Riot Games has announced it will be laying off an unknown number of developers from the League of Legends PC development team, while simultaneously pledging to increase the size of the League of Legends team.
In a post to X/Twitter today, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill shared “An Update on How We’re Evolving League” in which he announced the layoffs, explaining that this “isn’t about reducing headcount to save money.” Instead, the layoffs are apparently occurring so the company can make “sure we have the right expertise.”
“While team effectiveness is more important than team size, the League team will eventually be even larger than it is today as we develop the next phase of League,” Merrill continued. “For Rioters who are laid off, we’re supporting them with a severance package that includes a minimum of six months’ pay, annual bonus, job placement assistance, health coverage, and more.”
Merrill continued his explanation in a follow-up post, in which he said that the success of a development team is unrelated to its size. “If we’re solving the wrong problems, more resources won’t fix it. It’s about building smarter and healthier, not just bigger.”
While we’re on the subject of team size, I want to talk a little about both size and budget, and why they aren’t the right way to measure whether a team will be successful. We’ve definitely been memed in the past for talking about budgets, and rightly so. Success isn’t about…
IGN has reached out to Riot Games for more clarity on why these layoffs are occurring, how many roles were impacted, and if any of those individuals are being considered for placement in roles as a part of the planned team expansion. A spokesperson confirmed that 27 employees were impacted across League of Legends development team and an additional five roles on Riot’s publishing team. The spokesperson stated that those impacted would have the ability to use the company’s internal job board to apply for other roles at Riot, but declined to share anything else.
These layoffs come rather uncomfortably as League of Legends celebrates its 15th anniversary, which Merrill references briefly in the post “so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond.” They also come nine months after Riot already laid off 530 individuals, roughly 11% of its staff, in an effort to cut costs after allegedly taking on too many “big bets” as a company.
We’ve seen the cost of SSDs trending upward for most of 2024, but lately it looks like prices have normalized and are even starting to drop back down. Today, Amazon is offering the PS5 compatible Lexar NM790 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 Solid State Drive (SSD) with pre-installed heatsink for only $128.99. This was one of the best SSD deals we saw during Amazon Prime Day. It expired quickly after, but available once again for a little while longer.
Lexar NM790 2TB PS5 SSD for $128.99
The PlayStation 5 console comes with a 1TB SSD, but 300GB of that is reserved for the OS, leaving around 700GB left over for games. That space will run out quickly because some games take up an enormous amount of space, especially if you buy digital copies. For example, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and NBA 2K25 all require 140GB each. Even older games like God of War: Ragnarok, Gran Turismo 7, and Horizon Forbidden West require 90GB of space apiece.
Enter the Lexar NM790 SSD. Although we didn’t pick it as one of our favorite SSDs for the PlayStation 5, Lexar is a well known and established flash memory brand and its SSD has garnered plenty of positive reviews. The NM790 is a guaranteed fit with any PlayStation 5 console. Performance-wise, it boasts read speeds of 7,400MB/s and write speeds of 6,500MB/s, which is well above Sony’s minimum recommendation of 5,600MB/s. It’s also pre-equipped with a low-profile aluminum heatsink. The 2TB capacity triples the storage of a PS5 or doubles the storage of a PS5 Pro.
Alternative: Silicon Power XS70 2TB PS5 SSD for $127.99
Amazon is offering Amazon Prime members this Silicon Power XS70 2TB PS5 SSD for $127.99 shipped. The primary difference is that the Lexar NM790 is a DRAM-less drive and the Silicon Power XS70 has a DRAM cache. Instead of onboard DRAM, the NM790 uses HMB (host memory buffer), which basically means that it uses the system memory as cache. The XS790, on the other hand, has a dedicated DRAM cache built into the stick. Theoretically, having a DRAM cache offers fast random write performance, but both types of SSDs are so fast that there really any noticeable performance difference when it comes to gaming on a PS5 or PC.
If you want more options, here’s a list of the best PS5 SSD deals available right now. If you’re looking for deals on other PS5 accessories, check out our constantly updated best PS5 deals article. If you don’t yet own a PS5 console, note that the new PS5 Pro is currently up for preorder and ships out next month. This is a more powerful version of the PS5 with double the storage capacity at a significantly higher price.
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.
Publisher Focus Entertainment said this huge xenos hits the explosive third-person melee shooter as part of the new PvE operation: Termination, which takes players back to the planet Kadaku. This will be made available for free, and is coming “very, very soon.”
Also part of this free update is the new Lethal difficulty, which is “designed to test your skills against the most brutal xenos and heretics.” The new weapon is the Neo-Volkite pistol, also free for all players.
As for cosmetics available through the premium season pass, the Dark Angels chapter of Space Marines is first in-line for new threads with a theme pack. This adds new weapon styles, armor pieces, and color schemes featuring the Unforgiven (the name given to the Dark Angels chapter following the disastrous events of the Horus Heresy in Warhammer 40,000 lore). This theme pack includes a full armor set for the Bulwark class.
All the above forms part of Season 2 of Space Marine 2, which runs from October until the end of 2024. Focus also teased the first year of updates coming to the game as part of Seasons 3 and 4. This includes new PvE operations, new PvP maps and modes, new Tyranid and Thousand Sons enemies, and a new Horde mode “with just one challenge: survive.” Expect cosmetics for new Space Marine chapters, too.
Specifically, Season 3 also adds PvE Prestige ranks and a Battle Barge expansion (the Battle Barge is the Ultramarines’ base of operations during the events of Space Marine 2). Season 4 adds the aforementioned Horde mode, a new enemy, and a new weapon. More seasons will follow.
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.
Originally published in black and white by Games Workshop in 1983, Talisman is a classic fantasy board game with a rich history spanning over 40 years. Commonly compared to Monopoly, Talisman features an easy to learn and basic gameplay loop that makes it a great board game for beginners, despite its extremely randomized outcomes, hectic situations, and often longer-than-average play times.
Players choose from over 12 characters, all of which are classic fantasy classes, like the Wizard and Thief, and then the game begins. In it, two to six players battle it out to be the first to reach the Crown of Command in the center of the board and defeat the dragon, venturing through three main sections of the board: the outer, middle, and inner.
Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to use over 100 different Adventure, Spell, or Talisman cards to gain the upper hand or screw with your opponents. You might even be able to turn one of them into a toad.
Featured in this article
The entire history of Talisman is vast and has many out-of-print versions and expansions, so this guide will focus solely on expansions and spin-offs that are more easily accessible.
The Base Game
Talisman: The Magical Quest Board Game 5th Edition
Price: $59.99
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 12+
Play Time: 60-90 minutes
Released in July 2024, the 5th Edition of the decades-spanning fantasy board game is the latest and most up-to-date version available. With the game’s rich history, it’s easy to get confused on which versions to pick up – don’t look on eBay, as 4th Editions can go for almost $150! Instead, pick up the 5th Edition, which offers the base game as well as the gameplay mechanic changes first introduced in the 3rd Edition. Additionally, compared to the 4th Edition, the newest edition of Talisman is a more streamlined, slightly less chaotic experience; the 5th Edition rulebook even mentions explicit changes with a symbol next to the rules blurbs. This version also comes with two fewer characters; it cuts the Bard and Druid.
Talisman Expansions
A very notable bummer is that the 5th Edition is not backwards compatible with the extensive library of 4th Edition expansions. But there’s a new 5th Edition expansion available called Fate Beckons.
Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons
Price: $33.99
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 12+
Play Time: 60-90 minutes
The first expansion for 5th Edition, Fate Beckons offers cooperative play for the first time in mainline Talisman history. Players must complete 5 Trials in order to win the game, and do so using over 50 new cards, tokens, and figures.
Talisman: Legendary Tales
Price: $49.99
Players: 1-6 players
Age Range: 14+
Play Time: 20-40 minutes
Not so much an expansion as it is a spin-off, Talisman: Legendary Tales is a story-focused adventure that has players working together to recover the five Talismans to thwart the evil that vies for control over the Crown of Command. Each of the five lost Talismans is recovered in their own unique adventures, and can be replayed as many times as possible to get the full experience. Great for beginners and those looking for quick-playing board games.
Talisman: Themed Versions
There are a few themed versions of Talisman, with Batman and Star Wars tie-ins out of print.
Talisman: Harry Potter
Price: $59.99
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 11+
Play Time: 90+ minutes
The gameplay mechanics are virtually unchanged from the 4th Edition here. The main draw is the Wizarding World setting, with amazing art and figures of fan favorite characters, like Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Dumbledore. Make your way to the center of the board to take on the Dark Lord Voldemort to win the game.
Talisman: Kingdom Hearts
Price: $59.99
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 13+
Play Time: 90+ minutes
This version also maintains the mechanics of the original game, and sees classic Kingdom Hearts characters like Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku battle their way through Heartless to reach the inner part of the board and seal the Door to Darkness.
Talisman Adventures RPG
Talisman Adventures: Core Rulebook
Price: $35.94
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 13+
Play Time: 2-4 hours
Essentially a DnD-like (and DnD-lite), the Talisman Adventures RPG Core Rulebook has everything you need to get started with the 3D6 ruleset: a breakdown of each character class, the lore, and, of course, how to play. Choose your class, ancestry, and skills as you set forth on your own unique Talisman adventure. You can find other RPG board games here.
Talisman Adventures: Myths and Monsters
Price: $33.52
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 13+
Play Time: 2-4 hours
The first expansion for the RPG experience adds an impressive amount of content, including bigger and badder enemies and bosses, as well as new events and festivals. This’ll surely add a lot of meat to the bare-ish bones of the starter book.
Talisman Adventures: Tales of The Dungeon
Price: $22.11
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 13+
Play Time: 2-4 hours
The next expansion is much darker in tone, and sees adventurers delving into the Glittering Caverns to confront the Lord of Darkness. This offers two new ancestries; minotaur and vampire, and two new classes; necromancer and tomb robber.
Talisman Adventures: Tales of the City
Price: $16.60
Players: 2-6 players
Age Range: 13+
Play Time: 2-4 hours
Finally, Tales of the City brings players to some of the seedier areas of the City. From shady goblins to pickpockets, this expansion adds plenty of new and unique story content to round out your adventure, as well as the new goblin ancestry and three new classes: alchemist, tinkerer, and gladiator.
If you’re in possession of the 4th Edition and its expansions, this organizer has everything you need to house the insane amount of cards, tokens, and figures all in one place.
The perfect tool for those looking to DM your first campaign, this kit includes 24 pages of tips and expanded rules explanations, a four-panel screen used for reference while playing, more Fate tokens, and blank character sheets.
A sort of proof of concept entry level appetizer, the playtest guide is great for those looking to dip their toes into their first RPG. Includes six characters and nine classes to choose from.
Looking for a one-stop-shop and then some for all these accessories? Online retailer Fapeto has you covered. This bundle includes the Playtest Guide, Accessory Pack, and Game Maker’s Kit mentioned above, with a bonus 8x10in. drawstring bag to carry it all.
How to Play Talisman Online
Digital: $52.99
Physical: $29.97
This video game adaption of the board game classic is a faithful recreation, offering the same gameplay mechanics and rules, but with awesome 3D graphics and visuals that make the experience that much more immersive. The 40th Anniversary Collection includes all 13 of the 4th Edition expansions, from Blood Moon to the Nether Realm. The PS4 and PC versions include extra characters not available on Switch. Notably, the physical versions on PS4 and Nintendo Switch are not region-locked, but the expansions are.
The Bottom Line
Talisman is undeniably one of the most popular fantasy board games of our time, with a rich history of expansions and revisions spanning over 40 years. The streamlined ruleset of the 5th Edition makes learning it for the first time a breeze, and the updated fantasy art is worth the upgrade. And while many of the 4th Edition expansions are out of print and are either hard to find or expensive on the secondary market, the 5th Edition of the base game marks a perfect jumping on point for newcomers or those looking for a more laid back experience. The Talisman Adventures series of RPGs is a worthy, barebones competitor to DnD, and is great for budding DMs and players of all ages looking into trying out their first RPG.
Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.
Sony has announced PlayStation: The Concert, the world tour of a “state of the art production” with music from games such as God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, and more.
Some details are still hazy as the PlayStation Blog post detailing PlayStation: The Concert and a press release provided to IGN have conflicting and seemingly incomplete information, but the world tour will premiere in April 2025.
The first show will take place in Dublin, Ireland, seemingly on April 19, before shifting to the UK for six tour dates between April 21 and April 27. It will then head to “more than 200 cities” across Europe, the U.S., and more.
Concert locations beyond Europe will be announced “very soon,” Sony said, and so far only the Ireland and UK dates have been announced. PlayStation: The Concert will take place in Birmingham on April 21, Manchester on April 22, Leeds on April 23, Newcastle on April 24, Glasgow on April 25, and London on April 27.
It will later take place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Paris and Amnéville, France, Brussels, Belgium, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Munich, and Oberhausen, Germany, Zurich, Switzerland, Bologna, Italy, Budapest, Hungary, Sofia, Bulgaria, Vienna, Austria, Bratislava, Slovakia, Prague, Czech Republic, Lodz, Poland, Copenhagen, Denmark, Gotenburg, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway.
Antwerp in Belgium and Tampere in Finland were also listed but have a strikethrough on the PlayStation Blog, seemingly suggesting these dates were removed.
Tickets will be available on the PlayStation website on October 16 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK for those who use the early access code PLAYCONCERT24, though the site doesn’t appear to be available as of yet. The press release provided indicates an October 18 availability date for those without early access, which is essentially no one since PlayStation made the code public.
PlayStation: The Concert is promised to be a “deeply immersive live concert experience,” Sony said. “An innovative multi-screen design, combining advanced LED and projection technologies, will enhance the event and deliver the most iconic moments and imagery from these games.
“Coupled with surround sound, the show delivers breathtaking visual and audio depth, creating an immersive experience that will allow the audience to relive their gaming adventures like never before.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 October 2024 lineup.
The headline here is of course the October 25 release of Black Ops 6, the first Call of Duty game to launch day-one on Game Pass. It comes following a year after Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which has also seen the likes of Diablo 4 and Modern Warfare 3 arrive on Game Pass, and will, in November, see StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection hit the subscription service.
Black Ops 6’s launch straight into Game Pass is a big gamble for Microsoft. It hopes the power of Call of Duty will boost subscriber numbers and revenue (itself bolstered by a recent Game Pass price rise and restructure), but it comes with the risk of losing sales of the full-price game. While Xbox executives have insisted sales can be boosted by a game’s presence on Game Pass, some publishers remain unconvinced. Former Activision boss Bobby Kotick, for example, was always against putting Call of Duty into subscription services. Unlike Microsoft, console rival Sony does not release its new exclusives straight into its subscription service.
In an interview with IGN last year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked how he’d handle his and Kotick’s different ideologies after the deal to buy Activision Blizzard closed. “Well, there’s a different person making the decisions,” Spencer laughed.
In the shorter term, tomorrow, October 16, South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard. A day later, on October 17, Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC) returns to the Game Pass library via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard, and MechWarrior 5: Clans (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as a day-one release.
Then it’s the big one: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) on October 25 via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass only. Also on October 25, last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Cloud) via Game Pass Ultimate, and battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone (Cloud) via Game Pass Ultimate.
Moving on from October 25 and Call of Duty, Ashen (Cloud, Console, and PC) returns to Game Pass via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard on October 29.
And finally for October, Dead Island 2 (PC) enters Game Pass for PC gamers via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 31 (it’s already available on Game Pass via Cloud and Console).
Microsoft also mentioned StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5 (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass) and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5 (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass), which are set to kick off Wave 1 of November 2024’s Game Pass lineup.
Ashen (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 29 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Dead Island 2 (PC) – October 31 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
StarCraft II: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pas
As usual, a number of games leave Game Pass as new titles arrive.
Here’s what’s leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 31:
Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Headbangers (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Inkulinati (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Lonely Mountain’s Downhill (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Mineko’s Night Market (Cloud, Console, and PC)
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.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Trophy / Achievement list is online in full and contains spoilers you might want to avoid if you’re looking to go into BioWare’s next big game fresh when it arrives October 31.
The trophies, which IGN won’t spoil here, revolve around major story beats. There are a few miscellaneous and collectible trophies thrown in too, as well as the party member-specific trophies — although, curiously, not for completing a romance storyline.
BioWare games traditionally do include achievements for romancing characters, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard appears to be taking a different, perhaps more Platinum-friendly approach.
The names of the achievements tied to those story beats suggest various plot developments, locations, and even the final boss, so it’s worth a PSA for the perhaps inevitable ramping up of Dragon Age: The Veilguard spoilers on the internet as we near the release date. If you want to check them out for yourself, they’re over at Exophase.
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.
Update 10-15-2024: Sony has now released the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for October 2024, meaning subscribers of the Extra and Premium tiers can download the likes of Dead Island 2, Two Point Campus, and more at no additional cost.
Original Story: Sony has revealed the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for October 2024, which includes Dead Island 2, Two Point Campus, and more.
Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 14 games are joining the library, 10 on the PlayStation Plus Extra tier and four on the PlayStation Plus Premium Tier through the Classic Games Catalog and PSVR2 offerings. They’re available October 15.
Embracing spooky season ahead of Halloween, The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed also arrive alongside the headlining horror title Dead Island 2.
PlayStation Plus Games Catalog Additions for October 2024
Dead Island 2 is the long awaited sequel to the zombie smashing game that finally arrived in 2023. Players rampage around a post apocalyptic version of Los Angeles in a first person action role-playing game where killing zombies as creatively as possible is encouraged. “Dead Island 2 is a hilarious gore-fest and a competent zombie-slaying adventure, but lacks creativity outside of its great sense of humor,” IGN said in our 7/10 review.
Two Point Campus is a college simulation game with an attitude, where players can build their perfect campus and hire their dream team of staff to run it. “The wacky humor might be hit or miss, but as a management sim, Two Point Campus graduates with honors,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.
The Devil In Me arrived as the final game in Season 1 of The Dark Pictures Anthology from Until Dawn and The Quarry developer Supermassive Games. While the studio is seemingly forever seeking a return to form that was Until Dawn (and even its remake has gone down poorly), The Devil in Me couldn’t quite fill its shoes. It earned just a 5/10 in IGN’s review.
Gris aims to be as much an art piece as a video game, describing itself as a “serene and evocative interactive” where players “explore a meticulously designed world brought to life with delicate art, detailed animation, and an elegant original score.” In our 6/10 review, IGN said: “Gris’s beautiful exterior hides a simple, at times confusing, platformer.”
Return to Monkey Island is the highly anticipated follow-up to the beloved Monkey Island series. It earned an impressive 9/10 in IGN’s review. “Return to Monkey Island expectedly comes packed full of smartly crafted puzzles, funny dialogue, and memorable characters,” we said. “But as series creator Ron Gilbert returns to the series’ director’s chair for the first time since 1991, it unexpectedly offers a lot of heart, too. It is an adventure gamer’s delight.”
A multiplayer game with as much substance as one of its ghostly adversaries, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed arrived in 2022 as another in the four versus one formula. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is an asymmetrical multiplayer game that’s mostly enjoyable, but badly needs more content,” IGN said in our 6/10 review.
Firefighting Simulator: The Squad lets players join a major U.S. city’s firefighting team and discover over 40 diverse deployment locations in an environment inspired by the North American west coast. “Equip yourself with authentic firefighting gear such as helmets, firefighter boots, and a breathing apparatus model by well known North American firefighting equipment manufacturers,” reads the synopsis.
Off road racing game Overpass 2 has players compete in races and try to set the best time on extreme tracks behind the wheel of powerful and officially licensed ATVs and UTVs. Overpass 2 features 37 vehicles in three different categories, five environments, 31 circuits, and multiple race modes.
On yer bike. Tour de France 2023 is the video game version of, well, the Tour de France 2023. Players can pedal alongside the best cyclists, test their endurance, and show their panache to triumph on the Champs-Elysées.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is the open world action game that Ubisoft released in 2017. It has been in the PlayStation Plus Games Catalog before too. “Ghost Recon: Wildlands has issues with repetition, but its co-op antics make it an entertaining military shooter,” IGN said in our 7/10 review.
Virtual reality charmer The Last Clockwinder is a whimsical puzzle game about automation, where players must repair the Clocktower: An ancient haven for the galaxy’s plants and seeds built into the trunk of a colossal tree. Special Clockwinder gloves let players turn every simple task into a looping clockwork automaton.
The headlining game in the PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog is beloved 1999 title Dino Crisis. With a modern attempt apparently shut down because of Monster Hunter, the original is players’ best bet for a shot in 2024. “Dino Crisis brings back the stylistic still camera angles, the multi-level labyrinthine structures, and the gallons of blood and gore with all of the shock and suspense that Resident Evil 2 delivered,” IGN said in our 9/10 review from 1999.
In the same month Silent Hill 2 remake was released, players can dip into more classic Japanese horror thanks to Siren also launching into the PlayStation Plus Classic Games Catalog. “A siren calls and a sea of red water mysteriously surrounds the mountain village Hanuda,” reads the synopsis. Originally released on PlayStation 2, Siren is now enhanced with up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters.
Finally, R-Type Dimensions EX is the collection of coin-op classics that has players fight through all 14 Bydo-infested stages in retro 2D graphics or shiny 3D graphics – and swap back and forth with the touch of a button on the fly.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Microsoft announced on Monday that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) for Game Pass Ultimate members at launch, along with two other Call of Duty titles later this month.
Per Microsoft’s blog post, Black Ops 6 will begin rolling out on Xbox Cloud Gaming at 10am PT on October 25, the same day that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone will get cloud support for Game Pass Ultimate members. Microsoft points out in the blog post that it’s “a first for the Call of Duty franchise,” marking the first time a Call of Duty title has been available on Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Interestingly, Microsoft sold cloud gaming rights for Activision games to Ubisoft as a key measure to get the acquisition through the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Therefore, it wasn’t a guarantee that Black Ops 6 would be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Other big Activision Blizzard King titles, including Diablo 4, still aren’t on Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Those looking to play the three Call of Duty games via the cloud will need to a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, and they’ll be available on consoles, PCs, mobile devices, select Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Meta Quest devices. “This opens up even more ways to play Black Ops 6 starting on day one at launch,” Ashley McKissick, Corporate Vice President, Gaming Experiences & Platforms at Microsoft, writes in the blog post.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S when it releases on October 25, and will be the first mainline Call of Duty game to hit Game Pass on Day One. In the meantime, check out our breakdown of all the big changes coming to multiplayer based on feedback to the beta.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Microsoft has announced its latest Xbox Partner Preview – what the company calls its “no-fluff, all-games broadcast” – for this coming Thursday, October 17.
Per Microsoft’s blog post on Monday, the broadcast will show off games from Remedy Entertainment, Sega, 505 Games, and more. It’ll include a mix of new and upcoming games, featuring more than a dozen fresh trailers and clocking in at around 25 minutes.
Delving into more specifics, the broadcast will also feature a look at Alan Wake II’s next expansion, The Lake House, aheads of its release sometime this month. Other highlights include “an action-packed new trailer for Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a peek at multiple bosses in dark-fantasy action game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, multiple world premieres, and other great titles coming to Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and Game Pass.”
The stream will kick off at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK and, per usual, will be available to watch on Xbox’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Microsoft has been holding Partner Previews here and there, with the last one taking place back in March. That broadcast spent roughly 30 minutes showing off games like Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Creatures of Ava, Frontpunk 2, and more, along with a number of announcements. Microsoft also featured plenty of third-party games during its big Xbox Showcase in June.
In other Xbox-related news, it was announced on Monday that Rare boss Craig Duncan will be the new head of Xbox Games Studios, replacing Alan Hartman after he retires in November.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
