Category: IGN

Xbox is preparing to raise prices on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, according to emails sent out to some subscribers today.

A number of Xbox users based outside of the United States began sharing screenshots of emails sent to them today, which state that beginning in September, they will be charged an increased price for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

@JeffGrubb @DestinLegarie @Wario64 Just received this email. I’m in Canada.

Xbox Gamepass Ultimate is increasing for me. pic.twitter.com/emQ450o4h5

— Andrew (@DrewM987) July 9, 2024

Following these reports, Windows Central reported that the pricing changes are real and are coming alongside a number of other shifts to the service beginning September 12, 2024. According to the report, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is going up to $19.99/month in the United States (up from $16.99/month previously), while PC Game Pass is going up from $9.99/month to $11.99/month. Xbox Game Pass Core (the subscription that only includes online multiplayer and a small selection of games) will go up to $74.99/year from $59.99/year, but the monthly subscription will remain at $9.99/month.

Xbox has since confirmed to IGN that these numbers are accurate and that the changes apply to U.S. subscribers.

Additionally, Xbox Game Pass for Console will soon no longer accept new users (existing subscribers can continue their plans). New subscribers will instead be funneled to Xbox Game Pass “Standard” priced at $14.99/month in the United States, which includes back catalog games and multiplayer functions, but does not include day-one game releases or Xbox Cloud gaming.

Finally, Xbox will only allow its users to pre-pay for Xbox Game Pass for Console for up to 13 months going forward. Users with more months than that already paid for will not be impacted.

All these changes will go into effect September 12, 2024, and will impact all markets globally. More pricing details for different regions are expected to be shared soon.

Notably, Xbox just raised prices on Game Pass last year, raising its “Ultimate” price from $14.99/month to $16.99/month in its first price hike since 2017. Rumors have circulated since May of this year that Xbox was pondering an additional price increase, especially given the planned addition of future Call of Duty games day-one to the service following Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year. The gaming arm has also been making a number of cost-cutting changes in recent months, including shutting down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin in May, and announcing the lay-off of 1,900 staff members in January.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Starting today, Walmart is offering the professional grade PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Controller for $174.99. That’s 13% off the $200 MSRP, which might not sound like too much, but the DualSense Edge is almost never discounted. This is part of Walmart’s larger sale that competes with Amazon Prime Day. We don’t expect to find a better deal during Prime Day. In fact, we doubt that Amazon will offer a deal on this controller at all. This is a professional grade controller for the PS5 console, much like the Xbox Elite is for the Series X. Check out our IGN review.

PS5 DualSense Edge Controller for $174.99

The DualSense Edge is Sony’s high-end controller for the PS5 console. Like the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, it offers pro-level features like grips, adjustable analog sticks, mappable rear buttons, profiles, and more. You can swap out the standard analog stick tops with convex replacements that come in two different heights. You have two different options for the back buttons: levers like in the Xbox Elite Series 2 or smaller nubs. One of the most important features of any pro controller are the triggers, and they’ve gotten attention in the DualSense Edge as well. Next to each trigger is a stop slider that lets you adjust how far you have to press the trigger down to make it register. You can choose standard, medium, or short travel distances, the better to get off quick shots in competitive shooters.

All this tech is housed in a hard shell case for easy storage and transport. The case even has a flap that lets you charge the controller while it’s in the case. A 9-foot USB-C charging cable is also included. Plus, if your analog sticks crap out, you can buy replacements for $19.99.

Check out more of the best PlayStation deals today.

Per the series’ longstanding tradition, Ys X: Nordics, the latest chapter in the long-running action-RPG saga starring Adol Christin, has left fans in the West waiting quite a long time before they can get in on the fun. Thankfully, that wait is about to end, and after an hour hopping between various sections of the game to check out its dual-combatant action, get a taste of its all-important story, and even try my hands at the new naval battle system, I’m inclined to think this seafaring tale might end up being worth the customary localization delay. By swapping out the usual larger party seen in recent Ys games for just two characters, Nordics benefits from a more focused experience, whether that be its action-packed combat or its seemingly more concentrated story. Those changes proved more than enough to reignite my interest in this longrunning odyssey.

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid Ys (pronounced like “ease”) for the past 37 years, this series follows the dramatic adventures of a young adventurer named Adol, most of which involve a whole lot of swashbuckling sword fights and larger-than-life stories. Ys X: Nordics brings him to the viking-inspired Obelia Gulf to fight against undead creatures called the Griegr, and make a new warrior princess friend named Karja. If you’ve missed some entries in the series though, fear not, as each adventure is mostly self-contained, and as this one takes place after Ys II from way back in 1988, you won’t be expected to learn too much anyway. I was basically caught up on everything I needed to know after a quick cutscene introducing a couple returning characters and ready to beat up a giant, evil salamander in typical Ys fashion.

Each Ys game brings its own particular style, and Nordics is no exception. The biggest change is the decision to move away from the typical party system found in more recent entries, opting instead to focus on just two characters: Adol and Karja. This impacts everything from the combat, which has been tuned around these two mighty warriors, and the story, which even early on already felt like it would be much more focused than some previous Ys entries.

Combat was smooth, quick, and even a little challenging, as I was expected to swap between Karja, whose nordic strength made it a breeze to peel off enemy armor, and good ol’ Adol, who I used to deal finishing blows once my opponents had been stripped of their defenses. There were far too many menus and upgrade options for me to get a good grip of things during my brief demo, but it was clear to me there’s quite a bit to master, like learning the joint attacks I was able to unleash after building up enough mana.

That focus on the story’s two protagonist has an impact on the plot too, as Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo told me, “By limiting it to only two characters that you do more with, it actually allowed [the development team] to do more with that because they knew that they could focus everything on [Karja].” As someone who can get exhausted by convoluted stories with too many characters to follow, that was music to my ears.

There’s a more practical reason too: the smaller scope. As Kondo-san told me, “We wanted to put this one on the [Nintendo] Switch, and when you have that many party members, there’s kind of a limitation on the console itself.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Ys game without some new mechanic to shake things up, and in Nordics, that mechanic – true to the viking vibes it’s got going for it – is naval combat. In the short bit of it I played, I fought off waves of enemies with cannonfire, while targeting shield generators to power down a force field protecting an island. This goofy section definitely was amusing, with cannonballs cartoonishly homing in on their targets, but also a bit overly simplistic, feeling more like a minigame than something substantial, and I can’t really see myself enjoying too much more of it over the lengthy campaign. That said, it’s hard to say how much this will evolve over the 20+ hour runtime, and it’s quite possible it will build up into something with more meat on it.

Rocksteady Studios is delaying the release date of Suicide Squad Season 2, days before the new content was set to go live.

Update: Task Force X, we’ll be adjusting the release timing for the next season, #SuicideSquadGame Season 2 will now launch on July 25. Thank you for your patience.

— Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (@suicidesquadRS) July 9, 2024

In a post on X/Twitter, the official account for the game revealed that it was “adjusting the release timing” for the next season from July 11 to July 25. The second season of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will introduce Mrs. Freeze as a playable character, in addition to a new map, new weapons, and two “episodes” titled Frozen Hearts and Winter. It is the second of four seasons planned as post-launch content for the game following its release in late January.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s second season receiving a delay comes as the game has struggled with player retention following its release earlier this year. At launch, the game was panned by critics and players.

Last month, Bloomberg spoke to multiple sources who revealed that the game had a troubled development cycle. The report alleges that Warner Bros. executives told staff at Rocksteady Studios that they expected Suicide Squad to become a billion-dollar franchise; after the game flopped, many members of the development team are reported to have shifted to development work on a director’s cut of Hogwarts Legacy.

Despite many of the staff at Rocksteady apparently moving onto another project, a WB spokesperson told IGN last month that it plans to complete its already announced post-launch roadmap. Though its future beyond a fourth season remains unclear.

In our review of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which scored a 5 out of 10, my colleague Simon Cardy wrote: “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a repetitive and bland looter-shooter that, despite an engaging story, never stays fun for long enough.”

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

Arch Manning, the popular quarterback from the University of Texas and nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, has officially announced that he has opted to be featured in College Football 25.

In a new post on X/Twitter, Arch shared a promotional video alongside his uncle Eli with the caption reading, “I’m IN the game.”

I’m IN the game 🤘 #CFB25 @EASportsCollege #EAAthlete pic.twitter.com/mgndu7Khuz

— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) July 9, 2024

Eli also confirmed the news on his X/Twitter account, writing, “It’s a great way to focus on football.” Eli’s post refers to a report by Texas football journalist Anwar Richardson last March, who said that “multiple people” told him that Arch Manning would not opt into College Football 25, claiming that Arch Manning was “focused on playing football on the field.”

Despite Manning being one of the most popular student-athletes in college football, he is currently a backup for the Longhorns. Last season, Manning was third on the depth chart behind Maalik Murphy and Quinn Ewers, the latter of which is one of the cover athletes for College Football 25.

Apple Arcade is adding Vampire Survivors to its collection at no extra cost on August 1, 2024 — and it’s ad free.

Apple announced the addition of Vampire Survivors+ as a version with both premium expansions included at no extra cost. The complete removal of ads is perhaps what makes this version most appealing, however, giving it a leg up on the version of the gothic rogue-lite game already available on mobile.

“Mow thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn in Vampire Survivors, a gothic horror game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you,” reads the official synopsis.

Vampire Survivors became one of the biggest surprise hits of the last few years as what launched as a humble indie game on Steam blew up into and snowballed in popularity itself. Developer Poncle soon added layers of new content to the game, and the core experience now offers 50 playable characters and 80 weapons to play with. That’s before the two major expansions too, meaning Apple Arcade is about to add a ton of content at no additional cost, though the service is priced at $6.99 a month otherwise.

In our 7/10 review, IGN said: “It may look extremely basic, but if you give Vampire Survivors’ clever one-stick shooter idea a chance to sink its teeth into you it might not let go for a while.”

Apple Arcade is also adding Temple Run: Legends on August 1, while Castle Crumble joins on August 29.

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

EA Sports has finally revealed College Ultimate Team, a game mode originally introduced in NCAA Football 14. In this mode, players can build their own dream team using real players from any of the 134 FBS schools past and present and create their dream team to compete against the AI or other players.

Which Ultimate Alumni are you adding to your Day 1 lineup?

Pre-order the Deluxe Edition of #CFB25 or the MVP Bundle to get one of these players on your Ultimate Team.

Learn more about CUT | 🔗: https://t.co/oaR0iJb3cU pic.twitter.com/PIqeuEqXSw

— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) July 9, 2024

College Ultimate Team (CUT) was first introduced in NCAA Football 14 as Ultimate Team and functions much like Madden Ultimate Team (MUT), as EA Sports revealed that current and past college football players will be available in CUT.

Some of them are currently in the NFL, like former UGA Tight End Brock Bowers, who was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders this year. This group also includes current NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes, Davante Adams, Christian McCaffrey, and Joe Burrow.

More interestingly, the blog post mentions two programs coming to CUT: ICYMI and Legends; the former program will feature players who contributed to iconic moments in past seasons and helped their team excel on the iron, while the latter focuses on legendary All-Americans and see how they fare against the current stars of collegiate football.

This announcement is part of EA Sports’ weeklong set of reveals for College Football 25 ahead of its release next week. Yesterday, the developer provided a new look at gameplay featuring two Play Now matches between college football content creator James “BordeauxYT” Bordeaux and cover athlete Donovan Edwards. Throughout the week, the developer will reveal the launch roster and the new additions to fan-favorite game mode Road to Glory on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

College Football 25 will be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on July 16 for those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle, or July 19 for everyone else. For more, check out the top 25 rated teams, the best offensive and defensive teams, and the toughest stadiums to play in. Check out our hands-on preview to hear IGN’s initial thoughts before the full release.

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

An enterprising pair of Elden Ring players going by the name “Let Us Duo Her” have invented a new method for cheesing one of Elden Ring’s toughest bosses, using a simple combination of weapons and techniques introduced by the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

Malenia, Blade of Miquella is without doubt one of the toughest bosses offered up by Elden Ring’s based game, featuring a range of lightning swift sword strokes and rot-infused attacks that work in concert to melt the player’s health bar while frustratingly regenerating her own. Now, a pair of players have taken to Reddit to reveal a new — and vaguely humiliating — method of cheesing the troublesome boss by harnessing the new hand-to-hand fighting style introduced by the new DLC.

As shown in a YouTube video, the pair, who have branded themselves “Let Us Duo Her”, were summoned into battle as co-operators while donning the Dane’s Footwork gear, which was equipped with the Dryleaf Whirlwind ash of war.

NEW Malenia Cheese (Let us duo her)#ELDENRING #EldenRingDLC
📹oRezyn pic.twitter.com/M0PCjdEKbM

— ELDEN RING Alerts (@EldenringAlerts) July 7, 2024

Upon entering the boss chamber, the Tarnished who had summoned the duo stood back as the unorthodox pair took it in turns to unleash kick upon kick against the boss, which locked her into a stun animation that went unbroken for the entire first stage of the fight. The ordinarily troublesome boss was then granted a brief reprieve following the mid-battle cutscene to unleash her fearsome Scarlet Aeonia attack, before being savagely kicked into oblivion by the scantily clad warriors.

“Inspired from ‘Let me solo her’, we adopted ‘Let us duo her’ to introduce the world to the Malenia cheese we discovered while playing around with the new DLC weapons,” explained oRezyn, who posted the footage. The build apparently needed no specialised talismans to stunlock Malenia, though oRezyn has warned that the stagger could have been interrupted if the summoning player had chosen to get involved.

Malenia’s Haligtree arena has borne witness to a slew of extraordinary challenge feats in the years following Elden Ring’s 2022 release, along with the rise of the community co-op hero “Let Me Solo Her”, who specialised in taking down the rot-infused demigod.

Of course the attention has long since shifted away from Malenia and towards the new cast of brutally difficult bosses introduced by the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Be sure to check out IGN’s comprehensive guides and walkthroughs to ensure that your Tarnished warrior is prepared to take on everything that the land of shadows has to offer.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Ubisoft has apologized after using a Japanese historical re-enactment group’s flag in concept art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows without permission.

As reported by Siliconera, Ubisoft Japan issued an apology on X/Twitter and admitted it used the flag in two pieces of art without permission. It also claimed to have apologized to the flag’s owner Sekigahara Teppo-tai, a historical re-enactment group made up of volunteers who perform to the public at festivals and other events.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed the identical recreation of the flag, which can be seen below, in a piece of concept art for the Japan-set Assassin’s Creed released alongside its full reveal. It was raised to a leading member of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai, X/Twitter user @matchlock_kage, who posted a photo of the real flag taken on October 27, 2019, and expressed concern at it being used by Ubisoft without permission.

Ubisoft has now apologized for using the flag, however, and said it will no longer use the associated artwork with one exception: the presumably already printed physical art book featured in the Collector’s Edition of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Ubisoft has said it strived to make the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as “authentic as possible.”

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was fully revealed in May 2024 as a Japan-set entry where players take control of two protagonists: the stealthy shinobi Naoe and the action-orientated Yasuke, who’s a real figure from Japanese history.

IGN had a wealth of exclusive content on the reveal, and you can read about all the gameplay changes, story beats, and open-world assassinating coming with Shadows in our extensive interview with the development team.

If that’s not enough, check our analysis and explanation of where and when Shadows is set and 40 key details we’ve learned about the game. You can also watch our full breakdown of the cinematic trailer to discover all its hidden details, Easter eggs, and more.

Shadows launches November 12, 2024 for those buying the Gold, Ultimate, or Deluxe Editions, while the Standard Edition is available on November 15, 2024.

Image Credit: @matchlock_kage on X/Twitter

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

2023 and 2024 have shown that 2TB PS5 SSD upgrades are actually worth the price. In 2022, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. Now, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $70 price point and 2TB SSDs can drop to around $100 or sometimes even lower if there’s a good sale. It’s worth noting, though, that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive.

TL;DR – The Best 2TB PS5 SSD Deals Right Now

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $9) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2024, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.

TEAMGROUP MP44Q 2TB SSD for $110

As part of its early Prime Day deals, Amazon is offering the TEAMGROUP MP44Q 2TB SSD for just $109.99. It, unfortunately, does not have a heatsink so you’ll have to invest in one, but you can easily do that here for under $10. It also offers transfer speeds of up to 7,400MB/s read and 6,500MB/s write.

acer Predator GM7000 2TB M.2 SSD for $139.99

With sequential read/write speeds up to 7400 MB/s and 6700 MB/s, this is an excellent SSD for your PS5. It currently has a nice little discount at Amazon, down to $139.99 from its MSRP of $169.99, but it does not come with a heatsink so you’ll have to invest in one.

WD_Black 2TB SN850X SSD for $149.99

Right now, Amazon has the WD_Black 2TB SN850X SSD available for just $149.99. Normally priced at $189.99, this 2TB SSD features speeds up to 7,300MB/s to ensure your games load as fast as possible. This model will work with PS5, but you will need to purchase a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for just $9).

XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade 2TB Internal SSD with Heatsink for $149.99

This is another 2TB SSD deal that’s well worth taking advantage of. This option from XPG has dropped 17% in price, from $179.99 to $149.99, and even features a built-in heatsink. It also has a read speed of 7400MB/s and a write speed of 6800MB/s.

Silicon Power 2TB XS70 SSD with Built-in PS5 Heatsink for $159.99

This SSD offers 2TB of storage, excellent read and write speeds (read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s and write speeds up to 6,800MB/s), and a built-in heatsink all at a fantastic price. It’s currently available for $159.99 on Amazon, 11% off its MSRP of $179.99, so well worth picking up for your PS5.

WD_BLACK PS5 4TB SSD for $309.99 at Amazon

This is a great deal for those looking to maximize their PS5’s storage. For a limited time only, this PS5 4TB SSD is available at Amazon for just $309.99 (see here). Normally, it has an MSRP of $699.99, but nowadays, this and many other 4TB SSDs have been sitting around $280-$300 recently. You’ll also have to grab a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for $9).

2024 Crucial T705 2TB SSD for $294.99

This is the newest model from Crucial and it already has an excellent discount on Amazon. For a limited time, you can get 26% off this SSD, bringing it down to $294.99 from $399.99. It’s well worth the investment as well, as it offers crazy good sequential read/write speeds up to 14,500/12,700MB/s. If you feel the need for speed, this SSD will certainly get you there.

Crucial T500 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $169.99

Amazon is offering a nice deal at the moment on the Crucial T500 2TB SSD, which is discounted down to $169.99. This SSD has a heatsink all ready to go, so you can install it right away in your PS5, and even offers excellent read/write speeds of 7,400/7,000MB/s.

Samsung 990 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD for $179.99

The Samsung 990 Pro is an excellent SSD for your PS5. From a purely performance perspective, it’s overkill; the stock SSD in your PS5 will be the limiting factor. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive and the 990 Pro is much faster. This one does not come with a heatsink, though, so you’ll need to invest in one.

What if the SSD Doesn’t Include a Heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for $9 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

Budget to Best: PS5 SSDs

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How To Install a New PS5 SSD

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.