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Newly surfaced images and animations from the canceled Doom 4 have given fans another look at id Software's original vision for the franchise before rebooting it in 2016. The fourth entry in the original Doomrun has fascinated fans for years, as it was allegedly the entry that would take the series in an entirely new, more mainstream direction before being scrapped. View the full article

These days, it's hard to imagine a world without Stardew Valley. Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone's pixel perfect village escape is the modern standard bearer by which all other cozy and retro-styled games are measured against. Explicitly inspired by the early Harvest Moon games, Stardew Valley has ballooned in popularity beyond anyone's expectations since its release in 2016, taking on its own identity and inspiring countless other indie games of the cute and cuddly variety. None of this would be true, however, if Barone hadn't been able to salvage the game data from a computer ****** that happened about a year into development. PC Gamer recently republished a 2016 interview with Barone in which the solo developer brushed with the idea that his ragtag Harvest Moon-like could become a phenomenon. Barone couldn't have had any idea just how revolutionary Stardew Valley would one day become, but he had the foresight to know he was very lucky to recover from a PC ****** that almost put Stardew Valley in a pixelated grave before it was ever born. Barone told PC Gamer that the project was almost canceled when the PC he was using to develop the game unexpectedly crashed. Since he had no backups, Barone thought it was over for Stardew Valley, but was ultimately able to restore the project from the old hard drive and build a new rig. "In retrospect, it feels crazy that it all worked out," he said. "The whole development was so sloppy. It was the most indie development you could imagine: no professional style at all, figuring it all out as I go, and just the scrappiest code you could imagine. I'm almost embarrassed to have other people look at my code!" Barone's next game, Haunted Chocolatier, very much seems to be being built using the foundation laid down by Stardew Valley, and with Barone having all of that experience under his belt, not to mention a small team helping him put everything together, fans can expect a much smoother development process while they wait for the darker, sweeter follow-up. Haunted Chocolatier is "taking a long time," admits Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe – but going "over every last detail" is just what it takes "to make a game I'm satisfied with" [/url]View the full article

Anapol Weiss filed two new lawsuits against Roblox, with one of them also naming Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, on behalf of alleged victims of child predators. The lawsuits are the latest of more than 150 filed against Roblox and some other gaming-related social platforms such as Discord and Snap. These new alleged victims are from Tillamook County, Oregon, and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Anapol Weiss, the law firm, said the details are disturbing. The Oregon plaintiff was eight when a predator groomed her through a Roblox dress-up game, manipulating her into a false “romantic relationship” and urging her to run away with him. He was never caught. The Louisiana plaintiff was 14 when a predator groomed her on Roblox, then moved her to Snapchat, where he sent ********* explicit images and demanded photos of her. Both complaints accuse Roblox of knowingly enabling predators while marketing itself as kid-friendly, allegations echoed by attorneys general in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and other states that have sued or opened investigations into the platform. We’re seeking comment from Roblox. Lawsuits such as the ones above have hit Roblox despite its efforts to crack down on child predators with technology, such as AI and face recognition tech that can verify ages for players. In a statement, a spokesperson for Roblox said, “Criminal behavior has no place on Roblox. We have robust protections in place that go beyond many other online platforms, including age checks for chat features designed to limit communication between adults and kids they don’t know, and newly launched age-appropriate Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts for players under the age of 16.” Roblox has pointed out before that its system does not allow the sharing of images or videos in chat and it should be noted that there’s a distinction between what kids can do on Roblox and the activity that happens on third-party platforms. Roblox’s chat filters are engineered to help block the sharing of personal information by default, including social media handles or links for users under 16. The company does not encrypt chat so that it can monitor for inappropriate interactions and continuously monitor communications for signals associated with grooming and attempts to move users off-platform. When violative content is detected, Roblox takes action against the offending account and, as appropriate, report/preserve evidence for authorities. And the company has said it will continue to evolve our safeguards and invest in the teams, tools and technology that helps keep Roblox users safe. In January Roblox became the first major online gaming platform to require all users to go through age checks in order to chat. More info can be found here. Independent testing by the Age Check Certification Scheme has found that the system we use on average achieved an accuracy within 1.4 years for users younger than 18. Parents can review their child’s age check status and update their child’s birthday in Parental Controls. Roblox also continuously monitors for behavioral signals. If it detects that these do not match the checked age, players are asked to recheck. Roblox also recently launched Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts for under-16s add another layer of protection by aligning content access, chat settings and parental controls with a player’s age. More information can be found here. Parents can visit Roblox’s Safety Center to learn more about how to help keep their children safe online, and access resources including conversation starters on how to address safety topics and navigate online interactions as a family. The post Two more child predator lawsuits filed against Roblox, with one also naming Snap appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article

If you're a Windows user who's looking for a PC version of the Apple Mac Mini, then this deal might be right up your alley. AliExpress is currently offering the Aoostar AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H Mini PC for just $268.10 with free shipping after $35 off coupon code "FJUS35". It's sold by Aoostar direct and ships locally from a warehouse in the United States. This is the first time I've seen this mini PC drop below $300. In fact, Amazon still has the same system for $349. This is a great opportunity to pick up a complete, tiny PC package that includes nearly all the pre-assembled hardware, including the CPU/GPU and 24GB of RAM, and even USB 4 ports. The only component you have to supply is the SSD. Aoostar AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H Mini PC for $268 Includes 24GB of LPDDR5-6400MHz RAM and USB 4 ports The Aoostar is really small, measuring 5" x 5" x 2.4", roughly the same size as a Mac Mini. It features a surprisingly snappy AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H 8-core CPU with a max turbo frequency of 4.7GHz and Radeon 680M onboard graphics, and 24GB of soldered LDDR5-6400MHz RAM. It will accept up two three PCI-E 4x4 M.2 SSD modules (none are supplied). There are plenty of connectivity options here. Running down the list, the ports include two USB 4 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI port, one DisplayPort, one 3.5mm audio jack, and two 2.5Gb ethernet jacks. It's also equipped with WiFi 6 wireless networking. This micro-sized PC works great as a Windows box that can be used for productivity tasks, web browsing, video streaming, and even some light gaming. Attach some local storage to it and it can be used as a home server or a security NVR. It's small enough to tuck away inconspicuously, like affixed to the back of your monitor, it sips power, and it doesn't get very hot. At this low price, it's a better value and a considerably more powerful alternative to Raspberry Pi. How to Follow IGN Deals Recommendations The IGN Deals team has over 30 years of combined experience finding the best discounts and preorders available online. If you want the latest updates from our trusted team, here’s how to follow our coverage: Sign up for our IGN Deals NewsletterSet IGN as a preferred source in GoogleShop on our Amazon StorefrontFollow us on social mediaIGN Finds on XIGN Finds on InstagramIGN Finds on FacebookIGN Deals on Tiktok[/url] Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time. View the full article

We talk to the producer and director of Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, digging into how this expansion will change the base game, why it takes place in the frozen North, and how the team is keeping the "spirit" of the game intact. View the full article

Ubisoft has disclosed a valuable trade secret in its latest annual financial report. It appears that, if a developer takes a really long time to make a video game that isn't as bulletproof as GTA 6, fans might stop caring. The Far Cry creator identifies in its report, spotted by Game File, that "an inappropriate release schedule" can be grave for a video game business. Releasing slipshod games too early will never work, but "conversely, releasing a game too late – when market anticipation has waned and it no longer meets market standards in a highly competitive environment – can also hinder its success." Ubisoft addresses the issue in only vague terms, but it still sounds like the company is making a quiet self-admonishment here. Ubisoft, which has disposed of over 2,000 workers in the past two years alongside a few passionate swears of loyalty to generative AI, is working with a clogged tank. Fans of Ubisoft's big FPS series have been waiting on Far Cry 7 since 2021. We can apparently expect to get more Ghost Recon at some point in the next three years, though it's been seven years since Breakpoint, and Ubisoft recently killed its developer Red Storm, laying off 105. Beyond Good and Evil 2 is now a legal adult – the sequel was first announced in 2008. To that last point, Beyond Good and Evil 2 creative director Fawzi Mesmar said earlier this year that the action-adventure game's team is still committed to "delivering a remarkable game for our players to enjoy." When? That's classified. Though, Ubisoft provides a sort of answer in its annual report, admitting that issues like an overly long release cycle can cause "damage to the game's reputation and brand image, loss of players (disappointment of players who would turn to the competition)." So the real reply to "When?" is actually, "It doesn't matter anymore." After laying off thousands, Ubisoft says losing "key talents and skills" is a big danger for the company. [/url]View the full article

Fallout: New Vegas is a sprawling RPG filled with sketchy factions, greasy NPCs, rubbery morality, and tough decisions, all of which ultimately lead the player to one of four possible outcomes that share one thing in common: They're not great. Which isn't to say they're not satisfying, just that there's no optimal outcome where everybody's happy and nobody gets hurt. The wasteland is a pretty ******* place, after all, so outcomes tend to be ******* too... Read more.View the full article

Solo developer Mateo Covic, best known for co-op rage game Paddle Paddle Paddle, received a lot of attention online following his arguments against Valve's Steam refund policy, which he called exploitable after seeing players refund his game even after beating it and, sometimes, leaving a positive review (in some cases, bragging in their review about pulling off the refund). Covic told us that he's staunchly "100% pro refund" and is very happy with how his game's performed overall, and we also discussed the unique pressures that may face short games purely as a function of how Steam works. If your game can be beaten in under two hours, which is Steam's default refund window, it's at much greater risk of this sort of refund abuse (which is, to be clear, banned under Valve's own rules, though those won't stop everyone). Many people told Covic that he should simply make a longer or more replayable game to dodge the two-hour window. While he's open to massaging other parts of Steam refunds, agrees that Valve's policy is good for players, and acknowledges that a pretty small percentage of players actually abuse refunds this way, he rejects this stance on game development outright. "A game is ready when it's ready, and I don't even think about the playtime during development," he explains. "I want to develop small, fun and affordable games and so far no one had a problem with that. Paddle Paddle Paddle had fantastic reviews, streamers loved it, and I was super happy how the game turned out. "I will never stretch out a game with more content just to avoid refunds. I will shut up and take the refunds in the future and this tweet showed me that Steam is a hard market but I'm not willing to change my development approach!" Covic says he actually tried expanding one of his earlier games, Makis Adventure, with extra content. He ultimately found that, even with positive Steam reviews, those extra sections were the weakest link in the chain. Makis Adventure did see longer average playtimes, but Paddle Paddle Paddle performed incomparably better. Short games absolutely have an audience. Covic highlights A Short Hike, which he beat in about an hour and a half and calls "probably one of the best evenings I had with a game," as one example. He also likes the Fears to Fathom series. Covic says this is the type of game he most enjoys making right now, and won't allow whatever nebulous market pressure to dissuade him. These are some of the best short games you can spend an afternoon on. [/url]View the full article

There are, somehow, those of us who still haven't played the hit 2023 RPG Baldur's Gate 3, and I know that because someone asked My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way at a recent concert... Read more.View the full article

Sony decided to port Call of Duty: ****** Ops and Call of Duty: ****** Ops 2 to PlayStation on July 9, View the full article

Montreal-based developer Compulsion Games, who avoided closure amidst the mass layoffs by Xbox Game Studios this month by negotiating its independence, has taken to LinkedIn to let other developers and publishers know that they are open for business – and seemingly open to working as a support studio and/or co-developer on another team's project. "With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent developer, we are expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across the games and entertainment industry," the studio's LinkedIn post reads. "We invite partners to leverage the talent and creativity of the award-winning team behind South of Midnight...We are excited to support the development of memorable experiences that engage and entertain players around the world." The full statement is below: Compulsion released 2025's South of Midnight to critical acclaim, receiving an 8 out of 10 (Great) from IGN and a "Generally Favorable" rating on the review-aggregate website Metacritic. Xbox acquired the studio in 2018 after it had developed We Happy Few and Contrast prior to that. Xbox's parting of ways with Compulsion (and Double Fine, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Arkane) comes as the first-party publisher looks to focus its efforts on its biggest franchises – a strategy I've got an idea for regarding how it might play out. Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our semi-retired interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan. View the full article

A new look at Kingdom Hearts 4 may be imminent. Disney has confirmed its plans for D23, a Disney-specific convention that covers movies, TV shows, and anything Disney related. While you can expect updates on a bunch of major projects, there is one project that gamers are particularly interested in: Kingdom Hearts 4. While Disney hasn't explicitly confirmed a new look at the game at D23, it did confirm that there will be an hour-long panel celebrating 25 years of Kingdom Hearts. "Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts," reads the description for the panel. "Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic." It would be pretty surprising if they let a celebratory 25th anniversary panel come and go without some news on Kingdom Hearts 4... but this is Square Enix we're talking about. It's not unheard of for this company or franchise to have a missed opportunity to promote a new game. However, it does seem like we're getting fairly close to its release. Last month, Kingdom Hearts 4 got its first trailer in four years at a Nintendo Direct. While it didn't exactly set the world on fire with any mind blowing new reveals or release date news, it did show that Square Enix is revving up the marketing machine for the game. Perhaps this D23 panel will feature a glimpse at new content in the game or give us a 2027 release window. Either way, we will just have to cross our fingers and hope Square Enix doesn't let us down. Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder. View the full article

If Palworld's 1.0 launch has brought you back for a fresh round of legally distinct Pokemon—as it's done for millions of other players—you're going to be crafting a lot of items. Thousands and thousands of items... Read more.View the full article

id Software producer Andrew Willis can only see one way through the Microsoft mess as the company begins executing its plans to bulldoze 3,200 jobs at Xbox: studios owned by workers, rather than executives who don't mind setting fire to, say, 3,200 jobs. Willis mourned the layoffs – which already impacted 136 of id Software's total 185 staff members – in a LinkedIn post earlier this week, calling the layoffs an "incomprehensible decision," and remarking that "the game industry is being run by people who do not fundamentally understand anything about it, not even how it generates value or profit." He's decided in a new post, then, that "the only way to fix the video game industry at this point is for developer owned studios to start rising from these studio closures and layoffs." Doom studio id Software, of course, was originally created by Doom's developers in 1991, but Willis also seems in favor of true worker cooperatives where all of a business' employees double as owners who can guide direction. A co-op is not impervious to problems – worker-owned Dead Cells developer Motion Twin had a public falling out with the game's lead dev after a disagreement in 2024, for example – but I think many people would prefer interpersonal drama to receiving an email from a CEO you've never met informing you that something like 3,531,840 more people in your field have just been laid off. (Image credit: Bethesda) So, Willis, who also helped lead id Software's unionization efforts in 2025, says, "We've got to learn from the past, be fiscally responsibly, and create an environment of sustainable growth (though growth should be a byproduct of success, not a goal in and of itself)." "Its the only path forward I can see," he reiterates. "These large publishers and monopolies have proven themselves terrible stewards and somehow even worse financial managers." To his point, although Microsoft Gaming had already eliminated 2,500 jobs in 2024, and Microsoft killed about 15,000 more jobs in 2025, Xbox began 2026 with its overall revenue 9% down in a hole. "If the people who create the value own that value, good things will follow," Willis concludes. Makes sense to me. Microsoft lays off Bethesda vet behind Todd Howard's "crazy" Fallout 4 idea, "too many Skyrim weapons to count," the Dwemer, and Mudcrabs – and he may leave games altogether. [/url]View the full article

Years into a restructuring that's seen it shed thousands of jobs and multiple high-profile creative veterans, Ubisoft leadership considers losing key staff and failing to attract new talent to be significant risks for the company. Ubisoft's latest annual report contains an updated assessment of "risk factors that could affect its performance, its reputation, the achievement of its strategic and financial goals, and its share price." One subsection singles out "risks related to talent," with "loss of key talent and skills" listed as high risk and "lack of attractiveness to key talent" as moderate risk. These points are explored in more depth later in the report, and the verbiage is fascinating not just in the context of Ubisoft's own overhaul, but amid the broader brain drain afflicting the games industry after devastating layoffs and studio closures which have forced many people out of games altogether, temporarily or permanently. Xbox just added 1,600 people – soon to be 3,200 – to the growing list of games layoffs. Ubisoft itself is down to a much leaner 16,590 staff according to the report – a dramatic cut from 18,666 in late 2024, and that was after more than 2,000 layoffs already. Ubisoft's pace has averaged roughly 1,000 people cut per year over the past four years. Even as it makes these cuts, Ubisoft says it has to be careful about staff retention. "The sudden departure of members of the games core teams could be damaging to the Group's development and could have a significant impact on its editorial policy," Ubisoft observes. "The Group's success also depends on its teams' know-how and skills in a highly competitive international market. Indeed, the video game industry requires a certain number of innovative skills at the cutting edge of their respective fields. The Group is therefore exposed to a situation of dependence on certain key talents whose creativity or technical expertise is rare and highly valued in the market (artificial intelligence, cloud gaming, data, etc)." To help mitigate these risks, Ubisoft says it's established a succession plan for executive officers and is working toward "the gradual implementation" of a similar plan for key roles like creative director, producer, and studio general manager. Various corporate muscles have also been flexed – including "the monitoring of commitment levels" and "the development of a differentiated compensation policy" – to help promote leadership skills, knowledge sharing, and training. (Image credit: Ubisoft) Ubisoft's report notes high turnover, "particularly for senior talented individuals in key roles," as a relevant factor here, alongside inadequate training, the need for new skills, and a working environment that "does not meet the aspirations of talented individuals." This connects nicely to the report's discussion of bringing in new talent. "Ubisoft faces increasing pressure from not only its direct competitors in the video game sector, but also from competitors in other sectors/industries in search of the same talents (engineers, etc.)," the report continues. In this space, Ubisoft targets an evolved and "selective recruitment, development and retention policy" as a way to bring in and hold onto people, promote career advancement, build a "welcoming and inclusive" workplace, and engender "continuous learning." In one of the most interesting lines in the whole 356-page report, Ubisoft directly acknowledges the conflict between its actions (laying people off) and these aspirations (finding and keeping people), describing the "development of a deep-rooted corporate culture, promoting well-being at work, allowing talented team members to reach their full potential, despite a transformation plan that is necessary to return to the expected level of performance." The company's report underscores a growing problem in the industry: great games cannot just be made by anyone, and, in this consolidation-heavy time, that may mean that a company gaining an IP but losing the people who defined it doesn't really get it much in the end. In fact, everyone loses out. I'm reminded of a quote from New Blood head Dave Oshry, who I spoke to as part of a larger 2025 report about what people get wrong about game development. "With the exception of solo devs, games are an artistic endeavor that require the cooperation of handfuls, dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people at once working together to create interactive art," Oshry said. "You can put all the great programmers, artists, animators and sound designers you want in the same building but that doesn't mean they can make a great game. Great games are made by great teams that work great together. It helps when they're all friends, too." "This is not how I imagined it would end": Ubisoft to lay off Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced devs at its Barcelona studio, with one calling the remake's release "bittersweet." [/url]View the full article