The classic 1999 version of System Shock 2 is set to be pulled from sale on Steam later this week. It’ll still be kicking around, but as a freebie offered to owners of the game’s 25th anniversary remaster, rather than something you can buy separately on Valve’s store.
Starseekers Unite!
We’ve already had a very brief glimpse of System Era Softworks and Devolver Digital’s rather excellent-looking Starseeker Astroneer Expeditions during the Switch 2 Direct six months back, and now the game has gone and got itself a great big 17-minute gameplay reveal, so we can get a proper look at exactly what it entails.
You can check out the reveal video in full above, and following on from our initial excitement at what we gleaned from our first glance back in April (no thanks to livestream hiccups), this in-depth peek shows off a multiplayer space adventure that’s got real promise.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Activision has announced an eye-catching free trial of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 that just so happens to clash with the launch week of rival first-person shooter Battlefield 6.
The week-long free trial of Black Ops 6, which includes full access to the campaign for the first time ever, as well as all of Multiplayer (excluding Ranked Play) and Zombies, kicks off at 9am PT on October 9 — just a day before Battlefield 6’s October 10 release date — and ends 10am PT on October 16.
The Black Ops 6 trial even includes new content from The Haunting update, like the Gravity, Rig, and Mothball Multiplayer maps, Haunted Havoc Zombies limited-time mode, and more.
While Activision hasn’t come out and said this trial is a direct attack on EA’s Battlefield 6 launch, fans are under no illusion about the optics here. It’s worth noting that Black Ops 6 is already playable via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, but the trial will benefit Essential and Premium users on Xbox and of course players on PlayStation and Steam.
It’s the latest salvo in what has become a popcorn-worthy back-and-forth between Activision and EA, with each mega publisher’s big budget FPS vying for the hearts and minds of the gaming community this holiday season.
In August, Activision shocked the Call of Duty community when it confirmed that Operators, Operator Skins, and Weapons from Black Ops 6 would no longer carry forward into Black Ops 7. This came as a big surprise to players who had expected content they’d bought for Black Ops 6 to carry forward, as it has done with previous entries. Explaining the decision, Activision said Black Ops 7 “needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting.”
The feeling was that Activision felt the heat from Battlefield 6, which is going for a more grounded aesthetic. Developer DICE has indicated it has no plans to release crossover skins that would break the aesthetic Battlefield 6 is going for, and promised the developers were listening to fan feedback.
In a recent interview with DBLTAP, Battlefield 6 design director Shashank Uchil doubled down on EA’s commitment to grounded realism, and even pointed to Call of Duty’s infamous Nicki Minaj skin as something Battlefield 6 doesn’t need.
“It has to be grounded,” he said. “That is what BF3 and BF4 was — it was all soldiers, on the ground. It’s going to be like this,” Uchil said, pointing at the key art featuring soldiers in soldier gear looking out over a wartorn New York City.
He added: “I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
Then, last month, EA ramped up its Battlefield 6 marketing, taking a direct jab at Call of Duty with a new live-action trailer. More recently, Activision extended the Black Ops 7 open beta to run an additional 24 hours to October 9, taking it right up to Battlefield 6’s release date.
Both games are crucial releases for their publishers. Battlefield 6 leads the charge, releasing October 10 before Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 counter-attacks on November 14. It will be interesting to see which of the two mega publishers is happiest when the dust settles.
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.
Falling over is the thing in Baby Steps. Sure, the goal in Bennett Foddy and co’s walking sim is technically getting from A to B despite your doughy corpus’ best efforts to get in the way, but it’s the constant stumbling and hilarious unintended pratfalls which make these sorts of games really sing. You get plenty of that playing alone, but for those who want to take things to the next level, Baby Steps has a multiplayer mod that’ll let you slap against your mates and gently bump their mushy forms off course.
The long wait for Battlefield 6 is nearly over, but that isn’t stopping fans from arguing about whether multiplayer is better with Open or Closed Weapon classes.
EA and the four-company team at Battlefield Studios will let loose their new entry in the large-scale military shooter series this Friday, October 10, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S (find out when, exactly, here). Along with a new campaign, guns, gadgets, and maps, the developers behind Battlefield 6 have told fans to look forward to a return to form following the disappointment that was Battlefield 2042.
Beta and Battlefield Labs players have largely come away excited for what Battlefield 6 promises, but the debate surrounding Open and Closed Weapons is the main thing on fans’ minds just two days out from launch.
The conversation picked up when players went hands-on during the August Battlefield 6 beta tests. While many past Battlefield games feature Closed Weapons – a design decision that locks classes to a specific set of guns – many were surprised to see the new Battlefield game add and prioritize an option for Open Weapons, which largely removes gun restrictions between classes.
This Open style is similar to the system used in Battlefield 2042, but it’s not the bad taste in players’ mouths that has them bickering. Closed Weapons defenders argue these restrictions encourage players to not only think on their feet but also rely on teamwork, a key element for many longtime fans of the series. The system could also pour cold water on meta gameplay strategies that could result in an unbalanced number of players relying on one particularly powerful gun.
Those on the other side of the fence feel Open Weapons offer players of all skill levels more freedom to craft a loadout that fits their playstyles while rewarding those who choose specific loadouts. Though perhaps not quite as vocal, there are plenty of players who feel Open loadouts are the way to go – and BF Studios agrees.
Debate continued up to earlier this week, when BF Studios offered a pre-release breakdown for its Battlefield 6 launch day plans, previewing the contents of its day one patch for those looking forward to in-game changes following post-beta feedback. It came hand-in-hand with confirmation that data pointed to “a vast majority of players” preferring the Open system more than the Closed system after trying both options between different playlists.
“This reinforces our belief that Open Weapons is the right path forward for Battlefield 6,” the message from BF Studios says. “At the same time, we recognize that some players prefer the Closed Weapons experience. To support them, official Closed Weapons playlists will be available at launch.”
No matter how loud fans of the Closed method are, BF Studios is adamant that players mostly gravitate toward an Open system, even if Battlefield 6 will continue to support both options. Meanwhile, many have used this latest update only as fuel to continue their mission to see this week’s new Battlefield game shift its focus to the Closed system.
Their argument revolves around the notion that open beta players only favored Open Weapons because relevant playlist options are the first to appear on the Battlefield 6 multiplayer menu screen. So, the idea is, if your average player, who is unfamiliar with the discourse, boots up the game, they’ll need to dig for a Closed option, resulting in skewed data.
It’s a criticism many are leaning on that EA and BF Studios have already stepped in to stomp out. Lead Battlefield producer at DICE David Sirland took to X/Twitter to explain how the team came to their conclusion. He addresses the argument that Closed playlist options were hidden from players, reminding displeased fans that playlist and mode tiles often moved around, and their data accounted for that.
“Yes they moved around alot, as you may have noticed,” Sirland said in response to a fan asking for clarification. “We did this to all tiles, [Conquest] vs [Breakthrough] etc. See how much tile placement impact pick rates and how single mode vs playlist with multiple modes differed, etc.”
Sirland’s explanation still hasn’t quite quelled the uproar, as one third of the Battlefield 6 community demands more answers while another third is voicing their support for Open playlists more than ever. That final third mostly just wants the fighting to come to an end.
Brutal truth:
Casuals won’t care about Closed Weapons. Or Open Weapons. Or even what weapon they’re using most of the time.
They just wanna play Battlefield 👍 https://t.co/3x2CQYxgXl
— Westie (@MrProWestie) October 6, 2025
As BF Studios and EA barrel toward the launch of Battlefield 6, disgruntled fans continue to take to comment sections across social media to ask the developers to give Closed playlists more time in the spotlight. Complaints and memes poking fun at the situation have flooded Reddit, in particular, with many replies from users calling out debaters as simply being a vocal minority.
“I would be surprised if the open vs closed weapon debate represents more than 10% of players,” one popular comment said. “I think 10% is being very generous lol,” another replied.
Battlefield 6, Open vs Closed pic.twitter.com/hffyEz2npw
— IT’S REAL. (@TheAgentOfDoom) August 14, 2025
We asked Ripple Effect about its feelings surrounding the Open vs. Closed Weapon debate during an interview last month. At the time, senior console combat designer Matthew Nickerson said the team didn’t want to “make a decision or really pigeonhole” how players experience Battlefield 6.
“I think it’s ongoing, and I think it’ll continually evolve, but again, from a design side, we don’t want to make a decision for the player base at the end of the day,” Nickerson added. “We want to support both moving forward, and again, a key mantra for Battlefield 6 is, ‘Play Battlefield how you want to,’ so we’re making sure we support both open and closed systems. We just don’t want to make the decision for the player.”
It’s unclear if EA and BF Studios have any plans to address the Open vs. Closed Weapons debate further ahead of the launch of Battlefield 6. With the recent acknowledgment reaffirming its commitment to the Open system while reassuring players that Closed options will remain available, it seems unlikely BF Studios will change course anytime soon.
Based on our time with the Battlefield 6 beta, we’ve got a BF6 Beginner’s Guide and Tips, plus the best Battlefield 6 Loadouts and how to use the Range Finder, deploy the Bipod, and how to turn off Haptic Feedback in Battlefield 6.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer 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).
As someone from the north east of England, there’s a good chance my genetic makeup’s some mix of old school celt and one of the many Scandinavian invaders who sailed across looking to conquer back in a time when blokes called Cnut roamed northern Europe. I offer that background in case it helps you understand why, even though I’m not part t-rex as far as I know, the premise of Dinolords very much gets my blood pumping.
It’s a hybrid of medieval strategy and action RPG which injects rideable t-rexes into a war between the Danes and the English, and a closed alpha test of it starts on October 31st, ahead of an early access release next year.
The Minecraft crew join the Season Pass.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was released for the Switch at the end of last month, and now in an update, Sega has locked in the first Season Pass DLC release date.
This included a teaser trailer and the confirmation that the paid Minecraft Pack will be arriving on 8th October 2025. It contains Steve, Alex and Creeper, along with a new track. This is available in the Season Pass and Digital Deluxe Edition, or you can purchase the standalone pack.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Legends: Z-A will also be available on the Switch.
As we’ve already mentioned, October is a huge month for the Switch 2 (and Switch) with the launch of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
So far, there’s been some Mega reveals and distribution events announced, and now Nintendo has sunk some of its marketing budget for the game into a commercial featuring the ‘Stranger Things’ star, Gaten Matarazzo.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
While we’re approaching boogeyman season, your evenings needn’t be filled with frights (unless you enjoy a good scare!). Find something fun to play, explore fantastical frontiers, rediscover a favorite game series and more with PlayStation Store’s Player’s Choice promotion, offering a selection of games at reduced prices for a limited time*.
*Player’s Choice promotion is live on PlayStation Store from Wednesday, October 8 at 00:00 AM PDT/BST/JST and finishes Wednesday October 22 at 11:59 PM PDT/BST/JST.
Quick, gather ’round everyone. New Mario levels just dropped.
You heard me. New levels. In Mario. Specifically, in Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, a game that first released in 1986 and which, you’d think, everyone had already discovered every single secret in.
Nope. There was still more to find. And a speedrunner named Kosmic managed to uncover over 20 previously unseen (and at times very glitchy) playable levels in the game after a lot of community help, experimentation, patience, and jumping off springs.
Kosmic has recorded his full journey in a 40-minute video here, and I highly recommend watching it because he does some crazy stuff and has a detailed explanation of how and why this works the way it does. But very, very basically, in the original Super Mario Bros. and its sequel, The Lost Levels, the game determines what level and world to send you to at the end of each level based on what object you “use” to clear the level. Grabbing a flagpole increases the “Area” number by 1 (the “2” in “1-2”) while grabbing the axe on a castle bridge increases the “World” number (sending you to “2-1” after beating “1-4”, for instance).
Then there’s Warp Pipes. For years, the Mario community has known about the infamous “Minus World” glitch – an infinitely-looping water level accessed by entering the Warp Zone in 1-2 in such a way that the zone doesn’t fully load, and the pipes aren’t set up yet to send you to the correct world and area. In the original Super Mario Bros., doing this and then entering the far left or right pipes sends players to a level designated “World -1”, or Minus World. In The Lost Levels, this glitch was removed, with the pipes instead sending players to whatever destination is currently loaded into its memory. But if you enter the pipe while moving, the Warp Zone can load after you’ve entered, and you can trick the game to send you to the very beginning of the Area that the pipe wants to send you to.
That’s all pretty complicated, and honestly it’s making my head spin too. Again, Kosmic’s explanation is the best one, but the even shorter version is that using a combination of flags, axes, and pipes, you can manipulate the game into sending you into increasingly unhinged areas. You can force the game to load wacky stuff like World 2-5, 2-9, and so forth. And in The Lost Levels, quite specifically the Super Mario All-Stars edition, this weirdness is compounded by the fact that the game has save states accessible from the menu that will save your access to these weird worlds, but will load them in differently if you’re accessing them from the menu instead of from the previous world.
Kosmic was able to combine all of this to start loading world after world beyond The Lost Levels’ lettered bonus levels. First, from B-4, he made it to B-5, then B-6, 7, and 8. With some difficulty, he reached B-A, B-B, B-C, and B-D. Up to this point all these levels were largely just repeated versions of other levels, albeit with some occasional weirdness. But after B-D, it was unclear what was going to load.
The answer was B-E. At first, it just seemed sort of silly. Then, Mario briefly went to jail:
The only way out was to save and quit. Kosmic escaped, headed to B-F, which started a series of repeat normal levels. From here, he went all the way to B-L, after which point a spring and a giant pit stopped him from playing further. But he could still load all these levels from the menu for different variations, and B-H resulted in this:
Things only got weirder from there:
In total, Kosmic found over 20 “new levels”, which ranged from nearly identical to existing levels, to total messes like what you see above. Eventually, playing them just crashed Kosmic’s game, and they’re probably not that fun from a platforming perspective, but they were cool to see.
So why did it take 39 years to find these levels? Kosmic has theories:
“Fewer people played Lost Levels compared to the first game. This trick is deep into the game, like in bonus worlds, not even in the main worlds. To see the full extent of the glitch, it only works on the All-Stars version, and it gets a bit technical…but the main reason I’d say is it’s actually really hard.”
Kosmic demonstrates this in his videos. The most difficult part about it involves entering a pipe when the Warp Zone isn’t fully loaded in, which requires being very precise with your movement as well as where the camera currently is. Some levels are easier to manipulate than others, but for this glitch to work there’s one particularly tricky Warp Zone that Kosmic had to pull some very specific tricks to master.
Congrats to Kosmic and the entire Super Mario Bros. community, who now have a bag full of weird new levels to mess around with and the certainty that it’s never too late to discover something new about a classic video game.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
