Category: Video Games

Larian Boss Swen Vincke Reckons He’s Figured Out Act 1 of His Post-Baldur’s Gate 3 Game

Larian Studios’ next game is sure to be one of the most anticipated ever following the breakout hit of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3. What that game is remains to be seen, but Larian boss Swen Vincke has indicated he’s already worked out its Act 1 narrative.

In a series of tweets, Vincke said that after four months of writing work, he’d “finally figured out what Act 1 on this thing I’ve been working on needs to be.” “Quote me when it’s revealed to see how much of today’s draft survives,” he added. “I suspect a lot.”

There’s not a lot to go on here, of course. And, indeed, it may not go anywhere. But given Vincke mentions Act 1, we can assume what’s next will probably be an RPG in the Larian style, which are games broken up into three distinct acts. I suppose it could always be a three-act dating sim. I mean, that’s basically what Baldur’s Gate 3 is, right?

Vincke went on to say he has yet to share Act 1 with anyone, so he may end up scrapping the lot if no-one likes it. “But I think I really like this one,” he said.

Then, a few inevitable qualifiers: “Also, it’s not what you think and this is not a teaser for an announcement. Just am genuinely excited about where this is going and wanted to share some of my excitement. It’ll be quite some time before we talk about this.”

This isn’t the first time Vincke has teased Larian’s next game. In November 2023, Vincke spoke in vague terms about the studio’s next project. “I wish I could tell you about our next big game but this is really encouraging us to ensure it pushes many boundaries,” Vincke teased in response to Baldur’s Gate 3’s many The Game Awards nominations. “I’m very excited about it.”

In July 2023, ahead of Baldur’s Gate 3’s explosive launch, Vincke told IGN a sequel to Larian’s own Divinity: Original Sin series is on the cards too, although fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

“It’s our own universe we built, so we’re definitely gonna get back there at some point,” Vincke said. “We will get back there at some point. We’ll first finish [Baldur’s Gate 3], and then take a break, because we will need to refresh ourselves creatively also. You’re seeing 400 developers putting their heart and souls into this. You’re getting the best of them and their craft into this game. And so I can tell you, it’s quite a thing.”

If Divinity isn’t next, perhaps a brand new game set in a completely different universe? Larian has created fantasy RPGs for some time now. Could it branch out into science fiction? Or a modern day setting? Or maybe even try a new genre?

Meanwhile, Larian has yet to announce any Baldur’s Gate 3 expansions or DLCs. Given how well the game has done, you’d expect something expanding upon its world and characters would do well indeed.

For now, Baldur’s Gate 3 remains one of the hottest games in the world, and is still among the most-played games on Steam. In IGN’s review of Baldur’s Gate 3, which returned a 10/10, we said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”

For more, check out IGN’s comprehensive Baldur’s Gate 3 walkthrough.

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.

Former Activision exec sues Call of Duty publisher for discrimination against “old white guys”

An unnamed former Activision executive is taking the Call of Duty publisher to court in California, accusing the company of age discrimination and violating the state’s whistleblower protection law. Said executive is a 57-year-old who worked at the company from 2014; apparently, he and six other men aged 47 or older were cut from a team of 200, as part of broader Activision Blizzard restructuring efforts last August.

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Random: The Golden Globes Is The Place For Top Super Mario Bros. Banter

“You ever make it to King Koopa?”.

If you’ve hopped onto social media this morning, you’ve undoubtedly been inundated with coverage of the 81st Golden Globe Awards event. We’re here to add to that, because we’re nice, but also because it’s kind of, sort of relevant to Nintendo.

You see, when presenting the nominees for Best Original Song, artists Andra Day and Jon Batiste just couldn’t help but reminisce over playing Super Mario Bros. when they were younger. Hey, we’ve all been there, right? Okay, not while presenting an award at the Golden Globes, but maybe in line at a Starbucks.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Xbox Exclusive Hi-Fi Rush Rumored for Nintendo Switch

Xbox hit Hi-Fi Rush is heavily rumored to be set for rival console the Nintendo Switch in 2024, sparking a vociferous debate about Microsoft’s exclusives strategy.

Insider “Nate the Hate”, who has a good track record when it comes to video game announcements, teased that a critically acclaimed Xbox exclusive is set to launch on a competing console platform.

Resetera user lolilolailo, who also has a good track record for video game announcements, then appeared to confirm Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush is coming to Switch.

Windows Central then reported that Microsoft “has been exploring bringing some of its back catalog to other platforms, although some of the details remain vague and unconfirmed.” IGN has asked Microsoft for comment.

The reports have sparked a debate online about Microsoft’s Xbox exclusive strategy, with some fans bemoaning the idea of an Xbox exclusive launching on a rival console such as the Nintendo Switch or the PlayStation 5. Others have expressed excitement that a game such as Hi-Fi Rush could get a second wind and millions more players, potentially helping to build the case for a sequel.

The rumours come just two months after Xbox CFO Tim Stuart said Microsoft wants to bring first-party games to “every screen that can play games,” including rival consoles.

“It’s a bit of a change of strategy,” Stuart said at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit in November. “Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games. That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo.”

Stuart’s comments were reported as confirmation of Microsoft’s intention to bring Game Pass to rival consoles, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer subsequently denied such a plan.

Still, that leaves the door open for Microsoft to launch more of its first-party games on rival consoles. Hi-Fi Rush launched on January 25, 2023. Could it set a precedent for Xbox games to expand to other platforms a year after release?

It’s worth noting Microsoft does already publish its games on non-Xbox platforms. Minecraft is of course available on pretty much every platform going. Bethesda games The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 are both published and updated on PlayStation. Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 came out in August 2021 for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S.

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft has a long list of exclusive games due out this year and beyond, including the likes of Obsidian’s Avowed, Ninja Theory’s Hellblade 2, and Playground’s Fable. There’s no suggestion that these exclusives will launch on PlayStation as well as Xbox.

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.

HP Omen Transcend 16 review: a slim and proper gaming laptop

Even with the rising power of integrated graphics, the prospects of getting high-quality, high-rez gaming capability in a laptop of ultrabook proportions is still years from becoming a feasible reality. Until then, slimmer gaming laptops like the HP Omen Transcend 16 remain the closest approximation of that dream, cramming discrete GPUs – the Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060, in this case – into lighter, narrower chassis designs.

The usual catch with such devices, sadly, is an overeagerness to appear aspirational. Which is, to be clear, the nicest thing I can say about a Razer Blade 16 costing £2500 for its own RTX 4060 model. Despite the name, however, the Omen Transcend 16 is much more down to earth – it still offers enough premium trappings to feel like a step up from chunkier laptops, but at its current pricing of £1199 / $1429, it’s a fair trade as well. And it supports Nvidia DLSS 3, dash of futureproofing tech that might just soothe any worries about buying a 2023-spec PC in 2024.

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The Maw – 8th-13th January 2024

Welcome to another instalment of the Maw, our weekly live round-up of all things New and videogame-flavoured, as we continue our eternal efforts to appease the festering dark god of gossip and reportage. I asked the Maw if it had any 2024 resolutions last Friday, and it responded with the brain-splitting clamour of a million fell voices crying out in anguish. I have run this through our Chthonic Translator and the short version is that it wants to get down the gym now and then.

Some new game releases we are tip-toeing towards with our shields raised this week, in case they turn out to be Mimics: Allison Road-inspired horror Supernormal (8th Jan), free turn-based dungeon crawler Buriedbornes2 (10th Jan), medical management sim War Hospital (11th Jan), feudal Chinese spin-off Reigns: Three Kingdoms (11th Jan), pleasingly nonsensically-named retro RPG Crystal Story: Dawn of Dusk (13th Jan).

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Eighting Is Working On A New Hunter x Hunter Fighting Game

Platforms and release date TBA.

The manga and anime series Hunter x Hunter is getting a new fighting game and it’s being developed by Eighting and published by Bushiroad Games. It’s officially titled Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact.

Platforms and a release date haven’t been revealed just yet. It’s also unclear what type of fighting game it will be, but you can see Gon, Netero and Leorio getting ready to fight.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Trailer, Pictomancer Job, Female Hrothgar, and More Revealed at Tokyo Fan Fest

Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival in Tokyo is currently underway and its keynote revealed such exciting things as the full Dawntrail trailer, a new Pictomancer job, and a look at the female Hrothgar playable race in action.

While we didn’t get a release date for the much-anticipated Dawntrail expansion beyond Summer 2024, the glimpse of the future of FF14 shared by director Naoki Yoshida and the team was quite promising.

To learn more about Dawntrail as a whole, you can check out the nearly 6-minute trailer of the expansion above that is intended to be the “very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have.” It will also be the first step into a “new story” for the game and will send players to Tural, a land that lies over the ocean to the far west of Eorzea.

Players will be able to take on two new jobs in Dawntrail, and the Pictomancer job is now known alongside the previously announced Viper. Pictomancer is a magical ranged DPS that uses a paintbrush and a wide array of colors to take down its foes. It looks like a very fun job that has players painting landscapes, shapes, and other types of art as skills to cause damage, create weapons, summon creatures, and more.

To become a Viper or Pictomancer, players will need to purchase Dawntrail. If they aren’t ready to begin the new expansion, there will still be updates to enjoy like the major graphical update, system updates, and Gold Saucer updates.

One of the other biggest additions is for those who at least have the Shadowbringers expansion, and that is the new playable race known as the Female Hrothgar. The Male Hrothgar was added during the Shadowbringers expansion, and soon, the more rare Female Hrothgar will join the fight.

The Female Hrothgar are “identified by their lithe, muscular forms” and their “predisposition for leadership.”

Yoshi-P said the Female Hrothgar will be the final race to be added to the game, but he also left the door open for them to change their minds in the future.

As reported by Nova Crystallis, there were a ton of other new updates given during the keynote, including some of the new areas we will be visiting. The new region players will be visiting is called Tural and a Female Hrothgar will be aiding players and will introduce them to what they can expect. This includes a contest where the prize is “succession as the ruler of Tuliyollal, a massive city that sits at the juncture of northern and southern regions of Tural.” This contest may also split your team of Scions, potentially causing conflict or arguments between friends.

We also got a glimpse of a new town called Solution Nine, a “city of towering facades constructed by an entirely different civilization than of Tuliyollal.” There will also be another area called Heritage Found that is a region “overflowing with lightning energies, thick thunderclouds blot out the sun, while streaks of purple levin illuminate the land day and night.”

New challenges will put players face-to-face with Valigarmanda, The Eliminator, and the Barreltender. A new 8-player raid called The Arcadion was discussed and it will take place in Solution Nine. A new Alliance Raid – Echoes of Vana’Diel – is a collaboration with Final Fantasy XI and will test players with a battle against the Shadow Lord from FFXI. There will also be an Ultimate Raid call Eden – Futures Rewritten that will bring players back to Eden and see different “what-if” scenarios with Ryne and Gaia.

Fans of Island Sanctuary will be happy to know a new type of “lifestyle content” called Cosmic Exploration that will be released after Dawntrail and will let players visit other planets.

There are so many other smaller updates coming with Dawntrail and beyond, and we encourage you to check out the official Dawntrail page for even more info.

Lastly, Akihito Yoshida created gorgeous artwork for Dawntrail and you can check it and the Official Dungeon Crawl trailer below.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Surgeon Simulator Dev Bossa Studios Confirms One Third Of Its Staff Have Been Let Go

“We tried our very best to avoid being in this position”.

Bossa Studios, the UK team behind the Surgeon Simulator series, has been forced to lay off around one-third of its staff at the end of 2023.

Co-founder Henrique Olifiers told GamesIndustry.biz it was the result of a “perfect storm of events” and the team tried very hard to “avoid being in this position”:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Daily Deals: Persona 5 Tactica, EVGA X17 Gaming Mouse, Apple AirPods Pro

It’s the first weekend of 2024, and there are some exciting deals that have gone live now that the holiday season has ended. From video games to PC components, there is no shortage of deals you don’t want to miss out on. The best deals for Sunday, January 7, include Persona 5 Tactica, the EVGA X17 Gaming Mouse, Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen), Super Mario RPG, a 2TB Crucial SSD, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, and more.

Lowest Price Yet for Persona 5 Tactica

Amazon has Persona 5 Tactica listed for $34.99, which is an even better deal than Black Friday. This action-packed adventure takes the Phantom Thieves into a new adventure with tactical combat. If you enjoyed Persona 5 Royal or Persona 5 Strikers, P5 Tactica should be a game on your radar. Erina, a character new to the series, is a great addition to an already amazing cast of characters.

$17.99 for the EVGA X17 Gaming Mouse

This gaming mouse from EVGA is a solid pickup if you’re looking for a new mouse and don’t need any fancy features. The X17 includes 10 buttons you can program as you see fit, in addition to a sensor capable of up to 16,000DPI. You can save five different profiles on the mouse, which comes in handy as you alternate between games and tasks. Lastly, there’s even the option to add or remove weight from the mouse to best fit your desired experience.

Apple AirPods Pro with USB Type-C for $189.99

Amazon has dropped the price of the 2nd gen Apple AirPods Pro truly wireless noise cancelling earbuds with the universal USB Type-C connector by $60, now only $189. With this current gen AirPods Pro, Apple has replaced the proprietary Lightning port with the more universal USB Type-C. For people who want to bring along a single charging cable for all of their mobile devices, this is a godsend.

Super Mario RPG for $47.69

The recently released remake of Super Mario RPG is 20% off at Walmart right now. If you’ve yet to either play the original or check out the remake, this is the perfect time to do so. Composer Yoko Shimimura returned to compose the remake’s original soundtrack, and each boss and environment has been expertly recrafted for the Nintendo Switch. It’s the perfect Mario title to check out if you’ve already beaten Super Mario Bros. Wonder!

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 for $95.99

Target recently dropped the price of the professional-grade Xbox Series X Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller in Red/Black to $95.99. It’s less expensive than the Black/White and Blue/Black variants. This controller wasn’t discounted at all during Black Friday and Cyber Monday and would make for an awesome holiday gift for any Xbox gamer who appreciates precision control and customizability.

Note that Target RedCard members get an extra 5% discount. Signing up is free.

2TB PS5 Compatible SSD for $128

You can never have enough storage for a console like the PlayStation 5. File sizes have only grown with each passing year, and each of the biggest titles of the year usually requires 100GB on the low end. This Crucial T-500 2TB SSD includes a heatsink, so it’s ready to slot into your PS5 with no other installation required. If you don’t have an SSD yet, this is a great deal to take a look at.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition for $11.99

This collection of titles is well worth your money for $11.99. Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes the first three Mass Effect titles and all DLC associated with each. The games are all remastered in 4K, each running at high frame rates. The first Mass Effect title specifically received loads of enhancements and updates to improve the visual and gameplay experience. You can’t go wrong with picking this one up.

2021 Apple iPad 10.2″ 64GB for $249

Amazon is offering a brand new 2021 Apple iPad 10.2″ Wi-Fi 64GB tablet for only $249. This iPad normally retails for $329, so you’re saving about 25%. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for what is already the most affordable iPad you can get. These are brand new and include a 1 year Apple warranty. You’ll get 64GB of storage with this model and Touch ID features for login.

Save $70 Off 1TB of Additional Xbox Series X|S Storage

Best Buy currently has the Seagate 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S listed for $149.99. If you’re currently just utilizing the console’s internal storage, this is a great deal to look at. Additional storage will allow you to download more games without having to free up space. It’s a great addition to your console and will benefit you in the long run. The WD – Black 1TB SSD Card for Xbox is also priced at $149.99, so take your pick of either brand.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray for $18.90

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth just a month and a half away, there has never been a better time to watch Advent Children. This 4K Remaster of the Complete edition packs in multiple bonus features, in addition to the revised cuts and over 25 minutes of added content throughout the movie. It’s likely that Advent Children could be very important to the story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, especially with Square Enix electing to bring the movie back to theaters just days before the game’s release.

43% Off The Last of Us Part I

This is the lowest we’ve seen The Last of Us Part I in quite some time. The PS5 title doesn’t go below $40 usually, so you’re saving a few extra dollars with this purchase. If you recently watched The Last of Us on HBO and are looking to experience the game it’s based on, this is the best way to do so. The remake of the 2013 title brings loads of gameplay and visual improvements to make it worth your while.

Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W

If you’re in the market for a new power supply, look no further than the Thermaltake GF A3 850W. This Gold Certified PSU is fully compatible with ATX 3.0 Standards and is PCIe Gen 5.0 ready. Additionally, it is fully modular, so you’ll only need to use the necessary cables for your specific build. Almost any of the new 4000 series cards will work effortlessly with this 850W PSU.

$800 Off One of LG’s Best 2022 TVs

Best Buy has the 77″ LG G2 Gallery Series 4K OLED TV on sale for $2,474.99. It’s one of the best TVs that LG put out in 2022, which makes this a fantastic deal for a high quality 4K OLED TV. Utilizing the Gen5 AI Processor 4K, you’ll get the best color and picture quality from your LG TV. It will automatically adjust both the picture and sound depending on the content you are watching. Additionally, this TV has 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, making it a perfect for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion for $29.99

A remaster of the PSP title with the same name, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion tells the story of Zack Fair and his journey. The game is set years before the events of Final Fantasy VII and is imperative to expanding upon the overall story. Now is a great time to pick up Crisis Core if you haven’t had the chance to play it yet, especially as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is set to release in February.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Limited Edition for $49.99

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has hit $49.99 on Amazon, matching a previous low. With the limited edition of the game, you’ll get a unique weapon and an exclusive character gear set to adjust your appearance. You’ll get to experience a full open world with Frontiers of Pandora, exploring and fighting enemies with plenty of Na’vi weapons at your disposal.