Take Two has recently released its 2025 investor presentation, and as you can imagine it's filled with all manner of interesting details about the publisher's suite of games. For Borderlands fans, it contains some intriguing sales info, including the eye-watering fact that the Borderlands series has sold nearly 93 million copies in total. Read more View the full article
Hey you. Yes, you—the beautiful gamer who took a few minutes out of your day to fill out our first reader survey. First off: thank you. Seriously. We recently asked for your thoughts, and you delivered. Your feedback has already shaped some of the things we’re cooking up behind the scenes. Whether it’s tweaking the kind of news we prioritize, planning deeper dives into your favorite games, or just figuring out how to make it easier for you to find the stuff you actually want to read, your input is making a real difference. But the work’s not done. We’re launching Survey Round 2: Electric Boogaloo (okay, not the official name), and we’d love it if you’d hit us with your thoughts one more time. It’s short, sweet, and every response helps us evolve into the best possible version of Destructoid. This survey is open to anyone—even those of you who didn't get a chance to contribute to the first one. So if you’ve got five minutes and opinions (we know you do), click the link below and tell us what’s what. Visit the survey here. Thanks again for being part of what we do. We may write the articles, but you’re the reason we’re here. The post Join us in survey round 2 to help build a better Destructoid! appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
As if the conversation surrounding Bungie's Marathon wasn't lukewarm enough, the latest chapter in the Destiny maker's upcoming extraction shooter saga has gotten uglier than ever. Yesterday, an artist by the name of ANTIREAL posted a bombshell of plagiarism accusations against the studio, claiming the recent Marathon alpha test's "environments are covered with assets lifted from poster designs" that they made in 2017. Later that night, Bungie confirmed the news, and that's the least surprising part about all of this. [Hidden Content] "We immediately investigated a concern regarding unauthorized use of artist decals in Marathon and confirmed that a former Bungie artist included these in a texture sheet that was ultimately used in-game," Bungie said in a statement last night. "This issue was unknown by our existing art team, and we are still reviewing how this oversight occurred. We take matters like this very seriously." ANTIREAL told the Washington Post they felt suspicious about the game's style for a while. But when direct copies of their art were found in the alpha test recently, they were finally able to speak out about it. "It was kind of vindicating to see direct plagiarism because it meant I wasn’t crazy for feeling so uncomfortable with the overall direction," ANTIREAL said. "I kept quiet about it because I was advised to seek legal action, but … I don't have enough time or money to fly out to the U.S. to pursue an unwinnable court case against Sony." This is not the first time Bungie has had issues with plagiarized art. It's not the second time, either. Or the third. And so, a pattern has formed, and questions really need to be asked. The studio's words feel very light considering that the studio has had problems like this before, including using fan art in a trailer for Destiny 2: The Witch Queen without permission, and using fanart in a Destiny 2 cutscene in 2023 without permission. A partnership with NERF also copied a design made by a fan in 2024. These all have not been issues of not properly crediting an artist or things happening by mistake. They seem to be deliberate cases of plagiarism that the studio then apologizes for and attempts to make things right by compensating the artist in some way, and only after distancing itself from a guilty party that used to work there. But why does it keep happening? And how? "To prevent similar issues in the future, we are conducting a thorough review of our in-game assets, specifically those done by the former Bungie artist, and implementing stricter checks to document all artist contributions," Bungie said. "We value the creativity and dedication of all artists who contribute to our games, and we are committed to doing right by them." Mistakes happen, accidents happen, and video games are big productions that employ lots of designers, contractors, and outside work. But when this same sort of problem keeps popping up, the blame can't just be laid on a "former" artist who's no longer with the company. Image via Bungie One of the most uncomfortable factors about this case is that Marathon's reception has been tepid, to say the least. One positive, however, that most have agreed on is that the game's art style is refreshing and unique. And now, even that is in question. Whether the studio is being sloppy with its work or their artists are straight up copying other work, something has to change, because it's an awful look for the studio that was purchased by PlayStation for $3.6 billion in 2022. Marathon is currently set to launch on Sept. 23, and game director Joseph Ziegler is scheduled host an AMA later today regarding the game's alpha. It's hard to imagine this current predicament not being addressed during the live stream. The post Bungie got caught plagiarizing art yet again, this time in Marathon. Something’s got to give appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Budget conscious Warhammer 40k players or people who love dabbling in different wargames should check out Brassbound: Adamantine Dawn, an indie science fiction wargame that can be played with any 15mm scale miniatures, including ones you cobble together from Lego. The free rulebook even ends with instructions to build your own tiny-scale Lego tanks, troops, and war-mechs, and it's accompanied by a parts list that makes it simple to order all the bricks you need from Lego marketplace BrickLink. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Games Workshop's latest tactic to beat Warhammer 40k leaks is melting my brain Warhammer 40k 11th edition guide - predictions for 2026 Warhammer 40k's sexy new Egyptian Death Robots are going to be the death of me View the full article
When Nintendo took the wraps off the Switch 2 in early April, it announced that around a dozen first-party Switch games would be getting free updates that would add some Switch 2-specific benefits to older games running on the new console. We could safely assume that these updates wouldn't be as extensive as the $10 and $20 paid upgrade packs for games like Breath of the Wild or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but Nintendo's page didn't initially provide any game-specific details. Earlier this week, Nintendo updated its support page with more game-by-game details about what players of these older games can expect on the new hardware. The baseline improvement for most games is "improved image quality" and optimizations for the Switch 2's built-in display, but others include support for GameShare multiplayer, support for the new Joy-Cons' mouse controls, support for HDR TVs, and other tweaks. The most significant of the announced updates are frame rate improvements for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the main-series Pokémon games released in late 2022. Most latter-day Switch games suffered from frame rate dips here and there, as newer games outstripped the capabilities of a low-power tablet processor that had already been a couple of years old when the Switch launched in 2017. But the Pokémon performance problems were so pervasive and widely commented-upon that Nintendo released a rare apology promising to improve the game post-release. Subsequent patches helped somewhat but could never deliver a consistently smooth frame rate; perhaps new hardware will finally deliver what software patches couldn't. Read full article Comments View the full article
With perfect timing for the launch of the Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set, TCG Player’s Mayhem ***** is offering more with each purchase by offering store credit back in return (including Pokémon TCG as well). The ***** runs for one day only, May 16, from 9 AM to 11 PM. With that added store credit, you’ll then get to unlock money off future purchases. Earn enough, and you could even end up buying some free cards from this gorgeous set. Still, while the above are incredibly pretty, several of the singles from the Final Fantasy MTG sets can be quite expensive (like with any TCG), especially with several borderless or Surge Foil cards skyrocketing towards $600. So if the expense of buying these pricey options are putting you off, after grabbing the incredibly affordable FF MTG starter kit for $20, try grabbing one of my handpicked, top 10 MTG cards from the Final Fantasy set, and earn some extra credit to complete your collection by the time the set launches on June 13. Traveling Chocobo Even if you’re unable to grab one of the very rare limited edition gold version of the Traveling Chocobo, even the standard Creature is worth buying. That’s due to the awesome ability to look and play lands and Bird spells from the top of your library. Vivi Ornitier Aside from just saying “because it’s Vivi”, this Magic: The Gathering version of the iconic mage brings a lot of fun chaos to the game by being able to cast spells and deal damage quickly. Summon: Shiva Both a creature and saga, which is one of the interesting elements of the set. This comes with stun counter capabilities, and being able to draw more cards from chapter III, which make it a essential for Blue decks, Tidus, Yuna's Guardian Tidus may not come with any HA HA HAs, but this Commander card version of the Final Fantasy X protagonist is another great addition for Magic: The Gathering collectors — thanks to his handy counter-based capabilities. Cloud, Ex-Solider Providing lots of draw power whenever Cloud attacks, this is arguably the best Cloud card in the set. That's since you can make use of the extra generated Treasure Tokens to make equipping to your other creatures far easier — making it great for Commander decks. Jumbo Cactuar Get ready to execute fun combos with this prickly 1/7 customer. Jumbo Cactuar's for trolling your opponents, just like it does in Final Fantasy VIII. Cecil, Dark Knight An interesting legendary human knight who, when you meet the life total requirement to untap it, you can transform it into Cecil, Redeemed Paladin — which has a handy ability to give your other attacking creatures indestructible. Kefka, Court Mage Along with its jaw-dropping artwork in the 0322 borderless version, Kefka comes with an interesting ability to dismantle your opponent’s hand whilst building up your own with additional draws. Sazh’s Chocobo Both an adorable and reliable card that gives you a very impressive +1/+1 counter when a land you control enters. It may not be the best card in the set, but the 1 mana cost almost makes it a must. Y ’shtola, Night’s Blessed A powerful commander card, Y’shtola has some great flexibility to fit into a variety of decks that make this cat warlock a must-buy. What Is TCGPlayer? I think TCGPlayer is the smartest place to spend money if you know what cards you're chasing. Instead of rolling the dice on booster packs, you can just go buy the singles you want, or even check out other regions sets like with Pokémon TCG's Japanese Glory of Team Rocket set that Destined Rivals is drawing from. It’s also where I go to check actual card values instead of relying on whatever price Amazon randomly assigns. There are deals to be had, you just have to be willing to search a bit. It’s TCG eBay, but cleaner. Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen. View the full article
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A Nintendo Switch 2 port of Red Dead Redemption 2 could be out by the end of 2025, and there are reports of a next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. That's according to GameReactor, which reports sources "close to Rockstar" have said a Switch 2 version of Rockstar's Wild West romp is on the way, along with a "next-gen upgrade patch" that will also improve the game for current-gen systems (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S). Though details are sketchy, GameReactor's sources assert the port and the upgrade patch could be out as early as later this year. It echoes similar claims made by Nintenduo, which reports the Switch 2 version of Red Dead Redemption 2 should be released in Take-Two's current financial year, which ends March 31, 2026. It's unclear if the port will release digitally-only or be sold as a physical edition, too. We considered Red Dead Redemption 2 a "masterpiece" when it released in 2018, awarding it a 10/10. IGN's Red Dead Redemption 2 review said: "Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open-world ode to the outlaw era." Perhaps red Dead Redemption 2 coming to Switch 2 wouldn't come as a huge surprise. In a Q&A with investors following Take-Two's most recent financial results, CEO Strauss Zelnick answered a question about the publisher's support of the Switch 2 by saying he felt "great optimism" for Nintendo's new platform. In fact, he said Nintendo's support of third-party publishers this time around was better than it had been in the past. "We're launching four titles with Nintendo Switch 2, and that's I think a ******* array of releases than we've ever offered before with a new Nintendo platform," he said. "Historically, being a third-party in the Nintendo business has been a bit challenging. I think Nintendo has been very forthcoming in addressing that. And we're stepping up too, because we have great optimism for the platform. In terms of what we would bring to any platform, we address it on a case-by-case basis, we obviously want to be where the consumers are. But we would not necessarily bring every title to every platform. There are also great catalog opportunities as well." Specifically, Take-Two is bringing Civilization 7 (June 5, launch day), the NBA 2K and WWE 2K series (unclear which games, or when), and Borderlands 4 (September 12). Those admittedly aren't surprising inclusions, as Take-Two was already publishing all four franchises on the Nintendo Switch. But Zelnick's quote does make it sound like the door could be open in the future to other releases, especially from Take-Two's back catalog. GTA 6 probably won't make the cut, but perhaps GTA V or red Dead Redemption 2? Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article
I've arrested someone who did not deserve it. The chump was carrying counterfeit jewellry and I lazily slapped on the cuffs without reading my police handbook. I'm about to get that book thrown at me. When I sit at my desk at the end of a shift in cop sim The Precinct, I will get a chunk of XP deducted from my earnings for detaining this dude for a minor infraction. When The Precinct's action ramps up and it transforms into a top-down blaster, it becomes ponderous and clunky, but its quieter moments of police pretending encourage a strict dedication to the role of petty rules enforcer. It's a game of quibbles and quirks, imperfect in many ways, but there's a sense of commitment underneath it all that I can respect. Even if I don't respect the badge itself. Read more View the full article
There were a lot of exciting reveals during last year's Warhammer Skulls showcase. From the highly anticipated Mechanicus 2 to more sneak peeks at the then-unreleased Space Marine 2, Warhammer 40k fans ate well last year. As the 2025 iteration of the much-beloved community stream looms and Space Marine 3 continues to chug along in the background, one of last year's most popular reveals is finally hitting 1.0. After just under a year in early access, Warhammer 40k: Speed Freeks is finally zooming into full release mode, and, in a somewhat surprising twist, it's ditching all in-game microtransactions. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Warhammer 40k Speed Freeks brings combat racing mayhem to Steam today View the full article
While I love the high fantasy feel of games like Fable or World of Warcraft, there's nothing quite like the allure of a world plunged into darkness, depravity, and chaos. The hopelessness of Diablo's Sanctuary, the grit and grime of Dragon Age Origins' Deep Roads and Korcari Wilds - for every sparkle, I demand an equal amount of blood splatters. The Necromancer's Tale - as the name might suggest - has gore in droves, accompanied by a Disco Elysium-style investigation system and turn-based combat akin to Baldur's Gate 3. If there's ever a game that screamed 'Lauren,' it's this one. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New $3 horror card game Deckline is basically the anti Balatro New medieval RPG is like an Arthurian Baldur's Gate that you can try right now Cozy, Slavic folklore sandbox game Reka lets you speak to animals in new update View the full article
Greetings and salutations, my friendly bots, and welcome back to the 'Whatcha been playing?' portion of our site that has been dead and buried until now because I felt like bringing it back, no matter what my corporate overlords think. I'm here to revel in your choices this week of games, and what you plan to play this weekend to put your feet up after a long week of work or school—or both. It's been a pretty weird week for releases this time around, with an obvious game coming to mind for weekend gaming ahead. Granted, there's still plenty of things on offer as we look forward to Switch 2's release in three weeks (if, like me, you were lucky enough to get a pre-order in. But let's quit yapping and discuss games, shall we? [Hidden Content] Doom Dark Ages is where I expect a lot of you Game Pass owners to be spending your time this weekend. My fellow Bots on-site have been playing and gushing over it for some time now, which has made me a bit envious while I slog away at the backend, trying to find things to talk about. It feels like a super fun time where I can let my head go empty as I slay demons to heavy metal and ride on dragons. What's not to love about that? I'm not a big Doom fan myself, but the rest of the releases this week are leaving little offerings. So perhaps it's time to go back and check out my backlog of titles I have still to play? The Precinct appears to be a fun indie game, but I also need to go and upgrade my Palworld base ahead of this Summer's ******* new expansion. I really wish Sonic Rumble had launched when it was intended to on May 8, as I feel i'd have been grinding away on that on mobile right about now. I find myself a little lost, honestly, so I'm curious if there's any hidden gems you've been playing that you want to highlight for me, or someone else, to play this weekend if you aren't ripping and tearing away. If you are, leave it in the comments! (Please. I need to some variety in my life) The post What are you playing this weekend, Destructoid? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article
Fortnite recently added a Darth Vader NPC that is able to keep conversations going thanks to artificial intelligence, and it seems that he also reacts strongly to certain creatures and items on the Battle Royale map. Artificial intelligence has been one of the most discussed topics in the past few years, with the technology now seemingly being used across all types of media, for both good and evil. Epic Games decided to incorporate it in its non-playable characters in Fortnite in a whole new way with the release of update 35.10 on May 16. View the full article
I'm so tired. Here we go. It's 2025, so Fortnite now includes a Darth Vader chatbot you can have stilted AI-powered conversations with after recruiting him into your squad. Naturally, a streamer has already managed to get it to say a bad word and talk about boobs. Read more View the full article
Avowed has revealed a new roadmap that highlights some special features that fans can expect to see added to Obsidian Entertainment'****** RPG over the next several months. Several upgrades just arrived in Avowed through the Version 1.4 update, and plans for the future include a New Game Plus mode, additional weapons and armor, and improvements to cooking and crafting. View the full article
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless just dropped down a record low price on Amazon, and Memorial Day sales haven't even started yet.View the full article
Darth Vader has arrived in Fortnite, and your AI buddy has a death grip on all manner of cool and strange features, including the ability to serenade to you (provided you only expect him to sing Star Wars and Disney-related songs). As summarized by Epic Games partner Shiina, the Darth Vader AI can join and leave squads at will, respond intelligently to the player, issue cued and impromptu dialogue, summarize gameplay events, and warn the player if something's about to go down. Darth Vader will also apparently urge you to seek professional help "if he realizes that your well-being is at risk," saying: "You are valued, Trooper. Seek assistance from the authorities. Your well-being is paramount." If you've got a sweet spot for Vader, though, I'm sorry to inform you that Shiina reports "Darth Vader AI is NOT allowed to engage in a romantic relationship with players." And no, he won't tell you "what he did to the younglings," so don't risk his wrath by even asking. But why read about it when you see him in action? Here's Darth Vader AI popping up unexpectedly in Nick Eh 30's match: GAMEPLAY OF THE DARTH VADER AI, THIS IS CRAZY (via @FN_Assist) [Hidden Content] — Shiina (@ShiinaBR) May 16, 2025 Darth Vader is, of course, voiced by the inimitable James Earl Jones, who sadly died in September 2024 at the age of 93. Epic Games said Darth Vader wouldn’t be "nearly as sinister without the legendary performance of James Earl Jones," adding it was "honored to feature" his voice and thanking his estate for "the opportunity to make this happen for players." Though it didn't elaborate there on how Vader's voice was recreated, elsewhere in an FAQ, Epic explained that the dialogue of Darth Vader's responses is AI-generated using Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash model, with the audio itself generated by ElevenLabs' Flash v2.5. In a statement, the family of James Earl Jones said: "James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character." Players under 13 or their country’s age of digital consent, whichever is higher, will need their parent or guardian’s permission to talk with Darth Vader. Parents can approve or deny Darth's shenanigans by heading to Epic Games' parental controls and selecting “allow voice and written communication with AI Features." Fortnite is celebrating Star Wars in a big way this season. Called Galactic Battle, it arrived on May 2 and features not only a Star Wars-themed Battle Pass and a five-part saga with plenty of surprises, but also the arrival of Darth Jar Jar to the Battle Royale. The news was shared during Star Wars Celebration, and we got a tease of even more of the Star Wars fun headed our way before the season is up. Earlier today, IGN reported that Epic’s long-running battle with Apple over the future of Fortnite on iOS devices has taken yet another turn, with Epic accusing Apple of blocking its Fortnite submission so it can’t release the game to the U.S. App Store. “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the U.S. App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it," Epic told IGN. Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users can play Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo as part of their subscriptions starting today. The distinctive-looking indie marks the third day-one addition to Microsoft's subscription service in May 2025, as well as the 54th Xbox Game Pass release since the turn of the year. View the full article
ПК-геймеры заметили, что Sony заблокировала продажу Stellar Blade в 130 странах мира, в том числе на территории Казахстана, Эстонии, Латвии и Литвы — это те самые страны, в которых официально нельзя зарегистрировать аккаунт PlayStation Network. Россия тоже входит в этот список, но у нас Sony не выпускает никакие игры с 2022 года. View the full article
Atlus объявила, что Persona 5: The Phantom X доберётся до мировой аудитории на ПК, iOS и Android уже 26 июня 2025 года. Игра будет распространяться по условно-бесплатной модели, анонс сопровождался сюжетным трейлером. View the full article
Компания 505 Games выпустила демонстрационную версию Blades of Fire, разработкой которой занимается студия MercurySteam. Релиз нового проекта авторов Castlevania: Lords of Shadows и Metroid Dread ожидается ровно через неделю. Предварительные заказы давно открыты, первых покупателей ждёт небольшая скидка. View the full article
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Take Two has recently released its 2025 investor presentation, and as you can imagine it's filled with all manner of interesting details about the publisher's suite of games. For Borderlands fans, it contains some intriguing sales info, including the eye-watering fact that the Borderlands series has sold nearly 93 million copies in total. Read more View the full article