Category: IGN

The Stop Killing Games initiative has reached the crucial 1 million signatures milestone in its quest to preserve video games for decades to come, but its fight isn’t over yet.

The self-described consumer movement soared past the goal yesterday, July 3, cementing its status as an impressive petition in gaming history and a movement that has plenty of gas left in the tank. It’s all in the name of protecting the video games players love – and even the ones they don’t – as the industry steadily marches toward a digital future.

A lot of games we buy today are built to just stop working when the publisher pulls the plug on em. It needs to stop. If you are EU citizen please consider signing #stopkillinggames initiative. https://t.co/vlyIEXcpnh pic.twitter.com/nsTusFyGrL

— Pat_ (@Pat8_8) July 2, 2025

Social media feeds have since filled with reactions from supporters praising an operation that could help save multiplayer and single-player games for future generations. While gamers take to the internet to celebrate, spokesperson and organizer Ross Scott says reaching 1 million signatures is good news but far from a victory.

“OK, the breaking news: The European Citizens’ Initiative has crossed 1 million signatures – except it hasn’t,” Scott said in a video update uploaded yesterday. “This is going to kill morale, but there are two things going on here. The first we knew was coming. Every time somebody makes a mistake when they sign the Initiative, their signature gets invalidated. So that means we need more signatures to make up for everybody’s mistakes.”

It’s an important variable in the equation on the road to 1 million legitimate Stop Killing Games endorsements, and it’s just one flaw to consider. The other involves reports Scott has received regarding fabricated signatures that could be artificially inflating the initiative’s progress.

“First off, I want to say that this is not a Change.org petition,” Scott adds. “This is a government process. Spoofing signatures on it is a crime. Please do not do this. They’ll be checked later by the EU commission, and my guess is the fake ones will get turned over to the Europol or Interpol, and they’ll follow up on this.”

To anyone who made a mistake or isn’t sure if they signed the EU initiative already, you can contact the official spokesperson (Daniel Ondruska) and he can direct you on how to reach the EU to sort it out. His contact is on the page under “more info”https://t.co/EpnNTDR85U

— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 4, 2025

To account for what could be a significant number of invalid Stop Killing Games signatures, the initiative has altered its ideal goal to be 1.4 million signatures. At the time of this story’s publication, Stop Killing Games has reached 1.07 million endorsements ahead of its July 31 end date.

“So, yeah, that sucks,” Scott continued. “We’ll just keep plodding away unless we can figure out what the safe numbers are. Sorry this isn’t a big victory celebration. This is just kind of suspenseful and tense instead, and will probably hurt the morale of people signing.”

Save States

Scott, who has created gaming content via his Accursed Farms YouTube channel for more than a decade, launched Stop Killing Games in April 2024 as a direct response to Ubisoft’s decision to shut down its popular open-world racing game, The Crew. The movement aims to create a ripple effect that could shake the industry into keeping games online long after players lose interest.

It means everything from The Crew to Concord could theoretically remain online to enjoy should the initiative amass enough public complaints to see the European Commission pass a law protecting consumer rights. Ideally, players could see live-service and multiplayer titles like BioWare’s Anthem, which was given a shutdown schedule just yesterday, could continue on in some form should a publisher decide to sunset support. Success could also mean single-player games that rely on online components, such as Death Stranding or Dark Souls, could remain intact, too.

WEAK

I know Anthem got panned, but it’s another example of one that seems like it had a cool looking world to run around in. I was interested in trying it out and keeping my expectations low. Yet another example of why SKG is so needed.https://t.co/fDsq0ZsP8K

— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 3, 2025

Stop Killing Games wants to save the art that developers pour their hearts into while protecting consumers who prefer to access games they’ve already paid for, and it’s a movement that hundreds of thousands of game players are already supporting. Following its promising launch last year, however, the initiative struggled to maintain the support it needed to push its way through to the eyes that needed to see it.

Stop Killing Games’ chances at a successful campaign became so dire that Scott went as far as to publish a video titled “The end of Stop Killing Games” just last week. In the hour-long explainer piece, Scott listed a lack of exposure as one primary cause behind the lack of support. It was the Hail Mary the initiative needed, though, as prominent YouTubers like Jacksepticeye, penquinz0/Cr1TiKaL, Ludwig, and more were quick to voice their support with their own videos.

All within the weeks since Scott shared his concerns, Stop Killing Games has gained hundreds of thousands of signatures, resulting in a solid chunk of the more than 1 million names attached to the movement today. Success remains uncertain even if Scott is able to reach that magic 1.4 million number, with even more uncertainty lying on the other side of that goal post. Still, as outlined by Scott on the Stop Killing Games website, he feels optimistic about the future of game preservation if the signature goal is met.

“If we can pass the signature threshold,” Scott says, “there is a very strong chance that the European Commission will pass new law that will both protect consumer rights to retain video games that customers have purchased and advance preservation efforts massively.”

Should the word get out to enough interested individuals, players could see somewhat of a return to the days when buying a game came with the assurance that it would remain playable regardless of post-launch interference. We’ll have all of the updates here at IGN, but in the meantime, you can read up on our coverage of Stop Killing Games’ launch here. You can also check out the other goals Stop Killing Games has managed to achieve in the past year. You can also learn about how digital PC storefront GOG is doing its part when it comes to game preservation.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

A real-time strategy take on Resident Evil has been announced for iPhone and Android, developed in “close collaboration with Capcom to ensure authenticity and quality.”

Resident Evil Survival Unit is being co-developed by Joycity Corporation, a Korean mobile gaming company that previously made Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War, another licensed real-time strategy spin-off.

A full reveal of Survival Unit will take place next week but, until then, a single piece of artwork released today offers the smallest of clues to the game’s setting.

Amid a suitably dark and ominous atmosphere, a vehicle is stopped in the woods next to an advertising billboard for… you guessed it, Umbrella Corporation. The ad shows two happily smiling people, with the tagline: “Our Business is life itself…”

Umbrella existing likely places Resident Evil Survival Unit before the events of Resident Evil 4, by which point the evil organisation has crumbled. Could we be looking at the woods around the Arklay Mountains, near Raccoon City? We can just about glimpse a mountain range in the background, so it’s possible.

It’s easy to imagine a real-time shooter taking advantage of the events seen in and around the Resident Evil game, where several teams of STARS commandos — characters that fans have now grown to care about — most be poked and prodded into action, while kept alive for as long as you can.

Nintendo has officially opened UK preorders for the upcoming Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo, launching the same day as Donkey Kong Bananza, on July 17, 2025.

Releasing alongside a highly anticipated Switch 2 exclusive, the amiibo is now available through the My Nintendo Store UK for £16.99, with orders capped at three per customer.

Featured in this article

Nintendo also confirmed during its dedicated Donkey Kong Bananza Direct that the game supports every previously released amiibo. Scanning non-DK series figures will instead get you giant material balls, which you can also make DK throw to traverse certain stages.

Preorders on the My Nintendo Store UK include standard delivery for £1.99 or free shipping if your order hits £20 or more. If you were planning on ordering any other DK figures (like those above), or games, like the various bundles for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you may as preorder one of those now and save yourself a few pounds.

I’ve checked by adding both items to my basket testing the checkout and, even though Pokemon Legends: Z-A is releasing later than the Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo on October 16 (meaning both will arrive via separate deliveries), shipping will still be free for the entire order.

The amiibo announcement follows a jam-packed Nintendo Direct showcasing Donkey Kong Bananza’s return to 3D platforming. New features include wild Bananza transformations, skill trees, a costume shop, and the creative DK Artist Mode where players sculpt and paint items and characters.

Donkey Kong Bananza drops in just a couple of weeks, and with this amiibo, you’ll be more than ready to swing into action and have a cool figure in your display.

I’ve always been skeptical of Persona spin-offs. How can you twist such rich games into new shapes while maintaining the intricate details that make the series so beloved? Well, when it comes to the most recent addition to the family, Persona5: The Phantom X, the team at Perfect World appear to have done just that – or, at least, that’s how it seems on the surface. With beautifully animated cutscenes and a goosebump-inducing soundtrack, The Phantom X makes it clear early on that it isn’t keen to shake up the Persona formula. What it does do, however, is infuse that already excellent base with the all too familiar premium currencies of a mobile-focused gacha game. I have a more to play before my final review, but no matter how close it comes to recapturing the magic, there’s already a creeping sensation that this walk down memory lane is going to make way for endless grinding eventually.

Despite being a Persona 5 spin-off, The Phantom X doesn’t centre around Joker and his crew – instead, you’ll be playing as a fresh protagonist, Nagisa Kamisiro (though you can still pick your own name), in an alternate timeline version of that story. A seemingly average student, Kamasiro’s life changes when an adorable owl called Lufel calls on them to fight back against the misery and hopelessness enveloping the world, and to turn the tables against the great despair that clouds the hearts of the public. Unable to refuse, Kamasiro learns to wield their inner Persona and travels to the shadow world to help clear out the collective unconscious, one monster at a time. If you’ve played Persona 5, you’ll quickly notice that The Phantom X is following its formula beat by beat.

To fight off the aforementioned evil, you’ll bounce between beautifully recreated Tokyo neighborhoods and the monster-filled Metaverse, seeking out misbehaving fiends and infiltrating their minds while learning to master the series’ trademark turn-based combat that centers around elemental weaknesses. And because Kamisiro is a teen, you’ll also have to balance studying, part-time work, and home life, too. With all of its obvious derivations, The Phantom X struggles to conjure fresh ideas or immediate excitement in the shadow of a nearly decade-old modus operandi, but it at least manages to successfully clone the Persona formula, and that will be enough for some.

Thankfully, where the gameplay itself feels overfamiliar, the surrounding cast of characters provides enough mystery and warmth to keep things interesting. Alongside Kamisiro, you’ll meet the baseball-loving Motoha Arai, your husband-obsessed neighbour Kayo Tomiyama, and adorable schoolmate Tomoko Noge, to name a few. With energetic voice acting to back up their emotive and often humorous dialogue, it’s clear there’s been an effort to give the NPCs a sense of self, or at least the ones I’ve met so far. It didn’t take me long to forge an emotional attachment to them. Morgana’s anthropomorphic owl counterpart, Lufel, is a particular standout, and I am thoroughly enjoying a running gag about their somewhat archaic vocabulary confusing the school-aged NPCs.

You’ll spend most of your days in Kamisiro’s shoes doing time-progressing tasks like studying for school in local cafes, working at the Konbini for cash, and buying groceries that you can use to cook back at your home. I’m still scratching the surface on how integral these side tasks feel in the scope of saving the world, though I’ve been enjoying making shopping lists and gawking at iconic Tokyo landmarks all the same. Particularly, wandering through the bustle of Shibuya Scramble and spotting its famous puppy mascot amongst the beaming electronic signs felt like a wonderful ode to a city I’ve come to love in both real life and games.

Aside from being a typical teen, much of your time in The Phantom X is spent in battle, and your combat expeditions launch from the Metaverse app located on Kamisiro’s phone. You can access these challenges anytime from the overworld, but you’ll need to use a naturally refreshing currency called Stamina to reap the rewards. Focusing on the mainline story missions will help keep you on track in terms of difficulty, though you can also explore a variety of combat challenges as you please to stockpile loot and earn experience, too. This is where the first hints of grinding come into focus but, mercifully, the combat in The Phantom X is very moreish and easy to sink time into.

The Phantom X bases its combat system on Persona 5, meaning it’s turn-based with engaging reactive elements. When you roll up on a baddie, you’ll cycle through your party one member at a time, choosing between melee attacks, ranged attacks, and special Persona abilities. Similar to Pokémon, the enemies you’ll face, as well as the Personas you deploy, all have elemental strengths and weaknesses (like fire or ice) that can be exploited for extra damage. It’s a tried-and-tested system with enough diversity in its moveset to keep battles fresh, and even if you are starting to tire of it, the imagination-stoking enemy designs pull a good amount of weight throughout. What makes Persona combat truly unique, though, is the series’ bold interface design and legendary battle themes. I promise, no matter how many times you’ve already heard Persona 5’s Last Surprise, it just doesn’t get old.

Sadly, no amount of vocal flair from singer Lyn Inaizumi can make up for the sizable array of gacha systems and currencies you need to balance in The Phantom X. While there are characters and Personas you can unlock through the story, the quickest way to bolster your team is to engage in the lucky dip Contracts menu. In line with most other Gacha games on the market, you can earn the currencies you need to pull by grinding, or cut to the chase and pop in your credit card details to get an instant boost. I’m still only about 10 hours into my playthrough, and I’ve not hit any obvious roadblocks, but I can see them coming. At my current level, I have enough cash to buy health items, as well as a plethora of unique currencies to upgrade my Personas, weapons and more. Plus, when it comes to actually engaging with the gacha spins, I don’t feel like the boost they provide are hugely necessary to my success yet. Inevitably, this won’t last, though, and I can see cash-shaped hurdles on the horizon.

Outside of the inclusion of premium currencies, perhaps my biggest issue with The Phantom X so far is that it feels more like an uncanny reflection of Persona 5, rather than a unique take on its established lore. Other spin-offs like Persona 5 Tactica or Persona 5 Strikers feel like strong additions to the series that come at it from a completely different angle, whereas The Phantom X is more of a well-executed imitation. It’s not to say that I’m bored, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both its combat and getting to know the characters so far. The first few chapters of its story are well-written, appropriately shocking, and do well to hook you into the world. But The Phantom X’s “do-over” take on the story The Phantom Thieves just isn’t providing a new enough experience to warrant the amount of time (or possibly money) I’ll need to invest to see it through when Persona 5 and its predecessors are readily available and feel far more curated and engaging.

While I’m mostly enjoying my time with Persona5: The Phantom X so far, there’s still so much to explore before delivering my final review, like investigating the depth of the upgrade systems and the long-term impact of premium currencies as you progress. As a fan of the series, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth when it comes to fresh Persona 5-related content. But as of right now, I’m just unsure about how The Phantom X can deviate enough from the core material to compel me to invest in it long term – only time will tell.

Black Bolt and White Flare are out in Japan, and prices are already settling on the most sought-after cards. I’ve been following the early market closely on TCGPlayer and eBay, and it’s clear which cards are leading the packs… get it?

Zekrom and Reshiram are pulling in the highest numbers, while full-art Trainers and EX cards are also climbing fast. For now, here’s a look at the most expensive cards from both sets right now, based on what I’ve found.

Black Bolt: Japan’s Most Expensive Cards

EA has announced it will shut down BioWare’s Anthem on January 12, 2026.

Because Anthem’s only content is online, this means the game will be unplayable after that date.

Premium in-game currency will stop being sold today, though existing balances will still be able to be used until the game shuts down. The game will be removed from EA’s storefront on August 15, 2025, but will still be available for download if it’s already in your library until it officially shuts down.

Anthem launched in February of 2019 to lukewarm reviews, including our own 6.5/10 which criticized the grindiness, lack of polish and variety, and a mismatched story. The game had sold 5 million copies as of December of 2023, which fell short of EA’s target of 6 million copies in the first few months. Though EA continued to update and improve Anthem in the months that followed its launch, in February of 2021, EA ceased active development on the game. The following month, its game director departed the company.

In an FAQ, EA stated that no layoffs occurred at the company as the result of Anthem’s sunset. This will come as a relief, given that EA has undergone a number of massive staffing cuts in the last few years that have left staff reeling.

In May, EA shut down Cliffhanger Games and canceled its in-development Black Panther game, laying off an unknown number of individuals in the process. That same month, it implemented mandatory return-to-office for all workers.

Just the month before, EA laid off roughly 300 people, and still earlier this year EA restructured Anthem developer BioWare, moving some developers to other projects and laying off others. That was all just in 2025. Last year, EA underwent a massive restructuring that resulted in 670 workers laid off company-wide, and the year before that in 2023, 50 individuals were laid off at BioWare and an unknown number of others were cut at Codemasters.

As for BioWare, it’s currently fully focused on Mass Effect 5 after the sales failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

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.

Hades 2‘s next patch could be its last before the game emerges from its early access cocoon.

As spotted by RPS, the roguelike action RPG’s latest patch — the Unseen Update — introduces a “number of adjustments to some of the latest additions,” but developer Supergiant did tease that this will “likely be [its] final patch before the v1.0 launch”… “whenever that will be.”

The team said it will continue to monitor your feedback in the meantime.

The full patch notes are included below, although please note we’ve removed any notes including spoiler tags, so you’ll have to head on over to Steam to read those. Anything in bold has been inspired directly “by community feedback.”

Hades 2 Unseen Update Patch 10 patch notes:

General Gameplay

• Reduced further cases of successive attacks causing you to become ‘stun-locked’
• Whenever you take damage to Armor, it will reduce any temporary Armor you have from sources such as Security System (Hephaestus), prior to reducing the more-permanent kind

Nocturnal Arms & Abilities

• Sister Blades: Omega Attack can no longer be interrupted by foes
• Umbral Flames: reduced orbit speed of Omega Special projectiles, but increased their damage
• Argent Skull: Omega Special wave projectiles no longer stagger foes
• Black Coat: increased speed of Attack sequence and damage of first strike; slightly increased Omega Attack channel speed, and it can block more types of incoming area-effect damage; increased Special accuracy

Aspects of the Nocturnal Arms

• Witch’s Staff (Melinoë): reduced bonus to Magick and Power
• Witch’s Staff (Momus): slightly increased how long it takes your serpents to fire successive Omega Moves

Oath of the Unseen

• Vow of Frenzy: now also makes foes enter the battle faster; reduced effect on Vow of Rivals moves
• Vow of Scars: fixed several cases where this was not reducing Life recovery as expected

Boons & Blessings

• Steady Growth (Demeter): now will only Rarify itself if you have no other eligible Boons
• Hestia: Scorch Curse can no longer deal Critical damage or similar, nor is affected by Air Quality (Zeus)
• Flame Strike (Hestia): slightly reduced Scorch damage
• Flame Flourish (Hestia): slightly reduced Scorch damage
• Success Rate (Hermes): no longer affects the passive effect of Raki
• Incandescent Aura (Hera x Hestia): reworked — now deals damage to all Hitch-afflicted foes when you restore Magick
• Natural Selection (Poseidon x Demeter): reworked — now distributes bonus Lv. to your primary Boons
• Scalding Vapor (Poseidon x Hestia): no longer can activate the Froth Curse
• Gigaros Dash (Hades): reduced damage; fixed Scorn amplifying damage other than Attack and Special
• Unseen Ire (Hades): fixed an issue causing the effect duration to last longer than stated
• Crimson Dress (Arachne): fixed an issue causing this to give a high damage bonus right away; increased bonus per Encounter

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

• Boosted Ignition (Skull): no longer offered while using
• Looming Ignition (Skull): fixed an issue causing this to give its full damage bonus immediately rather than over the duration as described

Hexes & Path of Stars

• 📢 Adjusted Path of Stars layouts to make room especially for Godsent upgrades
• Adjusted when Godsent upgrades are offered during the story for the first time, now later than before
• Twilight Curse: this and other Morph effects now block any on-death attacks when afflicted foes are slain, with the exception of Inferno-Bombs
• Prize of Poseidon (Moon Water): cut from game; replaced with…
• Pride of Poseidon (Moon Water): new! Godsent upgrade gradually restores Life and Magick over time
• Zenith (Sky Fall): cut from game; replaced with Ambition, which deals bonus damage to Guardians
• Lineage: new! Your Hex can be Godsent one more time when used in Guardian Encounters

Keepsakes

• Discordant Bell: effect now persists for the night even after you switch Keepsakes

Resources & Reagents

• Reduced chance of never finding the resource type aligned with your Animal Familiar in shorter regions

Shrine of Hermes

• Fresh Sustenance MAX: reduced Life recovery

Art & Visual FX

• Added alternate textures when using upgraded Tools of the Unseen
• Updated visual FX when Crescent Pick Outcroppings are depleted
• Added visual indicator in Boon Info for when Arcana are disabled due to Barren (Chaos)

Miscellaneous

• Melinoë now can greet Frinos while he is in the Training Grounds, as with the other Animal Familiars
• Gameplay Timer now also pauses automatically when interacting with the Path of Stars
• Heracles no longer sometimes ominously just stands around after his Encounters
• Updated presentation for Icarus fly-by attacks
• Improved feedback on Life and Magick gauges after swapping Keepsakes that modify your totals
• Improved feedback spending resources in the Altar of Ashes, Silver Pool, and Music Maker screens
• Improved contextual feedback on various Boons when affected by Vow of Scars
• Damage from Specials and Omega Specials is now separated for some weapons on the Victory Screen
• Reduced cluttered damage numbers using Argent Skull (Medea)
• Added letterbox to the game intro in some aspect ratios
• Updates and fixes to translations in some languages

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Melinoë could suddenly take 500 damage using Eruption (Path of Stars) and Night Bloom (Selene) to raise a Tempus in the battle against Chronos…
• Fixed a number of story events that were never playing
• Fixed a number of contextual voice lines that were never playing
• Fixed cases where you would sometimes Dash-Strike unexpectedly using the Moonstone Axe
• Fixed some interactions between and Psychic Whirlwind (Daedalus)
• Fixed Black Coat not interacting with some abilities that improved Channeling speed
• Fixed visual issues where strikes with Hidden Aspects sometimes appeared to be interrupted by foes
• Fixed Wounds from Ares sometimes causing on-hit slowdowns too frequently
• Fixed Sea Star (Poseidon) sometimes doubling items created by Gold Gold Gold (Echo)
• Fixed Personal Loan (Dionysus) giving you nothing back if it got Rarified
• Fixed Heracles sometimes turning invisible while attacking
• Fixed cases where Athena could unexpectedly appear more than once per night
• Fixed cases where using Cast to interrupt Attacks or Specials would pause animations longer than expected
• Fixed Past Deeds screen not showing more than 36 Boons if you had that many
• Fixed Satyr Supplicant Life Bars persisting after they were slain
• Fixed Ares Plasma UI indicator sometimes disappearing unexpectedly
• Fixed several text errors
• Other minor fixes

Hades 2 is the sequel to Supergiant’s hit game, mixing engaging storytelling and roguelite action elements for an engaging dungeon-crawling experience. We thought Hades 2 was ‘Amazing’ when it released in May 2024, slapping it with a 9 in our early access review, writing: “Even in its Early Access state, Hades 2 is just about everything one could ask for in a sequel to one of the best roguelites of all time. Featuring excellent refinements to its roguelite progression, a fantastic new main character in Melinoe, and two unique sets of levels that have you fighting foes on the surface and in the underworld.”

ICYMI, yes, Hades 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as a timed console exclusive.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Roblox brought in 1,000 developers to participate in The Hatch, an event the Lego-like game platform says will go down as its biggest Easter Egg hunt ever. While the official experience is propped up as an important moment, thousands of players have already voiced their support for a boycott by using the #BoycottTheHatch across social media.

The Hatch went live earlier today, cracking open its doors for players across the platform to enjoy the work put in by an army of Roblox developers. It’s entirely free-to-play and will no doubt attract millions of players who have been looking forward to the company’s latest Easter Egg hunt experience for the last month. What should be an exciting moment for the community has turned into a controversial stain as players and developers alike band together to opt out of The Hatch in favor of a movement that aims to make the platform safer for all ages forever.

Disappointing #BoycottTheHatch pic.twitter.com/J6lhYkY4j1

— Kakiparks (@CKs_hidingplace) June 20, 2025

Communication from Roblox Corporation has done little to ward off concerns that the gaming giant is failing to protect users from inappropriate content. Though much of the firestorm that’s taken hold of the conversation has subsided, many fear issues surrounding The Hatch are only a symptom of larger issues yet. Community organization opposed to The Hatch could be the start of what players hope will be meaningful change, but they’ve got a long way to go.

What Is The Hatch?

Prominently featured atop the Roblox home page, The Hatch is an Easter Egg hunt-themed umbrella event that runs from July 2–12 and incorporates a variety of Roblox experiences. Joining the event teleports players to an island realm, which itself serves as an in-between area to hang out in before traveling to a more fleshed-out hub world. In this vacation paradise, users can take in the sights across different colorful biomes while completing quests, challenging others for higher leaderboard spots, and purchasing cosmetic items. It all revolves around one goal: collect as many eggs as possible.

Each painted collectible isn’t found in The Hatch itself, though. Instead, players use the official Roblox hub world to transport themselves to other user-created Roblox experiences via portals placed around the map. Each portal features around 40 games that range from Squid Game obstacle courses to anime-inspired fighting simulators. These are where the eggs can be found, and while they’re often not particularly well hidden, The Hatch and Easter Egg hunts in general have proven to be enticing events that get Roblox players engaged with experiences they know and some they don’t.

Hundreds of Roblox games are included in The Hatch, cementing the event as a crucial limited-time mode with official backing from Roblox Corporation. The Hatch’s page had more than 46 million visits at the time of this piece’s publication. It also describes an experience that is “suitable for everyone.”

Roblox Players Take Action Against a Controversial Creator

Roblox pulled back the curtain on The Hatch June 12, marking a return to beloved Easter Egg hunting festivities with more to do and more polish than ever. It was an exciting moment marred by controversy when players caught wind that infamous (and verified) Roblox developer TheOfficiaITeddy had been invited to include his creations.

Roblox is a free-to-play platform that is no doubt used by countless children every day, yet, nearly 20 years into its lifespan, Roblox Corporation still finds itself facing accusations that it’s cultivated a dangerous environment for younger players. TheOfficiaITeddy is one developer at the center of the conversation surrounding these topics thanks to his involvement in what many call “condo” games. These social experiences allow players to mingle with one another, but it’s the allegations that Teddy’s condo experiences have featured romantic, dating, and even sex-themed content that have the community ready to take action.

“This person has gained HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of visits on games that can only be described as s*x games,” one popular post from X/Twitter user @RoCatchers said. “These games feature inappropriate animations disguised as innocent stuff, and people within the games use it for lewd acts. These games also feature private ‘motel rooms’ that you can lock allowing people to be 1 on 1. These games are often a target for predators.”

The creator, whose seemingly harmless light-blue teddy bear avatar has filled social media feeds, is responsible for publishing popular titles like Boys and Girls Club Hangout Roleplay and CNP and Slender Hangout, both of which have since been removed from Roblox’s list of publicly available experiences. Suggestive content is believed to be the cause behind previous bans and content takedowns from Roblox Corporation, but despite numerous reports of action taken against TheOfficiaITeddy in the past, players found that the creator has managed to find his way back to the Roblox spotlight on more than one occasion.

but for whatever reason, he was UNBANNED, and he directly claimed that he received an invite to RDC. Then, Roblox bans him again, and very very recently Roblox UNBANNED him- pic.twitter.com/OLbxDae3Xx

— RoCatchers (@RoCatchers) June 17, 2025

While most Roblox developers invited to participate in The Hatch include names behind popular obstacle courses and action-focused experiences, TheOfficiaITeddy stood out to many as a concerning outlier who has been repeatedly accused of harming the safety of users on the platform. Roblox’s confirmation that Teddy was, along with many others, invited to be officially involved in The Hatch only added fuel to the fire, with his official backing now sitting at the forefront of the issues the #BoycottTheHatch movement seeks to resolve.

What Is #BoycottTheHatch?

The #BoycottTheHatch movement’s sails first caught wind with posts from X users like @RoCatchers and @greenlegocats in mid-June. The goal was clear: spread awareness. Posts covering the topic quickly gained thousands of likes on X alone as users called not only for Teddy’s invitation to be rescinded but for the controversial creator to be banned altogether.

What was a simmer quickly evolved into a full-on boil as Roblox developers involved in The Hatch began to pull out from the event. Popular creations like DOORS, Pressure, Piggy, untitled tag game, LOCOfficial, and many more stepped away not only due to the issues surrounding TheOfficiaITeddy but because of issues regarding how The Hatch has been handled thus far. These include general quality concerns as well as other points of contention such as fears some The Hatch promotional images were generated by artificial intelligence and a concern regarding how developers were selected for participation.

A few days removed from the boycott’s emergence (and weeks before The Hatch would kick off), Roblox addressed the Teddy situation.

“The safety and well-being of the Roblox community is our top priority,” Roblox said. “On top of our community standards, we have additional guidelines to qualify to participate in platform events. TheOfficiaITeddy should not have been invited; we have rescinded their invitation to The Hatch and have taken appropriate action in accordance with our policies. Our team is thoroughly re-examining the invitation list against our community standards and are re-evaluating these processes to ensure an additional level of vetting for our invitees going forward.”

We appreciate their removal from the event, but I please ask that the moderation team reviews their account accordingly. If their game doesn’t follow your guidelines, surely their account doesn’t either. I want this platform to be a safer place, I know you guys can do better

— MiniToon (@DaRealMiniToon) June 19, 2025

Piggy developer MiniToon was one of the first to respond to Roblox Corporation’s message, explaining that while the sentiment was appreciated, it remained worried that the moderation team would not thoroughly address the situation. It added in a post: “I don’t want to have to make these tweets, but it feels like we are just being seen and not heard, witnessed and not understood.”

As the #BoycottTheHatch hashtag continued to fill feeds in the weeks that followed, Roblox finally returned with a lengthy statement June 30, two days before The Hatch would begin. The company explained that, during its absence, it conducted an investigation into Teddy that involved an attempt to alter experiences that complied with its Community Standards. Although these standards were eventually met, Roblox said it was able to confirm “a separate outstanding policy violation that cannot be rectified.” Teddy and all of his creations have since been removed from the platform.

“At Roblox, safety is foundational to everything we do — that’s why we take reports of harmful content or behavior seriously, and we investigate them thoroughly,” Roblox said. “It can take time to investigate properly, and we’re always working to make this process more efficient while maintaining our high standards for fairness.”

Teddy may be banned but we still have a lot of work to do in the fight against online dating, degeneracy, and pedatory behavior on Roblox. This has been a big victory in an even bigger battle. Continue fighting the good fight to make Roblox a safer space for all.

— Lord CowCow (@greenlegocats) July 1, 2025

There’s been no word regarding how the #BoycottTheHatch movement may pivott to address other common complains, but Teddy’s removal stands as a major moment for the movement. For now, the event is scheduled to run for another nine days.

Roblox The Hatch launched July 2 and, at the time of this piece’s publication, sports more than 40K likes and more than 97K dislikes. As players continue to shape their experiences in the coming days, you can read up on Grow a Garden, which has catapulted itself past multiple concurrent player records in its journey to become one of the most popular games of all time.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Despite the non-disclosure agreements, Battlefield leaks are still coming fast and freely via its closed playtest. The most recent leak has revealed a peek at the upcoming shooter’s free-to-play battle royale mode.

Battlefield dataminer Temporyal (via Insider Gaming), took to social media to share more unannounced details, including evidence that the map is set in California, insertion is via a CH-47 Chinook, and the “destructive ring [is] made of a compound called NXC.” We’re not yet clear on the lore behind why it’s there yet, though.

The info comes attached to a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it seven-second introductory cutscene that seems to show a squadron of helicopters heading towards a battle zone in a way that’ll look familiar to anyone who’s spent time with Call of Duty battle royale Warzone.

Here’s a short video clip showing the start of a Battlefield 6 Battle Royale match:

☀️ Map set in California
🚁 Insertion via CH-47 Chinook
🔥 Destructive ring made of a compound called “NXC”

This work-in-progress material is based on the BF Labs “Alpha” client. pic.twitter.com/uzsIR8lRuJ

— temporyal (@temporyal) July 3, 2025

The Battlefield playtest has proven to be leaky indeed, and developer DICE has “loads of feedback from the very active testers selected.” Unlike Battlefield 2042’s lukewarm reception, fans seem pretty pleased with what they’ve seen so far, and for some time EA wasn’t even trying to take them down. That’s changed somewhat since, however, although there’s still plenty of information around if you’re quick enough to catch it before the takedown notices go out.

So far, we’ve seen evidence of a new drag mechanic and the ability to cling on to vehicles, as well as improved in-game movement, 3D maps, and improved destruction.

EA has been playing its cards pretty close to its chest about the new Battlefield, and we still don’t know when, exactly, it will launch. But EA’s last financial report suggested it’ll come out by the end of March 2026.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Build A Rocket Boy, the Edinburgh, Scotland-based developer of MindsEye, has issued at-risk emails to its around 300-strong UK workforce following the disastrous launch of the game.

Sources familiar with the goings on inside the embattled studio told IGN at-risk emails were also sent to staff at PlayFusion, which BARB acquired late 2024. PlayFusion, whose CEO Mark Gerhard became co-CEO of BARB as part of the buyout, is working on a different game — a fast-paced FPS called Ascendant which was meant to come out this year.

Last month, IGN reported that BARB had begun a redundancy process following the release of MindsEye. The standard 45-day consultation process kicked off on June 23, which according to UK law is triggered when an employer proposes 100 or more redundancies within a 90-day period. IGN understands Build A Rocket Boy currently has around 300 UK employees, with 200 abroad.

At the time, BARB issued a statement confirming the redundancy process, insisting the cuts will let the studio “focus on delivering ongoing updates and performance optimization for MindsEye, while also ensuring the long-term success of Build A Rocket Boy’s future ambitions.”

Soon after MindsEye launched, BARB said it was “heartbroken” over the issues players had faced with the game, and promised to release a series of patches to fix the significant performance problems, glitches, and AI behavior bugs. Rollout of these patches has begun.

All the while, MindsEye’s troubled launch saw the developer cancel sponsored streams, with reports of players securing refunds, even from the normally stubborn Sony, surfacing online.

On Steam, which does not paint the whole picture of MindsEye’s current popularity, the game hit a peak concurrent player count of 3,302 on launch, but had a 24-hour peak of just 46 players. At the time of this article’s publication, 26 people were playing on Steam, where MindsEye has a ‘mostly negative’ user review rating.

Story-driven action adventure game MindsEye was initially designed to be a part of Everywhere, the ‘Roblox for adults’ creation platform led by former Grand Theft Auto design chief Leslie Benzies. BARB eventually switched to focus on MindsEye, but it has so-far failed to do the business for the company.

Meanwhile, BARB sources told IGN that Benzies finally addressed staff following the release of MindsEye in a brief video call yesterday, July 2. According to two people present who asked not to be named in order to protect their careers, Benzies insisted BARB would bounce back and relaunch MindsEye, blaming the studio and the game’s struggles on internal and external saboteurs, among other things.

The comments rekindle memories of those issued by Mark Gerhard ahead of the release of MindsEye. The co-CEO hit the headlines for claiming there was a “concerted effort” by some to “trash the game and the studio,” suggesting people were being paid or using spam bots to post negative comments. The boss of publisher IO Interactive, which makes the Hitman games, subsequently issued a denial.

BARB sources told IGN that internally, there is a desire for a MindsEye redemption arc that would eventually see it become successful for the studio. But as staff face an anxious wait to discover their fate, there are serious questions over whether BARB will be able to fulfill its post-launch roadmap for content, including the promised multiplayer mode, on time.

Earlier this week, BARB released MindsEye’s third post-release update on console, with a PC release to follow. “We’ve watched hundreds of hours of gameplay footage and reviewed player feedback across multiple channels to prioritize the most pressing issues and improve the experience for all our console players,” the studio said.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.