Half-Life: Episode 3 remains one of the great what-ifs in gaming history. Originally set to follow on from Episode 1 and 2, its cancellation instead left the series dangling on a cliffhanger it never directly resolved.
Now, on the occasion of Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary, Valve has opened up about its development in a brand-new documentary that shows never-before-seen work-in-progress footage, a brand-new Ice Gun, and a raft of new concept art. You can see the gameplay segment from the documentary in the video below.
Among the details shown in the video, Episode 3 would have been set in the Arctic, and it would have focused on Alyx as a companion character. Aside from the Ice Gun, the footage shows a blob-like enemy that could split into multiple parts. According to the documentary, the team had complete a “collection of playable levels in no particular order” and expected to be able to release the game within a year or two.
In addition to the new gameplay footage, writer Marc Laidlaw, founder Gabe Newell, and others also talk frankly about why it was never released, ultimately chalking it up to a lack of compelling new ideas and other reasons. At one point Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?”
We could have shipped it. It wouldn’t have been that hard
The reason for Episode 3’s cancellation has been the subject of much discussion over the years, not the least because Episode 2 ended on a grim cliffhanger. In an interview with IGN shortly before Alyx’s release, Valve level designer Dario Casali described it partly as an issue of scope screep. Laidlaw would later reveal the plot in a story called “Epistle 3,” featuring “Gertie Freemont” and “Alex Vaunt” — plays on Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.
It’s possible to detect a lot of regret over the decision not to go through Episode 3. At one point Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?” Others talk about how Episode 3 probably could have been released in hindsight. Newell says, “We could have shipped it. It wouldn’t have been that hard. My personal failure was being stumped. I couldn’t figure out why Episode 3 was pushing anything forward.”
Valve finally released Half-Life Alyx in 2020, sending the story spinning off in a new direction, but many fans remain wistful about Half-Life: Episode 3 (not to mention the long lost Half-Life 3). Now, 20 years after its release, Valve is celebrating Half-Life 2 amid unconfirmed rumors that a new game is in the works. In the meantime, it’s worth watching the entire documentary, which delves deep into Half-Life 2’s fraught development.
Image source: Half-Life 2 Documentary / Valve
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Valve is honoring the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 with a celebration that includes a brand-new two-hour documentary, a developer commentary update, and more.
The studio updated fans on the festivities on its website today, revealing a gift basket full of goodies for fans new and old. While it’s not quite the Half-Life 3 announcement fans have waited two decades for, it’s still more than enough to help with the wait.
Topping the list of announcements is a two-hour making-of video from the Secret Tape team behind the Half-Life 1 documentary. Valve says die-hard fans can start watching the Half-Life 2 documentary today for a behind-the-scenes look at how the studio handled running out of money, getting hacked, building its PC storefront Steam, and more. It’s an in-depth peek behind the curtain at a pivotal moment in gaming history, but the festivities don’t stop there.
Half-Life 2 owners can also now enjoy a new update that adds everything from additional content to ironed out wrinkles. This includes access to the original Episode One and Episode Two expansions, which have been bundled into to the base experience at no additional cost. Valve adds that it reassembled the original Half-Life 2 team to provide commentary tracks for the entire game.
Steam Workshop support and Steam game recording are just two more bonuses that have been added to help celebrate Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary, with even more included in the form of general touch-ups and fixes. Some of the update’s changes include rebalanced lighting, cleaner horizons, new graphics settings for things like blood and fire effects, and an overhaul for aim-assist.
“Every map in Half-Life 2 has been looked over by Valve level designers to fix longstanding bugs, restore content and features lost to time, and improve the quality of a few things like lightmap resolution and fog,” the studio explains.
If you’re interested in Half-Life 2 and want to check out the 20th anniversary update, you’re in luck; Valve has made the game free to own until November 18. That means you get the entire sequel experience, including its two expansions, at no cost whatsoever – as long as you click that download button in the next few days.
Half-Life 2 has long been hailed as one of Valve’s best projects and one of the most important video games ever made. In our original review, we called it a “amazing” and gave it a 9.7/10. Fans have combed over every detail of the first-person sequel since its release on November 16, 2004, and once the 20th anniversary update is live, there will be even more to uncover. While it’s true that Half-Life 3 still hasn’t been confirmed to be in the works, the goodies revealed today should help with the wait until a sequel is actually, really revealed. There’s also the VR-exclusive Half-Life: Alyx, which we gave a 10/10.
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.
Licensed games can be a great way to build interest with a familiar property, but they can also be fraught as various stakeholders weigh in on its creative direction. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is aware of these challenges, and they’re one reason he’s “not the biggest fan” of committing resources to licensed games.
Speaking with the Game File newsletter, Spencer talked about some of the “complexities” that come with making licensed games, especially when it comes to putting them on subscription or streaming services.
“We’ve seen it in racing games that have to get delisted, because you lose certain licenses,” Spencer said. “So I’m always very careful, if we’re going to take on a license, that we’re doing it for creative reasons, [that] the team has a goal around what they want to do.”
When it comes to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is being developed with input from Lucasfilm Games, Spencer say that MachineGames’ passion for the property was reason enough to take on the license.
I think what you see in Indiana Jones is a team that really loves Indiana Jones and that world
“I think what you see in Indiana Jones is a team that really loves Indiana Jones and that world. The story is, to me, one of the strongest parts of that game—the way you feel like you’re Indiana Jones from a first person perspective,” Spencer said. “So it’s clear that’s something they wanted to do. But, for us, given the [intellectual property] that we have that we own. I’m a big fan of us using the IP that we haven’t even revisited.”
As for whether or not the Indiana Jones license might eventually expire, Spencer said, “I feel great about our partnership with Lucas and Disney, all up, on that. They’ve been good partners. We’re obviously doing Blade with Arkane Lyon with them. I was just out there visiting with that team.”
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is out December 9 for Xbox and PC, with the PS5 release set for spring 2025. You can read our full hands-on preview right here.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Over the past few console generations with built-in storage, gamers were typically stuck with however much storage they bought the console with. With the PS5, Sony made a surprising move by including an internal M.2 PCIe slot to install an off-the-shelf SSD to supplement the internal storage. Given that this is the same company that paired the PS Vita and PSP with ludicrously expensive memory cards, this was a welcoming change of space, especially given the paltry 825GB of storage you have to work with. Now, you can install high-end PC SSDs like the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX, our number one pick, to load even more games, nearly as fast as the extra-special drive that’s built into the console itself.
TL;DR – These Are the Best SSDs for PS5:
There are a few restrictions. First, you need a PCIe 4.0 or Gen 4 drive or better. This interface allows for SSD speeds up to 7,500MB/s, which is a huge improvement over the 3,500MB/s for Gen 3 M.2 SSDs. You’re also going to need an M.2 drive. The actual physical size of the drive doesn’t matter, with the PS5 having screw holes for every size of M.2 drive on the market right now. However, most of the time you’re going to want to stick with an M.2 2280 drive – they’re the most common M.2 drives on the market.
We also recommend getting an SSD with a built-in heatsink. There are size restrictions on the heatsink itself, it can’t be taller than 11.25mm. Luckily there really aren’t many SSDs out there that won’t fit. Your PS5 SSD needs a heatsink because PCIe 4.0 SSDs have a tendency to create a lot of heat when under load, and the little cubby where the SSD slot is located isn’t exactly ideal for passive airflow over the drive itself. So, you’ll need a heatsink just to make sure your drive doesn’t overheat and throttle its performance. You can either get an SSD with a built-in heatsink, or get a seperate heatsink, either way will work just fine.
As for capacity, choose however much storage you think you’ll need. Most people will probably be fine sticking with a 1TB drive to supplement their system. This will essentially double your available storage, and can store a ton of games, or at least allow you to install Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and like two other games. You can of course splurge for a giant 4TB drive as well, allowing you to create a huge archive of games, just be aware that these capacious drives have a much higher price tag.
A healthy amount of SSDs are available that pair perfectly with the PS5’s M.2 slot. Given there’s more competition than even just a couple of years ago, you’ll find plenty of high-speed, low-cost drives for a sub-$100 price tag. If you’re looking to amp up storage, you’ll find the price of these drives rises exponentially; bigger drives, like the upcoming 8TB SSD from Western Digital, will run you well over $500.
You’ll want to ensure you install an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD with maximum dimensions of 110 x 25 x 11.25 mm or 4.33 x 0.984 x 0.442 inches, including the heatsink. Clearly, the PS5 has some cramped, shallow quarters, leading to high temps, rendering a heatsink necessary to prevent bottlenecking or damage to the drive. Luckily, most drives come with an optional heatsink, but if you need to venture out on your own to grab one, be sure it fits height requirements of under 8mm above the SSD or 2.45mm below.
Beyond size requirements, you’ll need at least a PCIe 4.0 SSD, that can reach sequential read speeds of 5500MB/s or faster. Most SSDs will have a rated sequential read speed and write speed advertised, so you can get a pretty good idea of how fast it’ll be by looking at the box. When you go to install a PS5 SSD, it will run the drive through its own speed test, which will tell you definitively if it’s fast enough to run PS5 games. In my experience, this speed test peaks at around 6,500MB/s, so drives that are significantly faster than this aren’t really worth getting for the PS5. These days, most PCIe 4.0 drives are rated for aroun 7,000 – 7,500MB/s, so you’ll be spoiled for choice.
Another thing you’re going to want to take a look at is the warranty of the drive. This is more than just marketing hype, most SSDs will be rated for an amount of time, usually 5 years, along with an endurance rating, measured in TBW. This stands for ‘Terabytes Written’ and measures how much data can theoretically be written to the drive over its lifespan before it fails. This doesn’t mean that a drive rated for 700TBW will fail after you fill it 700 times, but instead that it should last at least until that point.
You’ll also want to look at the type of NAND memory the SSD is built from. There are three types of NAND that are typically used: QLC, TLC and MLC. The main difference between the three are endurance, with QLC lasting the least amount of time, and MLC being the most durable. Of course, this will also affect the price of the drive, with QLC drives usually being the most affordable drives on the market, with MLC NAND typically found on the most expensive SSDs on the market, and are generally meant for creative professionals, rather than gamers. All of the drives on this list are using TLC NAND, which naturally falls somewhere in the middle.
Given the PS5 only offers 825GB of space and the PS5 Slim has 1TB, you’ll more than likely want and/or need more storage. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Baldur’s Gate 3 take up well over 100GB each when installed, so you’re storage will fill up quickly. The M.2 expansion slot lets you add 250GB-8TB of speedy internal storage. 1TB seems to be the sweet spot between capacity and price, but if you’re looking to put your massive gaming library on one console, you’ll want even more space. Luckily, most mainstream PCIe 4.0 SSDs come in capacities up to 4TB, so you can really build up a library if you have the budget for it.
Beyond an internal SSD, which should be your preferred storage option, you can use an external hard drive. Some external SSD offerings hit relatively high speeds. You can’t run PS5 games on them. However, it will save you the hassle of redownloading larger games, while PS4 titles can be played right on the drive.
Looking for assistance in installing your PS5 SSD after puchase? Be sure to check out our guide on how to upgrade your PS5 storage. Luckily, you don’t need to be hardware aficionado to figure it out.
1. Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
Best PS5 SSD
The Corsair MP600 was one of the first SSDs that were actually advertised as a PS5 SSD, and to this day it remains one of the best. While it can’t keep up with some newer SSDs – especially those built on PCIe 5.0 – the PS5 can’t really take advantage of much faster drives anyways. And given the fact that you can find the Corsair MP600 for as little as $80 for a 1TB version, it doesn’t make sense to get anything else.
This SSD is rated for a sequential read speed of 7,100MB/s, with write speeds up to 5,800MB/s, which puts it well into the territory of PS5-compatible drives. In reality, those speeds will only be reached on PC, with the PS5 rating it around 6,500MB/s. That’s still more than fast enough to load most PS5 games as fast, or even faster than the main SSD built into the system.
However, the 1TB version of the Corsair MP600 has a durability rating of just 700TBW, or terabytes written. This essentially means the drive is warrantied to run well until it’s written 700TB over its lifetime. Given that means filling the drive 700 times, though, it’s unlikely most PS5 gamers will ever reach that number. Instead, this is only really an issue if you’re ever going to want to rip this drive back out of your PS5 Pro and throw it into an editing rig or something. Most people will never even come close to that 700TB.
2. Crucial T500
Best Budget PS5 SSD
The Crucial T500 is the best-value SSD around, with nice performance bump from P5 Plus, which previously held this spot. For just over $100, comes a drive offering 1TB of storage with a heatsink attached – only $15 more than the non-heatsink model – and is perfectly sized to slot into the cramped quarters of the PS5. Not only does this drive double the storage on the console, but the hassle of finding and spending extra cash on an absolutely necessary heatsink that fits can be avoided.
Afraid of losing fast speeds with such a great-priced SSD? Don’t be, as the T500 keeps up with the best high-performance drives thanks to the Micron TLC 3D NAND flash memory – a solid step up from the QLC NAND seen in many budget SSDs. Max read speeds of up to 7,300 MB/s can be expected from the 1TB drive. Write speeds aren’t shabby either, hitting up to 6,800MB/S. So, everything from game boots and saves to transferring massive gameplay clips will be fast and seamless.
If 1TB doesn’t seem like enough storage, bumping up to the Crucial T500 2TB SSD sees a big increase in storage space and even faster speeds. The TBW rating is also doubled to 1,200 compared to the 1TB drive, though it still offers the same 5-year warranty found on most SSDs. Unfortunately, a 4TB option isn’t available for the biggest game library.
3. Samsung 990 Evo Plus
Best PS5 SSD Without Heatsink
While you can spend a lot of cash on a PS5 SSD, I’ve always preferred drives that deliver excellent performance, without a bloated price tag. That’s essentially what the Samsung 990 Evo Plus provides. It does have a lower endurance rating than the more expensive 990 Pro, but that’s not something you really have to worry about if you’re plugging an SSD into a console. Plus, the 2TB drive I tested is still rated for 1,200 TBW (terabytes written), which is more than most gamers will ever actually use.
What’s more important is speed. Now, while the drive is rated for up to 7,250MB/s sequential read speeds, the PS5 storage test that runs when you install a new drive rated it at 6,137MB/s. That’s still more than fast enough for PS5 games to run on it, and in my testing it loaded Metaphor: Refantazio in just 4.37 seconds, a bit faster than the native drive at 4.47 seconds. That’s just a 10ms difference in loading time, but hey, at least you know it’s not going to load your games slower, right?
One thing to keep in mind is that the Samsung 990 Evo Plus is a DRAM-less SSD, which means lower peak performance in pro workloads. However, while it does mean this drive has lower peak performance than it would with a dedicated DRAM cache built-in, the PS5 can’t take advantage of its full rated speed anyways, so it really doesn’t matter. What does matter, though, is Samsung doesn’t currently sell the Samsung 990 Evo Plus with a heatsink attached, which means you’re going to need to pair it with one of your own. Luckily, SSD heatsinks are generally just a few bucks on Amazon, and you could probably get away without one, too.
4. WD_Black P40
Best External PS5 SSD
The WD_Black P40 is not your traditional hard drive. Instead, it’s an external SSD that connects to the PS5 over USB, skipping the hassle of using a screwdriver to open up the M.2 expansion slot on the console. Plus, it’s not exclusive to the PlayStation, so this 1TB works perfectly as an external SSD for Xbox or PC. However, some caveats come with this storage solution.
Unlike the internal SSDs we recommended in this guide, the WD_Black P50 can’t run PS5 games that are installed on it. Their file data can be stored quite happily, saving the hassle of redownloading the almost 100GB Spider-Man 2 whenever you want to get back to web-slinging. At least PS4 titles can still be played directly from this USB drive, making space for newer PS5 games on the internal storage.
Though the WD_Black P40 can’t hold a candle to the speeds of internal PS5 SSDs, it’s significantly faster than typical hard drives, tapping out at an impressive 2,000MB/s read speed with a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connection. That speediness can be especially handy for quickly transferring data from the PS4 to PS5 when setting up the new console.
PS5 SSD FAQ
Is an SSD worth it for PS5?
A good chunk of the PS5’s internal 825GB SSD is taken up by system files, leaving you with a little over 650GB of usable storage space. The PS5 Slim adds a bit more storage, and the PS5 Pro further updates the storage up to 2TB. If you dedicate yourself to only a few games at a time those smaller storage amounts should probably be enough. But if you like having several games on the go, or are a fiend for live service games that tend to balloon in size as more updates and content packs are added, you’ll soon find yourself hitting the limits of the PS5’s storage. At that point, get yourself an SSD. It’s one of the best PS5 accessories you can invest in.
What speed SSD should I get for PS5?
You’ll need an SSD that’s rated with a read speed of at least 5,500MB/s. In practice, it’s difficult not to find a PCIE 4.0 drive that ticks that box. The higher the speed the better, but unless you’re looking to regularly transfer lots of files back and forth from your drive, anything 6,500MB/s or above should do you absolutely fine.
When is the best time to buy a PS5 SSD?
PS5 SSDs are a surprisingly expensive add on to any PS5 console purchase. Prices have dropped pretty signicantly over the years, but if you’re hoping to save as much money as possible, there are a few different times that are best for buying an SSD. The first big one is Amazon Prime Day, which usually takes place in July every year. After that, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are an excellent time to find big discounts on PS5 SSDs online.
Are PCIe 5.0 SSDs worth it for the PS5?
No, it is not worth buying a PCIe 5.0 SSD for PS5. The PS5 supports PCIe 4.0, and though PCIe 5.0 drives are backward compatible with PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0, the console can’t take advantage of the full read and write speeds of the latest drives. That means it’s not worth the extra money, especially when you can often find PCIe 4.0 SSDs for far less.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Sony just released a $700 PS5 Pro, a mid-gen console upgrade that offers better performance than the base PS5.
While we still don’t know how well the PS5 Pro is selling, thoughts have inevitably turned to whether Microsoft will follow suit and offer a mid-gen console upgrade of its own. After all, Microsoft has form when it comes to mid-cycle hardware refreshes, offering a more powerful version of the Xbox One.
According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, though, times have changed, and while he failed to definitively rule out releasing a more powerful Xbox Series console, it doesn’t sound likely.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Microsoft’s gaming boss questioned the value of a mid-gen refresh, suggesting it is unnecessary given the diminishing returns developers are seeing with increased horsepower.
“We think about hardware that can create unique value for our players or creators on our platform,” he said.
“We don’t need to do incremental hardware for our own benefit. Does a new device really give you a unique experience on screen in some way? [It’s] less like the old days, going from the original Xbox to 360; that was standard definition to high definition. Now, [it’s] harder to show the benefits.”
This isn’t the first time Spencer has cast doubt on a possible Xbox mid-gen upgrade. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Spencer doubled down on Microsoft’s focus on expanding Xbox’s audience via new devices, saying: “To reach new players, we need to be creative and adaptive of new business models, new devices, new ways of access. We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles.”
All this doesn’t mean Microsoft is getting out of the console business. In fact, in the Rolling Stone interview Spencer confirmed: “we’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices.” What form they take, however, remains to be seen.
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.
The Neo-Volkite pistol is a powerful thermal ray weapon that shoots lethal beams that burn enemies to ash. It’s available for the Assault, Vanguard, and Bulwark classes and is limited to Operations, Space Marine 2’s three-player co-op focused PvE mode.
And it’s there that Space Marine 2 players are teaming up to form a three-pronged Neo-Volkite pistol death stream, rekindling memories of all those moments when the Ghostbusters use their iconic Proton Packs to trap ghosts.
The Neo-Volkite pistol is unique among Space Marine 2’s armory in that it blasts a heat ray onto enemies, dealing accumulative thermal damage. Focusing on one enemy ramps up the damage until it generates a localized explosion for huge damage to your target and all nearby enemies.
Players have found that while the Neo-Volkite pistol is fun to use, it isn’t that effective especially on harder difficulties where ammo is scarce. At least, that’s the case in isolation. But what happens when all three players use the Neo-Volkite pistol to concentrate three heat rays onto the pesky Terminids? You get satisfying, Ghostbusters-style alien death, that’s what.
Redditor Crimsas demonstrated this in action, showing just how effective three Neo-Volkite pistols all trained on a single, powerful Termanid enemy (in this case a Carnifex) can be brought down to size.
All we now need is a mod that replaces the Neo-Volkite pistol model with an actual Proton Pack and we’ve got Ghostbusters 40k edition.
Publisher Focus Entertainment has said it’s limiting the Neo-Volkite pistol to Operations mode for now “as we continue to experiment with balancing in PvP.” It will be added to Eternal War mode in Space Marine 2’s next major update alongside a new Operations map, a new enemy, and the Dark Angels cosmetics. So, hopefully it won’t be long before even PvP is filled with a spot of Ghostbusters action.
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.
It was inevitable: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 now has wild, out-there soldier and weapon skins with the launch of Season 1 — skins it was always going to get given what’s gone before in previous Call of Duty games — but that hasn’t stopped fans from lamenting the end of the game’s Gulf War-themed Honeymoon period.
To be clear, there is no surprise here. Indeed, Black Ops 6, which is set in the early 90s, launched with various Zombies-themed soldier and weapon skins, including a robot, but they were at least lifted from the Zombies story.
If you’re playing Black Ops 6 Multiplayer for Season 1 you’ll have no-doubt spotted these outlandish skins out in the battlefield. Already there are many options, but there is one the community has zeroed in on, included with the super expensive Tracer Pack: Draconic Forge Mastercraft.
For 3,000 COD Points, or around $30, you can buy a bundle that turns Westpoint into a Dragon Knight. Now, it’s worth noting you also get new dragon-themed weapon skins, a new finishing move, emote, and more virtual gubbins with this bundle, but it’s the operator skin that’s of most interest.
As you’d expect, the Dragon Knight stands out on the battlefield, not just because of that garish green but because, well, it’s a Dragon Knight, not a tier one operator trying to do their best to survive. It’s silly, but let’s remember Call of Duty has in the past let you play as a stoned sloth.
The Dragon Knight has rekindled a long-running debate about realism in Call of Duty. There are some players who hate what they call the ‘Fortniteitifcation’ of Call of Duty, and much prefer a more grounded, realistic look to their teammates and opponents. Others aren’t bothered either way. Some love it (you can tell, because lots of players buy this stuff).
“I wish I could just opt out of seeing stupid battle pass skins and kill effects,” redditor TacCoyote declared. “Won’t happen because they want people to see those skins in case they might get tempted to buy them,” GodHand7 replied. “These ridiculous skins and guns are going to have the opposite effect on me and make me not play the game,” added Fraegtgaortd.
“Please let us turn off cosmetics!” redditor TheShadowWanderer pleaded. “If you want that stupid shit, whatever, but let us disable that garbage. I don’t need to see dragons and lasers all over the map. Can’t we just go back to pre-season? At the bare minimum disable all the stupid effects on our end, if you want to have an epileptic fit on your end that should be your problem.”
One redditor, Thelastfate, went as far as to say they would be willing to pay $20 not to see these sorts of cosmetics in-game.
“… hell I’ll even pay $20 for this option to help pay for the reduced sales of cosmetics if it allows me to enjoy the game to the fullest extent and not feel like I wasted $100 on a game that will soon look like every other garbage cosmetic filled game,” they said.
Another concurred. “I‘d pay to not see other players‘ skins / tracer rounds,” aizendoto said. “I don‘t know why the skins in CoD have escalated to this degeneracy, it’s – Oh I know! Because people buy this dogshit for some reason, I thought Nicki Minaj was the peak of dogshit but today I log on and there is a green glowing dragon that has huge wings and shoots light green explosions that literally make you see NOTHING on impact.
“I feel like im playing some asian gacha RPG game when I look at some of these lobbies. Was nice to play a ‘normal‘ CoD for a couple of weeks, seems we are back to the absolute cancer skins / tracers and useless clutter everywhere now. I really thought this was gonna be an enjoyable COD for me again since a long time but wcyd.
“I‘d pay them literal money so I wouldnt have to endure this nonsense.”
Activision won’t stop, of course. Not only is Black Ops 6 a full price game, but it’s a live service designed to swell the company’s coffers with recurring income. I expect the Dragon Knight is certainly doing his part.
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.
Microsoft has announced its launch plans for Obsidian’s RPG Avowed, including a surprise release on Blizzard’s Battle.net.
Avowed’s release date is set for February 18, 2025, across Xbox Series X and S, the Xbox app on Windows, Steam, and Battle.net. As a first-party Microsoft game, Avowed launches day one on Game Pass.
It’s the Battle.net launch that’s of most interest here, because it means you’ll be able to buy the game with World of Warcraft gold.
Here’s how it works: WoW Tokens can be exchanged for Battle.net Balance, not just game time, which means players can indirectly buy anything Blizzard sells for real-world money with in-game gold. Players can buy a WoW Token from Blizzard for $20 and either keep it for later or put it on the in-game auction house. Another player will (hopefully) buy that token from the auction house for in-game gold, then exchange it for $15 of Battle.net Balance (Blizzard effectively takes a $5 tax from the transaction). Battle.net Balance can then be used to buy anything Blizzard sells for World of Warcraft for real-world money, including video games.
At the time of this article’s publication, a WoW Token is going for 262,365 gold (the price fluctuates as demand rises and falls). At its cheapest, Avowed costs $69.99, which means you’ll need five WoW Tokens to exchange for enough Battle.net Balance to buy the game. That equates to 1.3 million gold.
That’s a lot of gold most players probably don’t have lying around. But with Avowed three months from launch, there is time to get that WoW gold grind going, if you’re determined to buy the game without actually buying the game.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Microsoft is selling up to five days of early access to Avowed via the Premium Edition, which costs $89.99 and also includes two premium skin packs and access to the digital artbook and soundtrack.
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.
Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer has responded to the launch of the company’s ‘This Is An Xbox’ ad campaign, which is already a meme online.
This week, Microsoft launched a new advertising campaign designed to hammer home the fact that you can play Xbox pretty much on any device and anywhere, sparking yet more backlash at the company’s console strategy.
The ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign includes images of cats and a bento box among other devices that play video games. The idea Microsoft is trying to get across, which is in keeping with its previous messaging, is that Xbox is less about consoles these days and more about being able to play on any device capable of playing a video game. So, in this sense, a TV is an Xbox, a phone is an Xbox, etc.
That hasn’t gone down well with core Xbox fans already dissatisfied with Microsoft’s gaming strategy in recent years. Not only have they seen the Xbox console fade from importance as sales of the Xbox Series X and S collapse, but the Xbox console exclusive become extinct.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer discussed the future of the Xbox brand as well as the advertising campaign. “It’s an interesting topic because as we look at the brand, as we’re changing the brand, [it] means something different,” Spencer said. “It literally was a box when it first launched. It was the Direct X box. What it’s grown into now is more accessibility. Xbox isn’t just one device, Xbox is on your smart TV, Xbox is on your PC, Xbox is on your phone, and we’re in the middle of that transition.”
According to Rolling Stone, Spencer acknowledged that some fans would be turned off by the campaign. Some people “long for the simplicity of a single box, single platform, single game,” he said, before insisting “today’s largest games are bigger than any of the individual platforms.”
That’s a nod to the likes of Fortnite and Roblox, which have become enormous platforms with monthly player counts comparable to the likes of Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles. For Spencer, then, the focus is on the games.
“I think the thing that should really have longevity are the games, characters and world — and the platforms should enable us to experience those games where we want to play,” he said. “That’s how we think about Xbox today.”
Image credit: Microsoft.
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.
Lenovo is pushing Black Friday pricing on Xbox controllers earlier than we expected. Starting today, you can pick up an official Microsoft Xbox Series X|S wireless controller for as low as $34.99 after you apply coupon code “PLAYXBOX“. Seven different color schemes are on sale right now. Most of them are $39.99, however the Velocity Green controller is $5 cheaper than the rest at $34.99. These controllers are compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC.
Xbox Controllers for $34.99-$39.99
Aesthetics aside, these Xbox wireless controllers are identical to the one that’s bundled with the Xbox Series X and S console. Standard features include textured grips, hybrid D-pad, button mapping with the Xbox app, a 3.5mm audio jack that works with any wired headset, and a Share button to upload screenshots and video.
The controller supports both Xbox wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. That means you can use it for your PC or mobile device. In fact, we think this is the the best PC controller you can get. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, you can still use it in wired mode with a USB Type-C cable or go out and buy a Bluetooth or Xbox wireless adapter.
21% Off Xbox Controller Ghost Cipher Edition
The Ghost Cipher Edition is an absolutely gorgeous controller, with a translucent clear top case, rubberized ash gray grips, metallic bronze triggers and D-pad, and a solid white back. The interior components are colored silver to match the overall theme.
Get the Sky Cipher Controller as Part of a Bundle Discount
A similar looking edition is the Sky Cipher controller, which features the same trasparent casing but in blue instead of clear. It’s available on Amazon as part of an Xbox Cloud Gaming Bundle, which includes the controller, an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, all for only $79.99. Better yet, this bundle will allow you to play Game Pass games without having to own an Xbox console.
3 Months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $29.19
Woot! (which is owned by Amazon) is offering the best deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. For today only, you can get a 3 month code for only $29.19 after code “TWENTY“. Earlier this year, Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $19.99 per month, so now you’re saving 40% off a 3 month membership. Note that you can purchase multiple codes and apply them to your account, up to a maximum of 36 months. If you’re an Xbox gamer, this is a great way to save a lot of money in the long run since you won’t have to buy new release games individually to play them.
Xbox Gift Cards Are on Sale at Amazon
Amazon Prime members can get 10% off Xbox gift cards and PlayStation Store gift cards. We only see this deal come around a few times a year and it’s usually only for smaller denominations. This time around you can get up to a $100 Xbox gift card or $250 PlayStation gift card and still get the discount.
When Is Black Friday 2024?
The actual date of Black Friday in 2024 falls on November 29 this year, but the deals season will begin a lot sooner than that. Leading up to the big event, retailers will begin to open deals online. This usually starts in the last week of October, just before Halloween. Each week leading up to the event will slowly roll out more deals, which ultimately leads to massive discounts on Black Friday. Retailers will not reveal their biggest Black Friday deals until the big day, but most general deals will be available well in advance.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
