Video game piracy has entered a new era as Japanese police have arrested, for the first time, someone accused of modifying Nintendo Switch hardware.
As reported by NTV News and translated by Automaton, a 58-year-old Japanese man was arrested on January 15 on suspicion of violating the Trademark Act. He is suspected of modifying Switch consoles to run pirated games before selling them.
This was allegedly done by welding modified parts to the circuit boards of second-hand consoles that allowed them to run pirated games. The man is accused of loading the hardware with 27 illegally accessed games and selling the consoles for ¥28,000 (around $180) each.
He has admitted to the charges and is currently being investigated for other possible violations, according to police.
This week, a patent lawyer representing Nintendo lifted the lid on the company’s approach to piracy and emulation, discussing how the propagation of emulators could lead to software piracy. Nintendo’s Assistant Manager of the Intellectual Property Division, Koji Nishiura, said: “To begin with, are emulators illegal or not? This is a point often debated. While you can’t immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it’s used.”
Image Credit: Nintendo
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
It is one of the biggest conundrums in the video game industry: why hasn’t Sony followed up Bloodborne with… anything? A remaster (Sony loves a remaster)? A sequel? A next-gen update? Fans of FromSoftware’s PlayStation 4 masterpiece have begged for more ever since the game launched to critical and commercial acclaim a decade ago. So, what gives?
Fresh from the reveal of his first voice acting gig following his exit from Sony, PlayStation legend Shuhei Yoshida has delivered his Bloodborne no-show theory. And we must be clear up front: this is Yoshida’s opinion, which in an interview with Kinda Funny Games he stressed is not inside information, or the reveal of the current deliberations within the bowels of Sony itself.
“Bloodborne has always been the most asked thing,” Yoshida began. “And people wonder why we haven’t really done anything, even an update or a remaster. Should be easy, right? The company is known for doing so many remasters, right, some people get frustrated.
“I have only my personal theory to that situation. I left first-party so I don’t know what’s going on, but my theory is, you know because I remember, you know, Miyazaki-san really, really loved Bloodborne, you know, what he created. So I think he is interested, but he’s so successful and he’s so busy, so he doesn’t want, he cannot do himself, but he does not want anyone else to touch it. So that’s my theory. And the PlayStation team respect his wish. So that’s my guess, right? Theory. I am not revealing any secret information, to be clear.”
Let’s unpack Shuhei’s comment here. Miyazaki-san is of course Hidetaka Miyazaki, the boss of FromSoftware. And yes, he’s incredibly successful. Not only for the influential Dark Souls series, but, most recently, the mainstream hit Elden Ring, which propelled FromSoftware to new heights. So much so that it’s getting a multiplayer spin-off this year.
And it seems obvious to say Miyazaki will be incredibly busy with multiple projects to direct and a company to run. After Bloodborne came out in 2015, Miyazaki directed Dark Souls 3, then 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for Activision, then the aforementioned Elden Ring for Bandai Namco. What’s next? Miyazaki has yet to say.
What Shuhei is touching on here is a potential desire from Miyazaki to do something with Bloodborne, but he doesn’t want anyone else to do it. And Sony, Shuhei suggests, respects that wish, despite owning the intellectual property. Certainly Miyazaki has earned that respect and the ability to pick and choose his projects.
As for Sony, some Bloodborne fans feel a tad… trolled by PlayStation. For example, last month, Bloodborne fans freaked out over a potential announcement after Sony ended its special PlayStation 30th Anniversary trailer with a clip from the beloved FromSoftware game and the phrase “it’s about persistence.”
Perhaps, given Shuhei’s theory, fans will need plenty of it.
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.
A mod dedicated to recreating Liberty City within Grand Theft Auto 5, as a mod, has shut down.
Insider-Gaming reports that the Liberty City Preservation Project, a mod meant to recreate the setting of GTA 4 as a mod for GTA 5, has been taken down at the request of Rockstar Games. In a statement on Discord, user nkjellman said “Due to the unexpected attention that our project received and after speaking with Rockstar Games, we have decided to take down the Liberty City Preservation Project.”
There’s a new mod on the block for GTAV “Liberty City Preservation Project”, I tried out the mod. It’s AMAZING, it has a working subway network, the police and ambient traffic are faithful and it’s so polished.
One interesting development is that while Rockstar is judicious when it comes to taking down mods, they also sometimes hire those very modders to work at Rockstar Games. And some mods, like the Vice City mod, were taken down only for Rockstar themselves to announce remasters of those very games.
This isn’t to say Rockstar is working on a GTA 4 remaster, by any means, but there’s certainly precedent. Still it may be years away before we get an answer as we know Rockstar is currently hard at work trying to ready the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 for a 2025 launch.
If you’ve wanted to give VR gaming a try but the cost of entry has kept you at bay, then you might be interested in the first good Meta Quest deal for 2025. For a limited time, Amazon drops $50 off the Quest 3S 256GB VR headset, now only $349. That’s only $50 more than the base 128GB model and a worthy upgrade for storing more games at a time for untethered play. This straight up instant discount is arguably better than the deals that happened during Black Friday, which all involved digital credit or gift cards tied to specific stores.
To sweeten the pot even more, the package also includes a copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow VR game and a three-month trial of Meta Quest+. In IGN’s 8/10 review, Dan Stapleton wrote that “Batman: Arkham Shadow makes most of the Arkham series’ defining gameplay work respectably well in VR, and its mystery story pays off.”
Meta Quest 3S VR Headset with Batman: Arkham Shadow
The Quest 3S is an improvement over the original Quest 2 in every way and, amazingly, without a price increase. It also adopts many of the same features of the more expensive Quest 3, like the new and improved Touch controllers, the upgraded SnapDragon APU, and support for full color AR passthrough. In IGN’s 9/10 Quest 3S review, Gabriel Moss wrote that “raw processing power, full-color passthrough, and snappy Touch Plus controllers make the Quest 3S a fantastic standalone VR headset that also brings entry-level mixed-reality gaming to the masses for – arguably – the very first time.
What really sets this deal above all other VR deals is that the Meta Quest 3S can be played completely untethered. That means you can play games like Beat Saber or Pistol Whip without having to own a powerful gaming PC or a PlayStation 5 console. Try to find another standalone VR headset at this price and you’ll come up empty.
How Is the Quest 3S Different from the Quest 3?
Even at retail price, the Quest 3S comes in at $200, or 40% cheaper than the $500 Quest 3. Obviously, some compromises were made to get the 3S to its competitive price point. The spec comparisons are listed below:
Quest 3S vs. Quest 3 Similarities
Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor
Touch Plus controllers
120Hz refresh rate
Mixed reality passthrough (same cameras, different layout)
Quest 3S vs. Quest 3 Differences
Lower per-eye resolution (1832×1920 vs 2064×2208)
Fresnel lens vs. pancake lens
Lower FOV (96°/90° vs 104°/96°)
Smaller storage capacity (128GB vs 512GB)
Longer battery life (2.5hrs vs 2.2hrs)
In essence, the Quest 3S is nearly the same headset but with downgraded optics. On the plus side, since both headsets use the same processor, running at a lower resolution reduces the load on the APU, which could theoretically improve performance in games and also account for the increased battery life.
For the price, the Quest 3S is unquestionably a better value than the Quest 3, and a better choice for most gamers, especially if the Quest 3 was completely out of your budget in the first place. Compared to the previous generation Quest 2, the decision is even easier.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Sniper Elite: Resistance is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on January 28 for the deluxe edition, and January 30 for the standard edition. This latest installment of the long-running franchise brings you back to World War II and has you blast Nazis from afar (or close up, depending on how you choose to complete the missions). It’s coming out in two editions and both are now available to preorder. Read on for the details.
The deluxe edition comes with the game itself, plus the following extras:
2 days early access (January 28)
Season pass
Sniper Elite: Resistance Will Be on Xbox Game Pass
If you want a cheaper way to play the game, you’ll also be able to play Sniper Elite: Resistance on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass on January 30.
Sniper Elite: Resistance Preorder Bonus
Preorder any version of Sniper Elite: Resistance, and you’ll receive the following preorder bonuses:
Sniper Elite: Resistance is a first-person shooter set in the European theater during WWII. You play as Harry Hawker, an agent of the Special Operations Executive, who’s sent into occupied France to fight alongside the French Resistance to stop the Nazis from using a super-weapon that would help them win the war.
Like previous installments, stealth and sniping from afar are key to your success. When you score a kill, you’ll still be treated to a slow-mo X-ray shot of the bullet wreaking havoc on the internal organs of your enemies.
New to the series this time around are Propaganda Missions, which give you a limited amount of time to sneak in and complete tasks. And returning from previous installments is Axis Invasion mode, which lets you invade another player’s campaign as an enemy to take them down. Fun stuff.
Other Preorder Guides
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Marvel Rivals players are being treated to an unlikely crossover that brings the Advanced Suit 2.0 from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 into the game as a new skin.
PlayStation announced the news itself in a post on X/Twitter, revealing a first look at how NetEase Games is reimagining the classic video game outfit for its new hero shooter.
This sleek Spider-Man suit made its debut as an original design for Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man, going on to make appearances in all three entries in that series. The main element setting this suit apart from the rest is its now-iconic white spider symbol, with its appearance in Marvel Rivals cementing it as a surprise collaboration with Sony and its console-exclusive superhero game. Expect Spider-Man’s Advanced Suit 2.0 to swing into the in-game store on January 30, the same day Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 comes to PC.
Marvel Rivals launched in December and already offers a smorgasbord of unlockable suits, but this new Spidey suit arrives as an especially unique addition. Along with its ties to the massively popular PlayStation series, the Advanced Suit 2.0 will once again be worn by a Spider-Man who is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. The actor has played Peter Parker in all three of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games and also happens to have provided his talents for Marvel Rivals’ take on the character. In other words, those who pick up the costume come January 30 should feel right at home as they thwip their way to victory.
NetEase’s decision to bring Spider-Man’s Advanced Suit 2.0 into the fold gives players another piece of content to look forward to among everything that dropped with Season 1: Eternal Night Falls last week. This first season of content added Fantastic Four representatives Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman as new playable characters, with The Thing and Human Torch set to join in just a few weeks. Much more is on the way, too, as creative director Guangyun Chen recently promised to launch at least one new hero every month and a half.
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.
Sony has revealed the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for January 2025, which includes God of War Ragnarok, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and more.
Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 11 games are joining the library, nine on the PlayStation Plus Extra tier and two on the PlayStation Plus Premium Tier through the Classic Games Catalog. They’re available January 21.
While the beloved PlayStation 5 title God of War Ragnarok joins the library this month, it’s otherwise a tad short on the usual numbers. The additions usually include upwards of a dozen entries, and at least one on PlayStation VR2, but January’s offerings do not.
PlayStation Plus Games Catalog Additions for January 2025
God of War Ragnarok is the beloved sequel to the beloved God of War reboot that arrived in 2022. It continues the story of Kratos and Atreus as they navigate the wild worlds of Norse mythology. “God of War Ragnarok is an almighty achievement and creates a new high that makes many of its peers look mortal by comparison,” IGN said in our 10/10 review.
Perhaps the next biggest game in January 2025 is Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a side story of the Yakuza series that sees longtime protagonist Kiryu become a secret agent. “Like a Dragon Gaiden’s combat hits with flash and fury and its story is sharp, but its setting and side activities feel a bit on the stale side,” we said in a 7/10 review.
Another large entry arrives this month in an open world role-playing game called Atlas Fallen, which unleashes its Reign of Sand expansion onto PS Plus. It also earned a 7/10 from IGN. “Atlas Fallen is a solid open-world action RPG with plenty of platforming and large monsters to fight with a co-op buddy, so long as neither of you cares about story or is a stickler for high-quality textures,” we said.
Something quite different arrives in action RPG SD Gundam Battle Alliance, a game where Gundam fans can explore the series’ history by battling through its most iconic scenes. Players can also collect myriad Mobile Suits and characters from throughout the mech battling series.
Described as a “euphoric music video dream about being awesome, riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 miles per hour,” Sayonara Wild Hearts is a unique amongst this lists and video games overall. “Sayonara Wild Hearts’ music and art combine for a stirring, unique experience,” IGN said in our 7/10 review.
Anno: Mutationem, meanwhile, is a side scrolling adventure game where players take on the roll of Ann as she fights through a neon metropolis. It earned an 8/10 from IGN. “Punchy, side scrolling combat and a richly realized, anime-inspired world make Anno: Mutationem a blast, but the script is a bit rusty,” we said.
Adding more variety to January 2025’s PlayStation Plus line-up is Orcs Must Die 3, a tower defence game about slaying lots of orcs. “Orcs Must Die 3 is very familiar to players of the second game but still a fun and goofy action/tower-defense challenge,” IGN said in our 7/10 review.
Citizen Sleeper arrives next. “Role-playing in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism, Citizen Sleeper puts you in the life of an escaped worker, washed up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future,” its synopsis reads.
This next game will teach you when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, when to walk away, and when to run. Poker Club “offers players more ways to play than ever before with a full house of Texas hold’em online tournament modes and ring-games,” its synopsis reads.
Not ready to let Xbox get away with releasing an Indiana Jones game of its own, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings arrives on the PS Plus Games Catalog in January. This 2009 adventure game originally released on PlayStation 2 earned a “mediocre” rating in IGN’s review.
Finally, the classic platforming and puzzle solving fantasy game Medievil 2 comes to the Classic Games Catalog this month. “In this sequel to Medievil, you control Sir Daniel Fortesque, the undead knight, as he makes his way around the world’s foggiest city, London,” the synopsis reads. “Your arsenal ranges from swords to muskets, and if you defeat enough enemies on each level, you’ll unlock its Chalice of Souls and be rewarded with special items.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players have now downloaded more than 100 million mods since developer Larian Studios released its official modding toolkit with Patch 7.
Baldur’s Gate 3 crossed the 50 million mods mark in October so it’s taken just another two and a half months to reach this new milestone. Patch 7 and official mod support arrived in September, meaning an average of around 25 million mods have been downloaded each month.
Larian is only counting mods created with this tool too, meaning traditional mods (that have been available since the game arrived in July 2023) aren’t counted towards the 100 million number. The actual number is therefore much higher.
In our 10/10 review of the base Baldur’s Gate 3, IGN said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
What a thrill… Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Funko Pops are officially up for preorder. There are two figures currently available, one of Naked Snake and the other of The Boss, with price tags of $12.99 a piece. You won’t have to wait too long to add them into your collectible collection either as they’re set to release on March 25 this year. Head to the links below to get your preorders in today.
Preorder Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Funko Pops, Out March 25
As for when the game itself is coming out, it’s still unannounced. You can check out our Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater preorder guide for all the info about what comes in each edition, though. Generally, Funko Pops come out around the release of the main game/movie/show/etc.
Alongside preorders for new gaming items, the year has started off strong with an excellent variety of video game deals as well. Best Buy, in particular, has a major sale going on at the moment on a variety of games for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. This includes Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Sonic X Shadow Generations, and quite a few more that are worth having a look at if you’ve been hoping to expand your physical game collection.
To see even more of the best deals available at the moment, check out our individual roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Nintendo Switch deals, and the best Xbox deals. For an overall look of the best gaming deals available right now across each platform, our roundup of the best video game deals will point you in the direction of some of our favorites.
Another great place to look for gaming deals is our Daily Deals roundup. There, we gather up some of the best offers across games and tech that have caught our eye recently. At the moment, some of our favorites include a discount on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora for Xbox Series X and a deal on an M2 MacBook Air.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Promise Mascot Agency just announced its voice cast, which includes a number of surprise additions from the world of video game development.
Kaizen Game Works’ open-world narrative adventure sees players explore a cursed Japanese town and recruit mascot friends. You even help a living finger work through anger issues.
Where Promise Mascot Agency is punching above its weight is in the voice cast department. It’s nabbed PlayStation developer legend Shuhei Yoshida in his first ever video game voice role, and the announcement comes hot on the heels of Yoshida’s last day at Sony.
Shuhei Yoshida worked on PlayStation from the very beginning, playing a key role in the original console’s success from 1993. He was one of the more public-facing PlayStation executives while President of SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, championing indie and VR success in particular. Yoshida announced his exit from Sony in November during his 31st year at PlayStation.
“When I hit 30 years, I was thinking, hmm, it may be about time for me to move on,” he explained at the time. “You know, the company’s been doing great. I love PS5, I love the games that are coming out on this platform. And we have new generations of management who I respect and admire. And I’m so excited for the future of PlayStation.”
While Yoshida long-term plan remains up in the air, in the short-term he’s turned to video game voice acting, and that’s where Promise Mascot Agency comes in. Yoshida plays Monouge, an odd-looking green-skinned former mascot who is opening their own game center.
Yoshida isn’t the only big name joining the Promise Mascot Agency voice cast. Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s Takaya Kuroda, who plays series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, and Legend of Zelda’s Ayano Shibuya also star, as do Eri Saito (Chainsaw Man, Metal Gear Solid 4, Way of the Samurai 3) and Swery, developer of Deadly Premonition, The Good Life, and Spy Fiction.
You can see what Yoshida and co sound like in-game in the exclusive trailer, below.
“We can’t believe that our weird game managed to attract such a strong voice cast,” said game director Oli Clarke Smith.
“When our lead Japanese localiser, Roppyaku Tsurumi, told us that Kuroda-san had auditioned, we just about lost our minds. All of the cast have brought our group of misfits to life wonderfully. After working on these characters for four years, they have become like friends to us, and we’re so happy that they have all been given a voice. The team at the recording studio, Xenorex, did an amazing job.”
Here’s the official blurb:
Takaya Kuroda voices the disgraced ex-yakuza Michi, exiled to the forgotten (and quite definitely cursed) Japanese town of Kaso-Machi with two goals: pay off his debt and restore glory to the town’s defunct mascot agency! Recruit the weird and wonderful mascots across town with help from your severed finger assistant manager and chaos goblin, Pinky☆ – voiced by Ayana Shibuya, negotiate their contracts and assign them jobs they love.
Promise Mascot Agency will be available on PC and consoles early 2025.
Photo by Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA.
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.
