Join PlayStation Tournaments: Road to Evo and watch Evo Japan

As we near the end of April, the fighting game scene truly begins to heat up. From April 27 to 29, the best of the best will gather in Tokyo to crown an Evo Japan champion. Then, players will gather for the world’s premier fighting game event, Evo 2024 in Las Vegas. Through the PlayStation Tournaments: Road to Evo program, players can compete at home and join online competitions for a chance to win a trip and showcase their skills at Evo 2024 in Las Vegas.

Win a trip to compete at Evo 24 in Las Vegas in PlayStation Tournaments: Road to Evo 2024

We’re excited to announce details for Road to Evo 2024 on PS5 Tournaments. Players worldwide are invited to compete to win a round-trip ticket to Evo in Las Vegas and play on the biggest stage in fighting games. 

Road to Evo 2024 will feature Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear -Strive-, Mortal Kombat 1, The King of Fighters XV on PS5. Six regions are eligible to compete: North America, Europe, East Asia*, ANZ, and MENA. In the end, 15 PlayStation competitors will be given the opportunity to travel and compete in Las Vegas.

Players who join the PlayStation Esports Discord between April 25 to May 9 will earn a unique Evo-themed PlayStation Network avatar. To join the Discord channel, click here.

Last year’s Road to Evo champions accomplished some incredible feats battling through online and in-person challengers to reach the world’s biggest stages. We followed their journey all the way from their PlayStation consoles to the largest Evo of all time. Watch their inspiring story in this new documentary.


Join PlayStation Tournaments: Road to Evo and watch Evo Japan

Evo Japan starts this weekend

The fighting game community’s eyes will be on Tokyo this weekend as players compete in Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear -Strive-, The King of Fighters XV, Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes], Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.

Evo Japan marks Tekken 8’s first major tournament and will also feature the return of  the fan-favorite Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Tune into the English stream on Evo’s Twitch channel from April 27th to April 29th. You can also compete at home in Tekken 8, Guilty Gear -Strive-, and The King of Fighters XV through PlayStation Tournaments on PS5.

Get ready for Evo 2024 in Las Vegas

From July 19th to July 21st, the biggest weekend in fighting games will commence at Evo 2024 in Las Vegas.

The weekend will feature the genre’s biggest titles, including new Evo debuts like Tekken 8, Mortal Kombat 1, Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes], and Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising.  Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear -Strive-, and The King of Fighters XV will also return to the Evo stage, and community classic Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike returns to Evo for the first time since 2009.

This year also features Evo in a new venue: The Las Vegas Convention Center. Fans can expect enhanced versions of the activities and experiences that define the show. Read more about the Evo attendee experience here. For those at home, you can watch Evo live on Twitch and YouTube.

We can’t wait for what Evo 2024 will bring, and we hope you’ll join us. Tickets are on sale now. See you there!

*Eligible East Asia territories are limited to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Gets Second Update 6 Weeks After Disastrous Launch

Aspyr has released Update 2 for Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection six weeks after its disastrous launch.

Revealed on the Aspyr website, the patch includes improvements to all versions of the game as well as specific changes for the Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch versions. Aspyr also said it’s work on Update 3 “is beginning” but didn’t say when fans should expect it, though Update 2 has arrived 37 days after Update 1.

The list of changes is vast, with Update 2 including fixes to myriad problems including missing audio and visuals, overlapping textures, misfiring AI, gameplay not starting properly, lightsabers appearing too bright, the respawn counter getting stuck at one, and much more. Aspyr has also claimed to improve stability in public servers and address myriad instances of crashing.

Steam specific changes include a fix to Xbox button prompts appearing for a PlayStation controller, Villains not spawning on Hero Assault servers, and more. PlayStation received a fix to a fog wall appearing at the edge of players’ vision on Kashyyyk, and Switch received a fix for the game force closing when disconnecting a wireless controller. The full patch notes are available below.

Aspyr came under fire over the launch of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection after it was plagued with server issues, bugs, and more. The $34.99 Classic Collection — which includes the original two Star Wars: Battlefront games — currently has a “mostly negative” rating on Steam with just 20% of reviews being positive.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Update 2 Patch Notes

All Platforms

  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed an issue with there being no audio or visual feedback when pressing Refresh in Server list.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where the grate textures in the Shield Generator room overlapped the Generator asset on Space Assault maps.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where enemy AI fired less frequently and less accurately.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where Gameplay would fail to start after the countdown finished in a 64-player game.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where the tables and bar tops were extremely bright on the Mos Eisley map.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue with Lightsabers being too bright and having their colors washed out when in brighter areas.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue with the intensity of the flickering lights on Utapau being too high.
  • [BF2] Fixed various issues around the camera shaking upon falling off the map or death.
  • [BF2] Fixed a crash that could occur when transitioning maps.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue with Ki Adi Mundi’s voice lines not playing properly.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where lightning flash VFX would display through walls on Kamino.
  • [BF1] Fixed an issue where users could not connect to private servers with the correct passwords.
  • [BF1] Fixed an occasional crash that could occur on launch.
  • Fixed an issue where the respawn countdown timer would be stuck at 1.
  • Fixed an issue where players would be stuck on the “Waiting for players” screen after joining a multiplayer game with active players.
  • Fixed an issue where players could disconnect from the host when transitioning between maps.
  • Fixed an issue with the done button not showing up immediately on game end
  • Fixed an issue where the server list would take a long time to populate.
  • Improved stability in Public Servers.

Steam

  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed an issue that caused Xbox button prompts to appear when playing with a PlayStation controller.
  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed an occasional crash that could occur on the faction selection screen in Split Screen Galactic Conquest Versus mode.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where the Skip option could not be selected with the Left Mouse button during Galactic Conquest.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue where Villains would occasionally not be able to spawn in on Hero Assault servers.

PlayStation

  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed a crash that occurred when refreshing the server list.
  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed an issue with servers not showing up the first time a search is attempted.
  • [BF2] Fixed an issue that caused a large fog wall to appear at the edge of the player’s vision on the Kashyyyk map.
  • [BF1] Fixed an issue with the draw distance being lower for both Kashyyyk maps.
  • Fixed issues with players occasionally not being able to join servers.

Nintendo Switch

  • [BF1][BF2] Fixed an issue where the loading screen would hang for longer than 15 seconds after selecting either game on the launch menu.
  • Fixed an issue where a force close error would occur when disconnecting a wireless controller before loading into a game.
  • Fixed an issue with Controller inputs not being detected when disconnecting a wireless controller and transitioning from Tabletop mode with Joy-Cons connected, to handheld mode.

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

Fallout 4 PS Plus Owners Currently Cannot Get the Next-Gen Update for Free

Those who have Fallout 4 via PlayStation Plus do not appear to be able to download the next-gen update for free.

Reports indicate that the Fallout 4 next-gen update (check out the patch notes here) is free only to those who own the post-apocalyptic adventure outright, as opposed to via the PS Plus subscription service. It is unclear if this is intentional or a bug. IGN has asked Bethesda for comment.

This does not appear to be the case on Xbox Game Pass, where the native Xbox Series X and S version of Fallout 4 is available to subscribers. Fallout developer Bethesda, via its parent company ZeniMax, is owned by Xbox maker Microsoft.

IGN has verified that PS Plus subscribers will see the PlayStation 4 version of Fallout 4 receive a big update (the last-gen versions of the game are updated today, too, with new content and some bug fixes), there appears to be no way to access the native PS5 version without buying it at the time of this article’s publication.

A Bethesda rep posted on the company’s Discord to address the confusion, saying: “PS5 Upgrade should be available for you if you OWN Fallout 4 on the PSN account. Still looking into this for the PS+ users!”

PS Plus subscribers have expressed disappointment over the situation, and are criticizing Bethesda for not flagging this problem ahead of the much-anticipated launch of the Fallout 4 next-gen update.

The next-gen update includes native applications for the consoles, Performance mode and Quality mode settings, as well as stability improvements and fixes. This means the game will be playable up to 60 frames per second and with an increased resolution.

Elsewhere, Fallout 4 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One also gets a free update with stability improvements, and login and quest fixes. And finally, a free Fallout 4 update for PC adds widescreen and ultra-widescreen support, as well as fixes to Creation Kit and a variety of quest updates.

Players with PC versions of Fallout 4 on Steam, the Microsoft Store, and GOG will receive stability, mod, and bug fixes. Fallout 4 will also be sold on the Epic Games Store, and will be Steam Deck verified.

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.

The Electronic Wireless Show podcast S3 Episode 16: the new hobbit life sim and our favourite The Lord Of The Rings games

This week saw the first (small) look at the new and upcoming Hobbit-themed cosy life sim Tales Of The Shire, plus the news that Embracer group is splitting into three, including a Middle-earth And Friends group. We thus use this as an excuse to spend some time talking about The Lord Of The Rings games we’d like to see, plus our favourite Rings games from days gone by (and also Gollum, and also we do impressions of Gollum).

Nate has been playing an impressive number of games, including one that did not allow him to invent the stick and therefore hampered his progress. We also talk about AI NPCs again, because one of them tried to get James drunk. Plus: some lovely recommendations to round off your weekly pod (one of them is a long life meat product).

Read more

Fallout 4 Next-Gen Update Rolling Out Now

The Fallout 4 next-gen update is rolling out now.

The hotly anticipated next-gen update is available for Fallout 4 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, alongside an update for the PC version of Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic open-world RPG.

On PS5, the new native version of Fallout 4 (1.000.001) weighs in at 56.503 GB, according to early reports.

The next-gen update includes native applications for the consoles, Performance mode and Quality mode settings, as well as stability improvements and fixes. This means the game will be playable up to 60 frames per second and with an increased resolution.

Elsewhere, Fallout 4 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One also gets a free update with stability improvements, and login and quest fixes. And finally, a free Fallout 4 update for PC adds widescreen and ultra-widescreen support, as well as fixes to Creation Kit and a variety of quest updates.

Players with PC versions of Fallout 4 on Steam, the Microsoft Store, and GOG will receive stability, mod, and bug fixes. Fallout 4 will also be sold on the Epic Games Store, and will be Steam Deck verified.

Fallout 4 next-gen update, PC update, and last-gen update patch notes:

New Creation Club Content Free for Everyone

Enclave Remnants

Some say the past is a scar, cut across the skin of the Commonwealth. Others believe it’s a scab clotted over an unhealed wound. Those who fought the Enclave, and those who serve them subscribe to the latter. And when the scab is broken the flag of this old-world cabal will once more stand at full mast. Unless of course, you stop them first. Features the classic Enclave Colonel uniform and over a dozen workshop items! If you have other Enclave creations installed, some of these troops may use this equipment against you!

(Quest “Echoes of the Past” starts on the road north of Saugus Ironworks.)

Armor and Weapon bundle

  • X-02 Power Armor
  • Hellfire Power Armor
  • Heavy Incinerator
  • Tesla Cannon
  • Enclave Weapon Skins
  • Enclave Armor Skins

Makeshift Weapon Pack

Whether it be grenades or piggy banks, there’s no shortage of objects you can transform into murderous projectiles with this collection of unique weapons. Included are two grenade launchers, a Nail Gun, Baseball Launcher, Saw Blade launcher, and piggy bank based weaponry.

(Quest “When Pigs Fly” starts at a merchant workshop northwest of Greenetech Genetics.)

Halloween Workshop

On the eve of the end, the New England Technocrat Society has thrown a spooky Halloween gala for anyone with the nerve to attend. Drop in on this fa-boo-lous pumpkin-lit soiree replete with witches, cauldrons, and ghouls, and unlock 38 new spine-tingling Halloween props to decorate your settlement! Includes new wearables, such as the iconic De-Capitalist helmet!

(Quest “All Hallow’s Eve” starts by tuning into the Mysterious Signal on your Pip-Boy.)

Changes and New Features

  • Native PS5 and Xbox Series applications. Includes performance and quality mode options.
  • Performance mode: 60 FPS target, 4k resolution, standard settings, relying on dynamic resolution scaling.
  • Quality mode: 30 FPS*, 4k resolution, ultra settings, should not require dynamic resolution scaling.

When connected to a 120Hz display, Quality mode will target 40 FPS.

When connected to a 1440p display, the title will run at 1440p resolution at 60 FPS w/ ultra settings regardless of rendering mode

  • Release on Epic Store.
  • Widescreen and Ultra-widescreen support.
  • Steam Deck Verified
  • Added “Installed Content” menu.

Bug Fixes

  • Resolved issues preventing Japanese and Chinese users from connecting to Bethesda.net (this restores access to Mods).
  • Resolved issue preventing save data from properly loading during the prologue.
  • Resolved issue that could prevent the Vault 111 Door from opening on new games.
  • Resolved issue that could prevent the quest “Go Home” from advancing.
  • Resolved issue that could result in Codsworth being broken on the ground after fast traveling.
  • Resolved issue with mipmaps in DLC.
  • Resolved issue that could result in a softlock when in dialogue with Prestson Garvey.
  • Resolved issue preventing autosaves while fast traveling in Power Armor.
  • Fixed issue where text would occasionally disappear in the Creation Club menu.
  • Resolved issues with text formatting in the credits in Japanese and Chinese.
  • Resolved issue causing the camera to fail when leaving furniture after an extended time.
  • Fixed issue that could misplace quest markers while the VR Workshop Creation was installed alongside Automatron.
  • Resolved issue with player movement in some underwater areas at Thicket Excavations.
  • Resolved issue that could cause corruption within the Settlement system resulting in wrong resource counts and/or destroyed settlements.
  • Resolved issue where the “Level Up” notification would display even if there was not a level up available.
  • Fixed some flickering in Vault 111.
  • Stability improvements.

PC Only

Resolved issue preventing saves being made under Windows Usernames with Cyrillic, Chinese, or Japanese characters.

PlayStation Only

  • Resolved issue that could keep the Pip-Boy light on when reading holotapes.
  • Resolved issue that could prompt users to free up 0kb worth of space when attempting to save even if space was available.
  • Fixed crash that could occur while loading a save that was made immediately before dying.
  • Resolved issue that would prevent Codsworth from checking on Shaun in the intro.

Xbox Only

  • Resolved issue where users would not always be returned to the main menu after signing out of their profile.
  • Resolved crash that could occur if the player had unlocked all perks.
  • Fixed lighting issue that could occur during Airship Down.
  • Encountering a BNET error will now return you to the main menu instead of asking you to log in again.
  • Resolved issue that could result in significant drop in frame rate when a Gas Canister is ignited by a Molotov Cocktail.
  • Addressed some visual artifacts that could occur when dynamic resolution was triggered.

Creation Kit

  • Removed non-functional “Hot Load” button.
  • Removed non-functional “Material Editor” button.
  • Editor IDs longer than 99 characters will no longer crash the editor.
  • Resolved crash that could occur while viewing a quest’s Objectives tab.
  • Resolved hang that could occur while adding a reference to a layer.

Fallout 4 launched in 2015 across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, generating $750 million in revenue. In the near decade since, Fallout 4 has continued to be one of the top-played games on Steam, with a huge number of mods keeping the experience fresh for players. The next-gen update is well-timed, given it arrives following the release of the Fallout TV show’s first season.

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.

Gorgeous interactive fiction Pine: A Story Of Loss is a small sad game about a big sad man

Pine: A Story Of Loss, which stars a bereaved woodworker and thus may be a play on the double meaning of ‘pine’, is a gorgeously animated interactive fiction game that sees you performing farming chores and wordlessly reminiscing upon cherished memories. It’s short – designed to be played in a couple of sittings – and while the fiction is the focus here, you’ll spend time gardening and whittling in bespoke minigames as you find out more about the woodworker’s relationship. The publisher describes it thusly:

As each season changes, the woodworker must prepare for what’s to come. Tasks such as collecting water, thatching the roof, or planting crops each bring back vivid memories of his wife. Desperate to not let her memory disappear, the woodworker captures these moments in beautiful wood carvings. Yet, while each one is a promise to her memory, they soon become a dangerous obsession.

Read more

New Contra: Operation Galuga Update Is Heading For Switch, Here Are The Patch Notes

Out now on other consoles, “coming soon” for Switch.

Konami and WayForward have today announced that a new update is on the way for Contra: Operation Galuga on Switch. As was the case with the launch update, the latest patch is available today on PS4, PS5, Xbox and Steam, but we’ll have to wait a little longer before it comes to Switch.

We don’t have a precise date for the Switch release yet outside of “soon,” but we do know what it’ll entail. The major issues targeted this time are a forced quit error, game freezes and music bugs, though the development team has also made a handful of tweaks to most of the stages in the hopes of improving the overall experience.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

You Probably Don’t Have to Worry About Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Incredibly Complicated Cut Content

The allegedly cut ending of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which was set to make the series’ already incredibly complicated meta story even more complex, is probably nothing to worry about according to Ubisoft.

As reported by Eurogamer, a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” from Mirage art director Jean-Luc Sala saw one fan essentially ask if cut content found through a datamine was canon to the larger Assassin’s Creed story.

“All we can say is that what’s not in your playthrough does not exist,” Sala said, suggesting the cut content was cut for a reason and therefore bears no impact on the Assassin’s Creed stories that have actually been released. He followed up with a winking emoji, however, perhaps just to leave fans a little on edge.

The cut content was thought to be a tease for Assassin’s Creed Hexe, the upcoming spooky-looking entry seemingly connected to witchcraft. Mirage, like most games in the franchise, features minor connections to the modern day meta story, but this cut tease pointed to the distant future for the first time.

Players could pick up on a conversation that takes place between two Animus Operators (the Animus being the machine that sends people’s consciousness back in time), in which they refer to the 21st century as “ancient history.”

What makes the cutscene even more complicated, and a little eerie, is that it shows Mirage protagonist Basim’s eagle flying from what appears to be Mirage’s normal map into the desert to a technological tower of some kind, suggesting the game may not be set in 9th century Baghdad as suggested.

But this “does not exist” according to Sala, as it didn’t actually make it into the final game, so fans will just have to wait and see if Assassin’s Creed goes in that direction down the line.

“All we can say is that what’s not in your playthrough does not exist.

There are opportunities for Ubisoft to take the franchise in a different direction, of course, as two upcoming entries — the aforementioned Hexe and a feudal Japan-set Assassin’s Creed Red — are already confirmed to be in development, and will both be sheltered under the Assassin’s Creed Infinity umbrella, a new platform acting as a series hub.

Details are still slim about all three of these projects, but one employee listed the highly anticipated Red as a 2024 game.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage launched October 5, 2023 as a smaller-scale entry that returns players to the series’ roots through slower-paced, stealth-based gameplay, veering away from the role-playing game foundations of the recent trilogy of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.

In our 8/10 review, IGN said: “Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s back-to-basics approach is a successful first step in returning to the stealthy style that launched this series.”

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

RPS Game Club Asks: What do you think of Lethal Company?

To keep the ball rolling with this month’s Game Club pick, we’re asking what you, the readers, think of Lethal Company?

By now, I can confidently say that the RPS team are scrap collecting experts and can easily meet the quota set by the enigmatic Company. Much to James’ chagrin, who prefers the chaos of being objectively ‘bad’ at the game. So confident was I in our abilities after our co-op sesh, that I dove into a solo game. Cue immediate death by a vengeful face-hugging bug. I’m expecting my first round of xenomorph child maintenance fees any day now.

With our blog chat scheduled for Friday 26th April, 4 PM GMT, here are a few conversation prompts we’ve gathered ahead of time. Tell us your thoughts in the comments and shoot any questions our way too. We hope to see you there!

Read more

Video Game-Starved Titanfall Fans Call Netflix Sci-Fi Film Atlas a ‘Titanfall Movie at Home’

Netflix has released a trailer for its upcoming Jennifer Lopez starring sci-fi film Atlas and fans of the Titanfall video game franchise are noticing a lot of similarities between the two.

The two minute trailer shows off Lopez’s Atlas Shepard fleeing from certain death in a giant mech akin to those seen in Titanfall, or more specifically its sequel, which was the first to feature a campaign. While this concept wasn’t necessarily new at the time of Titanfall 2’s release either, fans have spotted “pretty glaring” callouts to the game.

Reddit user dravacotron pointed these out. A line in the trailer for the Netflix film sees the mech Smith tell pilot Atlas that “my primary protocol is to keep you alive”. Titanfall 2’s scene where the pilot properly meets the mech has the line: “Protocol 3: Protect the pilot.”

Another of the more iconic scenes from Titanfall 2 sees mech BT tell pilot Jack Cooper to trust it before hurling him across an enormous gap, and the Atlas trailer showcases a similar line: “This won’t work if you don’t trust me.”

The film is otherwise about a growing bond between mech and pilot who are both thrust into unexpected territory on a dangerous alien world, which is the general plot of Titanfall 2 as well.

“I’m roughly 70% sure this was a rejected Titanfall script,” said LapsedVerneGagKnee. “It literally looks like a parody. How did they even manage that?,” asked sunboy4224. Agiantgrunt referenced the famous meme: “Mom can we have Titanfall movie. We have Titanfall movie at home.”

It literally looks like a parody. How did they even manage that?

Titanfall fans have been desperate for another entry in the practically dormant franchise ever since Titanfall 2 released in 2016. Popular battle royale Apex Legends is set in the same universe but doesn’t feature nearly as much of the story and lore the second game is remembered so fondly for.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “A long-awaited single-player campaign puts Titanfall 2’s feelgood mobility onto a sprawling platforming playground.”

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