Save 60% Off This 40,000mAh Power Bank (Can Fast Charge a Nintendo Switch)

Amazon is currently offering Amazon Prime members a Romoss 40,000mAh USB Type-C Power Bank with 18W of USB Power Delivery for only $23.99 after you clip a 50% off coupon on the product page. Non-Prime members can get it for $29.99. That’s an excellent price for a pretty massive 40,000mAh power bank that’s also equipped with a USB Type-C output with 18W of Power Delivery, which is the ideal wattage for charging your Nintendo Switch gaming handheld.

Romoss 40,000mAh USB Type-C Power Bank for $23.99

Amazon Prime members only ($29.99 for non-Prime members)

The Romoss 40,000mAh power bank has a larger capacity than most portable battery backups we’ve seen. The tradeoff is its size; it’s a pretty hefty device, measuring in at 6.7 x 3.2 x 1.7 inches and weighing in at 2 pounds. It’s important to note that the Romoss can’t be brought onto the plane as carry-on. The maximum cutoff is 27,000mAh and 100Wh, whereas this powerbank is 40,000mAh and 148Wh. A smaller 10K mAh power bank might be a better choice as a daily driver or airplane travel, however the extra battery capacity is useful for when you don’t have access to a power outlet for longer periods of time.

There are four total ports: one USB Type-A input, one USB Type-C input/output, and two USB Type-A outputs. The maximum amount of Power Delivery is 18W via USB Type-C, which also happens to be the max charging speed for the Nintendo Switch. The Steam Deck, on the other hand, supports a max of 38W and the ASUS ROG Ally even higher at 65W. If you want the most efficient charging for those gaming systems, there are better (and more expensive) options. If you’re not in a rush, though, this power bank can still charge up all three without a problem, it will just take a little onger.

It’s important to note that technically, the Romoss can’t be brought onto the plane as carry-on. The maximum cutoff is 27,000mAh and 100Wh, whereas this powerbank is 40,000mAh and 148Wh.

For more options, check out our picks for the best powerbanks of 2024.

PSA: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Spoilers Have Leaked Online

Capcom’s highly anticipated role-playing game Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches March 22, 2024 but spoilers have already leaked online.

As reported by Eurogamer, the now fairly common occurence of major games leaking before their release date has happened again with Dragon’s Dogma 2, where players have seemingly received physical copies ahead of launch.

Regardless of how they obtained the copies, these players have streamed them online, uploaded videos to YouTube, and shared clips and other content on social media. While Capcom has issued takedown notices for some of these, the nature of the internet means they’ve already spread like wildfire.

Those looking forward to the RPG may therefore want to mute keywords on X/Twitter and avoid online discourse surrounding Dragon’s Dogma 2 for fear of spoiling the game too early. We won’t share what information has leaked online for obvious reasons, but it goes without saying myriad story details have surfaced.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 takes place in a parallel universe which “mirrors the world setting of the original game”. Players can explore the human kingdom of Vermund and the beastren kingdom of Battahl and ultimately take on a big evil dragon.

The myriad non-player characters of Dragon’s Dogma 2 also appear endlessly complex, as beyond some pawns being completely customisable as mentioned, NPCs can form different bonds with the player character and may even fight each other for the player’s love.

Those looking to kill time until it comes out proper can check out the game’s character creator, which Capcom released early. Players have used it to make some incredible recreations of other iconic characters (and some absolute monsters), with all data transferrable to the main game.

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

One of the Fastest 2TB PCI-E 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSDs for PS5 or PC Is On Sale Today

Amazon is currently offering the 2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum PCIe 4.0 NVME solid state drive (SSD) for only $139.99 shipped. That’s one of the best prices we’ve seen for a 2TB PS5-compatible SSD from a reputable brand. It also happens to be one of the fastest PCI-E 4.0 SSDs on the market right now. This is an outstanding candidate for your PS5 or gaming PC rig.

SK Hynix P41 Platinum 2TB M.2 SSD for $139.99

SK Hynix might not be a brand that the consumer recognizes as much as Samsung or Western Digital, but make no mistake that they are a major player in the flash memory market. SK Hynix is a South Korean DRAM manufacturer and is the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker and the world’s third-largest semiconductor company. They supply components for brands you’ve heard of, like Corsair and G.Skill.

The Platinum P41 is SK Hynix’s highest end SSD. It boasts sustained read speeds of 7,000MB/s and sustained write speeds of 6,500MB/s. It also boasts random read speeds of 1.4 million IOPS and random write speeds of 1.3 million IOPS. In terms of reliability and stability, the SSDs have been tested and validated through 1,000 hours of stress testing with MTBF reaching 1.5 million hours or up to 1,200TB written. SK Hynix backs it all up with a 5 year warranty. Unlike most other SSDs, both the chips and the controller are manufactured in-house. The P41 Platinum uses an Aries controller with 176-layer TLC NAND flash chips.

Of course, in terms of real world performance, the vast majority of users won’t be able to tell apart the speeds between the highest end PCI-E 4.0 SSDs. Some of these SSDs include the SK Hynix P41 Platinum, the Samsung 990 Pro, and the WD Black SN850X. Therefore, it all comes down to the price. At its current price point, the P41 Platinum isn’t just one of the fastest drives on the market, it’s also cheaper than any competitor that can come close to its performance.

A great PS5 SSD, but you’ll need to get a heatsink

The SK Hynix P41 Platinum does not come equipped with a heatsink. That’s because this SSD is catered to PC gamers looking to add storage to their desktop computer. Many motherboards come equipped with built-in SSD coolers and will only accept bare SSDs. It’s generally harder to remove a heatsink than to apply a new one. If you plan to use this for your PS5, rest assured that’ it is 100% compatible (in fact, it’s overkill). Although some people have gotten away with an SSD with no heatsink, we recommend you install one for peace of mind. You can easily get a PS5 heatsink for under $10.

Official Fallout-Themed Xbox Series X Comes With Its Own Vault

Microsoft has created another custom Xbox Series X, this time theming after Fallout in celebration of the upcoming Amazon show.

Revealed in a post on X/Twitter, below, the console will be given away to one lucky fan who follows Xbox and retweets the post. The prize includes more than just the custom Xbox Series X, however, as it also bundles in a controller (which can actually be bought) and a custom vault to keep the hardware in.

This is a seemingly working safe with various bits of Fallout branding on it. It’s marked as Vault 33, which is the same bunker where the Fallout TV show’s protagonist comes from. Interestingly, it also has “Fort Knox” written on it, which is only mentioned in Bethesda’s game universe in Fallout 76.

The entire first season of Fallout hits Amazon Prime Video on April 11, 2024 and is set to be a “non interactive version” of Fallout 5 according to showrunner Jonathan Nolan. That being said, the lead on the Fallout video game series, Todd Howard, said he told writers what elements they couldn’t use because they actually will be in Fallout 5.

This isn’t the first custom console or controller Xbox has created. Last week, Microsoft revealed a bizarre Final Fantasy 14 Xbox Series X that doesn’t actually work. Earlier in February it revealed a Dune: Part 2 special edition with a floating gamepad. Other Xbox Series X and S generation highlights include red and blue fluffy Sonic the Hedgehog gamepads, one made out of actual Jade, and even an edible gamepad.

Its more regular line of controllers include the sexy Gold Shadow, cosmic Stellar Shift, dusty Stormcloud Vapor, and even an Earth Day one made partly from recycled CDs, water jugs, and other Xbox controller parts.

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

Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Finally Caught Up on Recent Updates, Cross-Saves Should Now Work

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has issued hotfix 22 across PC, PlayStation 5, Mac, and, crucially, Xbox, bringing players on Microsoft’s console up to date.

The sprawling Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game had lagged behind by a number of hotfixes on Xbox Series X and S as a result of an Xbox exclusive crash bug, but now with the release of hotfix 22, Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox has hotfixes 20 and 21, too.

Alongside this release, issues with Xbox cross-saves should now be resolved, Larian said. “Thank you again for your patience while we worked to fix the issue, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused,” the developer added.

Hotfix #22, meanwhile, resolves further crashes and blockers, and, as Larian put it, makes Minthara “pinky promise to stop repeating her thoughts about Gale in Act III.” What’s that about? As Larian explained in the patch notes: “We’ve also fixed an issue where a legacy dialogue flow had been enabled unintentionally while carrying out fixes for Minthara, which meant that some players had been able to view dialogue where Minthara would seemingly end a relationship with Dark Urge players if they had resisted their urges and made a certain choice in Act III.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 Hotfix 22 patch notes:

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

  • Fixed a crash caused by the game trying to access the duration of a condition on a character with no conditions set.
  • Fixed conditions sometimes trying to get their duration from the source entity instead of the target entity.
  • Fixed some potential internal crashes on Xbox when suspending the game (e.g. when suspending the console or loading another game), causing it to reboot when you went back to it.

UI

  • Improved the messaging for syncing and cross-saving by indicating when a cross-save sync has failed and adding an option to try again. Also prevented the saving and cross-saving messages from appearing for secondary local players.
  • Voice chat will no longer overlap the minimap on split-screen.
  • Fixed the ‘Another Player Is Joining’ pop-up not triggering while the host has a panel open on Xbox, potentially preventing the client from joining.

SCRIPTING

  • Fixed an issue where legacy dialogue had been enabled unintentionally as part of another line of fixes, in which Minthara would seemingly end a relationship with Dark Urge players who had rejected Bhaal.
  • Made Minthara promise to stop repeating her thoughts about Gale in Act III.
  • Fixed a bug causing you to get perpetually stuck in a dangerous area if you triggered hostilities in the Emerald Grove and then left while it was still a dangerous area.
  • Fixed a rare issue where dialogues would end suddenly when you went to kiss your romantic partner.
  • Fixed a bug causing you to get stuck in combat with the enemies on top of Moonrise Towers if you found a way to sneak into the Mind Flayer Colony.

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.

Monster Hunter Stories Collection is Up for Preorder, Out June 14

The Monster Hunter Stories remaster was officially announced during the Nintendo Direct in February. If you want both that and its sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, together, you can now preorder the physical version of the Monster Hunter Stories Collection for Nintendo Switch at various retailers (see at Amazon). This version comes with a game card for Monster Hunter Stories and then a download voucher for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.

It’s set to release on June 14 this year and will set you back $59.99. Head to the links below to secure a copy for yourself today.

Preorder Monster Hunter Stories Collection

Monster Hunter Stories Collection Preorder Bonus

There are a few preorder bonuses you’ll get when ordering the Monster Hunter Stories Collection ahead of time. The first is King and Queen outfits for Navirou and the second is the Kamura Maiden outfit for Ena.

Monster Hunter Stories Remaster Trailer

What is Monster Hunter Stories Collection?

The remaster of Monster Hunter Stories was announced during February’s Nintendo Direct. While originally a 3DS exclusive, the Monster Hunter Stories remaster now comes with full voice acting and HD visuals. Per Capcom‘s website, it also includes a Museum Mode that features, “over 200 previously unreleased pieces of design artwork and background music tracks.” The Monster Hunter Stories Collection features both this game and the sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, so fans can enjoy them on Nintendo Switch.

We gave the original Monster Hunter Stories an 8.9/10. In our review, we stated that it “expands the world with a shiny, new, undeniably cute coat of paint. But don’t let that deter you, because Monster Hunter Stories’ heartwarming story is served with amazingly fun RPG gameplay that never gets old, even beyond the 50-hour campaign.”

More Preorder Guides

Looking for even more games to preorder? We’ve got you covered with our selection of preorder guides below, including everything from Dragon’s Dogma 2 to the highly-anticipated Elden Ring expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree.

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

Star Wars: Battlefront Modder Finds Further Evidence Classic Collection Uses Their Mod Despite Aspyr Promising It Wouldn’t

A veteran Star Wars: Battlefront modder has dug further into the recently released Classic Collection and uncovered more evidence that the controversial release used their mod despite developer Aspyr promising it wouldn’t.

Last month, IGN reported on concern from the Star Wars: Battlefront community sparked by the Classic Collection’s debut trailer, which suggested the game used a mod that brought a previously Xbox-exclusive Battlefront 2 DLC to the PC original.

The original, Pandemic-developed Battlefront 2 that launched in 2005 had a DLC pack exclusive to the original Xbox version that added two new heroes (Kit Fisto and Asajj Ventress), as well as four maps. Both Kit and Asajj had unique animations and moves no other characters had.

In 2021, modder iamashaymin brought the DLC to PC, reskinning two existing characters to look like Kit and Asajj (Ki Adi Mundi for Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura for Asajj Ventress). In the mod, Asajj does not hold her unique Linksabers (fiber cord-linked twin red lightsabers added especially for her in the DLC) in one hand, but instead wields two separate lightsabers, one in each hand, like Aayla does in the original game. Similarly, Kit fights like Mundi.

At the time, developer Aspyr insisted the release of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection “does not include any code or content that is taken from uncredited sources”, telling IGN it “mistakenly” included “content that is not in the product” after capturing placeholder footage for the trailer last fall.

However, following Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection’s catastrophic release, which has resulted in an ‘overwhelmingly negative’ user review rating on Steam, iamashaymin said there was evidence to suggest the game did indeed launch with their mod, or at least portions of their mod, before updates stripped them out, in a revelation that has sparked criticism of Aspyr. iamashaymin called it ‘a terrible gut punch.’

And now, Battlefront modders have dug into the Nintendo Switch version of the Classic Collection, which iamashaymin told IGN launched using “further modified versions of my mod’s heroes before being replaced again in a patch.” Aspyr has yet to respond to IGN’s request for comment.

“We actually managed to dump, archive, and datamine this version of the build and can confirm some files are the same as my original mod, specifically regarding the heroes’ projectiles,” iamashaymin said.

“What’s odd about this is that they are using the right animations but the weapon’s data file, force bubble projectile, and player models for both Kit Fisto and Asajj Ventress are from the PC mod,” iamashaymin continued.

How can fans trust a company which doesn’t seem to value the fans’ passion?

“Some of the files were only modified in my mod slightly in order to work on PC but still differ from the official models in some noticeable ways and the force bubble effect is a completely different projectile I had to create myself.

“I’ve never had issues with them using my mod, but now that they responded by saying what they did, shipping these files in multiple versions of the game and not crediting the source is an issue. Not because I demand credit but just on the credibility of Aspyr. How can fans trust a company which doesn’t seem to value the fans’ passion?”

Hot on the heels of Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, modders including iamashaymin set out to fix the game. Aspry has issued a statement addressing the botched launch, saying it had experienced “critical errors” with its network infrastructure. This resulted in “incredibly high” ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and servers not appearing in the browser.

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.

Cities: Skylines 2 Gets First Stage in Long-Awaited Mod Support Soon

The first stage of Cities: Skylines 2‘s long-awaited in-game modding support launches on March 25 alongside its first post-launch asset pack, called Beach Properties.

Colossal Order’s troubled city-builder sequel launched in October 2023 on PC via Steam and immediately ran into a number of issues. Player sentiment turned a ‘mixed’ Steam user review rating into ‘mostly negative’ for recent reviews, with the first Cities Skylines game currently enjoying more players than its sequel. Last month, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen admitted the lack of modding support was the developer’s “biggest regret”.

Now, nearly six months after launch, Cities: Skylines 2’s first stage of mod support approaches, and is set to let players build, share, and play with mods through a simple in-game interface. Here’s the detail, from Colossal Order:

Starting on March 25, players will be able to access mods through the Cities: Skylines 2 Modding Beta. Upon release, an in-game editor will be available that allows for players to create or implement Map or Code mods. Using the Paradox Mods platform, also integrated into the Cities: Skylines 2 experience, creations can be played locally and shared globally.

The platform also allows players to discover and curate other available mods, organize their preferred mods into one-click Playsets, and more. Asset modding tools and other options will be made available later this year.

“Modding is part of the lifeblood of Cities: Skylines, and starting our Modding Beta is going to be a transformative step for Cities: Skylines 2,” said Hallikainen. “The creativity and feedback from our players are what makes this community what it is. We can’t wait to see how everyone puts these tools to use, and work alongside them to make sure everyone is empowered to make the cities of their dreams.”

The Beach Properties DLC, meanwhile, will be available on PC for $9.99/£8.49/€9.99, or as part of the Cities: Skylines 2 Waterfronts Expansion Pass or Ultimate Edition. In addition to Beach Properties, a new in-game Radio, the Deluxe Relax Station will be released on March 25, featuring a new host and a full hour of new music. Deluxe Relax Station will be available for $4.99/£4.49/€4.99 or as part of the Cities: Skylines 2 Waterfronts Expansion Pass or Ultimate Edition.

Cities: Skylines 2’s problems began before its launch even arrived. Colossal Order warned players the game would release with performance issues a week before it came out. Since then, players have been met with lower framerates and interesting dental glitches as the developer worked to create a better experience. In IGN’s Cities: Skylines 2 review, which returned a 6/10, we said: “Cities: Skylines 2 is an ambitious sequel that might have bitten off more than it can chew – be prepared to do a lot of terraforming if you don’t want your metropolis to look like a nightmare.” The console version does not have a release date.

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.

PS5 Pro Specs Leak Online

Specifications for the unannounced PlayStation 5 Pro have leaked online, revealing the power of the console Sony reportedly plans to release during the fourth quarter of 2024.

The specs list first emerged via YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead, before Insider Gaming claimed they were real, and a subsequent Insider Gaming article added further detail. IGN understands the leaked specifications are real, and emerged from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Developer Network. Sony has yet to comment.

The headline improvements here are to the CPU, which is said to be identical to the standard PS5’s CPU but with a ‘High CPU Frequency Mode’, which amounts to a 10% increase to 3.85GHz, and the GPU, which enables faster rendering and higher quality ray tracing powered by 33.5 teraflops. The standard PS5 offers 10.28 teraflops. However, a direct PS5 to PS5 Pro comparison would work out at around 10.28 vs 16 to 17 teraflops.

Of particular interest, the PS5 Pro is said to have an upscaling/antialiasing solution called PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling), custom machine learning architecture, and an AI accelerator. Elsewhere, PS5 Pro has a detachable disc drive and 1TB of storage space.

Last month, analysts signaled that Sony is “likely” to release the PS5 Pro later in 2024. This “souped-up” refresh is reportedly designed to boost interest in PS5 ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 in 2025. As IGN has reported, there is a lot riding on GTA 6, and not just for Rockstar and Take-Two.

Sony has form when it comes to releasing a Pro version of its consoles. The PS4 Pro, for example, launched in November 2016, three years after the PS4 came out. A PS5 Pro launch this November would come four years after the PS5 launched in November 2020.

Sony has revised its PS5 sales forecast for the current financial year, down from its lofty target of 25 million consoles sold to 21 million. This comes despite a year-on-year increase in PS5 sales for the holiday 2023 quarter, from 7.1 million sold to 8.2 million.

Elsewhere, Sony has said it will not release any major existing PlayStation franchise games before April 2025, ruling out big sequels in the God of War and Spider-Man franchises any time soon.

Last month, Sony announced a devastating wave of layoffs affecting over 900 staff at its gaming business. Sony’s London studio is to close.

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.

Apex Legends Global Series Tournament Abandoned After Pros Hacked Mid-Match

A number of professional Apex Legends players were hacked mid-match during the game’s Global Series, putting a stop to the tournament and sparking concern about the security of some EA games.

During the North American finals of the Apex Legends Global Series, Noyan “Genburten” Ozkose was surprised to discover the ability to see through walls, an incident you can see in the video below from X/Twitter user @Apryze_:

It didn’t stop there. Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen was then somehow given an aimbot. Footage shows chat taken over by the words “Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom.”

Apex Legends esports was then forced to abandon the tournament. “Due to the competitive integrity of this series being compromised, we have made the decision to postpone the North American finals at this time,” the organisation said in a statement. “We will share more information soon.”

According to video game cheat prevention organization the Anti-Cheat Police Department, hackers are abusing a Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploit to gain control over EA games protected by Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC). In a tweet, the Anti-Cheat Police Department issued a warning to players: “I would advise against playing any games protected by EAC or any EA titles once they have fixed this or can comment.

“Currently, the RCE is being abused to inject cheats into streamers machines, which means they have the capabilities to do whatever, like installing ransomware software locking up your entire PC.”

The Anti-Cheat Police Department then issued a specific recommendation to the pros who took part in the tournament, suggesting they take immediate measures to protect their personal information.

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.