastered kicked down the door at the beginning of 2024 with its impressive visual enhancements, crisp frame rate, and new No Return mode that offered new challenges once players completed the emotionally charged story. Crisp foliage, dense shadows, and detailed character design pushed this release to be players’ definitive version of the game.
Best Independent Game
Platinum Trophy: Balatro
Gold Trophy: Palworld Silver Trophy: Phasmophobia Bronze Trophy: Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 (Flat Version)
The frights of Phasmophobia and Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 kept players on their toes, and monster-taming adventure Palworld helped them build community. But this hand ultimately went to Balatro, which built a deck of roguelite fun that turned poker on its head and kept players locked into its hypnotically fun gameplay loop all year.
Immersive horror frights proved a strong draw for PS VR2 players. Despite launching this time last year, Resident Evil 4 VR Mode is still a vivid memory for many, pulling in the majority of player votes as Capcom sublimely adapted the thrills of its survival horror franchise for VR. Vertigo Games brought the post-apolycaptic world of Metro to VR, adding in immersive features while retaining that franchise’s taut, oppressive atmosphere. Phasmophobia proved supernatural escapades are best with company, and Cooking Simulator VR delighted with its culinary chaos.
Best PS4 Game
Platinum Trophy: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Gold Trophy: Metaphor: ReFantazio Silver Trophy: Sonic X Shadow Generations Bronze Trophy: Persona 3 Reload
Some of 2024’s best games launched on both PS5 and PS4 this year. Atlus delivered two RPG bangers with Personal 3 Reload and Metaphor ReFantazio. Sega also expanded on its hedgehog love letter in Sonic X Shadow Generations, featuring a new campaign. What a year for Sega!
Despite the strong competition, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 secures the Best PS4 Game victory this year. Treyarch and its development partners delivered a gripping, action-packed campaign, ushered in the return of round-based Zombies mode, and offered the endless excitement of genre-defining multiplayer. Congrats to the Call of Duty developers for this year’s achievement.
Best PS5 Game
Platinum Trophy: Astro Bot
Gold Trophy: Black Myth: Wukong Silver Trophy: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Bronze Trophy: Stellar Blade
Great gaming experiences launched across the entire stretch of 2024, and four in particular were seemingly top of mind for many voters. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s lavish and expansive RPG adventure kicked things off back in February. Stellar Blade’s sci-fi action unleashed itself on PS5 two months later, with Black Myth: Wukong’s own take on tight combat mechanics leapt into the fray in August. But it was the platforming adventures of Astro Bot, released in September, that netted the majority of votes.
Studio of the Year
Platinum Trophy: Team Asobi
Gold Trophy: Bandai Namco Silver Trophy: Shift Up Bronze Trophy: Arrowhead Games
No video game would exist without talented people and teams pouring their passions into the medium. Every year, we are privileged to experience the imagination and ideas that took years to bring to life. We had one of the greatest satire multiplayer experiences, a new staple in the action-adventure genre, and a team putting out multiple hits in a calendar year. Still, the studio that captured the hearts of players was Team Asobi.
Through Astro Bot, Team Asobi tapped into the simplistic yet hard-to-master, joy of playing a video game. From invoking feelings in seasoned gamers they may have forgotten, to being a new gamer’s first magical experience. They prove to players they have the talent to bring out the best in the art form.
Most Anticipated Game of 2025 and Beyond
Platinum Trophy: Ghost of Yōtei
Gold Trophy: Marvel’s Wolverine Silver Trophy: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Bronze Trophy: Monster Hunter Wilds
Hotly-anticipated heavyweights line the horizon of 2025 onwards. Players haven’t long to wait either: Monster Hunter Wilds launches in just over two months. While its beast-fighting delights kickstart the year, Sucker Punch’s latest adventure will bring sword clashes, exploration and more to 2025 in the form of Ghost of Yōtei. And with Insomniac’s and Kojima Production’s latest works also part of PlayStation’s future, there’s a lot to be excited about.
Yakuza / Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio appears to be teasing a Snoop Dogg appearance in its mysterious new game Project Century.
RGG Studio posted a photo of Snoop wearing the distinctive jacket worn by the protagonist in the Project Century trailer. At the same time, studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama posted a photo of himself in the jacket, mirroring the pose of Snoop.
The Snoop photo has the teasing caption “…yet,” while Yokoyama’s, in Japanese, said: “please wait a bit, yeah?” It’s not the tease RGG Studio fans were expecting of Project Century, which appears to be a new series potentially connected to Yakuza / Like a Dragon but set in 1915, given it was only revealed at The Game Awards 2024 a few days ago, but there are some elements which aren’t completely bizarre.
— RGG Studio | Like a Dragon & Yakuza Series (@RGGStudio) December 17, 2024
Snoop was also at The Game Awards 2024, for example, where he performed a medley of songs to the developers and press in attendance. It’s therefore likely the photo was taken there, and could be as simple as him liking the jacket and wanting a photo in it.
But this isn’t the first time Snoop Dogg’s name has been brought up in relation to the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. Following on from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which featured Danny Trejo as the likeness and voice for villain Dwight Méndez, publisher Sega asked fans which other celebrities they’d like to appear in the series going forward.
Alongside video game adjacent stars such as Keanu Reeves, Mark Hamill, Jack Black, Rami Malek, and David Hayter came other celebrities, one of which was none other than Snoop Dogg. This tease could therefore be the end result of this poll, though nothing is confirmed yet.
Snoop would likely appear as a new character and not just as a cameo of himself, especially if he does show up in Project Century since it’s set 56 years before he was born. Little is known about the game, however, so anything is possible.
They’ll have to be patient for these answers though. Project Century is probably still a while away given it doesn’t have a title yet, and RGG Studio is currently developing Virtua Fighter 6 and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii alongside it.
It is known for its unbelievably speedy development times, however. In the last five years, for example, its released Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, alongside three Super Monkey Ball Games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5. That’s 12 games in total.
In our 9/10 review of the last RGG Studio release, IGN said: “Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has grown so valuable that Japanese crime syndicates are reportedly using it to launder money.
The former head of a crime syndicate told Shunkan Gendai Online, translated by Automaton, that his organization used Pokémon cards as a means of transporting stolen money abroad.
The cards being so small, literally the size of a regular playing card, but holding so much value allowed them to be easily bought, transported, and sold abroad, the crime leader said. Some Pokémon cards are indeed incredibly valuable. The record holder sold for more than $5 million but even some cards in regular packs are worth hundreds of dollars or more.
The crime syndicate used well-documented methods of finding these expensive cards too, which are usually the ones with lots of shiny foiling. Thanks to this, advanced metal detectors are able to pick up the foiling from outside the pack, or incredibly sensitive scales can pick up incremental increases in weight.
This allows the crime syndicate to buy packs in bulk using their illegaly obtained cash, open all with actual value, and then re-sell the remaining ones at cost.
Perhaps inspired by Team Rocket, Pokémon cards and crime have long gone hand-in-hand, though plain theft appears to be at the forefront of criminals’ exploits. Tokyo police reported an unprecedented number of trading card thefts in the latter half of 2022, and there are many high profile examples making headlines.
Making the most of a bad situation, a trading card shop in California also posted a video of thieves who stole 35,000 Pokémon cards from them in January 2024 and mocked them for not knowing what to take.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Great was the adulation last week when FromSoftware announced a new Elden Ring game, Elden Ring: Nightreign – and great the lamentation from certain quarters when it was revealed to be a co-op-focussed experience. If you missed the reveal, perhaps because you value sleep over the spectacle of Geoff Keighley’s fashion friends, let me catch you up: in Nightreign, you pick from one of eight preset characters and explore a parallel-universe version of Elden Ring‘s Limgrave map, fighting lesser foes and levelling up quickly so as to prepare for a boss battle at the end of each 15-minute in-game day.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has received its first major update alongside the release of the Mythical Island Themed Booster, which adds 86 new cards to the game alongside new missions and rewards.
Mythical Island arrived today, December 17, and as a Themed Booster is a smaller set compared to the debut Genetic Apex, which includes 286 cards. Developer Creatures Inc. has still added myriad new missions and solo battles for players to interact with though, which somewhat recreates that opening day feeling of the digital trading card game.
There are plenty of special cards added with Mythical Island too, which despite adding 86 cards total officially caps out at 68 cards. This means there are 18 of the “secrete” alternate art cards, including one immersive and one crown card.
On the mission front, Mythical Island Dex Missions have been added which, just like Genetic Apex, reward players with special shop tickets for collecting five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, and 60 unique Mythical Island cards. These can be used to redeem a Mew icon.
Deck Missions are added too, rewarding players with Rental Decks for collecting some of the major new cards available in Mythical Island including Celebi ex, Gyarados ex, Mew ex, Aerodactyl ex, and Pidgeot ex.
Finally, Themed Collections are also updated for Mythical Island. A variety of missions here reward different items for collecting, well, themed collections of cards, such as the Flower Travelers mission tasking players with collecting the three flower Pokémon in the Florges evolution line.
Solo Battles at the Step-Up and Expert tiers have also been updated with new challenges. Eight new Step-Up Battles have been added for Mythical Island decks, with players able to take on the second most challenging versions of decks such as Celebi ex and Mew ex to earn rewards such as pack hourglasses.
Another eight decks are added at the Expert Battle tier, which each reward seven Pack Hourglasses upon completion. The Step-Up Battles offer five, so a total of 96 Pack Hourglasses are available in solo battles alone, letting players open eight booster packs at no cost. This comes on top of 12 Pack Hourglasses that Creatures Inc. offered as free gift to all players.
As for Wonder Picks, these now appear to only serve Mythical Island packs and no longer Genetic Apex, though it’s possible the new set is just dominating the random selection since the majority of players are presumably opening it on launch day.
Other changes to the game will emerge over the coming days, as the 86 new cards are slotted into the meta and shake up the player versus player scene. A new Vaporeon card is already threatening to make Misty even more powerful, while Aerodactyl ex may lead Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first control deck by stopping players evolving their Active Pokémon.
This huge amount of money comes as Pokémon TCG Pocket follows the standard mobile and free to play game model, flooding players with rewards in the first few days before soon drying up, with spending real world money the only real way to re-experience that early thrill outside of the occasional set drop like this.
Uh, it’s probably not a problem – probably – but I’m seeing a small discrepancy in today’s advent calendar and… no, never mind… it’s well within acceptable bounds. Go ahead, open the door.
The new expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket, dubbed ‘Mythical Island’ is out now via a free, automatic update for all users.
The booster set contains an additional 68 standard cards alongside roughly 20 secret cards for you to find, including the likes of Mew, Celebi, and Aerodactyl.
Then, responding to a user who joked that they wouldn’t be able to use “the poop poop farty 4,000 while doing a mission to clean up porta-potties with my companion skibidi toilet!?!?!?” Winkler said: “I’m not gonna say there’s no toilets but if the word skibidi ships in the game under my watch I’m gonna cry real tears.”
I’m not gonna say there’s no toilets but if the word skibidi ships in the game under my watch I’m gonna cry real tears. Paul Tassi joked that we were gonna have a gun called Hawk 2A and a fellow dev asked me if it was real and I wanted to put my hand down the sink grinder
The Borderlands series, which began with the first game’s release in 2009, is known as much for its humor as it is its loot-driven gameplay. The tone of the jokes have remained relatively consistent throughout the franchise’s run, which takes in 2012’s Borderlands 2, 2014’s The Pre-Sequel, and 2019’s Borderlands 3. Indeed, toilet humor has served Borderlands well so far, with total franchise sales now up to an impressive 81 million copies. But the debut teaser trailer for Borderlands 4 suggested a darker tone this time, and the latest trailer, unveiled at The Game Awards 2024, reinforced this shift.
The TGA 2024 trailer showed snippets of first-person shooting and a few returning characters, including Claptrap.
Here’s the official blurb from Gearbox:
Revealed at The Game Awards, a new trailer introduces The Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. A world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing mayhem across Kairos, the most dangerous planet discovered so far in the Borderlands universe.
Borderlands 4 is the most ambitious Borderlands to date, lovingly hand-crafted by the development studio that first forged the looter shooter genre. The title evolves the series’ gameplay and storytelling in new ways while delivering on the quintessential Borderlands experience fans know and love, including:
Intense action, badass Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons on an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant.
The deepest and most diverse Vault Hunter skill trees of any Borderlands title yet, giving players an unprecedented level of expression through their builds. Paired with the most expansive loot chase yet, players will have all the tools they need to seek out and perfect the build that best matches their style.
Players will be able to seamlessly travel between zones and become immersed in a more dynamic world featuring events and discoverable side missions that encourage and reward exploration.
New traversal mechanics add to the exploration for loot and add new dimensions to combat. A vehicle that can be summoned almost anywhere will have players racing across the beautiful vistas of Kairos in style.
Fight solo or in co-op with up to three other players in this immense sci-fi adventure, packed with free-form combat and exploration, pulse-pounding boss fights, infinitely varied loot drops, and an eclectic cast of unforgettable characters new and old.
“Borderlands 4 is about freedom and being badass,” said Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford. “This is by far the biggest and most insane world we’ve ever made – it’s overloaded with jerkface ratnozzle scrote monsters that need to be put down with the most over-the-top hardcore nuts op guns and loot in any game ever. Oh, and the story also seriously kicks ass!”
Borderlands 4 is set to launch at some point in 2025, and comes after the disastrous launch of the Borderlands movie.
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.
MySims made a surprise comeback on the Switch last month with EA’s release of the ‘Cozy Bundle‘ and the game is still receiving some post-launch support.
In an official update, the development team revealed how it had been working on bug fixes and also implementing new features to the game including a “new teleport interaction”. Here’s the full rundown of Version 1.2, which rolled out last week:
