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Video game voice actor union SAG-AFTRA say they've reached a "tentative agreement" with a group of games companies that could bring an end to the latest voice actor strike, providing it gets approved by the union's National Board and members. This tentative deal "puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers’ livelihoods in the A.I. age, alongside other important gains," say SAG-AFTRA. That's been the key issue at the heart of this strike, with the union citing a desire to push for protections against VAs being replaced or imitated by AI, though it has previously faced some criticism for how it's handled striking deals with companies that use AI. Read more View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Elden Ring Nightreign developer FromSoftware has released patch 1.01.2, which focuses on bug fixes for Nightlords, weapons, Guardian's Remembrance and more. Patch 1.01.2, available now across PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S, follows last week’s patch 1.01.1, the game’s first since launch, which made single-player mode a lot easier. Also last week, FromSoftware concluded a fresh round of server maintenance designed to improve matchmaking. FromSoftware has said that in addition to the DLC releasing later this year, new additions will be “gradually implemented,” including enhanced fights against existing Nightlords starting this month. And amid the ongoing debate about the game's difficulty while playing single-player, Elden Ring Nightreign's director has revealed he soloed every boss without Relics, and wanted players to know it's "very possible" to see everything. We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters. Elden Ring Nightreign update 1.01.2 patch notes:Bug FixesFixed a bug where the Passive Effect “Add (Magic/Lightning/Holy) to Weapon”, when applied to a Bow, made the Physical attack power higher than expected.Fixed a bug where some non-direct attacks of specific weapons’ skills would inflict the attribute attack power and status ailment of the weapon.Fixed a bug where weapons with the “Projectile Damage Drop-Off Reduced” Passive Effect were not included in the loot pool of chests and felled enemies.Fixed a bug where the ****** Merchant would not appear when some conditions were met during the Personal Objective “Find the ****** Merchant in Limveld” of Guardian's Remembrance.Fixed a bug where Libra, Creature of Night would repeatedly perform some actions.Fixed a bug that caused the game to become unstable under some circumstances during the battle against Adel, Baron of Night.Fixed a bug where it was not possible to rescue a player who was near death after being grabbed by Wormface's grab attack. NOTE: Although this update includes bugfixes, we are aware that similar issues may still occur under some conditions, and we are continuing to work on resolving them. The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows: App Ver. 1.01.2Regulation Ver 1.01.3 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

It's still "approachable and fun"View the full article

This is great. Valve released a new Beta for Desktop and Steam Deck that brings Steam Input improvements for various controllers. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Medieval zombie survival game God Save Birmingham exploded onto the scene in April with an 8-minute “gameplay” trailer that sparked as much skepticism as it did excitement. Among jokes about its Birmingham setting, some said it looked too good to be true, with animations that suggested what we were seeing in the trailer wasn’t so much gameplay, more pre-rendered footage designed to hoodwink the gaming public. Perhaps most damning of all, some compared God Save Birmingham to the infamous The Day Before, calling it a “fake game” and even a “scam.” For the uninitiated, The Day Before was one of the most controversial and catastrophic game launches in recent memory, as what was touted as the "next generation of post-apocalyptic MMO open-world survival games" was released as a barebones and broken extraction shooter. The Day Before received an almost impossibly rare 1/10 in IGN's review, and its shutdown was announced just four days after it launched in Early Access. After God Save Birmingham's April video went viral, Korean publisher Kakao Games and its developer Ocean Drive brought a demo to PAX East and released an updated gameplay video that offered perhaps a more realistic view of where the game is currently at in terms of development. This latest video has gone some way to addressing the narrative established by God Save Birmingham’s explosive April promo. But still, those The Day Before "scam game" comments remain. It was with this in mind that I interviewed Ocean Drive CEO and founder Jae Kim and head of publishing Jungsoo Lee to find out if God Save Birmingham can ever shake off The Day Before. What surprised me is that both seemed perfectly happy with the comparison. Read on to find out why. IGN: Can you give us some background on Ocean Drive? Jungsoo Lee: We founded our studio back in 2020 and it's our fifth year. We currently have about 80 developers in Korea and about 12 people in the States working on business, narrative design, and localization. As Ocean Drive Studio, our first game was Lost Eidolons. It was developed using Unity, which was one of our mistakes actually on decision-making. But we tried to have a quality of Unreal, and that was story-driven, Fire Emblem style turn-based tactical RPG. That was our first project. Currently internally we have four different teams. Two of those projects are pretty small-scale, more like an indie style. One of the projects is positioned as more like AA scale. It’s unannounced, but it's an action RPG project based on one of the reputable IPs in Korea. Our last final project is God Save Birmingham. We started small, but as of last month we had about 28 people working on the project. IGN: So how did God Save Birmingham come about? How did that project start? Where did the idea come from? Jungsoo Lee: Overall our company's vision is basically, we only work on the game that the creative director knows the genre as a hardcore player, because we believe understanding the community needs, what kind of game should be there for the genre, is the most important factor making a successful game there. And Hyeonseong Cha [creative director] really loves Project Zomboid. We also had a test project from Mr. Cha, one of the prototypes — it's on the Steam market right now — it's called Dropkick Navvy. It's a puzzle game using physics. So he was really into using the physics in his game design. So we actually mixed those two. And on top of that we had a Lost Eidolons medieval art style production experience. So all these concepts came together after one year of prototyping, and our past project became God Save Birmingham. IGN: The surprise for me is Birmingham. Even British developers don't make games set in Birmingham. But a Korean developer deciding to do it in Birmingham is very surprising. So I'd love to know why you decided to go there. Jungsoo Lee: Last year at gamescom, we had a lot of interviews at the show, and the most-asked question was, why Birmingham? So I know the answer pretty well! What happened was, we are a small team and they were really into working on medieval, especially the art director who used to work on our first game and he loves medieval art style. So we were looking at medieval, and they were searching for a medieval city. We are based in Korea, right? We are not really familiar with any of the cities in medieval times in Europe. So they were just looking at the list of cities, and they had a condition which was, it shouldn't be big because we're not a big team, so we can’t create a huge town. So that was the first condition. The second condition was, we wanted to have some diversity in the city, meaning that city must have some trade, a lot of trade and things going on at the time. So they were doing research and somehow they came to this YouTube video from the Museum of Birmingham, and they had recreated 14th century Birmingham there. They were looking at that and they loved how the town looked. They did some research on Google and they learned, oh, this background is perfect, let's just do Birmingham. And our entire team was actually surprised after our trailer released at gamescom, because there were so many British people making fun of Birmingham, and we started to wonder, what's going on with Birmingham? Because we had zero idea what was really going on at the modern day Birmingham. So it was a coincidence how we picked Birmingham and the situation at Birmingham got mixed up together. It helped us gain more views there because on Reddit, like Birmingham Reddit and *** Reddit, the trailer was there and they were making fun of Birmingham, like it's better than modern day Birmingham. So initially we asked Gary [PR] and the team, 'Is it okay? Did we do something wrong?' And Gary told us, 'No, it's part of the joke.' IGN: Did any of the developers actually visit Birmingham to get a sense of what it's like? I'm curious about some of the research that went on to try and nail the setting. Jungsoo Lee: In terms of how the town looks, we referred to the video from the Museum of Birmingham. That video gave them a lot of inspiration, especially how the town was looking at the time and what was the biggest landmark at the time, like Moor Street. And another research they did, our team in Korea, they purchased all the books related to medieval Birmingham. There was a case of, they had a potato as one of the foods, and they looked at the book, what was the main food there, and potato wasn't there. So they actually took out the potato. We have a carrot now, but we learned the color of the carrot was different at the time. It wasn't orange, like carrot-ish color. So we are in the process of changing that. So for now, we are actually referring to all those materials that we could get from the books or online. Also we are working with Gary to see if they can find somebody who can actually consult us about medieval times. One of the key pillars we have is recreating 14th century Birmingham as accurately as possible. So we are trying to find ways to actually make that happen right now. IGN: I know the game is about the last survivor, so it's not like you're going to have lots of voice acting for characters that you'll meet along the way. They're zombies. Will the character have a Brummie accent? Jungsoo Lee: Yes. We are trying to have that for the final product. The current voice acting for the trailer and the game demo, we couldn’t actually find the right person in the short ******* of time. But we are planning to find somebody who can recreate that medieval accent, the Brummie accent. So that's in the plan. And we have multiple different classes and we will try to have different voice acting for those. IGN: The April gameplay reveal trailer had a huge amount of interest and comments. Some people were saying the animations were too good to be true, some of it looked scripted, it wasn't true gameplay. You'll have seen all of these comments yourself. Was that something you anticipated from that video? Or did it take you by surprise? Jungsoo Lee: I say half and half. Meaning we didn't think the impact of The Day Before… because lots of people are referencing The Day Before and saying it’s another scam, right? I mean we read everything! Even internally, Jae and especially myself were thinking some people might say something similar, it might be too good to be true. Because we acknowledge we never say it's from the build, but the title is correct, meaning this trailer is there to show people this is what we are aiming to create in terms of gameplay experience that people will have at the final product. So reception, we were a little bit surprised. There was another video from a YouTuber with almost 1 million views, ‘Another fake scam’ was the title. So in that sense we are a little bit surprised, but it wasn't something we weren't expecting. IGN: Just to clear up for our audience exactly what is going on in that trailer, what are we seeing in that video in terms of gameplay versus things that you've created to give the impression of the experience you’re going for? Jungsoo Lee: So the map, environment, props, everything is exactly as what we are working towards. So it's already there in the build, the map and the objects, buildings, they're all there. But as you have pointed out, some of the animations are not there yet. Some are a work in progress, and in the near future it'll be implemented as a demo build. Some will take a longer ******* of time to actually get there. But ultimately what we can tell you is we are actually working towards that direction, and nothing is really exaggerated there. Here's one caveat though: if you play a sandbox game, you're not going to move the camera like that. Yeah, we acknowledge that. But what we intended with the trailer was basically we want to show the environment, what kind of features will be there. That was the major intention. If the player wants to create a video like that, our final build will let you actually make the video look like that. There will be camera options, especially for console controller players, it's kind of common. So if you want to move the camera like that, you can actually do that. If you want to grab props like in the video, where the hand exactly grabs the objects, you can do it. But in sandbox gameplay, real-world players, what they're going to do is open up the tab in the menu and drag everything into your inventory. You don't want to pick one-by-one. So there will be that difference. But endgame, the animation where you walk and grab the apple, those are already in the works. So they're actually working towards that right now. IGN: So what you're saying is that everything we see in that video will be achievable in the final game once it's finished? Jungsoo Lee: Correct. IGN: This isn't a situation where people are going to feel like the final product doesn't have some of the things suggested by the video? You're saying everything we see there eventually you'll be able to do in the game? Jungsoo Lee: Correct. IGN: You had a follow-up video and took the game to PAX. From what I can see online, the reaction to that has been better, with people saying this looks a bit more realistic and not the same thing as the previous trailer. What is your assessment of the reaction and the sentiment now that that video has come out, and how different it is compared to the sentiment after the first video? Jungsoo Lee: We definitely had much more positive comments there, but at the same time of course those people who talked about another The Day Before situation, some players are still saying, see, look at the difference between it. Our plan was basically, let's share this, our end goal, and then we'll regularly share how we are making progress towards that. One thing we didn't really expect was, we really underestimated how people perceived The Day Before situation, how hurt they were, because they were so excited. Because they were really excited, they got much ******* disappointment towards the project. And another thing was, we are not that reputable yet, so people don't really understand what kind of pedigree we have, what kind of people we have here, how many people we have here working towards the game. We had a lot of supporters, some of them said, ‘Why didn't you just release this video first?’ And that part, we take the feedback seriously. But one interesting story there, Jae and I actually told the dev team not to make a pre-rendered video. We basically said, ‘Let's just use our build and then share our current build video based on that.’ But our team, they're so into the project that they were the ones basically insisting, ‘No, we are very confident we can do it and we have to show them how ambitious we are.’ So that was one of the interesting parts, because lots of people were thinking vice versa, where marketing and business folks were pushing them to create this marketing video to attract a lot of players into our community. But it was actually vice versa. They were very confident, ‘We can do it.’ Every week we kept asking them, ‘So this is our end goal, you have to deliver this, you're making a promise to our players.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, we understand, and we’re very confident.’ That's how this video came about actually. IGN: There have been multiple occasions in this interview where you've referenced The Day Before. It seems to me that what happened with that game has created a difficult situation for you. How damaging do you think The Day Before has been for you specifically? Are you confident you'll be able to get to a place where people stop mentioning it with your game? Or do you think that it's just something you are going to have to live with for the rest of the development and until the game comes out? Jungsoo Lee: Jae and I had this conversation after the video. I don't think it was just only giving us the damage. Because it went viral, although it wasn't all positive, I think we got more views on the video because lots of people were actually saying, ‘Another scam here, there's The Day Before.’ Getting more interest towards a small studio like us, every type of interest helps. So we don't really think it's giving us that damage. Part of that is because we are pretty confident. The Day Before, they never had a test. They said they're going to have a beta test, but they suddenly say only for volunteers. Everyone was confused at the time. And we are not doing pre-orders; we've never done pre-orders on any of our games. So while we are internally confident that by showing the progress that we are making regularly — for example we're going to be at gamescom and we're going to share another demo on-site, then people will see how we progressed from the PAX East demo to the gamescom demo. So because of that level of confidence internally, I think we are fine with people actually comparing us to The Day Before, because if we can turn this around with actual gameplay and the demo, those people who are disappointed can actually be huge strong supporters of ours, and this is how you actually have to build a game with the community. IGN: Do you have a target year in mind for when people might be able to play it via Steam either in early access or otherwise? Or is it too early to say at this point? Jungsoo Lee: Our official communication about timeline is early access sometime next year. What we are internally debating is what volume of content do we want to have for early access? We don't want to monetize the game too early with a very empty game, right? So we have been assessing what will be our optimum volume of the content where players can actually enjoy the game to provide us meaningful feedback about how we should evolve the game. Project Zomboid is doing a great job. They started small and with the Build 41 update, they truly achieved commercial success from that update. And ever since they've been working with their community to actually create a feature that their community is asking. So we want to take a similar approach where we should have good enough of a game to… and especially with the video, we raised our internal standard bar for early access. So once we have that, I think we can get into early access. But Jae and we are targeting sometime next year. I don't think it'll be early next year, but probably between summer and the end of 2026. Jae Kim: Actually, we are very impressed by the viewer count of our game reveal trailer on IGN. Our studio is the child company of Kakao Games in Korea, the big listed company. So maybe we can make the team ******* after discussing with Kakao Games, because this game has a lot of buzz right now. So maybe we can invest more into this project to make it better when we launch this game. The schedule is quite open, but personally I really want to do the early access within the next year. IGN: For someone who has seen the April video and the reaction and dismissed it as a scam game or a fake game, or another The Day Before, what is your message to that gamer right now to convince them otherwise? Jungsoo Lee: Actions speak louder than words. The only thing we can tell them is, we understand, we'll try to prove it with our actions, especially with testing. Even though we have a trailer, there is a possibility people might think it's scripted, although it's actually the build happening. So I think hopefully they can at least wait for our future alpha, our beta tests, so that they can actually experience the game, and also follow us so that they can see what kind of progress we are making. Actions speak louder than words, so we'll focus on our actions going forward. Jae Kim: Our team is quite capable to deliver this quality of the game. We are not a newbie team. We have a lot of experience. It was mostly the free-to-play games, but the core members in my company, they really hate to make free-to-play games right now, because they’re all hardcore gamers, and they really want to make story based or a game with core play. So I'm quite confident to deliver this quality of the game. My only worry is that the game should be fun, right? That's the main concern I currently have. The quality, we can provide the quality. But I really want to provide a fun game. So please keep an eye on us, and I really appreciate all the comments on the video. Even if it's good or bad. God Save Birmingham is due out on PC via Steam in early access form in 2026. 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

The co-CEO of the developer of upcoming game MindsEye claimed two weeks ago that there is a “concerted effort” to “trash the game and the studio,” and suggested people were being paid to say negative things about the game online. But when asked, the CEO of Hitman developer IO Interactive, which is publishing the game, said that he doesn't believe that's happening. This saga began as part of the lead-up to the release of MindsEye on June 10, which has garnered no small amount of negative feedback from those who have been following it pre-release. During a Q&A over the game's official Discord two weeks ago, developer Build a Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard was asked: “Do you think that all the people who reacted negatively were financed by someone?” “100%,” Gerhard responded, before adding: “Doesn't take much to guess who ” The conversation continued, with many expressing surprise at this response and one person saying: "A co-CEO for a studio implying another studio is paying previewers to talk negatively about your game is an absolutely wild comment to make in a public environment in any situation.” Gerhard replied: "Not wild when its [sic] true....." With this accusation hanging in the air, I spoke to IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak this past weekend in the wake of the company's showcase featuring 007: First Light, Hitman, and MindsEye, which IOI is publishing. Two weeks ago, IOI declined to respond to a request for comment on the situation. But during that interview, I asked Abrak outright if he thought the accusation was true. He responded: "I don't know. I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I just think the game should speak for itself on June the 10th." Abrak did not say more on the subject, though he did respond briefly to the increasing negative comments about MindsEye now that it has broken its street date. "I think we should all wait 'til the 10th of June because it's very normal these times that we all as developers keep on working on patches and working to the last minute. And there's a lot of these things coming in. So I think that people should just wait until the release and have the best possible experience." We recently had game director Leslie Benzies on IGN Live to talk about MindsEye, specifically about plans for user-generated content in-game. We’ll be publishing our full interview with Abrak later this week, including discussion of not just MindsEye, but also the future of the Hitman franchise and 007: First Light. MindsEye launches on June 10, 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S. 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

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has reached a "tentative agreement" on the interactive media contract, potentially bringing to an end almost a year of industrial action across the video game industry. The SAG-AFTRA video game strike was instigated back in July 2024 after the union and the major game companies — Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, and WB Games — that sit on the board failed to agree on AI provisions. Over 98% of members subsequently voted to strike. While at first it was difficult to tell exactly how the strike would affect our games, there were visible impacts across the industry; players reported that a number of ongoing games such as Destiny 2 and World of Warcraft appeared to leave some NPCs unvoiced in otherwise voiced scenes, likely due to the strike. Then, late last year, SAG-AFTRA struck League of Legends after Riot allegedly tried to subvert the strike by canceling a game in response, and Activision confirmed Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 characters were recast after players expressed concern about new voices. Now, however, the union said it has reached a "tentative agreement," subject to review and approval of its national board. It is expected that strike action will be suspended soon, although until the national board approves the draft agreement, SAG-AFTRA members will "remain on strike against these employers." "Everyone at SAG-AFTRA is immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by video game performers and the dedication of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout these many months of the video game strike," said SAG-AFTRA National executive director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers’ livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains.” SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Epic Games, after the company implemented an AI-voiced Darth Vader NPC in Fortnite. The complaint alleged that over the last six months, Llama Productions (owned by Epic Games) had failed to bargain in good faith with SAG-AFTRA's video game actors and had made "unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain, by utilizing AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work" on Fortnite. And in March, Horizon actor Ashly Burch addressed an AI Aloy video that leaked online, using it to call attention to the demands of striking voice actors. Burch said the AI Aloy video left her feeling “worried about game performance as an art form,” and used it as a jumping off point to discuss the video game voice actors strike. “Currently what we’re fighting for is, you have to get our consent before you make an AI version of us in any form, you have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you’re using this AI double,” Burch explained. “I feel worried not because the technology exists. Not even because game companies want to use it. Of course they do. They always want to use technological advancements. I just imagine a video like this coming out that does have someone’s performance attached to it, that does have someone’s voice or face or movement. And the possibility that if we lose this fight, that person would have no recourse. They wouldn’t have any protections, any way to fight back. And that possibility, it makes me so sad it hurts my heart. It scares me. I love this industry and this art form so much and I want there to be a new generation of actors. I want there to be so many more incredible game performances. I want to be able to continue to do this job. If we don’t win, that future is really compromised." Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images. Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Baby Steps is the latest piece of psychological warfare from the creator of Getting Over ItView the full article

Stellar Blade from SHIFT UP Corporation has been rated Steam Deck Verified by Valve ahead of the release on June 11th. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Starting June 17 and running through June 23, New World: Aeternum players will get a chance to jump into a limited-time preview for the game’s brand-new 3v3 Arena Battlegrounds map. This early test gives a detailed first look at what’s coming next in PvP, offering a solid opportunity to explore the map’s layout, learn its flow, and try out new strategies before it officially goes live in New World: Aeternum. View the full article

One of the newest Warner Bros. Games career listings looks to fill a director role with someone experienced in free-to-play gaming, perhaps suggesting that Hogwarts Legacy 2 will be an online multiplayer game with a very different service model from its predecessor. The original Hogwarts Legacy captivated single-player audiences, and the demand for a multiplayer Harry Potter experience may be answered in an unexpected way. View the full article

A new Diablo 4 leak has teased that three new pets are coming to the game in the next season. Pets are a very popular aspect of the Blizzard franchise, and they are also present in Diablo 4. With this feature, players can recruit these little companions to accompany them on their journeys. View the full article

Back in 1958 Lego bricks were patented, meaning only the one company could do anything with them. Patents last for twenty years, though, so it's been a good long time since anyone has been able to make a brick-building system based on interlocking studs, which is why everything from Mega Blocks to Cobi can use the system to create any set they'd like. Lego will go hard after anyone who flies a bit too close to the sun in terms of copying its systems, but a little differentiation is all it takes to make a legally-distinct product with no worries about surprise litigation. Plastic studded brick construction is open to anyone who'd like to design their own systems and components, but no matter how you get your brick-building action the construction is usually done by hand. View the full article

A recent Warner Bros. Discovery job posting seeking a writer with a "deep understanding of the wizarding world" and experience with "branching narratives" could hint at the possible story direction of Hogwarts Legacy 2. While the original Hogwarts Legacy does have multiple endings, the game as a whole is mostly linear in its mainline story. Perhaps wanting to add even more variety to the ways players can experience the Wizarding World, this new career listing seems to point to a more complex narrative system for Hogwarts Legacy 2. View the full article

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4's launch day has nearly arrived, and fans are still being given updates on what they can expect from the remake of the fan-favorite skating games. While it was initially circulating that certain pieces of content would be missing from the new versions of the games, particularly from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 developer Iron Galaxy reveals much of that content will indeed be included, albeit in a bit of a new form. View the full article

We've only got a short week to refresh your library with some absolute corkers dropping to their lowest prices in yonks. Whether you’re keen to revisit a cult classic, try out a sleeper hit, or finally see what the fuss is about with that one GOTY contender everyone keeps yabbering about, there’s something in this haul for you. Let's get scrolling and saving... This Day in Gaming In retro news, I'm lighting a 16-candle cake for Prototype, a super-anti-hero sandboxer. I can vividly recall the first time I slipped into the leather hoodie of Alex Mercer, an amnesiac with a bad attitude and worse mutations. Also, it's tough to forget a protagonist who had a penchant for karate-kicking helicopter gunships. Radical Entertainment's take on Manhattan was crawling with military goons and grotesque infected, and we could shapeshift into all manner of weaponry. I'm talking clawed arms for slicing mobs to ribbons, a giant blade that could cleave tanks in half, and tendrils that whipped enemies into buildings. He could also glide across rooftops, sprint up skyscrapers, and elbow-drop from 20 storeys up like a plague-powered missile. Top gameplay that holds up pretty well today. Aussie bdays for notable games - Prototype (PC,PS3,X360) 2009. Get Contents NintendoXboxPlayStationPCPC GearLEGOHeadphonesTVsNice Savings for Nintendo Switch Nintendo fans can return to where it all began with Suikoden I&II HD Remaster, a loving update of the Konami JRPGs that inspired an entire generation of storytellers. That includes Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno, who cited it as a major influence. Or you could hop into Octopath Traveler, the game that kickstarted the now-iconic "HD-2D" look used across multiple Square Enix titles, from Live A Live to Triangle Strategy. Suikoden I&II HD Remaster (-24%) - A$57Hogwarts Legacy (-29%) - A$64FC 25 (-62%) - A$34Bravely Default II (-21%) - A$63.10Biomutant (-40%) - A$36Octopath Traveler (-56%) - A$39.90 Switch 2 Game Savings Mario Kart World (-22%) - A$94Bravely Default HD Rem. (-18%) - A$49Zelda: Breath of the Wild (-19%) - A$89Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (-19%) - A$89Street Fighter 6 (-20%) - A$89Yakuza 0 Dir. (-12%) - A$79 Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card. Switch Console Prices How much to Switch it up? [/url] Back to top Exciting Bargains for Xbox On Xbox Series X, Metaphor: ReFantazio is shaping up as the spiritual heir to Persona 5. That’s no coincidence as it comes from the same dream team of developers. Meanwhile, Star Wars Outlaws lets you explore the Outer Rim as a scoundrel, a design choice inspired by Ubisoft’s love of Firefly and the rough edges of Han Solo. Xbox official Controller (-24%) - A$75.60Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (-23%) - A$88Metaphor: ReFantazio (-57%) - A$49Grand Theft Auto V (-53%) - A$28Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40 Xbox One TopSpin 2K25 (-81%) - A$23Red Dead Redemption 2 (-74%) - A$23FFXII: The Zodiac Age (-51%) - A$39.10 Expiring Recent Deals Dragon Age: Veilguard Del. (-74%) - A$36.10NBA 2K25 (-73%) - A$32.30EA Sports FC 25 (-60%) - A$44Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (-16%) - A$109Sonic X Shadow Generations (-21%) - A$59Ace Combat 7 (-65%) - A$34.50****** Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (-37%) - A$44Lego 2K Drive (-35%) - A$25.80 Or just invest in an Xbox Card. Xbox Console Prices How many bucks for a 'Box? [/url] Back to top Pure Scores for PlayStation PS5 is packing heat too, with Elden Ring hiding an invincibility-granting prawn in its code as a developer joke, and Tales of Arise, which almost shipped with a fishing rhythm minigame. Lego Horizon Adventures (-35%) - A$71.20Split Fiction (-23%) - A$54Elden Ring (-43%) - A$57Tales of Arise (-68%) - A$32.20Grand Theft Auto V (-53%) - A$28Need for Speed Unbound (-77%) - A$25 PS4 GTA Trilogy – The Def. Ed. (-77%) - A$23Red Dead Redemption (-52%) - A$36Red Dead Redemption 2 (-74%) - A$23Watch Dogs: Legion (-86%) - A$13.60 Expiring Recent Deals Assassin’s Creed Shadows (-42%) - A$64God of War Ragnarök (-29%) - A$88.20Until Dawn (-23%) - A$85.10Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (-42%) - A$49Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Leg. Ed. (-43%) - A$102.60Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (-56%) - A$17.40Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (-69%) - A$30.90 PS+ Monthly Freebies Yours to keep from May 1 with this subscription Ark: Survival Ascended (PS5)Balatro (PS5/PS4)Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (PS5/PS4) Or purchase a PS Store Card. What you'll pay to 'Station. [/url] Back to top Purchase Cheap for PC Over on PC, Disco Elysium is now cheaper than a Maccas run. Just don’t argue with your necktie. Yes, it's a thing. Dragon's Dogma 2 (-58%) - A$45.30Disco Elysium – The Final Cut (-75%) - A$14.20The Outer Worlds (-67%) - A$14.80Resident Evil Village (-75%) - A$14.20Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (-80%) - A$13.90 Expiring Recent Deals Borderlands 2 (-100%) - FREEDeathloop (-100%) - FREEBorderlands Col. Pandora’s Box (-43%) - A$50.60CoD: ****** Ops 6 (-45%) - A$60.40No Man’s Sky (-60%) - A$35.10 Or just get a Steam Wallet Card PC Hardware Prices Slay your pile of shame. [/url]Laptop DealsApple 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch (-12%) – A$2,197HP Laptop 15.6" 15-fd0233TU (-20%) – A$799Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (-36%) – A$849Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14", Gen 9 (-41%) – A$1,229Desktop DealsLenovo neo 50a G5 27" AIO (-47%) – A$1,379Lenovo neo 50q G4 Tiny (-35%) – A$639Lenovo neo 50t G5 Tower (-20%) – A$871.20Legion Tower 5i G8 (-29%) – A$1,899Monitor DealsSamsung QE50T 50" (-31%) – A$596ARZOPA 16.1" 144Hz (-55%) – A$159.99Z-Edge 27" 240Hz (-15%) – A$237.99Gawfolk 34" WQHD (-28%) – A$359LG 27" Ultragear (-42%) – A$349Component DealsMSI PRO B650M-A WiFi Motherboard (-41%) – A$229AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (-7%) – A$876Corsair Vengeance 32GB (-35%) – A$82Kingston FURY Beast 16GB (-30%) – A$48Storage DealsSeagate One Touch Portable HDD (-24%) – A$228Kingston 1TB USB 3.2 SSD (-17%) – A$115SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO (-63%) – A$29SanDisk 32GB Ultra SDHC (-53%) – A$9.90 Back to top Legit LEGO Deals Technic Ducati Panigale (-45%) - A$169Technic Porsche GT (-40%) - A$150Captain America vs. Red Hulk (-34%) - A$59R2-D2 Model Kit (-30%) - A$139 Expiring Recent Deals 101 Dalmatians Puppy (-40%) - A$149Tow Truck and Sports Car (-40%) - A$17.90Technic Bush Plane (-37%) - A$25JP Raptor Off-Road Escape (-36%) - A$45 Back to top Hot Headphones Deals Audiophilia for less Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless (-38%) – A$399.95Soundcore by Anker Q20i (-43%) – A$68.79Sony MDR7506 Professional (-30%) – A$169Technics Premium (-46%) – A$299Bose SoundLink Flex (-31%) – A$171JBL Charge 5 - Portable Speaker (-28%) – A$144JBL Flip Essential 2 Waterproof Speaker (-26%) – A$96Sony SRS-XB100 Travel Speaker (-41%) – A$84.15Ultimate Ears ***** 3 Portable Speaker (-41%) – A$134.95Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro (-26%) – A$259.29Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless (-46%) – A$275 Back to top Terrific TV Deals Do right by your console, upgrade your telly LG 43" UT80 4K (-24%) – A$635Kogan 65" QLED 4K (-50%) – A$699Kogan 55" QLED 4K (-45%) – A$549LG 55" UT80 4K (-28%) – A$866Prism+ Q75 Ultra 75" 4K QLED (-47%) – A$1,229Gaimoo Mini Projector 1080p w/ 4K (-33%) – A$119.99GooDee 4K Projector (-58%) – A$169.99VOPLLS Mini Projector 4K (-19%) – A$168.99XuanPad Mini Projector (-36%) – A$128.99LG S70TY Q Series Sound Barn*-22%) – A$546Sony HTG700 Atmos Soundbar (-15%) – A$594Yamaha NS-SW050 Subwoofer (-13%) – A$270Smart Home DealsArlo Video Doorbell 2K (-53%) – A$107.76Google Nest Doorbell (-44%) – A$183Ring Battery Video Doorbell Plus (-40%) – A$149TP-Link Tapo Smart Doorbell (-20%) – A$183XTU Doorbell Camera Doorbell (-40%) – A$59.99D-Link DCS-8302LH Wi-Fi Cam (-62%) – A$75Google Nest Cam (-25%) – A$247Ring Spotlight Cam Pro Battery (-43%) – A$187Swann 4 Channel DVR with 4 x 4K Cams (-34%) – A$399WUUK 2K Outdoor Cam (-32%) – A$249.99 Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

New leaks about Genshin Impact 6.0 and its potential new characters have emerged, and based on the information, it seems like players may gain access to much-needed DPS options that aren’t available in the game. The action RPG is still in the midst of Version 5.6, heading into Version 5.7 next week. After that, players will have to go through its contents for the next six weeks until the arrival of Version 5.8, which should be the final update before Version 6.0. The release of Genshin Impact 6.0 will occur in September if the game sticks to its regular schedule. View the full article

PlayStation 5 owners and players who like the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller could see the device gain major functionality, as Sony has announced that the controller will soon support multi-device pairing. The DualSense debuted in 2020 alongside the launch of the PlayStation 5 console and currently serves as the main PlayStation controller used across PS5 and PC. View the full article

With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, there's been some confusion about whether international players will be able to access the Japanese eShop to purchase games - here's how you can do so. View the full article

A popular Fortnite leaker has revealed that pets could be coming to the game as a new kind of cosmetic as soon as July, starting with the DC character Krypto. Fortnite recently launched Chapter 6 Season 3 of the battle royale, which has brought iconic DC superheroes like Robin and Superman to the island. View the full article

"Let's give the players the guns if they want, but also let's focus on the guns so they really feel on par with melee combat"View the full article

I have nearly 1,700 hours in a coloring book game. My go-to destress games are cozy farming simulators, nostalgic titles that take me back down memory lane, and a cute coloring book game, Coloring Pixels. I'd known about an upcoming sequel for about a week now, but I wasn't anticipating its demo to be released so soon. As part of Steam Next Fest, ToastieLabs officially released the demo version of Coloring Voxels, Coloring Pixels sequel, a few hours before the event began. Its first level, simply titled "Volcano," has you creating different parts of a scene by coloring each piece in one block at a time. It's a color-by-numbers game, requiring you to follow each number, color the corresponding area, and then repeat the process with the rest. You start on the bottom layer and work your way up before you, at last, have your completed set piece. Screenshot by Destructoid In one part, you might have a small bird, while the next is a huge volcano that takes you an hour to complete. At the end of it all, it forms a cohesive image that represents the level's theme. And that, ultimately, is what makes Coloring Pixels so enjoyable to me. I start with a blank canvas, and with each numbered color chosen, I color in the sections, watching the image unfold before me. While sure, its name gives away what it is, seeing its completed form right in front of you is satisfying in its own way. Based on Coloring Voxels' demo, I already know I'll feel the same way about this. It's not perfect; it eats up quite a bit of my PC's performance and has a rather rigid camera in its current state. But with some polish, it's a shoo-in to land at least a few hundred hours from me if ToastieLabs continues a similar level release trend that Coloring Pixels and another favorite of mine, WooLoop, have. Coloring Voxels will officially launch on Aug. 15. I don't know about you, but I already know it'll stand alongside its predecessor as one of my top relaxation games. The post I spent 1,700 hours coloring pixels in a game—and its sequel is already stealing more of my time appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Fans can now enjoy No Man's Sky on the Nintendo Switch 2 system, and while the port does accommodate the game's full multiplayer functionality, it appears to be completely bugged at launch. The latest new port of No Man's Skywas released recently on the day of the Switch 2's official launch alongside a new content update for all players, which overhauls planetary settlements, adds some neat quality-of-life options, and more. View the full article

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Stable channel. Steam Input Added the ability to bind the paddles and L4/R4 buttons on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller when connected via Bluetooth Added the ability to bind the paddles on the 8BitDo Pro 2 Controller when in DirectInput mode Added the ability to bind the paddles and C/Z buttons on the FlyDigi Vader series controllers Added the ability to bind the paddles on the FlyDigi Apex series controllers Fixed input when using the latest firmware for the Mayflash GameCube adapter View the full article

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes: Steam Input Added the ability to bind the paddles and L4/R4 buttons on the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller when connected via Bluetooth Added the ability to bind the paddles on the 8BitDo Pro 2 Controller when in DirectInput mode Added the ability to bind the paddles and C/Z buttons on the FlyDigi Vader series controllers Added the ability to bind the paddles on the FlyDigi Apex series controllers Fixed input when using the latest firmware for the Mayflash GameCube adapter View the full article