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According to Magic the Gathering's principal game designer Gavin Verhey, 'hone' counters - a new form of lasting buff for equipment that will debut in the Hobbit set - aren't going to be limited to Middle Earth. According to Verhey, "it's something new that debuts there, but it's not a Hobbit specific mechanic... you will see it more in the future"; and the tokens came about while trying to fix a long-standing problem with red decks. Read the full story on Wargamer: Wizards confirms this SHARP MTG Hobbit mechanic will return in future sets View the full article

With Bethesda having begun to dip their fingers into the remaster bucket in recent years, some modders who'd decided long before that to get the ball rolling on such things themselves have had to reckon with the idea that official siblings of their passion projects could be in the works. It happened last year with Skyblivion and Oblivion Remastered, now it's happened for the crew behind The Capital Wasteland Project, an effort to recreate Fallout 3 in Fallout 4, and Fallout 4: New Vegas. Thankfully, both teams of modders have made clear they plan to keep on trucking with their efforts following the confirmation of the official remasters. Read more View the full article

As Oisin reported over the weekend, Steam Machine engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais gave a big Valve thumbs-down to the practice of platform exclusives – a hot topic in the context of Xbox owners Microsoft retreating back into whatever kind of shrivelled, joyless husk Xbox is nowadays. The same interview, with Bloomberg scoopsmith Jason Schreier, also touched on the acutely PC-spoiling subject of RAMnarök and its subsequent, en-masse embiggening of hardware prices. Good news? No! Obviously it’s all terrible! Read more View the full article

Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has opened up about his past with alcohol addiction, and his hope to return to games as he recovers. In a lengthy interview with 80 Level, Bleszinski – who was a designer on the Unreal series before designing the first three Gears of War games – said his alcoholism started in the early 2000s when he was was gifted a bottle of vodka by a Russian journalist, and continued throughout the rest of his career. “I was a functioning alcoholic,” he told the publication. “Then I became a non-functioning alcoholic.” Read More... View the full article

Despite the original HBO series ending in 2019, Game of Thrones remains one of the world's biggest fantasy franchises thanks to the continued success of House of the Dragon and several other projects in development, but another big release for the IP has been delayed to 2027. The good news is that this delay can only mean a better final product, although this does not always mean much toGame of Thrones fans. View the full article

Bethesda chief Todd Howard has issued a rare post on Reddit, telling gamers that the developer is "constantly listening” to fans on the website. And so, unsurprisingly, fans have responded with requests. Howard posted in the r/games subreddit in the wake of Bethesda's announcement of its roadmap of releases over the coming years. With The Elder Scrolls 6 taking up Bethesda Game Studios’ attention, Howard confirmed Fallout 5 is now in pre-production, New Vegas developer Obsidian is working on a new Fallout game, Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters are in the works, and Starfield is still alive. That announcement itself followed a significant round of layoffs across Xbox, which hit Bethesda and its various studios hard as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma continues her “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business. That reset involves doubling down on Xbox’s core franchises, and for Bethesda that means more The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, more quickly. Howard then took the unusual step of actually posting on Reddit, calling himself a “professional lurker” who gets “great ideas” from the website. He called on fans to continue to provide feedback and post their ideas for future Bethesda games, which he may or may not take inspiration from. Here’s the post in full: Hey Reddit. I’m a professional lurker and read your comments all the time. Many here do and we deeply appreciate all the passion for our work. I know I don’t really post, and we’re usually very quiet. Today’s info was an attempt at changing that and letting everyone know what we’ve been working on the past several years, and a look at what’s coming. So know we’re constantly listening and keep telling us how to be even better. You’d be surprised how many great ideas I get from Reddit. So upvote your favorite and we’ll do it. Maybe. This is Howard's first comment on Reddit in six months. The last was to simply say "Dear Reddit, please never change," in a thread about someone who modded Todd Howard into Fallout 4. Before that, Howard posted on Reddit three years ago to thank fans for their "passion and excitement" for Starfield. And, before that, Howard posted five years ago as part of a Reddit Ask Me Anything celebrating Skyrim’s 10th anniversary. In that AMA, Howard said he hadn't posted on the internet in 15 years. I don’t think this means Howard is all of a sudden going to start posting a lot in Reddit or even online generally. But, clearly, this is the start of a new era under Microsoft, one that will see a lot more Fallout, that’s for sure. It stands to reason that more communication will be needed to help get Bethesda's vision across. Unsurprisingly, Howard's Reddit post was followed immediately by requests from fans, the first of which called for patches for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. "Thanks Todd. Please get Virtuous to keep patching Oblivion and give it as much love as you guys gave Skyrim, because it feels abandoned right now which is a shame," said redditor GamerLove1. As we reported in May, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is without a patch on PC since July 2025, and still suffers from issues that plagued it at launch, including worsening performance the more you play. Will Oblivion Remastered eventually get some love? Oblivion Remastered, overall, seems like a big success for Bethesda, which contracted Virtuos to help remake its much-loved role-playing game using Unreal Engine 5. It’s seen over 9 million players, and Howard himself told IGN in December that the studio was “really, really pleased with how well it did.” So it seems somewhat odd that the game hasn’t seen an update in so long. Oblivion Remastered launches for the Nintendo Switch 2 on August 11, 2026, so perhaps we'll see a big update for all versions then. Meanwhile, Bethesda has said that while it won't host a traditional Fallout Day broadcast this year, it's planning something special for Fallout's 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be celebrated live in Washington, D.C. Also next year, Bethesda plans to release a major Fallout 76 expansion called Raven Rock, which acts as a prequel story to Fallout 3. Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage. Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

If Sony's decision to end physical disc production for new PlayStation games in 2028 has you thinking about building out your collection while you still can, Amazon has just opened up one of the best physical game deals we've seen in a while. Right now, you can pick up Crimson Desert on PS5 for just $49, a significant discount from its usual $69.99 retail price. That matches the lowest price we've seen for the game at Amazon (beating its previous best of $56), according to price tracker camelcamelcamel, making it an easy recommendation if you've been waiting for a better and more affordable time to jump in. This is also a "Lightning Deal" at Amazon, which means that stock is limited and will immediately expire once the allocated number is sold. So, you've got a limited time remaining to secure this discount as well. Although the game launched to a somewhat mixed critical reception, Crimson Desert has found a passionate audience. It recently passed 6 million copies sold worldwide, and developer Pearl Abyss has continued supporting it with post-launch updates. If you're interested in where the game is heading next, IGN spoke with Pearl Abyss director of marketing and PR Will Powers during Summer Games Fest about the team's future plans. If you're looking to keep expanding your physical collection, there are still plenty of upcoming releases available to preorder as well. Physical copies of games like Gears of War: E-Day, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on Switch 2 are all available to reserve now, alongside plenty of other titles announced during this year's summer gaming showcases. Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky. View the full article

A Valve engineer has explained why there wasn't a plan to launch a brand new exclusive alongside the Steam Machine, or to have exclusives in general. Despite the Steam Machine being a new console-like experience, Valve has opted to take the Xbox Series X|S's approach and release it without a new exclusive game to really draw players in – despite many rumors/fanfics that Half-Life 3 is on the way. Even though the selling point of the platform has always seemed to be your whole PC library in your living room, some were disappointed to see the lack of new software to go alongside it. And while Valve's machine isn't a traditional console, it is somewhat notable that there wasn't even a smaller bespoke title released with the hardware like the Steam Deck's Aperture Desk Job or Sony's Astro's Playroom, which acted as a Dualsense tech demo – although with Valve selling the Steam Machine without a controller in some cases, maybe that's a given. Speaking to Bloomberg, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais explains, "Restricting where people can play a game I don’t think is a great model, at least for us," and adds that "We’re much more interested in having the whole PC catalog as our 'launch exclusive.'" And granted, that is a pretty big selling point. That being said, I highly doubt we ever see a proper Steam Machine "exclusive." Even Aperture Desk Job, which was very much based around you playing it on a Steam Deck, was made available on the regular Steam Store. And given that the Steam Machine's high price is very much going to make it unattainable for some – something Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat doesn't expect to get better any time soon – it'd likely cause some outrage if that was the only place you could play Half-Life 3. Valve is switching up its Steam Machine error codes to be more helpful, starting with its scary red overheating light [/url]View the full article

Pokémon Winds & Waves is shaping up to be one of the franchise's biggest entries yet, ushering in Gen 10 in a brand-new tropical setting built exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. While Game Freak has only revealed a handful of official details so far, excitement continues to build thanks to a steady stream of leaks, speculation, and deep-dives into the official trailer revealed at Pokémon Presents back in February. View the full article

Dragon Ball is officially bringing Goku ****** back into the fold, complete with a brand-new trailer. Indeed, it's as surprising as it isn't because of his popularity. Goku ****** has become one of the most popular villains in the entire Dragon Ball franchise since making his debut in Dragon Ball Super's Future Trunks arc. Unlike most antagonists, Goku ****** immediately stood out by wearing Goku's body, creating one of the series' most unsettling and memorable twists. View the full article

League of Legends streamer and former Los Ratones player Nemesis is now a tattoo artist. Well, that's what the Slovenian government says. Read the full story on PCGamesN: League of Legends streamer Nemesis is apparently a tattoo artist. At least, that's what the Slovenian government thinks View the full article

With Humble Bundle's latest deal, you can grab the likes of Borderlands 3, Bioshock Infinite, Risk of Rain 2, and 12 other games for as little as $1 each. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Get some of 2K's biggest games for just $1 each in the new Humble Bundle deal View the full article

A true endgame item, you need Holy Water to harvest World Tree resources and build some of the most powerful base items in the game. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Where to find Holy Water in Palworld 1.0 View the full article

Square Enix has released a trailer celebrating the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy X. The 10th main instalment in the Final Fantasy series was released on July 19, 2001. It was the first main Final Fantasy game to be released on PS2, and the first to feature fully polygonal environments instead of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds. The game was such a critical and commercial success that it became the first ever Final Fantasy game to get a direct sequel, with Final Fantasy X-2 arriving in March 2003. Read More... View the full article

The director of Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced has told fans to keep playing — even when GTA 6 launches. Of course, the hugely-anticipated GTA 6 arrives on November 19, and is expected to gobble up gaming time and attention away from pretty much every major release — so much so that many other developers are steering well clear and launching their games en masse in September and early October. But what about post-launch support for games that have already released, such as Resynced? Asked about the contents of future updates for the newly-launched remake, game director Richard Knight played coy, though mentioned the upcoming New Game Plus mode that publisher Ubisoft previously confirmed. What might follow that remains to be seen. Still, the suggestion that support will continue through GTA 6's November release date is interesting to consider. "I mean, I can't say anything officially, but you know, it doesn't feel like a crazy bet," Knight said, speaking to Assassin's Creed fan YouTuber JorRaptor. "I mean, we definitely need to support the game... We need to, you know, fix bugs. Sorry for anyone running into bugs. They hurt. They're painful for us, too. And we do want to add some quality-of-life stuff. So, I mean, it's a pretty reasonable guess. Also, please play us when GTA 6 comes out.” Ubisoft confirmed last week that a New Game Plus option was coming to Resynced, alongside a celebration of the game hitting 3 million copies sold. "Guess we'll have to keep the adventures going with New Game Plus later on, mates," Ubisoft wrote. "We're working on that right now," Knight said of New Game Plus. "For sure. It's one of the first things. Partly because [Assassin's Creed] Shadows has already built their version, so it's considered a low-risk feature for us. We're still doing the work, so I can't promise exactly a day or anything, but we're definitely working on this one. It's just such a natural thing." What else might follow? Perhaps a challenge mode, similar to the option recently added to Assassin's Creed Mirage? This lets fans replay story missions with new, additional objectives, racking up points to unlock additional in-game items and cosmetic options. One key request from fans would likely be the original ****** Flag's well-received DLC, Freedom Cry, that features a fresh story for first mate Adewale. But this would likely be a major undertaking for Ubisoft, and to date there's been no suggestion this will happen. Until then, there's plenty to keep fans happy in the base game, which IGN gave a 9/10 in our Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced review. "More than just a shinier version of the same game you remember," we wrote, "Assassin’s Creed ****** Flag Resynced brings what was already one of the best games in the series up to today’s standards." Before you dive into the Golden Age of Piracy, check out our guides on things to do first and tips and tricks to help Edward Kenway's journey be a smooth one. As you explore the Caribbean, make sure you don't miss a single collectible, especially the shanties to keep you and your crew entertained on the high seas. Blow other ships to smithereens with our naval combat guide and save Reales for your next Jackdaw upgrade to be the mightiest pirate you can be. Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social View the full article

Less than two weeks after launching into 1.0, people are still piling into Palworld. The monster-collecting hit came within spitting distance of a huge milestone, attracting more than 950,000 concurrent players over the weekend. Numbers gleaned from SteamDB have the survival game's recent peak at 961,897 concurrent players, while SteamCharts give a slightly different read out at 956,613. There are always slight variations for these things, but the point is, Palworld almost brought in over one million players at once, a feat the game hasn't managed since its first arrival into early access over two years ago. "Mind boggling numbers," John 'Bucky' Buckley, head of publishing and communications at Pocketpair, says in a tweet. "Thank you so much, gamers. Palworld 1.0, and Palworld in general, really has been a surreal and life-changing experience." Mind boggling numbers. Thank you so much, gamers. Palworld 1.0, and Palworld in general, really has been a surreal and life-changing experience.I’ll make an educated case and say this is Palworld 1.0’s “peak”, though by no means would I consider that bad in any way! The… pic.twitter.com/0T8NCTKNFfJuly 19, 2026 He believes this is likely the height of the game's popularity, at least for now. "I'll make an educated case and say this is Palworld 1.0's 'peak', though by no means would I consider that bad in any way!" he writes. "The support we've received over the last two-plus years has really been overwhelming." There are many, many studios on Steam who I think would love to be able to boast this kind of interest. Though it's a case of so close yet so far for the one million mark, since Palworld's all-time record is over two million, I imagine everyone is truly satisfied by the community's response to 1.0 thus far. Plenty more is coming too. Beyond updates to the base game, we have that dating sim on the way, and Buckley's hinted at other secret projects in the works as well. The future is looking distinctly pally – just don't expect anything underwater. Palworld would collab with Ark, No Man's Sky, and Enshrouded "tomorrow" if "we could make it make sense," says publishing chief. [/url]View the full article

Not everyone is feeling optimistic about The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 following Bethesda's confirmation that both are being developed using the studio's proprietary Creation Engine, albeit an updated version. Last week, Bethesda dropped a slew of information, including confirmation that Fallout 5 is in pre-production, that Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters are in the works, and that Obsidian Entertainment is teaming up with the studio on a whole new Fallout game. Amongst all that was the announcement that both Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 are being built on Creation Engine 3, "a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games." Speaking to Windows Central, Todd Howard states that "I can't say enough about our tech team," calling it "incredible." He adds: "Our designers ask for so much crazy stuff, and our tech team finds a way to do it. And I think that's really defined our games where you feel like anything is possible." Despite Howard's words, however, not all fans are thrilled about the news. "The creation engine is fun for modders but it is complete dogshit compared to most other big game studios' engines," one Reddit user responds. "Time and time again it has led to crap games that feel outdated on release day. Their games really suffer from trying to please modders above all else." "Code for 'games are gonna release in an absolute buggy mess, and we just expect the players to fix it for us,'" another writes. "Bugs and Bethesda. A tale as old as time." Many have specifically expressed concerns about how many loading screens the two RPGs might have, with one speculating on Twitter that the choice of engine "means they will very likely both still require loading screens when entering Interiors. I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses of Bethesda games, it really does feel outdated…" The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 are confirmed to be running on the Creation EngineThis means they will very likely both still require loading screens when entering Interiors.I think this is one of the biggest weaknesses of Bethesda games, it really does feel outdated… pic.twitter.com/WtDPdvNp0dJuly 19, 2026 Another on Reddit adds: "Bethesda seriously needs to get the load screens under control for TES VI and Fallout 5 (and presumably the Obsidian Fallout title). Small buildings still requiring load screens in the late 2020s would look bad, *******." With that said, not everyone is disappointed with the decision. "People hate the engine but no other game engine comes close to the modding ability," says a Reddit fan, as another comments: "This is a boon for future modders!" Meanwhile, some are just happy that it's not one particular alternative: "I'm just glad we won't see yet another studio subsumed into the Unreal ecosystem." There's an air of uncertainty surrounding the Bethesda projects in general following the studio being hit in Xbox's recent wave of layoffs. Devs affected previously said that it's going to be "harder than ever now" for the studio to focus on those two core franchises after losing so much talent. Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is going great, actually: "We're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day." [/url]View the full article

Game of Thrones: War for Westeros—the upcoming RTS from PlaySide emerging from the blasted wreckage of HBO's once-water-cooler-dominating fantasy TV series—would like you to know it still exists and is still coming out. Just, you know, a little later than it originally had planned... Read more.View the full article

Xbox executives say it’s working on making it clearer to players which games will be console exclusives and which will be multiplatform. After announcing two and a half years ago that it would be making its first-party games multiplatform, Xbox pivoted last month and stated that some of its games will be console exclusives, including Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. There has been some confusion since then among certain players, who aren’t sure what this means for console exclusivity in Xbox games going forward. The general message has been that live service and multiplayer games will remain multiplatform, but Gears of War: E-Day being console exclusive appears to contradict this rule. Read More... View the full article

An incremental horror seems like quite an unusual mashup but PUROMA looks really good. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard has revealed he's constantly lurking on Reddit and claims the team is consistently taking that feedback on board. In a thread on r/Games, Howard chimed in with his first Reddit post since the launch of Starfield – well aside from reacting to one post six months ago that modded a cardboard cutout of him into Fallout 4 as the immortal snail – saying "Hey Reddit. I’m a professional lurker and read your comments all the time." And given Reddit's reactions to Bethesda games at times – just look at any New Vegas thread – this may have sounded vaguely threatening, but Howard adds, "Many here do and we deeply appreciate all the passion for our work." The thread in question was the post from Bethesda outlining the future of the studio. This post included news about how Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are both getting remasters, Obsidian is making a new Fallout game, and an update on the production of The Elder Scrolls 6. Howard explains, "Today’s info was an attempt at changing that and letting everyone know what we’ve been working on the past several years, and a look at what’s coming. So know we’re constantly listening and keep telling us how to be even better." Howard also added, "You’d be surprised how many great ideas I get from Reddit. So upvote your favorite and we’ll do it. Maybe." Unsurprisingly, fans really want Oblivion Remastered to be fixed after a year. One user says, "Please get Virtuous to keep patching Oblivion and give it as much love as you guys gave Skyrim, because it feels abandoned right now, which is a shame." Meanwhile, another has fears that the upcoming Fallout remasters will share a similar fate, saying, "Pay Virtuous whatever amount needed for the remasters to function well." Only 16 Fallout: New Vegas developers still work at Obsidian, says RPG's original writer. [/url]View the full article

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has shared the company's financial projections for the current fiscal year, confirming expected revenue from the release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Unofficial analyses of Grand Theft Auto 6's potential earnings have varied significantly in the months leading up to the game's November 19 launch. However, they all unsurprisingly estimate revenue in the billions. View the full article

Robot Rhapsody looks like a good one if you're into pixel-styled JRPGs, a cyberpunk odyssey of techno-cults, rebels, & robotic bards. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The 2K Megahits 2026 Humble Bundle is live now, and it's a good deal if you don't already own the various games included in it. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

The idea of Faugus Launcher is to provide a reasonable simple game manager for Linux, as an alternative to Lutris and Heroic. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article