Black Friday is the ultimate season for Xbox deals, whether you’re after classic or newly released games, or upgrades to your setup. This year, major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are all expected to offer unbeatable prices on everything from controllers to must-play games, and the deals will only ramp up as we get closer to Black Friday itself. So, what can you expect on the Xbox front this year? Here’s our preview of what to keep an eye out for, and stay tuned, as this season’s deals could be worth the wait.

Xbox Series X|S: Black Friday Console Deals

Last year, Xbox Series console bundles dominated the holiday sales, especially at Walmart. While Microsoft initially offered $50 off select Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, many retailers took things further, rolling out even bigger discounts and bundles – like the Diablo 4 Xbox Series X bundle, which dropped to $439 and made a major splash in the sale season.

This Black Friday, we’re likely to see similar deals, with Xbox consoles getting solid discounts and even better bundle options. Stay tuned for updates, and check out our guide on where to buy Xbox Series X and S consoles for the latest options, including the new 2TB Galaxy Xbox Series X and 1TB Xbox Series S, which could also see holiday discounts.

Last Year’s Xbox Black Friday Timeline

In recent years, some of the best Xbox Black Friday deals have started surfacing around mid-November, with the biggest discounts dropping in the final days leading up to Black Friday. For fans of digital downloads, the Xbox Store typically joins the fray, offering deep discounts on popular franchises and exclusive digital content.

In 2023, Xbox’s Black Friday sales were announced on November 15, kicking off on November 17. While this year’s offers haven’t been confirmed yet, we expect a similar timeline and range of discounts. For context, here’s a snapshot of last year’s highlights:

• Up to 50% off digital games
• Up to 65% off select Xbox Game Studios titles
• Up to 67% off select PC digital games
• $50 off select Xbox Series X and Series S consoles
• Up to $25 off select Xbox Wireless Controllers
• Free engraving on Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 via Xbox Design Lab

Every Xbox Game I’d Like to See On Sale for Black Friday

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

With its intense third-person combat and rich Warhammer lore, Space Marine 2 has become a must-play for fans of the genre. A Black Friday deal would make it a fantastic gift option for Warhammer enthusiasts, making it a holiday highlight for any fan of brutal action and immersive storytelling.

Resident Evil 4

The remake of Resident Evil 4 is still going strong with an impressive $19.99 price reduction this week. Given its acclaim as one of the best remakes in recent years, an extension or further reduction during Black Friday would be a win for players who haven’t picked it up yet.

Sonic X Shadow Generations

Just released, Sonic X Shadow Generations could also see early Black Friday discounts. Sega has a history of marking down recent titles, as seen with Sonic Frontiers last year. Currently priced at $39.99 on Woot, we might see an additional price cut soon. Leaker billbil_kun has hinted it could reach around €26.99 in Europe, which could translate to a similar discount in the US.

Elden Ring

A standout in gaming, Elden Ring has gained even more depth with the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. This popular game has held its value, but Black Friday could be the perfect chance for a deal on the main game or its complete edition. Any discount would make this one of the season’s most tempting offers.

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws has received a steady stream of updates since launch, improving performance and gameplay. A Black Friday discount would be a great opportunity for newcomers to explore Ubisoft’s expansive Star Wars universe. With updates driven by community feedback, Outlaws is shaping up to be a thrilling experience for fans of open-world sci-fi games, and a sale could make it even more accessible.

Xbox Game Pass Black Friday Deals

It’s a hot question: Will we see any discounts on Xbox Game Pass during the Black Friday sales? It’s a tough one, as we’ve already seen plenty of unreal discounts on Game Pass in recent months, especially at Woot. But, Black Friday offers Microsoft a unique opportunity to ride the Black Ops 6 wave and launch Game Pass subscriber numbers into the stratosphere. Although it’s not for certain, I do anticipate Game Pass getting a discount for Black Friday, and I’m hoping it’ll be something like three months of Ultimate for $30, for example. We’ll just have to wait and see!

Xbox Controllers: $39 or Less for Black Friday?

Xbox Wireless Controllers were a hot item last Black Friday, available at a discounted price of $39, up to $25 off the regular cost. We’ve seen a similar deal recently crop up at Lenovo, but it often quickly sells out and is limited in what colors are available. If this returns for Black Friday, and consistently stays in stock for all color variants, then this will be the best time to buy.

Xbox Expandable Storage SSDs Deals

Xbox SSD expansion cards are consistently one of the most popular deals console gamers are looking for over big sale events. They’re expensive, so everyone who wants one is trying to find it at a reduced price. Looking at recent deals on Xbox-compatible SSDs, we expect to see 1TB cards drop to around $100-125, similar to the recent October Prime Day event.

Xbox Black Friday Shopping Tips

Before you dive into the Black Friday shopping frenzy, keep these Black Friday shopping tips in mind:

1. Plan Your Spending: Set a budget and stick to it. Only buy games or accessories you genuinely intend to use.
2. Create a Wishlist: Make a list of the items you want to buy and stick to it to avoid impulsive purchases.
3. Compare Prices: Double-check deals at different retailers to ensure you’re getting the best price.
4. Act Swiftly: Exceptional deals may sell out quickly, so don’t hesitate to grab them.
5. Don’t Worry If You Miss Out: If you miss a deal, it might come back on Cyber Monday or during the next Prime Day.

Looking for deals right now? Have a look at our roundup of the best PlayStation deals to see the biggest discounts available today. Or, if you’d like to see what’s caught our eye on other platforms, have a look at our individual roundups of the best Nintendo Switch deals and the best Xbox deals or our overall look at the best video game deals.

When Is Black Friday 2024?

The actual date of Black Friday in 2024 falls on November 29 this year, but the deals season will begin a lot sooner than that. Leading up to the big event, retailers will begin to open deals online. This usually starts in the last week of October, just before Halloween. Each week leading up to the event will slowly roll out more deals, which ultimately leads to Black Friday. Retailers will not reveal their biggest Black Friday deals until the big day, but most general deals will be available well in advance. Walmart, for example, has announced its official sale for November 11 this year.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Stardew Valley 1.6 finally hits the console and mobile versions of Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone’s 30 million-selling farm life simulation game today, November 4, and with it update 1.6.9 launches across all platforms.

The Stardew Valley 1.6.9 update for consoles, mobile, and PC rolls out from 10am PST, although the exact time it will be available may vary from platform to platform, Barone tweeted.

Fans do have the Stardew Valley 1.6.9 changelog to run through now (check out the patch notes below). The patch notes are just for 1.6.9, but console and mobile get all the previous 1.6 content as well.

There’s a lot to dig into with 1.6.9, but new content and features include the ability to find a lost item via a new friend who appears in the secret woods, slightly tweaked dialogues, new Easter eggs, and new hidden cheat commands.

Barone had said that following the release of 1.6, console and mobile players can still experience almost everything new with their existing save, “but if you have any interest in starting a new farm it would be ideal to start fresh.”

“Some of the new things, for example, are different in year one than in year two plus,” Barone continued. “Besides, it’s fun to start a new farm right?”

The free 1.6 update, which sparked a fresh 10/10 Stardew Valley review from IGN, launched on PC in March, which means console and mobile players have waited eight months for it to launch on their platforms. Barone initially expected the ports would be released a month later.

Barone has apologized to disgruntled fans and promised not to return to work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, until Stardew 1.6 was finalized. Haunted Chocolatier, revealed in 2021, doesn’t have a release window.

Stardew Valley 1.6.9 patch notes:

New content & features

• If you lost an item that can’t be found again, a new friend appears in the secret woods who can get it back (for a price).
• You can now put legendary fish in fish ponds. These are limited to one per pond and produce legendary fish roe. Each fish has a unique water color.
• You can now place beds and sleep inside any constructed buildings that allow furniture.
• Items dropped in water now float for a short time, so you can collect them if you’re quick or have a magnet ring.
• Sam and Shane now have work portraits while working at JojaMart.
• Slightly tweaked some dialogues.
• Added new Easter eggs.
• Added hidden cheat commands. (Only on platforms where a save edit is possible)

Balance changes

• Blue grass no longer grows slower than normal grass.
• Fruit tree growth is no longer blocked by grass and seed spots.
• Pine trees now drop one extra wood when chopped down.
• The initiation quest now counts wild slimes killed on the farm.
• Thorns ring damage now stacks if you equip two of them, and monsters killed by a thorns ring now drop loot like regular kills.
• With the Gatherer skill, the chance to double harvested forage now applies when using an iridium scythe too.
• Son of Crimsonfish can now be caught during the night market.
• Robin no longer constructs buildings during green rain in year 1.
• Placing a bomb and then switching to a weapon no longer applies its enchantments to the bomb damage.
• Added some items to shops:
  • Adventurer’s Guild: Rusty Sword, Femur, Elf Blade, Steel Smallsword, Crystal Dagger, Obsidian Edge, and Work Boots. These unlock after you reach a certain mine level, regardless of whether you found them in a mine chest.
  • Marnie’s shop: Cow Decal.
  • Hat mouse: Sports Cap.
  • Willy’s shop: Advanced Iridium Rod.
• Passing trains are now more likely to happen multiple times in the same session, but can no longer appear on consecutive days.
• Willy’s shop now opens on spring 2 in the first year even if you didn’t read his letter.
• Fixed Queen of Sauce reruns being affected by the recipes needed by unclaimed farmhands in empty cabins.
• Fixed being able to receive monster damage while jumping down a mine shaft before the screen fades to black.
• Fixed spa not fully recovering energy when a max-energy buff is active.
• Fixed sleeping late while exhausted not reducing stamina as intended.
• Fixed the catalogue and Furniture Catalogue selling items from themed catalogues like Retro Catalogue.
• Fixed exploit where a fish pond with a golden cracker could produce unlimited output. Fish pond output bonuses are now applied once when the output is created.
• Fixed exploit where you could cancel cow milking and still get the friendship boost.
• Fixed unintended extra chance of spontaneous green rain trees when loading a save in fall.
• Fixed skill buffs affecting shop item requirements in 1.6.
• Fixed sturdy ring no longer halving debuff times in 1.6.
• Fixed lower chance of catching lava eels in caldera after 1.6.
• Fixed forage crops harvested from garden pots always being low-quality and providing no XP.
• Fixed iridium scythe with forage crops not giving XP or applying the forage level quality boost.
• Fixed some weapons never dropping from crates when legacy randomization is enabled.

Quality of life changes

• The game now recovers most saves automatically if they’re broken, corrupted, or missing the SaveGameInfo file.
• The game now resends most achievements, recipes, and important mail if you somehow missed them. For PlayStation/Xbox players, missed trophies are readded when perform a specific action instead.
• Fish ponds now show the number of roe or other output items to collect.
• The wedding event now replays if you exit & reload the day.
• The tailoring UI is now a bit more intuitive: slots that can’t accept the held item are now disabled, and you can no longer pick up some items that can’t be tailored.
• Colored items like flowers now also sort by color. That avoids items being reordered randomly each time you sort your inventory.
• You can now only sell books to the bookseller via the book purchase menu, not the trade-in menu. This reduces the chance of accidentally selling a book when trying to trade it in.
• The collections tab now shows artifacts, gems, and minerals once they’re donated to the museum (not as soon as you find it).
• Clint now refills your watering can when upgrading it.
• Tweaked save process to reduce the chance of corruption.
• Anvils no longer accept parrot eggs if you can’t re-roll their level yet.
• Improved chatbox commands:
  • Chat commands are now case-insensitive.
  • Changed /help format to make room for more commands.
  • Added /help descriptions for /emote, /mapScreenshot, and /unbanAll.
  • Added consistent messages when you can’t use a multiplayer-only or host-only command.
• Performance optimizations.

Technical changes

• Migrated from FAudio to OpenAL, which should improve performance when playing audio.
• Updated SDL from 2.0.x to 2.30.4 (used for input and windowing).
• Fixed compatibility with newer Windows systems when using some older GPUs.

Gameplay fixes

• You can no longer swap a chest’s type if the new type is too small to store its current items.
• Fixed NPC issues:
  • NPCs no longer avoid passable terrain features like flooring and grass when pathfinding.
  • Fixed kicking Krobus out of the house triggering divorce dialogues.
  • Fixed Leo following his island schedule after moving to the mainland.
  • Fixed a Lewis schedule where he would overlap Marnie.
  • Fixed a Penny resort dialogue when married that was never shown.
  • Fixed Pierre sometimes showing a closed-on-Wednesday dialogue after his shop hours are extended.
  • Fixed mom or dad sending duplicate mail if you change gender later.
  • Fixed some dialogue based on location + heart level only being shown if you have 10 or more hearts with the NPC.
  • Fixed special NPC gift reaction dialogue sometimes not matching their gift taste (e.g. Willy giving a positive dialogue for triple shot espresso).
  • Fixed unable to talk to Robin after accepting a house upgrade.
  • Fixed incorrectly split dialogue in Linus’ first heart event.
  • Fixed NPCs unable to pathfind through tiles that had a tent at the start of the day.
  • Fixed NPCs not loading their green rain dialogue if you started the day on the island.
  • Fixed NPCs saying “…” in 1.6 if they bought an item you sold to a shop but they don’t have a relevant dialogue for it.
  • Fixed your spouse sometimes saying “…” instead of the intended neutral dialogue.
  • Fixed your fiancée/spouse reacting to a mermaid’s pendant as if you’re engaged/married to someone else.
• Fixed UI issues:
  • Fixed world map not always showing players at the right spot when they’re inside a constructed building.
  • Fixed links in credits no longer opening a browser page.
  • Fixed able to interact with HUD elements like the toolbar when they’re hidden (e.g. when the game is paused).
  • Fixed issues when resizing the game window:
    • advanced game options layout being messed up;
    • collections page losing its selected tab and page;
    • social page losing its scroll position.
  • Fixed themed catalogues not having category tabs.
  • Fixed forge UI destroying any item held by the cursor after unforging.
  • Fixed museum menu clicks on the OK button sometimes grabbing the artifact behind it instead.
  • Fixed tailoring menu letting you trash some non-trashable items.
  • Fixed organize button in inventory UIs letting you put any item in special chests like enrichers.
  • Fixed issue where phoning Robin to get building prices and then resizing the window would enable the build/demolish/etc options as if you’d visited the shop directly.
• Fixed specific items and machines:
  • Fixed chest color getting reset when you swap chest type.
  • Fixed crab pots not producing double catches correctly with wild bait.
  • Fixed crab pots duplicating bait when loaded by a hopper.
  • Fixed crab pots not applying deluxe bait and wild bait bonuses in some cases.
  • Fixed fences destroyed on click when surrounded by impassable objects on three sides (above + left + right) instead of four as intended.
  • Fixed geode crushers incrementing the ‘geodes crushed’ stat when hovering, which allowed unintended RNG manipulation.
  • Fixed magic quiver trinket sometimes doing nothing if both a valid and invalid target are in range.
  • Fixed mannequins losing their clothes if they’re moved into storage to make space (e.g. for an event). They now re-equip their previous clothes when they’re put back down.
  • Fixed tents not blocking item placement.
  • Fixed watering cans with bottomless enchantment sometimes shown with a half-empty meter. Bottomless watering cans are now always full.
• Fixed building upgrades not placing interior items (like the coop incubator) if…
  • furniture is in the way. The furniture is now moved just like other objects.
  • an item blocking placement can’t be moved. It’s now moved into the lost & found in that case.
• Fixed cases where the Pirate’s Wife quest chain could lock you out:
  • If you have the quest but lost the required item, you now get a new War Memento overnight.
  • If the quest was cancelled, you can now talk to Birdie to restart it.
  • NPCs can no longer mistakenly accept the quest items as gifts or refuse to accept their quest item.
• Fixed location/map issues:
  • Fixed screen viewport at wrong position right after warping on horseback in some cases.
  • Fixed wilderness farm not pre-building the first cabin in separate-cabins mode.
  • Fixed grass in Marnie’s cow field never regrowing.
  • Fixed Willy’s bait barrel missing during night market.
  • Fixed some missing map tiles which let you walk off-screen.
  • Fixed able to leave Stardew Valley Fair’s festival area in odd years.
  • Fixed weed/stone debris spawning on top of placed paths in some cases.
  • Fixed able to dig up buried treasure from non-diggable tiles in some cases.
  • Fixed forest fish no longer catchable on the four corners farm.
  • Fixed bug where using the standard farm’s wallpaper/flooring in farmhouses of another farm type would reset them to that farm’s themed defaults.
• Fixed pre-1.6 saves sometimes losing the Dwarvish Translation Guide. The fix is retroactive for affected players.
• Fixed pre-1.6 farmhand stats not migrated correctly. The fix is retroactive for affected farmhands.
• Fixed pre-1.6 tubs o’ flowers never blooming again if their first day in 1.6 was in fall or winter.
• Fixed raccoon bundle accepting anything for preserve items.
• Fixed level requirement for farmer titles lowered by one in 1.6.
• Fixed fish ponds accepting multiple golden crackers before the first one lands in the water. They now register the first golden cracker immediately (but still delay the visual change until it lands).
• Fixed two Desert Festival makeover outfits that applied male shirts to female players.
• Fixed strange behavior of shop items with both a stock limit and stack size (e.g. items in several desert festival shops).
• Fixed edge cases where viewing a previous year’s secret santa letter in the collections tab would show the current year’s secret santa in the game menu during the Feast of the Winter Star week.
• Fixed the throw-item-into-shipping-bin animation drawing the base uncolored sprite for colored items like roe.
• Fixed error loading mobile saves on other platforms.
• Fixed crash when loading a save file in some rare cases.
• Fixed crash when using a tent on Ginger Island during a night event.
• Fixed some cat gifts applying fishing bonuses from the main player’s equipped fishing rod.
• Fixed movie theater scene failing in some cases when players have previously unequipped trinkets.
• Fixed Junimo harvesters losing the item color when dropping a crop on the ground due to their hut being full.
• Fixed rare edge case where a Junimo hut output chest has too many item slots.

Multiplayer fixes

• Added an /unlinkPlayer [name] chat command, which lets the host player release a farmhand so it can be reclaimed by the next person who connects.
• Fixed being able to steal another player’s roommate.
• Fixed farmhands able to claim multiple Desert Festival fishing quests per day.
• Fixed crash when reconnecting later in the day after leaving a festival.
• Fixed host crash if a farmhand disconnects while they’re between locations.
• Fixed NPC duplication in multiplayer fish derbies.
• Fixed crab pots & farm animals owned by an offline farmhand checking the main player’s professions instead.
• Fixed crab pots with no owner checking professions from the main player instead of the player adding bait.
• Fixed farmhands sometimes not seing the message when they can’t enter an NPC’s bedroom.
• Fixed Marlon’s desert festival quests not displaying the Calico Egg reward to farmhands.
• Fixed some multiplayer logic not handling an offline/invalid player correctly.
• Fixed some potential ‘null reference exception’ crashes in multiplayer code.
• Fixed crab pots with no owner checking the Mariner profession instead of Luremaster for the bait requirement in some cases.
• Fixed Willy not sending fishing rod mail to farmhands who join after spring 2.
• Fixed ‘waiting for players’ check including disconnecting players.
• Fixed trains not playing chugga chugga sounds for farmhands.

Display text and localization fixes

• In the credits, replaced the Reddit/Twitter links with a “News & Community” link.
• Fixed a huge number of translation issues for non-English players, and added automated tests to keep translations more in sync going forward. For example, this fixes…
  • dialogue/event changes in 1.6 which weren’t applied in some languages;
  • missing dialogues and event actions;
  • missing, outdated, or incorrect translations;
  • missing event preconditions (e.g. Leah’s 10-heart event could play on a rainy day in some languages);
  • events playing the wrong music, not being skippable, or placing players or NPCs at the wrong spot;
  • translations having different dialogue portraits/breaks/etc;
  • conversation topics not started when something happens;
  • text being shown with one word per dialogue box;
  • improved grammar (e.g. gender conjugation);
  • various errors and typos;
  • and many other issues.
• Many improvements and fixes to translations and sprites, including some re-translated item names.
• Renamed “cranberries jelly/juice/wine” to “cranberry jelly/juice/wine”.
• Fixed some bad words being produced by the random name generator.
• Fixed NPC text signs and some chat/UI messages in multiplayer not always shown in your language.
• Fixed flavored items in some chat/UI messages not shown correctly (like “Player put ‘Smoked’ into the potluck soup“).
• Fixed various typos in English text.
• Fixed special order objectives not re-translated when the language changes. (This fix only applies to new special orders going forward.)
• Fixed Robin showing the wrong number of hardwood required for a house upgrade in some languages.
• Fixed some languages showing Willy’s back room invite mail as “???” in the collections tab.
• Fixed some languages having inconsistent hat hair behavior.
• Fixed some languages producing items with a different internal name.
• Fixed French players not seeing prismatic effect for Magic Cowboy Hat and Magic Turban.
• Fixed French and Japanese showing a ‘needs 5 coal’ message for the dehydrator.
• Fixed Russian club coin and slots offset issues.
• Fixed Russian Joja movie theater tilesheet not showing up.
• Fixed Russian tool tooltips having overlapped names.
• Fixed Spanish jukebox showing blank name for ‘Ginger Island’ song.
• Fixed buy-ticket messages showing an unformatted price (like 1000g instead of 1,000g).

Cosmetic fixes

• Added lights to Marcello’s book stand.
• Sam now changes uniform when he enters JojaMart, instead of only when he reaches his work tile.
• Fixed many bugs related to light sources (e.g. lights stuck on screen, shown in the wrong location, removed before they should be, etc).
• Fixed issues with the golden walnut & Qi gem drop-down display:
  • Added support for showing both at once (e.g. another player finds a golden walnut while you’re in the Qi gem shop).
  • Fixed display sometimes stuck on screen permanently.
  • Fixed display showing the wrong type in some cases.
  • Fixed display sometimes appearing in multiplayer when the value didn’t change.
• Fixed line wrapping for movie concession description tooltips.
• Fixed visual glitch during the even-year Spirit’s Eve if you have the Joja movie theater.
• Fixed issue with padding on the edge of maximized game windows on Windows.
• Fixed a shirt that looked weird.
• Fixed tooltip display issues, like an empty space for edible items that don’t recover any stamina/health (like sweet pea and crocus) or an unintended double space in tooltip buff names.
• Fixed missing shadows behind some colored items (like wine) in menus.
• Fixed texture wrapping issue with Joja door.
• Fixed glitched hidden emote animations in NPC profile menu in some cases. NPCs now use always their default sprite in the profile view.
• Fixed red slime item sprite drawn one pixel lower than other colors.
• Fixed missing pixels in anvil sprite’s outline.
• Fixed stray pixel in dried mushroom color mask.
• Fixed Krobus showing a gift icon for the void ghost pendant when he can’t accept it.
• Fixed the item-received message cutting off part of the item name if it contains a # character (like ‘Tropical Fish #173’).
• Fixed the item-received message sometimes showing no count or a wrong count.
• Fixed some farm animals having double shadows.
• Fixed stardrop tooltips showing incorrect health/energy recovery amounts.
• Fixed timing of Easter egg in summit event.

Gamepad fixes

• Fixed various issues/crashes with gamepad support.
• When buying animals or buildings with a gamepad, you can now use the D-pad to move the cursor.
• In the community center bundle UI, using gamepad triggers to move to donation slots and back now returns you to the same spot.
• Added a small delay before you can cancel a waiting-for-players dialogue using a gamepad, to prevent accidentally closing it immediately after pressing the OK button.
• Fixed gamepad issues on the new game screen.
• Fixed dresser tabs not selectable with a gamepad.

Changes for modded players

• Added a Content/ContentHashes.json file containing the MD5 hash for every vanilla content asset. This can be used by SMAPI and other tools to detect corrupted or modified game files.
• Improved debug console commands.
• When you leave a horse/mount in a temporary location, it now returns home when that location is removed.
• Fixed ‘Jewels Of The Sea’ book producing roe for custom fishing catches that normally don’t have roe.
• Fixed forage crops outside the farm being removed each week.
• Fixed meteorite, strange capsule, and stone owl only appearing in the top-left 64×64 tile area on large custom farm maps.
• Fixed pagination in powers tab when mods add more powers.
• Fixed edge cases throughout the game code related to items whose stacks can’t be reduced to zero (e.g. tools).
• Fixed various errors when custom items have no name.
• Fixed error when mods apply audio changes if there’s no audio device available.
• Fixed error if there are no movies available due to a mod bug. The game will now log a warning and choose from the full list of movies instead.
• Fixed crash if a farm animal is in a broken building or location.
• Fixed crash if a smoked fish’s original fish data no longer exists. You now get a delicious smoked Error Item instead.
• Fixed crash when custom sounds loaded from a mod’s .ogg files are paused/resumed many times.
• Fixed map tilesheet crash in some cases when playing split-screen mode with mods.
• Fixed issues when the game’s whichFarm and whichModFarm fields are out of sync.
• Fixed ‘light source already exists’ and ‘changing net field parent’ warnings in some cases.
• Fixed mod data getting reset on chest type swap.
• Fixed berry bushes showing wrong sprite in locations where seeds can be planted in any season.
• Fixed stardrop gift reaction dialogue for custom NPCs defaulting to some raw data instead of their loved dialogue.
• Fixed able to enter the Adventurer’s Guild back room without meeting the requirement if the door is open after a custom event.
• Fixed triggered actions being logged twice.

Changes for mod authors

• See the 1.6.9 mod author migration guide for new APIs, dialogue keys, game state queries, debug commands, map properties, C# constants/fields/methods, data fields, and many other technical changes.

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.

Insomniac has detailed the enhancements coming to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5 Pro, saying the mid-gen upgrade enables the “quintessential version of the Spider-Man experience.”

In a new video, below, developers from Sony-owned Insomniac talk about the PS5 Pro enhancements for Spider-Man 2, including much-improved ray tracing (yes, even in the puddles!), detail, and the ability to play at 60 frames per second but with the visual quality normally reserved for fidelity mode on the base PS5.

Senior creative director Bryan Intihar said that Spider-Man 2 running on base PS5 was a “compromise between the creative vision and the technical limitations” Insomniac ran up against when developing the 2023 adventure, which has sold over 11 million copies.

It’s a different story on the more powerful $700 PS5 Pro, as you’d expect. “When players play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation 5 Pro, they are playing the quintessential version of the Spider-Man experience on the PlayStation 5,” Intihar insisted.

While Spider-Man 2 may enjoy a jolt in the arm with the release of PS5 Pro on November 7, Insomniac has confirmed it has no plans to release DLC, much to the disappointment of some fans. The announcement came in the same breath that Sony announced a PC version of Spider-Man 2 launches in January — one of the quickest turnarounds from single-player PS5 exclusive to PC from the company so far.

IGN’s Spider-Man 2 review returned an 8/10. We said: “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 delivers Insomniac’s best tale yet, and despite its open world falling short, is a reliably fun superhero power trip.”

So, what’s next? While Insomniac has a Wolverine game in the works, fans are hoping the developer will also release a Marvel’s Spider-Man spinoff similar in scope to the hugely successful Miles Morales standalone, with Venom the potential focus. To find out how Insomniac has set up its next sequel, check out IGN’s Spider-Man 2 ending explained.

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.

Microsoft has confirmed the Xbox Game Pass November 2024 Wave 1 lineup, which includes Metal Slug Tactics, Goat Simulator Remastered, and lots of StarCraft.

First up, on November 5, Metal Slug Tactics (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as a day one launch. “Metal Slug is making an explosive return!” reads the official blurb. “Dive into this dynamic tactical RPG with a roguelite thrill and experience the iconic run’n’gun action of the original series, redefined. Grab your weapons, assemble your squad, and conquer the battlefield to defeat the infamous Rebel Army.”

November 5 is also a big day for Blizzard’s StarCraft as more Activision games enter Game Pass following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of the company last year. StarCraft: Remastered (PC) and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection (PC) both hit Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on November 5, which should help boost interest in the classic sci-fi real-time strategy games.

November 6 is a stacked day for Game Pass, with four games entering Game Pass Standard: Go Mecha Ball (Console); Harold Halibut (Xbox Series X|S); The Rewinder (Console); and Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Console).

Moving on to November 7, and we have the day one launch of Goat Simulator Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) into Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. “The GOAT is baaa-ck!” reads the official blurb. “Lick, flip, and headbutt your way across a chaotic sandbox world where you make the rules. Enjoy wacky physics, upgraded graphics, and DLC classics in one neat package. It’s time to grab life by the horns and set out on an adventure!”

Sticking with the day one releases, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on November 19. “From Xbox Game Studios and Asobo Studios, pursue your aviation career with dynamically generated missions, compete against other pilots, and explore the most detailed digital twin of the world to date. Set out on your global adventure with our largest fleet of aircraft as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 takes simulation to new heights of authenticity and realism. Pre-install today to answer the call on day one!”

Xbox Game Pass November 2024 Wave 1 lineup:

• Metal Slug Tactics (Cloud, Console, and PC) – November 5
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• StarCraft II: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Go Mecha Ball (Console) – November 6
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Harold Halibut (Xbox Series X|S) – November 6
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• The Rewinder (Console) – November 6
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Console) – November 6
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Goat Simulator Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – November 7
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – November 19
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

As always, a number of games leave Game Pass this month.

Games leaving Game Pass on November 15, 2024:

• Dicey Dungeons (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dungeons 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Goat Simulator (PC)
• Like a Dragon: Ishin! (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Persona 5 Tactica (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Somerville (Cloud, Console, and PC)

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.