Category: Video Games

Talisman Board Game Buying Guide and Expansions

Originally published in black and white by Games Workshop in 1983, Talisman is a classic fantasy board game with a rich history spanning over 40 years. Commonly compared to Monopoly, Talisman features an easy to learn and basic gameplay loop that makes it a great board game for beginners, despite its extremely randomized outcomes, hectic situations, and often longer-than-average play times.

Players choose from over 12 characters, all of which are classic fantasy classes, like the Wizard and Thief, and then the game begins. In it, two to six players battle it out to be the first to reach the Crown of Command in the center of the board and defeat the dragon, venturing through three main sections of the board: the outer, middle, and inner.

Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to use over 100 different Adventure, Spell, or Talisman cards to gain the upper hand or screw with your opponents. You might even be able to turn one of them into a toad.

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The entire history of Talisman is vast and has many out-of-print versions and expansions, so this guide will focus solely on expansions and spin-offs that are more easily accessible.

The Base Game

Talisman: The Magical Quest Board Game 5th Edition

  • Price: $59.99
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 12+
  • Play Time: 60-90 minutes

Released in July 2024, the 5th Edition of the decades-spanning fantasy board game is the latest and most up-to-date version available. With the game’s rich history, it’s easy to get confused on which versions to pick up – don’t look on eBay, as 4th Editions can go for almost $150! Instead, pick up the 5th Edition, which offers the base game as well as the gameplay mechanic changes first introduced in the 3rd Edition. Additionally, compared to the 4th Edition, the newest edition of Talisman is a more streamlined, slightly less chaotic experience; the 5th Edition rulebook even mentions explicit changes with a symbol next to the rules blurbs. This version also comes with two fewer characters; it cuts the Bard and Druid.

Talisman Expansions

A very notable bummer is that the 5th Edition is not backwards compatible with the extensive library of 4th Edition expansions. But there’s a new 5th Edition expansion available called Fate Beckons.

Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons

  • Price: $33.99
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 12+
  • Play Time: 60-90 minutes

The first expansion for 5th Edition, Fate Beckons offers cooperative play for the first time in mainline Talisman history. Players must complete 5 Trials in order to win the game, and do so using over 50 new cards, tokens, and figures.

Talisman: Legendary Tales

  • Price: $49.99
  • Players: 1-6 players
  • Age Range: 14+
  • Play Time: 20-40 minutes

Not so much an expansion as it is a spin-off, Talisman: Legendary Tales is a story-focused adventure that has players working together to recover the five Talismans to thwart the evil that vies for control over the Crown of Command. Each of the five lost Talismans is recovered in their own unique adventures, and can be replayed as many times as possible to get the full experience. Great for beginners and those looking for quick-playing board games.

Talisman: Themed Versions

There are a few themed versions of Talisman, with Batman and Star Wars tie-ins out of print.

Talisman: Harry Potter

  • Price: $59.99
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 11+
  • Play Time: 90+ minutes

The gameplay mechanics are virtually unchanged from the 4th Edition here. The main draw is the Wizarding World setting, with amazing art and figures of fan favorite characters, like Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Dumbledore. Make your way to the center of the board to take on the Dark Lord Voldemort to win the game.

Talisman: Kingdom Hearts

  • Price: $59.99
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 90+ minutes

This version also maintains the mechanics of the original game, and sees classic Kingdom Hearts characters like Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku battle their way through Heartless to reach the inner part of the board and seal the Door to Darkness.

Talisman Adventures RPG

Talisman Adventures: Core Rulebook

  • Price: $35.94
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 2-4 hours

Essentially a DnD-like (and DnD-lite), the Talisman Adventures RPG Core Rulebook has everything you need to get started with the 3D6 ruleset: a breakdown of each character class, the lore, and, of course, how to play. Choose your class, ancestry, and skills as you set forth on your own unique Talisman adventure. You can find other RPG board games here.

Talisman Adventures: Myths and Monsters

  • Price: $33.52
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 2-4 hours

The first expansion for the RPG experience adds an impressive amount of content, including bigger and badder enemies and bosses, as well as new events and festivals. This’ll surely add a lot of meat to the bare-ish bones of the starter book.

Talisman Adventures: Tales of The Dungeon

  • Price: $22.11
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 2-4 hours

The next expansion is much darker in tone, and sees adventurers delving into the Glittering Caverns to confront the Lord of Darkness. This offers two new ancestries; minotaur and vampire, and two new classes; necromancer and tomb robber.

Talisman Adventures: Tales of the City

  • Price: $16.60
  • Players: 2-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 2-4 hours

Finally, Tales of the City brings players to some of the seedier areas of the City. From shady goblins to pickpockets, this expansion adds plenty of new and unique story content to round out your adventure, as well as the new goblin ancestry and three new classes: alchemist, tinkerer, and gladiator.

Talisman Board Game Accessories

Talisman Board Game Organizer

If you’re in possession of the 4th Edition and its expansions, this organizer has everything you need to house the insane amount of cards, tokens, and figures all in one place.

Talisman Adventures RPG Game Master’s Kit

The perfect tool for those looking to DM your first campaign, this kit includes 24 pages of tips and expanded rules explanations, a four-panel screen used for reference while playing, more Fate tokens, and blank character sheets.

Talisman Adventures RPG – Premium Dice Pack

Includes six gorgeous 6-sided dice and a Talisman Adventures drawstring bag.

Talisman Adventures RPG – Accessory Pack

This set includes six more awesome D6, as well as 7 heavy light and dark Fate tokens.

Talisman Adventures RPG Playtest Guide

  • Price: $6.99
  • Players: 3-6 players
  • Age Range: 13+
  • Play Time: 2-4 hours
  • See it at Amazon

A sort of proof of concept entry level appetizer, the playtest guide is great for those looking to dip their toes into their first RPG. Includes six characters and nine classes to choose from.

Drawstring Bag Bundle

Looking for a one-stop-shop and then some for all these accessories? Online retailer Fapeto has you covered. This bundle includes the Playtest Guide, Accessory Pack, and Game Maker’s Kit mentioned above, with a bonus 8x10in. drawstring bag to carry it all.

How to Play Talisman Online

  • Digital: $52.99
  • Physical: $29.97

This video game adaption of the board game classic is a faithful recreation, offering the same gameplay mechanics and rules, but with awesome 3D graphics and visuals that make the experience that much more immersive. The 40th Anniversary Collection includes all 13 of the 4th Edition expansions, from Blood Moon to the Nether Realm. The PS4 and PC versions include extra characters not available on Switch. Notably, the physical versions on PS4 and Nintendo Switch are not region-locked, but the expansions are.

The Bottom Line

Talisman is undeniably one of the most popular fantasy board games of our time, with a rich history of expansions and revisions spanning over 40 years. The streamlined ruleset of the 5th Edition makes learning it for the first time a breeze, and the updated fantasy art is worth the upgrade. And while many of the 4th Edition expansions are out of print and are either hard to find or expensive on the secondary market, the 5th Edition of the base game marks a perfect jumping on point for newcomers or those looking for a more laid back experience. The Talisman Adventures series of RPGs is a worthy, barebones competitor to DnD, and is great for budding DMs and players of all ages looking into trying out their first RPG.

Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.

No plans for a Space Marine 2 PvPvE mode – “it sounds great on paper”, but “it’s very annoying” in practice

In the grim darkness of the far future, you will not have to worry about getting preyed upon by rival Space Marine chapters whilst duffing up the Tyranids, for there are no plans to add a PvPvE mode to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. That’s according to game director Dmitry Grigorenko, who observes that enjoyable PvPvE is the “holy grail” of game design, much-sought and seldom claimed. Balancing shooters in which players fight both each other and the bots is tricky, especially in a game as prone to dousing the screen in giblets as Space Marine 2.

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PlayStation: The Concert World Tour Coming With Music From God of War, The Last of Us, and More

Sony has announced PlayStation: The Concert, the world tour of a “state of the art production” with music from games such as God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, and more.

Some details are still hazy as the PlayStation Blog post detailing PlayStation: The Concert and a press release provided to IGN have conflicting and seemingly incomplete information, but the world tour will premiere in April 2025.

The first show will take place in Dublin, Ireland, seemingly on April 19, before shifting to the UK for six tour dates between April 21 and April 27. It will then head to “more than 200 cities” across Europe, the U.S., and more.

Concert locations beyond Europe will be announced “very soon,” Sony said, and so far only the Ireland and UK dates have been announced. PlayStation: The Concert will take place in Birmingham on April 21, Manchester on April 22, Leeds on April 23, Newcastle on April 24, Glasgow on April 25, and London on April 27.

It will later take place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Paris and Amnéville, France, Brussels, Belgium, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Munich, and Oberhausen, Germany, Zurich, Switzerland, Bologna, Italy, Budapest, Hungary, Sofia, Bulgaria, Vienna, Austria, Bratislava, Slovakia, Prague, Czech Republic, Lodz, Poland, Copenhagen, Denmark, Gotenburg, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway.

Antwerp in Belgium and Tampere in Finland were also listed but have a strikethrough on the PlayStation Blog, seemingly suggesting these dates were removed.

Tickets will be available on the PlayStation website on October 16 at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK for those who use the early access code PLAYCONCERT24, though the site doesn’t appear to be available as of yet. The press release provided indicates an October 18 availability date for those without early access, which is essentially no one since PlayStation made the code public.

PlayStation: The Concert is promised to be a “deeply immersive live concert experience,” Sony said. “An innovative multi-screen design, combining advanced LED and projection technologies, will enhance the event and deliver the most iconic moments and imagery from these games.

“Coupled with surround sound, the show delivers breathtaking visual and audio depth, creating an immersive experience that will allow the audience to relive their gaming adventures like never before.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Cop Bastard channels John Woo for some perfectly punchy FPSing

If you’ve read any of my stuff by now, you’d know that I am a simple man who enjoys violence in his games. No story? Absolutely fine by me – cuts the faff. This is why I like the demo for first-person shooter Cop Bastard a lot. It’s set in early 90s Japan, where you’ll smoke fools with guns in straightforward homage to 90s action movies. And it has an updated demo – not officially part of the latest Steam Next Fest – out right now.

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Castlevania Dominus Collection Lands New Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes

Re-bite.

We had a sublime time with Castlevania Dominus Collection when it shadow-dropped onto Switch back in August and now Konami has released a new patch to make things that bit better.

The latest update is a small one, we’ll admit, but there are some nice tweaks here all the same. The most notable addition this time around is a new helping of Order of Ecclesia artwork in the Gallery Mode, though the ver. 1.0.1 patch also reproduces some of Portrait of Ruin‘s minor glitches (for some OG exploits) and fixes a bug in Dawn of Sorrow.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Coming to Game Pass: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, StarCraft & StarCraft II, and More

Coming to Game Pass: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, StarCraft & StarCraft II, and More

  • Megan Spurr, Senior Community Lead, Xbox Game Pass

Happy spooky season to those who celebrate! We have a collection of scary games for you to enjoy with Game Pass, while hiding under the blankets (or maybe that’s just how I play). And if you want to do something slightly less scary, we have a whole list of games for you to start pre-installing including more day one additions like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and more! Let’s get to the games.

Coming Soon

South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 16
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

South Park The Fractured But Whole Key Art

From the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, comes South Park: The Fractured but Whole, a sequel to 2014’s award-winning South Park: The Stick of Truth. Players will assume the role of the New Kid and join South Park favorites Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman in this hilarious and outrageous RPG adventure.

Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 17
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Making a return to the Game Pass library! Donut County is a story-based, physics puzzle game where you play as an ever-growing hole in the ground. Meet cute characters, steal their trash, and throw them in a hole.

MechWarrior 5: Clans (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 17
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Available on day one! In MechWarrior 5: Clans, players become new Smoke Jaguar pilots in the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere. Lead a five-mech “Star” squad across diverse planets, engaging in an expansive campaign with immersive gameplay and intricate combat. Armed with customizable BattleMechs featuring cutting-edge technologies, players explore a wealth of tactical options and strategic possibilities.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 25
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Black Ops 6 Key Art

Available on day one! Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Developed by the award-winning teams at Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is an action thriller with a mind-bending narrative and unbound by the rules of engagement. This is signature Black Ops across a cinematic single-player Campaign, a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, and the epic return of Round-Based Zombies.  

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (Cloud) – October 25
Game Pass Ultimate

Coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Game Pass Ultimate! In the direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against the ultimate threat. The ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp across the world causing Task Force 141 to fight like never before.

Call of Duty: Warzone (Cloud) – October 25
Game Pass Ultimate

Coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Game Pass Ultimate! Welcome to Call of Duty: Warzone, the massively popular free-to-play battle royale experience, which now features Urzikstan, Rebirth Island, and Fortune’s Keep.

Ashen (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 29
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Returning to the Game Pass library, Ashen is an open world co-op action RPG about a wanderer in search of a place to call home. As you adventure through the realm of Ashen, you’ll occasionally encounter other players in a passive, co-operative multiplayer open world. It’s up to you to decide how to deal with them – fight together against evil, invite them into your party, or simply ignore them.

Dead Island 2 (PC) – October 31
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Dead Island 2 Key Art

Available on Cloud and Console and now coming to PC Game Pass! A deadly virus is spreading across Los Angeles, turning its inhabitants into zombies. Bitten, infected, but more than just immune, uncover the truth behind the outbreak and discover who – or what – you are. Survive, evolve and save the world!

StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Prepare to rediscover a classic. StarCraft: Remastered upgrades Blizzard Entertainment’s original sci-fi real-time strategy game and its acclaimed expansion, StarCraft: Brood War, from beginning to end. Experience the intergalactic battle between the terran, protoss, and zerg with improved graphics and audio, and the same classic gameplay that made StarCraft a global phenomenon.

StarCraft II: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

With millions of players already in the fight, StarCraft II has made gaming history. Now it’s your turn to take command and lead vast armies of terran, protoss and zerg to victory amongst the stars. Prepare for interstellar war, commander. You’re needed at the front. The StarCraft II: Campaign Collection includes Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void, and Nova Covert Ops.

DLC / Game Updates

Core Keeper Coming to Xbox One – October 17
Game Pass members on Xbox One will be able to dive into Core Keeper on October 17! Craft, build, and explore in a dynamic world. Develop your character, uncover ancient secrets, and engage in thrilling co-op or competitive play. Embrace the challenge and unearth the mysteries that await!

Game Pass Ultimate Perks

Monster Hunter Now: MHN Bundle – Available Now
Claim one Ultra Hunting Ticket, 2 Paintballs, 2 Potions, a Magnamalo, and  Rajang crafting materials for weapons and armor. This Perk content requires Monster Hunter Now (mobile) to use. 

Throne and Liberty: Clay and Mischievous Bundle –  Available Now
Express yourself with this Clay Outfit in Xbox colorways and a Mischievous Youngster Amitoi to tag along on your adventures. Base game Throne and Liberty included with this Perk.

Free Digital Comic GONE #1 by Jock from DSTLRY – Available now
On a distant, impoverished planet where resources are scarce, the best place to be is gone. Follow Abi’s epic sci-fi journey as she is swept light years into the cosmos. Written and drawn by Jock, from DSTLRY.

Leaving October 31

The following games will be leaving the Game Pass library soon, so be sure to jump back in and wrap up where you left off. Remember you can save up to 20% off your purchase with your membership discount to keep the good times going!

  • Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Headbangers (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Inkulinati (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Lonely Mountain’s Downhill (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Mineko’s Night Market (Cloud, Console, and PC)

We are super excited to see you jump into these games (including those checking out Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 with cloud gaming in case you missed that announcement yesterday!). We’ll be back in November with more games, and until then keep in touch with us across Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox. Talk soon!

The post Coming to Game Pass: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, StarCraft & StarCraft II, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Announcing PlayStation The Concert – World Tour 2025-2026

Whether you realize it or not, music is connected to some of our strongest gaming memories. Whether it’s the rousing choir of the God of War games or the delicate flutes of Ghost of Tsushima, the PlayStation soundscape has created some of the most emotional moments I’ve experienced in entertainment. 

I suspect I’m not alone in this. And so for the many live music lovers in our community, I’m pleased to share that the teams here at PlayStation have been working together with RoadCo Entertainment, and GEA Live to develop a groundbreaking live music event that brings our most iconic gaming soundtracks to life under the PlayStation banner for the first time. With a state-of-the-art production, this show will merge thrilling music, cutting-edge visuals, and legendary video game titles into an unforgettable experience.  

PlayStation The Concert transports fans into the epic worlds of God of War, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon franchises amongst many others that reflect our 30 years of making games that have not only captivated players but are celebrated for their breathtaking and immersive soundtracks too.  

With innovative technology and world-class production, fans will experience a stunning fusion of multi-layered visuals, immersive surround sound, and an all-star ensemble blending classical and modern instruments. The legendary scores from composers like Gustavo Santaolalla (The Last of Us), Joris De Man (Horizon), Ilan Eshkeri (Ghost of Tsushima), and Bear McCreary (God of War) will reach new heights, offering fans a unique, deeply immersive live concert experience. 


Announcing PlayStation The Concert – World Tour 2025-2026

With video game music stepping into the global spotlight, PlayStation: The Concert is poised to redefine what a music experience can be. This is more than just a show; it’s the ultimate video game concert experience, embodying PlayStation’s innovative spirit and pushing the limits of what’s possible; from your console to stages around the world. 

The global tour launches with a world premiere on April 15, 2025, in Dublin, Ireland, before heading to more than 200 cities across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond. Whilst we are only announcing European dates at this time, be assured we’ll be announcing other world locations very soon.  

The 2025 tour schedule so far includes: Dublin, Ireland – Glasgow, Scotland, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, UK – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paris, Amnéville, France – Antwerp, Belgium – Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Munich, Oberhausen, Germany – Zurich, Switzerland – Bologna, Italy – Budapest, Hungary – Sofia, Bulgaria – Vienna, Austria – Bratislava, Slovakia – Prague, Czech Republic – Lodz, Poland – Copenhagen, Denmark – Gotenburg, Sweden – Oslo, Norway – Tampere, Finland.

We don’t want you to miss out on this extraordinary event so our partners are giving the PlayStation community first opportunity to score tickets through the early access code PLAYCONCERT24 which will be usable from 7am PT tomorrow Wednesday, October 16 2024. Tickets are expected to go fast! 

For more information on tickets, show and future tour dates please visit www.playstation.com/theconcert. Join the conversation with #PlayStationTheConcert.

Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 October 2024 Lineup Headlined by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 October 2024 lineup.

The headline here is of course the October 25 release of Black Ops 6, the first Call of Duty game to launch day-one on Game Pass. It comes following a year after Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which has also seen the likes of Diablo 4 and Modern Warfare 3 arrive on Game Pass, and will, in November, see StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection hit the subscription service.

Black Ops 6’s launch straight into Game Pass is a big gamble for Microsoft. It hopes the power of Call of Duty will boost subscriber numbers and revenue (itself bolstered by a recent Game Pass price rise and restructure), but it comes with the risk of losing sales of the full-price game. While Xbox executives have insisted sales can be boosted by a game’s presence on Game Pass, some publishers remain unconvinced. Former Activision boss Bobby Kotick, for example, was always against putting Call of Duty into subscription services. Unlike Microsoft, console rival Sony does not release its new exclusives straight into its subscription service.

In an interview with IGN last year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked how he’d handle his and Kotick’s different ideologies after the deal to buy Activision Blizzard closed. “Well, there’s a different person making the decisions,” Spencer laughed.

In the shorter term, tomorrow, October 16, South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Cloud, Console, and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard. A day later, on October 17, Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC) returns to the Game Pass library via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard, and MechWarrior 5: Clans (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as a day-one release.

Then it’s the big one: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) on October 25 via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass only. Also on October 25, last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Cloud) via Game Pass Ultimate, and battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone (Cloud) via Game Pass Ultimate.

Moving on from October 25 and Call of Duty, Ashen (Cloud, Console, and PC) returns to Game Pass via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard on October 29.

And finally for October, Dead Island 2 (PC) enters Game Pass for PC gamers via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 31 (it’s already available on Game Pass via Cloud and Console).

Microsoft also mentioned StarCraft: Remastered (PC) – November 5 (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass) and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection (PC) – November 5 (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass), which are set to kick off Wave 1 of November 2024’s Game Pass lineup.

Xbox Game Pass October 2024 Wave 2 Lineup:

  • South Park: The Fractured but Whole (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 16
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
  • Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 17
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
  • MechWarrior 5: Clans (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – October 17
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 25
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (Cloud) – October 25
    Game Pass Ultimate
  • Call of Duty: Warzone (Cloud) – October 25
    Game Pass Ultimate
  • Ashen (Cloud, Console, and PC) – October 29
    Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
  • Dead Island 2 (PC) – October 31
    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 Pas

As usual, a number of games leave Game Pass as new titles arrive.

Here’s what’s leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 31:

  • Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Headbangers (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Inkulinati (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Lonely Mountain’s Downhill (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Mineko’s Night Market (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.

Paradox think there’s no point competing with XCOM after their Lamplighters flop – it’s “winner takes all” in the “tactical gaming space”

Last October, Paradox Interactive announced that they and development studio Harebrained Schemes were breaking up, following underwhelming sales of Harebrained’s 1930s-set XCOMlike, The Lamplighters League. The publishers had already made layoffs at Harebrained in the run-up to release, implying that preorder numbers were low; ultimately, Paradox wrote it off as a $22 million flop. At the time of the “parting of ways”, Paradox chief operational officer Charlotta Nilsson washed her hands of XCOMlikes entirely, commenting that “a new project or sequel in the same genre was not in line with our portfolio plans”.

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Don’t Look at the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trophy / Achievement List if You Want to Avoid Spoilers

Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Trophy / Achievement list is online in full and contains spoilers you might want to avoid if you’re looking to go into BioWare’s next big game fresh when it arrives October 31.

The trophies, which IGN won’t spoil here, revolve around major story beats. There are a few miscellaneous and collectible trophies thrown in too, as well as the party member-specific trophies — although, curiously, not for completing a romance storyline.

BioWare games traditionally do include achievements for romancing characters, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard appears to be taking a different, perhaps more Platinum-friendly approach.

The names of the achievements tied to those story beats suggest various plot developments, locations, and even the final boss, so it’s worth a PSA for the perhaps inevitable ramping up of Dragon Age: The Veilguard spoilers on the internet as we near the release date. If you want to check them out for yourself, they’re over at Exophase.

On the record, earlier this month BioWare confirmed Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the first game in the fantasy action role-playing game series not to feature spiders.

IGN has plenty more on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, including a deep-dive into its development, which is well worth a read if you want to know more about how BioWare realized the game. We’ve also got a lore deep-dive and everything you need to know about relationships and its steamiest romance.

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.