I Hate This Place: How a Comic Shaped an Entire Visual Style

Janusz Tarczykowski, Game Director, Rock Square Thunder

Summary

Learn how the new game I Hate This Place lives within the same universe of the acclaimed comic book series.
Sound in the game is represented visually through stylized callouts on-screen, like color-coded footsteps to indicate noise levels.
You can play I Hate This Place starting today on Xbox Series X|S.

I Hate This Place is an isometric survival horror game that very intentionally uses a lot of comic book–infused design choices. With the launch of the game today on Xbox Series X|S, I’d love to take this moment to dive a little into the how and why this was done to help create I Hate This Place.

Living Alongside the Original “I Hate This Place” Comics

The first obvious reason for the comic aesthetic is that our game is set in the same world and universe as the award-nominated comic series “I Hate This Place” by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin. But since we were always going to be making a standalone story with our own characters, we decided that keeping that connection to the comic series alive was important, but it had to be in a way that wasn’t just parroting the original look.

Below are some examples comparing the game to the comics so you can see where and how we stayed true to the source while also allowing our team to make the art style and overall feel our own. Elements such as proportions, the vibe of the setting, sticking more to realism vs a totally cartoony approach, were all taken from the original comics. Where we chose to diverge was things like in the shading, line thickness, and the use of a wider color palette.

Bringing the 80s Back

Since the original series takes place in the 1980s, both the comics and the game lean heavily into that strong, stylized comic book aesthetic inspired by that decade. This is not a muted or realistic take on horror. Instead, it is loud, a bit graphic, and unapologetically over the top.

Visually, that again meant thick black outlines, bright and punchy colors, and heavy contrast and saturation throughout the world. Shadows are deep and deliberate, highlights pop, and there is, of course, plenty of VHS-style static.

Sound You Can See

While comic-inspired visuals are the most obvious choice, we also wanted the gameplay itself to have comic flair. One of the most distinctive design choices in I Hate This Place is how sound is communicated visually. Instead of relying purely on audio cues, the game translates sounds into comic book-style callouts that appear directly in the world.

For example, your footsteps are represented on screen as bold “thud” effects and are color-coded to communicate volume. Green footsteps mean you are quiet, crouched, moving slowly, and minimizing danger. Yellow footsteps signal normal movement and moderate noise. Red footsteps mean you are running or being loud, effectively becoming a beacon for nearby threats. This is especially important because many of the monsters in I Hate This Place also hunt by sound, not just sight.

Weapons follow the same philosophy. Guns don’t simply fire out an audio crack. Instead, they visually rattle across the screen with bold “bang!” and “ratatat!” effects. Creatures also announce themselves with jagged, unsettling visual screech callouts, reinforcing their presence just as they are about to attack. As a result, sound becomes something you read just as much as hear, much like in a comic panel.

Dialogue in Bubbles, Not Boxes

Another way we ramp up the comic book presentation is through character communication. Dialogue in I Hate This Place appears in speech bubbles above each characters’ heads rather than as traditional subtitles at the bottom of the screen. This keeps conversations grounded in the feeling that you are playing through a graphic novel rather than watching a cinematic overlay.

Available Today on Xbox Series X|S

At its core, I Hate This Place is about honoring the comic while finding ways to make its visual language interactive. The thick lines, vibrant colors, on-screen effects, and speech bubbles are not just stylistic flourishes. They are intentional design choices meant to shape how you read the world and make it feel like both a game and a comic book at the same time.

Thanks so much for reading. I Hate This Place is out today on Xbox Series X|S, and we really hope to see you out there on our twisted, haunted ranch!

I Hate This Place

Feardemic

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$29.99

$23.99

Get it now

Enjoy your stay in the worst place on Earth.

I Hate This Place is an isometric craft-based survival horror game set in a cursed land filled with reality-bending nightmares and terrifying creatures that thrive in the dark. You’ll need to scavenge, build, sneak, and fight if you want to make it out alive.

Classic Craft-Based Survival Horror

Scavenge every corner of Rutherford Ranch to stay alive. From haunted forests, a derelict town, to infested bunkers. Explore a world teeming with danger as you gather vital resources, craft essential gear, upgrade your campsite, and rebuild outposts to have somewhere to hide.

Day Prepares You. Night Hunts You

A dynamic day-night cycle that changes the world. Use daylight wisely to explore, scavenge supplies, craft what you need, and prepare for what’s coming. When night falls, the real nightmares come out to play. More enemies appear, stronger and more aggressive than before. The landscape becomes harder to navigate with just your flashlight. Sometimes your best hope is to find shelter and hunker down till morning.

Deadly Silence Goes A Long Way

Stealth and combat go hand-in-hand here as many of the twisted creatures in Rutherford Ranch hunt and stalk you by sound alone. Brute force will often just land you in an early grave. Use sound to your advantage, luring creatures away from your path or cleverly leading them straight into deadly traps you laid.

80’s Vibes Meets Comic Book Flair

Inspired by the award-nominated comic book series created by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin, I Hate This Place comes to life with bold colors, a punchy retro comic book style, and a heavy dose of ’80s flair. A unique blend of horror, dark humor, and just the right touch of camp and gore where unsettling dread meets stylized charm.

Developed and published by Broken Mirror Games – founded in 2024, co-development horror label under Bloober Team S.A. Broken Mirror Games and Bloober Team are registered trademarks of Bloober Team S.A. in US and/or other countries. “I Hate This Place” and all related logos, characters, names, and related indicia are © 2025 Skybound Interactive LLC. “I Hate This Place” is based on the comic book by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin. SKYBOUND, SKYBOUND GAMES and any related logos are registered or otherwise protected trademarks of Skybound, LLC. All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved.

The post I Hate This Place: How a Comic Shaped an Entire Visual Style appeared first on Xbox Wire.

‘Noobini Pizzanini 6-7’ – Story Kitchen’s Next Video Game Adaptation Is a Movie Based on Roblox’s Steal a Brainrot

Video game adaptation company Story Kitchen is cooking up a movie based on the popular Roblox experience, Steal a Brainrot.

As reported by Deadline, the movie studio has announced that it is officially in early development on a feature-length film based on the meme-collecting experience that launched just last May. It’s not exactly Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, or any of the other games the studio is known for getting involved in, but it’s still something it’s (mostly) serious about.

“We’re thrilled to bring STEAL A BRAINROT to the big screen,” Story Kitchen co-founders Dmitri M. Johnson and Michael Lawrence Goldberg said in a statement. “Noobini Pizzanini 6-7.”

Deadline says the Steal a Brainrot movie will blend all of the “chaos, comedy, and competitive mischief” that has attracted the 56.6 billion visits the Roblox experience has achieved. Fans have turned up every day since May to buy “Brainrots,” which are essentially meme versions of collectible monsters not unlike Pokémon. Some Brainrots are rarer than others, with players able to generate money, sell Brainrots, and, of course, steal them from other players.

Around 400,000 users are active in Steal a Brainrot as of this piece’s publication, with the all-time peak it reached in October being a whopping 25.8 million concurrent players. Even if you’ve never played Roblox, there’s a decent chance you’ve heard about this particular experience, as multi-instrumentalist and Uptown Funk mastermind Bruno Mars helped put together an exclusive concert for Steal a Brainrot earlier this month.

Story Kitchen is bringing Steal a Brainrot to moviegoers at an unspecified point in the future. The project is in development alongside Do Big Studios and Spyder Games, and it’s led by Johnson, Goldberg, Timothy I. Stevenson, and Elena Sandoval. Think Influence, which represents the creators of the experience, is also involved in the production.

The company has shown interest in the Roblox community before, announcing in November 2025 that it had started putting the pieces together for a movie based on Grow a Garden. Other projects in the works at Story Kitchen include the live-action Tomb Raider show, a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 movie, a Life is Strange show, an It Takes Two movie, and more.

While we wait for updates on how Steal a Brainrot will bring memes to the movies, you can read about why experiences like Grow a Garden are bringing in millions of players. You can also see where Roblox ranked on the list of the most-played console games of 2025 (and 2024).

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

Borderlands 4 Finally Gets Photo Mode in Today’s Major Update

Borderlands 4 is getting a major update today, including, among other things, the addition of the long-awaited Photo Mode that was announced prior to the game’s launch, but was allegedly held due to the need to prioritize polishing other elements.

The update was announced via the official Borderlands 4 website, and it isn’t just a Photo Mode being added. Harlowe’s Zero-Point Action skill is getting a rework, and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode levels will now increase dedicated loot drop levels.

But Photo Mode is the crown jewel here, and it’s available now by restarting your game and downloading the update. Once the update is installed, you can find Photo Mode in the Pause menu while you’re playing. It’ll let you adjust the camera and apply a variety of visual effects including Field of View and Depth of Field adjustments, filters, changing the time of day, and even toggling visibility of elements such as characters or even damage numbers. Entering Photo Mode will also pause the game entirely in single-player mode (sorry multiplayer folks, just doesn’t work that way). There’s a full guide to how to use the Photo Mode and all its settings right here.

Photo Mode was promised for Borderlands 4 way back in June of 2025, with creative director Graeme Timmins saying on social media that while it was planned, the team was prioritizing polishing other core elements, and Photo Mode thus wouldn’t be around at launch.

I had us prioritize polishing some other elements, more core to the moment-to-moment experience. We’ve always planned for it, and had it tasked up, we just needed to spend a bit more time on things that would directly impact QoL of playing the game.
— Graeme Timmins (@ProdigyXL) June 24, 2025

Below we’ve pasted the full patch notes, including all the other updates to Harlowe and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode:

Progression and Rewards

Contract Missions:

Patrol: Order troops: Now progresses when killing enemies
Trace: Scrap Core: The scrap core object is able to be interacted with consistently and the contract from Dominion can now be completed
Convinced the Intrusive Thoughts Vile Ripper, Deep State Phalanx, and Breaux Chambeaux Phalanx bounties to show up when a player has taken their contracts

Vault Card Challenges:

“Loot or Purchase 10/15 legendaries” Vault Card weekly challenge will no longer reset with a save/load
“Loot or Purchase Ordnance” will now increase when conditions are met
“Kill enemies with Torgue guns and gear” will now progress when using Torgue legendary grenade Firepot
“Kill X enemies with Maliwan guns and gears” and the Maliwan Challenge “Last Wan Standing” will now progress as intended

Challenges:

Legendary Forsaken Chaos and Legendary Midnight Defiance have been removed from the Collect All Phosphene Challenge
Updated Maliwan status effects to better identify what triggered the status effects, leading to better tracking on challenges

Progression and rewards

Addressed a reported issue that was causing travel to Dominion to be locked by a player leaving a transition area in multiplayer
“Potty Mouth” Mission: Objectives are no longer blocked when exiting to the main menu
Addressed an issue causing unlocked DLC content to be unavailable while offline
True Mode is now able to be consistently enabled for newly created level 30 UVHM characters
Added a tutorial for True Mode when the campaign is completed
Players creating a new character in multiplayer will now receive all intended rewards
Addressed a reported issue causing all equipment to be lost when quitting to the main menu during a countdown in multiplayer when switching to solo play
Addressed issues with the “Gourd Your Loins” cosmetic reward not being awarded with SHiFT code
- If you were impacted by this issue the first time around, or you missed these gourd-geous heads during the Horrors of Kairos event, this SHiFT code will redeem your missing cosmetic! This code will not reward anything to those that successfully received their cosmetic rewards the first time.
- Redeem the SHiFT code below (check out our SHiFT User Guide if you don’t already know how) to get the “Gourd Your Loins” Vault Hunter Head and the “Hex Appeal” Weapon Skin!*
- THFB3-R9XKK-CFBJW-T33BB-9R3CC
- *Requires a copy of Borderlands 4, SHiFT Account, and Internet connection. Must redeem by December 31, 2030. One redemption per SHiFT Account. Terms apply.

Vault Hunters

Addressed reported issues where critical hit damage sometimes wasn’t being applied to critical hits

Specializations

Daredevil: Action Skill Cooldown rate has been adjusted to .5% and a multiplicative Action Skill Damage bonus has been added
Runner: Melee Damage bonus is now a multiplicative instead of additive

Harlowe the Gravitar Skill Rework

Dev Note: We’re making several changes to Zero-Point as another step towards making this skill tree feel more satisfying and better balanced relative to Harlowe’s other trees. Because we’re changing the fundamental behavior of Zero-Point to include the old Inertia Augment behavior in the base skill, we want to see how these changes balance out before doing more work in the rest of the tree.

We have our eye on a few other passives that may be candidates for some buffs, but between the recent passive buffs that were implemented several weeks ago, combined with today’s changes, we’ll revisit those in the future once we’ve gathered adequate feedback on the current changes.

Long term, we want to ensure that each Vault Hunter has plenty of build diversity, with each Action Skill having its own pros and cons. If and when we see one falling behind, we’ll continue to explore changes like today’s.

Zero-Point (Base Skill): Now includes the benefits of the previous “Inertia” Augment. Killing an enemy in Stasis now resets the duration, searches for a new target, and makes the duration decrease faster
Inertia Augment (Changed): Updated to increase Harlowe’s Slam Damage. Whenever she slams an enemy, create Mini Unstable Energy Pocket projectiles that randomly deal Cryo or Radiation damage. Additionally, she also gains increased Status Effect Damage and Status Effect Chance. This effect stacks.

Amon the Forgeknight

Amon now consistently deals bonus Cryo Damage when equipping Cryonic Thrum Augment in multiplayer
Prevented unintended increases in the number of segments in the Vault Hunter bar when Amon activates his Action Skill
Dragon’s Breath now applies properly to Ripper Heavy Weapons with beams
Firewall Forgeskill will now block Moon-Maddened Callis projectile attacks

Vex the Siren

Addressed the cooldown for Prismatic Ichors sometimes resetting when applying a status effect
Phase Pocket Passive no longer resets the Taser underbarrel magazine when using a Vladof Enhancement
Healing numbers now present correctly when Specters are using Ripper Legendary Sniper Rifle Tankbuster
Addressed Incarnate Action Skill behavior so that it continues to work while using the Vibe Check Capstone with the Legendary Class Mod Technomancer

General Gameplay:

Bloomreaper Boss Fight:

Falling into the fog will now consistently kill players instead of having them fall out of the map
The purple rift will now only appear after the boss is defeated
Addressed an instance of Bloomreaper keeping the Invincible health bar in the second phase
Addressed an exploit that would allow UVHM time trial rewards to be obtained while not in UVHM
Addressed an issue that would cause the chest for Platinum rewards to be empty after fulfilling the requirements
Disc-shooting heavy weapons will now damage Bloomreaper’s crystals
Vile Creeps should no longer get stuck in the air

World Events and Bosses:

Increased the spawn rate of world bosses in the Punitive Manufactorium area
Rewards will now reliably spawn when completing the Airship or The Goredello world events
Minister Screw is no longer able to be frozen
Toy Pinheads are now affected by singularity grenades
Idolator Sol now takes damage from Elemental Hazards created by skills while Bio Armor is broken
Vile Lictor’s limbs will now continue to respawn after freezing them
Gennifer will now remain inside the refugee even if the player is dying near the area
Lowered the amount of Badass enemies spawning in one spot by Electi Safe Collectable
Ensured that boss fights consistently reset when all players have died
Restored the ability to interact with Fortresses if travel was canceled by leaving a transition area in multiplayer

Loot and Stations:

UVH levels now increase dedicated loot drop levels. The higher the level, the higher the chance of dedicated loot dropping!
Changed the Respawn Station outside of Umbral Foundry to a Fast Travel station to allow for easier travel to the entrance
Prevented loot items from dropping into unintended areas after defeating The Oppressor or killing all enemies in Ripper Drill Site Saw’s Clench
Red Chest in Coastal Bonescape will only unlock when all enemies are killed

Mission, Enemy and ECHO Location Updates:

Guns Blazing: Arjay will now consistently engage in combat against enemies
The Power Ballad of Rodd Vomit: Addressed enemy pathing to reach the player
Missions will no longer progress unexpectedly in multiplayer when switching from splitscreen to solo play
Radioactive Rail Liner will now attack if players are close to it
ECHO Location guidance improvements
Rift Champion icon removed from the Compass, with cleaned-up functionality for those icons in the Map

Guns & Gear

Enhancement:

Adjusted the Underdog enhancement to only apply to Vladof underbarrel weapons as intended. This will remove an unintended damage bonus that was happening when some guns switched their ammo or element types. We also updated Wombo Combo rockets so they now correctly count as underbarrel damage and receive this boost

Tediore:

Tediore Legendary Assault Rifle Chuck now throws properly when the player has over 120% gun reload speed
Addressed a behavior that prevented homing on the third gun spawned by Tediore reloads when specific conditions were met
Removed extra gun from Tediore shotguns with Ripper magazines

Maliwan:

Maliwan Legendary SMG Ohm I Got will no longer consume Energy Shield when Overshield is active
Only active element Status Effects will spread when killing an enemy with a Maliwan-licensed part with Maliwan Enhancement and Transfuser Core
Singularities now spawn correctly on Maliwan Sniper Rifles with Singularity Grenade Launcher underbarrels

Jakobs:

Addressed Jakobs ricochet damage to apply the intended amount of damage on Jakobs weapons

Torgue:

Torgue Legendary Pistol Hardpoint will fire as intended with Tediore licensed-part “Shooting”
Torgue Legendary Shield Compleation now properly triggers Segment Break armor shield augments

Order:

Order Legendary Sniper Rifle Rooker needle projectiles will consistently home in on enemies at a distance with the Callous augment. It will also no longer spawn unintended underbarrel projectiles with Jakobs licensed parts and a Jakob enhancement with Leaper and Bounce Pass

Ripper:

Ripper Legendary Shield Watts 4 Dinner will now consistently give the overshield in multiplayer from Overshield drops

CoV:

Weapons with CoV magazines now continue to fire when using Bullets to Spare firmware level 3 with the Ventilator enhancement

Daedalus:

Daedalus SMGs with the Overcharge attachment and a Ripper Magazine will now inherit the Ripper magazine charge-up time

Atlas:

Atlas Sure Shot perk is no longer triggered by Rafa Peacebreaker Cannons Action Skill while equipping a weapon with Atlas licensed parts and the Sure Shot enhancement
Updated Tracker Antenna and Trauma Bond to no longer incorrectly apply to gear without Atlas-licensed parts

Ordnance

Heavy Weapons now cause damage to BoomBoom Drones during the Callis boss fight

Firmware:

Skillcraft will now receive the proper amount of stacks when dealing skill damage to enemies
Deadeye 2-piece now functions as intended with intended projectiles
High Caliber 3-piece now functions as intended with Atlas Tracker Grenade
Get Throwin’ now properly increases Heavy Weapon Ordnance damage

Visual, Audio, and Animation updates to Guns and Gear:

Restored prefixes to Tediore Legendary Grenade UAV
Order Legendary Pistol Bully with Hyperion Shield enhancement now display with all parts on the item card
Repkit will no longer disappear when trying to heal after climbing
Corrected animations for Daedalus SMGs with Atlas Underbarrel attachments when switching
Corrected audio on the Daedalus Legendary Shotgun Missilaser
Maliwan Legendary Shotgun Mantra now shows the Amara Phase Fist when fired
Adjusted effects on Maliwan Legendary SMG Ohm I Got and Daedalus Legendary Shotgun Missilaser to be consistent throughout gameplay
Adjusted animation on Tediore Shotguns to prevent shell cases from appearing when using secondary fire
Tediore weapons no longer explode when thrown if they overlap with water
Tediore Assault Rifles and Pistols have consistent laser sights on gear
Effects for Vladof Legendary Assault Rifle Whiskey Foxtrot will now expire as intended
Adjusted reload animation for Ripper Shotguns with CoV magazines
Adjusted Ripper effects when shooting Ripper guns with Maliwan-licensed underbarrel parts
Ripper Grenade Transmitter effects have been restored when they are despawning
Adjusted missing effects of needles when using the Order Legendary Sniper Rifle Rooker

Audio & Visuals

Vault Hunter voices now return to normal after unequipping the Kittycopter head customization
Marcus now talks at the proper time
The second round of the Goredello will now announce the enemy type
Updated various sound effects to play while fighting Bloomreaper
Updates to various incorrect or missing VO lines
Damage numbers have been removed when continuing to shoot Arjay when the fight has ended
Corrected ECHO-4 appearance when using the ECHO-IVIV frame and Nurple paintjob customization
Ensured Vex the Siren’s tattoos glow as intended with all skins
Melee animations for Rafa the Exo-Soldier will now play correctly in multiplayer
Characters can now climb after double jumping at the Abandoned Post Safehouse in the Coastal Bonescape
Resolved climbing animations not syncing in multiplayer
Using the grapple point by the propaganda speaker in The Howl will now take the player to the roof of the house
Adjusted Idolator Sol animations when buying Boss replay in multiplayer
Reduced the brightness of Seeker Witness’ laser effects
Ripsaw’s rotating blade effect will now disappear after death
Minister Screw’s triangle effects now disappear after death
Ensured Bruce’s head consistently disappeared in multiplayer during Angry Mob mission
Addressed reported instances of NPCs performing their animations early or in the wrong locations
Adjusted effects on power cores during the “Powerdrop” Mission
Carried items will no longer become attached to a weapon after firing and reloading quickly
Adjusted fading distance in the intro
Addressed hitching with Vault Hunter saves in the main menu
Reduced the number of unused materials throughout the game
Prevented Shield Boosters from blocking the screen
Trees inside buildings no longer blow in the wind
Missing animations when destroying the grate near the Vault Fragment in Tonnage Peel have been restored
Unintended transition effects will no longer appear on players outside of Vile Lictor boss arena
Fire no longer starts popping when getting closer to Dominion
Prevented flickering after opening an Electi Safe
Haybales in The Howl no longer show glass VFX when hit
House now displays properly during Breeding Daisies
The lights on the Candlelight Catastrophe skin now flash consistently
Ensured the launch pad in Cuspid Climb is consistent with other launch pad areas
The Black Market Vending Machine will no longer have an obstructed view if spawned in Tonnage Peel
Lowered several floating items
Addressed multiple cases of lootables not being able to be opened
Updated various cinematics for consistency
Addressed clipping, missing collision, out-of-bounds access, stuck spots, and visual errors in various areas of the game

UI, Text, Localization

Sorting in the Customization Menu now defaults to show Unlocked Customizations first
Corrected an issue causing the Backpack to appear empty after filtering
Repkits now appear as intended in Inventory
Addressed a reported issue causing Vault Cards to not update or progress in multiplayer
Addressed a reported issue causing Vault Card progress to reset or disappear after a disconnect
Vault Cards will no longer carry over progress if the same challenge reappears after the daily reset
Updates to Vault Card UI
Various optimization updates to UI
Addressed various reported issues with scroll bar, sorting, and menu UI
Updated localization, various text descriptions, subtitle timings, icon visibility, and alignment across the game
Material thumbnails in the Customization menu now appear correctly
Updated Credits

Splitscreen

“Flip Card” functionality has been restored after level transitions
Corrected various scrolling issues in the Vault Cards Menu during splitscreen
Corrected a case of a persistent “Logging in” message when a secondary player joins splitscreen
The Golden Chest will no longer get stuck with the “Transaction in Progress” message when the secondary player leaves after opening
Both splitscreen players will now see all mission items during “Breeding Daisies” mission
Resolved an issue with Recent Friends not functioning as intended when a player is added to splitscreen during gameplay
Adjusted Vault Card UI to prevent overlapping or not displaying the entire Item Card
Vehicle FOV will now change for both players
Adjusted nameplate text sizes to scale correctly in splitscreen
Updated various UI elements for correct placement and to prevent overlapping

Player Experience

[Console Only] Several instances of incorrect gear meshes have been corrected on consoles
[PC Only] Adjusted default mouse sensitivity and added a setting option to disable mouse smoothing
Blended facial animations for better optimization
Visual optimizations for Jakobs Legendary Shotgun Rainbow Vomit
Optimizations to Mission Menu
Various improvements to stability and optimization

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed Booster Box Is Already Discounted

Magic: The Gathering has a frankly ridiculous schedule for 2026, but while the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Hobbit, Marvel heroes, and Star Trek are on their way, we’re starting the year with Lorwyn Eclipsed.

An in-universe set that’s seeing positive buzz already, thanks to being a return to a fan-favorite plane and the fact that there’s no City Pigeon or Hot Dog Cart in sight, it launched on January 23 but is getting a discount already.

Amazon is offering a Play Booster Box of 30 packs for $129.98, a 21% drop from the list price of $164.70.

Save On Magic’s Latest Set Right Now

Some quick math will show you that with this discount, you’re paying $4.63 per card. That’s a drop of almost a dollar per pack, going by the per-pack pricing of $5.49.

That’s a lot of cards, and it might even be worthwhile splitting a Play Booster Box with a friend at this price.

Amazon’s been on a bit of a tear recently with Magic deals. In the last few days we’ve seen discounts on the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Play Booster Box, as well as the same product for Edge of Eternities – one of Magic’s most underrated 2025 sets.

Picking up a Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box is a great way to fill out your collection, or upgrade your Commander Decks. Speaking of which, we’ve taken a look at the new decks in our guide.

For more on Lorwyn Eclipsed, be sure to check out our list of the best chase cards in the set right now, as well as a look at all eight creature types in the new set.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.

Nintendo Restricting Some Image Sharing Features For Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream

To allow players to create worlds that “remain fun and safe”.

What could be a better prospect for 2026 than creating the perfect island, or pet, or Mii in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream then sharing it online with your friends? For many, sharing their creations on social easily from their Switch consoles at just a few button presses is one of the great joys of modern gaming.

But Nintendo has announced that it’s implementing a handful restrictions on image sharing for the game. In a vague statement on its support pages, Nintendo says that in its commitment “to creating experiences that are welcoming and enjoyable for everyone”, it’s placing “restrictions on certain image sharing features”.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

World of Warcraft’s News from the State of Azeroth Broadcast

Category: PC Gaming

World of Warcraft’s News from the State of Azeroth Broadcast

The post World of Warcraft’s News from the State of Azeroth Broadcast appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Resident Evil Requiem interview: Chainsaws, reinvented zombies, fear balancing, and more

Resident Evil Requiem, launching on February 27 for PlayStation 5, is the ninth and latest entry in Capcom’s iconic Resident Evil series.

We recently sat down with the game’s director, Koshi Nakanishi, to chat about the latest and most immersive entry in the series yet.

Koshi Nakanishi Resident Evil Requiem director, Capcom

PlayStation Blog: When did development start, and how was the project greenlit?

Development began on a small scale six years ago, but it really took shape in its current form about three years ago. Ethan’s storyline concluded with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and the eighth mainline entry, Resident Evil Village. While both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village were very well-received, they veered away from the main storyline leading up to Resident Evil 6. So, we decided it was time to steer the story back on track, and that’s how the development of this title started.

“Leon’s back in Raccoon City – the place where his bioterror nightmare began and caused his early struggles and losses.”

The demo threw us right into the game, so the story felt a little abrupt. Will the final product be accessible for players who haven’t played the earlier entries?

The game is designed to be welcoming to complete newcomers who don’t know anything about the Raccoon City Incident or haven’t played any Resident Evil titles before. While series fans will instantly recognize Leon, Grace is a brand-new character who’s never faced a zombie and only knows about the Raccoon City Incident through her mother’s involvement. New players can dive into their first Resident Evil adventure right alongside Grace.

This marks Leon’s first mainline return since Resident Evil 6, at which point he was a little over 30 years old. Exploring his character development is one of the central themes of this game. He’s back in Raccoon City – the place where his bioterror nightmare began and caused his early struggles and losses. Throughout the game, players will witness how the battle-hardened Leon feels and what he reflects on after all these years.

Did you explore any new approaches to horror in this game?

A big focus for us was reinventing the zombies. Zombies are so ubiquitous in games now that their weaknesses and behaviors have become predictable; for instance they’re typically weak to headshots. However, that familiarity kills the fear and tension. Zombies in this game retain some traces of human intelligence and instincts. Some obsessively repeat bizarre human behaviors, while others pick up weapons dropped by other enemies to attack. We wanted to transform zombies into threats that consistently defy player expectations and keep them on edge.

“Overall, this game may be scarier than Resident Evil Village, but it alternates between tension and relief, so it isn’t a continuous, suffocating experience.”

Many players found Resident Evil 7 intensely frightening, leading you to dial things back in Resident Evil Village. Where would you place Resident Evil Requiem on the terror scale?

Yes, some players found it hard to finish Resident Evil 7, so we toned down the horror a bit in Resident Evil Village. In Resident Evil Requiem, however, Leon’s segments lean more into satisfying action, which allowed us to really push the horror in Grace’s sections. Leon’s parts are still spooky, of course, but I’d say they’re more exhilarating than purely horrifying. Overall, this game may be scarier than Resident Evil Village, but it alternates between tension and relief, so it isn’t a continuous, suffocating experience.

The demo took place within a dubious sanatorium. Will the full game open up to more areas?

As you’ve seen in trailers, the game eventually takes you to present-day Raccoon City. Resident Evil games often switch up locations as you go, and Resident Evil Requiem does the same. Also, in the demo, Grace and Leon’s sections both took place in the same sanatorium, but their stories branch out to different spots later on.

“If you switch from Grace to Leon in the same location, any enemies Grace took down stay dead for Leon, and the same goes for items on the ground.”

Do one protagonist’s actions impact the other’s?

Yes, for example, if you switch from Grace to Leon in the same location, any enemies Grace took down stay dead for Leon, and the same goes for items on the ground. However, it’s tough for Grace – who’s always short on ammo – to wipe out all the enemies. Using Leon to take down enemies that Grace fled from is one of this game’s highlights.

With that in mind, it’ll be fun to strategize and maximize efficiency during subsequent playthroughs.

Exactly. The more you play, the more you discover how actions in one part affect the other, so it creates a different kind of replay value compared to previous games in the series.

Grace could collect antique coins, whereas Leon found them unnecessary and would not pick any up. Is the upgrade system using antique coins exclusive to Grace?

Antique coin upgrades in the sanatorium are exclusive to Grace, so Leon can’t pick any up. There are still traditional upgrades available for Leon, like weapon enhancements and modifications. The demo emphasized Leon’s action-packed gameplay, but as the game progresses, even he will face uphill battles. Properly upgrading Leon will become crucial too.

You were able to crouch and evade attacks as Leon in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Can you do that in this game too?

Absolutely. Try crouching when an enemy sweeps at you from above. This tactic works for both Leon and Grace, although Grace tends to lean more on survival and items rather than direct combat.

“This time, we came up with the ‘chainsaws for everybody’ concept, which was a fresh take that unlocked a lot of creative possibilities.”

Were there any specific scenes or moments in the demo that your team put particular effort into?

Near the start of Leon’s section, you encounter a chainsaw-revving zombie doctor. Chainsaws are an iconic Resident Evil weapon, and with so many variations across past games, we always challenge ourselves to innovate. This time, we came up with the “chainsaws for everybody” concept, which was a fresh take that unlocked a lot of creative possibilities. For example, if a weaker nurse zombie swings a chainsaw, it’ll slip from her grip and go flying. The team put a lot of care into those kinds of details.

“We added third-person support with the Village DLC, and some players were finally able to play comfortably. That inspired us to offer the choice from the start, and our experience working on the DLC made it a pretty smooth integration.”

Why did you add the option to switch between first-person and third-person perspectives? Were there any challenges or discoveries that your team encountered during the development of the two viewpoints?

As you know, mainline Resident Evil titles were in third-person from Resident Evil 4 through 6, then shifted to first-person in Resident Evil 7 and Village. However, some players struggled playing in first-person. We added third-person support with the Village DLC, and some players were finally able to play comfortably. That inspired us to offer the choice from the start, and our experience working on the DLC made it a pretty smooth integration.

We recognized that some players found first-person mode too frightening but could still enjoy the game in third-person. That said, seeing Grace panic on-screen caught some players off guard and startled them unexpectedly, which was a nice surprise.

In first-person view, you can see Leon’s and Grace’s hands when aiming a gun, and their responses are clearly different. Grace’s hands shake because she’s not used to combat, and the recoil hits her harder, too. We encourage players to try a different perspective in subsequent playthroughs.

“Adaptive triggers dynamically adjust trigger resistance depending on the weapon, while gun reloads trigger vibrations and audio from the controller’s microphone.”

Previous games in the series, such as Resident Evil Village and the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4, were available on both PS5 and PS4. This title, however, is a PS5 exclusive. Did any PS5 features, including the DualSense wireless controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, contribute to the game’s performance and immersion?

Resident Evil thrives on evoking genuine terror, so we harnessed PS5 features to amplify the horror elements. For example, during a zombie attack, haptic feedback simulates the zombie’s grip and bite on your arm through the controller.

Adaptive triggers dynamically adjust trigger resistance depending on the weapon, while gun reloads trigger vibrations and audio from the controller’s microphone. In puzzles requiring players to rotate a box filled with gems, we simulated the clattering of gems through vibrations and controller audio to deepen the game’s realism and immersion.

3D audio’s immersive soundscape is crucial for pushing the boundaries of horror games. What techniques does this game implement to amplify terror through sound design?

This game’s ambient sounds are captured across 12 channels, including vertical positioning. Unlike simple mono or stereo IR waveforms, this approach offers far superior spatial reverb, creating an unprecedented sense of presence.

Are there any PS5 Pro enhancements?

On PS5 Pro, ray tracing can be turned on or off. With it enabled, players can enjoy the game in 4K at 60fps with full ray tracing. Disabled, it supports up to 120fps (averaging 90fps) on high-refresh-rate monitors. We spent a lot of time on optimization.

Resident Evil Requiem launches on February 27 for PlayStation 5.

Rainbow Six Siege Tease Sees Splinter Cell Meet Metal Gear Solid as Solid Snake Is Revealed as New Operator

Rainbow Six Siege is getting a Metal Gear Solid crossover, as Ubisoft is teasing that Solid Snake will appear as a new Operator in Year 11.

A 15-second clip for the tactical action game’s next roadmap lays it on thick, showing not just a faceless body wearing a familiar sneaking suit but a Metal Gear Solid 1-style Codec Call from none other than Splinter Cell star Sam Fisher. It’s the kind of crossover fans have dreamed about for decades, brought to life as Ubisoft teases a full reveal for the Year 11 roadmap that’s scheduled to take place next month, February 15, at 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET on the Rainbow Six Siege Twitch page.

It’s unclear if today’s tease is just for the Solid Snake Operator or if fans should instead expect a selection of skins from Konami as well, but judging by the fanfare surrounding the reveal, it looks like Ubisoft went all out for this latest collaboration. Either way, the Solid Snake teaser marks what is likely the most exciting Operator in the last 10 years.

There were some early signs that Rainbow Six Siege could soon meet the world of Metal Gear Solid. Reputable dataminer @Shiiny77 suggested a collaboration was in the cards for Year 11 Season 1 just last week, teasing that “it is not just a skin collaboration” like fans have seen in the past. Insider Gaming later said it was able to independently verify the leak as well.

“There is so much out of this collab and the season itself, its so packed,” @Shiiny77 added at the time.

Metal Gear Solid may be one of the wildest crossovers for Rainbow Six Siege so far, but it’s far from the first. Other recent collaborations have brought the Attack on Titan and The Boys universes into the fold with various cosmetics for existing Operators. Splinter Cell didn’t launch with the game when it first launched back in 2015, but Sam Fisher did go on to get his own Operator in the form of Specialist Zero in 2020.

We’ll learn more about what this official meeting between Solid Snake has in store February 15. In the meantime, Rainbow Six Siege recently received a massive 10-year update to become Rainbow Six Siege X. You can check out why we think it’s now an 8/10 in our review.

Whopping new Crimson Desert video sharpens suspicion that it’s a really shonky Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

When I first played Crimson Desert I had trouble working out what it wanted to be – Spider-Man? The Witcher? Dynasty Warriors? Dragon’s Dogma? Jedi Academy? The first of three new talkthrough videos from developers Pearl Abyss has helped concentrate the game in my mind. This is a grittier medieval fantasy take on The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, isn’t it! Those airborne ruins are a dead giveaway. All it’s missing is the elegance and feeling of completeness. OK, it doesn’t have a magic vehicle editor, either. That I know about. Without further ado, here’s the video.

Xbox has been having a hard time selling consoles lately, and it didn’t get any better over the 2025 holiday quarter. Microsoft has just reported its Q2 2026 earnings, including the news that hardware sales were down 32% year-over-year, after quarter upon quarter upon quarter of hardware declines.

Though we don’t have actual numbers to tell how much revenue is being lost out on here, we can get a sense of how grim this is for the hardware by looking at past quarters. Last quarter, Q1 of 2026, hardware declined 29% year-over-year. The quarter before that, Q4 of 2025, hardware was down 22%. The quarter before that? Down 6%. Before that? Down 29%. And before that, 29%, in Q1 of 2025, which was July – September of 2024. Going back even further through Microsoft’s earnings reports, the prior year quarters saw declines of 42% (woah) in Q4 of 2024 and 31% in Q3. In fact, you have to go all the way back to Q2 2024, which was October through December of 2023, to find the last time Xbox’s hardware revenue was better during that period than it was the year before – it was up a whopping 3% over the holiday quarter.

And yes, it was down 7% the quarter before that, 13% before that, down 30% before that, down 13% before that, and finally up 13% year-over-year in Q1 of 2023, or July – September of 2022, at which point the numbers start finally showing consistent improvement year-over-year, largely due to proximity to the launch of the Series S and X.

Now, look. It’s extremely normal for a six-year-old console to not be selling as well as it was in the first few years after launch. That’s to be expected. Early adopters tend to buy up consoles in large quantities at launch, distributers run out of stock, more is produced, people continue to buy until the vast majority of enthusiasts who want the console already have one, and then sales slow down as the console gets older. But it…usually takes a bit longer to get to that point! For comparison’s sake, we have evidence that neither the PlayStation 5 nor the Nintendo Switch have had this much trouble on this scale selling systems at this stage in their respective life cycles, and certainly not as far back as less than three years after launch. There’s maybe a reason why we have hard unit sales numbers of Switches and PS5s from Nintendo and PlayStation, but no official numbers whatsoever from Xbox on the Series S and X.

None of this is surprising to anyone who’s paying attention. We’ve been reading headlines about the strugglines of the Xbox Series consoles for the last several years now. In the U.S., Xbox console sales hit an all-time November low in 2025, after several years in a row of declining hardware sales in what is usually the busiest retail month with Black Friday.

These more recent struggles are likely tied as well to the two spikes in Xbox console prices just this year, which saw the least expensive Xbox rise to $400, and the most expensive to an unimaginable $800. Its recently-released ROG Ally launched last year at a whopping $1000. And because much of the high prices are tariff-related, the U.S. – Xbox’s biggest market – is primarily impacted here. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella speaking to us last December, the average price per Xbox unit in the U.S. has risen 30% year-over-year in 2025.

Xbox seems to be well-aware that its console business is seriously suffering. While it’s promised a new, next-gen console to follow the Series, it’s also said such a console would be a “very premium, very high-end curated experience.” And even though there have been rumors it’s considering backing off about its hardware plans recently, Xbox is still denying them, even as a former Xbox founding member says that “Xbox hardware is dead.”

While the hardware declines were the most noteworthy figure from Microsoft’s earnings yesterday, it’s not like software was doing a whole lot better. Content and services revenue dropped 5% year-over-year, and overall gaming declines caused revenue in the More Personal Computing segment of Microsoft to drop 3% year-over-year. In the investor presentation, CFO Amy Hood said that the revenue drop was “driven by first-party content with impact across the platform,” suggesting that its first-party games (perhaps Call of Duty?) didn’t do as well as they expected them to.

All-in-all, another real rough one for Microsoft’s gaming department.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.