Category: IGN

Even though S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy – Enhanced Edition released on May 20 offering free “fully remastered and optimized” upgrades for all owners of the original trilogy, developer GSC Game World has been under siege by a review bomb campaign after players discovered the Russian voice acting and “Soviet-era” landmarks had been quietly removed.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy – Enhanced Edition includes remastered versions of Shadow of Chornobyl (2007), Clear Sky (2008), and Call of Prypiat (2009) with upgraded visuals, next-gen console optimizations, and expanded mod support. However, shortly after release, all games plummeted to a “mostly negative” rating on Steam as players flooded the review section to complain about blurry visuals and register their dismay that the games were now “blurry, censored, and revised, [with] added advertisements.”

“So I own the originals and played them to death. If I get an enhanced edition I want to be excited when I boot it up, to see something different that makes we want to re-engage with the game. This isn’t it,” explained one player. “The graphics aren’t upgraded enough to get excited about, I have mixed feelings about stripping out the Russian references – honestly I see the original games as products of their history and although I understand the sensitivities of the developers I’m not sure whats to be gained by retconning them.

“So it’s free so I’ve nothing to complain about, but it’s not a huge step up from the original and to be honest, if you want an enhanced edition you can just mod the thing to your hearts content or play anomaly. GSC needed to do much more here and some cosmetic tweaking doesn’t really cut it.”

GSC Game World is a Ukrainian video game studio based in Kyiv, although some staff are currently working out of Prague after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, temporarily halting the development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 as a result. At least one former GSC developer, Volodymyr Yezhov, has been killed in action.

While not formally acknowledging the negative reviews, GSC has today posted an update and a patch that it says will fix crashes on unsupported PC hardware and some consoles, address save issues, and repair “missing geometry on several levels.”

“Stalkers, we care about your feedback and are working on fixing the most critical issues,” the team said. “We really want to make your comeback to the Zone special.” It then said it would “continue to work on improving the trilogy.”

The “missing geometry,” players believe, refers to the missing Soviet relics found across all three games. It’s not clear if GSC chose or was compelled to revise Soviet iconography, but PC Gamer was able to confirm that the monument/sign outside Chornobyl itself, which reads “ChAES in the name of VI Lenin,” had at least been deleted. All that was left was “the two concrete blocks it used to stand on.”

The update made no explicit mention of the missing audio or the blurry textures.

“THEY LISTENED! THEY LISTENED! THEY LISTENED!” cried one delighted player on Reddit. “EE still has some issues but goddamn it, so glad they actually work on fixing the game and do not ignore the feedback.”

One player said: “That’s a million time[s] better solution than just removing it without a trace. That’s both applauding the current decommunization efforts while not censoring anything that existed before it.”

“This is a good first step. Hopefully we see some other fixes to notable things like the popular blur issue and items not appearing in marked stashes,” added another.

Read more on how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has changed everything for the studio amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is out, and it’s already quite popular. In light of this, Level-5 has announced some free DLC is on the way, in recognition of the new Fantasy Life’s positive reception.

Announced on the Level-5 site, the developer has confirmed free DLC is coming to Fantasy Life i. While no release date is set yet, the team is teasing some new recipes, as well as new content to “update the world” (via Gematsu). It will also apparently allow players to utilize high-rarity weapons obtained from Treasure Groves and other sources.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time went live for early access on May 18, with its full launch on May 21. It quickly climbed the Steam charts and started drawing players in, whether they were on the look-out for a new life-sim game or just eager for a new Fantasy Life game.

Level-5’s latest sits at a ‘Very Positive’ user review rating on Steam at the moment with over 3,000 reviews, and given the early confirmation of free DLC, it seems like the new game has certainly taken off.

It feels like a solid win for Level-5, even after the departure of Keiji Inafune last year to “reassess and restructure” the project. Business operations of Level-5 Comcept were transferred to the parent company after Inafune left. In a post from March 2025, Level-5 boss Akihiro Hino described Inafune’s departure as an “unexpected challenge.”

Fantasy Life i has taken off though, which hopefully bodes well for the rest of Level-5’s roster of upcoming games. The studio announced a slew of games in a February 2023 Nintendo Direct, and while some have released, others are still in development. The yet-to-be-released games include some heavy hitters, like futuristic detective RPG DecaPolice and the next installment in the Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.

While we wait to see when and how those games land, at least Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time players have some more chill life updates to look forward to. If you’re currently playing Fantasy Life i, make sure to head over to our Fantasy Life i Gift Codes hub, where we’re cataloguing all the Gift Codes and how to redeem them for some in-game goodies.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Elden Ring Nightreign will soon let players drop into the shifting lands of Limveld, exploring and fighting for survival either solo or in groups of three. For the duos out there though, it sounds like you’ll need to be open to a third.

In IGN’s interview with Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki, the Nightreign lead discussed the choice to lean on solos and trios as the core experience options. When asked why there’s no option for a pair of players to drop in together without a matchmade third player, Ishizaki said it was overlooked.

“The simple answer is that this is simply something that was overlooked during development as just a two-player option, so we’re very sorry about that,” said Ishizaki. “As we said before, we set out to make this a multiplayer co-op game for three players, balanced for three players, so that was the main focus and it’s at the core of Nightreign.

“Of course, I myself as a player understand that and often want times where I’m just playing myself, so this is something that we considered from the start,” Ishizaki continued. “And so we did put a lot of effort into creating this experience that was playable for solo players in as much as the rules and new systems allowed. So in putting all our efforts into that aspect, we kind of overlooked and neglected the duos aspect, but this is something that we are looking at and considering for post-launch support as well.”

So if you’re playing with just your favorite duos partner, be ready to accept a random third into your lives. Who knows? You might match up with someone pretty good at the game.

If you’re playing solo, it does sound like Elden Ring Nightreign takes that into account. Ishizaki said the parameters of Elden Ring Nightreign “adjust dynamically depending on the number of players in that session,” so lone wolves shouldn’t be too overwhelmed in single-player.

You’ll have to find and locate some self-revive options, which are incorporated for those opting for single-player. And if you’re playing trios, well, that’s apparently what Elden Ring Nightreign is built around. Whether duos support shows up or not, having an extra hand around can’t hurt against some of the fearsome bosses waiting in Nightreign.

Elden Ring Nightreign is out on May 30, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X and S.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

There’s something magical about slicing open the seal on a fresh Pokémon TCG box. That quiet shfffft as the plastic slides away, the weight of a booster box in your hands, and the flicker of hope as each pack crinkles open. And after unboxing everything myself, Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet’s latest expansion, Destined Rivals, truly gets it.

After getting my hands on a full spread of Destined Rivals products early, thanks to The Pokémon Company, it was obvious from the start that this isn’t just another Scarlet and Violet set. The nostalgia hits hard, and the artwork is genuinely stunning.

Build and Battle Box

I kicked things off with the Build and Battle Box, which comes with four booster packs, a 40-card semi-constructed deck, and one of four stamped promo cards. Mine came with Team Rocket’s Tyranitar which immediately set the tone. That promo looks fantastic in foil.

From the four booster packs, I managed to pull an Illustration Rare and one ex card. The Tyranitar holo alone had me wishing I could clone it three more times. Putting together a quick deck using the included cards and a few pulls was fun, which says a lot for a product that’s often treated like a warm-up act.

Booster Bundle

This was my favorite product to open. The Booster Bundle packs in six booster packs and no fluff, and I hit gold with my favorite card of the set. I pulled Ethan’s Typhlosion IR from this bundle. Honestly? If I had stopped opening packs here, I’d have been perfectly happy.

Both cards felt like a reminder of how much thought and care has gone into the set’s design. And when you hit cards like that back-to-back, it’s tough not to start scrambling for more bundles just to see what else you might get.

Booster Box

There’s just something satisfying about cracking into a full Booster Box, and this one didn’t disappoint. Inside the 36 packs, I pulled eight ex cards, six Illustration Rares, one Special Illustration Rare, and one Gold Rare. That’s 16 hits that didn’t feel like filler.

Alongside the Ethan pulls mentioned above, I pulled Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex Gold rare, Arven’s Mabosstiff ex SIR and Team Rocket’s Crobat ex SR , both of which immediately got me thinking about new deck builds. The Mabosstiff ex artwork alone is enough to make me want to run midrange decks again, and Crobat looks like it was born for a damage spread archetype.

Team Rocket’s Houndoom IR also showed up late in the box, and it felt like the perfect closer. It’s aggressive, looks like it could punch a hole through your binder, and made me actually stop and appreciate an Illustration Rare that isn’t trying to be too cute.

Elite Trainer Box

Next was the Elite Trainer Box, with its slick red and black Team Rocket design that looks even better in person. Inside you’ll find nine booster packs, Rocket’s Wobbuffet promo card, a set of sleeves, dice, and all the other trimmings you’d expect.

Unfortunately the pulls were a bust for me. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but I will say the box design might be one of my favorites in recent memory. It feels like it was made for fans who grew up with Gen II and still have their Rocket’s Zapdos somewhere in a binder. Even when the hits don’t come, it still feels like a collector’s piece.

Should You Buy It?

If you are looking to buy Destined Rivals, your best bet right now is via Best Buy, which is dropping Destined Rivals ETBs on May 23 via a special “Best Buy Drops” preorder event on its app, just like the recent Black Bolt and White Flare expansions preorders.

Typically, these drops occur around 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so get your Best Buy app ready and signed in, and add the ETB to your wishlist ASAP.

So should you pick it up? In my opinion, yes. If you’re a collector, a deck builder, or just someone who misses the feeling of opening packs that actually feel like they’re worth something, this is the set for you.

Get the Booster Box if you want the full ride. Grab a Booster Bundle if you’re chasing an IR like I was. Even the Build and Battle Box makes a solid case for itself. Just don’t be surprised if one product turns into three. This set has a habit of pulling you in, pack by pack.

Final Thoughts

Square Enix has dropped an update for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, improving boat travel speed, critical hit rates and abilities, and introducing a new shortcut button that lets you map spells and abilities to specific buttons.

As detailed on Steam, update Ver. 1.2.0.0 specifically addresses issues with three key areas: traversal, vocations, and battle. For the former, Square Enix said it had increased the movement speed when travelling by boat or using Ramia, as well as ensured that if you open the menu while travelling, you won’t see your travel speed continually reset every time.

You’ll also find that critical hit rates for the Hero and Martial Artist have been increased, and The Hero’s Falcon Slash and Gigaslash abilities, as well as The Warrior’s Cutting Edge ability, have been buffed to be “more powerful,” too.

Perhaps most notably, battles have been refreshed as well, and a limit placed on the number of times some monsters can keep spamming the same attacks in the same “turn.” Defence has been lowered for all monsters bar metal ones, although adjustments have also been made to make it a little trickier for both enemies and your squad to be “successively afflicted” with the same status ailments.

Here’s the full list of changes and improvements:

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake update Ver. 1.2.0.0

Traversal

• The movement speed when travelling by boat or using Ramia has been increased.
• Adjustments have been made to avoid boat travel speed being reset by opening the menu or getting into a battle while travelling by boat.
• A feature has been added whereby pressing the menu button while flying with Ramia allows the player to switch between automatic and manual flight modes.

Vocations

• Critical hit rates for the Hero and Martial Artist have been increased.
• The Hero’s Falcon Slash and Gigaslash abilities have been made more powerful.
• The Warrior’s Cutting Edge ability has been made more powerful.
• The Priest can now equip the Duplic Hat.
• The Monster Wrangler’s Monster Pile-On ability has been changed to have reduced power until all friendly monsters have been found, and to carry out a random number of attacks between 3 and 5.
• The amount of MP used by the Monster Wrangler ability Wild Side has been changed to 30.

Battle

• A limit has been placed on the number of times that some monsters can perform certain actions within one turn.
• Some monsters have been adjusted so that they no longer use Defending Champion in the next turn after they become the last remaining monster.
• The status-ailment resistance of boss monsters has been increased for Draconian Quest difficulty.
• Adjustments have been made to make it more difficult for both enemies and party members to be successively afflicted with the same status ailments.
• Some monsters (Metal Chimaera and Hardy Hand) now yield more experience points when defeated.
• Defence has been lowered for all monsters except for metal monsters.
• Minor adjustments have been made to the way that damage is dealt.

Miscellaneous

• Once the Mini Medal Manor has been visited, it will be added to the list of Zoom destinations.
• A new “short-cut button” feature has been added that allows spells and abilities to be assigned to specific buttons. For more information, please refer to Traveller’s Tips in-game.
• In the Temple of Trials, the number of Elfin Elixirs required to be handed over to the guard has been changed to 10.
• A treasure chest has been added to the Temple of Trials, allowing players to acquire one more Gringham Whip.
• Fixed a bug whereby levelling up after using the Seed of Life or Seed of Magic items would cause the status increase value to be calculated twice.
• Adjustments have been made so that if trophies and achievements have not been acquired correctly, selecting Misc. > Info in the menu allows some of them to be reacquired.
• Miscellaneous fixes for minor bugs.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake lets you experience the chronological beginning of the Erdrick Trilogy storyline in this remake of the original RPG classic. We enjoyed our time with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, awarding it an impressive 9/10 in our review, writing: “Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a shining example of how to remake a classic RPG and a brilliant reminder of why the original is an essential work.”

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.

Just days after losing its two-year-old objection to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the U.S.’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has officially dropped its case.

The FTC’s appeal to block Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to acquire the company behind Call of Duty was denied by San Francisco’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 7, further cementing the purchase that was originally announced in late 2022. It was a move decided by a three-judge panel that brought an end to the FTC’s questioning of the July 2023 decision to allow Microsoft to finalize its purchase.

As we summarized at the time, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has faced scrutiny from across the board for more than three years, both in the U.S. and worldwide, with some parties concerned that an acquisition would see popular franchises like Call of Duty become Xbox exclusives. Microsoft confirmed it had no interest in barring certain franchises behind lengthy exclusivity periods, and sold Activision-Blizzard’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft to satisfy the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) objections.

While challenges continued to arise throughout 2023, Microsoft was finally able to complete its purchase of Activision Blizzard in October of that same year.

The FTC’s appeal could have presented a late roadblock to continuing. However, as reported by The Verge, the Commission has now dismissed its complaint entirely, stating in a brief filing issued on May 22: “The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case.”

“On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, FTC v. Microsoft Corp. […] denying the Commission’s application for a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. by Microsoft Corp.

“Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, Dismissed.”

For a timeline of all of Microsoft’s struggles with finalizing its Activision Blizzard acquisition, you can click here.

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.

Starfield has a new patch and a new achievement-friendly Creation that’s helping to fill the official DLC void, but fans are still waiting for Bethesda to announce its next expansion and a PS5 release date.

Watchtower is the latest Starfield Creation from professional RPG modding studio Kinggath Creations, who published Fallout 4’s acclaimed mod series Sim Settlements. It adds a new, fully voiced story, a new faction, and new quests to the sci-fi RPG, and Bethesda is even promoting it on its official channels. There’s even a trailer:

Watchtower, a brand new achievement-friendly Creation by our friends at @KinggathCreates, is available now in #Starfield‘s Creations menu. https://t.co/EuHtjq85X4 pic.twitter.com/3NemADzLOY

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) May 22, 2025

The patch, meanwhile, adds additional support for Creations so Creations up to 2GB can be uploaded, as well as numerous fixes for quests, vehicles, UI, and the Shattered Space DLC. There’s Very Low display settings to improve performance on some devices, too. Patch notes, per Bethesda’s website, are below.

But the wait goes on for more meaningful news on Starfield, with fans hoping for an expansion announcement and a potential PS5 release date this June during Microsoft’s Xbox showcase.

Starfield launched in September 2023 as Bethesda’s first brand new IP in 25 years. But it was not as well received as the studio’s previous games in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, and the Shattered Space expansion, released a year later in September 2024, has a ‘mostly negative’ user review rating on Steam.

Starfield went on to reach 15 million players, but some had wondered whether Bethesda might walk away from the game to focus on its other franchises. In June 2024, Bethesda insisted it remained committed to supporting Starfield, and confirmed at least one other story expansion would release following Shattered Space. In an interview with YouTube channel MrMattyPlays, Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard said the developer was aiming to release an annual story expansion for “hopefully a very long time.”

In March, speculation that Starfield would soon be confirmed for release on PS5 ramped up after fans spotted a PlayStation logo on Bethesda’s official Creations website. The logo was attached to a work-in-progress ship decals Creation for Starfield, and although the Creation was removed, fans were left wondering whether Bethesda’s so-far PC and Xbox-only sci-fi game would soon make the jump to Sony’s console, as so many other Microsoft games have.

Bethesda itself has said it has “exciting things” planned for Starfield this year, amid growing discontent from players about a lack of communication and updates.

While it’s easy to forget about Starfield given all the attention on Oblivion Remastered, its players are hoping that Microsoft and Bethesda go big on Starfield at its Xbox Games Showcase broadcast on June 8. Could it announce the PS5 version and a new expansion at the same time?

Starfield update May 22, 2025 patch notes:

FEATURES

• Added Very Low display settings to improve performance on some devices.
• Creation Kit: Added the ability for Creators to add new icons to the game.
• Creations Store now supports bundling Creations.
• Creation Kit: Creations up to 2GB in size can now be uploaded.

BUG FIXES

GENERAL

• Creations: Resolved a possible error when restoring load order if a large number of mods were installed and then deleted.
• Creation Kit: Resolved a possible crash when loading a plugin with an ingredient form.
• Addressed a possible control lock that could occur when changing views at the same time as sitting in a pilot seat while landed.
• Addressed a rare movement lock that was possible during forced dialogue scenes.
• Addressed a control lock that could occur if a vehicle Creation was disabled while a loaded save depended on it.
• Addressed a rare control lock that could occur when immediately opening a menu after loading a save during take-off.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent exiting a vanity camera (PC).
• Fixed a possible crash related to moving or removing buildings at the Main Outpost in Andraphon.
• Resolved a rare crash that could occur when entering the Unity.
• Addressed an issue where rapidly pressing quicksave could result in some quicksaves being removed.
• General crash and stability fixes.
• Creations UI fixes and improvements.

GAMEPLAY

• Skills: The Cargo Link and Robots build limits from the Outpost Management skills should now persist after going through the Unity.
• Weapons: The Space-Adept legendary effect no longer has a negative modifier for terrestrial damage.
• Gameplay Options: Addressed an issue with some interiors that prevented cargo access.
• Gameplay Options: Clarified the status effects text for Malnourished and Hydrated.
• Fixed a Grav jumping issue that could occur after being hailed in Freestar or UC space.
• Fixed a rare issue that could impact items displayed in the Razorleaf.
• Resolved an issue with missiles that could prevent XP awards.
• Fixed a player placement issue that could occur if a new creation was installed and a save was loaded into the UC Vigilance.
• Resolved an issue where creatures could get moved to water if they ever became stuck.
• Addressed an issue where dropped items could lose there stolen status.
• At Hell’s Gate: The Crucible Blade no longer damages ships in orbit when used inside a ship.
• At Hell’s Gate: The Crucible Blade audio will now play correctly after loading a save or fast travelling.
• The Bounty Board in the Tracker’s Alliance HQ now has the correct audio interactions.

GRAPHICS

• Updated resolutions to include 32:9 and 32:10 resolutions as well as more 16:9, 16:10, and 21:9 resolutions.
• Performance: Resolved an issue that could cause frame rate to drop when opening the scanner on long play sessions.
• Celestial bodies should now remain visible in the sky after entering and exiting an interior.

QUESTS

• All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue that caused the Trade Tower elevator to be inoperable.
• In Memoriam: Addressed an issue where completing “At Hell’s Gate” with Sarah as the companion could prevent completion of the quest.
• Perfect Recipe: Shonda will now recover if she was downed while collecting Ashta meat.
• The Starjacker: Adjusted dialogue options that appear for characters playing after entering the Unity.
• Top of the L.I.S.T. – Resolved a control lock that could occur after selling survey data to Phil Hill.
• Trackers Alliance: Resolved an issue where bounty scanner quests could time out.
• Trackers Alliance: Fixed a rare issue where either killing or stunning the target would not complete the bounty missions.
• Worlds Apart: Fixed an issue that allowed the player to leave the planet too quickly after exiting the temple.

LOCATIONS

• Mannequins will now persist as intended in the New Atlantis Penthouse.
• Player should now be able to modify the shelves and cabinets in the Core Manor in Akila City.
• Resolved an issue that could prevent scanning some flora.
• At Hell’s Gate: The Plasma Research Facility now shows up on the surface map.
• Fixed a visible opening in the Deserted Biotics Lab.
• Vent Hazards are now displaying correctly on Jemison.

UI

• Ship Builder: Resolved an issue with the ship upgrade menu when only one module is available for upgrade.
• Ship Builder: Addressed a selection issue when using large fonts.
• Ship Decoration: Updated the names of Empty ship modules.
• All buttons should now work in the Vehicle Builder menu with large fonts enabled.
• Localization: Text for the Dehydrated debuff is no longer cutoff in Spanish and Polish when large fonts is enabled.
• Localization: The bounty boards in the Tracker’s Alliance HQ are now localized consistently.
• Localization: Strings for both Hydrated and Dehydrated status effects regarding sneak attacks are fully localized.

VEHICLE

• A keyboard binding is now available for the boost button. (PC)
• A marker for the vehicle will now show up on the player’s compass.
• Resolved a camera issue that could occur for players with maxed out Surveying skill.
• Improved logic for exiting the vehicle when partially obstructed.
• The vehicle will now deploy when landing at locations other than spaceports or landing pads.
• Addressed a visible artifact with the Rev-8 when boosting in foggy conditions.

Shattered Space

• Va’ruun outpost modules are now available to players after entering the Unity.
• Skills: Killing enemies inside gravity bubbles on Dazra will now count towards the Gymnastics skill.
• Addressed an issue with the buttons on the lift on the Mourning level in Dazra.
• Weapons: The Penumbra now deals bonus headshot damage.
• Performance: Addressed an issue that could cause slight stutters in the Well and outside Dazra.
• The Va’Ruun Schimaz’s blade is no longer pixelated on the Data Menu.
• Fixed a lens flare flicker with the Citadel on Dazra.
• Zealous Overreach: Adjusted Mirek’s dialogue options to account for characters that have been through the Unity.
• Zealous Overreach: Resolved issue that could occur if the player cleared Shadow Station Epsilon prior to speaking to Ekris.

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.

A live-action Elden Ring movie is in the works from Ex Machina and Civil War director Alex Garland, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., and A24, announced Thursday.

A film based on FromSoftware and Bandai Namco’s massive RPG hit is now confirmed to have the filmmaker attached not only as its director but as its writer, too.

Plot, casting details, or a release date for the Elden Ring movie have yet to be announced.

George R. R. Martin, who helped create the original Elden Ring, is attached as a producer on the movie, as is Vince Gerardis.

DNA’s Peter Rice will also produce, along with Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich from DNA. There’s no word yet on how involved FromSoftware or game director Hidetaka Miyazaki will be.

Elden Ring shook the gaming world when it took FromSoftware’s tough-as-nails formula open-world in 2022. It’s since become a beloved entry in the developer’s catalog, boasting high praise from critics (we gave it a 10/10) and fans alike. While the team behind it had expressed interest in expanding its world in the past, few believed their efforts would result in a movie.

That is, until 2024, when Martin teased that he may have heard a few details about a potential Elden Ring movie, sending fans down a rabbit hole as they hoped to see the iconic FromSoftware title eventually grace movie theater screens. He went on to double down on his comments earlier this year, saying during IGN Fan Fest 2025 that he had heard “some talk” about an Elden Ring movie.

Outside of the movie world, Elden Ring has continued to attract gaming fans with more content in the years since its release. DLC arrived in 2024 in the form of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and next week, players will get their hands on a completely separate, multiplayer spinoff called Elden Ring Nightreign. Although FromSoftware says it isn’t considering a full-fledged sequel, a version of the original game dubbed Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is set to come to Nintendo Switch 2.

What do you think of Alex Garland and A24 making a live-action Elden Ring movie? Sound off in the comments.

Developing…

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Pro tip: When a fossilized dragon asks you to follow it, you say “Yes.” That’s how you start your brand-new life — lives, even — in LEVEL5’s new simulation RPG, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time introduces you to a mysterious island that’s covered in ruins. A gaping void in the center of the island suggests a disaster of some kind erased the civilization that thrived there a thousand years ago. You must travel through time between the past and present to determine the nature of the calamity and solve what happened to the island’s citizens.

But what’s the rush? A mystery that’s laid fallow for a millennium doesn’t need a quick solution. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a warm and slow-life RPG with an emphasis on carving your own space and finding your true calling in a bright fantasy world. Take on one of 14 different jobs to teach your customizable avatar the skills they need to fight, fish, and create. Train to be a traditional Paladin or Magician, or choose a production job like a Carpenter or Cook. Master all the classes or stick with a favorite: The choice is yours. You can change your profession on the fly, so there’s no wrong way to build your fantasy life.

Whichever path you take, be assured you’ll meet new friends and experience their stories. You’ll be able to restore the present-day island thanks to materials and companions you find in the past and on the open-world continent. So you can focus on recruiting lots of companions or gathering materials to rebuild the island. Your approach is up to you.

Whether you choose to be a warrior or a scholar, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has piles of options to let you customize your new island home. If you’re unhappy with the island’s topography, a little editing will fix things how you like them. Once you’ve carved out a few hills for yourself, you can build your own paradise and accessorize it however you want. Lay down farmland, place buildings, and express yourself with some city-building.

No worries if you’re the type who lives to whet your blade. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time introduces “Treasure Groves,” dungeons that literally grow on trees. These crawls are the perfect exercise for fighters. Treasure Groves change form after they’re cleared, so they never offer the same experience twice. They’re a perfect opportunity to pull in a friend with the 2P Family Play function. If your family isn’t available, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time also has four-player online multiplayer and cross-platform saving. Whether you play on PC, Switch, PlayStation 4/5, or Xbox Series X|S, you can take your well-educated and well-equipped avatar with you wherever you go. No need to start over.

When the original Fantasy Life came to the Nintendo 3DS in 2012, it made a splash with its unique blend of RPG and life sim elements. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time brings back the fun and excitement of the first game while adding new jobs, new stories, and a whole new gigantic open world to explore. Whether you’re returning to the franchise or diving in for the first time, you can enjoy getting a life.

The first item I ever picked up in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon that wasn’t clothing or weapons was smut. I know what you’re thinking. “Will, you degenerate, of course it was smut. We know all about you, bro.” Listen. I didn’t know it was smut. But I learned real quick. I found it in what looked like the guard’s break area after I was busted out of my cell. I don’t remember what happened next; there was a drawing of a very pretty woman, and then I read the phrase “love apples” and blacked out. But I’m getting ahead of myself – let me back up a bit and tell you about my experience with this fun but familiar open-world RPG so far.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a reimagining of Arthurian myth. When his homeland is overwhelmed by a plague known as the Red Death, Arthur leads his people to Avalon, conquers the island, and (with Merlin’s help) cleanses the land of the Wyrdness – a chaotic, primordial force capable of reshaping the landscape and the beings in it. That was 600 years ago. Now, the old legends are gone, the Wyrdness has creeped back into Avalon, and the Red Death has returned. You play as a no-name prisoner of the Red Priests, who are desperately searching for a cure. It’s a cool setup, and one that gives you everything you need to know while preserving Fall of Avalon’s greater mysteries.

After a brief cutscene that lays all of this out, you’re dropped into a character creator. What’s here is fine, but it’s kind of hard to make a character that looks particularly good, mostly because everyone’s skin looks like it was made out of Play-Doh. Everything else about the process is fine, though, and certain things, like the hair, are really impressive. Besides, you’re going to spend basically all of Fall of Avalon in first-person anyway, unless you opt for the optional and (by the developer’s own admission) not-very-polished-and-mostly-intended-for-accessibility third-person mode.

Once you’re done creating your doughy hero, you’re dropped into a jail cell. Now, if you’re a person who has only ever played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, you’re probably getting huge Oblivion vibes from this. Fall of Avalon does clearly owe a debt to The Elder Scrolls throughout, but don’t let that sense of familiarity fool you — it’s definitely a game with its own ideas. One thing I appreciated was the decision to have your character’s starting stats allocated by how you respond to an interrogation by a guard. I wanted to specialize in ranged combat with a trusty bow and arrow, so I told him I was hunting before being taken in, and then I used what I bagged to make clothes. That meant boosts to the associated stats. I wasn’t even out of prison yet, and I was already making something of myself. Who says rehabilitation doesn’t work?

I’m not going to spoil how you get out of your cell, but you do get out (I like to think of it as time off for good behavior), and the first tooltip I got as I navigated the prison told me how to parry. An ominous sign, to be sure, but as far as first-person melee combat goes, Fall of Avalon feels pretty good. Hits have weight and impact, and when you block an attack, you’ll often stagger a bit. Even weapon choices matter. I used a club early on, but once I got my first knife, I could immediately feel the difference when I hit some poor guy. Less impact, but a very nice slicing sound.

I haven’t landed a single parry yet (the window is pretty tight, or at least it feels that way to me), but I’m glad that I really haven’t had to so far either. Blocking works just fine and you’ve got a nice backstep if you need to quickly disengage. This combat probably isn’t going to win any awards for re-defining what first-person RPG fights look like (although hey, I’m early, who knows?), but it’s engaging enough to keep my attention.

Otherwise, a lot of the 5 hours I’ve played of Fall of Avalon so far has been spent exploring, accidentally picking up smut, talking to people, and so on. This is a pick up everything, speak to everybody, the world exists to be your playground kind of game, and if you’ve played The Elder Scrolls, you’ll probably be right at home. Yes, I need to pick up that bucket, and the one next to it. Why wouldn’t I? I might need it.

I’m still very early in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. This is a big RPG, and I have a lot more to see and do before my final review, but I dig what’s here as someone who’d read way too much Arthurian literature. Nothing I’ve seen really feels incredibly unique yet, but what’s here is at least interesting. Now I just have to avoid killer rabbits. I’ll bet you anything there’s one around here somewhere.