Category: IGN

Nintendo has hidden a few cool Easter eggs for the GameCube within Switch 2, fans have discovered.

With the launch of Nintendo’s new console, fans can finally play GameCube games using Nintendo Switch Online — but load up a title from the era of Nintendo’s beloved purple brick, and you’ll note that something is missing: the console’s iconic startup animation.

Anyone who owned a GameCube will have the image of the console’s logo unfurling around the screen burned into their memories, as its chirpy soundtrack played. Well, with a simple button press, Nintendo actually allows you to restore this sequence — not that the console ever specifically tells you how.

Credit, then, goes to Spawn Wave for noting that you can prompt the GameCube startup animation by holding the Switch 2’s control stick in any direction while loading the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube app. This will then play the retro console’s startup sequence, just as you remembered it.

Except this isn’t quite as you remembered it — it’s actually polished up in 4K. Yes, this is the shiny new version of the logo that debuted during Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct earlier this year, when GameCube games were first confirmed for the console.

“Cool, when the stick drift starts you can get it every time,” one fan quipped when learning of the secret.

As tested by IGN, a further version of this Easter egg allows you to replicate the secondary GameCube startup sound, prompted on the original console by holding down its Z button. On Switch 2, you must tilt the control stick and hold down the R button (try doing it just as the ‘2’ on the Switch 2 app logo pops up).

Now, fans are wondering the third GameCube startup sound might also be included, hidden behind an even more secret button combination. This could originally be prompted by the Z button down on four GameCube controllers at once.

Over the weekend, fans plugging in their new wireless GameCube controllers made for use with Nintendo Switch 2 discovered the pads now incorporated gyro controls for the first time, opening up many possibilities for use in various retro games.

Right now, the Switch Online’s Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics collection is looking pretty thin, with just the original version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, plus F-Zero GX and SoulCalibur 2 available.

Still, Nintendo has confirmed a number of other GameCube classics will follow (including Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Mario Smash Football, Luigi’s Mansion and Chibi-Robo!), though there’s no word yet on when they might materialise.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Atlus finally revealed at yesterday’s Xbox Game Showcase that yes, a remake of Persona 4 is really happening: Persona 4 Revival. But not everyone liked what they saw in the 40-second trailer.

Some players took issue with the quality of the graphics, coloring, animations, and lighting, while others were frustrated that there were no further details like a release date or a confirmed Nintendo Switch 2 version.

“Man, the graphics looks like stock Unreal lol,” said one player. “Honestly, almost looks fanmade (don’t hit me),” to which another replied: “Highly underwhelming trailer, lol.”

As this remake was one of the worst-kept secrets in gaming, some fans speculated that the teaser was put together simply to acknowledge that yes, it was in development.

“This is a ‘damn, here you go’ ass trailer,” responded this fan, while another said: “Feels like they threw this thing together after the VAs said they weren’t returning. I could imagine they walked over to marketing and asked them to throw together a 30-second clip the same day.”

Following the reveal, P-Studio director Kazuhisa Wada popped up on social media to reassure fans that Atlus is “actively preparing for the future development of the Persona series as a studio.”

“We are very pleased to announce the release of Persona 4 Revival. We look forward to sharing even more information in due time,” Wada wrote. “Persona 4 has spawned numerous spin-off works, including TV anime, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and is a special title that has been a part of Atlus for many years and holds a personal place in my heart.

“We are currently working on this project with all our passion and love. We are confident that this will be a fresh and surprising product for both newcomers and long-time fans and we look forward to sharing it with you all.”

Wada added: “Additionally, we are actively preparing for the future development of the Persona series as a studio. We are working hard to meet the expectations of fans around the world, and our work is progressing well.” Wada then thanked fans for their support and teased that they should “stay tuned” for more updates.

We gave the original Persona 4 a 9/10 back in the day, saying: “A significant improvement over the previous Persona games in many ways, Persona 4 provides a deeper dungeon crawling/social link experience that makes it engaging to play.” An enhanced version, Persona 4 Golden, has since become the best way to enjoy the game on modern consoles, but fans have long lamented that it’s not available on Nintendo Switch, despite years of begging.

Persona 4 Revival, meanwhile, is due out for Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC, and it will be available day-one on Game Pass. For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Rebel Wolves — the studio led by former The Witcher 3 game director and co-director for Cyberpunk 2077, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz — has confirmed its upcoming dark fantasy action-RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, will release in 2026.

At yesterday’s Xbox Games Showcase, Rebel Wolves showed off some pre-beta gameplay footage, following Coen, “a young man turned into a Dawnwalker, human by day and vampire by night,” as he comes to grips with his newly acquired abilities.

That’s not all, though. On June 21, we’ll find out even more as Rebel Wolves invites us to join it on the longest day of the year, “where the veil between day and night blurs, bringing unexpected outcomes.” The 45-minute-long event will reveal around 15 minutes of new gameplay content, accompanied by an extended developer commentary.

Interestingly, we’ll also learn more about “several key gameplay features,” including the directional combat system that blends swordfighting, spells, and vampiric powers, as well as how players navigate Vale Sangora’s locations and “further explore the game world and highlight the gameplay differences between day and night, which will have a significant impact on the story and its course.”

“It’s been a pleasure to finally show you more of the game, and I want to thank our community for the incredible support,” Tomaszkiewicz said. “Back in January, when we first revealed the game, we promised to shed more light on the gameplay this summer — and that moment has finally arrived.

“We’d like to invite you to join us on June 21 for our Gameplay Reveal Event. You’ll learn more about the abilities Coen gains as he becomes the Dawnwalker — a mysterious being balancing the line between the world of day and the realm of night.”

In The Blood of Dawnwalker, you play as Coen, a young man who is a being no longer fully human, yet not entirely a vampire. With just 30 days and nights to save Coen’s family or exact bloody revenge on his sire, regardless of the consequences or the cost of Coen’s thirst for blood. But the most important question for players remains: is it worth sacrificing your humanity for the ones you love?

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

During a special IGN Live edition of Up at Noon today, McFarlane Toys’ Brian Walters (Director, Brand Creative) stopped by to chat with Max Scoville and Brian Altano about what the company has in the pipeline, including their new Elite Edition series that’s kicking off with Doom Slayer from Doom: The Dark Ages, followed by Lilith from Diablo IV.

Walters said the idea behind the Elite Edition was “to create highly decorated, super detailed, iconic version of characters from games.” One way these figures stand out is by their inclusion of soft goods, such as the fur cloak on Doom Slayer, and Walters noted they were “Introducing new materials we haven’t used.”

Walters pointed out the many accessories Doom Slayer came with, including the Pulveriser, flail, combat shotgun, and shield saw, saying he felt it was ”a really great first item for [Elite Edition].” Though pre-orders for Doom Slayer were currently sold out, Walters said the figure would be available at retailers like Walmart and Gamestop upon release. And yes, it was implied some monsters are in the works for the Doom Slayer to battle.

Lilith in the meantime just went up for pre-order today, tied to IGN Live. Her accessories include multiple palace fates for a variety of expressions, and Williams said the idea was they were “holding nothing back with this figure,” including articulated wings and “a soft PVC tail so you can pose it however you want.”

Williams said the challenge with a figure like Lilith was “the balance of executing the design but still making a functional toy. You have to make tough decisions.” He added that probably the hardest thing was pulling off “the engineering without compromising the look of the character.”

As for what else McFarlane Toys had in the pipeline, there’s the Power Armor from Fallout, which is based on the game, not the series. The previous figures they made for the TV version were from the Movie Maniacs line, so the Power Armor will be the first articulated Fallout figure. Williams teased there was “more to come here. We’ve got some good surprises coming.”

Last but not least, Williams showed off two of the figures from the upcoming Mortal Kombat Classics line – including a boxed Sub-Zero, featuring very fun retro arcade packaging that includes joystick controls on the box art and the original character select image of Sub-Zero, along with his bio, on the back.

Having already out pre-orders of many packs and bundles already, the Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy cards officially will be released June 13 and Principal Designer Gavin Verhey and Executive Producer Zakeel Gordon were on hand at IGN Live today to discuss the much-anticipated collaboration.

Verhey and Gordon said that there have been other IP crossovers with Magic before, Final Fantasy was particularly exciting because, as Verhey put it, “It’s Final Fantasy! That really helps! We’ve been working on this set for about five years.”

The duo noted everyone at Wizards of the Coast were big fans of Final Fantasy, noting most had been playing the games longer than they’d played Magic and means so much to them.

Verhery said their approach was to incorporate something from all 15 games – which upped to 16 as they were working on the cards – which began with making spreadsheets of all the characters, items and story modes. They then split up the possible inclusions into three tiers – what Verhey described as the “gotta have: primary elements and most popular characters, followed by the second tier, which is where “cool side characters” came into play, while the third tier were the deep cuts, “like Guy speaking beaver. We wanted to get it all in there. Every game is represented from most iconic characters to deep cuts you can’t believe they put on a Magic card.”

There are four Commander decks, based on Final Fantasy X, XIV, VI and VII and Verhery promised “Everything besides the lands is themed to the game” and that playing the FF7 deck “ is like seeing the whole game play out before you eyes.” Added Gordon, “We chose those decks to represent different eras. We tried to really get the breadth of the entire franchise in our product.”

Gordon said inevitably they still couldn’t include every single character or game aspect they would have liked, given they didn’t have unlimited cards, noting, “The big challenge is we were going for the entire mainline series. We limited it to core games which left out a few great characters, but by design.”

Gordon explained that the Through the Ages cards, which include classic Final Fantasy artwork was an idea that came up halfway through the development process, simply because they were looking at the art – from the likes of Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura – so much already and, as Gordon put it “The art was so amazing they wanted to put it on cards.”

A couple of lucky fans at IGN Live were given decks of cards before release and when showing them off, their decks included the likes of Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth and Final Fantasy IV’s Rosa. Verhey said he felt that was an appeal of the Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy cards – taking two characters “you’d never see in [the same] game but here they are together.”

Marcus Morgan, Obsidian’s VP of Operations, came by IGN Live to discuss The Outer Worlds 2 in the lead up to its much-anticipated October 29 release date, including its Flaws system, a new ice planet that has become one of his favorites, a goo pistol, and more.

Morgan began by sharing that the sequel is digging deeper into the RPG aspects, remarking, “Obsidian is rooted in RPGs. We wanted to evolve with Outer Worlds.” He’s not even comfortable calling The Outer Worlds 2 part RPG, part FPS. Instead, he stressed he would “only ever call it an RPG.”

However, the team heard a lot of feedback that fans wanted gunplay and combat to evolve, so there will be plenty of new weapons to look forward to, including some that are science-based. Morgan also described “a melee weapon that, if you hit it to the beat, it amplifies the damage.” These new additions are meant to add to the experience while retaining the RPG core.

“One of my favorite weapons is the goo pistol,” Morgan added while joking he doesn’t condone littering in real life. “You take this biomass canister and you dump the goo into the gun and you chuck the canister away.”

Morgan also wants to let those who have never played the first Outer Worlds to know that they won’t get lost in this sequel, noting, “We’re moving to a brand new colony, Arcadia. with a brand new set of characters.” He described the Earth Directorate, the organization you are part of, as “sort of the space rangers of the universe. You’re there to protect against the tyrannies of capitalism, authoritarianism and various aspects of extreme religions with certain group.”

Morgan was also particularly excited by Outer Worlds 2’s Flaws system, saying it was a way to take the usual idea of leveling up and putting a humorous spin on it. For example, one of these flaws is “The Sungazer Flaw – if you stare at the sun for too long you can regain health but the world is blurred out.” Another is for those who never run out of ammo as you’ll do more damage. If you do let it run down, however, you’ll be penalized with a debuff for a bit.” He described the Flaws as “A fun way to integrate progression with levity.”

As for the Psychopath Perk, Morgan remarked, “One great thing in Outer Worlds 1 is you could kill every single person, and we brought it back in Outer Worlds 2. And you’ll get a perk if you do that. Also, you can finish a quest even if you kill the quest giver.” On the other hand, “You can be a pacifist if you choose. You can talk your way through the entire game [without killing anyone]. You’ve got the entire spectrum.”

When it came to bugs, Morgan noted “We’re already in our bug fixing mode. This is probably the earliest we’ve been in that mode.”

Among the new planets in The Outer Worlds 2, Morgan revealed, “One of my favorites is a planet called Cloister. It’s a giant ice planet you go to because there’s a super computer trying to solve a big calculation.” He elaborated by saying the computer is connected to one of the game’s groups of religious fanatics who believe they can predict the future using math. In this case, the super computer and the immense energy (and resulting heat) it takes to power it are on Cloister to keep it cool, and Morgan said “I loved the nuance of why we created the ice world.”

Lastly, Morgan mentioned the first game’s Dumb mode and how they are leaning into those sorts of options again for Outer Worlds 2. They’ve also integrated their dialogue system into the title screen, and Morgan explained that as you load up the game “You might hear prompts like ‘Hey, you seem to be dying a lot. Should you lower your difficulty?’”

The Outer Worlds 2 will be released on October 29, 2025, and it will officially be Microsoft’s first $80 game.

For more, check out our hands-on preview of The Outer Worlds 2 and the incredible Moon Man Statue and artbook from Dark Horse for the game.

We’ve finally gotten our first look at IO Interactive’s new James Bond game: 007: First Light. It’s an origin story of the infamous spy, showing how he “earned the number” of 007.

So far, everything we’ve seen has been cinematic and story-focused, so there are still plenty of questions lingering about how First Light will play, and who exactly this new Bond will be. Fortunately, I was able to sit down with IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak at an IO Interactive event this weekend and grill him on everything Bond. While he wouldn’t tell me who they had cast as the new Bond (the internet thinks it’s Patrick Gibson, but Abrak says they’re “waiting a bit” to reveal the cast), he did confirm that 007: First Light isn’t part of the film canon; it’s a “standalone, reimagined interpretation.”

“I think from the get-go that was extremely important for us that we will be able to put our fingerprints on this,” Abrak said. “This is the first game we are making that is not our IP. IO is a creative house that’s created five original IPs and we are doing the sixth IP on the Fantasy Project [literally codenamed Project Fantasy] we’re working on as well. So we have to pour something of ourselves into what we do.

“…It was such a huge opportunity to take such a beloved franchise and then a privilege to be able to pour our originality into that. And our take was, well, we wanted to reimagine his becoming story. We wanted to reimagine a coming-of-age, this young man with all his quirkiness and optimism, his wits and his personality. Getting introduced to these intrigues and espionage, this harsh world of dog-eats-dog and how he fares and how he manages that with his inner values.”

But even if the story itself is creating its own canon independent from the movies, that doesn’t mean IO Interactive isn’t taking cues from the film Bond. For one, Abrak said he got “some insight” into how film Bonds are typically cast and what the film directors usually look for. But ultimately, IO Interactive was left to its own devices as to how it wanted to proceed on selecting a new Bond. And it did end up picking a real actor.

“It was a blank slate, which is a huge privilege, that we can cast these people or try to 3D-model something,” he said. “Is it going to be an actor, or not, and what do we do? So that was really, really daunting. I tell you this, it took a long time, and we’ve been through a few models to figure out what we wanted. But I think the process was chaotic, to be honest. I mean the process was feeling it, trying some things out, feeling the emotional… And it’s not necessarily huge A/B tests out there with a lot of agencies and whatnot. It was very important for us to feel his warmth or charm, his quirkiness and all these things. But then we found someone and we’re really, really happy about it today.”

We’ll be publishing our full interview with Abrak later this week, including discussion of not just 007: First Light, but also the future of the Hitman franchise and upcoming IO Interactive-published game MindsEye. We’ll keep waiting to hear more about 007: First Light, including gameplay, sometime soon. It launches in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Microsoft has confirmed The Outer Worlds 2 costs $79.99 in the U.S. — it’s the first Xbox Game Studios game to make the jump.

The Steam page for Obsidian’s role-playing sequel revealed the $80 figure for the standard edition. Microsoft had confirmed it would follow Nintendo’s lead and make the jump with its games in time for the holiday season. It seems The Outer Worlds 2 will kick off this new Xbox video game pricing structure when it comes out on October 29, 2025.

Explaining the price-hike decision in May, Microsoft told IGN: “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.”

Much of the industry has been discussing and gradually implementing price increases in recent years, with AAA game prices jumping from $60 to $70 in just the last five years, and Nintendo going with $80 for Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World and some other Switch 2 Edition games.

Last month, Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford sparked a backlash in responding to a fan who had expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4, saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

During a recent PAX East panel, Pitchford offered his thoughts on video game pricing. “On one level, we’ve got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible and they want to be careful about people that are price-sensitive,” he said. “There are some folks who don’t want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.

“There’s other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there’s tariffs for the retail packaging. It’s getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don’t know what the price is going to be.”

Given The Outer Worlds 2 costs $80, we can assume the just-announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will too, although it doesn’t have a release date yet. 2026’s Gears of War: E-Day, the new Fable, and the next Forza will surely also cost $80.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Xbox fans finally get a chance to catch up with recent some recent Final Fantasy games — including a shadow drop of Final Fantasy 16 today.

Later this year, sometime this winter, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will also follow.

After a two-year wait, the sixteenth main Final Fantasy finally drops on Xbox Series X/S right now, having first launched for PlayStation 5 in June 2023, and on PC in September 2024.

Final Fantasy 7 first launched in 2020 for PlayStation 4, before its Intergrade upgrade arrived a year later on PC and PS5.

All of which is to say that Xbox fans have been waiting a long time for these games, but their arrival this year suggests Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will follow in the somewhat not-too-distant future.

“Its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world,” IGN wrote in our Final Fantasy 16 review.

“[It]s dull filler and convoluted additions can cause it to stumble, but it still breathes exciting new life into a classic while standing as a great RPG all its own,” IGN wrote in our Final Fantasy 7 Remake review.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle’s first expansion, The Order of the Giants, now has a release date — and it’s only a few months’ away.

The Order of the Giants will arrive on September 4, 2025, a brief teaser shown during today’s Xbox Games Showcase 2025 revealed. That’s for all platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, and yes, the newer PlayStation 5 version of the game too.

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle was one of the best games of 2024, and more of it is a very good thing. It looks like we’ll be seeing more of the game’s mysterious race of forerunner giants in this expansion — though whether that means more of the late Tony Todd remains to be seen.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants arrives September 4​.
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✅ Xbox Play Anywhere​
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Learn more: https://t.co/wa41n4fjmo | #XboxShowcase pic.twitter.com/zReb4rLhhA

— Xbox (@Xbox) June 8, 2025

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social