Cat Quest has been a beloved series for close to a decade now. From offering a unique world in the first game to adding co-op in the second, it has always tried to shake things up for the action-RPG genre. Cat Quest III feels like another switch-up for the series, taking what felt great about previous games and seeking to tell a charming pirate adventure that keeps you surprised. After sinking 15 hours into The Gentlebros’ latest adventure, it is safe to say everything about Cat Quest III is fantastic.
The adventure began with us choosing our feline Purrivateer and arriving in the Purribean, an archipelago filled with Pi-rats to defeat who are on the hunt for the North Star Treasure. With our spirit companion, who is also searching for the North Star Treasure, we piloted our ship and ventured across land and sea to find the mythical treasure, defeating Pirate Lords in a variety of dungeons and uncovering a myriad of secrets along the way.
Coming to Game Pass: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Creatures of Ava, and Mafia: Definitive Edition
Megan Spurr, Senior Community Lead, Xbox Game Pass
I’m back with more games to populate your download queue! Day one titles, fan favorites, and some reminders on some announcements you might have missed (I see you there Valorant!). Let’s get to the games!
Coming Soon
Creatures of Ava (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 7 Available on day one with Game Pass! Let your empathy guide you as you play an exciting action-adventure, creature-saver game. Understand and tame the creatures of Ava and let them lead you through a variety of ecosystems – all in the hopes of saving the planet from a life-consuming infection.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 8
Your favorite marsupial, Crash Bandicoot, is coming to Game Pass! He’s enhanced, entranced and ready-to-dance with the N. Sane Trilogy collection. Spin, jump, wump and repeat as you take on the epic challenges and adventures through the three games that started it all, Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Relive all your favorite Crash moments in their fully remastered graphical glory and get ready to put some umph in your wump!
Mafia: Definitive Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 13
Mafia: Definitive Edition is a cinematic third-person shooter that tells the story of Tommy Angelo, a hardworking cab driver who becomes embedded in the brutal world of organized crime in 1930s America.
In Case You Missed It
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Console and PC) – Available now 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. Game Pass members can also experience an all-out brawl in Season 5 with new core 6v6 maps, new weapons, cosmetic rewards and more! Learn more about Season 5 over at the Call of Duty blog.
Unlock Valorant Benefits for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Game Pass Valorant is a 5v5 round-based tactical shooter where you outwit, outplay, and outshine your competition using dynamic abilities and ultra-stylish Agents. Game Pass members can link their Riot Account to unlock all current agents, day-one access to new agents as they’re released, and a 20% match XP boost to Battle Pass and Event content. Learn more on Xbox Wire.
Xbox Cloud Gaming on Amazon Fire TV Devices Game Pass Ultimate members in over 25 countries are now able to play games directly from the Xbox app on select Amazon Fire TV devices through Xbox Cloud Gaming (beta), bringing more ways to play Xbox on more devices and enjoy your favorite games.
DLC / Game Updates
No Man’s Sky: Worlds Part I – Available now The latest free update to No Man’s Sky, Worlds Part I (version 5.0), ushers in an entire universe refresh, bringing huge leaps in water and cloud quality, as well as increased planetary variety, new gameplay features, and more! Learn more about this refresh on Xbox Wire.
Dead by Daylight: 2v8 Game Mode – Available until August 8 Double the trouble, for the first time ever eight survivors face two killers in this new extreme game mode. Survivors can choose from four new classes, each with their own predefined loadouts. Maps have three exits, and three hatches will appear when only two Survivors are left standing in the trial. But beware, hooks have been replaced with a frightening new sacrificial device: the Cage of Corruption.
Sea of Thieves: Season 13 – Available now Seize Flameheart’s flagship, the Burning Blade, in the latest boss fight to sail the Sea of Thieves! Rain fire on your foes with a skeleton crew at your command, gathering tribute in Flameheart’s name – or raid his new Skeleton Camps and take the treasures for yourself…
Sea of Thieves: Mayhem Ship Bundle – Available now The Mayhem Ship Bundle returns to the Sea of Thieves via the Pirate Emporium! Crew up and cause chaos with this sunny symbol of anarchy – or simply sail about and share whatever claptrap is on your mind knowing you’re looking good while doing it.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks
Every month new content is available for Game Pass Ultimate members. Find new Perks in the Game Pass section of your Xbox console, Xbox Game Pass mobile app, or Xbox app for Windows PC.
Stampede Racing Royale: Game Pass Starter Kit – Available now Join the herd in style! Kit out your kart with the Xbox KartCore 3000 Wrap, update your avatar with the Xbox Pic and get a head start with 25,000 coins!
Sea of Thieves: Ebon Rapier Pack – Available now Cut a dashing figure with this collection of highly prized items! The Ebon Rapier, Obsidian Pocket Watch and Obsidian Figurehead are sure to set you apart from the crowd.
Naraka Bladepoint:Aeon Bundle – Available now Grab free bonus cosmetics and boosts to help you in this fast-paced melee fighting game. Claim Xbox headgear, new season treasures, legendary skin trial bundle and more in the new Perks Bundle. Get a boost start in new season with the help of experience boost cards!
Leaving August 15
There’s still some time left to jump into the following games leaving soon! If you’re not ready to say goodbye quite yet, you can save up to 20% on your purchase and keep them in your library.
Airborne Kingdoms (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Offworld Trading Company (PC)
Shadow Warrior 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Cloud, Console, and PC)
We’re not done for August, so keep an eye here and on social @XboxGamePass, @XboxGamePassPC, and @Xbox for updates and when these games are ready for you to pick up in cloud gaming or start downloading. Talk soon!
There’s a big summer sale ongoing at PC gaming retailer Fanatical right now, and they’ve got one of the best deals going for Sonic fans going into the later parts of the year. Sonic X Shadow Generations is discounted for PC today, with both the Deluxe and Standard edition getting significant limited-time price drops. It’s huge news for Sonic fans who are looking to pick up the game on Steam.
Here’s the deal. Sonic X Shadow Generations Digital Deluxe Edition is now $52.19 / £47.84. This includes the Base Game, Digital Deluxe Season Pass, an additional character skin and level for Shadow (releasing Holiday 2024), Terios Skin, Extra BGM Pack, Digital Art Book + Soundtrack, and Skill Points (Sonic Generations).
But most notably the Deluxe Edition is how you play the upcoming game three days early. If you’ve been paying attention you would know that SEGA is pulling the whole early access card with the game. It’s tied to the Deluxe Edition, and we’ve run over all the details in our preorder guide as well.
But, if you’re not fussed and happy to play the game on October 24 instead, then the standard edition is also down to $43.39 from $49.99. It’s another great deal, and well worth considering going into release for PC users. Preordering Sonic X Shadow Generations will also grant you a bonus Sonic Adventure Legacy Skin, and Geral Robotnik’s Journal Detailing Shadow’s Creation.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom can be preordered for just £42.95 at Amazon before its release on September 26. Here’s why this is a good deal. Switch games are typically £49.99-£69.99 (depending on the game), and are rarely on sale even after release. So, getting a discount before the game comes out is huge.
With Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, you can be sure you’re paying the best price at Amazon from now until release, no matter the price changes that may occur (i.e. the listing goes back up to £50). You also don’t have to pay a penny on your preorders until the game dispatches closers to release day.
A recent gameplay trailer showed off some returning mechanics from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom return in Echoes of Wisdom, including mixing ingredients to create smoothies with various effects, and different outfits providing bonuses for Zelda.
Nintendo also unveiled a significant enhancement of Zelda’s abilities in Echoes of Wisdom with the introduction of the new Bind power. This ability allows Zelda to attach herself to any object in the game world and control its movements in sync with her own. Here on IGN, we’ve recently gone over 10 notable new additions from the trailer, which you can also watch just below.
Echoes of Wisdom was unveiled on June 18, 2024, with a release date set for September 26 of the same year. The game introduces fresh gameplay mechanics utilizing Zelda’s abilities and promises significant variations between playthroughs.
I don’t play much Call Of Duty any more. My feelings about the series have settled back from self-righteous fury over its Pentagon-sponsored war-fellating to a quieter, regretful sense that there have maybe been enough Call Of Duty games now, and that it would be nice if we could fill that infamous late October/early November release slot with, I don’t know, games about witches instead, or maybe just turn it into a public holiday and spend the week lying on a mattress regarding the ceiling. Still: I’ve skinned and filleted enough COD in my time to know that Black Ops 6‘s new “omnimovement” system is going to ruffle as many feathers as it smooths. The short version is that it turns you into Max Payne.
An Activision leak has seen the Warzone map presumably debuting alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 revealed and it’s already proving controversial amongst fans.
As reported by Charlie Intel, footage showing a Warzone map called Avalon leaked as a result of Activision uploading a build of the game to the PlayStation Network database and therefore making it accessible to those on PlayStation 4.
Most of the clips have been removed from X/Twitter and replaced with a message which reads: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.” The gameplay remains available and heavily discussed on a Reddit post from JenNettles, however, where many fans are expressing concern at its design.
The backlash comes because the map is largely made up of water, as a sliver of mainland quickly falls away to a series of small islands scattered throughout. “Nothing but open fields and water. No thanks,” said Electricengineer. “Caldera, but with water,” said SideOfFish. “Have they ever received positive feedback about the inclusion of water?” asked DefunctHunk. “Why are they insisting on shoving it in wherever possible?”
Avalon is not confirmed to be the next Warzone map, of course, but it’s unlikely Activision would have the entire thing built with no plans to use it. A handful of subsequent clips appeared online, showing the “human meat shield” feature, sideways diving and shooting, omni-movement, and more, though these clips again have largely been taken down.
Confirmation of more Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 information will arrive later in August 2024 when an early access period draws closer. This takes place on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC from August 30 to September 4, while an open beta takes place September 6 to September 9. The game launches proper on October 25, 2024.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Cinematic platformerBionic Bay opens on a scene of a very large egg doing very bad things – easily my third favourite genre of speculative fiction. You awake to a world of tree trunks that twist like viscera and corroded contraptions powered by luminous goop that’s stored in the balls, uh, big glass orbs. A beam of light soon fills your character with newfound vigour, which is a nice moment of triumph in what otherwise feels like a deeply oppressive rust pit, all unsteady platforms and jagged pipes.
It doesn’t take long before you start spotting examples of the reason Bionic Bay went viral earlier this week. Above your head hangs a painstakingly detailed mass of vents and cables, looming lifelike with dust and shadow and history. I stood and stared because I’d seen how the sausage was made, but I like to think I would have lingered longer than usual anyway. It really is just that impressive.
The latest UK charts are in, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – originally released 2,659 days ago and currently sitting at over 62 million units sold – is back on top once again.
Buying new video games, hardware, and accessories for your preferred console doesn’t need to make a massive dent in your wallet. Deals happen all the time for items like these, so you can save money while investing in your favorite hobby. One of our favorite deals at the moment is on the 3 month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, which is discounted at Woot to $33.49, but there are plenty more to check out. Whether you play on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, you’ll find the very best deals listed below. And if you’ve taken advantage of lots of these deals, see our roundup of game storage ideas.
Best Xbox Game Pass Deals
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has an incredible deal right now at Woot, providing another opportunity for users to stack their membership at a discounted rate. You can get three months of the service for just $36.49, which is already a great deal, but you can get an addition $3 knocked off that price by using the code ‘VIDEOGAMES’ at checkout!
Score a Nintendo Switch Lite with Animal Crossing for $159
Walmart still has this excellent deal available, which is worth taking advantage of if you’ve been hoping to get your hands on a Switch console. Right now, you can grab a Nintendo Switch Lite (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) bundle with Animal Crossing for 20% off, marking it down to $159.
There are plenty of excellent deals for PC players to enjoy right now, from newer releases like Dragon’s Dogma 2 to God of War Ragnarok preorders for PC. More importantly, you can also score an excellent deal at Fanatical right now on Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. There’s no better time to journey to the Realm of Shadow. You can check out even more of our favorite PC game deals below.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC for $3099.99
Do you prefer to play on a dedicated tower? Navigating the options online can be quite the ordeal. Desk space, portability, and price point are often factors in the decision. However, there are some great PC deals that pop up every now and again that are worth jumping on. One of our favorite deals at the moment is on thisAlienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 gaming PC for $3099.99. To see even more PC deals, check out our roundup of the best gaming PC deals.
SSD prices have been rising in 2024, making now the perfect time to buy with significant discounts available. This is one of the best deals on a 2TB SSD at the moment: Amazon is offering the TEAMGROUP MP44Q 2TB SSD for just $115.99. It, unfortunately, does not have a heatsink so you’ll have to invest in one, but you can easily do that here for under $10. It also offers transfer speeds of up to 7,400MB/s read and 6,500MB/s write.
Our Favorite Micro SD Cards for Switch and Steam Deck Are On Sale
The best Switch or Steam Deck SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, as it was recently revealed a Switch successor will be announced within the fiscal year. Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just below for your convenience. To see even more SD card deals, make sure to check out our roundup of the best SD card deals.
More SD Card Deals
Our Favorite Power Bank for Steam Deck is Discounted Right Now
Some excellent power banks are discounted at the moment that are perfectly portable and packing plenty of power to keep you going. In particular, the fantastic Anker 737 Power Bank is down to $103.99, after clipping the $6 coupon. This is a great discount on a reliable power bank that likely won’t last long, so grab it at this price while you can!
Select Xbox Controllers Down to $44
There are quite a few discounts on Xbox controllers right now at Amazon. While not as low as they were during the two-day Prime Day sale event, they’re still worth picking up at these prices. The Robot White, Shock Blue, Velocity Green, and Carbon Black controllers have dropped down to $44, but you can see even more controller deals below.
When he’s not making games or recording videos about game design, Masahiro Sakurai likes to entertain himself in all sorts of ways.
In his latest post on social media, the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director has revealed a LEGO set he received for his 54th birthday earlier this week (via a rough translation). It’s not just any old Lego set, either – it’s the NES! In a follow up post, he chose to highlight the secret underground level hidden inside this build.
