Author: Game Infliction

A bunch of smarmy teenagers with ridiculous haircuts trying to escape the gloved clutches of an alien race of clowns is the kind of absurd and cheesy premise that makes perfect fodder for the asymmetrical multiplayer horror genre. Following in the footsteps of Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, and many more licensed games, the 1988 cult classic film Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the latest horror movie to try its hand at stealing our still-beating hearts with high-stakes murder sports – and it largely succeeded at capturing mine. The chaotic, unabashedly goofy competitive matches had me and my crew screaming with delight round after round, as we turned each other into cotton candy ornaments and popped one another’s red noses. The silly rounds of mayhem do lack variety and eventually begin to feel as shallow as the graves you’ll dig for your victims, which can make the good times fairly short-lived, but the 25 hours I got out of it before hitting that wall were quite memorable indeed.

Bucking the traditional asymmetrical structure slightly, each match pits seven hapless humans against three killers, as opposed to the usual four on one you see in most games that followed in Dead by Daylight’s bloody footsteps. The Klowns are preposterously over the top, and run around turning humans into sacks of cotton candy with ray guns, hunting teens using a balloon hound on a leash, and mowing terrified victims down with an invisible car. It’s truly some of the zaniest stuff I’ve seen in a multiplayer game in a long time, and it never fails to make me laugh. I especially appreciate the little details, like how the Klowns’ shoes make a comical squeak when you walk, alerting everyone nearby to your presence and leaving cartoonish boot prints all over the floor.

Admittedly, it’s nowhere near as much fun to play as a human because they’re just not as original or goofy as their pursuers. You mostly just sneak around searching for weapons, keys, gas canisters, and other things they need to mount an escape. However, getting away does have a novel twist, because none of the rescue options will allow more than three of the seven teens to leave at once. The boat can be repaired, but only fits three people, while the bridge exit is so rickety it could collapse after it’s been crossed by just two (if they’re not slow and careful as they’re crossing it).

During my time in these outlandish bouts, this led to several hilarious and tense interactions where someone on our team would panic and use up one of the exits to escape a dicey situation alone, leaving the remaining survivors in a lurch. Because there’s only four or five possible exits on each of the five maps, that makes evacuation for the remaining six humans a lot more difficult, and you don’t wanna be that person.

It’s also cool that if a human gets killed or manages to get out of Dodge early on, they’re given the option to play a series of simple but amusing carnival-themed minigames, like Whack-a-Klown or a Simon Says memorization game. By completing these, they’re able to help out their remaining teammates with items to improve their chances, like health, weapons, or even a keycard they might need to escape through one of the exits. I’ve never seen something like this implemented in the genre before, and it’s a great way to keep you engaged after you’ve completed your role in the match – especially if you’ve got survivor’s guilt after taking one of the exits for yourself and leaving the others to fend for themselves.

It’s because of things like this that, even though Killer Klowns borrows a whole heck of a lot from the asymmetrical horror games that came before it, it doesn’t feel like an immediately dull carbon copy with yet another cult horror movie’s skin draped over it. Aside from the macabre humor, the biggest shakeup is that, with a full 10-player match, there’s a whole lot more action happening around the map at all times. As a human, you might find yourself coordinating with a small group of survivors to repair a boat and make an escape, while another posse across the map stages a daring rescue attempt to free an ally that’s been cocooned in cotton candy and is slowly being turned into Klown juice. Meanwhile, as a Klown, you might find yourself hunting down and killing a teenager hiding in a porta-potty, while elsewhere your two allies are collecting cotton candy to power their Klown machines in order to trigger the Klownpocalypse and win the match.

Compare that to a single bad guy slowly stalking the halls trying to kill everyone and Killer Klowns feels a lot more chaotic and casually enjoyable, which fits pretty appropriately with its silly-as-heck vibe. With so much going on in every match, the vast majority of them end with at least a few humans making a successful escape, while the Klowns almost always get at least a few kills in, which makes things feel a lot less sweaty since it’s not so all or nothing.

Another way Killer Klowns achieves this is in how effectively humans are able to fight back (and even kill Klowns relatively easily) once they find the right weapons. A solo Klown chasing a squad of four humans is likely to be in quite a pickle once those teens realize they can just turn around and wail on the grinning goof with axes and baseball bats until it’s forced to spend a minute in timeout before respawning. And there’s no carnival games for you to play, silly Klown! But because Klowns don’t have to loot to be powerful, don’t run out of ammo, and only die temporarily, there’s still a ton of reasons for humans to fear their wacky assailants, especially since ammo is scarce and human weapons break after just a few swings.

This means that both sides, Klowns and humans, have to work with their teammates to achieve victory consistently, and whichever side forms a more cohesive unit is likely to win. That’s exactly what I want in a game like this, and it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s an all too common problem for asymmetrical games to become one-sided fights when it’s a single baddie versus a group of survivors. But in Killer Klowns nobody can really go it alone, and I’ve seen a lot more close matches and interesting interactions than I’d usually expect as a result.

Although the tug-o-war between Klowns and humans is pretty nicely balanced overall, there is one major misstep with it: While humans are given multiple ways to learn about and navigate the map as they find an escape, like compasses they can loot that will point them in the direction of the exits, Klowns have no easy way to identify those areas. This means that unless the Klowns get a lucky spawn and wind up near one or two of the exits, they can spend quite a lot of time running around blindly wondering where players ran off to. This is especially painful for newcomers who don’t understand the maps yet and have an even tougher time figuring out where players might be headed. After the first few minutes of a match, when Klowns will have hopefully found a few exits and gained the ability to instantly jump to any point on the map they’ve already discovered, it becomes a lot more of an even fight – but early on the humans have a huge advantage and often find ways to escape before the Klowns even spot them.

As yet another ongoing game you’re expected to play a whole lot of, Killer Klowns has unlockables earned by playing matches, including both cosmetic stuff for pure flair and new character classes and abilities that can have a very real impact in-game. You can get the beefy Tank Klown class that has health to spare, or the small but mighty Brawler, who moves in quickly and uses boxing gloves to knock the snot out of any annoying adolescents. Meanwhile, the humans unlock different archetypes with names like Rebellious and Tough that mostly play the same, differentiated only by some simple stats that might make one person have more stamina while another does more damage with melee weapons. Unlocking the various Klown classes helped inject some variety into my time, and most of them feel great. My favorite is the Tracker Klown, who is an expert at sniffing out slippery earthlings and turning them into spools of sugar with his shotgun.

Unfortunately, all the gameplay-altering stuff can be unlocked after just a handful of hours (depending on how well you’re doing), and after getting a feel for each of them, things become pretty predictable – and therein lies Killer Klowns’ biggest shortcoming. Each of the five maps has a different layout to learn, but all the exits are the same; there’s always a boat in need of fuel and a spark plug, and there’s always a bridge or tunnel exit that requires a melee weapon and a gate key to pass through, so playing as a human never has any variety to it. As a Klown, you’re always just guarding exits, collecting cotton candy cocoons, and killing teens, so your role remains similarly unchanged every match. After 10+ hours, when everyone I was playing with understood the map layouts and all the possible exits, things began to feel pretty repetitive as we started to run out of ways to keep the fun alive.

That’s a major problem for a multiplayer game that only has one game mode and that you’re supposed to be interested in grinding endlessly. There’s certainly plenty of room to keep honing your skills as a human or Klown, learning to dominate those with inferior map knowledge or combat prowess, but that climb becomes a bit monotonous after you’ve seen the same map 50 times and have repeated the same escape/murdering mechanics ad nauseam. It would be great if more maps, game modes, Klown/human character classes, or alternate escape options were thrown into the mix to revitalize things – here’s hoping developer Illfonic is eyeing those kinds of updates in the near future, but for now I found my interest waning after just a week.

Abubakar Salim, the founder of Surgent Studios and creative director of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, issued a strong statement today addressing harassment both he and his studio have faced since the release of Tales of Kenzera in April.

In a five-minute video posted to X/Twitter (which you can watch below), Salim opens by saying he didn’t want to address the harassment, and that he’s dealt with assertions that he didn’t “deserve the opportunit[ies]” he got from the beginning of his career: “No, it was simply because I’m Black, and I’ve turned my other cheek and just kept doing my thing,” he says.

A needed message. pic.twitter.com/oJaJEeZd61

— Abubakar Salim (@Abzybabzy) May 31, 2024

Salim is also an actor known for roles in Assassin’s Creed Origins, Max’s Raised by Wolves, and an upcoming part in Season 2 of HBO’s House of the Dragon. He goes on to say that he can brush off some of the comments, but “when there’s a constant barrage of them, it’s exhausting.” And, when it came to Tales of Kenzera in particular, the situation reached “a fever pitch,” especially as the game was roped into ongoing harassment campaigns targeting diversity and equity (DEI) efforts on social media.

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s been so much amazing and beautiful support for this game. The fact that it’s inspired so many people and touched, you know, so many lives, it was one of our goals from the outset — to have this positive impact, right?” Salim says. “But at the same time, we are being faced with constant targeted harassment from people who see diversity as a threat. From people who look across the vast landscape of modern media and decide that anything that doesn’t speak to them or centers around them is unnecessary and inauthentic.”

“And look,” he continues, “there’s always a reason why diverse stories can’t exist. You know, it’s always either we’re doing it the wrong way or it’s just there to tick boxes and it’s just beginning to feel like there is no right way. You know, these exclusionary rules continue to stack up and the goalposts continue to shift until, you know, me, my studio, people who look like us, just sit down, be quiet and just accept the fact that you’re outsiders. But I won’t do that.”

“If there are people who aren’t like you in a game, I want you to know that game is still for you,” Salim continues. “You know, if the characters are a different race or a different gender or you know, a different ideology or different perspective, that doesn’t mean the game isn’t for you. It can still be for you.”

It’s that philosophy, Salim says, that inspired him to set Tales of Kenzera at a more affordable price than many other games, going for $20 across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. But the harassment, he continues, has spurred him to make the price of the game even lower to try to make it more accessible to a larger audience.

He announces that, starting today, the price of Tales of Kenzera will be lower than $15 on Switch, giving Nintendo a shoutout for “acting fast on this.”

“I’m working with the team in bringing this discount to all platforms and it’s gonna start from now to until the end of June because, you know, it just means so much to me, man,” he says.

“I believe this is just one way that I can show you how serious I am about this,” he says. “Games are for everyone. Diverse games, they’re not about taking something away from you. They’re about adding something new because there’s room for all of us.”

Salim’s statement comes at a time where the games industry has seen an uptick in harassment on social media, spurring the International Game Developers Association (IDGA) to issue a statement on the matter in March. At the time, the organization said it was “deeply concerned about the increased harassment of historically marginalized developers and those advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a side-scrolling action game that follows a young shaman named Zau as he embarks on capturing spirits of three monsters as offerings to Kalunga, the God of Death, so that he may revive his father. Salim has been open about the fact that the game was inspired by the death of his own father, and in our review, IGN called it a “touching love letter from a grieving son to their deceased father, told in clever and moving allegories about sending restless spirits to the afterlife, that helps it stand out in the pack.”

In his video today, Salim concludes by sending a message to other developers who have told personal stories that “uplift the marginalized and underrepresented.”

“Your work is so important, so important today,” he says. “Whether you realize it or not, you are actually setting an example for the next generation of developers, of creators, of artists, just take that in. Keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you.”

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Team Asobi is finally taking a swing at a full-fledged Astro Bot title, and it says it’s “the biggest game we’ve ever made.”

Studio head Nicolas Doucet spoke on the team’s ambitions during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He says they set out to make the game, simply titled Astro Bot, to be big, adding that it represents more than just the start of Asobi’s new future with PlayStation.

“We wanted to make a big game,” Doucet said. “This is really about going up one notch — really several notches — and having Astro’s big story. We call it Astro Bot because we treat this as a new beginning. That’s a really, really big game. I think for us, that’s the biggest game we’ve ever made.”

PlayStation’s Astro Bot mascot has largely stayed out of the spotlight for the last few years. Some players may recognize the adorable little blue-and-white friend from the PSVR-exclusive Astro Bot Rescue Mission or, more recently, Astro’s Playroom, a game granted to PlayStation 5 owners for free. While these titles flew under the radar for many, they’ve still managed to impress those who checked them out (we gave Rescue Mission a 9/10 and Playroom an 8/10).

Astro Bot finally stepped up when the series’ standalone title was revealed during yesterday’s May 2024 State of Play presentation. PlayStation has already confirmed the project features more than 80 levels that will see players trekking across forests, deserts, volcanos, and more. The footage we’ve seen so far teases an ambitious outing for Sony’s versatile little robot, but not everything is completely new.

Astro Bot will also continue a trend set up in previous installments by including references to other PlayStation titles. Where Astro’s Playroom had players digging for shoutouts to games from across the company’s history, yesterday’s reveal trailer put robot versions of characters like Nathan Drake, Kratos, Ico, and many more front and center. There’s no telling just how many easter eggs are waiting, especially considering Asobi teased that it doubled down on its cast this time around.

“It’s a kind of eye candy,” Doucet added. “There’s going to be more. We’re going to be talking over time about what they mean to the game, but, yes, there’s going to be a big reunion. There’s a lot of characters from the PlayStation universe crossing over with Astro’s path. It’s an Astro Bot story, of course, with Astro being the main character, but there’s a lot of PlayStation characters that play a part.”

Asobi was officially welcomed under the PlayStation umbrella in 2021. Its biggest title to date, Astro Bot, launches for PS5 on September 6, 2024. For more, you can read up on everything else that was announced during the latest State of Play.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Rather than opting for one of the best TVs for PS5, grabbing a gaming monitor lets you enjoy all the top-notch gaming chops a TV offers in a smaller, and often more affordable, package. Sony even made a monitor with the PlayStation 5 in mind, the InZone M9. Its stunning display is ready to deliver high frame rates in 4K and offers PS5-exclusive features, making it our favorite monitor for PS5. But whether you’re after a budget gaming monitor, a massive screen ready to replace a TV, or a gorgeous OLED panel, we’ve got you covered.

TL;DR – These are the Best Monitors for PS5

• Sony InZone M9
• Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM
• Acer Nitro XV282K
• LG UltraGear 48GQ900
• Samsung Odyssey Neo G7

The best monitors for PS5 deliver a speedy 120Hz refresh rate and a 4K resolution, ensuring you can make the most of the breathtaking and immersive visuals available on some of the best PS5 games. Features like VRR and HDR will only enhance your viewing experience, while extra connectivity lets you use the display with your PC battle station, too. So, to help in your search for a PS5 display, we’ve found five top-notch 4K gaming monitors with the specs to keep up.

Want to save on a PS5 monitor? Check out the best gaming monitor deals.

The Best Monitors For PS5

1. Sony InZone M9

Best Monitor for PS5

The Sony InZone M9 was made with the PlayStation 5 in mind, which can even be seen in its black and white color scheme featuring similar design elements to the console. It offers two HDM1 2.1, so you can slot your PS5 into one, letting you take full advantage of the 4K resolution, VRR support, and 120Hz refresh rate. Even if the system is capped at 120Hz, the monitor itself can push 144Hz when using the best gaming PCs. Still, no matter, if you’re playing on your console or PC, gameplay is crisp and fluid

Full array backlighting on this 27-inch IPS display means it’s ready to hang with the best 4K TVs and goes nose to nose with some OLED monitors. The 96 local dimming zones deliver mind-blowing contrast, and haloing will be a thing of the past. Colors are equally excellent: Rich and vibrant with solid accuracy. A handy Auto Tonemapping feature works exclusively with the PS5, automatically adjusting the HDR settings based on the game you’re playing. With a stunning display and all the performance specs to boot, it’s hard not to fall in love with Sony’s InZone M9.

2. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM

Best OLED Monitor for PS5

If you think the Sony InZone M9’s picture sounded great, wait till you lay your eyes on the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. Its sizable 32-inch display features a QD-OLED panel that controls the brightness of each of the 8.2 million pixels. The result is deep, true blacks and incredible dynamic range for absolutely stunning visuals. Color performance isn’t too shabby either; they’re vivid and accurate with 10 bits of color depth and 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. However, similar to other OLEDs, its brightness in SDR mode is nothing to write home about. Luckily, the monitor shines with HDR content.

With a 4K resolution and wild 240Hz refresh rate, this OLED monitor far exceeds the limits of the PS5. Add in VRR support and 0.03ms response time, and it’s hard not to notice how buttery-smooth and snappy this monitor is. Asus ensured there is no shortage of connectivity either, so it’s packing two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, a USB Type-C port with DP capabilities, and a full USB hub. So, beyond slotting in your PS5, you can use other systems and a wealth of peripherals without ever having to unplug.

3. Acer Nitro XV282K

Best Budget Monitor for PS5

Just because you want the 4K/120Hz specs that the PS5 delivers doesn’t mean you need to empty your wallet when finding a monitor. The Acer Nitro XV282K can often be found for less than $500, and features a speedy 144Hz refresh rate, a sharp 4K resolution, and two HDMI 2.1 ports – ensuring you get to use the PS5 to its full potential.

This 27-inch gaming monitor has an IPS panel, which means top-notch viewing angles whether you’re on the couch or at your gaming desk. Outperforming many other IPS displays, Acer’s monitor takes on contrast like a real champion. When you turn on HDR, things get better and colors will be even more vibrant. However, a major flaw when console gaming with this option is the inability to switch between user modes. So, you’re limited to HDR mode, leading to some wonky visuals in certain games.

4. LG UltraGear 48GQ900

Best Big Screen Monitor for PS5

Have you considered skipping a TV altogether? Instead, opting for a jack-of-all-trades monitor that works perfectly for PS5, PC gaming, and your favorite TV shows or movies. The LG UltraGear 48GQ900 may be right up your alley. It puts a massive 47.5-inch 4K OLED display in front of you for easy viewing from the best gaming desks or even your couch. The OLED panel is ultra crisp and vibrant with infinite contrast but struggles with brightness in SDR mode. Still, your average LCD panels pale in comparison. Colors pop while blacks are truly black, especially in HDR mode – weirdly enough, this monitor has no VESA HDR certification.

When it comes to your PlayStation 5, the sharp 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, VRR, and 0.1ms response time deliver smooth, blur-free action in all your games. If you want to swap between gaming on your console to PC, it’s made simple thanks to the inclusion of a DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI ports. The inclusion of two user-configurable game modes even makes it possible to skew the screen exactly to your liking. All that functionality is packed into a sturdy, thin frame with customizable RGB light strips.

5. Samsung Odyssey Neo G7

Best Curved Monitor for PS5

The best TVs for gaming have all but left curved screens in the past, so if you want an immersive display that wraps around your field of view when playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth or Spider-Man 2, grabbing a great curved monitor is the only way to go. The Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 features a lovely 1000R curvature display with a 4K resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and VRR, making it an absolute gaming beast. Silky smooth action and wild responsiveness are guaranteed thanks to quick response time and low input lag while a host of connectivity options let you keep your PS5, Xbox Series X, and gaming PC ported in for easy swapping between.

Besides a healthy curve, Samsung’s 32-inch monitor uses Quantum Mini-LED backlights for commendable local dimming and a high native contrast ratio. Anyone will appreciate the wide color gamut support, deep blacks, and crisp whites. Where the monitor truly shines is in HDR mode, the VA panel hits a wild 2,000 nits of brightness, surpassing all the other monitors on this guide. Just be prepared for blooming around bright objects in dark scenes.

How to Choose a Monitor for PS5

When searching for a monitor for PS5, you must first set a budget. If you want to make the most of what the PS5 can offer graphically, a 4K/120Hz monitor offering VRR is the way to go. Unfortunately, these tend to be pricier than the best 1080p monitors and 1440p displays. You’ll still find a few great 4K options for under $500, but most seem to hover between $500 and $1,000. A monitor is a bigger investment than many other PS5 accessories. Still, you get more bang for your buck with a monitor over a gaming TV.

By going for a 4K resolution, pixel peeping will be less of an issue, so feel free to get a larger-sized monitor. Are you planning on this display becoming a TV replacement? Grab a massive screen like the one offered on the LG UltraGear 48GQ900. For an option that lives on a gaming desk, 27 inches should satisfy the average gamer, while a 32-inch or curved screen can provide a more immersive viewing experience.

Your display panel type is important to the quality of the image, and each type of panel exceeds in certain areas over others. TN panels are the most basic with speedy response time at the cost of rich colors and viewing angles. IPS panels deliver excellent contrast and colors with slower response times. VA panels basically split between TN and IPS, offering a solid picture and response times. There’s also been an emergence of OLED panels – which are more common in TVs. OLEDs have excellent contrast, color, and vibrancy.

As for the aspect ratio of said display, we’d recommend sticking with the traditional 16:9 that the PS5 is optimized for. Going ultrawide may make it harder for the display to hit and maintain higher frame rates.

Speaking of frame rates, the refresh rate is how often your screen can display a new image, and the PS5 is capable of hitting up to 120Hz, no matter the resolution. So, there’s no need to seek out a higher refresh rate in your monitor if you’re only planning on using it with your console. But if you’ve got a high-end gaming PC capable of hitting higher frame rates in 4K or want a future-proof option, by all means, grab a faster monitor. It’s important to note that some PS5 games may not be able to hit 120Hz in 4K, so dropping down to 1440p or 1080p could lead to smoother action.

Just like how your gaming PC uses either Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, the PS5 added support for a variable refresh rate (VRR) a couple of years after its initial release. This technology synchronizes the frame rate of your monitor and the console to prevent screen tearing and stuttering. Another handy feature is auto low latency mode (ALLM), helping reduce the latency between your button presses on the best PS5 controllers, ensuring it matches up with what’s happening on screen. Both technologies are absolute game changers that can give you an edge over opponents. The PS5 also supports HDR. So, for a brighter and richer picture quality, find a monitor that offers HDR.

If you’re looking to play competitive shooters or MoBAs on your PS5, you’ll want a monitor offering a speedy response time of 1 ms or less. Most other games should play absolutely fine with a response time below 5ms.

Of course, you can’t forget about connectivity on the best monitor for PS5. That means at least one HDMI 2.1 is a must to enjoy 4K/120Hz. It’s handy to have multiple HDMI’s to hook up another console and a DisplayPort for your gaming PC, so you don’t need to worry about swapping around cables depending on what you’re playing.

Gaming Monitor for PS5 FAQ

What resolutions can the PS5 run at?

The top resolution supported by the PS5 is 4K, aka UHD or 2160p, at up to a speedy 120Hz refresh rate. The problem with that refresh rate at such a sharp resolution is not all games can run frames that high. Dropping down to 1440p or 1080p—both resolutions are supported by PS5 and offer up to a 120Hz refresh rate—may lead to smoother action in certain games.

Should I use a TV or monitor with my PS5?

It’s a matter of personal preference. TVs tend to pull ahead in size, image quality, and HDR performance. So, if you’re looking to game on your couch over a desk, a TV is the way to go. Monitors on the other hand have a huge edge over TVs when it comes to input lag and high refresh rates; the latter may not be as important given the PS5 maxes out at 120Hz. Still, if you want a responsive display, monitors are the way to go. For more info, be sure to glance at our guide to gaming monitors vs. gaming TVs.

Danielle is a freelance writer for IGN based in Los Angeles who spends most of her time updating buying guides. When she’s not writing, you’ll probably find her obsessively reading, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, or scouring the web for anything related to music history.

In recent weeks, reports have surfaced that Take-Two is shuttering Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and OlliOlli World developer Roll7. Now, IGN has learned that not only are these closures imminent, but they are a part of a larger move by Take-Two to either sell off or shut down the entirety of its indie label, Private Division.

Earlier this month, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told IGN that Take-Two “didn’t shutter” its owned indie studios Intercept Games and Roll7. At the time, that was technically true; both studios are currently operational, but they won’t be for long. Speaking to multiple anonymous sources familiar with the matter, IGN has independently confirmed that Intercept Games is set to close on June 28, following a notice period required by the Washington State WARN Act. Roll7, too, is similarly winding down, though a small team remains to tie up loose ends.

Meanwhile, Take-Two wants to offload Private Division, one way or another. In February, IGN understands employees were told layoffs were imminent, but not given specifics on how many, why, or what was happening. Then, at the end of April, employees of the label were told by management that Take-Two would no longer support Private Division, at which time almost all the staff were laid off.

A small crew remains to support the remaining announced games with which Private Division has publishing deals: Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked (which is currently in early access), Wētā Workshop’s Tales of the Shire, and an untitled project from Game Freak. Take-Two has backed out of two other publishing deals it had previously agreed to under the label – one previously reported deal with Bloober Team, and another sources described to us that would have been with Ghostrunner developer One More Level.

Though Private Division and its associated studios appear in danger of vanishing entirely, Take-Two is looking for other options…albeit with mixed success. The publisher has been in talks to find a buyer for the Kerbal Space Program IP, with or without Intercept Games attached. IGN has learned that discussions took place for such a deal with strategy game publisher Paradox Interactive, but fell through, and it’s unclear if another buyer will materialize in time.

Take-Two is also in discussions to sell off Private Division, and has found interest from a private equity firm. Though a deal has not been agreed upon yet, sources were aware that conversations are being facilitated in part by individuals with connections to Moon Studios leadership. But two of my sources expressed apprehension about such a deal and its connections, citing a 2022 VentureBeat report alleging “oppressive” work conditions at Moon Studios. One source I spoke with confirmed that “everything” in the report was “true and worse” and another called the studio’s founders “cruel” and “a nightmare” to work with.

All those I spoke to for this story expressed frustration at Take-Two leadership for alleged mismanagement of the label, and called out chief strategy officer and Private Division head Michael Worosz for poor leadership. Sources say the label was often saddled with unreasonable sales targets, and pressured to release games before they were ready, with Kerbal Space Program 2 being a notable recent example. And yet, all of those I spoke to shared feelings of sadness surrounding the fate of Private Division, citing the team’s sincere mission to help smaller, independent studios, especially those that were newer and less established.

“The people at Private Division were amazing, talented, passionate individuals who loved what they did and also really cared about each other as a team and as people,” one person said. “We loved our projects, we worked hard, and we fostered a great environment internally. I would love to work with any of them again. The pain point was always Take-Two and associated leadership forcing our hand. The whole layoff situation proved what we already felt. Take-Two could not care less about its employees.”

Take-Two declined to comment for this piece; Moon Studios did not respond in time for publication.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Toys for Bob, the Crash Bandicoot 4 developer and Call of Duty support studio that left the Xbox-owned Activision in February 2024, has signed an agreement with Xbox directly to publish its next game.

Revealed in a post on X/Twitter, Toys for Bob confirmed reports from March 2024 that claimed it would team up with Xbox once again. Its next game, which the studio said will return it to its roots, is still in “very early development,” but it’s partnering with Xbox to publish it.

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be partnering with @Xbox to publish our next new game. We’re still very early in development, so you might not hear from us for a bit – but know that we’re working hard on an experience we’re so sooo inspired about! Can’t wait to share more 💜 pic.twitter.com/6EqrQbabpv

— Toys For Bob (@ToysForBob) May 31, 2024

“We’re excited to announce that we’ll be partnering with Xbox to publish our next new game,” Toys for Bob said. “We’re still very early in development, so you might not hear from us for a bit, but know that we’re working hard on an experience we’re so sooo inspired about. Can’t wait to share more “

Toys for Bob has been active since 1990, but was acquired by Activision in 2005 and became known for developing the Skylanders games. It later remastered the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot trilogies before creating Crash Bandicoot 4.

In more recent years, however, it’s spent most of its time as a Call of Duty support studio, helping other Activision developers create the annualized franchise.

But amid mass industry acquisitions and layoffs, Toys for Bob announced it would be leaving Activision and Xbox to return to being an independent studio. “Over the years, we’ve inspired love, joy, and laughter for the inner child in all gamers,” it said at the time. “This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio.”

Toys for Bob remains independent despite this new partnership with Xbox, as the console maker will essentially provide funding for its game and receive some of its profits without owning the game itself.

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