A little over half a year after GameStop shut it down in August 2024, Game Informer is officially back and the whole team is returning with it.
In a ‘Letter From the Editor’ by Game Informer Editor-In-Chief Matt Miller, it was revealed that Gunzilla Games secured the rights to Game Informer from GameStop and that it was planning to bring back not only the editorial team, but “production and beyond.”
For those unfamiliar, Gunzilla Games is the game developer and publisher behind the free-to-play extraction battle royale game called Off the Grid, which is now in Early Access. It is also the developer behind GunZ, the “Layer-1 blockchain ecosystem powering community-driven economies in AAA games,” including Off the Grid. Additionally, District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp is part of the team as Gunzilla’s chief creative officer and co-founder.
Game Informer is back! The entire team is returning and we can’t wait to reconnect. Come join us to celebrate the best in games, the people who make games, and the people who play games from around the world.
Furthermore, Miller shared that the new owners “insisted on the idea of Game Informer remaining an independent editorial outlet; they felt just as strongly as our team did that the only path forward was with an editorial group that made 100 percent of the decisions around what we cover and how we do so, without any influence from them or anyone else.”
To that end, Game Informer is now operating under a new entity called Game Informer Inc. and the over 30-year history of the website has returned after being shut off in August of last year. The team also chose to not leave a gap in their coverage, so they have “dozens” of new reviews from games that were released during Game Informer’s hiatus and their Best of 2024 awards ready to go.
And yes, Game Informer’s print magazine will also be returning, but at a later date. Miller said the team wants it to be “bigger and better than it was before.” In the coming weeks, Game Informer will also add membership and subscription benefits, an “expanded scope to our video, streaming, and feature coverage,” and a mission to broaden the “range of experts and partnerships we tap to bring you those perspectives.”
If you are interested, you can create a new Game Informer account to stay up-to-date with everything happening at the website. It will also earn you early benefits like access to the Game Informer Magazine Archive, an exclusive weekly newsletter, Dark Mode, and Early-Bird Founder Access.
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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.
When I was a kid, The Game of Life was one of my favorite family board games. We had both the tabletop and digital versions and would regularly play together. There was something so intriguing about playing through an imaginary “Game of Life” and all of the challenges that came with it. Now that I’m an adult living through the game that is life, I find myself less entranced by the concept.
Which is probably why this collaboration with Jurassic Park exists in the first place. The Game of Life Jurassic Park Edition is less about living your best life and more about holding onto it. The overall theme of this board game is really quite interesting, and with the price reduced under $20 for Amazon’s Spring Deal Days Sale, it’s definitely worth considering adding to your collection.
The Game of Life Jurassic Park Edition Is On Sale Today
With the Amazon discount, the Jurassic Park edition of this game actually drops below the price of the original. At just under $20, it’s a great price for an officially licensed board game. While this isn’t the lowest price we’ve ever seen on this board game, it is the lowest price we’ve seen in 2025 so far. If you have $20 burning a hole in your pocket and are looking for a fun family game to play, this is a great option.
The general theme of this game is very different from the original Game of Life. The goal is to hop into your all-terrain vehicle and race your way around the island collecting dinosaur eggs and park rangers before the hurricane hits. Instead of normal life obstacles, you’ll be faced with hungry dinosaurs scattered across the board. The first one to make it all the way around the island and escape wins, and the rest are left to get eaten.
Similar to the original Hasbro board game, the Jurassic Park version is meant to be played with 2-4 players. It also has a suggested age rating of 8+, likely because of the whole getting eaten by dinosaurs aspect of the game. To see a full list of instructions, check out this online manual for details.
Yesterday, the Pokémon Company launched its latest Trading Card Game expansion, Destined Rivals, via its online store. As was predicted, the set proved to be massively popular, and many of those hoping to pick up one of the sought-after Elite Trainer Boxes were hit with site crashes and multiple hour-long wait times.
If that wasn’t rough enough, we’ve today learnt that even those who managed to place an order may not actually be able to get their hands on the elusive ETB, as The Pokémon Company appears to be retroactively cancelling orders (thanks for the heads up, VGC).
Dreamhaven Showcase Recap: All the News From a New Publisher With a Legendary Past
Jackie Cole, Community Lead, Dreamhaven
Summary
Dreamhaven founder Mike Morhaime revealed the publisher’s full slate of games in today’s showcase presented by The Game Awards.
Wildgate, developer Moonshot Game’s edge-of-the-galaxy multiplayer shooter with ship-on-ship combat, was unveiled for the first time.
Also revealed were release dates for Sunderfolk and the 1.0 release of Lynked from the publisher’s line-up.
In today’s showcase presented by The Game Awards, our founder Mike Morhaime shared the most in-depth look yet at Dreamhaven’s upcoming slate of games. Sitting down with Geoff Keighley, Morhaime unveiled Wildgate, a brand-new crew-based PvP shooter set in the far reaches of space, alongside official release dates for Sunderfolk and Lynked: Banner of the Spark—and much more.
Commit Space Crimes in Wildgate, Unveiled Today
We were thrilled to debut Wildgate with not one, but two full-length trailers, showcasing the high-stakes action of this spacefaring PvP shooter from Moonshot Games. In Wildgate, four-player crews must navigate a vast, procedurally generated map, outmaneuvering rival ships, claiming valuable loot, and upgrading their vessels to survive the dangers of deep space.
Wildgate is set to launch later this year on Xbox Series X|S, and players eager to test their skills and explore the Reach early can sign up for the playtest happening next month at playwildgate.com.
Sunderfolk Launch Date Revealed
We’re excited to confirm that Sunderfolk, our innovative couch co-op tactical RPG, launches on April 23! Designed to capture the magic of game night, Sunderfolk brings players together with a fresh approach to turn-based combat and exploration. With up to four players controlling the action using a free app on their smartphone or tablet, Sunderfolk makes it easy for adventurers of all experience levels to jump in and play.
Developed by Secret Door, Sunderfolk will be available on Xbox Series X|S.
Lynked: Banner of the Spark Gets an Official Release Date
Lynked: Banner of the Spark—a colorful rogue-life RPG blending cozy town-building with challenging roguelite combat—is officially launching on May 22 for Xbox Series X|S!
In the year 30XX, an evil robot force has overrun the world, but hope isn’t lost. With your trusty Wyre grapple and a growing crew of Unibot allies, you’ll take on swarms of mechanical foes, scavenge their parts, and build a thriving community from the wreckage. Battle solo or in co-op, wield an arsenal of customizable weapons, and personalize your home and hero with deep customization options. Whether you’re rebuilding or battling, every spark counts—will you light the way?
A Haven for All Players
A passion for every kind of play is at the heart of Dreamhaven’s mission statement, and from the deep-space multiplayer chaos of Wildgate to the lively couch co-op adventures of Sunderfolk, their slate of upcoming games has something for every kind of player. Be sure to stay tuned for even more updates and announcements coming soon!
Five years ago, when Mike and Amy Morhaime founded Dreamhaven, I spoke with several of the founding members about their vision for the company. In our interview, they told me about wanting to build a sustainable publishing and support pillar for game studios, both the two they were founding at the time (Moonshot and Secret Door) and other partners they chose to work with.
At the end of our interview, Mike Morhaime shared a rather bold goal for the new company:
“We want, if I may be so bold as to say, to be a beacon to the industry,” he told me, referring back to the company’s lighthouse logo art. “There’s a better way of approaching the business of games and the operation of a game company that can produce great results, both in terms of products and financial reward and work environment, and that maybe can help elevate the entire industry.”
Around the time Dreamhaven was founded, studios spun up by former AAA leaders wanting to build something better and more sustainable were cropping up everywhere with bold promises for the future. But in the years since, the industry has weathered a global pandemic and economic instability, mass layoffs (still ongoing), studio closures, and project cancellations. Many of those visionary studios have shut down before they could release anything at all, or deferred their dreams years down the road.
Not Dreamhaven. Today, Dreamhaven partnered with The Game Awards for its first-ever showcase, in which it presented not just one or two games, but four. Two are internally developed: Sunderfolk, a turn-based tactical RPG with couch co-op is coming out on April 23, and newly-announced Wildgate is a crew-based first-person shooter about performing space heists (we previewed it, by the way!). The other two games are developed externally, but are being published and supported by Dreamhaven: one is Lynked: Banner of the Spark, an action-RPG from LA-based developer FuzzyBot that’s already out in early access and is getting its 1.0 launch in May. The other, Mechabellum, is a turn-based tactical auto-battler from Chinese studio Game River that looks exactly like the sort of thing a bunch of former StarCraft developers would be into. Mechabellum released last September, but with Dreamhaven’s assistance, Game River hopes to keep it updated and fresh long-term.
That’s a lot going on all at once for a fairly new games company! But that’s not all Dreamhaven’s up to. The company is supporting ten other external studios – several of which are similarly started and staffed by ex-AAA developers – in various ways, including investments, consultancy, and fundraising support. Sometimes it involves publishing support, but not always. Speaking to Mike Morhaime at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) last week, he tells me that from the start of Dreamhaven, its leaders have wanted to form a “net” of sorts to “capture some of this great talent that was dispersing” across the industry.
“We saw all these studios starting up and we have a lot of relationships,” he says. “We knew a lot of the folks starting up and we wanted to create a structure that allowed us to be helpful and root for these studios, and so we created a structure that allowed us to provide guidance and advice to some of these studios and be incentivized to want them to be successful.”
All week at GDC, I’ve been hearing discussions of the ongoing industry crisis, and the role in which prioritization of profits over all else has played in the wave of cancellations, shut-downs, and layoffs. I ask Morhaime how he feels about the tension between craft and business, but he doesn’t think the two are mutually exclusive. But he does believe you can’t make a good game if occasional failure isn’t an option.
“I think in order to create an environment that allows for innovation, you have to have a certain amount of safety and a certain amount of space to be able to experiment and try things,” he says. “We’re certainly not against these products being successful and making a lot of money. I think it’s about the focus. What are these teams focusing on? And they’re not focusing every day on how they maximize profitability at every step. They’re trying to make the best experience possible, which we think in the end it’s the right business strategy anyway and positions us better to be successful in the long run. There’s so much competition, you know this. There are so many games that are released every year. I think the really only way to be successful is to stand out with something special.”
With Dreamhaven and many of its partners largely staffed by AAA veterans, I ask him a two-sided question: what’s the biggest lesson he took away from his time at Blizzard, in AAA? Morhaime responds that while there were many, one of the more important was the necessity of an “iterative” game development process.
“It was never linear. It was never this straight line where you have this perfect plan and you execute the plan and everything goes according to plan and happiness and success follows. We always encountered obstacles and things that didn’t work the way we thought, and we had enough flexibility and adaptability to address those things along the way. So, I think just approaching everything with that kind of perspective where we want to be experimental, we want to try things. If things aren’t working, we want to be able to go back and fix them so that we end up with something that we’re very proud of.”
On the flip-side, then, what’s the biggest difference between how he used to work at Blizzard, and how he works now? In a word: agency.
“Probably the biggest difference, this is such an experienced team, and so we’re structured in a way that really gives a ton of agency to our leadership teams in the studios,” he says.
“And so, it’s I think just a very unique environment in terms of the relationship that our studios have with the central company. The central company or the central teams are really there to support the needs of the studio, and our studio heads and leadership, they’re also founding members of Dreamhaven. So, it’s really more of a partnership.”
Our discussions turn to new technologies, wherein lies another ongoing tension in the games industry: generative AI. Though the technology is unpopular among gamers and nerve-wracking to many developers, many AAA gaming companies are beginning to implement it behind the scenes…or even out in the open. Dreamhaven isn’t shying away from the idea, Morhaime says, but so far his company’s use has been quite cautious and limited to research on best practices or internal policy drafting. It’s not being used in Dreamhaven’s games.
“On the one hand, I think it’s super exciting, as a technologist, as someone who just loves what technology can do. This is starting to happen in our lifetime. I think we’re very privileged to get to see the birth of something so fascinating. Just a couple of years ago, I’d never imagined that generative AI would be able to do some of the things that it’s currently doing. There are a lot of complexities around it, legal, ethical, it’s also super hard to extrapolate out what this means to the way we live. I think it’s undeniable that it will impact all of us in all sorts of ways that we can just speculate on now. I think a lot of those ways are going to be very positive, and some of them are scary, but I also don’t think you can just shut it off and put it back in a box. And if you try to do that, it’s not going to slow down, it’s not going to stop. But I think the people who ignore it and pretend it’s not there will be at a huge disadvantage.”
Okay, what about a less controversial new technology, the Nintendo Switch 2? Sunderfolk and Lynked are both coming to Switch, and while Mechabellum can be forgiven for being Steam-exclusive given its genre, the Switch was notably absent from Wildgate’s otherwise multi-platform announcement. Morhaime isn’t saying any more about that, but he does offer commentary on the new console generally:
“I think console transitions can be very disruptive, but they can also be very invigorating and helpful for the games industry,” he says. “As a gaming startup, I think console transitions are a positive for us. If you already have games and you’re selling, then there’s some disruption maybe to worry about, but we don’t have that problem. And as a gamer, I think console transitions are exciting.”
As we wrap up I ask Morhaime if he feels Dreamhaven has succeeded in the mission he laid out for me five years ago? Is Dreamhaven a “beacon to the industry”? Morhaime doesn’t think so…yet. They still need to release some games, and see what the response is from players and the industry at large. “We have to put out some games that people love and we have to be financially successful, because if we aren’t either of those two things, nobody’s going to look at us as a beacon for anything,” he says.
“Really what I want to see happen is for Dreamhaven to build a reputation with gamers that the brand stands for something, a seal of quality, hopefully, that hopefully there’s some trust that we’ve built up where players know that if a game is coming from Dreamhaven, regardless of genre, that it’s going to be something very special and they’ll want to have the curiosity to check it out.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is, for the most part, a pretty unexceptional game that does most things pretty competently, though it does manage to slip into that coveted 7/10, imperfect but has something special about it to keep you thinking about it. I’m talking about its Nemesis system, a mechanic that means certain enemies you face off against remember you and your actions as they get stronger, maybe even calling out certain occasions where they killed you. It’s a lovely bit of design that, as it turns out, kind of just exists to stop the second hand game market.
It’s a somewhat smaller delay following years of schedule changes that was tucked into a recent game update video uploaded by publisher Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room. It’s a few months later than the previous plan to see the long-awaited sequel arrive in the first half of the year, but it at least comes with the promise that the game itself is finished.
“The status of the game right now is that the game is done,” Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodline 2 Executive Producer Marco Behrmann explained. “We are currently focusing on bug fixing, stability, and performance so that we can deliver the best experience to you guys once it releases.”
Although today’s schedule change is another disappointing moment in the long list of delays fans have endured through the years, the minute-and-a-half video does come with some positive updates. The Chinese Room says it’s added more content, narrative depth, and character development since its last major update while also promising that players can expect to see Fabien have an “evolved role” in the storyline when launch arrives. Unfortunately, while various dev diaries have helped keep players in the loop during development, a post from the official Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 X/Twitter page revealed that updates would be less frequent going forward.
Even those peripherally aware of Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 will know that the narrative-driven vampire game has suffered more than a few setbacks throughout the last decade. It was revealed all the way back in 2019 as the next game from developer Hardsuit Labs with a launch window of Q1 2020. It was hit with a delay to late 2020 later that same year, and although similar shifts are far from uncommon for games of this scale, this first delay was only the beginning.
At this rate, there’s no telling if the sequel to the 2004 cult-classic vidoe game will manage to sink its teeth into players this fall, but the team at The Chinese Room at least appears confident for now. In the meantime, Paradox has said that, if Bloodlines 2 manages to see a successful release, players can expect “someone else” to tackle the development of Bloodlines 3.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).
I’m absolutely naff when it comes to geography, whether it be the version in school which is actually more about rocks and rivers than places, or said places themselves and where they are. I just don’t know where things are! And that’s fine. Even still, like many others I partook in a good few games of GeoGuessr during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and found it to be good fun, particularly with some friends. And now, five years on since that whole thing happened, the geography guessing game is coming to Steam.
The Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase for March 2025 aired earlier this morning, detailing news about the upcoming Title Update 1 and teasing a bit of what’s in store for Title Update 2. In that small sliver of footage, fans saw signs that the much-sought-after return of Lagiacrus could be happening.
Right at the end of the Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase, over the Title Update 2 text, we hear some aquatic sounds, followed by a telltale clawed foot and scales. The signs feel fairly obvious that this is going to be Lagiacrus, a monster that hunters have been eager to fight again for quite some time.
Introduced in Monster Hunter 3, a.k.a. Monster Hunter Tri, Lagi was the “flagship monster” for the game, which meant it appeared on the box art. Alongside being the posterboy for Tri, the monster was fairly unique for one key reason: it incorporated underwater fighting. Submerged bouts were a big thing for Monster Hunter Tri, and Lagi was the prime example of that. Later versions in Monster Hunter Generations moved the fight back onto land, and the monster has been largely unseen since.
Still, the time spent apart has not dulled players’ love for Lagiacrus. For some, Monster Hunter Tri was a big entrance into the series. And this fight, with its fairly unique look and mechanics, the possibilities for a Lagiacrus fight are simply exciting. As one user pointed out several years ago in a thread asking why people are so excited for Lagi, “People who wish for Lagiacrus to return generally mean for underwater combat to return also, it’s sort of a package deal.”
Unique mechanics aside, Lagiacrus has remained popular in its own right. The leviathan came in third in a popularity poll for Monster Hunter’s 20th anniversary, beaten out only by No. 2 Nergigante and No. 1 Zinogre. One of its variants, Abyssal Lagiacrus, also came in 12th, beating out Monter Hunter Wilds’ Title Update 1 addition Mizutsune at 14th.
In 2022, speaking to IGN, Monster Hunter producer explained why Lagiacrus wouldn’t see a return in the current game at the time, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. Though the producer acknowledged the “desire is definitely there,” the technical implementation is difficult.
“Unfortunately Lagiacrus is just a very technological…difficult monster to implement. It’s very snake-like, its parts are all kind of touching the ground at different moments,” Tsujimoto explained at the time. “So it’s very like a writhing sort of ground-based monster.”
Yet now, Capcom has elected to bring the writhing monster back. Whether this is a solely land affair, a new variant, or we see some sort of implementation of water mechanics all remains to be seen. Fans, however, are certainly enthused. Refrains of Lagiacrus being “peak” and patient fans celebrating their apparently successful manifestations litter the comments sections.
We’ll get more details as we move past Title Update 1 and on towards the summer window for Title Update 2. But yes, it looks like Lagiacrus is going to lead the summer festivities in Monster Hunter Wilds, and that’s some very exciting news for hunters new and old.
“Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the first half of 2025,” Graham wrote in August last year. Today I write: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the second half of 2025.
Going by Bloodlines 2’s career to date, I strongly suspect that in the second half of 2025, I or some other lost soul will be writing: “Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, this time until the first half of 2026.” Let this news piece stand as a Meeting of the Ways, the profane axle running through past, present and future as the Nine-Eyed Wheel of History bears us down into the mulch.
