Category: IGN

Xbox’s Cyber Monday deals are still available, and while we originally thought Xbox controllers would only be getting a small $10 discount at most retailers, the deal is actually a lot better than that and well worth considering if you’ve been after an additional gamepad. The cheapest controller you can get right now is for $39.99 at Best Buy (see here), and its the Stellar Shift Special Edition with an MSRP of $69.99. This deal is also still live for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the UK, with Xbox Controllers down to £38.99.

This will likely sell out as it’s such a good deal, so let’s get into what else is available in the deal as well. By the looks of things, most other controllers have dropped to at least $44.99, which is a decent $20 off the standard Xbox controller and a reasonable deal for Cyber Monday. Plus, this includes some of the newer color variations as well like the Astral Purple design. We’ll leave all the links you need just below.

There are plenty of other fantastic Xbox deals still live as well. The best deal we’ve seen so far is the Xbox Series X Diablo 4 Bundle from Walmart, which includes Diablo 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for $489, or $439 without CoD.

If you’re a Best Buy Plus/ Tech Total member you can also get a Series X for $399 + a Best Buy $50 Gift Card, and for everyone else its $449, but that is still a great deal. Microsoft is still currently hosting its own Cyber Monday sale, and you can currently get an Xbox Series S + 3-months Xbox Game Pass for $249.

Dell also has a variety of deals now available across PCs, laptops, consoles, accessories, and more. In addition, Dell has several monitors available for a discounted rate for Cyber Monday. Be sure to check out our Dell Cyber Monday 2023 roundup for all the ongoing deals still available.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Nintendo Cyber Monday deals are now in full swing, and even after the big day, there’s never been a better opportunity to score some of the best discounts of the year. Cyber Monday is a great time to buy a Nintendo Switch for yourself or as a gift. Even in its seventh year on the market, the Switch has continued to see impressive first-party support with titles like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. With three models to choose from, you can streamline your experience depending on how you play. We’ve detailed all the Nintendo Switch Cyber Monday deals you can still grab below.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch OLED This Cyber Monday

Nintendo Switch OLED is the premium model of the Nintendo Switch family. This console offers a larger OLED display that makes your favorite games come alive in portable mode with colors that pop. The Cyber Monday bundle includes a copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a Nintendo Switch OLED with themed Joy-Con, and a three-month code for Nintendo Switch Online.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch This Cyber Monday

If you want to purchase the standard Nintendo Switch model, check out the links below for deals at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and Walmart. This special edition includes a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe copy and a three-month voucher for Nintendo Switch Online.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch Lite This Cyber Monday

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a great choice if you only plan on playing portably. You can purchase a Switch Lite for only $199. The Cyber Monday deal is a bundle including a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Walmart and Target both have an exclusive Switch Lite variant.

What to Look for in a Nintendo Switch

Will you play in Portable or Docked mode?

Something you should think about before purchasing is whether or not you are going to play in portable, docked, or both. Depending on your answer, you might gravitate towards a certain Switch model. If you plan to use both modes, the best Switch for you is the standard Nintendo Switch. On the other hand, if you think you won’t play your Switch on a TV, then you should purchase a Nintendo Switch Lite.

The Nintendo Switch OLED are where things get interesting since it is a premium model. Generally, it is a good fit for you if you’re looking to get the most out of the Switch and its games. If you tend to play more in Handheld mode than Docked mode, the Switch OLED is a worthwhile purhcase.

Do you want to play with friends?

If you want to play games locally with your friends, then the Switch Lite is something you want to avoid. Its portable-only nature doesn’t allow for it to connect to a TV and dock. Additionally, no kickstand or Joy-Cons means that it is tricky to attempt tabletop play for local multiplayer. Both the Switch and Switch OLED have the missing features listed above, so we recommend choosing one of those models if you want to play local multiplayer.

For more Nintendo Switch deals, check out our Nintendo Cyber Monday 2023 roundup. Dozens of games, accessories, and consoles are available this year with various sales.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

I know many of you are enjoying incredible leftovers, just like me, but don’t get so caught up that you forget it’s also supreme discount season. Very busy, many things to buy.

Xbox is a great place to play, and as part of Cyber Monday sales, you can grab tons of great things for your Xbox (whether you already have one, or you are just getting an Xbox now). From stylish controllers to additional storage options, we’ve got a list of the best Xbox accessories you’ll need to make the most of your play.

Xbox Expansion Card Cyber Monday Deal for $124.99

The WD Black C50 expansion card is a 1TB NVME SSD in a specialized Xbox-compatible form factor. Unlike the PS5 SSD installation process, which involves opening up the PS5 to access the SSD slot, the Seagate expansion card simply plugs into its dedicated port on the back of the Xbox. Easy peasy.

This expansion card also offers the same speed as the internal SSD, meaning you’ll still get the same fast load speeds, access to Quick Resume, and all of that. With a 1TB expansion card, you can double the storage on your Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Carbon Black Edition console, and triple the storage on your OG (white) Xbox Series S console.

That easy installation and seamless functioning comes with a cost, though. In contrast to the PS5, there are no other high speed storage options for your Xbox console (although you can use a standard USB external drive, you’ll lose Quick Resume and high load speeds). Your options are limited to either the WD or Seagate expansion cards, so if that interests you, now is the time to strike.

Save Over 20% on An Xbox Controller During Cyber Monday

• Also in Electric Volt Green
• Also in White

This Xbox Series X|S controller is an improvement, even over the Xbox One model. With an improved D-Pad, a new Share button, and a USB-C charging port, it’s my favorite controller to use, whether on Xbox or PC. The Xbox Controller can be used seamlessly across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Android iOS, and PC. With Bluetooth functionality, you can easily connect to whatever device you wish. Additionally, you can connect it to your Nintendo Switch or other gaming device with a USB adapter. This makes it a great choice if you’re in the market for a fantastic ‘all-around’ controller.

If you like color variants, you can also snag the Astral Purple Xbox controller.

Other Xbox Accessories for Cyber Monday 2023

Whether you are hopping online for some multiplayer, or just want to get the best audio immersion for your games, having a good gaming headset is a fantastic idea. Right now you can get the official Xbox headset or opt to go for the Turtle Beach Series X/S headset.

The Xbox Wireless comes with Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, DTS support and has noise canceling tech in it. It also has Bluetooth, so you can pair it with all kinds of things. The Turtle Beach headset uses a proprietary wireless connection, so your connection options are more limited.

The Logitech G920 wheel and pedals is discounted by $100, which is a great deal for one of the absolute best racing wheels around. If you are a Forza fan, this is a great way to take the sim racer experience to the next level, or even the arcade experience with Forza Horizon and other racing games.

Be sure to check out the best Xbox Cyber Monday deals still live right now, including the best Xbox Series X Cyber Monday bundle and a Cyber Monday Xbox Series S deal that’s among the best around.

Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

This article contains spoilers for the story of Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 players have found yet another glitch that lets them patrol the streets of New York City as Venom – but it involves a certain amount of risk, so those looking to exploit the glitch should proceed with caution.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the community carnage that’s ensued since Insomniac Games’ sequel launched for PlayStation 5 last month, then you should know that a dedicated few have been working to find ways to play as Marvel’s iconic symbiote. They had succeeded before, but Insomniac was quick to patch the exploit. Now, someone has discovered a new way to take the Lethal Protector outside of the limited arena players are given a little more than halfway through the campaign.

Reddit user UnderTheHood778 shared footage of them controlling Venom as he jumps over and around the city’s skyscrapers. This new version of the Venom glitch actually offers a bit more than previous exploits, as it allows players to use symbiote abilities to fight crime.

However, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s new Venom glitch is tricky to pull off. In fact, UnderTheHood778 explains that Venom wannabes will need to crash their game during a specific story moment.

The Reddit user says that players must first switch Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to its Fidelity Mode and then intentionally crash the game toward the end of the campaign’s playable Venom segment. Playing as Venom unleashed does sound like fun, but players should note that causing intentional crashes, especially by manually unplugging your PS5 while it’s powered on, could damage your device and potentially void your warranty. It’s big risk for a reward that essentially amounts to little more than a good time – and that’s if you’re lucky enough to pull it off on your first try. If you’re still interested in pursuing a chance at playing as Venom, you can watch the gameplay and full glitch tutorial from YouTuber iVoltex.

Forcing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to let you play as Venom can cause some hiccups. It’s obviously not seamless — Venom isn’t quite sure what to do when prompted to interact with Yuri, for example — but it still works better than it should. If nothing else, the emergence of this new exploit will surely add fuel to the fire that has seen players asking for a Venom spinoff game.

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.

Did you just pick up a brand new PlayStation 5 console for Black Friday? Or are you a long-time console owner who has finally used up all 1TB of the PS5’s base storage? Fortunately, Cyber Monday is unquestionably the best time of year to score a fast and reliable PS5 compatible gaming SSD at the lowest price possible. Score a 2TB SSD, which triples your storage space, for under $100!

Looking for more Cyber Monday deals like this? Check out the best Cyber Monday deals of 2023.

Cyber Monday Deal: Fantom 1TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $99.95

This SSD is explicitly meant for the PS5 console. Like the other SSDs on the list, the Fantom boasts speeds well above the minimum requirement (7400MB/s read and 6000MB/s write). It also has a stylish looking aluminum magnesium alloy heatsink that’s guaranteed to fit into the PS5’s SSD slot. If you’re worried about the brand, don’t. Storagereview.com reviewed this SSD and gave it a thumbs up.

Cyber Monday Deal: Nextorage 1TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $99.99

There’s an interesting story behind Nextorage Japan. Nextorage describes itself as a company that was “created by a group of ex-Sony engineers and staff with over 20 years of experience in the development of memory and storage products”. Nextorage was actually originally created by Sony in 2019 as an SSD sub-division about a year before the PS5 was released. Presumably this was to be the basis for an official SSD sold by Sony themselves. For whatever reason, Sony decided to ditch that idea and sold this business to another stakeholder in the company, Phison, in 2022. Phison is another large reputable company that specializes in solid state memory controllers. You’ll find their controllers in name-brand SSDs like Seagate, Corsair, and Sabrent. Under Phison, Nextorage Japan eventually accomplished the goal of releasing an SSD catered specifically for the PS5 console in the form of this product right here.

Cyber Monday Deal: Seagate Game Drive 2TB SSD with Heatsink $149.99

Now here’s an SSD you don’t see discounted often. The Seagate Game Drive is only the second SSD to be officially licensed for the PlayStation console. What that means is this SSD is pretty much guaranteed to work with your PS5 with no problems whatsoever. It’s pricier than the other options in this list, but it’s still a hefty discount off MSRP and the lowest price we’ve seen. Seagate is a very reputable brand.

Cyber Monday Deal: WD Black SN850X 4TB PS5 SSD for $229.99

The SN850X is the latest generation of WD’s flagship Black series M.2 SSDs. It’s easily one of the fastest SSDs on the market. There are only a few SSDs out right now that can match its speed. Off the top of my head, the only SSDs I can think of are the new Samsung 990 Pro and the SK Hynix P41 Platinum. The SN850X also makes for an excellent PS5 SSD. It is identical to the SN850P, which is an officially licensed PS5 SSD. The only caveat is that this particular model doesn’t include a built-in heatsink. That is easily remedied by picking up a PS5 heatsink off Amazon for $7.

Cyber Monday Deal: Corsair MP600 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink $110

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is Corsair’s fastest M.2 SSD and the “LPX” model is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. We rated it the best PS5 SSD for 2023.

Cyber Monday Deal: Samsung 980 Pro 2TB M.2 SSD with Heatsink $119.99

Samsung SSDs need no introduction. They’ve made some of the most popular and reliable PS5 SSDs on the market. The 980 Pro has been out for a long time, way back in January of 2020. A testament to its reliability is the fact that Samsung didn’t feel any need to release any newer flagship model until only this year. In terms of performance, it’s no longer the fastest SSD on the market (the 990 Pro is), but it’s still a very fast drive. It certainly more than meets the minimum 5600MB/s speed requirement to be used as a PS5 storage upgrade, with speeds of up to 7,100MB/s.

All the Black Friday SSD Deals for your PS5 Console

What is a PS5-compatible SSD?

An SSD that expands your PS5’s storage is essentially the same SSD that goes into your gaming PC. However, because of the PS5 has certain requirements that must be met for full compatibility. These are:

• The SSD and its heatsink must fit in the PS5 drive bay (requirement)
• The SSD must have a PCIe 4.0 interface (requirement)
• The SSD should have a minimum read speed of 5600MB/s (recommended)
• The SSD should have a heatsink for proper cooling (recommended)

An SSD that is slower than 5,600MB/s should still work. In fact, if it’s close to the rated speed, you may never notice any difference. The reason Sony gives this recommendation is that the stock SSD that comes with the PS5 is rated at 5,600MB/s. If you add a slower SSD, you will bottleneck your stock SSD.

Likewise, you may not need a heatsink. SSDs are rated for higher temps than what you’d normally expect to achieve even inside a PS5 that’s running fult tilt. However, there’s no real airflow around the SSD bay and SSDs do get pretty hot. We’d recommend getting a preinstalled heatsink or installing one yourself for peace of mind and potentially to prevent thermal throttling and extending the lifespan of your SSD.

Can I use this SSD in my gaming PC?

Absolutely! PS5-compatible SSDs will work with any PC with an available M.2 slot that supports PCIe 4.0 M.2 solid state drives. In fact, if you get a PS5-compatible SSD, you’re essentially guaranteed to get an SSD that’s going to perform extremely well because of the higher rated speed.

The Division Heartland has been rated by the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee.

First spotted by X/Twitter user Kurakasis, the rating first appeared on Nov. 14, 2023. As Kurakasis points out, the rating, which includes mentions of PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S verisons, suggests that a release date could arrive as early as late January or early February 2024 if we’re lucky. While it’s best not to get your hopes up for an official schedule update until Ubisoft has more to say, the rating could be a sign that things are moving in the right direction.

Ubisoft announced its free-to-play PC and console take on The Division series in 2021. It’s planned to release for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S, but the path to its launch hasn’t been without roadblocks. The original plan was to see the spinoff release sometime in 2021 or 2022, but a quiet delay arrived shortly after its reveal, which saw it pushed to 2022 or 2023. We’re now a month and a half away from the end of the year, and Ubisoft still hasn’t given us a solid release date for The Division Heartland.

That said, the xDefiant and Assassin’s Creed company hasn’t completely kept quiet when it comes to its Division plans. Specifically, Ubisoft unveiled a gameplay overview for The Division Heartland in April of this year. The footage brought six minutes of gameplay with commentary from the team behind the standalone project. Although its release plans have been murky, fans have been told they can eventually expect The Division 3 to release sometime in the future as well.

The Division Heartland received a beta test in June of this year. For more on the upcoming spinoff, you can watch its cinematic intro trailer below.

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.

Big as Baldur’s Gate 3 is, fans of Dungeons & Dragons know that the expansive world of the game is only a tiny, tiny fraction of the massive world of D&D. But one intrepid fan thinks they’ve found exactly which tiny fraction of the world some of the game’s key moments take place in.

In a Reddit post by u/CommanderRasseru, the author claims to have pinpointed on a D&D map exactly where the Nautiloid crash site and Moonrise Towers are located. They admit this is their “best rough guess,” since the D&D map and the Baldur’s Gate 3 maps don’t line up absolutely 100% in every way, but some pretty major clues point to their guess being a fairly accurate one.

The most obvious landmark is the city of Baldur’s Gate itself, as well as the general knowledge that Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place on the Sword Coast of the continent of Faerün, which narrows it down considerably. From there, u/CommanderRasseru used river topography to discern where the rest of the game is located, following the bends of the River Chionthar upstream from Baldur’s Gate and cross-referencing locations with distances from Fort Morninglord and Elturel. Putting all that together, they came up with this:

Following rumors and reports that the expansion was getting delayed, Bungie has officially revealed that Destiny 2’s next expansion, The Final Shape, has been pushed back to June 4, 2024.

In a blog post, Bungie confirmed that it is delaying the expansion, stating that it needs “more time to become exactly what [Bungie] want it to be.” The expansion was originally set to release on Feb. 27, 2024.

The announcement follows recent reports that Bungie may have delayed The Final Shape after the company suffered mass layoffs late last month.

Developing…

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Andrzej Sapkowski’s next The Witcher book will be a standalone novel based on Geralt of Rivia, the author has confirmed.

Speaking to Beyond Pixels, as translated by Redanian Intelligence, Sapkowski said during Comic Con Vienna that the next book, which currently lacks a title, won’t be part of a larger series within the Witcher world.

“No, that’s not my plan now,” Sapkowski said when asked if this would be connected to the other Witcher titles. “This new book is going to be a standalone, but maybe, who can say. The book is directly about Geralt, but I won’t say more. It is outside the pentalogy.”

This places it in the same style as Season of Storms, the eighth and latest Witcher book released and the only one to exist as a standalone novel. This means that, while it is canon to the other books and includes mention of events from elsewhere, it won’t tell a story connected or adjacent to the main Witcher Saga (that’s being retold in the Netflix series), act as a sequel to another story, or begin a saga of its own.

Fans recently thought Sapkowski teased something to the contrary, however, he later suggested the new book would be connected to Netflix’s Sirens of the Deep animated film, which is based on The Witcher short story A Little Sacrifice.

Regardless, fans of the series will be excited to read the next entry, as it will be the first new Witcher book to release in more than a decade when it arrives in early 2025 (or late 2024 in its native Poland).

Image Credit: Gollancz

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

Attention all muggles, a computer simulation about wizardkind has received a rather sizable discount for your bizarre celebration of all things ‘cyber’. The game referred to as ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is now available for just 40 galleons on the PlayStation 5, or only 30 on PlayStation 4. This will certainly be a discount to revel in.

But, we have also been told that it will only be available for a limited time, so you’ve got until the witching hour on the ‘Cyber Monday‘ to secure this remarkable offering. For more deals on all things cyber, you can also become a loyal follower for the individual only known as @IGNDeals on the social media network that some may call – X.

IGN bestowed the aforementioned computer simulation a gracious nine out of ten in its initial review earlier this calendar year. The esteemed reviewer seemed thrilled with the results of the game, stating: “In almost every way, this is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play.”

“Its open-world adventure captures all the excitement and wonder of the Wizarding World with its memorable new characters, challenging and nuanced combat, and a wonderfully executed Hogwarts student fantasy that kept me glued to my controller for dozens of hours.”

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.