Launching next week.
Developer Bombservice and publisher PLAYISM have announced that Momodora: Moonlit Farewell will be launching on the Nintendo Switch eShop on 6th February 2025.
Serving as a sequel to the excellent Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight (which we awarded a coveted score of 9/10), Moonlit Farewell carries over the same stunning pixel-art visuals and fast-paced metroidvania action teeming with awesome boss fights.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket received its Space Time Smackdown expansion yesterday, January 30, and players have expressed shock and heartbreak at one specific card’s artwork that depicts a particularly brutal scene for Pokémon.
The card in question is Weavile ex, and while this comes in three separate forms, it’s the 2 Star full art card that has fans in an uproar. In the artwork, below, a group of Weavile are hiding in the treetops with claws at the ready, preparing to prey on an innocent Swinub.
“No Swinub,” look up! Look up!” reads a Reddit post featuring the artwork with nearly 10,000 upvotes. “Always got to be one card per set that shows Pokémon in the process of straight up killing each other,” one user replied. “Leave the lil guy alone,” said another.
“The ecology of Pokémon is always so crazy to imagine,” another fan added. “Like these are still animals, some smarter than others. Just they have the ability to fire laser beams.”
Some are choosing to believe the full art card for Mamoswine, the final evolution of Swinub, depicts a happy ending though, as it shows the mammoth pocket monster looking up while protecting a handful of Swinub.
“Hey, Mamoswine protected his baby. Don’t worry. He most definitely saw those Weaviles,” said one desperate fan. “The Mamoswine alt card already looks above. He saw them. He saw…” said another.
Space Time Smackdown arrived as a Pokémon Diamond and Pearl themed set bringing the likes of Weavile and Mamoswine alongside Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and more. It includes a total of 207 cards and is therefore significantly smaller than Genetic Apex’s 286. That being said, 52 of these are the alternate art, Star and Crown rarity cards, and as Genetic Apex had 60 of these, there is a higher percentage of rare pieces to collect.
Creatures Inc. still hasn’t commented on the controversial trading update which arrived the day before, with its social media accounts and the game itself only really focusing on Space Time Smackdown. It also failed to respond to IGN’s request for comment.
A “Trade Feature Celebration Gift” did arrive with 500 Trade Tokens and 120 Trade Hourglasses (the former of which is enough to trade a single ex Pokémon), but the developer has otherwise remained quiet on fan complaints.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
The creator of frying pan simulator Arctic Eggs is working on a fishing game that I am certain will replicate the act of angling in an entirely ordinary and accurate fashion. Its approach to hooks, lines, and sinkers will combine the fishing from Animal Crossing, Sega Bass Fishing, and Webfishing, says developer The Water Museum in a post on Bluesky. It may have a splash of Dredge when it comes to inventory management too. Oh, also, a strange man might imply you are “disappointing someone”. Nothing to worry about. And the ocean may or may not turn completely red. These decisions have not been finalised. Everything is okay. It is possible the fish are safe to eat.
Cardy, Jesse, and Wes are here to go through some of Xbox’s most famous franchises, and rank each of them in tier lists based on which they enjoy the most. Is Halo still S-tier? Can Playground’s Fable return the series back to its Lionhead heights? Does anyone want a new Fuzion Frenzy? Some of these questions will be answered.
Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you’re enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.
Heya PlayStation fans. It’s time to grab your Glider and hop off the Battle Bus as Fortnite OG Chapter 1 Season 2 is now here. This Season brings back some of your favorite OG POIs like Shifty Shafts, Junk Junction, and of course, Tilted Towers.
Unleash your inner Fort Knight as Fortnite’s new OG Season will bring back OG loot like the Boogie Bomb, Minigun, and more. Fortnite OG Chapter 1 Season 2 starts today and wraps up March 25, 2025. Let’s dive in a little more on what to expect from this blast from the past:
Ah, Tilted Towers, the concrete jungle…, it’s a beautiful sight with its towering high-rises. This fan-favorite POI is home to Chests, high vantage points, and danger. Not to mention, it’s loot-a-palooza with the slew of apartment complexes and offices. Let’s be honest, we all know you’re gonna drop here first.. And potentially 99 of your opponents.
A plethora of loot awaits you in this scrapyard paradise, but stay alert— at Junk Junction, every car stack and rubbish pile could be obscuring a sneaky opponent. Be sure to stop by (or harvest) the iconic Metal Llama on your way out.
The dilapidated Haunted Hills lurk just below Junk Junction on the Island. It is full of abandoned tombs, crumbling architecture, and probably creeping opponents, too.
Snobby Shores is the perfect place to be as unneighborly as possible.. Rumor has it there’s an underground bunker hiding in this upscale community… Will you be the first to find it?
Shift to the past, shift into Shifty Shafts. This POI has a labyrinth of tunnels waiting to be explored. Navigating the tunnels may lead to some close-quarters combat, but considering the amount of loot down here, it’s high risk, high reward.
Throughout OG Chapter 1 Season 2, the loot pool will expand with gear from the classic Chapter 1 Season 2:
An all-new OG Pass is here with 45 tiers of rewards based on the classic Chapter 1 Season 2. Specifically, unlock items inspired by Sparkle Specialist and Black Knight, which were Outfits in the Chapter 1 Season 2 Battle Pass, and Cuddle Team Leader — an Outfit that made its Shop debut in Chapter 1 Season 2.
Like with the other Passes in Fortnite, unlock and claim rewards in the OG Pass by earning XP in any Fortnite experience. The OG Pass is a single track of both free and premium rewards. To claim the premium rewards as you earn XP, purchase the OG Pass for only 1,000 V-Bucks or get it through Fortnite Crew. Included as premium rewards, there are three Outfits in the OG Pass:
There’s plenty more to unlock in the Pass as well. The Chapter 1 Season 2 OG Pass is full of accessories like Back Blings, Gliders, and Pickaxes. For example, be prepared to shine wherever you go with the Sparkle Satchel Back Bling, fly in on bearcraft with the Cuddle Team Sierra Glider, and don’t axe twice with the Conqueror’s Axe Pickaxe.
This Season’s OG Pass also has an unlockable alt Style for each Outfit, and for many of the accessories. The Pass will be available to progress in until the Season ends March 25, 2025.
Whether you’ve been playing Fortnite long enough to remember the classic Chapter 1 Season 2 — or will be experiencing Chapter 1 Season 2 for the very first time — we look forward to seeing you in OG!
Including music from the 1996 SNES version.
If you’re a fan of Super Mario RPG‘s soundtrack, you might want to check out this new release from Square Enix.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Here’s how they could compare to the current Switch cases.
We don’t have a release date for the Switch 2 and we also don’t know what its game cartridges will look like just yet, but it seems we might already have “leaked proportions” of the new system’s physical game cases.
French retailer ‘Fnac’ has reportedly shared the dimensions of the Switch 2’s plastic game packaging, with the new case design said to be 13cm wide and around 19.5cm in length (via ‘Necro’ Felipe Lima of Universo Nintendo):
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Midnight Society, the game studio co-founded by stream Guy ‘Dr. Disrespect’ Beahm, has announced that it will be closing its doors and canceling its FPS game, Deadrop.
The studio announced its closure on a post on X writing, “Today we are announcing Midnight Society will be closing its doors after three incredible years, with an amazing team of over 55 developers[.]” The studio added a call asking if any studio is hiring and could offere employment opportunities to its team members.
Midnight Society was founded by Beahm, as well as veterans of games like Call of Duty and Halo Robert Bowling and Quinn Delhyo. The studio’s first game, Deadrop was meant to be a free-to-play FPS that would build on the team’s expertise. Deadrop was targeting a 2024 release, but missed their target.
— Midnight Society (@12am) January 30, 2025
Midnight Society parted ways with Beahm in 2024 after the streamer announced exchanging messages with a minor through Twitch’s Whispers feature that “sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate.” Despite the split, Midnight Society continued development on Deadrop until this year when it shut down.
The game was set in a fictional universe where “the 80s never ended,” according to the studio. Images shared by Midnight Soceity shows characters wearing Daft Punk-like helments and wielding guns and swords. The gameplay was set to be a PvPvE style extraction shooter.
Midnight Society joins the list of studios that have experienced closure or layoffs in this difficult time for the games industry that has impacted companies like Ubisoft, BioWare, Phoenix Labs, and many many more.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor.
Xbox’s popular racing game Forza Horizon 5 is heading to PlayStation.
In a surprise announcement, Playground Games announced that the most recent Forza Horizon game is coming to PS5 this spring. It will be the latest Xbox exclusive heading to the PlayStation console following Bethesda games like Starfield, Sea of Thieves, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The PS5 version was developed by Panic Button in partnership with Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games and will feature the same content as the Xbox and PC version. Furthermore, Car Packs, and the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure expansions will also be included.
The move comes amid growing interest from Xbox in releasing its games on non-Xbox platforms including PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirming its intention to support the Switch 2.
In the most recent investor call, Microsoft revealed that while Indiana Jones and the Great Circle reached 4 million players, and Game Pass on PC grew 30% to increase services revenue by 2%, overall gaming revenue fell with console sales dropping nearly 30%. This may incentivize Xbox to prioritize Game Pass and push for more games on other hardware.
Forza Horizon 5 is the continuation of the open world racing series. A little more arcade than its racing sim sibling, Forza Mortorsport, Forza Horizon 5 allows drivers to race and explore beautiful Mexico. You can read our full review here.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor.
Firaxis Games has unveiled its Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 post-launch roadmap as part of a special livestream event today.
The team came prepared, revealing names and release windows for a few of the more substantial updates it has planned to launch throughout 2025. Several DLC pack collections are on the way for those who plan to stick with the seventh entry in the long-running strategy series in the months ahead, with things like additional Leaders, Civilizations, and Natural Wonders set to be included. Alongside the paid drops arriving in the spring and summer, players can expect free Civilization 7 content to launch via patches, events, and more.
Headlining the paid DLC is a two-part release called the Crossroads of the World Collection. Part one launches in early March and comes with Leader Ada Lovelace, four Natural Wonders, and the Carthage and Great Britain Civs, while part two is set to arrive in late March with Leader Simon Bollvar and Civs Bulgaria and Nepal. Free content is also expected to release in early and late March, too, with the month split up between the new Natural Wonder Battle event and Bermuda Triangle Natural Wonder in the first half and the Marvelous Mountains event and Mount Everest Natural Wonder in the second half.
March is set up to kick off Civilization 7 post-launch support with a strong start, but there’s more set arrive later in the year. Firaxis says the Right Rule Collection will launch sometime this summer, bringing two new leaders, four new Civs, and four New World Wonders. The April through September window will also see the release of more free content and updates. It’s a promising roadmap (below) that has the 2K Games strategy-focused developer promising to deliver more post-launch support from October 2025 “and beyond.” Specific release dates for everything revealed today have yet to be announced.
Firaxis revealed even more plans in a recently published developer diary blog post, which includes the promise to add teams to multiplayer games, increased multiplayer lobby sizes, additional map variety, and even modding tools. The team explains that it will release features like these “as soon as we can.”
“The first set of updates we’ll be providing are those that directly target the game as it currently stands,” the dev diary explains. “There will be some bugs to fix, plenty of balance changes to make, and we know there are spots in the gameplay and user interface that can be enhanced with any number of quality-of-life improvements. You’ll see regular updates from us in all of these areas.”
In addition to a breakdown of how Firaxis will tackle Civilization 7 post-launch content, the livestream gave fans a closer look at how all of its systems work together in multiplayer. The hour-and-a-half-long gameplay presentation saw creative director Ed Beach take on senior designer Tim Flemming live to show off how two different strategies can be used to achieve victory regardless of whether you’re playing alone or against others. Today’s stream, Firaxis’ last before launch, also included Q&A sections where the team answered some of the community’s questions.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 launches for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S February 11. If you’re too excited for Firaxis’ latest domination strategy to wait, you can pick up the Deluxe Edition for $99.99 to take part in an early access period that begins February 6. For more, you can check out our preview, where we took a look at how things are shaping up so far.
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).
