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The Warframe 1999 update introduces a wealth of new content, including the Calendar progression system, expanded endgame narrative, and quality-of-life improvements. Central to the update is the 1999 Calendar, a reward system tied to activities in Höllvania. The Calendar is unlocked after completing The Hex quest and interacting with the Pom-2 in key locations like the Orbiter or Höllvania Central Mall. View the full article

MachineGames, the Bethesda studio behind the recently released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, seems to be working on more than one unannounced project. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released earlier in December to glowing reviews, with many critics and fans alike calling it one of 2024's best games, despite it missing the cutoff date for Geoff Keighley's 2024 Game Awards. View the full article

The first choice a player makes in almost every fantasy RPG is a character's race, and World of Warcraft is no exception. It serves as a pillar of the genre, with unique and distinct cultures and histories serving as a focal point for immersion and world-building. Before WoW's creation of a standardized starting zone, the beginning zone of a new WoW character was one of the most immersive experiences around. Choosing a Tauren and being sent to the rolling plains of Mulgore, with the towering Thunderbluff in the distance, set the tone for the rest of the game. View the full article

Image: Evan Blass (X) “The future of gaming handhelds is coming to CES ‘25 and you have a front row seat!” the email in my inbox exclaims. Let me translate: it looks like Lenovo just tacitly confirmed it will announce its first SteamOS handheld in Las Vegas on or before January 7th, 2025. We’re expecting it to be the Steam button equipped Legion Go S that leaker Evan Blass revealed last week. [/url] Why do I say that? The January 7th event, titled “Lenovo Legion x AMD: The Future of Gaming Handhelds,” will feature a special guest: Valve SteamOS and Steam Deck co-designer Pierre-Loup Griffais. Lenovo and AMD are calling him Valve’s “Chief Design Architect” for purposes of this event. (Most Valve employees are simply considered designers internally, since they fluidly switch between teams and tasks; I believe Griffais once told me he prefers the same, but it’s true he’s also been one of the few public faces of SteamOS and the Steam Deck. It’s a fascinating company.) Griffais won’t be the only intriguing choice of panelist on stage: Jason Ronald, Microsoft VP of Xbox Gaming Devices and Ecosystem will also be in attendance. He's now being introduced as Microsoft’s “VP of Next Generation." We exclusively shared with you last week that Lenovo will revamp its larger, seemingly Windows-based Legion Go with detachable controllers, too. And we’re also expecting Lenovo to hedge its bets with a Windows version of the smaller Legion Go S based on those same leaks. It's a reasonable bet some, if not all of these devices will come with AMD’s yet-to-be-detailed Z2 Extreme chips. Image via Evan Blass A leaked image of Lenovo’s ******* Legion Go, now with seemingly more ergonomic grips and possibly an OLED panel. Here’s the full description of the event: Join us for a ********* reception hosted by Lenovo Legion and AMD gaming leaders, with special guests Valve and other gaming industry giants. We’ll be sharing our thoughts on what lies ahead in the gaming handheld space and showcasing our latest Lenovo Legion Go innovations advanced by AMD. Come to hear how Lenovo Legion and AMD Ryzen are making gaming more immersive for all and stay to experience the future of handheld gaming firsthand! We’re not currently expecting Microsoft to surprise with an Xbox handheld at the event, as gaming boss Phil Spencer has suggested that might be a few years away. But it’s possible that Microsoft and Lenovo will try to suggest that all handhelds are Xbox handhelds, like Microsoft does in its new “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign: [Hidden Content] I’ll be attending, and I’ll let you know! View the full article

Image: Paramount Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures is planning to extend the Sonic The Hedgehog trilogy by yet another movie. Sonic The Hedgehog 4 has been greenlit with a target release window of spring 2027. The news comes mere hours before Sonic The Hedgehog 3 releases in theaters on Friday December 19th. The movie once again stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O’Shaughnessey and Idris Elba as his friends Tails and Knuckles, with Jim Carey returning as their nemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Sonic 3 will also feature the arrival of Keanu Reeves playing Sonic’s on-again off-again enemy-turned-friend Shadow The Hedgehog. With Sonic 3 anticipating tidy profits as North America prepares for the Christmas / New Year’s moviegoing season, developing a fourth movie makes sense. There are several rogue characters from the Sonic universe aiming for their silver screen debut. (See what I did there?) Neither Variety nor Paramount Pictures have confirmed any plot details or who might get their Sonic movie debut. We’ll probably get a hint though, in the post-credits for Sonic 3. View the full article

When the impossibly punctuated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl released on November 20, after many delays (that included the Russian invasion of the developer's native Ukraine), it seemed like it could have used even more delays. Stalker 2 had big performance issues and game-breaking bugs, along with balance and difficulty spike issues. Some things that seem "wrong" in the game are just going to stay that way. The first-person survival/shooter series has always had a certain wobbly, wild feel to it. This expresses itself in both the game world, where a major villain can off themselves by walking through a window, and in the tech stack, where broken save games, DIY optimization, and other unmet needs have created thriving mod scenes. Developer GSC Game World has been steadfastly patching the game since its release, and the latest one should nudge the needle a bit from "busted" to "charmingly wonky." Amid the "Over 1,800 fixes and adjustments" in Patch 1.1, the big changes are to "A-Life." In porting Stalker 2 to Unreal Engine 5, the developer faced a challenge in getting this global AI management system working, but it's showing its weird self again. Read full article Comments View the full article

In a piece of news I certainly didn't see coming in the waning hours of 2024, today it was announced that indie cult classic game OFF is getting released on Steam and Nintendo Switch next year in a new and "improved" version, including a physical edition. For those unfamiliar, OFF is an RPG that first released in 2008 from Belgian studio Unproductive Fun Time. It was made in RPG Maker, originally released in French, and has never received an official English translation, though multiple fan translations have sprung up over the years. It's also never been available on typical, popular PC storefronts such as Steam or itch.io, but instead has circulated over the years as a direct download, gaining a cult following due to how utterly weird, unsettling, and at times inscrutable it can be. OFF puts the player in control of a mysterious baseball player-looking figure known as the Batter, who is instructed by a talking cat calling itself the Judge to travel through four Zones and kill ghostly creatures known as Spectres. The Zones themselves are haunting, upsetting places run by cruel leaders, composed of strange elements such as smoke, metal, plastic, meat, and sugar, and populated by confused and often suffering individuals who seem to be tormented by the Spectres. However, as the game progresses, the player is encouraged to question the actions of the Batter and themselves as a player, with multiple endings possible depending on the player's decisions. Despite never hitting the mainstream, OFF has served as an inspiration for a number of other hit RPGs, most notably Undertale (and most notably Undertale's absolute creepiest, freakiest stuff). The game is coming to Steam and Nintendo Switch in 2025 both digitally and as a physical edition via Fangamer. 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 [email protected]. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The annual Gift of Giving event in Disney Dreamlight Valley has many secret quests for you to complete. These duties are tough to finish since you’re given no information outside of the task name, as is the case with A Home for the Holidays. The name of this quest gives you a slight hint as to what needs to be done, but it’s not a ton of information to work with which means you may need some help figuring it out. Here’s how to complete A Home for the Holidays in Disney Dreamlight Valley. View the full article

As the holiday season rolls around, it's time for Disney Dreamlight Valley's annual Gift of Giving event. As with previous years, there are a couple of returning elements, but there are also plenty of new things to discover. The Gift of Giving officially kicks off on December 18th, 2024, and runs until December 31st, 2024, meaning you have plenty of time to participate. View the full article

Following a somewhat troubled launch, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has received its first major update, Patch 1.1, which promises to fix many of the game's major problems, including bugs, performance issues, and fixes to important gameplay systems. Released in November 2024 after facing several delays, STALKER 2 launched to generally positive reviews, but also a host of technical issues, some of which greatly impacted anyone trying to play the game at launch. While this may not have been unexpected for longtime fans of the series, the game's developers are trying to quickly fix the most pressing issues. View the full article

Helldivers 2 is giving Wave 2 of its Killzone collaboration to all players for free after issuing an apology to fans on social media. After announcing a large update and new enemy faction at The Game Awards, Helldivers 2 welcomed back many players looking to get in on the action. Unfortunately, the celebration of the game's success has been muddied by another misstep. View the full article

The upcoming release Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos will be censored on the Nintendo Switch after Idea Factory showed that only the PS4 and PS5 will receive it. The store page for the game shows that the Swimsuit Costume DLC won’t be available on the Nintendo Switch. According to a press release: Additionally, the Swimsuit Costume […] Source View the full article

The games industry will only be able to support two successful game consoles in the next generation of hardware, a new report claims, and one of those will ‘clearly’ be Nintendo. Market research firm DFC Intelligence released its annual market report and forecast this week, in which it projects major revenue growth for the second half of the decade, while predicting significant risk for one of the three established console manufacturers. DFC predicts that, thanks to new hardware from Nintendo and major releases such as GTA6, the games industry will enjoy record growth in 2025, following a ******* of decline following the Covid 19 pandemic. Read More... View the full article

The Epic Games Store is currently offering Vampire Survivors as the second free Mystery Game of December 2024. The Epic Games Store traditionally offers free games daily at the end of every year, and users have a limited timeframe to acquire the popular Vampire Survivors before the next Mystery Game is offered. View the full article

Nihon Falcom has unveiled a new trailer for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky remake, also revealing a release window of Fall 2025. Initially announced in a sizzle reel during a Nintendo Direct, the remake now has its own dedicated trailer. At first, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky remake would be titled The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st, but it has since been renamed to Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter. View the full article

The long-rumored character skins in Honkai: Star Rail may be closer to arriving than ever, according to a new sequence of leaks for Version 3.0. Alternative character outfits have not been made official in the game despite the many rumors that the system will be introduced, much like those in HoYoverse’s other RPG, Genshin Impact. These outfits don’t necessarily bring any gameplay value other than the aesthetic appreciation for certain units. The turn-based RPG has already teased alternative skins for characters, like the one unlocked by March 7th (Hunt) in Honkai: Star Rail, who swaps outfits when she changes Paths. View the full article

In 2011, President and founder of Valve famously said that piracy isn’t a problem of price, it’s a problem of service. But what do the problems facing the western anime and manga scene have to do with PC gaming? A lot honestly. In recent years, the anime and manga industry in the west has been […] Source View the full article

A new update is now live in Call of Duty, pre-empting the potential dominance of the game’s newest weapon that is now unlockable. The AMR Mod 4 sniper rifle is the latest weapon to join the game’s roster, and the first new sniper since launch. And judging by the sound of it, it’s likely to become a top pick, especially in Warzone where it’s already been tweaked before launching. View the full article

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl launched with a lot of quirky issues, and one player has shared a bug where their weapon is mysteriously swapped out for a new gun - and they're not the only one to experience this. Numerous bug issues since its launch, including some glaring issues with A-Life, have seen STALKER 2 under some scrutiny after its 14 years of development. But despite not quite running perfectly, the game has still sold over 1 million copies, all while offering an experience that's been very much worth players waiting. View the full article

I admit it: I'm a coward. The first time I fired up Path of Exile 1, accidentally tabbing over to its sprawling passive skill tree filled me with an instinctual dread, like I was coming face to face with some ancestral human enemy. How could my frail, mortal mind ever hope to make sense of it? Dejected, scared, defeated, I slinked off back to more understandable videogames... Read more.View the full article

Anime Last Stand is one of the most exciting Tower Defense experiences on the Roblox platform. Bringing plenty of our favorite characters to life in ways we've never seen before, it also receives a fair number of excellent updates to keep things exciting. While other experiences on the Roblox platform are looking to bring the Christmas Spirit, it looks like Anime Last Stand has other ideas. A Boss Rush mode, alongside plenty of buffs and nerfs for our favorite characters, is going to fundamentally change how we play this game. Anime Last Stand Latest Patch Notes Below, you'll find patch notes for the latest Anime Last Stand updates, as well as when they went live. Recently, this experience has received a fair number of updates, so be ready to read and see what has changed: Buffs "King of Heroes (Sword of Rupture) Regained crippleDamage distribution for last 2 upgrades changedNuke costs 1.2M now Guts (Berserk) Damage buffedAll upgrade prices changedNow deals Hemorrhage + Bleed (at full AoE upgrade) Unleashed Umbral Prince Damage buffedAll Upgrade Prices changedNow deals Dismantle + Fear (on placement and keeps it)Removed slow passive Braly (LSSJ) Final upgrade damage buffed (you’re welcome) Jester (Blood Rage) Damage buffedPrice ChangesNow deals Dismantle on placementHybrid on place Ulmiorra (Segunda) Damage buffedProgressive potential increasedPrices rebalancedRange increased Ichiko (True Kai) Damage buffedPrices changed (by a lot)Now has “Fear” passive (he has on placement and keeps it) Itadoki (Enraged) Damage buffedRange buffedPrices changed Poche (Made in Heaven) Damage on final upgrade buffedNow has a dual passive (Pressure + Stun), this is meant to contest Time King 7th Company Captain (Former) Added a new upgrade Water Breathing Master All upgrades rebalanced (this unit is weak for early game, but excels in late game, you will start seeing more units like this in the future) Fixes/NerfsOkarun Upgrade 3 damage being higher than his max damage () fixedNinel (Spirit) final upgrade damage nerfedApprentice Kai (Madness) guttedBeerus final upgrade damage nerfedWorld’s Strongest (Prime) final upgrade damage nerfedDecember 15 Boss Rush Buff Logs Red Pirate Added new upgrade Braly (LSSJ) Buffed damage on final upgrade Pride (The One) Final upgrade damage buffed (closer to the other godlies DPS now) True Cursed King Last upgrade cost decreased (was too inf focused) Knight King (Excalibur) Added new upgrade Killer (Bite the Dust) Added new upgrade Fused Kai (Full Power) Buffed final upgrade 8th Division Captain (Bloom) Added new upgrade Small buff log, however, we have plans in the near future to completely rework units, give them passives, etc. Ainz: Meta DPS unit, huge range, Fear passive, has a passive with chance to summon enemies when he kills them, has a nuke which deals 150x his displayed damage. Giorno: Godly Level DPS, only 1 can be placed globally, big range, Slow passive, passive which chips enemies HP by 0.95% per hit and has an ability which sends all enemies to spawn, takes 10% of their HP, and slows all affected enemies down by 90% Rudeus: Terrible DPS, but a support ability to buff all units in range of his same element’s damage Makima: Very good DPS, passive to summon enemies that she killed equal to their original HP, no special status effect, no ability Denji: Meta DPS when girl in range, Best bleed unit in game, no ability" With all of these changes, it will be interesting to see how players adapt. Alongside the new Boss Rush mode, these changes could make players have to rethink their team composition. While none of the buffs and nerfs were catastrophic, there are rumblings that the development team behind Anime Last Stand may be working on even more buffs and nerfs to change things even further. I'm intrigued to see what we could expect to see next time around. Shaun Cichacki is a Freelance Contributor with IGN, covering features, guides, and news. When he isn't writing about games, he's likely diving into the latest indie, the biggest AAA games, or pampering his extensive collection of retro games. You can find him on social media on Bluesky @shauncichacki.bsky.social View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Paramount Pictures has reportedly greenlit a fourth Sonic the Hedgehog movie, ahead of Sonic 3’s arrival in cinemas this weekend. According to Variety, Sonic 4 is in the planning stages and is anticipated to release in spring 2027. No plot details were shared. The first two Sonic movies have enjoyed box office success for Paramount and *****, earning a combined $725.2 million, plus $180 million more in home entertainment rentals and digital purchases. A spinoff Paramount+ series, Knuckles, was also released earlier this year. Read More... View the full article

The Helldivers 2 x Killzone crossover that launched yesterday was immediately met with backlash from the players for the undemocratic pricing of its featured items. In response to that, Arrowhead Game Studios and its partner at Guerilla Games prepared a holiday gift for Helldivers. Super Earth announced on Dec. 19 that the second wave of the Killzone collaboration items will be free for all Helldivers 2 players—and they’re already available right now ahead of the initial launch date scheduled for next week. Next time you log into the game, you’ll receive the AC-2 Obedient armor set, the PLAS-39 Accelerator Rifle, the StA-11 SMG, and the Defender of Our Dream banner and cape. The distribution of items takes place in two waves, so if you didn’t get them at first, you might just have to wait a little. View the full article

When discussing the best indie games of the last few years, Vampire Survivors is a name that will almost always crop up. The roguelike bullet hell may look simplistic and outdated at a first glance, but its pixelated mayhem is remarkably deep and incredibly addictive. Thanks to its small price tag, it's not one to burn a big hole in your pocket either - however, if you're yet to try it, now is the perfect opportunity as it's free to keep on the Epic Games Store. The catch? You've got a very short window to grab it. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Vampire Survivors weapon evolution guide New Vampire Survivors DLC is the roguelike's biggest yet, and it's just $4 Vampire Survivors creator won't release copycats or "anything AI or Web3" View the full article

It looks like the extremely positive response to new Intel Arc B580 Battlemage GPUs is already leading to stock issues. According to Intel, "demand is high" for the chip maker's brand new, budget-friendly graphics card, with stock levels already low at most retailers, just a week after its official launch date. At last, it looks like Intel has a genuine graphics card success on its hands. Early B580 testing shows performance that easily challenges some of the best graphics cards out there for budget gamers, including the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060. Considering the B580's $250 price tag, this means there's finally a genuinely strong budget GPU for gamers. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Intel says it's fixed four Arrow Lake gaming CPU issues, one more update coming This new Intel Core 200 laptop gaming CPU range could be using two-year-old tech Budget gaming PCs get massive lifeline as Intel Arc B580 reviews show up Nvidia View the full article