Generative AI is one of the biggest debates raging across not just video games, but art and culture as a whole at the moment. Into that debate has waded the CEO of graphics card giants Nvidia to drop a prediction that can only be described as searingly flammable: we’ll see games where everything seen on-screen is fully generated by AI, in real-time, within the next 10 years.
Amazon is offering the lowest price we’ve ever seen on the officially licensed WD Black C50 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series consoles. Right now it’s only $124.99, a 16% off price drop from its original $150 MSRP. It’s currently $25 cheaper than the Seagate 1TB Expansion Card. The C50 is one of the best SSDs for the Xbox, which isn’t surprising since your options are pretty limited.
WD Black C50 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox for $124.99
The WD Black C50 expansion card is essentially a 1TB NVME SSD encased in a specialized Xbox-compatible shell. Unlike the more complex PS5 SSD installation process, which involves opening up the PS5 to access the SSD slot, the Seagate expansion card simply plugs into its dedicated port on the back of the Xbox.
This expansion card offers the same speed as the internal SSD, ensuring that you won’t sacrifice performance or encounter extended load times as you might with a regular USB drive. With a 1TB expansion card, you can double the storage on your Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Carbon Black Edition console, and triple the storage on your OG (white) Xbox Series S console.
In contrast to the PS5, there are no alternative methods for adding high-speed storage to your Xbox console. Your options are limited to either the WD or Seagate expansion cards, underscoring the importance of seizing a good deal when one becomes available.
Everyone likes Dragon’s Dogma 2, it seems. Except everyone also seems to dislike one specific part of Dragon’s Dogma 2: the fantasy sequel’s microtransactions. But that one dull spot has already been polished out by modders, who are offering more convenient (and less expensive) ways to pick up items that you’ll either need to potentially grind or cough up real money for.
It’s been nearly eight years since the launch of Civilization VI, which is the longest gap between mainline Civ entries the series has seen since the first game appeared way back in 1991. It’s the perfect time for a new contender to rise and claim the historical 4X throne, and indeed, many have tried, and some have even come close. Soren Johnson and the gang at Mohawk Games struck gold in Old World by zeroing in on the ancient era and opening up the personal lives of rulers and generals as fields of play. Humankind let you fuse and blend cultures over the arc of time like a world-historic Doctor Moreau.
Millennia is perhaps the Civ-like that’s clung most tightly to the genre’s apron strings. It has a few new ideas that sound interesting on paper, but even as back-of-the-box features, they’re clearly not meant to significantly disrupt the established order. This is a strategy game that very much wants to be like Civilization, and has a lot of enthusiasm for the subject matter. Unfortunately, it isn’t a particularly good student.
If you’re a fan of the Pokémon-inspired RPG Cassette Beasts on Switch but have been hankering for cassette-battling action with your friends, then you’re in luck.
During a 2024 Cassette Beasts Showcase, developer Bytten Studio confirmed that the game will be receiving a substantial update on 20th May, 2024 that will enable multiplayer for up to eight friends. You’ll be able to explore the world together, battle against one another, and customise the battling experience with your own set of rules.
The “Fully Yoked” 1.4 update launches on April 16 for all platforms.
Digital pre-orders available from today for PlayStation consoles and Nintendo Switch, and physical preorders open through Limited Run Games for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
The free 1.4 content update for all players introduces royal Ant Queens, a New Game+ mode, full Japanese VO, and an exciting array of new weapons, armor, and additional content.
Hey, Grounded friends! We’re absolutely buzzing to introduce the upcoming “Fully Yoked” 1.4 update – the ultimate Grounded experience bulging with new content that’s sure to get you pumped!
The Reign of the Ant Queens
First up, let’s talk ants. Each of the three ant colonies in Grounded now has a royal leader you can meet, the Ant Queen, who can be found deep within their respective hills. You will face a crucial decision with each queen: to befriend or betray her with a delectable offering. The path you choose determines not only the unique rewards you’ll receive but will also shape how the entire colony reacts to you. But tread carefully – some decisions have ripple effects that might not be immediately obvious…
The Backyard, Remixed
Ready for a backyard makeover, Grounded style? The New Game+ mode brings a thrilling twist to every corner of your backyard, heightening your gaming experience with unique challenges. Each playthrough morphs the backyard in astonishing ways, introducing a multitude of new system enhancements. Accessing this mode isn’t a walk in the yard – you’ll need to conquer the Broodmother, Mantis, Wasp Queen, and emerge victorious in the Javamatic fight. After defeating those bosses, players can choose to leap into an alternate dimension courtesy of Wendell’s new creation, the REMIX.R. Expect different creature spawns, tougher bosses, and a host of eerie anomalies and hidden secrets in these otherworldly dimensions.
In a remixed yard, be prepared to face creatures infused with the essence of Raw Science. These beasts aren’t just tougher – they’re quicker, stronger, and have unique abilities that elevate the challenge. But fear not! Defeating these infused creatures rewards you with special trinkets, also infused with Raw Science. These trinkets come with random, unique properties, offering a myriad of ways to enhance your character. Keep an eye out for Ominent Badges and new BURG.L Chip Trinkets as they too will have randomized properties to give you more options on how to build your character.
To get more powerful, you will need to purchase the Yoking Station from the ASL (Advanced System Library) in remixed yards. Here, you can level up your weapons to previously unimaginable strengths. Be prepared to scour these new realms for unique materials required for these upgrades.
Don’t forget to keep collecting molars, now hidden in randomized spots in remixed yards. Staying as mighty as the backyard’s inhabitants demands constant strength upgrades, and these molars are key.
More New Features to Explore
Hosts can now load a save while in the middle of a multiplayer session and all connected players will seamlessly transition into the new game world.
Full Japanese Voice Overs: Immerse yourself completely with full Japanese voice-overs, covering everything from the teen characters to BURG.L, cutscenes, and audio logs. Simply enable this feature from the Game Options menu.
The 1.4 update adds four new achievements, one new mutation, twelve Ant Queen-related buildings, new baby ant pets, and so much more we can’t list here!
Cross play will be supported across Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Preorder and Release Details
Mark your calendars, because on April 16th, the “Fully Yoked” 1.4 update goes live across all platforms, offering a whole new dimension of backyard adventure for our 20 million and growing player community. This release is not just another update; it’s the last planned content update for Grounded, poised to make your gaming experience more thrilling than ever. Gear up for a backyard adventure that’s truly yoked!
Excited yet? Digital preorders are available from today on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch for an April 16th release. If you’re a fan of physical editions, don’t miss out on securing your copy for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch through Limited Run Games, who have been incredible partners in this journey.
Grounded is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10/11, and Steam for $39.99. It’s also available with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming. For more information on Grounded, visit the official website.
The world is a vast, beautiful, and dangerous place – especially when you have been shrunken to the size of an ant. Explore, build, and survive together in this cooperative survival-adventure. Can you thrive alongside the hordes of giant insects, fighting to survive the perils of the backyard?
Uncover the mysteries while playing through the story!
How did you wind up so small? Who did this to you? How do you go home? These are all answers you will uncover as you play through the story.
Solo or with friends – anytime!
You can face the backyard alone or together, online, with up to three friends. Not only that, but with the Shared Worlds feature, you can continue to play in your shared world even if the original host is not on, with all your progression saving!
(Online console multiplayer requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass Core, sold separately.)
Nowhere is safe – not even your base.
Creatures can be found roaming the yard in a multitude of environments, such as the depths of the pond, the caverns of the termite den, and even the sweltering heat found in the sandbox. You can even attract them to different places in the yard by activating the MIX.R devices. However, the more you interfere with the creatures in the yard, the higher the chance that they come knocking at your own door, so you better prepare.
Play true to your playstyle!
Use the in-game customization systems such as Mutations and Milk Molars to activate the bonuses and perks you want for your character. Not only that, but craft and upgrade your armor and weapons to give your character the stats and advantages you need in order to take on the perils of the backyard.
If you thought a 1TB Micro SD card was big, think again. Amazon currently has a massive SanDisk Ultra 1.5TB Micro SDXC Card for only $87.99 exclusively for Amazon Prime members. This is the first time we’ve seen a 1.5TB Micro SDXC card drop below the $100 price point, and it’s fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and ASUS ROG Ally portable handhelds.
1.5TB Micro SDXC Card (Switch Compatible) for $87.99
Amazon Prime member exclusive deal
If you’ve started compiling a collection of digital games, you probably already know just how limited the Switch’s base storage capacity. The Switch and Switch OLED consoles have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively, with some of it reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses up 16GB and Breath of the Wild about 13.5GB. If bought digitally, those two games alone would take up all of your internal storage on the OG Switch console. There’s only one expansion slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford.
The SanDisk Ultra Micro SDXC card is compatible with virtually any device that accepts the Micro SDXC card standard. That includes the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, any recently released smartphone that supports expandable memory, GoPros, cameras and much more. It has a UHS-1 A1 rating and supports read speeds of up to 150MB/s. That means it’s not the fastest memory card out there; you might want to consider the SanDisk Extreme if you need the faster speed. But most mainstream devices like the Nintendo Switch can only output UHS-1 speeds anyways; a faster card would simply be throttled.
If ever there were a game not to play on a Monday when you’ve had minimal sleep and basically want to crawl under the table and eat three-day-old pizza, that game – or rather, “tech demo” – is Fractal Sailor. The work of Struct9 founder Matej Vanco, it hands you a distressingly unwieldy and roofless hovership and cuts you adrift in a vast ocean of malevolent mathematics.
CD Projekt has announced a free trial of Cyberpunk 2077 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, available from March 28-31.
The trial goes live at 8am PDT on March 28 and ends 11:59pm on March 31. It offers five hours of unrestricted gameplay, and does not require any additional fees or subscriptions (so no need for PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass, for example). It does not include expansion Phantom Liberty.
Here’s the official blurb from CD Projekt:
This is the ultimate Cyberpunk 2077 experience — during the free trial period, players will have access to the base game, which includes all previous updates, such as the groundbreaking Update 2.0 featuring major gameplay overhauls and new features like redesigned skill trees and perks, vehicle combat, a new police system, and more. Players will also be able to experience Update 2.1, which introduced a fully functional metro system, the ability to listen to in-game radio stations outside of vehicles via the radioport, new vehicles, and more to the game. After the free trial ends, players who decide to purchase Cyberpunk 2077 will have their progress seamlessly carried over to the full version of the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 suffered a disastrous launch back in 2020, but CD Projekt stuck with the game and successfully turned it around in one of the most remarkable redemption stories in video game history. CD Projekt is now working on a sequel, codenamed Orion, although don’t expect to see anything of it for years.
If you’re jumping into the game for the first time, check out IGN’s comprehensive Cyberpunk 2077 guide.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Bethesda has celebrated the 30th birthday of The Elder Scrolls series, and in doing so provided a brief update on the in-development The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls franchise began life in 1994 with The Elder Scrolls: Arena, and has seen a number of main games and spin-offs in the 30 years since. The last mainline The Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, first launched in November 2011, a sobering 13 years ago.
During a message to fans celebrating The Elder Scrolls’ birthday, Bethesda Game Studios pointed to the 10-year anniversary of The Elder Scrolls Online, mobile castle builder The Elder Scrolls: Castles, and finally, The Elder Scrolls 6.
“Last but not least, yes, we are in development on the next chapter – The Elder Scrolls 6,” Bethesda Game Studios said. “Even now, returning to Tamriel and playing early builds has us filled with the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.
“Thank you again for supporting us all these decades, and all you have brought to the games, making them your own. We couldn’t be more excited to continue it and celebrate the next 30 years.”
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) March 25, 2024
With Bethesda’s most recent game, Starfield, just six months old and set for DLC, it’ll be years before fans get to play The Elder Scrolls 6. Indeed, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said it won’t come out until 2028 at the earliest, putting a minimum of 17 years between it and Slyrim.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.