Category: IGN

IGN’s Grow a Garden wiki guide has been updated to cover everything new in the Pet Mutation Update. Each week, GaG releases new content, and Saturday July 12, 2025 was no exception. This time, the Pet Mutation Event launched, so if your pet hits 50+, you can throw it in the mutation machine and see it returned to you with a new ability from 12 possible variations!

Pet Mutations

Amid an increasingly bitter row over a $250 million bonus, Krafton has now chosen to confirm a leaked Subnautica 2 development document purportedly criticizing the highly-anticipated sequel is, in fact, real.

But first, some context. Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in October 2021 and at the time, said the Subnautica studio would continue to operate as an independent outfit. Last week, however, former Striking Distance CEO, Steve Papoutsis, joined Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds as CEO. The shock announcement confirmed that the previous leadership team — Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire — were replaced “effective immediately.” In a subsequent statement, co-founder Cleveland responded to what he called the “shock” decision to replace the leadership team, saying that “after all these years, to find that I’m no longer able to work at the company I started stings.” The statement also intimated that while the former leadership team considered the game ready for early access release, Krafton did not.

Then, last week, reports came to light that Subnautica 2 had been delayed to 2026 just months before Krafton was due to pay a $250 million bonus to the development team. Bloomberg said the delay was “against the wishes of the studio’s former leadership,” and that the $250 million bonus would have kicked in if Unknown Worlds hit certain revenue targets by the end of 2025. Now, without Subnautica 2 coming out this year, that bonus wouldn’t be paid out.

In a statement to IGN, Krafton insisted the decision had nothing to do with “any contractual or financial considerations.” Instead, Krafton claimed, the delay was about responding to feedback from playtests, and delay talks were already under discussion before Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill were outed. Shortly after this statement, the former leadership team revealed they were filing a lawsuit against Krafton.

And now the drama continues, with the leak of an internal review document that shares a less-than-stellar mid-cycle review. Rather than deny the leak, however, Krafton has authenticated it, saying: “Given these circumstances, Krafton has determined that transparent communication is necessary and has chosen to confirm the authenticity of the document.”

The leaked images themselves show two pages of a development review, and appear to be photographs of a PC monitor. They show the disconnect between where Krafton expected development to be versus the as-is position. While we don’t know who or which company authored the report, it’s clearly critical of Unknown Worlds, recommending Subnautica 2 should “launch with an MVP-level build that allows players to experience the core loop at a high level of quality,” but adding that, as it currently stood, the game “lacks the level of polish and market impact required to drive IP growth and expansion.”

“It is recommended to enhance the content volume and level of polish before launching so that it can appeal to a broader market from the [early access] release stage,” the report says. “While the game includes a variety of content, it currently lacks the freshness and volume expected of a sequel.

“In addition, it falls short of meeting the high expectations of the OWSC and the Asian market.”

It is currently unclear how the leaked document began circulating publicly online.

“Krafton is issuing the following statement in response to growing speculation surrounding the development of Subnautica 2,” Krafton said in a statement to Eurogamer. “This statement aims to offer clarity and context regarding the current situation.

“The document that has been circulating on social media and reported by various outlets is indeed part of an internal milestone review conducted as part of the Subnautica 2 project. Krafton has confirmed that portions of it have been leaked and are now being widely shared across online platforms and within the fan community. Krafton recognises the confusion this has caused.

“Given these circumstances, Krafton has determined that transparent communication is necessary and has chosen to confirm the authenticity of the document,” the publisher added. “Krafton believes that minimising speculation and ensuring accurate communication with players must take precedence.

“Milestone reviews are conducted regularly in collaboration with Krafton’s creative studios across all projects. These reviews help assess development progress, define clear objectives, and ensure that each project aligns with Krafton’s standards in both creativity and quality. This process is central to Krafton’s commitment to delivering polished, high-quality games at the right time.

“Krafton will continue working closely with Unknown Worlds to ensure that Subnautica 2 meets the expectations of players who have supported the franchise over the years,” the statement concluded.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Donkey Kong Bananza spoilers are being spread online, after early copies of the game have turned up in the hands of several fans.

Story details that players will want to keep as a surprise for themselves are now circulating on the internet, as seen by IGN — though we will not be sharing them here.

Instead, we’d strongly advise Nintendo fans be careful where they click over the coming days, in the run-up to Donkey Kong Bananza’s official launch date this Thursday, July 17.

While it may seem odd to raise a note of caution over story spoilers for a Donkey Kong platformer, this new blockbuster title from key members of Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey development team is shaping up to be something special.

There has already been intense speculation over whether Bananza is some kind of Odyssey prequel, based on the inclusion of key character Pauline, and Nintendo’s unusual decision to detail her age in the new game.

Indeed, when IGN asked Bananza’s producer Kenta Motokura and director Kazuya Takahashi specifically about these points, the pair said that these were questions players should be considering as they played the game.

“Certainly because a lot of team members also worked on Super Mario Odyssey, there are some similarities in terms of how they think about the setting of the characters for both games,” Takahashi told IGN.

“But it’s something we really can’t explain all of for now because we need to leave something for people to consider as they’re playing the game,” he continued. It’s probably better you find out by playing it, then, rather than on a random internet forum!

We spoke to Motokura and Takahashi about a number of topics related to Bananza, including how the game was first conceived and the necessity of releasing on the Nintendo Switch 2. You can read our entire interview in full right here, and check out our hands-on preview of the game here.

And in other Donkey Kong news, a Nintendo copyright notice has been spotted for an unannounced Donkey Kong film — something which fans suspect may arrive as a spin-off from the blockbuster Super Mario Bros. Movie and its upcoming sequel.

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

Nintendo has filed a copyright notice for an unannounced Donkey Kong film, in collaboration with Universal Pictures.

The filing, for a “Untitled Donkey Kong Project; Motion Picture” lists Nintendo Studios LLC as the copyright holder, alongside Universal Pictures.

Nintendo Studios is of course Nintendo’s own in-house arm dedicated to turning its own franchises into big screen hits, while Universal Pictures is Nintendo’s animation partner (through its Minions-making Illumination studio) behind the box office breaking Super Mario Bros. Movie.

There have long been rumblings of a Donkey Kong-starring spin-off to Nintendo’s big screen Mario blockbuster, though it’s believed that the next Mario film is more of a straight sequel — and reportedly titled Super Mario World.

So, what’s this? Fans think that the filing, originally lodged in May this year, points to a further project due out after Nintendo’s next main Mario film. And some are even speculating that this is the start of a Nintendo Cinematic Universe, with various stars getting their own solo movies while being part of the same franchise.

The news comes just days before the launch of Nintendo’s big new Nintendo Switch 2 release, Donkey Kong Bananaza. With a more cinematic focus and hints that this game might offer more of a storyline, could the Donkey Kong movie link into elements of its narrative?

It is perhaps the most beloved intro cinematic in Warhammer 40,000 video game history, a precious relic of a bygone era that is seared into the memories of fans of Games Workshop’s grimdark setting. And woe betide anyone who dares to change it, lest the wrath of all four Chaos gods descend upon them.

That’s how I imagine the developers at Relic Entertainment felt after releasing a high quality version of Dawn of War’s iconic intro cinematic to accompany the announcement of the August 14 release date of the Definitive Edition.

The video, below, reveals the insertion of dialogue from the 2004 Dawn of War real-time strategy game into its intro cinematic, replacing some of the original audio along the way. Chief among the changes is the removal of an “iconic” (at least, for Warhammer 40,000 fans!) guttural scream bellowed by the Space Marine who leads the forces of the Blood Ravens to battle against the monstrous Orks.

In its stead is the battlecry of Gabriel Angelos, Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens, as it is heard in Dawn of War gameplay. The thing is, that’s not even Gabriel Angelos screaming in the trailer. It’s a Blood Raven sergeant. And, Dawn of War fans say, the new dialogue compares poorly to the heroic scream it replaced.

But that’s not all. Those with keen hearing and an even keener memory will notice other audio changes. The Dreadnought’s dramatic entrance is “ruined,” some say, by the addition of voice lines that distract from the heart-pumping sound of its Assault Cannon revving up and unleashing on the enemy lines. New Ork lines are inserted, too.

“THEY’VE RUINED IT! THEY REMOVED THE SERGEANT’S HOLY SCREAM!” declared one Emperor-living fanatic in the YouTube comments.

“The original sound effects were PERFECT. You didn’t need to add all those voices. I’ll be honest, they kind of ruined it,” said another devotee.

“Makes it feel less well done and not as cohesive. They just seemed so out of place and you can tell they’re just shoved on top.”

“The new audio is awful. Really takes me out of it.”

“Leaving the sergeant’s scream out is a crime against humanity, and therefore heresy.”

“Mind fixing the cinematic by restoring the original audio? The new stuff spliced in doesn’t work at all and it kinda ruins the nostalgia for us. Hopefully it can be reverted by launch,” said another, perhaps more considered worshipper.

Perhaps that’s exactly what Relic will do. I asked the developer for comment on this online complaint barrage, and its response suggested the whole thing has taken the studio by surprise.

“We decided to change the scream as the original audio was quite distorted which was notable when compared to some of the audio touch ups in the enhanced trailer. That said, we’ve heard the feedback from fans — the roar was even more beloved than we realized! Who knows, we may have something for OG roar enjoyers before long.”

So, it sounds like Relic has a solution up its sleeve, which will hopefully go some way to placating the wrath of Warhammer 40,000’s passionate fanbase. I realize, however, that for the uninitiated, all this fuss may sound like an overreaction. All we’re talking about here are a few audio changes, after all.

But there’s something unmistakingly gritty about the original intro trailer’s look, feel, and, yes, old-school audio. It reminds fans of a time in PC gaming’s history when RTS ruled the roost, the Astra Militarum were called the Imperial Guard, and Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill had just finished filming Hellraiser: Hellworld. The original rekindles memories of hazy summer days spent hammering out Heretics, my flatmate desperately trying to outmaneuver my attacks. This new and “improved” intro cinematic is too clean, too… nice, and it will always be too recent.

None of this is to say Relic’s Dawn of War Definitive Edition is on a hiding to nothing. I’m genuinely excited to play it, and not just for a short-lived trip down memory lane. It’s a fantastic game — perhaps the greatest Warhammer 40,000 video game ever made — and I look forward to hammering out those Heretics all over again. Perhaps I’ll even convince my old flatmate to join me.

Back to the trailer! I interviewed design director Philippe Boulle back in May when the Definitive Edition was announced, and we gushed over Dawn of War’s intro cinematic. Here’s why it’s so good, according to Boulle:

“It was an amazing accomplishment at the time in terms of the fidelity. We really hadn’t seen that for 40K at that time, and it really stood up as something that would reach out and grab you and say, ‘Hey, this is awesome. You need to pay attention.’ And it will still be in the game. It will be playing in beautiful 4K.

“The thing that amazes me about it when we look back at it is the directing really holds up. That I think is the undervalued key to it. For the time the rendering was phenomenal, but what really holds up is the pacing, the drama, the ending on this guy running up the hill and getting shot, planting that flag and the drop pods coming down… that just works and that didn’t need any changing obviously. That just was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.’”

Fun fact! Dave Wilson, executive producer and supervising director of the excellent Warhammer 40,000 episode of Prime Video’s Secret Level animated anthology series, led the creation of the Dawn of War intro cinematic.

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.

While Prime Day may be over, there are still some great deals live at other retailers. Dozens of major video games were on sale this year, especially for Nintendo Switch. If you’re on the hunt for a new Switch game still on sale, look no further than Super Mario Odyssey. Walmart has the masterpiece available for $39.39 today, and it’s hard to beat this price, as Nintendo rarely puts its first-party games on sale.

Grab Super Mario Odyssey for $39 at Walmart

We’ve rounded up the best deals for Sunday, July 13, below, so don’t miss out on these limited-time offers.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $149

We’ve rounded up the best deals for Saturday, July 12, below, so don’t miss out on these limited-time offers.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $149

Dispatched by the crown as part of a secret expedition to a remote island part of the realm, you’re ready for a life of adventure. But in third-person RPG Of Ash and Steel you’re not one of the highly-trained, well-armored holy knights trying to enforce the will of the king… you’re the clever orphan-turned-cartographer along for the ride because the maps of the island, Grayshaft, are pretty bad. Perhaps they’re bad because the island suffers periodic volcanic eruptions so devastating that it’s blanketed in deadly ash that cakes inside your lungs and kills you, eruptions so awful that ships avoid the island for the entire year when one seems imminent.

Which is obviously why brave cartographer Tristan has agreed to go there. And so like many fantasy protagonists, Tristan will soon be in way over his head—all because he wanted a bit of adventure—when the holy knights are all dead and he’s the only one left to deliver the urgent missive. At least, that’s what a hands-on preview with a beta build tutorial and first few hours of Ash and Steel told me.

Of Ash and Steel looks like a pretty traditional RPG, reminiscent of classics from the 2000s. It’s unapologetic about not giving you quest markers or anything but in-world directions, but at the same time it does highlight loot on the ground or chests you can interact with when you’re near them. It’s somewhere between Gothic and the first Witcher game, in its own way, with a nod toward the survival-centric games of the last decade or so. While it doesn’t go all-in on survival and encumbrance, Ash and Steel still has something of the 2019 RPG Outward in it.

More than anything, Of Ash and Steel feels like a game in the legacy of dearly departed mid-tier RPG studio Piranha Bytes, creators of the Gothic, Risen, and Elex series. That includes the signature campy acting mixed in with some decent drama, as well as plenty of oddball and unexpected humor. (One early quest has you finding the soiled trousers of a man who, when drunk, just craps himself and leaves the pants right there to clean up later.)

Perhaps its most old-school feature is how it has no level scaling in its world—creatures are a fixed level in a fixed location, forever. You’re warned early on that going off the path can be dangerous, and each new enemy encounter is often a question of getting close enough to see if it massively out-levels you before you decide to try and take it on or not—and hope for good loot when you do. Coupled with that lethal-but-rewarding exploration is the rudiments of a survival system, where staying fed and watered is a must to survive, and setting up shop at pre-determined campsites lets Tristan rest and cook to regain hit points and pick up buffs. It also passes time, which is useful in a world where the NPCs and monsters follow a schedule of their own as to when and where they appear, or even when they’re taking a nap and won’t talk to you about your very urgent quest.

Tristan has three skill trees, and perhaps the most pressing one is Combat. Investing in combat skills lets you pick up to three different stances to fight from, each of which looks to have different effects based on what kind of weapons you’re wielding—there were axes, swords, clubs, daggers, and a crossbow. Sadly, poor starter Tristan wasn’t strong or competent enough to wield most of them.

Which is a big part of what I think the story developer Fire Frost is telling with Of Ash and Steel. This isn’t a fantasy hero game where your character starts as competent at any useful skills relevant to his current situation. It’s going to be a zero-to-hero story, with other characters in the world reacting to Tristan as he grows stronger. “If at the beginning of the game you were treated like a ragamuffin,” said Fire Frost, “by the end of the game the characters will literally bow to your feet.”

There was a hint of that in action during the preview play, as characters who previously saw Tristan dressed only in threadbare clothing later had complimentary things to say about a suit of basic armor I’d purchased. Where before they’d just asked: “Are you really wearing that?” they later said, “Ah, I had a sturdy suit like that when I was younger.”

And a sturdy suit of armor is much needed, because the fighting can get pretty brutal. Armor will help you survive a few hits, but the stamina-based combat was really based around perfectly timed dodges and parries. Tristan’s attacks, at least at the start of the game, are slow and clumsy—he’s literally never fought before. As he got combat skills, though, he moved more confidently and picked up the ability to parry in a way that opened up enemies for counterattacks. That blended well with a fast knife, which let him get in those hits before quickly going back on his guard. Still, there’s some tweaking to do on the early stages of the fighting—some people will definitely bounce right off of how clumsy Tristan was, or just won’t be familiar with the time-honored strategy of “train the difficult enemy into a nearby powerful NPC.”

Speaking of trying to survive, that’s the focus of Tristan’s other two skill trees: Survival and Crafting. They’re much more down-to-earth, practical skillsets simply due to their nature. Survival lets you keep yourself fed and alive, while Crafting lets you upgrade and upkeep your equipment. Crafting also does one very important job: Makes you money. Quests and other odd jobs are a great source of experience and cash, sure, but paying people to train Tristan in all these new skills ain’t cheap.

What was cool is that investments of money and skill points into the Craft and Survival trees actually did pay off in combat. A good craftsman can better sharpen their weapon for bonus damage, or reinforce their armor for extra defense. Survivalists, meanwhile, could pick up nasty tricks like thrown daggers and the use of poisons on their weapons—though poor preview Tristan was a bit too intellectually dull and low-level to get to try those skills out.

Even with all the advantages of level and time, however, Of Ash and Steel is definitely going to be a game where you get your butt kicked. A lot. Quicksave, I expect, is Tristan’s greatest friend in the world. Enemies hit hard, and enemies that are higher level than you hit extremely hard—or even so fast that poor low-level Tristan simply stood no chance of reacting in time, let alone getting a single attack in. As a result, he got splatted by a lot of things. He got mauled by a giant rat-thing. Trampled by a big bug. Eaten by a lizard-thing. Dismembered by all manner of bandits, both living and apparently undead.

And the only dang reason Tristan didn’t get splatted by this giant troll is because when everything can splat you, well, you get pretty good pretty fast at running and climbing your way out of danger.

While some people might find that kind of thing frustrating, Of Ash and Steel was pretty nice on that count. The action-RPG combat was somehow clunkier than a FromSoftware game but settled into its own rhythm after a while, and hopefully gets more and more fluid with more skills and abilities in the full game.

Don’t expect miracles from Of Ash and Steel, but the preview was evidence of a promising mid-tier RPG that’ll likely enthuse ye olde genre purists while still being accessible and interesting enough to draw in lovers of more modern character-driven action.

There’s an old idea that second efforts generally aren’t as good as the first. It’s called the sophomore slump, and there are a dozen reasons for it. Sophomore students don’t care as much as freshmen; bands have less time to write, practice, and record a second album than the “breakout” hit they worked on for years before anyone knew who they were; athletes who have exceptional rookie years regress to the mean; and so on. There’s no denying the power of new car smell. I think part of the reason College Football 25 popped off as hard as it did (and trust me if you’re unsure: it popped off) was it’d been more than a decade since NCAA 14 and people really, really wanted a new game based on college football. It didn’t hurt that it was also a good game, but the yearly “it’s the same game as last year” fatigue of the sports genre hadn’t set in yet. That makes College Football 26 the real test.

I’ll be honest, reader: I haven’t had a ton of time with this sequel yet (I’ve been busy finishing up my review of Mecha Break, which I thought was pretty great), so these impressions are going to be pretty light. One of the things I’m interested in as I play more is how this car handles after we’ve put some miles on her, and if it falls into the same slump so many games, bands, and students have hit before it. But while that remains to be seen, I’m having a pretty good time so far.

Part of that is College Football 26 is built on a really firm foundation. College Football 25 was a good game, and it still has that infectious spirit and sense of tradition that made it a nice change of pace from the more straight-laced Madden. From what I’ve seen, College Football 26 builds on that in good ways. One of the things I’m appreciating most is the Trophy Room, which tracks the real world trophies you’ll accumulate across your entire career, no matter what mode you’re in. It’s cool to see stuff like the Heisman Trophy, the Unitas Golden Arm Award, and the Orange Bowl Trophy collected in one place, and be able to learn about them, too. There’s a lot of history to college football, and I appreciate that EA has tried to capture that.

So far, most of my time has been spent sneaking Quick Play games in where I can, so I haven’t really dug into College Football’s major modes too much yet (something I plan to remedy this weekend), but I have noticed some on-the-field stuff that makes me happy.

The little change I’m happiest about is to how defenders play the football when it’s in the air. If you’ve played College Football or Madden in the last few years, you’ve probably been intercepted (or had one of your defenders intercept) a pass that they can’t see without turning around. They’ve essentially got eyes in the back of their heads, and it could be very frustrating. EA has said they’ve changed that, and in my testing, it’s proven true. Now a defender has to see the ball to pick it off, and you’ll notice defenders turning their heads (or not) before the ball arrives. If they don’t, however, it doesn’t mean that defender can’t make a play on the ball. They can still swat it. It’s a good change because it’s two-fold: you now actually have a reason to swat the ball down instead of going for the pick every time, and better defenders can now make plays average ones can’t.

I’m also a big fan of dynamic subs and custom zones for defenders. The former allows you to swap players on the field and not just on the playcall screen (thank God), though you may have to wait a play for the substitution to take effect, and the latter is the defensive version of last year’s custom stems for routes on offense. I enjoy the defensive game more than the offensive one, so being able to set where I want my zones to be on the field in real-time and not in a menu is welcome. I’m enjoying playing around with this stuff, and I imagine I’ll be using it quite a bit.

Now that I have the time to really dig into College Football 26, I am excited to see all the new additions to Road to Glory, where I’m really looking forward to being able to play my high school career, as well as all the new bells and whistles in Dynasty, which is where I imagine I’ll be spending most of my time. But the on-field stuff is where it counts. I can’t say yet if EA has avoided the sophomore slump with College Football 26, but I’m going into this year optimistic, and that’s not nothing.