Category: IGN

Counter-Strike 2 has received a much-needed update with the arrival of custom maps.

“The Maps workshop is now open for business,” developer Valve declared in a post on the Counter-Strike website.

“Community map makers can start uploading their maps to the workshop, and community servers can host those maps,” Valve added. “If you’d like to try some workshop maps offline, subscribe to them on the workshop and head to the Play menu.

“There are a bunch of other workshop tool updates today, along with a host of other fixes and adjustments to CS2. Check out the notes, play some matches, and keep that feedback coming!”

Fans have welcomed the news for a number of reasons, chief among them because custom maps are great for training. CS2’s predecessor, CS:GO, had a few useful maps for aim training and learning how to pre-fire, learn smokes, and spots to peek on certain maps, but those maps were inaccessible when CS2 replaced CS:GO in September. And already community map makers have worked their magic, with an aim training custom map going live less than 24 hours after the update launched.

Here are the Counter-Strike 2 November 2 patch notes in full:

[ WORKSHOP ]

• Enabled uploading CS2 maps to the workshop
• Community Servers can host workshop maps
• Added paint metalness and roughness by color features to Solid Color, Hydrographic, and Spray-Paint finishes in the Item Editor
• Added option to toggle “Automatic PBR Color Correction” to all sticker types in Item Editor
• Various Item Editor help system updates including “mat_fullbright 10” to test PBR
• Various updates to workshop tools

[ GAMEPLAY ]

• Fixed a case where user commands would be ignored in poor network conditions
• Fixed a case where weapons would fire faster than intended
• Fixed a case where clients would show multiple gunshots for one actual shot
• Fixed a case where players would fail to keep their weapons between rounds of overtime
• Fixed some instances of dropped weapons falling out of the gameplay space
• In firstperson, dead players will now see their own ragdoll at the server-authoritative lag-compensated position of their demise
• Decoy grenades interact aesthetically with smoke clouds
• Smoke grenades now have a minimum fuse duration to prevent smokes from prematurely detonating if stuck in crevices
• Players now ignore individual damage events dealing less than one point of damage
• Knife attacks will now prioritize enemies and will only hit teammates if there are no enemies in range
• Knife attacks no longer predict damage effects or sounds on the client
• Knife attack immediately after switching to a knife will always deal full damage amount
• For a given map location, eye height is now consistent regardless of how the player arrived

[ MAPS ]

• INFERNO
  • Fixed clipping in various areas
  • Fixed various microgaps
  • Fixed disappearing meshes in skybox
  • Removed birds that got mistaken for grenades

[ SERVERS ]

• Added sv_maxuptimelimit setting to request server shutdown after certain number of uptime hours.
• Support -sv_maxuptimelimit command line parameter to randomly select uptime limit per instance within a range, e.g. “-sv_maxuptimelimit 48-72” command line parameter will request game server instance to self-shutdown somewhere between 48 and 72 hours by issuing “sv_shutdown” command on the game server.
• Added game server startup timing log records.
• Game servers will now print global chat messages when players acknowledge newly acquired items while connected to the game server.
• Fixed a bug showing 100% packet loss immediately after connection
• Fixed a bug where scoreboard ping could get stuck at a value lower than the real ping

[ MISC ]

• Improved rendering of stickers
• Added wins and wins-needed to Competitive Play Menu map tiles
• Fixed various minor HUD bugs
• Fixed various skins and sticker bugs
• Fixed various bugs with item inspection UI
• Fixed a skinning issue with Trapper Aggressor agent’s legs
• Improved performance of player animations on client and server
• Smoke grenade canister changed to chrome material
• “Boost Player Contrast” no longer applies to dead players
• Adjusted microphone voice threshold value

Counter-Strike 2 launched in September and replaced the 11-year-old Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, upsetting some within the community who compared the move to Blizzard’s controversial decision to replace Overwatch with Overwatch 2. Counter-Strike 2 currently has a ‘mixed’ user review rating of 63% on Steam for recent reviews. All reviews are ‘very positive’, but they include reviews for Global Offensive.

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.

Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was originally planned as a downloadable expansion and only took around six months to develop.

Speaking to Automaton, Like a Dragon Gaiden writer Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed the idea emerged as just an interlude in full sequel Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Like a Dragon/Yakuza 8) before spiralling into its own game.

“There isn’t a huge difference between Like a Dragon Gaiden and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth,” Yokoyama said. “By this I mean that, in a sense, Like a Dragon Gaiden was derived from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

“We could have just told of Kiryu’s past through a 30-minute interlude as part of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but we decided it would be a lot more interesting as a game of its own, which is how the project came to be. Though this meant having a whole extra game to make, it still uses the same engine, so we thought, ‘It’s not like we have to make it from scratch,’ and decided to go with it. In the end, it took us about half a year to make it.”

Like a Dragon Gaiden will reveal what former series protagonist Kiryu Kazuma has been up to since the series switched away from him in Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7). Kiryu returns as a dual protagonist in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Yakuza 8), so Gaiden will serve as a side story taking place during but away from the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If that’s not confusing enough, you can read about why developer RGG Studio renamed the series from Yakuza to Like a Dragon alongside its even more complicated naming conventions for Infinite Wealth.

Yokoyama continued: “I’m the one who first went: ‘Let’s make it.’ I said: ‘If you’re going to make an episode about Kiryu’s past, it’s going to be much quicker to make a game about it.’ From there on, we first considered making it as DLC, but then decided it was engaging enough for a physical edition. But, for a physical edition, we needed more content, so we decided to add some. This is how things escalated.”

Like a Dragon Gaiden won’t actually receive a physical edition in the west, just in Japan, but Yokoyama is essentially referring to its release as a full game here (though it will launch on November 9 at $49.99 instead of the standard $69.99).

Tying the two together even further, Like a Dragon Gaiden will also come with a special trial version of the next full release, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, ahead of its launch on January 26. The spin-off won’t launch with an English dubbed version, however, meaning players will have to play with Japanese audio and English subtitles.

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

The PlayStation 5 version of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 does not currently have a platinum trophy, sparking concern about the structure of its launch.

The PS5 version’s trophy list appears connected to last year’s Modern Warfare 2, which seems to have been restructured to act as a hub called Call of Duty HQ.

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian might just have patched sex speedruns out of the game.

Larian’s sprawling Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game has spawned a vociferous Sex% speedrun category in which players try to bed a companion in the quickest time possible. The current world record, set by speedrunner Mae just two weeks ago, comes in at under two minutes, and uses the established strategy of gaining enough early approval with Githyanki fighter Lae’zel that she agrees to spend the night.

Lae’zel is (was!) the perfect companion for this strategy because she was relatively easy to impress right at the start of the game by bullying a Tiefling in Silvanus’ Grove, and area players could leapfrog huge swathes of Baldur’s Gate 3’s opening section to get to in just a minute (check out our Lae’zel romance guide for more).

But the enormously long patch notes for Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 4 revealed a key change that makes Lae’zel harder to charm: “For Lae’zel to decide to romance you, you no longer only need to gain high enough approval from her. You must also have proven yourself worthy through your actions.”

As the Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrunning community scrambles to work out what these “worthy” actions are, observers have said the Sex% category may never be the same again, and may even split off into categories specific to certain companions (fastest to bear sex seems inevitable). “Sex% speedruns in shambles,” declared redditor Monk-Ey.

It’s early days in terms of reaction, but record-holder Mae has already had a bit of fun in a YouTube video. “Rest in peace to the funniest category ever (we’ll probably make a new leaderboard for Patch 4).” Then, in a community post, Mae said: “It is with immeasurable disappointment that I announce that Sex% speedruns have been patched out of Baldur’s Gate 3… it’s been real, boys.”

In IGN’s review of Baldur’s Gate 3, which returned a 10/10, we 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.”

For more, check out IGN’s comprehensive Baldur’s Gate 3 walkthrough.

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.

Payday 3’s long-delayed first patch is finally here, with developer Starbreeze addressing what it calls a “massive” number of issues with the cooperative heist shooter.

Patch notes for update 1.01 were released on Steam (though the update is available on all platforms) and highlight several changes that look to address Payday 3’s disastrous launch.

“After some instability, we’re finally up and running as things should be,” Starbreeze said in the notes, which arrived around six weeks after Payday 3 launched. “Heisters heisting, civilians screaming, and cops floundering. We’ve got a lot more cooking, keep letting us know when you find bugs and sending us your suggestions.”

Alongside adding preorder and edition specific items for all players, the 1.01 update lets players turns the camera during the full tased effect, adds a fix for the Cleanin’ It Out achievement not popping properly, updates aim assist on PlayStation 5, and more.

The full, very extensive list of patch notes can be read below.

Payday 3’s launch was plagued with server issues that forced Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren to apologise. “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario — we should be able to do better,” he said.

Almost a month after its launch and Starbreeze apologised again for its lack of communication, and then just a week later said sorry one more time for not delivering the promised patch and again going quiet.

Starbreeze boasted PayDay 3 had 3.1 million players as of October 2, but this number has dwindled, at least on Steam, as more players are currently playing Payday 2 than its highly anticipated sequel. According to SteamDB, Payday 3 has a 24-hour peak of 2,801 players, while 10-year old Payday 2 has a 24-hour peak of 33,470.

Payday 3 Update 1.01 Patch Notes

General

• Added pre-order and edition specific items to everyone
• Last radio call will now provide a last warning before alarm goes off, and will not be interrupted by other radio dialogues
• Players can now not turn the camera during the full tased effect
• Added a fix for the “Cleanin’ It Out” achievement to pop up when the criteria is met
• Fixed an issue where the player doesn’t gain “Rush” when masking up while sprinting
• Fixed an issue where the player could bind “Throw item” and “Request overkill weapon” to the same keybind
• Updated the aim assist function for PS5 controllers
• Closing or opening doors will no longer push/move players in close proximity
• Fixed a crash caused when answering a radio
• Fixed a crash that could happen when vaulting near the heist end
• Fixed an issue where players got stuck in crouch when playing with high ping
• Added a fix so Overkill weapons don’t fall through vehicles
• Fixed so the tutorial scroll box is scrollable the second time you open a tutorial popup
• Added a fix for a crash caused by multiple explosions
• Fixed an issue where the “Closing the Account” trophy didn’t unlock properly
• Fixed so the achievement “Cleanin’ it out” needs to be done on Overkill
• Fixed issue with marking though some windows
• Added a fix to prevent players from getting stuck when using a human shield that dies
• Fixed a DLSS related crash
• Fixed an issue where the player can get stuck and not proceeding to menus after failing a heist
• Removed a state check to fix issue with AI placed bags having wrong rotation
• Added a fix so game won’t crash when joining another player through social or shell
• Fixed an issue with the social list not filling up
• Fixed an issue where a party couldn’t matchmake if the former party leader had left the party
• Fixed an issue where social list didn’t populate after reestablishing an internet connection
• Changing languages should now work
• Fixed a crash related to getting a random character when joining a game
• Fixed a crash related to IP address
• Closed the weapon experience exploit in 99 Boxes

Balance

For this patch, we wanted to primarily address minor fixes.

We are aware that Last Man Standing and Armor Up are performing a bit too well, so we plan to give them a few tweaks that keep them effective, but require a bit more setup compared to the benefits they offer. This will be in the next big patch. Outside of these two skills, we don’t expect any big nerfs coming to skills in the next patch, but given players are still getting used to the game, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the meta.

We are also aware that armor is considered the most desirable resource compared to ammo and health. We are happy with how armor itself works, but we want to put in a few more ways for players to restore it in the game. We also think health is underperforming right now, but addressing that will be a gradual change over the first year of updates, rather than one sweeping update.

Skills

• Using Manipulator Basic Skill will no longer cause an interaction interference when players do multiple interactions in a row
• “Battering Ram” skill can no longer be used to open blue keycard door on “Rock the Cradle”
• “Battering Ram” skill can no longer be used to open the front door on “Touch the sky”

Weapons

• Added ability for knives to be thrown through broken shield visors.
• Fixed an issue where throwing knives couldn’t be picked up when the equipped primary or secondary weapon had full ammo
• Adjusted the Vertical Grip spawn point on weapon PC9
• Moved the magazine release lever on SA A144
• Fixed an issue with weapon recoil in lower FPS

Enemies

• Dozers will now get closer before engaging heisters with their shotgun
• Updated the enemy flashbangs to apply flash effect more consistently
• Player can no longer open doors leading to enemy spawn locations

Technical

• The real meat of this update, the tech stuff! There’s a wide variety of fixes and changes on this list. Continue to let us know if you find any bugs and we’ll keep smashing them!

UI

• Added a “Keep these display changes?” message after changing screen resolution.
• Fixed a minor typo in the loadout section
• UI update for favor reward in result screen
• Reduced description text size, in skill line menus
• Added ability for players to review the EULA again after creating their accounts
• Fixed an issue causing player names, and infamy levels, to not load correctly and displaying wrong information
• Fixed translation issue related to the whiskey bottle in “Touch the Sky”
• Fixed overlapping text in heist overview
• Added icons for when buffs are blocked due to certain skills
• Dropdown for offline friends in social screen should now be displayed correctly
• Added a fix for the camera zooming out of screen when inspecting an item from the vendors
• Fixed an issue showing an incorrect amount of remaining radio calls when a player joins an ongoing heist
• Added a fix for overlapping weapon mod names to make them more readable
• Player stats are now shown in result screen when failing a heist
• Added a fix so a joining player’s name is displayed in the chat
• Added a button prompt showing how to exit the safe cracking mini-game
• The phone hacking visualization should now always reach full when completing
• Fixed locked story videos to properly reset color values when initialized
• Adjustments made to fonts in settings menu
• Fixed an issue with the “report player” option not appearing
• Fixed an issue where the user could interact with the menus when the report text box was open
• Added a fix for stock mods “TQ” and “HQ”, their titles are now aligned in the loadout
• Tool input is now shown as blocked when interacting with loot
• Resized the loadout selection bar
• Fixed an issue with joining a friend in the social menu when spamming the join button
• Fixed an issue on with friends not to appear properly

Audio

• A sound of dropping a dead body onto the ground will now be played when players drop bodies
• The sound effect of sliding will now stop playing when players stop sliding
• Added sound effect for closed windows being destroyed
• Cinematic audio volume is now also affected by master volume
• Removed “break” VFX from throwing knives that don’t break when Retriever skill is equipped
• Added a fix for smalltalk between civilians and employees not triggering
• Added more small talk conversations between civilians
• Shade voice over will no longer play, when players return to the main menu after canceling matchmaking
• Improved the sound effect for opening crates
• Disabled the Shade VO about file clues when the actual documents have already been picked up
• Wolf now whisper instead of screams for medic bags during stealth gameplay
• Fixed an issue where dye packs would loop the audio when breaking while being disarmed
• Fixed an issue where civilian cellphone ringtones would loop forever
• Fixed an issue that could cause eye scanner to play incorrect VO when scanning the correct NPC
• Audio balancing for enemy VOs
• Added more door sounds
• Added sound effects for NPC animations
• Fixed an issue where the human shield takedown sound effect would not stop if you reload your gun while choking someone out

Visuals

• Fixed a visual issue with deployables placed on moving objects that wouldn’t sync up for players joining an ongoing heist
• Fixed deployables floating in the air when placed on a surface that then moved, deployables will now fall to the ground.
• Fixed an issue with deployables floating when placed on certain doors
• Fixed multiple minor graphical issues on the front part of the bank on “No Rest of the Wicked”
• Fixed weapon animation issue when looking upwards and using tools
• Added a fix so that switching between sprinting and placing tools wouldn’t cause issues when sprinting.
• Fixed animation issue when SWATs are freeing hostages appearing as taking damage
• Fixed an issue on lower graphical settings causing the door of the escape helicopter to appear broken. (PC)
• Fixed a bug where the player could get inside the transport van in one of the pot holes in “Road Rage”
• Fixed a bug where standing on the van would cause the player positions to glitch
• Realigned The Butcher’s contractor image with the bottom of the screen
• Subtitle fixes for story videos
• Fixed a animation issue when using microcamera
• In-game heist info screen now scales properly across aspect ratios
• Adjusted enemy sabotage animation
• Optimized foliage LODs

Heist

• Melee damage no longer affects environment details that should only take damage from explosions/gunfire in Gold & Sharke
• Fixed missing collision, in a small area on the bank roof, on “No Rest for the Wicked”
• Removed an area that was tagged as “public” on the roof in “Under the Surphaze”
• Fixed a bug that led guards to sometimes walk through a closed door on “No Rest for the Wicked”
• Added a fix for the Security Door that was openable without a Blue keycard on “99 boxes”
• Added a missing out of bounds screen filter in “Under the Surphaze”
• Deployables no longer disappear when thrown through vents on “Touch the Sky”
• Added a fix for canceling sliding into panic room’s door on “Touch the Sky”
• Fixed the texture of the panic room’s door on “Touch the Sky”
• “Favors” and “Difficulty” are no longer visible in tutorials when holding Tab
• Players will no longer stutter when jumping and sprinting inside the truck on “99 Boxes”
• Added collision to block players from getting stuck behind a curtain on “Under the Surphaze”
• Added collision to prevent bags from being thrown outside of the playable area on “Road Rage”
• Fixed a vent navigation issue in “Rock the Cradle”
• Fixed an issue where bags would get stuck in the forklift on “Road Rage”
• Fixed an issue where loot bags would disappear when throwing them into the zipline on “Touch the Sky”
• Fixed an issue where AI crew could get stuck in “99 Boxes”
• Fixed issues where you could throw bags out of reach on “Dirty Ice”
• Fixed an issue where some jewelry trays are clipping in the VIP room on “Dirty Ice”
• Added so the drill option appears during Stealth on “Touch the Sky”
• Disabled all interaction for placed planks once all four have been placed on “Road Rage”
• Added a fix for where the Escape Objective sometimes didn’t appear on “Dirty Ice”
• The “Enter the Workshop”-objective will get disabled if players secure maximum loot
• Fixed an issue where Mason gets poisoned despite not being delivered the poisoned drink on “Touch the sky”
• Fixed an issue where the armored truck would get stuck before the final ramp on “Road Rage”
• Fixed an Overkill difficulty issue where the bouncer wouldn’t let you proceed after showing him the VIP invitation on “Rock the Cradle”
• Adjusted the ambush setup timer on “Road Rage”
• Added collision to prevent cage bags falling through the ground on “Rock the Cradle”
• Added a fix so players cannot throw the zipline bag in the escape van on Gold & Sharke

Known Issues

• Challenge stuck at 1/1 can now be unlocked by completing the challenge again or completing the highest difficulty challenge in the sequence
• The weapon charms and death wish reward from the PAYDAY 2 to PAYDAY 3 cross promotion campaign haven’t been properly granted. We hope to have this issue fully resolved by the next patch

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

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is a multi-platform release, but that isn’t stopping Xbox from giving it the full first-party treatment. Xbox users booting up their console today were greeted with a large splash screen prompting them to buy it now that the new campaign is out, and some of them aren’t too happy about it.

“This is dumb. I don’t play Call of Duty; I never bought Call of Duty. I shouldn’t turn on my Xbox and the literal first thing I see be add [sic] for a game, or anything for that matter,” one user wrote.

Citing production issues for two of its massively popular games, Wizards of the Coast has delayed Dungeon & Dragon’s The Deck of Many Things and Magic: The Gathering’s The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

The first delay was announced on D&D Beyond, where the Wizards of the Coast team reported that after an internal review of early copies of the The Deck of Many Things expansion, it found that “the product didn’t meet our manufacturing standards,” adding that “making this right will delay the release of the physical product, both directly from Wizards as well as our retail partners.”

BlizzCon, the annual convention held by Blizzard Entertainment as a way for the company to share updates and information on its properties from Diablo to Warcraft, is finally back. For the first time in four years, the event will be held in person in addition to a digital event for those who won’t be venturing down to Anaheim, Calif.

Whether you are watching BlizzCon from home or attending in person, we have all the details below, including the schedule for the entire two-day event and what time each panel starts.

Jump to:

• Where to Stream BlizzCon 2023
• BlizzCon 2023 Schedule
• What to Expect at BlizzCon 2023

Where to Watch BlizzCon 2023

BlizzCon 2023 will be streaming on the BlizzCon website, in addition to the official Blizzard Entertainment Twitch and YouTube channels. If you miss any of the panels or the opening ceremony, don’t worry; Blizzard confirmed fans will be able to watch replays of all the panels.

BlizzCon 2023 Schedule

Here’s a full programming schedule for BlizzCon 2023, which kicks off on Friday, Nov. 3, and will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 4.

Friday, Nov. 3:

• BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony – 11am PT – 12:45pm PT
• World of Warcraft: What’s Next – 1:30pm PT – 2:15pm PT
• Overwatch: Deep Dive – 2:30pm PT – 3:15pm PT
• World of Warcraft Classic: What’s Next – 3:30pm PT – 4:15pm PT
• Hearthstone: What’s Next – 4:30pm PT – 5:15pm PT
• Warcraft Rumblings – 5:30pm PT – 6:30pm PT

Saturday, Nov. 4:

• World of Warcraft: Deep Dive – 12pm PT – 12:45pm PT
• Overwatch: What’s Next – 1:30pm PT – 2:15pm PT
• Diablo IV: Campfire Chat – 2:30pm PT – 3:30pm PT
• Community Night – 4:45pm PT – 6:15pm PT
• Special Performance: LE SSERAFIM – 6:15pm PT – 6:45pm PT

What to Expect at BlizzCon 2023

As with previous BlizzCons, expect plenty of announcements from the company’s major franchises. We know that Bizzard is working on a new survival game set in a brand new universe, but details have been slim since its official announcement over a year ago.

Diablo IV was released this year, so expect some updates to come from Blizzard regarding its plans for post-launch content. Diablo IV Season 3 news is likely, and the company may use BlizzCon as an opportunity to announce the first expansion, as Diablo boss Rod Fergusson previously mentioned the game will get annual expansions.

This upcoming BlizzCon is also noteworthy as it is the first time Blizzard Entertainment is holding the event after Microsoft acquired its parent company, Activision Blizzard. With an opening ceremony kicking off the event, we expect the company to make nod to the historic acquisition in some capacity.

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

Over 21 years ago, Sony released Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, a PlayStation 2 game that puts players in the small shoes of a young boy experiencing a coastal Japanese town’s summer. It sold well and became an instant fan favorite thanks to its relaxing setting, but unfortunately for English-speaking fans, it was never localized — until yesterday.

On Nov. 1, YouTuber and fan translator Hilltop released their long-awaited English translation patch for Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 alongside a short trailer.

The long-awaited English translation patch for Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 is now available. pic.twitter.com/YIR4o9mbiT

— Hilltop 🌻 (@HilltopWorks) November 1, 2023

“After eleven months of work, I am beyond proud to present the long-awaited English patch for one of the most special games ever to grace the PlayStation 2,” they wrote on Patreon. “I would like to thank the rest of the team for helping me in making this localization the absolute highest quality possible, with no expense spared and not a single corner cut.”

Hilltop’s patch seems especially detailed, with a small team working to preserve the original game’s nostalgic art style in everything from Boku’s journal entries to menu buttons while translating thousands of lines of dialogue.

I want to highlight the phenomenal work by @oldgamebox and @blametherobots to translate the game’s graphics, particularly the work to maintain the style of Boku’s crayon writing: pic.twitter.com/PAgk8zptqD

— Hilltop 🌻 (@HilltopWorks) April 16, 2023

The patch can be downloaded for free on Hilltop’s Patreon, and so many people have reportedly downloaded it that Hilltop had to establish a second download link after the first was overloaded. It’s currently compatible with both emulators and PS2s, and instructions for installing are included with the download.

Demand for this patch has been high for years — in 2012, we ranked the Boku no Natsuyasumi series among the best games to never get a worldwide release.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.