Category: IGN

The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo update set for February 21 also addresses performance concerns with the game, Square Enix has announced.

Revealed in a post on X/Twitter, the update will upgrade Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Performance Mode, both in the demo and the main game.

Players had raised concerns over the quality of the PlayStation 5 exclusive, with IGN’s own performance review saying Performance Mode comes with a “drastic clarity and detail reduction” compared to its Graphics Mode counterpart.

Square Enix appears to have taken this feedback on, and has implemented an update coming as early as next week, before the full game even launches on February 29. “The update to the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo scheduled for February 21 will apply improvements to the visual quality when selecting Performance Mode from the graphics options,” the post said. “The same improvements will also be applied to the full game.”

Fans will need to wait until then to see if the changes result in a significant improvement, but Square Enix certainly has high expectations to meet for what’s arguably the most important chapter of its Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

The demo is available now and lets players explore the opening chapter of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, playing as either protagonist Cloud or antagonist Sephiroth in the Nibelheim chapter.

Developer Square Enix hasn’t been shy about sharing details of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth so far, releasing huge dumps of information on several occasions. It’s highlighted characters like Cait Sith and Vincent, plus iconic returning locations like Gold Saucer and Junon. The game will feature brand new locations not in the original Final Fantasy 7, too.

Square Enix has added new playable characters, plus a card game akin to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Gwent, and impressive fast travel. An ESRB rating has otherwise teased deep cleavage, pools of blood, and a clue to Aerith’s fate.

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

Despite what previous rumors suggested, the director of Dragon’s Dogma 2 has clarified that the upcoming action RPG will not be locked at 30 frames per second but rather will feature an uncapped frame rate.

In a post on X/Twitter, Dragon’s Dogma 2 director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed the game would feature an unlocked frame rate and support for variable frame rate (VFR).

ドラゴンズドグマ 2 は可変フレームレートに対応していますよ！

Dragon’s Dogma 2 will release with an uncapped framerate!#DD2、#ドラゴンズドグマ2、#dragonsdogma2 pic.twitter.com/NXID8FZWCL

— Hideaki Itsuno (@tomqe) February 13, 2024

While Itsuno did not specify whether these features are available on all the platforms Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set to release on, they should be on PC and consoles alike, as Itsuno liked a reply a fan posted when asking if uncapped frame rates and VFR were coming to the console versions, too.

Unlike variable refresh rate (VRR), variable frame rate (VFR) is when the the video display adjusts the frame rate depending on certain factors such as how much action is going on in a scene or the hardware the game is running on. In contrast, VRR is a technology that will automatically sync a display’s refresh rate to match whatever the game is outputting.

Uncapped frame rates can be a double-edged sword depending on the situation, mostly concerning the stability of a game’s performance. As Digital Foundry’s John Linneman points out, from what he has seen, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is “wildly unstable,” with hopes that there will be a Performance Mode or at least an option to lock the game at 30 frames per second.

In IGN’s final preview of Dragon’s Dogma 2, we wrote: “In the 10 hours I played, these were very compelling decisions to have to make, but the real test will be whether those decisions remain compelling or turn exhausting in hour 20 or 30 when the map has expanded dramatically, and you still have quests remaining to complete in a town you’re super far away from.”

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is out on March 22 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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

Sony boss Hiroki Totoki has offered what he called his “frank impressions” of the PlayStation business, suggesting its studios can do more to cut development costs.

Rising development costs and increasing development schedules are two of the hottest topics within the video game industry right now. As huge layoffs devastate developers, the triple-A business is seen as under threat, with fears of a market crash.

The release of data stolen from Sony-owned developer Insomniac late last year revealed internal concern at the growing cost of the studio’s games. According to Kotaku’s report on the breach, Spider-Man 2 development costs ran $30 million over the original $270 million budget, and ultimately needed to sell 7.2 million units to break even. The latest sales figures suggest Spider-Man 2 has now veered into profitable territory, although Sony has yet to confirm that itself.

Responding to a question from an analyst during a financial call viewed by IGN, Totoki reflected on his four month-tenure as chairperson of Sony Interactive Entertainment, a role he took on following the announcement that previous SIE boss Jim Ryan was leaving the business.

“I’m trying to demonstrate leadership, and trying to have as many meetings as possible with the management team,” Totoki said. “Also visit studios. Everyone is working really hard to fulfill their responsibility, to try to optimize the business, and I understand that.

“But overall growth and sustainable profitability, or increasing margin, how will that translate to these goals? I don’t think people understand that deeply. I think that is the problem of the organization.

“So as far as I am concerned, I’m trying to understand what is happening in the company, in the industry, and also the perspective of analysts, and try to explain in a transparent manner so people can recognise and notice these issues, so we can have a harmonized approach going forward. That is a very general comment since I became the chairperson.

“There are concrete points, which I will not go into today.”

Totoki then went into more detail on what he called “room for improvement” at PlayStation studios, specifically calling out development costs and scheduling.

“Now, about visiting the studios, I’ve had meetings with leaders at the studios,” he said. “People who work in the studios are very highly motivated, they’re very good people, and they’re very creative people, they have great creative minds, and they also have knowledge about live streaming.

“However, having said that, when it comes to the business itself, I think there is room for improvement. And that has to do with, how do you use the money? Or about the schedule of development, or how to fulfill one’s accountability towards development. Those are my frank impressions.

“So I will continue to engage in dialogue with the people so we can find the right way to proceed.”

Following the release of the data stolen from Insomniac, files revealed Sony-owned studios were put under pressure to make staff cuts. As reported by Kotaku, the files contained meeting notes that claimed “there will be one studio closure” at PlayStation Studios. It is currently unclear if this claim remains valid. Sony and Insomniac are yet to comment.

Elsewhere, the files showed Insomniac was under pressure to make budget cuts, with 50-75 layoffs earmarked for the studio. Insomniac staff reportedly discussed how to “remove 50-75 people strategically”, as requested by Sony, with the best option supposedly to “cut deeply” into the Wolverine and Spider-Man 3 teams, and replacing staff with team members from the unannounced new Ratchet & Clank game and a new unannounced IP.

According to the leaked documents, Sony called on staff cuts across its first-party studios. Officially, we know of a number of layoffs at PlayStation Studios, including a wave of redundancies at Dreams developer Media Molecule, significant cuts at Destiny developer Bungie, and layoffs at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog.

During the financial call, Totoki said Sony would try to improve PlayStation game margins by leaning further on non-PlayStation platforms, such as PC and mobile.

“In the past, as you all know, we wanted to popularize console and the first-party titles main purpose was to make the console popular,” Totoki said. “It is true, but there is a synergy to it. So if you have strong first-party content, not only with our console but also other platforms like computers, first-party can be grown with multiplatforms, and that can help operating profit to improve. So that is another one we want to proactively work on.

“I personally think there are opportunities out there for improvement of margins, so I would like to go aggressive on improving our margin performance.”

Sony has already demonstrated a willingness to release its big first-party PlayStation exclusives on PC some time after they launch on console, although has so far resisted following in Microsoft’s footsteps by launching its games day-and-date across console and PC. However, it has released some of its multiplayer-focused games on console and PC at the same time. The recently released Helldivers 2, for example, launched on PS5 and PC via Steam on the same day, and has become Sony’s biggest game ever on Valve’s platform with over 200,000 peak concurrent players.

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 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.

Image credit: Sony

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.

Sony has said a dramatic PlayStation 5 price cut would be “very difficult” as the console enters into the second half of its life cycle.

In an investor call viewed by IGN, Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Hiroki Totoki said it’s harder to “shrink” the PS5’s die size and therefore cut console manufacturing costs compared to Sony’s ability to cheapen the PS4. “Therefore cost reduction is very difficult, simply put,” Totoki said.

One issue Sony faces as it considers the price of the PS5 during the fourth year of its life is the relatively high cost to shrink the console’s die size compared to equivalent costs during the previous generation. That leaves little room for maneuver, and suggests storage may be the only area of the console Sony could reasonably look to cut costs. All this at a time when the price of components is rising.

The original PS5 launched at $499, with a cheaper digital-only version priced $399.99. Last year’s PS5 Slim launched at $499.99, again with a cheaper digital-only version but this time priced $449.99.

In the financial call, Totoki said Sony does not want to rely on a PS5 price cut in any case. We want to make sure our business is profitable, as well we want to focus on user engagement, together with sales of units,” he said. “We need to strike a nice balance between all of those components.”

Sustaining user engagement, with the key monthly active users (MAU) metric at its core, is “the most critical thing in our business right now”, Totoki added.

To that end, Sony is doing well indeed. The company said it saw record high MAUs in December, with 123 million people playing PlayStation. Total play hours are up 13% year-on-year.

However, 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 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.

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.

It sounds like Bloober Team and Konami’s relationship is under further strain after an interview emerged in which the developer of the Silent Hill 2 remake pointed the finger at its own publisher for a recently released and divisive gameplay trailer.

In January, after months of speculation and leaks, Blooper Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2 finally resurfaced during PlayStation’s State of Play presentation, albeit without a release date.

But the new trailer, below, was criticised by some for focusing on combat in what is meant to be a tense, horror-filled adventure. “I’m really concerned after that trailer,” wrote IGN commenter MasterChief3624. “I think Silent Hill is at its best when it uses the fixed camera angles. But even putting that aside, it looks like it has a lot more action? Maybe that was just to make the game look more enticing to people, but it seemed like action was a much bigger focus, with lots of enemies around him at various points in the trailer.

“I know you sometimes have a few enemies to contend with at a time, but this looked like it might hike up the frequency of it. It really feels like they’re sacrificing atmosphere for action, and I think Silent Hill is the absolute worst franchise you could do that to. I hope I’m wrong. But this doesn’t look good.”

Now, Bloober Team studio head Piotr Babieno has spoken out about the trailer in a video interview with inwestorzy.tv that appears to have been set to private. But Eurogamer Poland picked up on the interview and reported what was said. Eurogamer’s UK site subsequently offered a translation.

According to the site, Babieno said trailers such as the one that appeared in the State of Play are handled by Konami. “It’s not the spirit of what used to be, or what we’re creating now,” Babieno said of the trailer. According to Babieno, Bloober Team is working to “fully capture this romantic vision of a game that debuted 22 years ago,” adding that when players see more gameplay they will “judge it in a completely different way.”

This isn’t the first time Bloober Team has issued a comment that hints at a strained relationship with Konami behind the scenes. Last year it responded to fans frustrated about the silence around the Silent Hill 2 remake to point the finger at Konami, saying: “Communication is definitely part of their job.”

IGN has asked both Bloober and Konami for clarification on the latest comments. Silent Hill 2 remake is due out on PC via Steam and as a console exclusive for PlayStation 5. It does not have a release window.

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.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Games Studios has rolled out a new patch to address a range of matchmaking, performance, and stability issues affecting the popular co-operative shooter.

“Recruits, help is on the way!” wrote the developer in a Twitter/X post announcing the patch. “We have issued a patch to PC and PS5 players to address general stability (crashes) and stuttering, Defend Events, and matchmaking.”

Patch 01.000.006 brings a number of fixes for cutscene-related crashes, including one that was known to occur during extraction at the very end of a mission. Other crashes linked to text-to-speech functionality and menu elements have also been addressed.

Arrowhead has also worked to improve Helldivers 2’s ‘backend connectivity’, which will hopefully make for a more seamless matchmaking experience and reduce the risk of disconnecting during missions.

Helldivers 2 update 01.000.006 patch notes are below:

Overview

• For this patch, we have focused on the following areas:
• Improved general game stability
• Prepared build for upcoming server matchmaking improvements.
• Resolving connectivity and disconnect issues.

Fixes

• Fixed crash when application was closed shortly after start
• Game no longer crashes during extraction cutscene.
• User profile with too many friends no longer causes crash.
• Fixed crash when using text-to-speech during extraction cutscene
• Game no longer crashes when users disconnect during the joining cutscene.
• Operation Status in Mission Summary no longer causes crash.
• Fixed crashes caused by leftover visual effects from disconnected players.
• Game no longer crashes when using ADS.
• Repaired instability in game data packing that caused increased patch sizes.
• Improved backend connectivity, reduces likelihood of disconnecting in missions.
• Improved matchmaking experience and likelihood of success.

The February 8 launch of Helldivers 2 saw over 360,000 players concurrently attempt to login and join the effort to spread managed democracy by calling down all manner of overpowered weapons on the bug-like Termanid hordes and robotic Automaton armies. This wave of enthusiasm stressed the game’s online infrastructure, leaving many players frustrated with progression issues, and others struggling to login at all.

Arrowhead has since deployed a number of “rapid fixes” to remedy the most prevalent issues, though one such update had to be partially rolled back after players reported a degredation in performance on PC. The developers have since apologised to affected customers, and promised to hold an ‘increased reward event’ to compensate the community for any lost progression.

Technical issues aside, Helldivers 2 is a hit with players, with many lauding the game’s dynamic enemy encounters, and generally being goodwilled when it comes to the inevitable friendly fire events that come hand in hand with high explosive orbital bombardments. Some members of the community are even working to establish rules of etiquette that players can adhere to in order to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable time, and no-one finds themselves on the wrong end of a descending Hellpod.

Earlier today Helldivers 2 hit another engagement milestone, as over 200,000 players consecutively logged in to play on PC. Helldivers 2 is Sony’s biggest game ever on PC, beating the likes of God of War.

If you’re thinking about donning the Helldivers cape and joining the fight, then be sure to check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 review in progress, and to avail yourselves of our guides on how to defeat some of the apex lifeforms terrorising democracy.

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

Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has hit another sales milestone: it’s now up to 10 million copies sold as of February 4, 2024.

Sony said previously Spider-Man 2 was the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game over a 24-hour period when the PlayStation 5 exclusive sold more than 2.5 million copies in a day. That sales milestone put Spider-Man 2 ahead of Sony Santa Monica’s God of War Ragnarok at the top of the PlayStation day-one launch sales chart.

Spider-Man 2 went on to sell five million after just 11 days on sale. And now, Sony has confirmed it’s sold 10 million after 107 days on sale. To put that into more context, Marvel’s Spider-Man, which launched on PlayStation 4 in 2018, sold nine million copies after 80 days on sale, and 13.2 million after 325 days on sale.

The release of data stolen from Insomniac late last year revealed internal concern at the growing cost of the developer’s games. According to Kotaku’s report on the breach, Spider-Man 2 development costs ran $30 million over the original $270 million budget, and ultimately needed to sell 7.2 million units to break even. The latest sales figures suggest Spider-Man 2 has now veered into profitable territory, although Sony has yet to confirm that itself.

While Spider-Man 2 appears to have been successful for Sony, the company signaled a sparse year for big first-party exclusives. Sony said it will not release any major existing PlayStation franchise games before April 2025, ruling out big new sequels in the likes of its God of War and Spider-Man series.

What’s next for Insomniac? Spider-Man 2 gets its long-awaited update in March, and is working on a Wolverine game for PS5.

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.

Team Cherry is years into development on Hollow Knight: Silksong, a sequel to its acclaimed 2D action-adventure game that IGN crowned the all-time best Metroidvania (that isn’t a Metroid or Castlevania game).

In anticipation of the sequel to Hollow Knight, we’ve put together this breakdown of everything you need to know about Hollow Knight: Silksong as of February 2024.

Jump to:

• Release Date
• Gameplay Details
• Story Details
• Development

Hollow Knight: Silksong Release Date

There is no official release date or window for Hollow Knight: Silksong. A 2024 release seems most likely given it was previously slated for the first half of 2023, though there’s been no official word from developer Team Cherry.

Last May, Team Cherry delayed Silksong beyond its initial First Half 2023 release window, saying: “We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We’re excited by how the game is shaping up, and it’s gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can. Expect more details from us once we get closer to release.”

As of mid-February 2024, Team Cherry has not shared further details on the release date.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Platforms and Price

Hollow Knight: Silksong will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It’ll be available day and date on Xbox Game Pass. The official PlayStation account tweeted Silksong is coming to PS4 as well, though the platform is absent from the game’s official website and press kit.

A price has not been announced for Silksong. The first Hollow Knight retailed for $15, though there’s no guarantee the sequel will cost the same.

If you were one of the 2,158 people who backed the original Hollow Knight on Kickstarter, you’ll receive a copy of Silksong for free, according to Team Cherry.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Gameplay

Team Cherry has purposely been quiet about Silksong’s gameplay details. “Discovery is a huge part of Hollow Knight so we don’t want to spoil all the new systems and surprises,” it said. However, from two trailers and a handful of blog posts, we’ve learned a bit about what you can expect gameplay-wise.

Hornet, equipped with her needle and thread of silk, is described as an “acrobatic” fighter; she moves quickly and gracefully, as evidenced by the most recent gameplay trailer from 2022.

The sequel will feature tons of new enemies (165 as of late 2019). These include “beasts and hunters, assassins and kings, [and] monsters and knights.” Outside of combat, Hornet has the ability to craft weapons, traps, and “mechanisms to confound your enemies and explore new heights.”

As detailed by Team Cherry, Hornet uses silk to Bind (i.e., heal), similar to how the Knight uses soul to Focus in Hollow Knight. New for the sequel is the speed in which Hornet can Bind — “it’s lightning-fast” — and her ability to heal in mid-air. At the start of the game, one Bind will restore three masks. Bind consumes all of Hornet’s silk, and if she’s hit mid-heal, “the healing effect will be wasted and the silk will be gone.”

Upon death, Hornet will leave a cocoon, akin to how the Knight left a Shade. Each cocoon will contain a full supply of silk, creating a tactical decision for the player on when to break it open.

As with Hollow Knight’s labyrinthine Hallownest, Silksong’s world, Pharloom, must be mapped as you progress through its twisting layout. Team Cherry says the process uses the “same tools and restrictions” as the original game, though this time around, Hornet will be aided by the warrior Shakra, a master cartographer who provides charts, compasses, and other tools for navigation.

Silksong will feature Silk Soul Mode, available after you complete the game for the first time. Silk Soul Mode, like Steel Soul Mode in Hollow Knight, “spins the game into a unique, challenging experience.” Further details have not yet been announced.

We got our hands on Silksong back in 2019 and said, “It’s unmistakably Hollow Knight, but with the speed cranked up to 11 thanks to the nimble nature of its new protagonist, Hornet.”

Hollow Knight: Silksong Story

Hollow Knight: Silksong features a new protagonist and game world. In the sequel, you’ll play as Hornet, who appears as a boss-turned-ally in the original game. Dubbed the princess-protector of Halllownest, Hornet is captured and brought to the unfamiliar, haunted land of Pharloom. She embarks on a journey to discover the truth behind her capture and ascend to the kingdom’s peak. Here’s the official story synopsis from Team Cherry:

As Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, adventure through a whole new kingdom ruled by silk and song. Captured and brought to this unfamiliar land, Hornet must battle foes and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.

One new area, as detailed by Team Cherry, is Greymoor, wasted caverns that house “many mysteries, several new friends, and [a] duel with a lethal, lunging foe.” It’s described as “one of the biggest” areas in either Hollow Knight game. Other areas include lakes of fire, coral forests, mossy grottoes, gilded cities, and misted moors.

Hornet, unlike the Knight, is voiced. “Dialogue and narrative are there for those that seek it,” said Team Cherry. “For those that don’t, you’ll be able to ignore nearly all characters and get on with your exploring, hunting, and powering up.”

Team Cherry has also revealed some of the new characters Hornet will befriend or face off against in Silksong. You can see them alongside their character descriptions in the gallery above.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Development

Hollow Knight: Silksong is being developed by Team Cherry, the Australian studio that created the original game. The development team consists of three people: Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine.

Silksong, announced in 2019, began development as DLC for the original game. “Almost from the very start, Hornet’s adventure was intended to take place in a new land, but as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned,” Team Cherry wrote at the time of the announcement. “We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you’ll get to explore is worth it.”

Team Cherry is using Unity to create Silksong, as it did for the original. Composer Christopher Larkin is also back for the sequel; a two-song sample of the soundtrack is available on Larkin’s Bandcamp page.

How to Play Hollow Knight

The original game is available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC as Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition, which bundles the base game with its four content packs: Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, and Godmaster. It’s available with Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra. Otherwise, it retails for $15.

In his Hollow Knight review, IGN’s Tom Marks wrote, “With such a high density of secrets to find and fun, challenging enemies to face, it’s worth spending every moment you can in Hollow Knight.”

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

Amazon has discounted the Samsung EVO Select 512GB Micro SDXC Card down to $24.99, a 30% price drop from its original $35 MSRP. This is an excellent price for a 512GB Micro SDXC card from a well-known and respected brand. I’s fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and ASUS ROG Ally portable handhelds. It also comes with a SD adapter for devices that only take full-sized SD cards. Check out all of the best Nintendo Switch deals for sales on other games and accessories.

512GB Samsung Micro SDXC Card for $24.99

If you’ve started compiling a collection of digital games, you probably already know just how limited the Switch’s base storage capacity. The Switch and Switch OLED consoles have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively, with some of it reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses up 16GB and Breath of the Wild about 13.5GB. If bought digitally, those two games alone would take up all of your internal storage on the OG Switch console. There’s only one expansion slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford.

The Samsung EVO Select Micro SDXC card is compatible with virtually any device that accepts the Micro SDXC card standard. That includes the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, any recently released smartphone that supports expandable memory, GoPros, cameras and much more. Despite its low price, the Samsung EVO Select is faster than your average Micro SDXC card. It has a U3 A2 rating and boasts transfer speeds of up to 130MB/s.

Season 9 of Overwatch 2 is finally here. As you’d expect, Blizzard has provided a rundown of all the new additions coming to the team-based shooter.

In a new blog post covering the patch notes, Blizzard reveals not only that the new update introduces season 9 but also a slew of improvements to competitive play. Most notably, the developer reworked competitive updates — instead of requiring a player to win five matches or lose 15, they will receive updates after every match. A new skill tier, Champion, above Grandmaster, has also been introduced. Blizzard touted that “only an exceedingly small percentage of players will ever occupy this echelon of Competitive Play.”

Overwatch 2’s Season 9 update also introduces a new co-op event called Cosmic Criss. Players will team up with three others to repair their ship, fend off enemies, and try to escape the Ruins of Ecopoint Antarctica.

In our review of Overwatch 2, we said: “Overwatch 2’s switch to a 5v5 format breathes new life into what was once the sharpest shooter around. It just hasn’t quite recaptured all of that glory – yet.”

You can check out the full patch notes below.

Overwatch 2 Season 9 Patch Notes

NEW EVENT: COSMIC CRISIS

Face off against eldritch abominations in the twisted reality of Cosmic Crisis, a brand-new co-op mission. Work with three other players to repair your ship and escape the ruins of Ecopoint Antarctica while fighting off the monstrous Null Sector. But keep an eye out for your teammates… an ancient power lurks in the shadows, waiting for its chance to strike.

Skill Rank Reset

• Given the significant changes to our heroes and the addition of a new skill tier, this reset is designed to give all players a chance to climb higher than ever before.
• All roles in Role Queue and Open Queue in Competitive Play have been reset to Unranked.

Placement Matches

• Placements have been rebuilt from the ground up. Your predicted rank will be displayed after each placement match.
• You must complete 10 matches in a role to receive your Skill Rank for that role.
• Winning your placements will have a significant impact on your final rank.

Competitive Updates

• Competitive Updates have been reworked. Instead of requiring five wins or 15 losses to get a Competitive Update, updates now happen after every match.
• Going forward, the Competitive Updates page now hosts information about your ranks in Role Queue and Open Queue, as well as your progress toward Competitive Point rewards.

Skill Modifiers

• Modifiers now appear on the Competitive Progress page after each match.
• Skill modifiers provide information on how much a rank will gain or lose progress after a match, including win or loss streaks, rank instability, and match favorability.

New Skill Tier – Champion

• A new rank has been added above Grandmaster, called Champion, that is more exclusive than any other rank in Overwatch. Only an exceedingly small percentage of players will ever occupy this echelon of Competitive Play.

Versus Screen

• The range of ranks for players in a match of Competitive Play is now displayed on the same screen where both teams are shown with their name cards, player icons, and titles.

New Grouping Requirements

• Bronze through Diamond Players may group with other players within 2 Skill Tiers of their own Skill Rank.
• Master players may group with other players within 1 Skill Tier of their own Skill Rank.
• Grandmaster players may group with other players within 3 Skill Divisions of their own Skill Rank.
• Champion players may group with only one other player within 3 Skill Divisions of their own Skill Rank.

Art & UI Updates

• Skill Tier and Skill Division art for rank icons have been redesigned for improved readability.
• The Competitive Skill Tier legend has been redesigned to include updated and new relevant information.

Competitive Points

• Each win now grants 10 Competitive Points.
• Each draw now grants 5 Competitive Points.
• Each loss still grants 0 Competitive Points.

Competitive Progression

• Competitive Challenges that award additional Competitive Points at the end of the season have been replaced with a new Competitive Progression system.
• Every match grants progress toward your Competitive Progression meter, and after earning 30 you will receive an additional 100 Competitive Points.
• Wins award 3 progress toward your Competitive Progression meter. Draws and Losses award 1 progress.

Competitive Rewards

• Jade Weapon Variants have been introduced.
• Each Jade Weapon Variant costs 3000 Competitive Points to purchase.
• All players will start this season with a balance of 0 Competitive Points.
• All existing Competitive Points have been converted into a new currency, Legacy Competitive Points.
• Each Golden Weapon Variant now costs 3000 Legacy Competitive Points to purchase.
• At the end of a Competitive Year, any remaining balance of Competitive Points converts to Legacy Competitive Points.

Matchmaking Rating

• At the start of this season only, the internal Matchmaking Ratings for all players have been adjusted to push players closer to the normalized average (approximately at Gold 3).
• Matchmaking Ratings have been decayed. The higher the rank, the more it has been decayed.
• Most players will start at a lower skill rank and division than their most recent rank.

Competitive Challenges

• Competitive challenges removed. Rewards and progress for Competitive Play are now displayed on the Competitive Progress page and titles are rewarded at the end of the season.

GENERAL UPDATESPLAYER PROGRESSION

• Added a new set of visual upgrades. Hero/Game Mode badge upgrades start at Level 500. Progression Level badge upgrades start at Level 2500.
• Wrecking Ball title rewards are renamed from “Champion” to “Champ” to align with Junker Queen’s usage of the title (and to avoid confusion with the new Champion rank).
• Adjusted amount needed to level up certain sub-badges for Mauga and Illari.

FRIEND ENDORSEMENTS

• The endorsement is only eligible if you’re in the match for a set duration.
• Endorsements are subject to the configured cooldown period of 12 hours.
• Endorsements are subject to cooldown even if you unfriend the recipient.

SETTINGS

• Added a feature for controller/keyboard users that remembers what you had focus when backing out of screens.

CROSSHAIR UPDATE

New Reticle Types have been added.

• Square
• Box
• Line
• Triwing
• Falloff

New Reticle Dots have been added.

• Ring
• Square
• Triangle
• Cross
• Heart

New Reticle color options have been added.

• Brown
• Dark Red
• Light Red
• Light Purple
• Gray
• Teal

HERO UPDATES

Most damage-dealing projectile sizes have been increased by a new global modifier added to their base size.

• +0.05 meters for hitscan projectiles with a high rate of fire or spread (e.g., Tracer’s Pulse Pistols or Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns).
• +0.08 meters for hitscan projectiles that are more precise (e.g., Cassidy’s Peacekeeper or Soldier:76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle).
• +0.05 meters for travel time projectiles that are shotguns or have a very high rate of fire (e.g., Roadhog’s Scrap Gun or Ramattra’s Void Accelerator).
• +0.10 meters for travel time projectile with a speed greater than 50 meters per second (e.g., Zenyatta’s Destruction Orb).
• +0.15 meters for travel time projectile with a speed less than or equal to 50 meters per second (e.g., Pharah’s Rocket Launcher).
• Very large projectiles with a base size greater than 0.5 meters have been excluded from these increases (e.g., Orisa’s Energy Javelin or Reinhardt’s Fire Strike).

Hero combined HP (base health/armor/shields) increased by 15-25%.

• 150-175 HP heroes increased by 25 HP.
• 200-300 HP heroes increased by 50 HP.
• 300+ HP (Tanks) increased by 75-100 HP.
• Each hero’s precise health increases are listed in their patch notes below.

Ultimate Charge

• All Ultimate ability costs increased by 10%.

Regenerative Passive for All Heroes

• All heroes now regenerate 20 health per second after 5 seconds of not taking damage.

Support Role Passive

• Now reduces the delay before regeneration begins by half (2.5 seconds).

Damage Role Passive

• Reload speed bonus on elimination has been removed.
• New role passive: Dealing damage reduces enemy healing received by 20% for 2 seconds.

Quick Melee

• Damage increased from 30 to 40.

D.Va

• Pilot health increased from 150 to 175.
• Mech armor increased from 300 to 375.

Self Destruct

• Explosion maximum damage increased from 900 to 1000.
• Inner explosion radius (range for maximum damage before falloff begins) increased from 4 to 6 meters.

Doomfist

• Health increased from 300 to 375.

Rocket Punch

• Max impact damage increased from 50 to 75.
• Max wall slam damage increased from 30 to 40.

Junker Queen

• Health increased from 300 to 375.

Rampage

• Wound damage over time increased from 60 to 90.

Mauga

• Health increased from 300 to 400.

Orisa

• Armor increased from 275 to 350.

Ramattra

• Health increased from 200 to 275.

Reinhardt

• Health increased from 200 to 250.
• Armor increased from 250 to 275.

Rocket Hammer

• Damage increased from 85 to 100.

Charge

• Wall impact damage increased from 225 to 275.

Roadhog

• Health increased from 550 to 650.

Sigma

• Shields increased from 200 to 275.

Winston

• Health increased from 200 to 225.
• Armor increased from 200 to 250.

Tesla Cannon

• Damage increased from 60 to 75 damage per second.

Primal Rage

• Punch damage increased from 40 to 50.

Wrecking Ball

• Armor increased from 100 to 175.

Zarya

• Health increased from 100 to 175.

Particle Cannon

• Primary fire beam width increased from 0.15 to 0.2 meters.

DAMAGE

Ashe

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

B.O.B.

• B.O.B.’s weapon damage increased from 14 to 17.

Bastion

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Cassidy

• Health increased from 225 to 275.

Deadeye

• Initial damage rate increased from 130 to 150.
• Damage rate increased from 260 to 300.

Echo

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Focusing Beam

• Width increased from 0.2 to 0.25 meters.

Duplicate

• Maximum combined health value increased from 300 to 350.

Genji

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Dragonblade

Swing recovery decreased from 0.9 to 0.7 seconds.

Hanzo

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Storm Arrows

• Damage increased from 65 to 75.
• Cooldown reduced from 10 to 8 seconds.

Junkrat

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Frag Launcher

• Base projectile size reduced from 0.25 to 0.2 meters.

Mei

• Health increased from 250 to 300.

Pharah

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Rocket Launcher

• Recovery reduced from 0.85 to 0.80 seconds.
• Projectile speed increased from 35 to 40 meters per second.
• Explosion self-damage reduced from 50% to 25%.

Jet Dash

• New Secondary Fire Ability.
• Provides a quick horizontal boost in the direction Pharah is moving.
• 8-second cooldown.
• Added a setting to activate Jet Dash on Double Jump instead.

Jump Jet

• Now restores 50% of Hover Jets fuel and can briefly overfill the maximum fuel amount.
• Vertical boost height reduced by 20%.
• Cooldown increased from 10 to 14 seconds.

Concussive Blast

• Cooldown decreased from 9 to 7 seconds.
• Explosion now deals 30 damage to enemy targets.
• Explosion radius reduced from 8 to 6 meters.
• Knockback reduced by 10%.

Barrage

• Now instantly refills Hover Jets fuel.

Hover Jets

• Speed boost increased from 20% to 40%.
• Now requires landing to recharge fuel.
• Can now be activated without fuel to slow your descent.

Developer Comments: Pharah has a significant update that empowers more individual plays and shifting her movement capabilities from high up in the air to more horizontal movement that can cover distance quickly.

Reaper

• Health increased from 250 to 300.

Sojourn

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Railgun

• Secondary Fire base projectile size reduced from 0.1 to 0.07 meters.

Soldier: 76

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Sombra

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Symmetra

• Shields increased from 100 to 150.

Photon Projector

• Primary fire beam width increased from 0.2 to 0.25 meters.

Torbjörn

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Tracer

• Health increased from 150 to 175.

Widowmaker

• Health increased from 175 to 200.

SUPPORT

Ana

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Baptiste

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Brigitte

• Health increased from 150 to 200.

Rocket Flail

• Damage increased from 35 to 45.

Illari

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Kiriko

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Kunai

• Base projectile size reduced from 0.18 to 0.15 meters.

Lifeweaver

• Health increased from 175 to 225.

Lúcio

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Soundwave

• Damage increased from 25 to 35.
• Knockback increased 12%.
• Movement lockout duration increased from 0.3 to 0.45 seconds.

Mercy

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Guardian Angel

• Active duration on jump/crouch cancel reduced from 1.5 to 1 second.

Sympathetic Recovery passive

• Health recovered increased from 25% to 40% of healing dealt.

Moira

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Biotic Grasp

• Secondary fire damage increased from 50 to 65 damage per second.
• Secondary fire target acquisition radius increased from 0.6 to 0.7 meters.

Zenyatta

• Health increased from 75 to 100.
• Shields increased from 150 to 175.

JUNKERTOWN UPDATE

• New nighttime lighting theme.
• New building near the first point to provide more cover & block long sightlines.
• Added a water tower near the first point to block sightlines from upper choke positions.
• Added more vehicles near the cliff to provide additional cover & block long sightlines.
• Reduced the cliffside path to tighten the space and reduce the overall footprint of the area.
• Removed a small health pack on the second area balcony that was easy for defenders to overuse.
• Added vertical beam at second choke point to promote movement out of the upper floor & make the choke easier to defend.
• Widened and added cover in a hallway in the third area to make close quarter fights easier to maneuver.

BUG FIXES GENERAL

• Fixed an issue with some shadows that could appear jagged when on any setting below Ultra.
• Fixed a bug that prevented your skin from changing when using the Change Skin option in Hero Select if you had a Loadout selected.
• Fixed a bug with Golden Weapons being marked as unspecified and not being purchasable.
• Fixed a bug with some callouts for pushing the payload playing at incorrect moments.
• Fixed an issue with Wall Climb failing in some situations.
• Additional bug fixes for general stability and performance.

MAPS

Antarctic Peninsula

• Fixed lighting in some areas of the map.

King’s Row

• Fixed areas of the map that were missing collision.

Midtown

• Fixed some locations that could cause some heroes to become stuck

Shambali Monastery

• Fixed a location of the map that displayed incorrect textures.

HEROES

Doomfist

• Fixed a bug with Meteor Strike that could result in Doomfist getting inside the environment.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented Seismic Slam’s damage from going through turrets.
• Fixed a bug that could prevent Doomfist from acquiring Overhealth in some cases.
• Fixed a bug where Rocket Punch left a small window of time open to use abilities.

Echo

• Fixed an interaction when Duplicating Bastion that prevented the Duplicated Configuration: Artillery’s shots from landing if Duplicate ended before they landed.

Lifeweaver

• Fixed a bug that prevented Tree of Life from healing Reaper when in Wraith form.

Lúcio

• Amp it Up now goes on cooldown if interrupted by stun during its cast time or when dying while it’s active.

Mauga

• Fixed a bug with the burning applied by Mauga not being removed when picking up a health pack.

Orisa

• Terra Surge now correctly pulls in and damages enemies that are on uneven slopes/collision, as long as Orisa has a direct line of sight, they will get pulled/damaged.

Roadhog

• Fixed a bug with Roadhog’s model becoming distorted with some skins during the Heroic Highlight intro.
• Fixed a bug with Pig Pen displaying a Junkrat icon when pinged.

Sombra

• Fixed an interaction that prevented Hack from being interrupted by Rocket Punch or Shield Bash.
• Fixed a bug where Sombra would enter Stealth while escorting the robot in some situations.

Torbjörn

• Fixed a bug with disabling the Interact Cancel Deploy Turret setting causing you to only destroy a deployed turret and not toss out a new one when the ability is used.

Winston

• Fixed a bug with Primal Rage that interrupted the ability to attack if the Ultimate was initiated while Jumping and using Melee at the same time.

Zenyatta

• Golden weapon tint should now properly be reflected on all skins.

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