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Alongside debuting new gameplay, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka joined us at IGN Live to share more about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and why this is one big crossover kart racer you need to play. We are just one day removed from Sonic Racing: CrossWorld's big reveal at Summer Game Fest that Hatsune Miku, Like a Dragon's Ichiban Kasuga, Persona 5's Joker, and Minecraft's Steve, Alex, and Creeper will all be guest characters, and Iizuka reflected on what the process was like in choosing who gets to join in on all the fun. "We wanted to make sure the second lap around was going to be full of surprises as you're going to a different world that you didn't even think was possible," Iizuka said. "So, when brainstorming what we could do to make that really fun and exciting, we knew it would be great to go to some of the ***** IP worlds, but we also wanted to go to other IP worlds and really surprise people with that second lap. As we got to thinking about what worlds be fun to explore, we really thought Minecraft and its characters could be very fun." For those unfamiliar, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has a very interesting three-lap formula thats starts with a pretty standard first lap. However, the racer in first place will then get to pick a new world everyone will race through via Travel Rings. "The three Lap formula is really good for racers," Iizuka said. "It's really easy to understand, and we wanted to make things new and fresh so you're not just racing around the same place over and over again. And that was where the idea of the Travel Ring formed, which is to bring you somewhere new and unknown in that second lap. That's not all, as we wanted to keep the surprise and the racing really fresh and fun, so we added in some surprises for the third lap too." We then shifted our conversation to items, and Iizuka shared that he loved that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is paying homage to Sonic Racing games with the addition of the Rocket Punch item and Team Sonic Racing with Wisp items, but he did admit that his favorite item in this new game is the Monster Truck power-up that "lets you turn your vehicle into a monster truck and just run over everyone in front of you." There's a lot more to look forward to in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds when it is released on September 25, 2025, including the return of Sonic Riders' hoverboards, the ability for any character to ride in any vehicle, racing up to 12 players online, and even the most-welcome of features in cross-play. Speaking of different platforms, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. And yes, even though it may arrive a bit after, Switch 2 players will also soon be able to hit the road with the over 23 racers featured in this game. For more, check out our Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds preview and everything else you need to know about IGN Live. Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon just dropped its biggest update yet with patch v1.03, bringing a hefty round of fixes and improvements aimed at tightening up the overall experience. Alongside the patch, the team rolled out a fresh roadmap detailing what’s next for Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, and shared a pretty big sales milestone. View the full article

The classic life sim begins with you inheriting property—a farm or a shop that you take over in a legal and above-board fashion. Innkeep does not begin like that. As the trailer revealed at the Frosty Games Fest shows, Innkeep opens with you walking through the door of a tavern in time to see its owner's head leave his shoulders. The customers, a gang of tomb robbers, essentially bully you into replacing the innkeeper. Little do they realize, you'd already stolen a letter of ownership and were planning to take the place over anyway... Read more.View the full article

The head of Sonic Team has shared his views on the leaking of game content, saying it has the potential to ruin licensing deals. Just days before Summer Game Fest, a number of leaks of apparent Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds footage was anppeared online, seemingly confirming characters that had yet to be announced. During the Summer Game Fest show, ***** then announced that Hatsune Miku and characters from Like a Dragon and Persona would be in the game, as well as Minecraft characters and a Minecraft stage (the latter of which was part of the leaks). Read More... View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Minecraft took the world by storm when it first launched in 2009. The game was like a virtual version of LEGOs, giving players a playground of blocks to arrange however they wanted and create anything from their imagination. The game was especially popular among young kids, and it wasn't long before the education sector realized that it could harness the game's appeal to the younger generation as an educational tool. View the full article

It’s been over two decades since ESPN NFL 2K5 set the gold standard for immersive football presentation. Ask any longtime football gaming fan what made 2K5 so memorable, and the answer isn’t just about gameplay, it’s about atmosphere. One of the most beloved features was its fully-realized halftime shows, complete with Chris Berman breaking down the first half’s highlights with voice-over and slick replays. For years, fans have asked, "Why can’t Madden do halftime shows right?" Based on some new gameplay info, it seems like Madden NFL 26 is finally stepping up. View the full article

A Marvel Rivals leak has teased the addition of an option to change the lobby background. The claim has generated positive reactions among Marvel Rivals players, who see the game receiving regular updates with the addition of new content to keep the community engaged. View the full article

With the release of MindsEye just days away, the game’s director, Leslie Benzies, paid a visit to IGN Live today to discuss the new third-person action-adventure game. MindsEye is not an open world game and Benzies said he felt, “It’s often hard in an open world to keep the story clean,” before joking that “It might be strange to go and bowl for two days when you need to save the world.” However, he added, the game does include “an open world system through the Build MindsEye system.” Benzies elaborated that a crucial component of the game for he and his collaborators was the ability it includes to add user-generated content, explaining “As you’re playing any mission, if you like a spot on the map, you can immediately start to create anything you want [right there].” He said they’d purposely made it an uncomplicated system. “We want to keep this as simple as possible… So you can have something half-decent within a minute and a half. It’s putting the power of building into the hands of players.” He said that a general thought for the approach to MindsEye included “pushing it towards people who want to make games.” Asked how they will curate these builds for other players to best find them, he explained “At launch, we will curate and pick the cream of the crop on a featured menu.” However, he added, “Eventually, we want players to choose what they want. We don’t want to dictate eventually how you earn money in the game or how you decide to play the game.” The building tool that will be used by players was also used by those making the game, with Benzies saying “A lot of what you see now was built within the tool. A lot of the ambience… Anything we could build using the tool we would.” He also noted, “Our next game, we’ll use it more.” At the same time, he promised “Every tool we use to build the game we’ll give to players so they can use.” Benzies indicated they had grand plans for MindsEye follow ups, stating “The MindsEye story, it’s a small part of a very big story that we intend to tell over however many years it takes.” He compared the larger world they were formulating to something like Star Wars, in that “We have many stories that take place over different time periods in the same universe.” The game director also noted that “multiplayer will come at the end of this year and then we have a huge multiplayer world add on that will come next year.” Circling back to the user generated content, Benzies said he was excited to see what becomes of it because he thinks when you give the tools to the public, they’ll often find “More interesting ways to use the tools and almost hack the tools." View the full article

A new leak about Honkai: Star Rail 3.4’s character banners has emerged, and while I was initially suspicious of the veracity of the rumors, I’m now convinced that it’s right. The turn-based RPG by HoYoverse is still going through Version 3.3, an important patch that brings forth groundbreaking story events in Amphoreus, adds Hyacine and Cipher as playable characters, and introduces a new weekly boss challenge. Now, however, there are several leaks about Honkai: Star Rail 3.4, mostly thanks to ongoing beta tests. The leaks have revealed important information about the update. View the full article

iam8bit and Nano Park Studios have revealed a new gameplay trailer for the slice-of-life RPG Petal Runner at Summer Game Fest 2025. View the full article

New Fortnite leaks are teasing some major crossovers with several fan-favorite animated series in the near future, including Fox favorites like Family Guy and King of the Hill. The massively popular battle royale from Epic Games has featured a wide array of crossovers throughout the game's storied history, partnering with everything from movies and TV shows to musicians. Fortnite has even hosted massive musical events featuring beloved artists like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Mariah Carey. Now, several beloved shows are coming to Fortnite soon. View the full article

In the southern hemisphere the Summer Game Fest is a winter event. The Frosty Game Fest exists as a counterpoint—highlighting more than 50 games, both new and upcoming, from Australia and New Zealand. Or as the show's tagline puts it: "COOL SH*T FROM ANZ." And you better pronounce it zed... Read more.View the full article

A free demo for the retro-inspired RPG will be available on Steam as featured in the Wholesome Direct. View the full article

Revealed during the Wholesome Direct showcase, Letters To Arralla from Little Pink Clouds has a new demo available. View the full article

A recent leak from Honkai: Star Rail is hinting at three new characters coming as part of the game's next new Path, featuring a new version of a fan favorite. Alongside the plethora of new characters added to the HoYoverse sci-fi RPG since the game's launch, Honkai: Star Rail has introduced plenty of major changes to both its various game modes and the gameplay itself. HoYoverse has rolled out multiple new versions of the "Simulated Universe" game mode, new worlds to explore, and even a new playable Path. Now, yet another Path may be coming to Star Rail. View the full article

Marvelous USA has released a new trailer for Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar during the Wholesome Direct showcasing new gameplay. View the full article

Much to the dismay of fans who fell in love with Larian's work, it's nearly impossible that a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3 will ever come from the same studio. However, Baldur's Gate is a long-running franchise, and it's highly unlikely that it will ever be completely out of the spotlight. Players simply love the cast and story of BG3 too much to ever let it go, and the game lives on through fan content, mods, and the voice actors continuing to bring their roles to life outside the game. View the full article

Gearbox Software has published a statement regarding the controversy surrounding changes to parent company Take-Two’s Terms of Service and fears that many Borderlands games now contain “spyware.” Published directly on Steam, where outcry has materialized in the form of review-bombing campaigns for all major Borderlands titles, the statement’s aim is to address concerns while “maintaining transparency and confidence with the community.” That means tackling two key talking points that have taken over the Borderlands fanbase for months, including fears of spyware and modding crackdowns. Gearbox makes its stance clear from the get-go: “Take-Two does not use spyware in its games.” While there are instances data will be collected, Gearbox doesn’t want players to fear that their private information is always up for grabs. “Take-Two identifies these practices in its Privacy Policy to provide transparency to players and comply with its legal obligations,” Gearbox’s Steam statement says. “Take-Two collects this information to deliver its services to players, including to protect the game environment and player experience. You can read more about this in the Privacy Policy.” The statement continues: “For example, player and device identifiers are collected in part to ensure the game is compatible with each player’s media, platform or website browser type. It allows us to better understand how players play games, and to personalize the user experience (like having usernames show up!). Account credentials are collected from users who choose to create accounts with Take-Two and its labels.” It’s unclear if Gearbox’s explanation of Take-Two’s Terms of Service will be enough to calm those who took up arms after the agreement was altered back in February. Meanwhile, the studio’s explanation for its stance on the modding scene is fairly straightforward. “Take-Two’s Terms of Service prohibit mods that allow users to gain an unfair advantage, negatively impact the ability of other users to enjoy the game as intended, or allow users to gain access to content that the user is not entitled to,” the statement clarifies. “We do this to protect the integrity of the game experience for all users.” This is a direct response to fears that the modding community could face repercussions for any kind of modding activity, as Gearbox says Take-Two’s primary concern lies with cheaters who could dampen the experience for other players. The statement goes as far as to say Gearbox’s parent company “generally does not seek to take action against mods that are single-player only, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of its labels and third parties.” Uproar began around May of this year when fans caught wind that Take-Two had updated its terms of service, affecting many of its existing titles. Rumor that the company was preying on user data quickly caught fire, resulting in a movement that saw the Recent Reviews sections for Borderlands 1, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 tank into the “Mostly Negative” and “Overwhelmingly Negative” zones. While concerns subsided for the back half of May, fears kicked up once again when Borderlands 2 was made free to keep (for a limited time) on June 5. For now, the Borderlands series’ Recent Reviews on Steam remain firmly in the red. Meanwhile, Gearbox is working to deliver Borderlands 4 this September. You can check out the latest news as well as a bit of gameplay by reading up on everything announced at its April 2025 State of Play presentation. Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe). View the full article

Disney Dreamlight Valley players can choose the next companion to be added to the cozy life simulator, with details including their species, aesthetic, and clothing choices. Voting on the next companion to be released in Disney Dreamlight Valley is still open through June 9, and while some choices are locked in, there are still more customization options to decide on. View the full article

I've been excited about Roman Sands RE:Build since the moment I laid my eyes on it, particularly because it's from the same studio behind the ever-haunting Paratopic. Roman Sands just has a ridiculously strong art direction to it, very much one that could easily be dubbed Y2K, but I think more accurately should be seen as an evolution of the aesthetic/ era. Almost as if this is the direction it could have gone in. Read more View the full article

When ***** launched into early access it made quite a stir: the hardcore multiplayer survival game had some pretty deep systems that simulated calories and carbs, body **** and muscle mass, and even kept track of each of your teeth... Read more.View the full article

Get to grips with all the latest news from our blockbuster summer eventView the full article

Now, I'm not naming any names here, but there's a certain hand-drawn metroidvania that everyone's a bit sick of waiting for by this point, and could really do with a release date. OK, fine, yes it's Hollow Knight: Silksong, and if those recent Steam backend updates mean anything, I expect it'll get some kind of update sometime in the next few days. In the meantime, here's Constance, also a hand-drawn metroidvania, that actually does have a release date. Read more View the full article

The cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stopped by IGN Live to not only discuss the beloved new game from Sandfall Interactive, but also to exclusively premiere an over 10-minute look at the game's making-of documentary. The exclusive clip, which you can see below, begins by putting the focus on the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on the day before launch. It then takes viewers behind the scenes of motion capture performances, including how that emotional opening scene between Gustave and Sophie came to life and another fun moment between Monoco and Verso. While the documentary is still a work in progress and the full video may change, we were able to chat with Jennifer English (Maelle), Ben Starr (Verso), Shala Nyx (Sciel), Kirsty Rider (Lune), Rich Keeble (Monoco), and Maxence Cazorla (Esquie) about their work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. "We were all really excited," English said of the time before the game launched. "We weren’t as stressed as the developers were, but I was dead nervous about it because we put all our love and heart into it and hope it pays off - and thankfully it did." "You can do whatever you do in the studio, but then it stops being yours," Starr added. "You don’t know what it’s going to become. There are so many circumstances that go into the release of a game, and I felt, personally, there was a huge amount of pressure. It’s a game I wanted to be good for the team because they had put so much work into it, and because we didn’t just come into it, we were an additional part of it." English then went on to discuss what it was like recording for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and video games in general, and it was a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain. "I get so lonely in the booth," English joked. "You have to pretend. It’s very rare in video games that you get a playmate. I think it’s happened once or twice that I’ve had another actor in the room, so it’s a real honor when people think you were together recording. Video game acting is the Olympics of acting. If you can do good acting in video games - there is some bad acting, but not in this game – you can do anything." Nyx then shared how many people have reached out to her about how her character, Sciel, has helped them with struggles in their own lives. "It’s so cinematic," Nyx said. "It’s just so wonderful to be the voice and body of a character that is so rich and has so much emotional depth. I’ve had so many people reach out to me about how my character has helped them with their depression and helped them with their mental health. It’s so ephemeral and every moment is so rich and that’s a testament to the writing." Lastly, Starr spoke on the emotional impact of the game and why we care so much about these pixels that became characters that mean a lot to us. The reason you cry is because there is so much joy to be lost," Starr said. "You can’t have something that’s just morose all the time. If these people who are so vibrantly brought to life by these actors, if we lose them, then you lose everything." For more, check out our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review and how the game sold 3.3 million copies in just 33 days. Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic. View the full article

ARK: Survival Evolved first landed on Steam’s Early Access on June 2, 2015. What began as an indie dinosaur survival sandbox game has since been downloaded tens of millions of times, seen a steady cadence of expansions, spawned multiple spinoffs, and recently been remastered. The franchise has been a massive success for developer Studio Wildcard, who is celebrating the game’s 10-year anniversary with in-game events, announcements, and new content across the world of ARK. To stick with the theme of the celebration, here are 10 things currently happening in the ARK universe. 1. Who Is Blowing Out the Candles? ARK: Survival Ascended is the aforementioned remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved that launched in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It brought the world of ARK to the next generation of consoles and includes a graphical upgrade thanks to being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. To celebrate ARK’s 10th birthday, Studio Wildcard added lots of party-themed content to ASA, including new structures, skins, consumables, and emotes. It also added the Egg Incubator from ARK: Survival Evolved, which allows you to keep toasty 10 eggs at once and cut down the time it takes for them to hatch. 2. ARK: Genesis Part 1 Arrives on Mobile Now available on ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, the expansion pack of ARK: Genesis Part 1 is a story-oriented continuation of the series with new gameplay, creatures, craftable items, and structures. You wake up in a virtual simulation and must overcome its tests in order to uncover its secrets, all with the help of HLN-A, your chatty robot companion. As with the rest of the ARK series, you’ll need to explore, tame, build, and fight for survival. But this time, you’ll also need to adapt as your surroundings change around you. 3. New Underwater DLC Coming to ARK: Survival Evolved Many Survivors still tame, train, and ride dinosaurs in the original ARK: Survival Evolved, and now ASE is getting a new DLC called ARK: Aquatica — the first major content update since the Fjordur map arrived in summer 2022. Exclusively designed by Snail Games to celebrate ARK’s 10-year anniversary, Aquatica adds a new underwater biome and the first entirely submerged ARK of the series, introducing new survival mechanics, environmental hazards, and a large map (three times the vertical size of the Aberration map). The new biome also adds 20 new tameable water-based creatures, 69 new Engrams (62 learnable Engrams and 7 tek Engrams), and underwater survival thanks to things like air pockets and submersibles. 4. ARK: Ragnarok Ascended Is on the Way ARK: Ragnarok Ascended thunders onto ARK: Survival Ascended on June 18, bringing back the beloved map in a fully remastered form. In addition to returning favorites like the Griffin and Ice Wyvern, this update introduces a brand-new creature: the Bison — a fiercely loyal, horned powerhouse that’s as protective as it is powerful. With its volcanic chaos, rugged terrain, and a new beast to tame, Ragnarok is ready to challenge Survivors all over again. 5. Lost Colony Pre-Orders Start June 18 Pre-orders for ARK: Lost Colony, the first first massive canonical expansion pack for ARK: Survival Ascended, open on June 18. The creative team released an animated trailer earlier this year with the voice talents of Michelle Yeoh, Madeleine Madden, and Auli’i Cravalho that hinted at the map’s story. Set in a sprawling, occupied city, this full-sized expansion features new creatures, structures, gear, and powers, plus an all-new story that continues the story from ARK: Extinction. Players who pre-order will unlock exclusive Day One content and get a first taste of the action coming this November. 6. A Link to ARK 2 Lost Colony is scheduled to release in November, and its story will set the stage for the long-awaited ARK 2. The developers have teased that the upcoming DLC will include story threads, lore clues, and new mechanics that hint at what’s coming in the sequel. What exactly does that mean? We’ll just have to wait and see. 7. New Gareth Coker Music The Lost Colony map will also feature new music from video game composer Gareth Coker, who composed what became the main theme of ARK: Survival Evolved back in 2015. His extensive catalogue also includes working on Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Minecraft, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Halo Infinite, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. 8. Astraeos Update Expands the Frontier The first major content drop for Astraeos has arrived with the launch of Lemnokis, a massive island map crafted by renowned ARK modder Nekatus. This sprawling new island is packed with diverse biomes, hidden caves, and towering redwoods where ancient ruins and colossal statues hint at lost civilizations. The lush expansion isn’t just for sightseeing — you can take on the game’s first-ever duo minibosses, Kalydonios and Erymanthian, two massive boars that fight with fire and poison. 9. Overwolf-Powered Mods in ARK: Survival Ascended ARK: Survival Ascended embraces a thriving modding community through its partnership with CurseForge, offering players access to over 4,200 mods — including premium collaborations like the popular ARK x Power Rangers mod that lets Survivors suit up as the Green Ranger, White Ranger, Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, and more — complete with custom emotes and themed weapons like the Saba Sword and Zedd Staff. You can browse and download all official mods in the ARK Portal, where Survivors can customize their game with new creatures, gear, and gameplay experiences crafted by the community. This ecosystem keeps ARK fresh, and there’s more original and licensed mods on the horizon. 10. ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 Arrives in Late 2025 ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 premieres later in 2025, picking up Helena Walker’s survival story as she unravels more of the island’s prehistoric mysteries. Part 1, available now on Paramount+, introduced players to Helena’s world and featured a star-studded cast including Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Russell Crowe, Karl Urban, Elliot Page, Vin Diesel, Alan Tudyk, Madeleine Madden, and Michelle Yeoh — both Madden and Yeoh also appear in the ARK: Lost Colony trailer. You can also bring the show to life in-game with animated series character skins that are available now in ARK: Survival Ascended. View the full article