Category: IGN

The former boss of Sony Interactive Entertainment America has commented on the backlash to Nintendo’s Switch 2 pricing, saying the desire for exclusive Nintendo games “mitigates the sticker shock.”

Last week, Nintendo confirmed the Switch 2 price at $449.99, which is around $50 more than some analysts had predicted, and, more controversially, the $10 jump to $79.99 for some Switch 2 games, including Mario Kart World.

It’s worth pointing out that Nintendo is bundling Mario Kart World with a Nintendo Switch 2 for $499.99, cutting the cost of the game by a huge $30 in the process. However, Nintendo has indicated this bundle is a limited-time offer, and it remains to be seen if the bundle holds at $500, given the uncertainty surrounding the tariff situation and Nintendo’s pre-order delay in the U.S.

But Mario Kart World isn’t the only Nintendo Switch 2 game to cost $80 — some of the Switch 2 Edition games announced during the Nintendo Direct also cost $79.99, such as Kirby and The Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed World, Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.

IGN has plenty of reaction to Nintendo’s jump to $80 for the Switch 2 generation, including from analysts who have helped us understand why this has happened. Now, Shawn Layden, who used to run PlayStation in the U.S., has offered his thoughts, pointing to the fear of missing out on Nintendo exclusives as justifying price hikes.

Speaking on the PlayerDriven YouTube channel and podcast, Layden highlighted the contrasting strategies of Sony and Microsoft, and Nintendo, where Sony and Microsoft are downplaying exclusive games as they move to PC and rival consoles, but Nintendo is keeping its games on its own consoles.

“But right here you see, ‘wow, that’s kind of a hefty price hike from Switch 1 to Switch 2 and, wow, 80 bucks for a game?’ ” Layden said.

“But if it’s the only place where you can play Mario, then you get your wallet out and you buy into it… and Donkey Kong and Zelda. That first-party exclusivity kind of mitigates the sticker shock, if you will, of these price hikes, because you want that content so bad.”

Nintendo Switch 2 pricing in the U.S.:

• Nintendo Switch 2 by itself: $449.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart World bundled in: $499.99
• Mario Kart World by itself: $79.99
• Donkey Kong Bananza: $69.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller: $79.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: $49.99
• Joy-Con 2 Controller pair: $89.99
• Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip: $34.99
• Joy-Con 2 Strap: $12.99
• Joy-Con 2 Wheel pair: $19.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set: $109.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector: $34.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 All-In-One Carrying Case: $79.99
• Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter: $29.99

Layden also talked about the price of video games generally, which, he insisted, have actually gone down over the years when you take into account inflation. Layden said console manufacturers should have hiked the price of games by $5 with each new console generation so that they would cost around $90 now.

“In 2025 dollars, $59.99 in 1999 is equivalent to $100. Your purchasing power compared to your cost of living, it’s much smaller now than it was before, but still companies have been reluctant to push that price up.

“I was in it at the time — probably every generation they should have baked in a $5 software price hike, and make that the typical, ‘well every generation it’s another five bucks.’ And you would have been up to $90 already by now.”

This week, IGN published its interview with Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, conducted at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, but before Nintendo announced the delay to pre-orders due to Trump’s tariffs.

In the interview, Trinen insisted Mario Kart World justifies its $80 price tag, and pointed to the upcoming dedicated Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct where fans will learn more about the game and what it has to offer.

“I would say it’s less about the strategy of pricing Mario Kart World, it’s more just whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what’s the content, and what’s the value?” Trinen said.

“Mario Kart World, I think especially as you see from the Nintendo Direct, not to give you any hints or anything, but I did read your article this morning and I think you had mentioned that you didn’t find a lot to discover when roaming around. So I would say tune into our Mario Kart Direct to see what, maybe you’ll be able to find out about that.

“But honestly, this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there’s still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they’re going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they’ve ever had.”

We also asked Trinen about the $80 cost of some of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games. While there is a $10 upgrade path for existing owners of these games on the Switch, and both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($69.99) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($79.99) are available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, Nintendo is not offering any sort of discount to newcomers on Switch 2.

Trinen’s answer here echoed his Mario Kart World response, pointing to the value Nintendo sees in its games.

“Well, again, what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, ‘what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?’ ” he said.

“What I would probably counter to some of that is that really what you’re looking at is for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that’s the physical price for somebody that has not bought the base game. For somebody who has bought Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, the upgrade packs for those are $9.99. And if you happen to be a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, both of the Zelda upgrade packs are inclusive within that membership. So there’s no additional charge for those.

“But I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what’s the content, what’s the value, and what’s an appropriate price based on that.”

As for the current $450 price tag of the Switch 2 itself, Trinen again pointed to value, but also highlighted the increasing costs associated with releasing a video game console.

“Obviously the cost of everything goes up over time, and I personally would love if the cost of things didn’t go up over time,” he told IGN.

“But I think any time you’re building a new system that’s got new features and new tech, there’s costs associated with that. So again, we look at what is the experience on Nintendo Switch? What’s the experience on Nintendo Switch 2? What are the new features that it offers? And certainly there’s the cost of goods and things that factor into that, but we try to find the right appropriate price for a product based on that.”

As IGN has reported, some Nintendo fans have expressed concern that they may be priced out of the next-generation if the company goes even higher than the already controversial prices for the Switch 2 and its games such as Mario Kart World due to the tariff situation.

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.

Former Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé has pointed to the story of Wii pack-in game Wii Sports in thinly-veiled tweets addressing the controversy surrounding Nintendo’s decision to charge for Switch 2 tutorial game Welcome Tour.

Amid the furore around the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World’s $79.99 price tag, there was also shock at Nintendo’s decision to charge for interactive instruction manual, Welcome Tour.

Nintendo revealed Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour during its Nintendo Direct last week. It’s a game set to launch alongside the Switch 2 in June that offers a guided tour of the console itself in video game form.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is described as a “virtual exhibition” of the new hardware. Per Nintendo: “through tech demos, minigames and other interactions, players will get to know the new system inside and out in ways they may never have known about otherwise.”

The Nintendo Direct showed footage of a small player avatar exploring a super-sized Switch 2, reading about the different features and facts about the console. It also includes mini-games such as Speed Golf, Dodge the Spiked Balls, and a Maracas Physics Demo.

IGN has confirmed that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour costs $9.99 and is a digital-only product. That’s significantly cheaper than other Switch 2 games, but IGN has already reported to the complaints from some Nintendo fans that Welcome Tour costs money at all, with many saying it should be a Switch 2 pack-in, as DualSense tech demo game Astro’s Playroom was for PlayStation 5.

Now, Fils-Aimé has tweeted three clips from IGN’s two-year-old interview with the former Nintendo executive in which he discussed the internal battle he had with legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto to get Wii Sports as a free pack-in for the hugely successful Wii console.

In the first clip, Fils-Aimé says “it is an understatement to say that Mr. Miyamoto pushed back” on the call to make Wii Sports a Wii console pack-in. As we know, this is a battle Fils-Aimé won to a degree, with Wii Sports bundled with the Wii everywhere except Japan.

The story of Wii Sports pack in …https://t.co/LhflSFWaL3

— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025

The second interview clip Fils-Aimé tweeted pointed to a similar battle to bundle Wii Play with the Wii Remote. In the clip from our interview, Fils-Aimé revealed he “pissed off” Miyamoto once again with the suggestion. “He was not happy about that either.”

And finally, tweeting “and the results,” Fils-Aimé clipped out the section from our interview in which he reveals that all this was, ultimately, the right call.

“In the Americas and in Europe Wii Sports was packed in with the Wii proposition. It was not in Japan, which created a bit of a test market. It was obvious that in the markets where Wii Sports was packed in that we became much more of a phenomenon. Wii Sports itself became much more of a phenomenon.

“We did pack the Remote with Wii Play. And it became the fifth best-selling piece of software in the history of the Wii.”

And the results.https://t.co/xrFTDeJMQf

— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025

It’s clear to see what Fils-Aimé is doing here. Although he’s not directly commenting on Nintendo’s Switch 2 strategy, he is making the point that free pack-ins have worked in the past for Nintendo consoles,so it stands to reason that it would do so again for Switch 2.

Fans know what’s up, too. “Hahaha, guys I think Reggie is watching our comments about the Switch 2,” said one X / Twitter user. “We know you would have packed in Welcome Tour,” said another.

This week, IGN published its interview with Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, conducted at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, but before Nintendo announced the delay to pre-orders due to Trump’s tariffs.

Trinen said there’s more to Welcome Tour than it appears based on the showing during the Nintendo Direct and even during recent hands-on opportunities the media had access to. Based on what’s actually in the game, Nintendo decided $9.99 “is not an exorbitant price,” he continued.

It’s that time again, that glorious time of year when Amazon runs a mega-sale on board games. This particular sale is a “Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off” sale that applies to a massive selection of games. Sweetening the pot, many of the games that qualify are already on sale on their own. If you buy two already-discounted board games and save an extra 50% off one, that’s called “deal stacking,” and it’s a pro move. You can view the whole sale here, or scroll on to see our picks, divided into board games for kids and board games for adults.

B1G1 Half Off – Board Games for Adults

Some of the most popular modern tabletop games are available in the sale, ranging from games everyone should have on their shelf (like Azul and Catan) to some slightly more niche picks (like Camel Up and Horrified). Then there’s the beloved Ouija Board, which, what’s the worst that could happen when you commune with the dead?

B1G1 Half Off – Board Games for Kids

Please know that, if you’re an adult, that doesn’t mean you can’t play the games for kids. Some of these games are really fun, whether you played them in your childhood (looking at you, Mouse Trap) or not because they’re newer (Exploding Kittens, Hedbanz). These classic and newer games for kids are simple and quick to learn, which can be nice when you’ve been maxing out your brain power figuring out the rules of some of the strategy board games aimed at smarty-pants adults.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

A new report from research firm Newzoo indicates the storm may be tightening on the battle royale genre, but Fortnite is still holding strong.

Newzoo’s PC & Console Gaming Report 2025 has detailed a number of shifts and trends across the industry, and one of those moving trends is the battle royale genre. Newzoo’s tracking indicates the battle royale genre has shrunk in playtime, going from 19% of playtime in 2021 to 12% in 2024.

Citing its Game Performance Monitor which looks at 37 markets (excluding China and India) across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, Newzoo indicated that as a pair, shooter games and battle royale games routinely account for 40% of playtime. So as battle royale playtime has gradually shifted down, shooter playtime has been going up.

Despite the 7% shift, the difference within the genre might be the more surprising number. Per Newzoo, Fortnite went from a 43% share of the battle royale genre in 2021 to a 77% share in 2024. Essentially, even as battle royale games trended down, Fortnite ate up more and more of the space within the genre.

Role-playing games have also seen some noticeable growth, up to 13% in 2024 over their 9% share in 2021. Newzoo reported that 18% of RPG time in 2024 was spent in major releases from 2023, spotlighting Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.

As Newzoo stated in its report, the fight for attention in playtime and hours is fierce. While games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends carry on, other games fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, shooters and role-playing games seem to be encroaching on more territory and mindshare. Looking at the success of standouts in those genres, be they Marvel Rivals or Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s hard to argue.

With its constant slate of changes, updates, and growing library of gaming experiences and genres contained within it, it might not be surprising that Fortnite has weathered the storm. Still, time passes, and we’ll doubtlessly see trends continue to shift as broad audience interests change as the years roll on.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Sony has published the list of PlayStation Plus Game Catalog additions for April 2025, revealing a lineup of games that includes highlights like Hogwarts Legacy, Blue Prince, Battlefield 1, and more.

All of the newcomers were detailed in a PlayStation.Blog entry posted on the site today. It confirms a list of eight titles set to arrive for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers starting April 10, with more PS4, PS5, and Classic games trickling in as the month rolls on.

PlayStation Plus Game Catalog members starting at the Extra tier receive access to six titles, two of which launch with the service on day one. Those are Dogubomb’s critically acclaimed puzzle adventure Blue Prince, which launches April 10, and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2, which launches April 15.

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can also look forward to two old-school titles: Alone in the Dark 2 and War of the Monsters. You can see the full list of games coming to the PlayStation service, along with the dates they’ll be made available, below.

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Game Catalog Additions – April 2025

• Hogwarts Legacy | PS4, PS5
• Blue Prince | PS5
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 | PS5
• EA Sports PGA Tour | PS5
• Battlefield 1 | PS4
• PlateUp! | PS4, PS5

PlayStation Plus Premium Game Catalog Additions – April 2025

• Alone in the Dark 2 | PS4, PS5
• War of the Monsters | PS4, PS5

For more on Sony’s online gaming service, you can check out all of the titles added to the lineup in March 2025 here. You can also check out which games Essential tier subscribers gained access to for this month.

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).

Welcome to our latest IGN First – a month of exclusive coverage in April, and it’s all about The Outer Worlds 2. This is the very first look at its gameplay in real time, and it takes us through a quest where you infiltrate the N-Ray Facility to show off several of the game’s new features and mechanics, as well as how it’s rethinking level design. And one of the biggest things that stood out to me is how much deeper it’s going to be as an RPG with developer Obsidian looking back at its past and even drawing inspiration from immersive sims like Deus Ex and Dishonored.

While that DNA has always been a part of first-person RPGs, The Outer Worlds 2 has more sophisticated systems compared to the first game like a true stealth system and better tools to make the playstyle viable, including effective melee weapons and skills to make silent takedowns possible. Take, for example, the health bar above enemy heads – there’s a purple-colored readout that displays how damage a stealth attack will do, helping you judge whether or not you can get a one-hit kill or if it’s even worth pouncing on your target. Enemies will also detect dead bodies and alert guards, but you can quickly clean up if you have a skill to disintegrate bodies on the spot.

Later in the quest, you pick up the N-Ray Scanner, which lets you see certain objects and NPCs/enemies through walls. While this is crucial for finding important parts of more involved environmental puzzles, it’s also an important tool for a stealth and combat. There are enemies throughout the N-Ray Facility who cloak themselves; invisible to the naked eye, but not able to escape the lens of the N-Ray Scanner. If you’re not dilligent about using it, cloaked enemies can easily run up on you. That’s just one example of how the addition of gadgets add a new wrinkle to gameplay.

There are several interlocking systems that factor into how you’re able to play, leaning more into the RPG elements that make up specific character builds. So, stealth and those immersive sim sensibilities aren’t the only way gameplay is expanding in The Outer Worlds 2. Improving gunplay was a major focus for Obsidian, citing Destiny as a touchstone for what good gunplay should feel like. Not that this game is going to turn into an all-out shooter, but it plays closer to how a first-person game with firearms should play.

You see an example of this in the approach to the N-Ray Facility movement when we go in guns blazing. Movement has been tweaked to complement gunplay as well, letting you be more nimble and do things like sprint-slide while aiming down sights like an action hero – and with the return of Tactical Time Dilation (TTD), the bullet-time fantasy is again an effective part of your combat rotation. We were able to see throwables, which is by no means revolutionary for a game like this, but with their inclusion this time around, you have another tool that you can weave into your arsenal – and even do something sick like tossing a grenade, activating TTD, and shooting the grenade midair to have it blow up on unsuspecting enemies.

There isn’t much to share on the story front as of yet, let alone the context around the quest in the N-Ray Facility, but we do see how conversations have been tweaked slightly in the sequel. In the gameplay video above, there’s a moment we confront an NPC named Exemplar Foxworth who’s survived the cultist takeover of the place. She’s bleeding out and you can help patch her up based on your Medical stat, or respond depending on your Guns or Melee stats. Although we couldn’t dig into companions in more detail, this part also highlights the new companion named Aza, a former cultist who’s a bit frantic but joins you to seemingly help undo what they’ve done.

Many of these elements were part of the original Outer Worlds in some form, but where that game was more about laying a new foundation for Obsidian, The Outer Worlds 2 looks to be a fully realized version of what it was trying to build with the first one. In addition to checking it out early, I had conversations with the folks at Obsidian to get insight on a ton of its new features and the vision that drove this sequel. It seems keen on wielding the RPG roots of the studio’s past while considering what a modern first-person RPG can be in the vein of a Fallout – and to be clear, they often referred to Fallout: New Vegas as a touchstone when making The Outer Worlds 2, so my hopes are certainly high.

That’s just a taste of what’s to come in The Outer Worlds 2 and what we’re covering in this month’s IGN First. I’ll be breaking down character builds, the new flaws system, all the wild and wacky weapons, and how much bigger this sequel is through interviews with key people like original Fallout developer and creative director Leonard Boyarsky, game director Brandon Adler, and design director Matt Singh. Keep checking back at IGN all April long for more!

Michael Higham is the tech reviews editor at IGN, but is one of the RPG sickos on staff who still talks about Fallout: New Vegas on a regular basis. You can find him at @brazyazn.bsky.social.

Nintendo GameCube is coming to Nintendo Switch Online alongside the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, with a classic controller on the way too. But some small print indicates that Nintendo’s new GameCube controller for the Switch 2 may only, officially, be meant for GameCube use.

Spotted in the details of the UK version of the Switch 2 GameCube controller trailer (thanks, VGC), a statement read: “The controller is only compatible with Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics.” This would indicate the GameCube controller is only going to work properly when playing GameCube games on the Switch 2 Online Expansion Pack, and not other Switch 2 games.

As VGC notes, it’s worth considering that other Nintendo controllers with similar disclaimers have not been fully limited. Players have been able to make retro controllers work where applicable. Also, the same disclaimer isn’t there in the Nintendo of America version of the trailer.

It’s still interesting, given the classic GameCube controller has enough buttons to manage many common gameplay inputs on the Switch 2. It could be a case of setting expectations, or trying to avoid frustrations if someone, say, tries to use their GameCube controller like a mouse.

Even if this particular GameCube controller isn’t your jam, Nintendo has confirmed the GameCube Controller adapter will work with the Switch 2 dock via USB port. Those who picked up the adapter back in the Wii U days are certainly getting some mileage out of the accessory.

The Classic GameCube controller for the Nintendo Switch 2 is planned to go live at launch with the new console, but the exact date those go up for pre-order hasn’t been announced yet. Pre-orders have been on shaky ground as U.S. tariffs have introduced a fair bit of chaos.

It’s a major update to the Nintendo Switch Online library that will grant subscribers access to a laundry list of classic 2000s-era titles, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soulcalibur 2, which will all be available at launch this summer. Of course, this library will be expanded upon in the years to come, with some teased titles including Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Strikers, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and more.

If you’re looking to pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2, GameCube controller, or other accessories and games, make sure to keep an eye on our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order hub, which will stay updated with news and info.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Microsoft has solidified its plans for June, confirming an Xbox Games Showcase 2025 as well as an The Outer Worlds 2 Direct.

Microsoft normally hosts a June showcase to reveal upcoming Xbox games, and 2025 is no different. Xbox Games Showcase 2025 will be livestreamed on Sunday, June 8, starting at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK time.

Xbox Games Showcase 2025 will offer a look at upcoming titles from across Microsoft’s first-party studios, Microsoft said, “in addition to incredible new titles from our third-party partners across the globe.”

So, what could Microsoft have up its sleeve? It has a long list of games in development, including the new Fable, which was recently delayed to 2026, the Perfect Dark reboot, inXile’s Clockwork Revolution, Ninja Gaiden 4, Contraband, from the developer of the Just Cause series, Rare’s Everwild, which Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer recently checked out, The Coalition’s Gears of War: E-Day, Hideo Kojima’s OD, and Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3. Psychonauts developer Double Fine is also working on a new game.

On the Activision Blizzard side of things, there will of course be a new Call of Duty game later this year, and various releases from Blizzard itself. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 launches in July, so that may make the cut.

As for Bethesda, could it finally be time to find out what’s next for Starfield? We are, after all, still waiting for that PlayStation 5 release date confirmation. Could we get a look at The Elder Scrolls 6?

And there’s always the potential for Microsoft to reveal new Xbox hardware. It is reportedly set to release a next-gen Xbox console as well as an Xbox handheld at some point in 2027, so this year’s showcase may be too early to find out more. But Microsoft may take the opportunity to touch on Xbox-branded handhelds from third-party companies.

And following in the footsteps of the 2023 Starfield Direct and 2024 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct, this year Microsoft will follow its Xbox Games Showcase by The Outer Worlds 2 Direct. The Outer Worlds 2 is from Obsidian, which is fresh from the release of Avowed. The direct “will bring you inside the walls of Obsidian Entertainment, revealing new gameplay, details, and developer insights, straight from the people making the sequel to the award-winning, first-person sci-fi RPG.” The Outer Worlds 2 is expected out later in 2025, so it seems likely we’ll get a release date during the showcase.

Airtime for the Xbox Games Showcase followed by The Outer Worlds 2 Direct in local time zones:

• PDT: June 8, 10am
• EDT: June 8, 1pm
• BST: June 8, 6pm
• CET: June 8, 7pm
• JST: June 9, 2am
• AEST: June 9, 3am

Microsoft said the Xbox Games Showcase and The Outer Worlds 2 Direct will be digital-only, which means there’s no theatre experience for fans and media this year. But it promised that its livestream will bring fans “everything you’ll need to know about what’s next for Xbox, no matter where in the world you’re watching.”

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.

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

While we don’t yet have a firm release date, developer Supergiant confirmed the highly anticipated sequel would release on PC and Nintendo Switch 2, as well as the OG Switch, at the same time later this year.

We knew Hades 2 was coming to Nintendo’s beefed-up Switch 2 courtesy of last week’s Nintendo Direct, of course, but developer Supergiant has now confirmed that it’s not just coming to Switch 1 and 2, but it’ll be a timed exclusive on Nintendo’s console, too.

“Hades II v1.0 will launch simultaneously on our Early Access platforms (Steam and Epic Games Store), Nintendo Switch 2, and the original Nintendo Switch,” the team recently clarified on X/Twitter

Hades II v1.0 will launch simultaneously on our Early Access platforms (Steam and Epic Games Store), Nintendo Switch 2, and the original Nintendo Switch.

— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) April 8, 2025

Right now, it’s not clear when Hades 2 will make the inevitable jump to other consoles like the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S.

Hades 2 is the sequel to Supergiant’s hit first game, mixing engaging storytelling and roguelite action elements in a dungeon-crawling experience.

“Hades 2 feels impossibly huge and unbelievably polished by any standard, much less an early access game,” we wrote in IGN’s Hades 2 early-access review, awarding it 9/10. “Mel is awesome, the new tweaks to the combat and progression are excellent, and it’s just unbelievably feature packed with twice the content of the first.

“What’s here right out of the gate is astounding, and the thought of more coming on the way is a tantalizing treat.”

For more, check out all the third-party games confirmed for Nintendo Switch 2.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Sabrina Carpenter has joined the ranks in Fortnite, and she’s bringing peace and love to the battle royale.

Developer Epic Games reported “dance-related stalemates are on the rise” as players sporting the Sabrina skin are putting away their weapons and getting jiggy with it instead.

“[Battle Royale] is all vibes now,” the developer teased on X/Twitter.

dance-related stalemates are on the rise since @SabrinaAnnLynn arrived in Fortnite. 😉 BR is all vibes now https://t.co/j4SRjIbCSG

— Fortnite (@Fortnite) April 8, 2025

“So, I was playing a game of Fornite ZB Reload and I saw two Sabrina skins just hanging,” explained one fan on the Fortnite subreddit.

“They crouched and uncrouched and I stopped shooting, and well, before we knew [it], us three became, like, nine players who stopped fighting and only danced around.

“Truly the most wholesome thing I’ve seen in a video game,” they added.

“This right here is why I love Fortnite,” added a commenter. “Out of all the online games I’ve played, the fact that this game has silly emotes and a rotating character pool that the community gets into makes for unique moments like this, that I’ve never seen in any other game.

“Imagine doing this in PUBG, or Tarkov.”

Sabrina Carpenter in Fortnite is so peak man😭 pic.twitter.com/JnJFuIg6tf

— Finzy (@Finzy) April 8, 2025

Sabrina Carpenter dropped into Fortnite as the Season 8 Icon of Fortnite Festival. As part of the Season 8 Music Pass, players can unlock the Sabrina Carpenter Outfit, themed cosmetics, and Jam Tracks like “Juno” and “Nonsense.” Sabrina Carpenter-themed items are also available on the Item Shop, including the “A Sweet Little Bundle” packed with items for fans to enjoy.

Did you catch the news that Fortnite is getting a special Nintendo Switch 2 port? Epic Games’ trend-setting battle royale showed up during a sizzle reel during last week’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct to confirm that a new version is in development. It’ll launch with Nintendo’s new hybrid console this June.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.