Category: IGN

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.

Relic has announced Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition, a modernized version of its 20-year-old RTS classic.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition, due out on PC via Steam and GOG later this year, presents the original gameplay as fans will remember it, but optimized for modern hardware. IGN has an exclusive interview with design director Philippe Boulle where we run through all the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition details — it’s well worth a read if you’re into Dawn of War in any way.

Fans have long-called for a revival of the Dawn of War franchise, and the first game in the series, which is considered one of the best if not the best Warhammer 40,000 games ever made, is a potential first start. The hope is of course that Relic uses this release as a platform for the creation of a brand new Dawn of War game; Dawn of War 4 perhaps.

The Definitive Edition includes all the Dawn of War and standalone expansion content (four classic Dawn of War campaigns, nine armies, and over 200 maps all in one game). There’s 4K support, upscaled textures (4x the originals), and image-based lighting for a higher level of fidelity while retaining the classic experience. World lighting, unit reflections, and shadows have all been improved, and new unit gloss and emissive lighting “will faithfully enhance the moment-to-moment action.”

The camera now lets you pull back further to see more on-screen, and the HUD and screen layout have been optimized for widescreen viewing. Dawn of War has also been upgraded to a 64-bit platform to support the ongoing efforts of the modding community and will be compatible with over 20 years of community mods upon release.

“The Definitive Edition celebrates the original Dawn of War and preserves the legacy of this landmark Warhammer 40,000 title for years to come,” said Justin Dowdeswell, CEO at Relic Entertainment.

“Warhammer 40,000 is more popular than ever, and we want new players to experience where the classic Dawn of War franchise began, while providing a platform for our long-time fans to relive it in its entirety.”

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Definitive Edition was announced during the Warhammer Skulls 2025 broadcast. In case you missed it, check out all the announcements and trailers from the show.

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.

The Warhammer Skulls 2025 video game showcase has ended, and oh boy was it a big one. Reveal highlights included the revival of Relic’s much-loved Dawn of War real-time strategy series, a surprise Master Crafted Edition of the first Space Marine, a teaser for Space Marine 2’s upcoming horde mode, now called Siege, and the announcement of Boltgun 2.

There was plenty more confirmed during the show. So, in case you missed it, here’s a rundown of everything announced at Warhammer Skulls 2025, with enough trailers to satisfy even the grumpiest of Inquisitors.

Warhammer Skulls revealed the world premiere of the sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, Boltgun 2. The retro first-person shooter is set for launch across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026.

Meanwhile, free-to-play typing game Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun – Words of Vengeance is out now on PC via Steam. Here, you plug in your keyboard and “unleash the might of your WPM (word-per-minute)” in a twist on Boltgun.

Owlcat announced its next cRPG, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy alongside an expansion to Rogue Trader and Season Pass 2. Dark Heresy is the studio’s second narrative-driven tactical RPG set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and lets you assume the role of an Inquisitor. Set against the backdrop of the Noctis Aeterna and the mystery of the Tyrant Star, players lead a warband of diverse companions in a desperate battle against heresy and corruption — from loyal Imperial subjects, such as a veteran Guardsman from the death world of Catachan, to nefarious xenos, including a bird-like Kroot mercenary. It’s due out on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Rogue Trader’s second major story expansion is called Lex Imperialis, and Season Pass 2 includes two additional “story-rich” DLCs and an appearance customization pack. Lex Imperialis thrusts players into the iron grip of Imperial Law. A new 15-hour storyline introduces the Adeptus Arbites, a faction of incorruptible enforcers, and a new companion — the grim and relentless Solomorne Anthar. It’s due out June 24.

Season Pass 2, meanwhile, bundles two new expansions and an appearance customization pack. The third major addition to the game lets players enter a Necron vault curated by Trazyn the Infinite, challenge ancient guardians, and uncover relics tied to the Von Valancius legacy. The fourth explores the Processional of the Damned — a surreal voidship graveyard. Each of these DLCs will feature a new companion character, new quests deeply integrated into the main storyline, new mechanics, and deliver around 15 hours of gameplay.

One of the big surprises of the show was a Master Crafted Edition of the original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, coming to PC and Xbox Game Pass on June 10. This is described as the “definitive edition” of Captain Titus and the Ultramarines’ fight against the Ork hordes. Space Marine was first published by THQ back in 2011 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The Master Crafted Edition was developed by SneakyBox, and has a 4K resolution, modernized controls, an interface overhaul, improved character models, and remastered audio, which includes over 100 new voice lines for the Orks.

Space Marine 2, meanwhile, teased Siege, the game’s hotly anticipated horde mode. It’s due out June 26. IGN has confirmed, via an exclusive interview with Tim Willits, Chief Creative Officer at developer Saber Interactive, that the Dreadnought shown in the trailer is a part of Siege gameplay. It is Brother Valtus, the mighty Redemptor Dreadnought from the Ultramarines 2nd Company. Players won’t be able to pilot it, but they’ll be able to call him as reinforcement throughout their Siege games. Check out our Space Marine 2 interview with Tim in full for much more.

Fatshark’s Warhammer 40,000: Darktide gets a new paid Arbites Class DLC on June 23.

The biggest announcement of Warhammer Skulls had to be the return of the Dawn of War franchise. Relic Entertainment announced Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition, due out on PC later in 2025. IGN has an exclusive interview with developer Relic Entertainment in which we discuss the long-awaited return of the real-time strategy classic.

After an announcement at last year’s Warhammer Skulls broadcast, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II got another big reveal this year featuring the Leagues of Votann.

Creative Assembly revealed the next DLC for Total War: Warhammer III, Tides of Torment. We also got to see the next Legendary Lord, coming this summer.

Talisman Digital 5th Edition – Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons, a new cooperative DLC based on the boardgame expansion, was announced. Trailer below.

Well-received strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector revealed a new major free update, which includes a Crusade game mode, Dominions and Orks Boyz with Choppa, alongside a new paid Deeds of the Fallen DLC.

Fatshark’s Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will be available on Game Pass as part of Skulls, while the third Level of the Verminous Dreams campaign has been released as a free update.

Blood Bowl 3’s new season with a new faction launches June 10. The Khorne Team was announced as part of the event, alongside a sale and a free item for players: the coach for the Khorne Team.

Mobile turn-based strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus is getting a new faction, the Adeptus Custodes.

The Emperor’s Children are a new faction coming to Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge (good timing given the recent release of the traitor legion’s new codex).

Warhammer 40,000: Gladius has a new units DLC via the Onslaught pack. The base game is available ‘Free 2 Keep’ on Steam during the week of Skulls. Meanwhile, pre-registration is open for Supremacy: Warhammer 40,000, a brand new grand strategy mobile game launching late 2025.

Daemon Primarch Angron is released as the next Supreme Commander card in Warhammer Combat Cards.

New Warhammer 40,000 in-game stickers based on tabletop decals will be available for Counter-Strike 2 on Steam.

And finally, eight Warhammer video games will be part of the Free Play Days promo over on Xbox from May 22-26, including previous Warhammer Skulls world premiere Rogue Trader, as well as Darktide, Mechanicus, Chaos Gate: Daemon Hunters, and Shootas, Blood & Teef.

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.

Microsoft has just released two new Witcher 3-themed Xbox controllers that look pretty awesome. Both Witcher 3 Special Edition 10th Anniversary Xbox Controllers are available now, exclusively from the Microsoft Store, in standard ($79.99) and Elite Series 2 ($169.99) versions. The reason for the release is because The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt turns 10 years old this month, which is pretty wild, at least for this fan of the game.

Witcher 3 Special Edition 10th Anniversary Xbox Controllers

Not done collecting all the cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Celestial Guardians Expansion, which dropped literally just three weeks ago? Too bad. Here comes another expansion. It’s called Extradimensional Crisis, it’ll be out on May 29, and it features the wacky-looking Ultra Beasts and creepy chimera Pokemon Type: Null.

Extradimensional Crisis includes the Ultra Beasts, which are weird alien-looking guys that featured prominently in Pokemon Sun and Moon as invaders from another dimension. Confirmed cards include Buzzwole ex, Blacephalon, Nihilego, and Guzzlord ex. We’re also getting more Alola Pokemon to add to the ones introduced in Celestial Guardians, and Type: Null (which likely means its evolution, Silvally, is coming too).

A new expansion also means new cosmetics, and we’re getting an Ultra Beast-themed binder cover available in exchange for shop tickets beginning May 29, and a floral display board for purchase with event tickets from an upcoming Wonder Pick event starting June 11.

Pokemon TCG Pocket has been dropping expansions at a healthy clip ever since its launch last year. Though Extradimensional Crisis is technically a minor booster expansion (just one booster pack type instead of two or three), it’s still coming right on the heels of the expansions before it. Extradimensional Crisis is the seventh expansion total and the fourth smaller expansion alongside Mythical Island, Triumphant Light, and Shining Revelry. For now, none of the expansions have been retired, and all are still available in game… for now.

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

I never expected kicking a member of the Foot Clan to the curb before skateboarding over to pick up a pizza as an orange-clad Ninja Turtle would work just as well in a tactics game as it does in a classic beat-em-up, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown cleverly translates the approachable pick-up-and-play action and slim scope of the team’s arcadey adventures like Turtles In Time into a compelling, if barebones, turn-based tactics game. While missing some of the necessary communication that make the best strategy games tick, it’s still a blast to raise some shell as New York’s bodacious band of brothers.

Trim and concise, Tactical Takedown doesn’t waste time on an ooze-spilling origin story to get its story moving. You’ll know just about everything you need to after the first five minutes, though I’m sure you can guess: The Foot Clan, led by Shredder’s daughter Karai, is up to no good as always. This time, they’ve teamed up with mad scientist and fellow stalwart TMNT villain Baxter Stockman as they unleash a new plot to take over New York. Dialogue is relegated to only a minute or two of text boxes before and after each level, but Tactical Takedown still manages to make the most of that slim territory – it delivers a personal story about loss that does a great job of coloring outside the lines in vibrant blue, purple, red, and orange when it has to, especially with Leo and Raph’s relationship.

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo all ring true to the rhyming taglines about them that you may remember from your theme song iteration of choice, but this tale also sees the soon-to-be-20-something turtles facing the challenges of fighting without their brothers. That’s because all of the levels are solo missions, each carried out by a pre-determined turtle on his own turf. I’m disappointed with how exactly Tactical Takedown chose to reckon with that theme of isolation in its third act, but it does give every brother a chance to shine on their own while fighting.

Each unit, including the Turtles, looks like a static figurine on a grid-based board, almost like what you’d get from a tabletop game. They’re more animated than static game pieces, shifting poses based on their attacks, the last action they took, or what kind of status effect they may have, but are mostly still. It’s a clever, lo-fi homage to the Turtles’ static origins in the panels of Eastman and Laird’s comics, but a zoomed-out camera obscures the personality you’d expect from the colorful, action figure-like combatants. Couple that with a surprising lack of voice acting, these often larger-than-life caricatures of teenagers can feel more like lifeless game pieces.

Although the adolescent ninjas all have six health points, six action points to spend on stuff like moving and attacking each turn, and three arcade-style continues for when the going gets tough, they have distinct movesets that play into their weapons and personalities well as they disrupt the Foot in their territory. Leo’s straightforward prowess over martial arts gives him a satisfyingly rhythmic flow that matches up nicely with the tight lanes of the subway. Dispensing debuffs that set up a more devastating blow on the next action, while stacking a buff that allows him to evade any attack, made him my favorite as I cleared a few of his missions without taking a single hit.

Meanwhile, Donnie’s complex but rewarding traps and map control made poisonous sewer water my ally. It was fun to use his kunai attack to stop Foot ninja when they were waist-deep in the toxic sewage, then knock away at their health from dry ground with his bo staff while throwing out electrical traps to keep my perimeter safe. Raph’s powerful bursts of strength suited the small Manhattan rooftops well as I kicked ninja to their doom, which granted a buff that let me deal extra damage and collect extra action points with his sai attack. Then, I’d cannonball into another group of enemies, sending out a damaging shockwave and dishing out a debuff that let me deal extra damage to every enemy around me, reaping even more action points. Finally, Mikey’s skateboard made him a dependably acrobatic street fighter whose mobility made it easy to jet from one end of a stage to the other before kicking obstacles at Foot ninja like in a classic martial arts movie.

Every turtle has extra unlockable abilities to buy from a shop using shells, which are doled out based on your performance in each level, but they don’t feel necessary to reach the end on your first try – in fact, I didn’t even notice the shop until after I rolled credits on Tactical Takedown’s 6-ish-hour campaign. It wasn’t until I started chasing high scores in a few levels that I realized how transformative those new abilities could be, and I loved how customizable each turtle’s moveset ultimately felt. My favorite added useful moves to Raph’s kit that came with downside of damaging himself, but then paired with less powerful attacks that had a vampiric healing effect to balance things out.

Building new loadouts also highlighted something that annoyed me about Tactical Takedown, though: Communication, or lack thereof (ironically, a core theme of this turtles story). This take on TMNT doesn’t make important gameplay elements clear in some moments, which can be a widowmaker in any game where strategy is king. For example, new moves only describe their range or area of effect (ie: 1-meter cone) rather than showing you what that shape or range might look like on the tactics grid. Another move I discovered applied a debuff I hadn’t seen yet, but it didn’t say what that debuff actually did, frustratingly leaving me to find out a few turns into a battle. Basic tooltips like this have been in strategy games for years, making their absence even more confusing and frustrating.

These issues aren’t nearly as pronounced when you’re actually in the heat of a battle, but they still pop up in frustrating ways. Instead of just showing what buffs or debuffs an enemy has when hovering over them with your cursor, like most other contemporary strategy games, you need to enter a separate inspection mode to figure out what that move you just used did to the Foot ninja you’re about to take out. Thankfully, you can always hit tab before using a move to check exactly what it does. But other stats, like a Turtle’s likelihood to dodge incoming attacks, which happened at random, just weren’t clear enough to me.

Once I wrapped my mind around what each buff and debuff did, I got into a comfortable rhythm with Tactical Takedown. These effects are visualized on the board by altering the game piece-like characters, each causing different poses or cartoonish flourishes that add some rare life and personality, which eventually made it so I didn’t need to tab over a move to remind myself of a specific effect every other turn.

Things also become easier to track because Tactical Takedown doesn’t really grow or evolve after the first hour or so. Once you’ve played each Turtle’s first level, you’ll have seen a surprising chunk of the enemy types, obstacles, and design ideas the whole package has to offer. This leaves all sense of progression to wholly optional unlocks and the small bites of story, and there’s never much of a challenge until the very last level. Such a narrow scope reflects that of a classic TMNT beat-em-up, and like those bygone classics (and Shredder’s Revenge), Tactical Takedown largely gets by on the merit of its combat and how accurately it nails the feel of each character. Fully clearing the board of Foot soldiers in a single turn using a masterful understanding of each Turtle’s moveset was consistently satisfying and enjoyable, but I still kicked the same nameless ninja off of a lot of different rooftops.

Tactical Takedown further echoes those classics by grading your performance in each level with an arcade-style scoring system. Each takedown adds to a multiplier, further encouraging that hunt for a satisfying screen wipe. And once you’ve cleared a level, your number of KOs, remaining continues, and total damage will contribute to both a final score and the amount of shells you’ll earn to spend in the shop. Each mission comes with a par score to shoot for or surpass, which was a fun motivator to get me back in action and try some levels with new movesets.

The places where this formula breaks from its arcade inspirations don’t do it any favors, either. Disappointingly, it doesn’t have that many boss fights – and what few are present are saved for the very end and aren’t very memorable (except for the very last one), which only worsens that stale feeling. But the lack of a meaningful team-up makes for an even worse break from canon than the sparse bosses. While I understand that Tactical Takedown is all about the Turtles growing apart, it’s frustrating that we never get to see the Turtles at their best: Together. Tactical Takedown partially remedies this in its fourth chapter, but not in a very satisfying way.

Wizards of the Coast has got such a release cadence going with its long-running trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, that you’re only ever a few weeks away from a new set.

While at the time of writing, we’re eagerly anticipating the Final Fantasy set, anyone looking for a ‘Universes Within’ fix after the excellent Tarkir Dragonstorm won’t have to wait too long, although Edge of Eternities perhaps couldn’t be more different.

The upcoming set, which will debut on August 1, hasn’t had any card spoilers just yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know at least a little about what’s coming.

Here’s everything we know about Magic: The Gathering: Edge of Eternities so far.

What is MTG Edge of Eternities?

This year, Wizards of the Coast is leaning hard into Universes Beyond sets, with Final Fantasy the first of three sets this year which leans on established franchises outside of the company’s own characters and settings, followed up by Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender last in the year.

Whatever your thoughts on that, Edge of Eternities is the opposite, offering a new set with a more cosmic focus but still within Magic’s own universe (although it is sandwiched between Final Fantasy and Spider-Man).

We’ve seen little more than concept art, but we do know the new set will mark the beginning of the final story arc of the Metronome storyline, which began with Wilds of Eldraine (if you’re still following).

Play Boosters

Renewed calls for a fresh Star Wars Battlefront game have been given a boost by an actor from critically-acclaimed TV series Andor.

The past month has seen fans flock back to 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 — generating the game’s best player count on Steam in years, despite support from developer DICE ending a long time ago.

Now, Andor’s Muhannad Ben Amor, who plays the heroic Wilmon Paak, has taken to social media to help campaign for a fully-operational sequel.

“Star Wars gotta give us Battlefront 3 ASAP,” Amor wrote on Instagram (thanks, Comicbook), revealing he had played Battlefront 2 for 469 hours. That’s great kid, but don’t get cocky.

“Grew up with Battlefront 2 — been a veteran since day one,” Amor continued. “Let’s HOPE Battlefront 3 happens.”

The past month has seen the popularity of Star Wars Battlefront 2 soar, thanks in part to the success of Andor’s climactic second season, and other Star Wars activity surrounding the franchise’s annual May 4 celebrations.

After years averaging a Steam player count of around 2,000 players, the game’s popularity has been steadily climbing over the past few weeks, and is now close to topping its 10,000-player all-time concurrent Steam peak.

But does this mean a Star Wars Battlefront 3 is now more likely? For now, DICE is busy throwing all of its development weight into getting its big new Battlefield game out the door in the best shape possible. A proper reveal for the still-untitled next Battlefield, which is currently undergoing player testing, is expected this summer.

DICE may also still hold some reluctance to revisit the series, after Battlefront 2 originally launched amid a huge controversy over its loot boxes. Over time, however, sentiment towards the game has shifted. And while publisher EA, DICE’s owner, is no longer exclusively making Star Wars games, Respawn is still at work in the galaxy far, far away making a Star Wars Jedi threequel.

“Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a redemption story worthy of the Skywalker saga,” IGN wrote in its 2019 Star Wars Battlefront 2 re-review. “Overall, it’s a great package now that serves as one of the best and most thrilling ways to have an authentic Star Wars gaming experience.”

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