Netflix is delisting over 20 mobile games in July, including fan-favorite titles Hades and Monument Valley.
In the latest clue that Netflix’s gaming division could be troubled, Engadget spotted that 22 games were set to exit the subscription service. It’s not clear why, or if they will be replaced with alternative titles, but What’s On Netflix cites the removals trim the streaming giant’s gaming catalog by almost 20%.
Most games will disappear on or around July 15, although dates may vary. It’s unclear if they’ll be made available for mobile players via other services or stores.
The closure came mere months after Netflix said Netflix Games was doing better than ever, but that might not have been saying much, given past data on the streaming service’s gaming offering. Netflix said gaming engagement “tripled” last year, in part due to the release of The Grand Theft Auto Trilogy on the service near the end of 2023. Netflix called the GTA Trilogy its “most successful launch to date in terms of installs and engagement, with some consumers clearly signing up simply to play these games.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Back when Matt Nava was art director for glistering mountain pilgrimage Journey, he and his colleagues at thatgamescompany took a research expedition to California’s Pismo beach, a swathe of desert that rolls right up to the Pacific Ocean. The spectacle of land and ocean overlapping did a number on Nava. “It looks like the dunes of the Sahara, you know, these massive sand dunes,” he tells me. “But it’s a beach, and so the ocean is right there. And it’s amazing visually, because you have the waves of the ocean, and you have these sand dunes, which are wave shapes, and it’s so easy to imagine them moving just like the ocean.”
UK Games Expo, Britain’s biggest tabletop gaming convention, is a delicious smorgasbord of every kind of physical game imaginable. But if there’s one thing that’s dominating this year’s event, it’s Star Wars. And no wonder: it’s a hugely popular franchise that’s currently enjoying a gaming renaissance with multiple titles getting ongoing support.
Expo is showcasing the newest and upcoming releases for three Star Wars board games and card games: the collectible card game Star Wars: Unlimited, the miniature skirmish game Star Wars: Shatterpoint, and cooperative board game The Mandalorian: Adventures.
Featured in this article
The Mandalorian: Adventures has a new expansion, Clan of Two, based on season two of the TV show that inspired the game. “As big Star Wars fans, we wanted to make sure players feel like they’re experiencing the episodes right on your tabletop,” said Josh Beppler, who co-created the game alongside veteran designer Corey Konieczka. “An expansion was something we always had hoped to accomplish because there is such lovely source material to pull from. Season two of the show was such a massive success, we were eager to get to work on the new characters that were just immense fan favorites.”
Clan of Two adds some new playable characters from the wider Star Wars universe such as Ahsoka Tano and Fennec Shand alongside legendary foes like the Krayt Dragon. But of course, that’s one of the joys of the franchise: there’s so much of it to draw on for inspiration. “What we choose to add is based on a lot of different factors,” Shatterpoint’s lead designer Will Shick explained. “Sometimes it’s just a character that we really love in the office and have a great idea for. Sometimes it’s based on inspiration for a sculpt. A lot of times it’s based on whatever’s really popular among fans.”
If you’ve looked at the release schedule for the game, you might have noticed that diversity has led them to some slightly surprising places. “We’re going to do a shark man from space,” Shick grins. “It’s so cool.” He’s talking about Riff Tamson the Karkarodon, who’s included in the upcoming Terror from Below set. It’s also an opportunity for the team to introduce a new keyword to the game, ‘Aquatic,’ unlocking new possible builds. Shatterpoint is noteworthy for nudging players toward taking thematic teams by using these shared keywords to create powerful combos, and this is no exception.
“That’s a totally deliberate design,” Shick continues. “We found the best way to develop games is to bake in soft bonuses. Or little guideposts that say, hey, this character does something really cool, but if you take this character with another thematically paired character, they both do something even better. It doesn’t force the player’s hand. It’s just that if you play thematically, those bonuses might be more valuable than you taking a min-max approach.
Keywords are also a part of collectible card game Star Wars Unlimited. But as a system that needs a lot of new cards dropped with each new set, they’re used differently. There was already an existing “Force” keyword for Jedi and Sith, but for the newest set, Legends of the Force, the designers built on that by making the Force use a distinct mechanic. Some of the game’s starting bases allow you to gain a Force token which you can spend to unlock powerful abilities on particular cards, while others give you the chance to regain the token.
It’s a mechanically interesting system, although not necessarily that well tied-in with Star Wars lore, but the designers are open about wanting fun to come first. “We tried a lot of different iterations of this mechanic,” designer Joe O’Neill explained. “Some that required you to use your deck to draw cards that gained you the Force, but that often felt very inconsistent. One piece of gameplay that is always in play is your base. So using that allowed us to create this as an opt-in decision that didn’t require any re-writing of rules, didn’t require you to draw specific cards, and then feel like you’re missing out by not drawing the right thing.”
Using the base also leans into what many collectible game players love most about their systems: deck-building. “If you’re choosing to run a heavy Force deck that means you don’t get access to energy conversion bases,” O’Neill continued. “So you have to choose between some of the strongest abilities in the game. You don’t get to run everything and we think that choice is really meaningful and an interesting deck-building decision.” His co-designer John Leto finished up by pointing out that “there are other ways to gain the Force throughout the set which feel thematic. A lot of the bases we chose were places that were important to the Force, like the crystal caves.”
While collectible games like Star Wars Unlimited want to cram as much variety into new material as possible, less malleable formats often use expansions as a way to respond to player feedback from the original game. The Mandalorian, which some fans felt was too short in only offering four missions, is no exception. “The expansion adds four more, so it doubles the amount of maps,” says Beppler. “All the missions can be played on the new maps. It’s all interchangeable. You can take any of the new characters, team them up with base game characters, finding new synergies and combos. I think exploring old missions with these new abilities will give the game a lot of new life.”
He’s hopeful that other tweaks might win over some gamers who passed on the original. “The biggest example is probably the duel deck,” he offered. “It’s such a cinematic way to experience a fight. And it really helps make the theme of these characters stand out.” He’s also included new options that substantially increase the challenge if you found the base game too easy. “We’ve added conditional ongoing events which sit in an action slot and give you a negative consequence until you clear it,” he continues. “We also created deadlier versions of some of the weaker events from the first game. It’s all optional – you can stay in novice mode, and you’re going to have a great time but you will miss some of the deep strategy that emerges from the gameplay.”
Similarly, some of the upcoming Shatterpoint material helps answer a common gripe that the scenarios aren’t varied enough. “We’ve just had a brand new key operation drop, they add a thematic campaign mode that you can play,” explained Ross Thompson, the director of marketing at Atomic Mass Games. “And we’re getting ready to release new tournament kits, too, which will include promo cards, posters and that kind of stuff. Then we’ll have galactic legends coming later this year where you can play as one character that you really want to get into.”
Shick fills in with more detail on this new play mode. “One player will get to control a super-powered main character,” he explains. “So Darth Vader as we see him on screen, not balanced for the game. Then two other players take squads of primary or secondary and supporting characters. It’s a really interesting narrative because one player gets to feel super powerful, while the other player gets that experience of being like, oh my gosh, I’m going against the big guy, how do we come out on top?”
Most ongoing miniatures games encounter the need to tweak and rebalance characters as the game goes on, and Shatterpoint is no exception. However, in the age of online material and army-building apps they’ve taken the unusual step of releasing updated cards and encouraging players to print out the updates. “Print and play offers the flexibility to make those changes and offer them to players widely, ensuring that they’re free and not behind a paywall,” said Shick.
This feels like a remarkably forward-thinking attitude in a sector that’s dominated by power creep and “fear of missing out” marketing. “We’re not too proud to admit the fact that, like game development, design is a craft,” says Shick. “Once a game goes out into the wild, players might do different things to what you anticipated. So we want to make sure that we’re honoring people’s collections, that we’re bringing that value and making the best game possible, both going forward and looking back. If a player picks up a starter box and gets massively appealing characters like Anakin and Ahsoka, they better feel good. We want to ensure they play just as well as they did when the game came out.”
Talk like this is undeniably inspiring. It’s refreshing to talk to designers and feel like they’re truly invested in what they’re doing. It’s true of all the creatives on these games: their enthusiasm for their work and from Star Wars radiates off them as we speak. The Star Wars Unlimited team even collects their own product from booster packs. “We have an entire Teams channel at work just for trading within the studio,” O’Neil laughed. “People post their wants list and when the set comes out we all sit down and all crack our boxes, then set up trades.” And you know that a game design team is doing good work when they’re eagerly looking forward to finishing the day and going on to eat their own dog food.
Matt Thrower is a contributing freelance writer for IGN, specializing in tabletop games. You can reach him on BlueSky at @mattthr.bsky.social.
Following the announcement earlier this week that Riot-backed Minecrafty sandbox game Hytale has been cancelled, a former Hypixel Studios dev has claimed that internal friction and “mismanagement” at the studio are to blame.
Hytale had been in development for a decade when Hypixel co-founder Noxy revealed that it’d been canned in a website post on June 23, also revealing that the studio will be closing in a few months’ time. The game’s release had been pushedback a number of times since 2020.
Death Stranding 2 has a dialogue option at the beginning of the game that fans are getting a kick out of, but while it looks like a scary choice at first, it’s just a harmless Easter egg.
Warning! Spoilers for Death Stranding 2 follow:
Death Stranding 2 kicks off with a Far Cry-esque option at the beginning of the game where Fragile (Léa Seydoux) recruits Sam (Norman Reedus) to Drawbridge, but you get the option to refuse. Death Stranding 2 then does a Groundhog Day thing where the game keeps showing the intro over and over, and you can keep selecting “I wont do it,” but eventually the game forces you to accept the offer.
This first major dialogue choice doesn’t stop you from progressing the story, nor does it do that thing some games do by rolling credits early. It’s a perfectly safe Easter egg that’s in keeping with the Hideo Kojima style, and a fun distraction before you get stuck into the game.
Check out the video below, where we show you exactly what happens when you refuse Fragile’s plea to join Drawbridge.
IGN’s Death Stranding 2 review returned a 9/10. We called it “a triumphant sequel that emphatically delivers on the promise of its original.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Nintendo Pictures, a Nintendo-owned subsidiary specialising in the production of “visual content”, has been revealed to have worked on the new PS5 title Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.
As covered by VGC, the company can be spotted in the credits for the game and specifically helped out on motion capture. While this might come as a bit of a surprise, it’s important to note that Nintendo Pictures had also worked on the original Death Stranding in a similar capacity, though this was before its acquisition when it was still called Dynamo Pictures.
I’m sure Supermassive are going to do a perfectly respectable job with horror puzzler Little Nightmares 3. But, when there’s two games coming out, one of which looks like a pitch-perfect spiritual sequel by Little Nightmares‘ creators in the form of Reaminal, and the other is an eh-looking numbered affair by a different, talented but wildly inconsistent studio, it’s hard not to pick favourites. Nonetheless, Little Nightmares 3 is out on October 10th. Here’s a trailer. It’s too bright. Grumble.
The Palworld x Terraria update has launched, bringing fishing, salvaging, bigger towns, a Pal trust mechanic and more in one of the biggest patches the game has seen since its early access release last year.
Update v0.6.0 adds the collaboration with Terraria, Re-Logic’s hugely popular sandbox game. It includes a unique dungeon featuring enemies from Terraria, and the ability to collect materials in the dungeon to create equipment from the world of the game. The Moon Lord, a boss from Terraria, is now a raid boss in Palworld.
But the Terraria content is just one part of the update itself. Not only are there PlayStation 5 dedicated servers, but a number of new features. These include fishing, a salvage system, three new types of islands, a Pal trust mechanic, and the level cap raising from 60 to 65. All that and more is detailed in the patch notes, below.
Palworld launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC early 2024, breaking sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Pocketpair boss Takuro Mizobe has said Palworld’s launch was so big that the developer couldn’t handle the massive profits the game generated. Still, Pocketpair acted swiftly to capitalize on Palworld’s breakout success, signing a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment that’s tasked with expanding the IP. It later launched the game on PS5.
After Palworld’s huge launch, comparisons were made between Palworld’s Pals and Pokémon, with some accusing Pocketpair of “ripping off” Pokémon designs. But rather than file a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company went down the patent route. The companies want 5 million yen (approx $32,846) each plus late payment damages, as well as an injunction against Palworld that would block its release.
At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, IGN sat down for an extended conversation with John “Bucky” Buckley, communications director and publishing manager for Palworld developer Pocketpair. We spoke following his talk at the conference, ‘Community Management Summit: A Palworld Roller Coaster: Surviving the Drop.’ During that talk, Buckley went into candid detail about Palworld’s struggles, especially the accusation it used generative AI (which Pocketpair has since debunked) and stealing Pokemon’s models for its own Pals. He even commented on Nintendo’s patent infringement lawsuit against the studio, saying it “came as a shock” and was “something that no one even considered.”
Palworld: Tides of Terraria update 0.6.0 patch notes:
▼Terraria Collab! ・Terraria Dungeon ⤷ A unique dungeon featuring enemies from Terraria has been added! Collect materials in the dungeon to create equipment from the world of Terraria!
・Terraria Equipment ⤷ 6 new weapons and 7 new armour pieces from Terraria have been added!
・The terrifying “Moon Lord” raid boss has appeared! ⤷ The Moon Lord has invaded Palworld! Work together with your friends and Pals to defeat the greatest threat the islands have faced!
▼New Content ・PS5 Dedicated Servers!
・Fishing! ⤷ Craft a fishing rod and bait to catch new Pals! To start fishing, cast your rod in water where you can see fish shadows.
・Salvage System! ⤷ Ride on water Pals and use the fishing rod to salvage supplies at sea! Collect new ores salvaged from the ocean floor to strengthen your weapons.
・New Islands! ⤷ Three new types of islands have been added to the world: Tropical Islands, Iceberg Island, and Shipwreck Island! Find new Pals that live on each of these new islands!
・Mission System! ⤷ You can now find and accept missions around the Palpagos Islands. Help the islanders and get rewards!
・Zoe’s Special Mission! ⤷ By completing missions for Zoe, you can earn her trust and recruit her as an ally!
・Pal Trust Mechanic! ⤷ The more time you spend with your Pal, the more trust you will gain, and stats will be increased. The weaker a Pal’s original stats are, the greater the trust adjustment will be, so even weaker Pals will be able to shine!
・Sleep together with your Pals! ⤷ After a hard day of farming and battling bosses, you and your Pals can take a hard-earned rest together!
・Treasure Maps! ⤷ Use treasure maps to find the location of the hidden treasure and obtain valuable items!
・Enemy Bases?! ⤷ Enemy factions now build bases just like players! They are on high alert and will defend it with their lives, but if you manage to raid them successfully, you can obtain new blueprints for buildings related to that faction.
・Settlement Overhaul! ⤷ We’ve made the settlements larger and feel more lived-in! There are also many mission NPCs now to meet.
・Player level cap raised from 60 to 65!
・New Buildings! ⤷ Pal Surgery Table – By using various implants, you can overwrite your Pal’s passives! You can also change the gender of your Pals here! ⤷ Fishing Pond – Relax and catch some fish in the comfort of your base. ⤷ Hexolite Quartz Mine – Well, you knew we would add this one eventually! ⤷ Large Incubator – Hatch multiple eggs at the same time! ⤷ Palbox Control Device – A terminal that allows you to access your Pal Box from anywhere in the base. It makes Pal swapping during raid battles more efficient.
・ New Building Material – [Clean] ⤷ Decorate your base with futuristic floors and walls with this new building set!
・New Mechanic – Turbulence ⤷ Find unusual air turbulence around the world and use it to jump high into the sky!
⤷ Boost Gun ⤷ Pal Recovery Grenade (These two are weapons for tamers who want to support their Pal!)
・New Item Types! ⤷ Whistles and Growth Acceleration Bell have been added! ⤷ New food recipes.
▼Arena ・A single-player challenge mode has been added! ⤷ Raise your rank by facing off against the fierce warriors of Palpagos Island! Get various rewards with the battle tickets you receive when you win!
・You can now set rules in the arena, such as banning certain pals. ・A public Pal Box has been added at the entrance to the arena that all players can use. ・An arena spectator function has been added in multiplayer!
▼Mechanic Adjustments ・Added equipment durability to the game settings. ・When a cooling Pal is assigned to the flea market, food spoilage rate is now reduced. ・Lyleen’s ability “Bountiful Protection” now recovers HP for all allies within range.
▼Balance Adjustments ・Some aggressive enemies have been made friendly. ・Pal skill cooldowns will tick down even if they are not summoned. ・The speed and stamina of Pals that can be mounted have been adjusted, and the speed of some Pals that were too slow has been improved. ・The lineup of bounty hunters has been expanded. ・With the implementation of the mission system, the rewards obtained from NPCs have been adjusted. To maintain fairness, conversation logs with all NPCs have been reset so that rewards can be received again. ・Pal Condensation is considered end-game content, so the strength of Axel, Marcus, and Victor on normal difficulty has been reduced to reduce its necessity. ・The power of some active skills, such as Pal Blast, has been increased. ・The probability of getting books that enhance Pal’s work aptitude from attribute treasure chests has been increased.
▼Pals ・New Skins!! The results of the 1st year anniversary popularity poll have been decided, and three new skins have been added to celebrate these results! (※You must own the Pal to equip the skin) ⤷ Crown Chillet ⤷ Cyber Jetragon ⤷ Desert King Anubis
・Pals can now swim! ⤷ Swimming motions and animations have been added for Pals, and their speed in the water has been adjusted.
・New Water Skills ⤷ Geyser Gush ⤷ Aqua Surge ⤷ Torrential Blast ⤷ Hydro Slicer
▼UI ・Implemented “Easy Bulk Storage” feature! Conveniently store all materials in any chest around your base with the click of one button! ・Changed specifications to automatically select materials in bulk in the Pal Condensation UI. ・You can now set and quickly select your current Pal presets from the Pal Box UI. ・All neutral enemies now have green HP gauges, and only aggressive or hostile enemies have red HP gauges.
▼Multiplayer ・Fixed a bug where the option to display servers with matching versions was not working.
▼World ・Added more patterns to random dungeons. ・Fishing spots where fish shadows appear have been placed all around the world. ・Salvage spots have been placed out at sea.
▼Achievements ・Several new achievements have been added.
▼Bug fixes ・Fixed a bug where Jetragon would jump too high when jumping. ・Many many other minor issues have been fixed.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Yoshi’s Story is already available for the Switch Online’s N64 app and now Nintendo has added the game’s soundtrack to its mobile music app.
All up, there are 49 tracks with a runtime of 58 minutes in total. You’ll be able to listen to smooth tunes like “Yoshis on the Beach”, opening tracks from the beginning of the game including “The Yoshis Grew Happier”, and even funky tracks like Yoshi’s Disco.
