Category: IGN

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

Lenovo didn’t wait around until Black Friday to drop the price of the Ghost Cipher Limited Edition Xbox Series X|S wireless controller to the lowest we’ve seen. Right now you can get it for just $54.99 after a 21% off discount. Although Xbox controllers in standard colors are likely to be discounted further for Black Friday (we expect they’ll be $39.99 each), it’s less probable that the Ghost Cipher edition will follow the trend, since it was only just released on October 21. This is an official Microsoft controller that’s compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC.

21% Off Xbox Controller Ghost Cipher Edition

PlayStation 5 exclusive Astro Bot saw its supposedly final drop of downloadable content released today in the last announced weekly speedrunning level, but fans are scratching their heads over a number of unreleased bots present in the credits.

Reddit user pkowswald noted that, even with the additional two bots released in today’s DLC, there are still several game franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Rayman credited in Astro Bot despite not having individual bots of their own.

While it’s entirely possible this is from deals fallen through or content cut, what makes the prospect of more DLC down the line more believable is that the credits were actually updated to include an extra character upon the final speedrunning level’s release. None of the unused franchises were cut either.

And what’s more, Astro Bot similarly featured franchises such as Stellar Blade in its credits before its protagonist Eve was added as a bot in the speedrunning DLC.

Astro Bot still includes licensing credits for Rayman, Worms, Assassin’s Creed, Beyond Good & Evil, Croc, and Tomba, the last of which was added today. Nothing official has been said about if these games will be featured eventually, or if more DLC is planned. The PS5 exclusive seems to have performed well both commercially and critically though, so Sony may want to push more DLC down the line.

Astro Bot sold 1.5 million units in its first two months on sale and earned a 9/10 in IGN’s review. “A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation,” we said.

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

Star Wars is forever bringing back elements of the prior Extended Universe and Andor Season 2 is doing its bit by featuring a ship from a 1994 video game.

Total Film spotted protagonist Cassian Andor stealing a TIE Avenger ship in the brief snippet of footage released in the Disney+ Coming in 2025 trailer. This is obviously part of the TIE Fighter family featured in myriad Star Wars projects, but specifically comes from the 30-year-old Star Wars: TIE Fighter PC game.

Those who’ve played Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance will also recognise the TIE Avenger, but the ship has otherwise been absent from Star Wars lore over the years. It was pushed into the “unofficial” Extended Universe when Disney bought Lucasfilm, of course, but will make this triumphant return to canon sometime during Andor Season 2’s run when it debuts April 22.

Despite being the face of a Hollywood film franchise and the star of a three decade old video game franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog is still homeless.

As reported by Automaton, fans grew concerned recently after discovering what appeared to be a major change to an incredibly random piece of Sonic the Hedgehog lore. A comic featured in the 2025 Sonic the Hedgehog Annual claimed the blue blur lived in Green Hill Zone, the iconic opening level to the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

But Sonic lore has otherwise stated he’s a drifter, roaming from place to place and never settling down, with even official channels like the TailsTube web series pointing to this fact.

Some fans were therefore relieved to hear Sonic had settled down, while others were in an uproar, forcing the hand of Chris Hernandez, Sega’s associate manager of Sonic the Hedgehog lore, who clarified the annual’s claim was just a misprint.

“Sorry to burst the bubble so late here,” Hernandez said on X/Twitter. “This was something we caught early on but it looks like an older draft got through on accident. Sonic doesn’t have a home; he’s still a drifter. Will work on making sure this doesn’t happen again. Thanks for catching this.”

Sonic appears too busy to sit down and apply for a mortgage, with his third film debuting on December 20 and bringing Shadow the Hedgehog to the cinematic universe. An enhanced remake of Sonic Generations folded in the edgier hedgehog in the aptly titled Sonic x Shadow Generations.

In our 9/10 Sonic x Shadow Generations review, IGN said: “Sonic x Shadow Generations takes an already excellent game and spring jumps it to new heights with a creative Shadow campaign and an appreciable graphical upgrade.

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

Infinity Nikki, the open-world dress up role-playing game from former The Legend of Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga, launches on PlayStation 5, PC, and mobile on December 5.

Developer Infold Games revealed the date alongside a new trailer, below, which showed off a ton of the world alongside its characters, their companions, side activities, and clothes players can dress up in.

“Infinity Nikki breathes new life into the Nikki series by delivering an open world experience unlike any other,” the synopsis reads.

Infinity Nikki Official Release Date Set for December 5!💫

Check out the Official Release Date Announcement Trailer for Infinity Nikki!
Stylists, are you ready to set foot in the enchanting Miraland?
Soar through the sky, relish each thrilling step, and capture all these… pic.twitter.com/05CMzti0in

— Infinity Nikki (@InfinityNikkiEN) November 14, 2024

“Players will discover and explore a charming, vibrant world through activities such as fishing, pet grooming, and fashion contests. Additionally, a diverse cast of characters will brighten the world through evocative and engaging story quests, while locations will challenge Nikki with platforming challenges to take advantage of her movement and exploration toolsets.”

The game also has a staggering 30 million pre-registrations, meaning its launch next month could set some records of its own.

Our own preview of Infinity Nikki had positive things to say. “[We never knew dressing up could be so much fun. [Our] time with Infinity Nikki left [us] eager to try on the finished game when it eventually arrives.”

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

Black Ops 6 Season 1 launches today, November 14, and with it comes a mammoth update that has become a Call of Duty trademark.

The Season 1 update, which brings Call of Duty up to version 1.061.000, is available to download now and weighs in at a gargantuan 40.422 GB on PS5 and 38.724 GB on PS4.

This is an enforced update for Call of Duty, the all-encompassing app that houses Black Ops 6, Warzone, and prior Call of Duty games. You need to download the 40 GB update for the base game even if you don’t have Black Ops 6.

Season 1, which goes live at 9am Pacific / 5pm UK time, makes a number of significant changes to Black Ops 6, adding new Multiplayer maps, skins, a battle pass, and big balance changes. Activision published the Season 1 patch notes overnight. New updates are also coming for the Black Ops 6 campaign and Modern Warfare 3, if you have those downloaded.

Call of Duty, with its various evolving modes like Multiplayer and Zombies alongside yearly releases on top of separate games like Warzone, is not only messy but takes up a big slice of your storage. For this year’s game, Activision made a number of changes designed to streamline the Call of Duty interface, offering more direct access to games and more control over downloads.

Taking on Zombies mode? We’ve got Essential Zombies Tips and Tricks to help you get started, plus a guide on How to Exfil. Both Zombies maps are full of easter eggs and secrets; here’s everything we’ve found in both Terminus and Liberty Falls, including How to Pack-a-Punch in Liberty Falls and How to Get the Meteor Easter Egg in Terminus.

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.

Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm fully unveiled Ghostface overnight, showing off the DLC guest character’s signature hunting knife, crawling skills, and ability to phone in a fellow Ghostface partner to help finish off victims.

But what the developers failed to reveal is which Mortal Kombat characters they’re quietly bringing back to the series via the Scream villain’s various versions that are available in-game.

During a Kombat Kast, NetherRealm confirmed there are actually three versions of Ghostface: the main Ghostface is the villain from the Scream films, as you’d expect, but the identities of the other two are secrets NetherRealm challenged players to work out for themselves.

As reported by EventHubs, NetherRealm confirmed that the other two Ghostface versions are Black Dragon characters called, at least for now, The Enforcer and The Assassin. Black Dragon is Mortal Kombat’s mercenary clan headed up at various points (the timeline is pretty complicated!) by fan-favorites Kabal and Kano. The lore justification here is Ghostface has been transported to Lui Kang’s timeline without his partners from the movies, so recruits two members of the Black Dragon clan to help him out.

So, Ghostface is actually three characters in one. You can switch to temporarily playing as The Enforcer or The Assassin by holding a button during certain moves. You can tell them apart by their knives, if you look closely. You get 12 seconds to play as an alternative Ghostface before you revert back to the OG, or your opponent lands a hit and triggers the OG to come running back in.

Players have analyzed The Enforcer and The Assassin’s unique movesets for hints at the Black Dragon characters’ true identities. Already, there are two outstanding suggestions.

Warning! Spoilers for the identity of Ghostface in Mortal Kombat 1 follow.

Mortal Kombat fans have identified moves that are directly related to Kobra (Enforcer) and Kira (Assassin), two human Black Dragon members who each made their debut in 2004’s Mortal Kombat: Deception. We also see Assassin do Kano’s famous roll attack, but Kira does this move as well in both Deception and 2006’s Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. As you can see from the movesets, this one looks nailed on.

Reaction to this revelation has been positive, not only because it’s a clever way of bringing back two rather obscure Mortal Kombat characters that perhaps would never have seen the light of day otherwise, but also because it leaves the door open for other, perhaps more wanted characters to appear as Kameos or even fleshed out DLC characters with a potential, but so far unannounced Kombat Pack 3.

As for Ghostface, the OG version is voiced by Roger L. Jackson, who has voiced the character throughout the Scream franchise. Ghostface joins the Mortal Kombat 1 roster on November 19 as part of the early access period for Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion owners, followed by wide availability for purchase on November 26. Up next is Conan the Barbarian and T-1000 Terminator.

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 developers behind Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket have teased some of the updates players can expect to receive in the coming months, including additional booster packs, trading, and other new features.

The team detailed their strategy in a post published on its official X/Twitter account. It’s a message that thanks fans for trying out Pokémon TCG Pocket since its launch a few weeks ago, and more importantly, it tells players what they can expect if they stick around. Update plans not only include new cards but even new, mysterious features that have yet to be announced.

Hi everyone! Today, I’d like to share a brief statement by the #PokemonTCGPocket Team about more immediate updates coming to the game in the next few months.

I look forward to sharing more details with everyone as they become available! pic.twitter.com/eaN35vRpSw

— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) November 13, 2024

Pokémon TCG Pocket will receive at least one “major update” in the near future, with the team saying that the plans is to release new booster packs before the end of the year. Those who have picked up the Pokémon mobile game so far have been treated to three packs – Genetic Apex Mewtwo, Charizard, and Pikachu – with three pools of cards to choose from. It’s unclear exactly how many more packs will release in the next few months or which creatures they will feature.

How and when the card roster will grow remains a mystery, but one feature that has been on everyone’s minds is currently slated to arrive early next year: trading. The ability to trade cards with other players is a Social Hub menu option that’s been grayed out since launch, and in January, Pokémon TCG Pocket will finally make it available to use. It’s worth noting that today’s message clarifies that only “certain cards” will be available to trade at release, with the team promising to “expand the selection of cards that are able to be traded” over time.

While the message keeps more than a few details hidden, rest assured that more features will come to Pokémon TCG Pocket down the line. “Also, we have other new features in development outside of the trade feature introduced here,” the message says. “We plan to announce more details about the update as the dates for the addition of these features are finalized, so please look forward to it.”

This mobile version of everyone’s favorite pocket monster trading card game has taken the world by storm since it launched late last month. Developer Creatures Inc. announced Pokémon TCG Pocket managed to surpass 30 million downloads last Friday – just more than one week after launch. Although release dates for expansion sets have not been officially revealed, a datamine from earlier this week suggested that more cards may be due to arrive in December and January.

Pokémon TCG Pocket will no doubt evolve over time, so while we wait to see how its collection of creatures will grow, be sure to read up on why some players think its coin toss mechanic needs some work. You can also check out why the developers are playing coy when it comes to the importance of pack choice and which card IGN readers think is best.

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.