Category: IGN

Anime Last Stand developer Boss Studio is back with the Fate/Stay Night Inspired update, which adds a new Legend Stage, six new units, major lag fixes, and more to the Roblox tower defense experience.

The latest update and its patch notes made its way to Roblox players yesterday. It’s yet another update that comes with new content to mull over, but the most substantial change lies with the adjustments to the battle pass. The team says players will now receive “much better rewards” with the pass, which also now consists of 100 tiers to complete.

Anime Last Stand’s latest update also comes with three new units – King of Heroes (Celestial), Archer of Red (Mythic), and Rogue Lancer (Mythic) – as well as three new evolutions – King of Heroes (Sword of Rupture), Archer of Red (Bladeworks), and King Pendragon (Alter). There’s also a new Ryuudou Temple Legend Stage, which, when completed, rewards players with a chance to obtain the King of Heroes unit.

Blade Ball is one of the most exciting experiences on the Roblox platform, and it’s only going to keep getting better from here. Alongside a massive new update for the game, it’s also bringing a new Battle Pass to keep players in the game for the foreseeable future.

This new update, which went live on December 7, 2024, brings several interesting new tweaks to the familiar Blade Ball formula that we know and love. And the Christmas-themed Battle Pass is bound to be a winner for anyone who is into the holiday spirit.

All Blade Ball Patch Notes for Version 6.6

Best Buy is keeping the gaming deals rolling past Black Friday and Cyber Monday with its delightful 12 Days of Gaming sale event. Today’s deal is a real treat for Nintendo fans, as you can get Super Mario RPG for just $30 right now. However, this deal on Super Mario RPG only lasts for today, so if you’ve had your eye on it you’ll want to act fast to add it to your collection.

Best Buy’s 12 Days of Gaming: Get Super Mario RPG for $30

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has revealed its next set is a Themed Booster Pack centred around Mew called Mythical Island, and it arrives December 17.

Developer Creatures Inc. revealed the new set with a trailer, below, alongside word the digital trading card game has now been downloaded more than 60 million times.

Embark on a magical journey to fabled lands, as Pokémon TCG Pocket – Mythical Island goes live in-app, December 17th! 🏝️✨

Bolster your online collection with Mew ex and many more. Who’s hyped for the new release? pic.twitter.com/l6e3tDoKmp

— Pokémon TCG UK (@PokemonTCGUK) December 12, 2024

Mythical Island will be a smaller set compared to the only other available so far, Genetic Apex, featuring more than 80 cards including five ex, five Trainers, and at least two new Immersive Cards. Only a few specifics have been revealed so far, but both Mew ex and Aerodactyl ex will feature alongside new versions of currently available Pokémon and brand new ones too.

Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived October 30 and is a certified hit for Creatures Inc. and The Pokémon Company, having earned an estimated $200 million in its first month. It follows the standard mobile and free to play game model, flooding players with rewards in the opening few days before soon drying up, with spending real world money the only real way to re-experience that early thrill.

Completing Genetic Apex, the first set of cards which totals 226 officially but also contains 60 rare alternate art cards, will take players not spending money around two years according to one estimate, while those looking to make it rain can wrap up the collection after dropping around $1,500.

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

A new trailer for Mafia: The Old Country has leaked alongside a summer 2025 release window, ahead of a presentation at The Game Awards later today, December 12.

X/Twitter user @DJari2020 posted a brief snippet of the trailer, below, which seemingly appeared as a YouTube ad. It offers a first look at the gameplay, characters, and narrative of Mafia: The Old Country, promised to be a gritty mob story set in 1900s Sicily.

The trailer closes with a vague summer 2025 release window, but this is still a touch more clear than the previously announced general 2025 date. That’s potentially running close to GTA 6’s fall 2025 release window, should Rockstar’s game resist a delay in 2026. Mafia: The Old Country was revealed at gamescom in August with a brief teaser trailer that confirmed the setting but little else.

SUMMER 2025 pic.twitter.com/njHNxoWttW

— Damon Andrews (@DJari2020) December 12, 2024

“Uncover the origins of organized crime in Mafia: The Old Country, a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily,” reads the official synopsis. “Fight to survive in this dangerous and unforgiving era, with action brought to life by the authentic realism and rich storytelling that the critically acclaimed Mafia series is known for.”

Debuting more than two decades ago with 2002’s Mafia, the series continued slowly but surely with a sequel in 2010 and third game in 2016, though has otherwise been quiet since. Given the great stretches of time between each release, however, Mafia: The Old Country is practically right on schedule.

The Game Awards begins at 4:30pm Pacific / 7:30pm Eastern / 12:30am UK and is expected to last roughly three hours. IGN’s pre-show begins 30 minutes prior and we’ll have a post-show afterwards too, with these and the show itself all available to watch on the IGN homepage, IGN YouTube, IGN Twitch, and more.

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

Assassin’s Creed Shadows features a Canon Mode that makes every dialogue decision for the player instead of having them choose, Ubisoft has revealed.

Creative director Jonathan Dumont was asked by a fan on Reddit how much weight player choices have in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. “Choices come more into play when recruiting allies and romancing some of the characters,” Dumont said, before revealing the ability to remove these choices altogether.

“Since the fanbase is divided on branching dialogues, we have incorporated an option called Canon Mode which allows you to play the game with choices already made for you, to give you a choice free experience,” he added. “Hope this makes it fun for everyone.”

Role-playing games have long included dialogue options that allow players to shape the story, but Assassin’s Creed picked up branching dialogue when it shifted to a full-on RPG series with Assassin’s Creed Origins. Clearly, some fans preferred more concrete stories like that of Ezio’s in Assassin’s Creed 2.

Ubisoft will therefore hope fans of both options will pick up Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which could be the most important entry in the franchise’s history. Not only does it have a lot riding on it as the long-awaited Feudal Japan-set entry and the first full Assassin’s Creed since 2020, but a struggling Ubisoft needs it to perform well following recent flops.

It’s not enjoyed a particularly positive promotional period so far, however. Issues began as some fans expressed frustration with inaccuracies in the game’s depiction of Japan, leading the development team to issue an apology and say the game is not intended to be a factual representation of history but instead “a compelling, historical fiction.” This comes despite art director Thierry Dansereau telling IGN that Ubisoft looked to make Shadows as “authentic as possible to match historical events” just two months prior.

Concern was also raised when the developer used a flag from a Japanese historical re-enactment group in artwork for Assassin’s Creed Shadows without permission. Ubisoft apologized for doing so but refused to remove the artwork from the aforementioned and presumably already printed artbook available in the Collector’s Edition. The historical re-enactment group said this was not good enough, but Ubisoft hasn’t publicly acknowledged it since.

Yet another controversy came as collectible figure maker PureArts removed an Assassin’s Creed Shadows statue from sale over its “insensitive” design.

Fans are also frustrated by the delay to the game, as Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which was originally due out in November before being pushed to February 14. This puts Assassin’s Creed Shadows in more direct competition with PlayStation’s Ghost of Tsushima sequel, Ghost of Yotei, another 2025 open-world action adventure game set in Feudal Japan.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot maintained confidence, however. “There’s a lot of space for very high-quality games, and those two games can sell very well,” he said in the company’s latest earnings call. “The focus is to really make sure that we deliver a fantastic experience with this dual protagonist approach and two different and complimentary gameplays.”

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

With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Patch 5, dataminers have uncovered information on cosmetics set to hit the game up to Season 9.

The Year 1 roadmap for Space Marine 2 includes new content up to Season 4, which is set to kick off at some point in 2025 (we’re currently in Season 2).

Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Entertainment and developer Saber Interactive are releasing new Champion skins for specific classes with each season. The game launched in September with an Ultramarines Champion skin for the Heavy class, and this week’s game-changing Patch 5 added the Dark Angels Champion skin for the Bulwark class.

Now, based on fresh datamines, that cadence looks set to continue with each season up to Season 9.

Warning! Warhammer 40,000 spoilers for upcoming cosmetics follows!

Redditor agentduckman12 uncovered information revealing the cosmetic DLC, reproduced below.

• Season 3: Raven Guard
• Season 4: Salamander
• Season 5: Space Wolves
• Season 6: Chaos Pack
• Season 7: Imperial Fist
• Season 8: White Scars
• Season 9: Blood Angels

What fans don’t know yet is which class is set for each Chapter Champion skin, although agentduckman12 also leaked a Salamander Sniper Champion Pack skin render, below, so we know the Sniper class is set for a Salamander Champion skin.

The Assault, Tactical, and Vanguard are classes are therefore still up for grabs. Obviously there are enough Chapters here for each class to get more than one Champion skin, unless Saber plans to release new classes in the future of course.

The only other question is when these seasons will roll out. If we’re looking at year one including four seasons, then we could be waiting until 2026 for Season 9 and the Blood Angels skin. IGN has asked Focus Entertainment for comment.

Speaking of unannounced DLC, IGN has reported on the availability in-game of what looks like a Battle Barge expansion set to hit Space Marine 2 with Season 3.

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.

Driving simulation specialist studio Kunos Simulazioni has today revealed that the upcoming Assetto Corsa EVO will feature a large, open-world map that “faithfully recreates the iconic Eifel region surrounding the legendary Nürburgring.” The confirmation comes via Kunos’ official website.

According to Kunos, the map will make its way into Assetto Corsa EVO in mid-2025, at an unspecified point during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The open world will be released in stages, and will eventually cover 1600 square kilometers. New features and content will be added as the map expands. Kunos explains the map is fully laser-scanned, and will boast “unmatched detail.”

Local businesses based around the Nürburgring are also set to feature, so players will be able to rent cars and upgrade and customise their vehicles at actual outets. As part of today’s news, Kunos has opened an invitation to all local businesses in the vicinity of the Nürburgring to contact the studio for the opportunity to be featured in Assetto Corsa EVO.

Assetto Corsa EVO will initially become available on PC in Early Access from January 16, 2025. Console versions are also expected eventually, but not until the game exits its Early Access period.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

Sony has confirmed its interest in aquiring FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa.

The PlayStation manufacturer cleared the air regarding reports that it was looking to pick up the gaming and anime mega company in a recent interview with Yahoo Japan. It’s acknowledgement of what could be a bombshell moment for entertainment fans everywhere, but until a deal is finalized, it is probably best to keep expectations for a potential buyout at a minimum.

“It is true that we have made an initial statement of intent,” Sony said regarding its interest in Kadokawa (translated via DeepL). “We would appreciate it if you would allow us to refrain from further comment.”

Amazon has dropped the price on the new Xbox Series X All-Digital Edition. It’s normally $449.99, but you can get it right now for $398, about $52 off. This is the same deal we saw during Black Friday and Cyber Monday with one exception: Best Buy had it very briefly for $374.99. However, that deal is long gone, and this is the best deal you’ll find currently for a fully powered Xbox Series X. If you’re intending this to be a gift, Amazon expects it to be delivered well before December 25.

Xbox Series X All-Digital Edition 1TB Console