Category: IGN

I know what you’re thinking. We’re already surviving a global pandemic, so why would anyone consider playing a game with that name literally in the title? Because, my friends, the co-op board game version of fighting this big thing is all about coming together for the sake of the greater good. I mean, who doesn’t love a superhero tale, right?

While the game and its many iterations do not involve superheroes with capes, they involve superheroes of different kinds: scientists. Each player has their own special skills that help with the greater objective.

Pandemic is a popular board game, one often chosen on regular game nights – even during our modern time. The necessary teamwork involved helps strengthen friendships and see where communication and coordination might be improved. You see, it’s an all-or-nothing game. You either save the world and win, or you don’t, and everyone loses. I guess you’d better buck up on those soft communication skills or else, eh?

The Base Game

Pandemic

Pandemic: On the Brink Expansion

Pandemic: In the Lab Expansion

Pandemic: State of Emergency Expansion

Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu Board Game

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Board Game

World of Warcraft: Wrath of The Lich King Board Game

Pandemic: Hot Zone Europe

Pandemic: Contagion Board Game

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1

Today, Amazon is offering the Stonemaier Expeditions board game for only $63.50, a 25% discount from its original $85 MSRP and the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this 2023 release. This is a limited “Lightning Deal” that will expire when a certain number have been sold.

Stonemaier Expeditions Board Game for $63.50

Stonemaier is no stranger to the board gaming world. They’ve produced some excellent games like Wingspan (and its spinoff Wyrmspan), Scythe, and Viticulture. Expeditions was released in 2023 and it is the sequel to Stonemaier’s popular Scythe game. It takes place in the same mecha-industrial setting as Scythe, but with complete different game mechanics and goals. This time around, there’s more of an emphasis on exploration over warfare with a more horror feel. Scythe is a very complex board with many moving pieces, and Expeditions is no different. Check out our Expeditions review for more details.

Looking for options? Check out the 17 best board games to play in 2024.

Today, Destiny developer Bungie announced another massive round of layoffs following several months of internal turmoil and the launch of Destiny 2: The Final Shape. In a post on Bungie’s blog, CEO Pete Parsons announced that 220 roles, or 17% of Bungie’s workforce, were eliminated due to “financial challenges.”

Now, in the wake of these layoffs, quite a few employees who were laid off (along with other members of the games industry) have taken to social media to share their concerns and criticisms about Bungie’s management, with many even demanding that Parsons step down.

While fears of layoffs were reportedly prevalent within the studio, many employees expressed that their own layoffs were unexpected due to recent actions taken by leaders at Bungie. One music designer shared that they were reassured that they were needed, only to be laid off today. “There’s nothing I could’ve done to not be laid off,” they wrote.

looks like i got hit. i work A LOT and im obsessed with work, everyone knows this. there’s nothing i could’ve done to not be laid off. in fact i was literally working so much that so many people told me “you’ll be ok, we need you to train/manage the outsourcers” https://t.co/lLZ4piq9bB

— ナディア nadia (@nadiaudio) July 31, 2024

Another employee shared that she was laid off just a month after being promoted.

I didn’t even tweet that I got promoted last month, but now I get to tweet that I got laid off, so there’s that. gonna miss my team. https://t.co/4OE6R3dclt

— beau (she/her) (@BeauOckers) July 31, 2024

Meanwhile, employees at Bungie who were unaffected by the layoffs have also made posts in support of their now former coworkers. Bungie’s global community lead, known as dmg04 online, called the layoffs “inexcusable.” “Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again,” he wrote.

Inexcusable. Industry leading talent being lost, yet again. Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again.

Please maintain focus on those who’ve lost their position & income. Offer help where you can. https://t.co/SSDveUd5uW

— dmg04 (@A_dmg04) July 31, 2024

A few people also noted that Bungie’s player support team was heavily impacted. One employee noted that her “whole team is gone,” while a former community manager (whose position was eliminated during Bungie’s last round of layoffs) noted that player support employees dealt with harsh conditions and “worked harder than anyone else, through weekends – holidays – and the pay was atrocious, only to [get] tossed out so LY could get their personal buyouts.”

The player support team was also gutted, as well as some of the folks behind the most beloved narrative moments and sounds. The player support team worked harder than anyone else, through weekends – holidays – and the pay was atrocious… only to the tossed out so LY could get… https://t.co/z2XveKAjay

— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) July 31, 2024

my whole team is gone.

— ☾ Alexandra, alexthegr8r on bsky (@_AlexTheGr8r_) July 31, 2024

Throughout the games industry, others have criticized Bungie’s management, with many in the Destiny 2 community attributing the layoffs to poor decisions made by leadership. Destiny 2 lore YouTuber My name is Byf said Bungie has been “reckless with the studio, its employees, and its franchises. The problem is clear. Bad leadership. It needs to change.”

Leadership needs to be changed.

Their decisions have consistently led to disaster for everyone who has actually been making the games we play.

They’ve been reckless with the studio, its employees, and its franchises.

The problem is clear. Bad leadership. It needs to change. https://t.co/ga01igprSl pic.twitter.com/lQhmkUIzgw

— My name is Byf (Lore Daddy) (@MyNameIsByf) July 31, 2024

Pete is a joke. https://t.co/TtFtEzS0gF

— Griffin Bennett (@GriffinWB) July 31, 2024

Others, including more former employees of Bungie, demanded that Parsons take a pay cut or step down.

Step down, Pete. https://t.co/I5d7L8kcfq

— Liana Ruppert (@DirtyEffinHippy) July 31, 2024

Calls for Parsons to step down were only amplified by a few fans’ discoveries of what appears to be his account on a car bidding site called Bring A Trailer. One player compiled a spreadsheet showing his car purchases, showing that he has apparently spent about $500,000 on vintage cars since Bungie’s last round of layoffs in October.

Bungie lays off 17% of it’s workforce… unrelated here is a list of cars the CEO has purchased on BAT

Players and workers need to support each other.https://t.co/48qToI4Cf7

— TAILORED (@boxrTailored) July 31, 2024

The announcement of layoffs, along with calls for Parsons to resign, come just under two months after Bungie released Destiny 2: The Final Shape, which brings the game’s story to a close and was well-received by players despite facing several launch issues. Shortly after the release of The Final Shape, Bungie also announced Codename Frontiers, a mysterious new update slated for release in 2025. Bungie also has a revival of Marathon in the works, which will be the series’ first installment since 1996.

However, despite its multiple upcoming projects and well-received recent titles, Bungie has been in turmoil for months. In October, Bungie was hit with a smaller, albeit significant, round of layoffs that was reportedly due to Destiny 2 underperforming. This round of layoffs led to delays for The Final Shape as well as Marathon, which had not been given an official release window but was reportedly delayed internally from 2024 to 2025.

Following October’s layoffs, a Bungie developer described the studio’s morale as “soul-crushing,” with other developers describing mounting fears of more cost-cutting measures as well as a total Sony takeover. Months later in March, Bungie replaced its Marathon director amid internal pressure to ship the game.

Following the replacement of Marathon’s director, one source with knowledge of Bungie’s budgeting told IGN that “something will need to happen to curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon,” referring to fears of another round of layoffs following The Final Shape’s release — the layoffs that happened today.

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, and they recently released a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

No More Heroes developer Soichi Suda a.k.a. Suda51 and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami are interested in returning to the Killer7 series.

The two renowned game makers discussed their potential futures during an installment in one of Grasshopper Manufacture’s Grasshopper Direct presentations. Toward the end of the 40-minute video, which primarily offers a behind-the-scenes look at Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, Mikami and Suda were asked to comment on what they’re working on next. It was the Resident Evil veteran who brought up his desire to see more from Killer7.

Sony has announced the PlayStation Plus games for August 2024: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PS4 and PS5); Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (PS4 and PS5); and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights (PS4).

In a new PlayStation Blog post, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Director of Content Acquisition & Operations Adam Michel revealed that all three games will be available to active PlayStation Plus subscribers starting Tuesday, August 6, and have until Monday, September 2, to redeem these digital copies. PS Plus subscribers who have yet to claim the free games for July 2024 (Borderlands 3, NHL 24, and Among Us) have until August 6 to redeem those games as part of their PS Plus subscription.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a compilation of video games representing all nine installments in the Skywalker Saga sub-trilogies, starting with A New Hope and concluding with The Rise of Skywalker. It also includes additional characters and DLC characters based on other Star Wars shows and projects, including The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

In our review of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which we awarded an 8 out of 10, my colleague Tristan Ogilvie wrote: “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga provides some rollicking reimaginings of Star Wars’ most iconic moments and seats them inside a series of interplanetary playgrounds that are dense with discovery and entertaining diversions.”

Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach is a horror game released in 2021 and is the eleventh installment in the widely popular Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise.

Security Breach is set in a mall. Players control a boy named Gregory, who finds himself trapped in Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. He must survive the night by evading hostile animatronic mascots and other enemies.

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is an indie ARPG. It was originally released in January 2021 as a Steam Early Access title before a full release in June. Players control Lily, a young priestess who is looking to unravel the mystery regarding a destroyed kingdom of Land’s End.

Its release became quite a hit for Indie games, with Gematsu reporting in March 2022 that the game had sold over 600,000 digital copies across the globe. In February 2024, during a Nintendo Direct showcase, a sequel, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, was announced and released on March 24, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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

Destiny developer Bungie has today announced significant cuts at the studio that have seen 220 people, or 17% of the studio’s workforce, let go.

The cuts affect every level of the company, including most of the Sony-owned studio’s executive and senior leader roles, Bungie boss Pete Parsons said in a post on Bungie.net. “Today is a difficult and painful day,” Parsons added.

Departing staff will be offered “a generous exit package” that includes severance, bonus, and health coverage, Bungie promised.

Parsons blamed the cuts on the rising costs of development, “industry shifts,” and “enduring economic conditions.” Because of this, Parsons insistsed, Bungie has had to make “substantial changes” to its cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on live service looter shooter Destiny and the upcoming Marathon.

The cuts come after what was seen as the successful launch of Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape. Parsons acknowledged this in his post, but said they were necessary “to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.” Parsons also said the cuts were made “after exhausting all other mitigation options,” although he failed to say what they were.

The 220 layoffs come alongside the integration of an additional 155 roles, or 12% of Bungie’s workforce, into parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment over the next few quarters. Parsons said this move saves “a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force.”

That suggests that if Sony hadn’t taken on these 155 roles, 375 staff would have lost their jobs today, and that the actual reduction in Bungie’s workforce over time will be substantially more than 17%, at around 34%.

Meanwhile, Bungie is working with PlayStation Studios to spin out one of its incubation projects, an action game set in a brand-new sci-fi universe, to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios “to continue its promising development. ”

“This will be a time of tremendous change for our studio,” Parsons said.

Parsons went on to explain how Bungie got to this point, confirming that the studio had been “running in the red” after its financial safety margins were exceeded following delays to both The Final Shape and Marathon and a rapid expansion that “stretched our talent too thin.”

Over 850 staff remain at Bungie building Destiny and Marathon, Parsons said.

Here’s the statement in full:

This morning, I’m sharing with all of you some of the most difficult changes we’ve ever had to make as a studio. Due to rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions, it has become clear that we need to make substantial changes to our cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon. 

That means beginning today, 220 of our roles will be eliminated, representing roughly 17% of our studio’s workforce.  

These actions will affect every level of the company, including most of our executive and senior leader roles.   

Today is a difficult and painful day, especially for our departing colleagues, all of which have made important and valuable contributions to Bungie. Our goal is to support them with the utmost care and respect. For everyone affected by this job reduction, we will be offering a generous exit package, including severance, bonus and health coverage.

I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape. But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.

We are committing to two other major changes today that we believe will support our focus, leverage Sony’s strengths, and create new opportunities for Bungie talent.

First, we are deepening our integration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 of our roles, roughly 12%, into SIE over the next few quarters. SIE has worked tirelessly with us to identify roles for as many of our people as possible, enabling us together to save a great deal of talent that would otherwise have been affected by the reduction in force.   

Second, we are working with PlayStation Studios leadership to spin out one of our incubation projects – an action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe – to form a new studio within PlayStation Studios to continue its promising development.  

This will be a time of tremendous change for our studio.

Let’s unpack how we ended up in this position; it’s important to understand how we got here. 

For over five years, it has been our goal to ship games in three enduring, global franchises. To realize that ambition, we set up several incubation projects, each seeded with senior development leaders from our existing teams. We eventually realized that this model stretched our talent too thin, too quickly.  It also forced our studio support structures to scale to a larger level than we could realistically support, given our two primary products in development – Destiny and Marathon. 

Additionally, in 2023, our rapid expansion ran headlong into a broad economic slowdown, a sharp downturn in the games industry, our quality miss with Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the need to give both The Final Shape and Marathon the time needed to ensure both projects deliver at the quality our players expect and deserve. We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red.

After this new trajectory became clear, we knew we had to change our course and speed, and we did everything we could to avoid today’s outcome. Even with exhaustive efforts undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve our financial challenges, these steps were simply not enough.  

As a result, today we must say goodbye to incredible talent, colleagues, and friends.

This will be a challenging time at Bungie, and we’ll need to help our team navigate these changes in the weeks and months ahead. This will be a hard week, and we know that our team will need time to process, to ask questions, and to absorb this news. Today, and over the next several weeks, we will host team meetings and town halls, team breakout sessions, and private, individual sessions to ensure we are keeping our communication open and transparent. 

Bungie will continue to make great games. We still have over 850 team members building Destiny and Marathon, and we will continue to build amazing experiences that exceed our players’ expectations.   

There will be a time to talk about our goals and projects, but today is not that day. Today, our focus is on supporting our people.

In March, multiple sources told IGN that Bungie was in the midst of shifting around its creative leadership on Marathon, including removing long-time Bungie designer Christopher Barrett from the game director role. IGN learned he was being replaced by former Valorant game director Joe Ziegler, who left Riot Games for Bungie in 2022.

At the time, IGN was told that Bungie was pouring resources into getting Marathon out the door. The game’s direction had shifted somewhat under Ziegler’s new leadership, one source said, including moving away from custom player characters in favor of a selectable cast of heroes.

There were also internal fears and rumors that layoffs would immediately follow the release of The Final Shape, with one source saying “nothing adds up” and “something will need to happen to curb costs unless The Final Shape does so well to cover the gap and people can move to Marathon.”

Unfortunately, those fears have now been realized.

Bungie has found itself rocked by a number of major shake-ups in recent years that have tanked morale at the studio and left its future uncertain. Sony officially acquired the studio mid-2022, with the promise it would largely retain a semblance of freedom as an independent subsidiary. Sources told IGN that’s largely remained true, but Bungie has struggled to meet key financial targets, with Destiny 2 significantly underperforming last year.

In October, Bungie laid off roughly 100 of its then-1,200 employees amid greater cost-cutting measures that saw Marathon delayed to 2025 and employee benefits slashed, further damaging the mood internally.

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 revealed a new transparent Xbox controller that rekindles memories of the OG Xbox era: the Sky Cipher Special Edition. It’s available to preorder now at the Microsoft Store for $69.99, with a release date of August 13.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Daniel Ruiz, Sr. Marketing Manager, Xbox Accessories, said the Sky Cipher features a transparent blue design “complemented by metallic features and silver interior parts that shine through from inside, exuding an aura of sophistication and futuristic appeal.”

Leaning into the nostalgia for console generations gone by, Microsoft’s video promoting the new transparent controller begins with the OG Xbox bootup animation. Perhaps Microsoft plans to release a transparent console next?

Going back and taking it forward

Introducing the Sky Cipher Special Edition Xbox Wireless controller. Pre-order now: https://t.co/G9ebMwE4Kn pic.twitter.com/yUz7IpPQR8

— Xbox (@Xbox) July 31, 2024

Here’s the official blurb:

Elevate your experience and style with the Sky Cipher controller. Stay elegantly on target with Sky Blue metallic triggers and a matching D-pad surrounded by a dark blue accent. Refine your game with two-tone thumbsticks featuring Sky Blue bases and dark blue tops. Hold on to the action with rubberized, Sky Blue grips on the back case. Looking closely at the hand grips, you can see the rumble pack vibrate and react to your gameplay.

Otherwise, the Sky Cipher Special Edition is the same Xbox Series X and S wireless controller Microsoft has sold for years, and includes USB-C connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack, and up to 40 hours of battery life.

Alongside the reveal of this controller is the announcement that the Sky Cipher introduces a new packaging design for Xbox controllers “that embodies our commitment to reducing product carbon footprint.”

Braid developer Jonathan Blow has said the recently released anniversary edition of the indie puzzle platformer has sold “horribly,” and indicated he is now struggling to employ staff full-time.

Blow, who also created The Witness, catapulted into the upper echelons of indie video game development after Braid enjoyed enormous success on Xbox Live Arcade in 2008. It’s since become known as one of the greatest indie games of all time, with a number of perfect review scores under its belt.

16 years later, in May 2024, Blow released a remaster with fully repainted artwork, new puzzles, and in-depth commentary, across PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS, with the mobile version released by Netflix to those with an active subscription. The Anniversary Edition was announced during Sony’s State of Play event in August 2020.

As surfaced by a user on ResetEra, a YouTube channel called “Blow Fan” published a compilation of commentary from Blow on Braid, Anniversary Edition’s sales performance, made during a number of livestreams in the months since launch. The picture Blow paints here is clear: Braid, Anniversary Edition has flopped.

In one stream dated June 17, Blow said Braid, Anniversary Edition had sold “horribly.” “It has sold like dogs**t compared to what we need to make for the company to survive,” he continued. “So the future is uncertain, let’s put it that way.”

Then, on July 21, Blow was asked again about sales. “No, they’ve been terrible,” he replied. “Utterly terrible.”

In another stream dated July 22, said releasing Braid, Anniversary Edition on so many platforms “made a difference, but the problem is most of those platforms are f***ing dead now.”

“Steam is easily still our biggest platform,” he continued. “There would have been something to be said for just not porting to half those platforms.

“It’s a really interesting thing that we did. We did commentary in a way that nobody’s ever done it, at a much more thorough level than anybody’s ever done it. And at some point, you just have to know that what you did was a good thing, even if the world doesn’t really acknowledge it. And this is one of those cases, I think.”

Our obsession with the concept of the “dead game” and player counts is unhealthy for the video game industry and gamers, one of the developers behind Palworld has said.

Palworld, dubbed “Pokémon with guns,” launched in early access form to record-breaking success. It is the second most-played game ever on Steam, with an incredible concurrent player count of 2,101,867 on Valve’s platform. Only battle royale PUBG is ahead of Palworld in Steam’s all-time peak concurrents chart.

Palworld’s Steam concurrents have fallen since that explosive launch earlier this year, and now usually hit a peak in the tens of thousands rather than millions. The decline has caused some to call Palworld a “dead game,” but it is far from the only game to be called that in recent years.

For example, Rocksteady’s catastrophic Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, whose Steam concurrents usually peak in the hundreds of players, was called a dead game upon its release. Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones, and Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 are also often called dead games. Sony’s live service hero shooter Concord has been labeled “dead on arrival” before launch because of low beta concurrents on Steam.

The “dead game” narrative is exacerbated by an industry currently pumping out more live service games than the market can perhaps support, or even wants, and by publishers who walk away from their live service games amid low player numbers. This month Capcom announced plans to move on from dinosaur-themed shooter Exoprimal just a year after launch, with Steam concurrents brutally low.

John “Bucky” Buckley, community chief at Palworld developer Pocketpair, has been a vocal critic of the “dead game” phrase, and in social media posts has called on the industry, media, and gamers to ditch the fixation on concurrents and player counts.

Bucky followed up on these posts in an interview with YouTube channel Going Indie for a video titled, ‘Dead Games Are A Good Thing, Actually.’ In it, Bucky called out publishers and developers who try to brute-force mechanics designed to keep players playing forever into games they’re not suited to, declaring it “unhealthy.”

“Just play the games you like,” Bucky said. “If you finish in a day, cool. Good job. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Play the next one.

“I don’t think it really serves anyone to push gamers to just play the same game day in, day out. There are games that you can play every single day for months on end and never burn out. League of Legends, Dota, most MMOs, but they’re designed to be like that.

“Whereas what we’re seeing now is a trend of… I won’t necessarily say who’s trying to push it, but a lot more people are trying to push gamers to play games that aren’t really designed to be played for months on end, for months on end.”

“I don’t think you need to be pushing yourself to play the same game all the time,” Bucky continued.

“It’s not healthy for us, it’s not healthy for developers, it’s not healthy for gamers, it’s not healthy for the gaming media. And it’s just not healthy for our industry, because the more we push this kind of narrative, the more very large companies are going to just say ‘gamers want more live service.’ And we’re just going to get more of these really soulless live service games that come out and then get shut down nine months later, 12 months later, because they’re not making enough money. And we all lose in that case.

“Play all the indIes you can. Spend as much money on indies as you can. Who cares if there’s only five people playing it? Just enjoy yourself. Just enjoy games. I don’t think it needs to be any more complex than that.”

But will the industry, the media, and gamers listen? The “dead game” narrative is in part fueled by the video game industry’s obsession with secrecy. Unlike Hollywood, which makes movie budgets and box office figures public, video game publishers tend not to announce video game sales and/or revenue unless they’re truly spectacular, with development budgets almost always kept a closely guarded secret. In truth, it’s almost impossible to determine whether a video game has met expectations, which is why vague publisher comments made by CEOs in investor-focused financial calls get so much attention.

This secrecy means gamers and the media have just one publicly available performance metric with which to gauge performance: Steam concurrents. Valve continues to make this stat available for the world to see, and so the world has developed a hyper-focus around it, in turn leading to an over-reliance.

In any case, there have been plenty of examples of live service video games that were prematurely consigned to the scrap heap. Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege suffered a disastrous launch but went on to become one of the biggest live service games around. Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is another redemption story, as is CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077. And let’s not forget the humble origins of Fortnite, what began as a lackluster tower defense game but ended up perhaps the biggest live service of them all.

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.

Steam hit Once Human is set to go offline today, July 31, in order to release a significant update that makes a number of key changes to the game.

Once Human is a free-to-play multiplayer open-world survival game from Starry Studio, a developer owned by Chinese games company NetEase. It launched on PC on July 9 and quickly found an audience, with a huge peak concurrent player count of 231,668 on Steam, where it remains one of the most-played games.

IGN’s Once Human review returned an 8/10. We said: “Once Human combines simple but solid building and upgrading with some of the best, and weirdest, creature designs of the year to create a very enjoyable survival-crafting experience.”

While you’re out collecting rare Deviations or scouting the best base locations in Once Human, keep track of collectibles and Mystical Crates using IGN’s interactive Once Human map.

Starry Studio said the server maintenance, during which Once Human will be offline and unplayable, starts at 9pm PDT today, July 31, and is expected to last for four hours. “Please plan your game time accordingly, and thank you for your understanding and support,” the studio said.

Ahead of the release of the next big update on August 1, Starry Studio published the patch notes, below:

“We have been actively listening to and addressing feedback and suggestions from our community since the global release,” the developer said.

Once Human August 1, 2024 update patch notes:

Optimizations

I. Memetic Optimizations

1. Added a new item drop: Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments

– After using a Memetic Specialization Memory Fragment, you will gain the corresponding Memetic specialization effect.

– Up to three Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be used per season.

– When the in-game item Controller is used, there is a certain chance of obtaining a random Memory Fragment.

– All Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments will be destroyed at the end of the season, and they will not be sent to the Eternaland Depot.

– Memetic Specialization Memory Fragments can be traded between players.

2. Adjusted some display elements on the Memetic Specialization screen

– Optimized the stacking of certain metal ingots in the Backpack.

– Optimized the display of Memetic specializations in the gear details pop-up.

– Production output of regular Ammunition can be increased by 50%.

II. Gameplay Optimizations

1. Enriched the Highway Pursuit game mode

– Added a new Highway Pursuit route to the Chalk Peak region.

– The event starting time is now fixed to 9:00 PM, server time.

– Rosetta trucks now automatically drop Sproutlets even if the player does not attack them.

– Increased the quantity of Sproutlet and reward drops.

– Optimized the item storage quantity and subtraction rules of the Cargo Scramble game mode.

2. Optimized the ease of checking certain display elements

– After opening the Map, you can now click on Monolith, Securement Silo, Public Crisis Event, Cargo Conquest, and other icons to open their details screen.

– Added a combat invitation function to Public Crisis Events. You can now send invitations to other players via chat channels.

– There is no longer a countdown timer for pressing Ready when entering a Monolith or Securement Silo solo.

III. Vehicle Optimizations

1. Increased the acceleration and maximum speed of low-level Motorcycles. Slightly increased the acceleration and maximum speed of Off-Roaders and Coupes.

2. Fixed an issue where after boarding a vehicle, the player would need to press a movement key once before being able to operate the vehicle.

3. Added a function where if a vehicle is stuck on terrain, you can hold down the accelerate key to free the vehicle.

4. Added a setting for auto-centering the vehicle camera. You can now choose to enable or disable auto-centering while operating a vehicle.

5. Optimized the vehicle repair and modification procedure. Heavily damaged vehicles must now be repaired before they can be modified.

IV. Planting Optimizations

1. Added a Continuous Planting function to the Planter Box. This function will automatically replant with the previously used seeds and fertilizer.

V. Combat Optimizations

1. Fixed the issue where the Attack buff gained from defeating a target with Doombringer did not stack.

2. Fixed an issue where certain kinds of damage in PvP mode were not affected by the gear build.

3. Adjusted the rules for Bounce target selection. Black Water will no longer be targeted by Bounce attacks.

4. Adjusted the displayed weapon accuracy values. The actual attributes have not been changed.

5. Added a weapon inspection function that can be accessed from the action wheel.

6. Added a hit counter for the KAM – Abyss Glance.

7. Optimized the field of view when using iron sights on some KAM weapons.

VI. Wilderness Optimizations

1. Construction is now forbidden in the vicinity of the Scarecrow at Rippleby Market.

2. Added a Camera Height option to the Settings. The player can now adjust the character’s vertical position on the screen.

3. Optimized the movement path of the Wanderer. It can now move around within a single region more effectively.

VII. Interaction, Art, and SFX Optimizations

1. Optimized the appearance of Teleportation Towers.

2. Optimized the on-hit SFX for certain Deviants.

3. Unlocked some control functions and some settings.

4. Added a controls display function. The player can now view their current controls and their corresponding functions.

VIII. Trades

1. Added Nisa’s Loot Crate to the Sproutlet Shop of Nisa, an NPC merchant who can be found in neutral Strongholds. There is a 30% chance of obtaining a Legendary Mod when opening Nisa’s Loot Crate. If a Mod is not obtained, one of the following will be obtained instead: Acid x200, Barreled Premium Fuel x20, or Stardust Source x67.

IX. Deviation Interaction Optimizations

1. Optimized the controls for synchronizing Deviation Abilities. The player can now press G to interact with a Securement Unit to sync a Combat Deviation to their Cradle.

2. Adjusted the controls for withdrawing Deviations. After opening a Securement Unit, the player can now press U to withdraw the Deviation.

X. Character, Controls, and Camera Optimizations

1. Optimized the camera when interacting with the Bed furniture item.

2. Reduced the player’s recovery time after being grabbed and thrown by a Deviant.

3. Fixed an issue where changes to the character’s body would cause their arms to clip when using a melee weapon.

4. Adjusted the camera sensitivity when reloading while scoped to be the same as that of aiming while scoped. Camera controls when reloading a weapon with a high-powered scope will now be more fluid.

XI. Task Narrative Optimizations

1. To make it easier for you to view all purchasable items at traders in neutral Settlements, items sold at Claire’s shop are now included in the Settlement Shop. In addition, the player can now press W and S to scroll through dialogue options.

XII. Cosmetics Optimizations

1. Added more hair color presets.

2. Optimized the results screen for Rift Space, Securement Silo, and dungeon instances to highlight players with outstanding performances. Added a results screen for The Prime War and Stronghold Conquest that congratulates the top-ranked players. Various stylish effects will be displayed based on the player’s ranking.

XIII. Performance Optimizations

1. On PC, the resolution can now be changed when playing in full-screen mode.

XIV. Other Adjustments

1. Optimized the Manibus scenario on PvE servers. New server-wide tasks and rewards have been added for Phase V of the season.

August-Themed Event

On Nalcott Island, the month of August itself is an anomalous event. During this “forgotten summer,” we will receive additional produce from harvesting every week. More events will be gradually unlocked in the game. All Metas are welcome to participate!

1. Login Event: On August 1, August 8, and August 15, special rewards will be unlocked, including the Epic cosmetic – Crimson Spider Gloves and a Butterfly’s Emissary Crate I! Rewards can be claimed anytime before the event ends on September 4.

2. Upcoming Events

– Wilderness Express: starts on August 15

Enjoy racing through the wilderness alone or as a team, and earn a rating for mileage and collisions achieved. Attain the required rating to claim rewards including Starchrom and the limited-edition cosmetic – Fulfilled Wish Vest!

– Secure on Sight: starts on August 22

During the event, defeat enemies to earn Loot Crates which may contain Specimen Cards. Collect Specimen Cards and fill the Specimen Encyclopedia to obtain rewards.

* Refer to the event screen for detailed rules.

Shop Arrivals

New arrivals are available in the Shop! Visit the Shop to check them out.

1. Added the Epic-quality outfit: Racing Loon, as well as a discounted theme pack.

2. Added the Neon series of Epic weapon cosmetics for the SOCR, MG4, KV-SBR, and other popular weapons.

3. Added the City Vending Machine cosmetic for the Vending Machine. It is the first facility cosmetic to be available and comes in three colors. Bring some glamor to your trades!

4. Added the Sunny Coast Living Room furniture set. Transform your home into a romantic summertime beach!

Bug Fixes

I. Territory Construction

1. Fixed an issue with the Supplies Workbench specialization that caused its actual healing effect to differ from its description.

2. Fixed an issue with the Electrical Expert and One with the Tides specializations that caused the actual number of Generators that could be placed to differ from their descriptions.

3. Fixed an issue where the list of Memetic logging, mining, and gathering devices was displayed wrongly.

4. Fixed where the duration extension effect of Stardust Tea did not affect Hydration.

5. Fixed an issue where fuel refinery facilities upgraded with Memetic specializations could not refine Barreled Crude Oil.

6. Fixed an issue that caused the Automated Mining facility screen to display the wrong Vein.

7. Fixed an issue where the button for returning to the list of facilities from the Facility Details screen would not work.

8. Fixed an issue that caused mining facilities to quickly produce Stardust Ore.

9. Fixed an issue where the Hydraulic Generator could not generate electricity correctly.

10. Fixed an issue that caused wires to remain on top of the Garage after recalling a truck.

11. Fixed a display issue that occurred when placing Blueprints while using Flight Mode in Eternaland.

12. Fixed an issue with building Blueprints where small grids could not be recognized when replacing materials.

13. Fixed an issue that caused queued Construction tasks to be counted toward the Crafting queue limit.

14. Fixed an issue where the description of Stardust Tea did not match its effect.

15. Fixed an issue that caused Deviant Energy Generators on the home-moving vehicle would not work correctly in a Pollution Zone.

16. Fixed an issue where, after moving the Territory from a Pollution Zone to a normal region, Deviant Energy Generators would not work but would still display the working animation.

II. Wilderness

1. Fixed an issue where the Map’s navigation function would sometimes not work or fail to display the navigation route.

2. Fixed an issue where the player would receive the wrong item after buying a Bait formula from the fish trader.

III. Combat

1. Fixed an issue where the Durability attribute would turn yellow if the gear lost Durability.

2. Fixed an issue where the Crossbow’s Calibration Blueprint could not be disassembled.

3. Fixed an issue that caused a switching error to occur on the right side of the weapon selection panel when replacing a Calibration Blueprint.

4. Fixed an issue where some dropped weapons would randomly contain red-colored Blueprint attributes, so the weapon could not be disassembled to get its Blueprint.

5. Fixed the inconsistent descriptions of The Weaver elixir and the Whim effect.

6. Fixed an issue where if Hold to Sprint is enabled and the player is currently holding the Sprint key to sprint, clicking on Auto-Run would not stop the character from sprinting.

7. Fixed an issue that caused some weapon crosshairs to display incorrectly in 4K resolution.

IV. Game Modes

1. Fixed an issue with the Mist game mode where the center point’s location would be wrongly determined.

2. Fixed an issue with The Prime War that caused the Shadow Hound to get stuck in the air when using its skill.

3. Fixed an issue with The Prime War where if more players than the maximum attempted to teleport, they would get stuck on the edge of the map.

4. Optimized the on-hit visual effect and effective range of manual turrets in The Prime War.

5. Fixed an issue that caused Deviations to drop additional copies of items in Securement Silo – EX1.

6. Fixed the spawn rules of some Deviations in Securement Silo – PSI and Securement Silo – THETA. Dr. Teddy, Enchanting Void, Upper World Spawn, and Snow Globe will now spawn in the correct scenario.

V. Deviations

1. Fixed an issue where Deviations whose skills have a designated target could not be recalled while the player was reloading.

2. Fixed an issue where Mini Wonder would absorb teammates’ bullets in its range when attached to the player character.

3. Fixed an issue that prevented Mini Wonder from defending against shotguns.

VI. Other Fixes

1. Fixed an issue where the wrong text was displayed if you had not been friends with another player for at least seven days.

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.