A new weekend has arrived, and today, you can save big on Persona 3 Reload, Pikmin 4, The Adventures of Elliot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Star Wars Zero Company, and more. Check out our top picks for Saturday, October 24, below.

Persona 3 Reload (Switch 2) for $24.99

Dead by Daylight fans are beside themselves after Behaviour Interactive announced that all Chucky content would no longer be available to purchase starting next month.

The developer behind the popular asymmetrical horror game confirmed plans to pull the Chucky Chapter from sale in posts shared across social media. The message followed rumors that the possessed killer doll would soon be removed from the game, with the official statement promising that those who have purchased related content will be able to use it even after it is removed from shelves starting November 24, 2026.

"We welcomed The Good Guy out of his box and into The Fog nearly three years ago, but it's now time for the Chucky Chapter to leave the shelf," Behaviour said. "On November 24, 2026, the Chapter and its associated content will be removed from in-game and first-party stores. Any content unlocked before that date will remain available to use in-game."

As detailed in an FAQ post shared by the developers, these changes to the Chucky Chapter mean a few things for Dead by Daylight players. Its Killer, known in-game as The Good Guy, will no longer be available to purchase, though bug fixes will still be supported. The collection of outfits and cosmetics he's gained since being added in 2023 will also be made unavailable, and no future add-ons for the character will be added.

In other words, if you're a Chucky fan who's been waiting to pull the trigger, you might want to start thinking about it. To help ease players into the idea of losing one of Dead by Daylight's most unique Killers, Behaviour is holding a sale for all items related to the Chucky Chapter starting Monday, October 26. The "Last Chance" sale runs until his November 24 removal date and slashes prices by 50% across all platforms.

Dead by Daylight and its collection of Killers has often been referred to as 'horror Super Smash Bros.' by fans, but Behaviour has plenty of experience when it comes to pulling Killers. Hellraiser's Pinhead was pulled from digital storefronts in 2025 after first joining in 2021. Halloween's Michael Myers, the first major playable Killer to join Dead by Daylight after its launch in 2016, was removed this past January.

@DeadbyDaylight I THOUGHT WE HAD A NICE LICENSE AGREEMENT!!!!! https://t.co/bOMgT44DQt

— Freaky Nikki For DBD (@Ghostface_4_MK1) October 23, 2026

Although Behaviour refrained from sharing more details about why exactly the Child's Play rep is being removed, fans usually assume licensing issues are to blame. Hellraiser and Halloween both received new game announcements in Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival and Halloween: The Game that just happened to arrive around the time their respective properties were pulled from Dead by Daylight. Friday the 13th's infamous licensing kerfuffle is also allegedly what kept Jason Voorhees out of The Fog for years before he finally joined a few months back. Stranger Things is another example, with its first chapter's Demogorgon content removed before returning in 2023.

Like Chucky, players who purchased pulled content can still use it freely even after it's removed from stores, but that doesn't mean other players can't feel the impact. Content being removed from purchase not only means that players won't be able to buy it in the future; it means that content will likely show up less frequently during matches.

That affects just about everyone who likes having their Survivor matches shaken up by new Killer abilities to keep them on their toes, as a player doesn't need to have purchased a chapter to play against its respective Killer. Considering Michael Myers left Dead by Daylight earlier this year and Pinhead was removed not much longer before that, players are feeling Chucky's pull from sale more than many of the previous Killer removals.

"Hold a license challenge: impossible," one fan said.

"How do you keep losing licenses bro?" another fan speculated. "I thought you had a good relationship. Chucky had many skins WTF :("

goodbye chuckster. i will always love you https://t.co/h6sUaDGrwI

— Demo🌸 (@RatLivers) October 23, 2026

Again, Behaviour has not explicitly stated why new players will not be able to purchase Chucky after that November cutoff date. IGN has reached out to the Dead by Daylight team for comment.

"This makes me so sad," one player on Reddit said. "Chucky is such a huge license and we've lost Michael and Pinhead already within the last two years. Not blaming BHVR for it, I get it's business. It just sucks."

"It's strange though. You'd assume they'd change their contractual agreements after losing Demogorgon the first time to prevent this from happening with recent Killers," another replied. "Michael/Pinhead are a bit understandable since those were older licenses, but I'd assume Chucky would've had a proactive contractual agreement to prevent this from happening?"

Although losing three Killers in the span of a year and a half might sting, Behaviour has continued to add new notable characters and franchises into the mix. After Tokyo Ghoul's Ken Kaneki and Five Nights at Freddy's Springtrap were added last year, the studio brought Stranger Things villain Vecna into The Fog. Jason joined in the summer of this year, and Terrifier's Art the Clown will be added next month. Although the majority of the game's licensed Killers have remained available for years and are still available to this day, how long they will remain available for purchase is unclear.

BioWare was shut down by EA earlier this week. While the studio had struggled through a long stretch without putting out a genuine classic, it’s no lie to say it was behind some of the best RPGs of all time. At its peak, with games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare was a pioneer of not only building worlds, but filling those worlds with characters I (and so many others) actually cared about.

But BioWare went so much further than just writing some witty dialog and calling it a day. I always think back to the Mass Effect 2’s climactic suicide mission, where, unless you’ve completed all of your companions’ loyalty quests and built up those relationships, there was a real chance they would just die, never to return in the trilogy’s final chapter. BioWare built personal, heartbreaking consequences into its stories.

The games BioWare made in its heyday were incredibly influential, but I don’t think there are any games from other developers that tried to build on those successes that truly hit the same level. Even BioWare struggled to capture that same magic in its latter games. But while I don’t think there is anything out there close to the ultimate quality of the Mass Effect trilogy or the first three Dragon Age games, the spirit of BioWare’s best work does live on in the work of the games they inspired.

Just in the last few years, there have been plenty of games that draw straight from BioWare’s well, and there are quite a few projects in the works, including two that look like they could just be new BioWare games. So if you’re hunting for more BioWare in the wake of this terrible news, here are six games to keep in mind.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Now, obviously BioWare made the first two Baldur’s Gate games, so of course they had a massive influence on the third one. But each time I go back to Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3, the influence from Mass Effect and Dragon Age becomes more obvious. The way it introduces your companions and encourages you to build close relationships, for example, is extremely BioWare.

That’s not to mention the complicated web of different romance options in the game. I ended up wooing Lae’Zel, and spent hours building her into a reliable tank to carry me through the late game. And then I made a really bad decision involving a mind flayer, and she just straight up left my party for good. I had to figure out how to adjust my party (and my broken heart) from there.

Earlier in that playthrough, I ended up accidentally killing a potential companion, just because of some choices I made when trying to help some fellow paladins in Act One. It wasn’t until my next playthrough that I even realized they were someone I could recruit, and when I did realize it, I felt awful. In many ways, this chain of action and consequence mirrors what I love so much about Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission, but in Baldur’s Gate 3, it spans the entire game.

Even outside your little web of companions, the choices you make are core to what makes Baldur’s Gate 3 tick. From the outset, the game throws seriously consequential decisions your way that can come back to bite you in the ass depending on what you choose to do with them. Early on, there’s a commune of druids that are having a spat with some visiting Tieflings, and the way you handle that doesn’t just affect the scenario, but begins a domino effect that extends through the whole campaign. There are some pretty dark ways that situation can play out, too, and that’s just one of the dozens of encounters you have to deal with that shapes your character and playthrough.

The Outer Worlds

Most of the time, The Outer Worlds feels like Fallout: New Vegas in space. That’s a pretty natural conclusion, considering it’s developed by New Vegas studio Obsidian Entertainment. But just like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Outer Worlds frequently feels exactly like a BioWare game, thanks to the way it handles its six companions. No matter how many wild situations the game puts you through, the thing that always sticks with me when I go back to The Outer Worlds is how fleshed out the companions are.

All of them have their own distinct needs, leading to side quest chains that will ultimately decide their fate. And, similar to both Mass Effect and Dragon Age’s decision-tallying finales, there’s an entire tree of different endings that change depending on the choices you make. A lot of the questlines that dictate those endings cross over each other too, creating this tangled web of possibilities that can potentially make every playthrough just a little bit different.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered

CD Projekt Red and BioWare go way back, with the original Witcher game being built on the same engine as Neverwinter Nights. So, it’s not surprising that The Witcher games have carried the spirit of BioWare’s approach to storytelling for years. And that feels a little weird to say, because when I think of BioWare, I think of RPGs with a protagonist that you create yourself, and companions that surround you for the entire course of the game – two things The Witcher doesn’t have. In all of the Witcher games you play as Geralt of Rivia and, occasionally, other characters from the books, and the allies you gather aren’t party companions in the BioWare sense of the word.

I go back and forth with myself all the time over which of these games I love the most, but The Witcher 3 is probably the best example of CDPR taking BioWare’s legacy and running with it. You spend most of your time in The Witcher 3 on your own, trying to find Geralt’s adoptive daughter, Ciri. But even though you are by yourself most of the time, there’s a huge focus on doing side missions for supporting characters to build up allegiances ahead of when – spoilers – the villainous Wild Hunt attacks your fortress home of Kaer Morhen. Right off the bat, that leaves a lot of potential for an ending reminiscent of Mass Effect 2’s iconic final mission, but unfortunately not a lot happens if you fail to recruit friends to help defend the Witcher fortress.

Still, The Witcher 3 is a game I’ve played through four or five times, and even though I know there’s not much of a gameplay purpose to recruiting everyone, I still try to get all my friends into that castle in the mountains, even if it just means unlocking dialog that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Exodus

It’s no secret that for the last decade or so, even before EA shuttered BioWare, things were rough for the studio. A lot of talented people jumped ship, especially in the run-up to Anthem. One of the studios that formed from these talented ex-BioWare folks is Archetype Entertainment, and its first game, Exodus, is due out on April 7 next year.

We’ve actually got the chance to play a bit of Exodus early, and from what I’ve seen and read from my colleagues, it looks as much like a new Mass Effect game as yesterday’s leaked trailer. It’s a squad-based sci-fi RPG, and one of your squadmates is an octopus in a giant mech. That sounds ridiculous, and it is, but just look at the wild and wonderful companions we got in Mass Effect. In the trailer we got at Gamescom, there were scenes that made it look like we’re going to meet their family. So, it at least seems like there’s going to be some suitably wild companion quests in the game.

Crucially, though, Exodus has Drew Karpyshyn as its Narrative Director, and that is more exciting for me than any amount of marketing. This is the guy who wrote the original Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic, two of BioWare’s all-time best games. Karpyshyn leaving BioWare was, as far as I’m concerned, the biggest red flag that Anthem wasn’t going to turn out well, and while I’m not happy that my gut feeling was right there, at least we can see what he’s been working on for the last five years in just a few months.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

Just like Exodus, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is another spiritual successor to Mass Effect, although its scope is maybe a little less fantastic. It’s based on, well, The Expanse, the popular hard sci-fi novels and their TV show adaptation, so it already has a deep well of lore to draw from, and there’s a ton of potential there. Probably. I’m going to be honest, I haven’t read any of the books or watched the show, so I don’t really know much about the world of Osiris Reborn.

But I am familiar with Owlcat Games, which has been making some of the biggest cult-favorite RPGs of the last few years. Most recently, it made Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, an excellent, deep CRPG set in Games Workshop’s 40K universe. But while Owlcat knows how to make a rich RPG, Osiris Reborn is the studio’s first foray into making an Action RPG with realtime third-person shooter combat, and its wearing Mass Effect’s influence on its sleeve for all to see.

It does look like Osiris Reborn is going to be a bit more narrow in scope compared to Exodus, with less aliens and time dilation shenanigans, and more of a focus on politics and your own personal struggle. But from everything I’ve seen of the game, it still feels like a Mass Effect game, from the way you choose dialog options to the squad-based combat.

I’m not sure when The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is actually going to arrive. Right now, it just has a vague ‘Q2 2027’ release date on Steam, so hopefully I’m able to get my hands on it before summer. But, even if it does get delayed, maybe it’ll give me a chance to actually watch the show and read some of the novels to brush up on the lore.

Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic was revealed nearly a year ago at The Game Awards 2025, and at this point we still don’t know much about it. The teaser looks awesome, and shows a jedi on some desolate planet looking angry as she walks into some mysterious room. Not a lot to go on there. So it would usually be a bit too early to really say that this game will carry on the spirit of BioWare, but it just so happens that it’s helmed by Casey Hudson, who directed the original Mass Effect trilogy and Knights of the Old Republic.

In the press release shared by the newly-founded Arcanaut Studios when it announced the game, it says its “crafting an adventure about choice, destiny, and the timeless struggle between light and dark.” And even without seeing any of the gameplay or how conversations with NPCs will look, it sounds like it’s a true successor to Knights of the Old Republic. It’s important to remember that in a lot of ways, Mass Effect was also a spiritual successor to KOTOR, and I expect a lot of the DNA from that game is going to carry over into this new Star Wars RPG.

The catch, though, is that while Osiris Reborn has some shaky ‘Q2 2027’ release date looming over it, I have no idea when Fate of the Old Republic is going to see the light of day. Hudson did come out and respond to people that were memeing about the game not coming out until 2030, where he said it’d be coming out a bit sooner than that. But with a game of this scope, I’d be surprised if we saw it before 2028.

Regardless, the prospect of a big Star Wars RPG directed by Casey Hudson with everything he learned from Mass Effect is exciting. It’s still early, but even though I’ve seen very little, this is probably the one I’m most excited about, it just sucks that it’s the one we have to wait the longest for.

Humble Bundle is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a new Sci-Fi Exposure bundle that features Bungie's Marathon, RoboCop: Rogue City, Ghostrunner, and 5 more games. For as low as $25, you can add all 8 of them (which you can see below) to your Steam library, which sure beats paying the usual total cost for all of them together at $375, if you ask me. It's only available for another 20 days, though, so the countdown has begun to add this stack of sci-fi games to your PC library.

Humble Bundle 15th Anniversary Sci-Fi Exposure Bundle

I’m taking a look back at each of the core Grand Theft Auto games and replaying them in the lead-up to the arrival of Grand Theft Auto 6. What we’ll be putting together won’t be traditional re-reviews, and they won’t come with any new IGN score, but they will re-examine what made each GTA remarkable upon the time of its release. By the end of the project, using GTA’s previously six-star wanted level, you should be able to get an idea of where each of these games roughly rank in my long-term love for this series.

Our last stop in this series is Grand Theft Auto V: a game so nice, they released it thrice.

13 years. Three console generations. 230 million copies. Over $10 billion in revenue. The numbers that tell the story of Grand Theft Auto V’s longevity and success are wildly impressive and virtually unprecedented. The only other games even in the conversation are Minecraft or, depending on your criteria, about 200 different versions of Tetris. The numbers, however, don’t tell us why GTA V still sells more copies every few months than most games will ever total. They don’t tell us why people can’t get enough of it, and they don’t tell us why it’s special. So how did we get here? I guess it was the weather.

While GTA IV’s Liberty City sandbox was a dense, modestly-sized, and entirely urban environment, GTA V’s vision of the city of Los Santos was considerably more sprawling and varied. Yes, it retained a grid-like downtown district packed with tall buildings and a few particularly sizable skyscrapers, but Los Santos otherwise has a wholly different identity to that of Liberty City – and the map encompasses an area way beyond Los Santos itself.

The aesthetic shift is stark. Weather depending, the beating San Andreas sunshine gives vehicles a dazzling gleam, casts crisp shadows, and saturates the whole place with a sharp, sun-bleached vibe. It’s not the stylised orange tint that illustrated the oppressive heat of 1992 Los Santos in GTA: San Andreas, but it’s bright, effective, and a striking visual departure from the cold, drab, and gritty appearance of Liberty City.

It’s also such a different place to explore. The town is splintered into dozens of distinct districts that seamlessly blend from one to the next – from the affluent mansions of Vinewood Hills and Richman to the spectacle of Vinewood itself, glowing under a thin layer of grime and entertainment industry sleaze, and from the sun-kissed sand and beach bum backalleys of ageing Vespucci to the graffiti-tagged and struggling suburbs of South Los Santos.

Outside Los Santos, the countryside opens up to include desert, forest, mountains, and a handful of other small towns dotted around the map. It’s essentially a greatly expanded vision of the southern segment of GTA: San Andreas’ map – the section that features Los Santos, Mount Chiliad, and its immediate surroundings. It’s actually more than twice the size of GTA: San Andreas in its entirety, even if it doesn’t always feel that way, considering you can’t travel beyond the fringe of the county to find a fully-fledged San Fierro or Las Venturas. However, that’s more of a statement about how utterly special GTA: San Andreas’ map really is, rather than an indictment of GTA V in any real way.

That is, GTA V’s map remains a stunning achievement. It’s a world that – even after 13 years – I’m still spotting signs, storefronts, and subtleties that I don’t think I’ve overtly noticed before. Like all the best developers, Rockstar understands that true immersion emerges through accumulation: a single graffiti-tagged wall, bill-covered pole, or interesting piece of architecture might not be hugely remarkable on its own, but combined they become something else altogether. Funnily enough, a world full of thousands of such details can make an entire city so realistic you essentially stop noticing it. It’s almost counterintuitive; things don’t stand out, because they look so authentic, lived-in, and normal.

Streiht Up Menace

The smartest way Rockstar exploits this densely detailed map is through GTA V’s defining innovation: its trio of protagonists. You swap between Michael De Santa, a retired criminal becoming increasingly agitated at his otherwise comfortable suburban life; Franklin Clinton, an aspiring, small-time hustler looking for a real payday to get him out of his rundown neighbourhood; and Trevor Philips, a wildly volatile Canadian psychopath who was formerly partners with Michael.

The system is much more than a novelty. Switching between them allows Rockstar to prod us into different parts of the world to explore, without relying on a single character to experience everything. For a map this large, it makes a lot of sense.

For clarity, following the release of its single-player expansions The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, GTA IV also ultimately featured three protagonists – and three different lenses through which we could view and interact with Liberty City. Similarly, it was a really smart way of squeezing more value out of the map, and drilling down on parts of it Niko Bellic’s story never really took him to. But while you could certainly regard this as a first draft of a multi-protagonist approach, you can’t switch between them in real time in GTA IV; you have to pause and load into the expansions separately.

In GTA V, the transition between characters is far, far more rapid, and occurs after just a brief zoom out and back in again, dropping you into Michael, Franklin, or Trevor’s life in the middle of whatever they happen to be doing at the time – which may well be dropping a man off a bridge. The transitions give the illusion that these guys continue to exist beyond the missions in which they appear.

Do It (’Til You’re Satisfied)

GTA V’s missions are typically far more varied and layered than those in GTA IV. After experimenting with it in The Ballad of Gay Tony, GTA V introduced mission checkpoints and finally shed what had arguably become the most frustrating characteristic of the series – the need to completely start from scratch after failing a mission.

This is what allows GTA V’s missions to be longer and regularly more wild than ever. With checkpoints as a safety net, Rockstar could really push the boat out with what it asked us to attempt – free from the sometimes debilitating concern that messing up at the last minute will result in a long drive and a lot of backtracking over things we’ve already done.

Of course, the highlight here is the focus on multilayed heists, taking the fan-favourite Three Leaf Clover bank robbery mission from GTA IV and blowing that concept out to make it the central pillar of GTA V’s campaign. There are multiple big scores that can be tackled in overtly different ways, something made easy to experiment with thanks to the ability to easily replay missions from a list of those you’ve previously completed. With the exception of The Ballad of Gay Tony, in past GTA games, the only way to play the missions again was to start over from the beginning.

The heists are where the three-character structure becomes most effective. We’re not just passengers on these huge marquee missions; rather, GTA V builds elaborate on ramps to these heists focused on planning and preparation which typically draw on the different skills and traits of Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. It gives the heists, and the campaign as a whole, a sense of scale and variety that would’ve been difficult to achieve through a single character.

Higher Love

Beyond the multiple protagonists and the escalation in mission variety, GTA V also made major changes to the car handling and significant refinements to the shooting. Vehicles are certainly more approachable to drive in GTA V than they are in GTA IV; they brake hard and respond sharply to steering input. The result isn’t superficial or overly light, but it does feel very grippy. It’s a handling model that I think is particularly suited to sure-footed sports cars, although I have to concede a part of me prefers the way older vehicles feel with the “slidey cars” cheat on. It’s just more drift-friendly.

In terms of vehicle variety, however, GTA V is very much a welcome shift back to the broad spectrum available in GTA: San Andreas after things were scaled back significantly in GTA IV. As a result, one minute you could be fanging an 18-wheeler down the freeway, and the next kicking tyres and lighting fires in a fighter jet. GTA V dialled things up rather than back, so go ahead: land that jumbo on the beach and escape via a jet ski. Why the hell not?

Combat was polished too, with more nimble movement and more dependable cover shooting. The highlight for me is the sound of firefights, as guns bark and bullets thunk into car panels. It’s brilliant stuff. The integration of the weapon wheel, which functions similarly to Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3, also means you can carry way more hardware – as well as multiple weapons within a single class. The weapon wheel stores all of the weapons you collect and you’ll never lose them, even if they run out of ammo or you get busted.

Party All The Time

When GTA V launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 in September 2013, both of those consoles were approaching the end of their lifespans. With the Xbox One and PS4 arriving in November that same year, you could probably make a strong case that GTA V felt like the last great statement of that generation. Many people did. However, I think there’s more to it than that.

A couple of weeks before its September 17 release, I was fortunate enough to conduct the world’s first hands-on with GTA V for IGN. Revisiting and playing it again so extensively this week has very effectively taken me back to how blown away I was in that moment. I was stunned by what I was playing, and utterly convinced GTA V was outright good enough to upstage both Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles. In fact, I wrote never mind November; the next generation will start when Rockstar says it does. In 2013, that was a comment reflective of just how ahead of its time I believed GTA V was; that it was simply streets ahead of its peers, squeezing next-generation scope and ambition out of a console that first launched in 2005. Simply put, it felt like a new benchmark for an era that hadn’t even officially arrived yet. On September 3, 2013 – two weeks before GTA V came out – maybe that’s a bold claim. But with new and improved versions of GTA V going on to loom large over the generation to follow, and then doing it all over again for the generation after that – all to the tune of 230 million copies – I don’t think it was ever an exaggeration.

Verdict

Grand Theft Auto V was a game so preposterously future-proof upon its 2013 launch on Xbox 360 and PS3 that its subsequent ports to modern machines remain the benchmark for open-world action-driving games. At the conclusion of this GTA Legacy Review project I find myself too emotionally attached to the PS2 pair of Vice City and San Andreas to push past my adoration for the style and soundtracks of those period piece classics and place anything above them but, make no mistake, there are very few games I’ve played more than GTA V. Combining an enormous and extraordinarily detailed world, three compelling protagonists, a thrilling set of varied missions and heists, and the foundation for a world of multiplayer that is simply a whole separate discussion, GTA V is the peak of the series. At least for the next few weeks, that is.

For more reflections on the incredible Grand Theft Auto series, you can read our new Legacy Reviews of Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Cyberpunk 2077’s surprise 2.5 update added a new dual-wielding playstyle, fresh ways to customize protagonist V’s look, extra quests and plenty more, but players have discovered that developer CD Projekt Red secretly added a range of new The Witcher 3-themed cosmetics, too.

The Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners update snuck in some sweet new clothes for V to wear, as well as the professor spectacles Geralt can wear in The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3 items added in the Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 update:

• Boar Carver — a small knife, similar to what Geralt pulls out to take a trophy from beasts.
• Sihil Sword — a cool sword with ancient writing down the shaft and spiky rivets across the edge.
• The Professor's Spectacles — a mask in The Witcher 3’s Hearts of Stone expansion that once belonged to the Professor. It can be purchased at the auction during the main quest, Open Sesame!
• Ursine Jacket — a jacket based on the Bear School gear in The Witcher 3.
• Ursine Pants — trousers based on the Bear School gear.

As mentioned by @SynthPotato on X / Twitter, you can access the items at V’s apartment once you get a text from Arianne about a gift. It’s a similar method used for other drops added to the game.

@SynthPotato They also added this knife that you missed (similar one Geralt uses to collect trophies in TW3) https://t.co/aWH0XwerMS

— vinal (@vinalxo) October 23, 2026

None of this was included in the official Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 patch notes, which mostly focused on the Edgerunners crossover and a new questline featuring Night City founder Richard Night. Those new Glamdocs look nice though — I’ve always wanted to pimp my chrome and add some color to those gorilla arms.

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime just got its second season. Set after the events of the game, Edgerunners 2 features a cast of fresh characters as they navigate the dystopian hell of Night City’s corporation-ruled future. Game director Hideo Kojima made a cheeky cameo in it.

CDPR has also partnered with Paramount to make a live-action movie based on the game. However, the Cyberpunk 2077 movie won’t retrace the game’s steps. Smile 2 star Kyle Gallner said he would love to play V, though the news that it won’t follow the games could mean V doesn’t even exist in the movie.

CDPR had ruled out Cyberpunk 2077 DLC, so this 2.5 update came as a welcome surprise. Some fans still want a Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, though, and are encouraged by The Witcher 3's upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, which arrives 12 years after the base game launched. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2 is in development, as is The Witcher 4 and a number of other games.

Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Pawel Sasko revealed that a good chunk of the game’s staff are actually former modders who CD Projekt Red picked up to work on the highly-anticipated sequel.

Sasko made these comments during one of CDPR’s REDstreams on October 21, where the team discussed the bevy of exciting new updates coming to Cyberpunk 2077. As part of this discussion, they explained their decision to introduce cross-platform support for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S, saying this was done both to keep the game fresh and to actively support the creativity of its modders.

In fact, the good folks at CDPR have actually partnered with modders in the game’s community as part of these updates, and even credited them with helping keep the title afloat.

“The modding community is really keeping the game alive,” Sasko said. “I’m very often looking at what our modders are doing, what they’re building. It’s very exciting. There’s so much creativity. We as a studio always try to support our modding community as much as we can.”

Adding onto this discussion, Sasko revealed that CDPR has sourced quite a few of its staff working on Cyberpunk 2 from the game’s modding scene, saying that around half of its quest team — designers who create a game’s objectives and storyline segments — are former modders.

"A lot of modders, they were players who actually first played and actually got experience with customizing the game with the mods," he said. "For me, this is a foot-in-the-door technique, and a gateway into game dev," he continues. "You can see, and you can learn how things are made, how things can be built. We actually hired so many modders. I would say, at this point, half of the quest team is all former modders."

While this isn’t a completely new revelation as far as CDPR is concerned (Sasko actually revealed this information back in 2024), it certainly couldn’t come at a funnier time, given the ongoing discussion around the differing sentiments toward community patches, mods, and emulation happening between Western players and Japanese fans on social media right now.

It’s an exciting era for Cyberpunk chooms; Edgerunners 2 just released on Netflix to rave reviews, alongside a host of new additions to the actual game, which include a dual-wielding playstyle, fresh cyberware customization options, and even a mode that gives you a tour through Night City, on top of cute references to the anime spinoff.

You can read our review for Edgerunners 2 here, as well as our interviews with producer Bartozs Szytbor, who told us all about Roman’s backstory and why the show’s ending wasn’t what audiences anticipated.

Returning to Cyberpunk 2077 or playing it for the first time? We’ve got a new and improved Cyberpunk interactive map to help you find every mission, Iconic item, and collectible in the game. Plus, we’ve also got a full walkthrough for the base game, a Phantom Liberty walkthrough, and an overview of all the Cyberpunk 2077 endings so you don’t make a choice you regret. And we can’t ignore the various romance options you can smooch, which also impact how V’s story concludes.

Following the announcement that EA is closing down Mass Effect developer BioWare, staff at the studio behind the latest Skate game have also reported suffering layoffs.

The live-service skating game was briefly mentioned as an ongoing active project in the memo EA sent to staff about the dramatic cuts, but an undetermined number of Skate developers said they had been let go from the studio behind it, Full Circle.

Seasonal creative director, John Epler, wrote on LinkedIn (via VGC): “Well, as of today, my role at Full Circle has been eliminated. Coming up on my 19 year anniversary in the industry — and all of that time spent at EA — I can’t say I’m sad. A little nervous, definitely, but I’m looking forward to doing something new.”

Senior game designer Adam Martinazzi also confirmed his departure. “I, like many of the other talented people at Full Circle, was let go today,” he said. “Part of me is sad and frustrated. The other part accepts that this is a ‘just part of the industry.' And the other other part is grateful for the time I got to spend working on a cool game with lots of awesome people.”

Another senior designer, David Milne, was among those affected. “Looks like my position at Full Circle has been eliminated. Sad to have to leave. I really enjoyed working on Skate and loved the team I worked with. But it’s on to the next thing now.”

Full Circle was previously hit by a wave of layoffs back in February. “The teammates affected are talented colleagues and friends who helped build the foundation of Skate,” Full Circle said at the time. “Their creativity and dedication are deeply ingrained in what players experience today. This decision is not a reflection of their impact and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition.”

EA's memo to staff had this to say about Skate:

"For skate., we’ve had a lot of success in bringing players into the game, and we need to create an experience that keeps them engaged over the long-term. To do that, we are making changes to the studio to have a more focused, smaller team to deliver on a very clear roadmap for our community that we believe will build a healthier and more sustainable business."

According to Bloomberg, 400 jobs are going across EA, amounting to 3% of total staff. 50 of these were working on the next Mass Effect before BioWare's closure. Just two weeks ago, Full Circle published a statement addressing mods following the viral launch of a fan-made modding platform called ReSkate. This platform allows fans to play the game offline, create private servers, make their own maps, and more. Full Circle acknowledged the importance of community mods, but stood firm against those that bypass paid cosmetics or make money off of new features.

Full Circle went on to confirm that it was aware that players want “more freedom and custom features,” and revealed that it was building “official, secure access tools that enable broader, deeper community creation.”

EA went private earlier this year with Saudi Arabian involvement. "This moment recognizes the extraordinary people whose creativity, ambition and passion have made EA one of the world's leading interactive entertainment companies," CEO Andrew Wilson, who pocketed a compensation package of $38.6 million for the 2026 fiscal year, said at the time. Wilson had Battlefield 6 to thank for strong performance for the fiscal year, but a record-breaking launch didn’t stop EA from laying off staff across Battlefield Studios.

Heads up, racing fans. We’re coming up on 30 years since the original Gran Turismo game launched on PS1. To celebrate, Sony is releasing a new Gran Turismo limited-edition DualSense PS5 controller. It’s up for preorder now (see it at Amazon). It costs $84.99 and is set to release on December 10.

Gran Turismo Limited-Edition PS5 DualSense Controller

DevGAMM Awards has revealed the 70 nominated games for its third annual show, and not only do they come from 25 different countries, but more than half of the nominated titles were developed by teams of five or fewer.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 18 at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm GMT, and IGN will serve as the official streaming partner. This means you'll be able to tune into IGN.com and IGN's YouTube channel to watch the event. Alongside a night filled with honoring these games and studios, there will also be exclusive game announcements and major updates to look forward to.

There is a lot on the line as this year's show will feature $100,000 in cash prizes supported by Scorewarrior, plus more than $40,000 in sponsored category prizes from Epic Games Store, Unreal Engine, tinyBuild, Unity, and Godot.

With that all out of the way, let's get to the nominees, which were selected from a record 1,088 submissions by 987 teams across 80 countries.

DevGAMM Awards 2026 Nominees

Grand Prize

• Dead As Disco by Brain Jar Games
• Echoes of Mystralia by Borealys Games
• Mortal Shell II by Cold Symmetry
• MOUSE: P.I. For Hire by Fumi Games
• Phonopolis by Amanita Design

Excellence in Game Design

• Desktop Explorer by Recurring Dream
• Froggy Hates Snow by Crying Brick
• IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator by Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos
• Rewindead by Spellwork AB
• Timberborn by Mechanistry

Excellence in Visual Art

• Micromega by COVEN
• Midgardr by Holy Radish
• MOUSE: P.I. For Hire by Fumi Games
• Phonopolis by Amanita Design
• UNBEATABLE by D-CELL GAMES

Excellence in Narrative

• Call of the Elder Gods by Out of the Blue Games
• Desktop Explorer by Recurring Dream
• Ledgerbound by OmniMegaSuperCorp
• Pieced Together by Glowfrog Games
• Schrödinger's Call by Acrobatic Chirimenjako

Excellence in Audio

• Band Wagon by Bippinbits
• Dead As Disco by Brain Jar Games
• Phonopolis by Amanita Design
• Ratatan by Ratata Arts Inc.
• UNBEATABLE by D-CELL GAMES

Best Mobile Game

• Gambonanza by Blukulele (Paul Giovannini)
• Pirates Outlaws 2: Heritage by Fabled Game Limited
• Scritchy Scratchy by Lunch Money Games
• Servant of the Lake by Rusty Lake
• Twin Shot Deluxe by Nitrome Limited

Most Anticipated Game

• Cards & Cannons by Flamehead Games UG
• Crop by Carbonara Games
• Koshmar: The Last Reverie by Purple Ray Studio
• PinKeep by Okomotive
• Steel Soul Shaper by GENEPOP

Best Game in Early Development

• BANDIT KNIGHT by Game Float
• Bolt & Whalington by Orca Studio
• Burdenfall by Leftovers Games
• Code RAPID by Hitbreak Games LLC
• Hold Your Dragons by Igor Krutov

Best Small Team Game

• Compress(space) by B-Deshi Interactive
• Dobbel Dungeon by Gamepie
• MOLDRISE by Raffaele Picca
• Omelet You Cook by Bird Gang Games
• Worming from Home by Zach Northrop and Mason Sabharwal

Meaningful Game

• 1998: The Toll Keeper Story by GameChanger Studio
• Amnios by HES-SO (HEAD-Genève + HEdS)
• As Long As You're Here by Autoscopia
• Fishbowl by imissmyfriends.studio
• Grow Wild by SPECTRUM48

Best Game from Portugal

• ALL LIGHT IS GONE by Octupus Embrace
• Hanno: A Magical Tale by One Way Eleven
• NECROMENTAL by Digitality Games
• Shelf Heroes by Fun Punch Games
• War Doctor by Red Pine Studios

DevGAMM Choice

• Demon Bluff by UmiArt
• HOMURA HIME by Crimson Dusk
• inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories by Nagai Industries
• Monster Chef by Studio Pizza
• Wax Heads by Patattie Games

Partner-Sponsored Awards

Epic Games Store Indie Spotlight

• Dead As Disco by Brain Jar Games
• Fortune Seller by Kiwick Studios
• Hank: Drowning On Dry Land by My Next Games
• IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator by Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos
• Luna Abyss by Kwalee Labs

Best Unreal Engine Game

• Call of the Elder Gods by Out of the Blue Games
• Dead As Disco by Brain Jar Games
• Guns of Eschaton by Eschatology Entertainment
• Mortal Shell II by Cold Symmetry
• The Occultist by DALOAR Studios

Best Indie Game by tinyBuild

• Code RAPID by Hitbreak Games LLC
• Hell Hold'em by Hell Hold'em
• Meat Without Master by Neon Cocoa
• Rewindead by Spellwork AB
• Tattered Banners by CookieByte Entertainment

Best Made With Unity Game

• Dimraeth by Mudtek
• Last Moon by Sköll Studio
• Painted Kingdoms by Hectiq
• Seaward by THE ROOF Interactive
• Tempus Vitae by Whiteboard Games

Best Godot Game

• Band Wagon by Bippinbits
• Burn With Me by Nozomu Games
• MOLDRISE by Raffaele Picca
• My Card Is Better Than Your Card! by Utu Studios
• Pathogenic by Aberrant Labs

For more, check out all you need to know about the DevGAMM Awards on their website.

BioWare is dead, and my feelings are a strange cocktail of anger, sadness, and Jack’s Complete Lack of Surprise. The legendary RPG studio was bought by a private investment group earlier this year, and history shows that venture capital frequently kills what it touches, extracting whatever value out of it that it can before moving onto the next victim. It’s a hell of a contrast to the beginning of BioWare, which started out as such a pure thing. Two practicing doctors, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, quit medicine to pursue their dream of making computer role-playing games. Sure, the studio was bought and sold a couple of times between then and now, and yes, BioWare’s recent results haven’t lived up to its venerable past, but my goodness, what a legacy this studio leaves behind.

Everyone knows Baldur’s Gate now on account of Larian Studios’ Game of the Year-winning, 10 out of 10 Baldur’s Gate 3 from 2023, but what younger gamers might not know is that the first two Baldur’s Gate RPGs were built by BioWare in the late ‘90s. While they weren’t the studio’s first games – that honor goes to the 1996 mech action-sim Shattered Steel – they were the two that put BioWare on the map. Each was an incredibly deep and sprawling RPG based on the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset that was good for upwards of 200 hours of gameplay. At the time, they reset the bar for what a CRPG could be. Let me put it this way: Baldur’s Gate 1 took home IGN’s Game of the Year award in 1998… over Half-Life. That’s how good Baldur’s Gate was.

After another action-game pitstop in the form of 2000’s excellent MDK2, BioWare returned to role-playing with Neverwinter Nights, another CRPG that arguably brought video games closer to the pen-and-paper, pizza-party-at-your-best-friend/DM’s-house version of D&D than any game before it. It was the runner-up for IGN’s Best Role-Playing Game of 2002, finishing behind just one game: a little project you might have heard of called The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind.

Up to this point, BioWare had primarily been known in PC circles as a prominent CRPG developer. And then Microsoft made a deal with the studio and LucasArts to develop an exclusive new Star Wars RPG for the fledgling Xbox console. You already know what the result was: the absolutely unimpeachable Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which happens to be my personal favorite role-playing game of all time. My biases aside, it is unquestionably one of the best RPGs ever made. It’s also a lock for top-3 Star Wars games of all-time, and it has a strong case for No. 1 on that list. It told an incredible story in Star Wars’s ancient past and truly let you embrace the Light Side or Dark Side of the Force. I went fully evil just because KOTOR let me do so! And not only that, it embraced those choices. At one point, I distinctly remember triple-crossing someone – double-crossing the guy that I’d already double-crossed. Its plot twist is legendary, and on the off chance that the long-in-development-hell remake ever comes out, I won’t spoil it for you here. But whether it was visiting plenty of planets (including Kashyyk!), bonding with your party members (shout-out to my favorite droid, HK-47!), or planning out my evil Force attacks by stacking up my attacks in the turn-based combat system, KOTOR was the ultimate pairing of a beloved IP and an industry-leading developer.

Another Xbox console exclusive followed, albeit from a different team within BioWare. While KOTOR director Casey Hudson was planning something even bigger for his team’s next project, another crew at BioWare delivered the sublime and historically underrated Jade Empire, which was steeped in Chinese mythology. IGN gave it a 9.9 out of 10 (on a 100-point scale!) back in 2005, and while it was nowhere near the commercial success KOTOR was, it was every bit as big a hit with critics and fans.

And then came Mass Effect. BioWare promised us a space opera – a trilogy in which our choices in each game would carry over to the next and ultimately affect the ending to the whole story. Microsoft had wisely signed it as a console exclusive, and boy oh boy did it pay off. Mass Effect was one of the core memories most people have about the Xbox 360. It was released in fall of 2007, the greatest stretch in Xbox and quite possibly gaming history – and it actually delivered on its space-opera promise. As your custom Commander Shepard, the first in the trilogy introduced us to the universe and humanity’s place within it – including Shepard’s path to becoming a galaxy-protecting Spectre. It introduced the Reapers, and so many phenomenal companion characters from Wrex to Garrus to Liara among many others. And like KOTOR, it too allowed you to be a Paragon of good or a Renegade of evil. (And yes, I once again tested the limits of how bad BioWare would allow me to be.)

The first is my personal favorite of the trilogy, but for many that honor goes to Mass Effect 2, which leveled up your relationship with Shepard’s companions and more or less built the entire campaign around them. As promised, your save file imported into the sequel, bringing with it your Shepard’s look and choices from the first game. It also evolved Mass Effect’s gameplay from light turn-based, semi-tactical combat to more of a pure third-person cover shooter while sacrificing none of its role-playing elements.

The controversial trilogy-capper is best remembered for its ending, which upset fans so much that BioWare tried to improve it in a post-launch patch. But forgotten alongside that is how great the rest of it was. It took the time to really let you – and your Shepard – say goodbye to the friends you’d made along the way (or at least, the ones you hadn’t chosen to kill or sacrifice), and its combat was improved further over Mass Effect 2, making Mass Effect 3 a truly world-class third-person shooter alongside its well-established role-playing bonafides.

Whatever your thoughts of Mass Effect 3’s ending, BioWare had done what they said they’d do: They built a three-game space opera that spanned more than 100 hours of gameplay over the course of the five years it took to get all three games out the door. We developed meaningful bonds with its characters, in part because they’d been written so well. It was a bold RPG experiment, and one that, for my money, hasn’t been replicated or even attempted since.

The Mass Effect trilogy was, in hindsight, probably BioWare’s peak by just about any measure, but the studio kept going. Another original IP, Dragon Age, saw four RPGs released over a decade and a half – with the third of those, 2014’s Dragon Age Inquisition, taking home IGN’s Game of the Year Award. Anthem was a bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to bring BioWare’s storytelling talents to the hot-at-the-time live-service space. The studio cleaned Mass Effect up nicely for an excellent remaster of the trilogy in 2021 after the BioWare Montreal team’s disappointing Mass Effect Andromeda in 2017. Heck, BioWare even made a full-blown RPG starring Sonic in a team-up with Sega in 2008’s Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood!

And after announcing a fifth Mass Effect game that fans hoped would redeem the series after Andromeda, that project is now canceled alongside the studio being shut down. As sad as this day is – for both fans and BioWare employees who were there at any point during its 31-year history – I am left with a fulfilling sense of gratitude to this studio for all of the memorable gaming experiences it’s given me. With respect to CD Projekt Red, Larian, and Bethesda Game Studios, there’s never been a better RPG developer over a longer period of time than BioWare. It won’t be forgotten.

EA has paused development on a mobile multiplayer Sims game in favor of moving forward with a rumored Sims 4 sequel.

EA announced a wide variety of changes and projects today, including the closure of BioWare and the cancelation of Mass Effect 5. It also seemed to lean into recent rumors that DICE and Respawn are making a new Star Wars Battlefront game. One other big change is that EA is shelving a mobile-first multiplayer Sims project, formerly known as Project Rene and now known as Project Lotus. The game was once envisioned as the next big Sims title, but plans changed to more of a mobile spin-off once EA saw that people were still hanging on to The Sims 4.

With that game being put on the back burner, EA is shifting its focus to a Sims title that it's calling Project Evergreen. Although EA hasn't revealed what the focus of this game will be, rumors have been swirling about this project for a some time now. The game, which was rumored to be under the codename Project X, is expected to be a sequel to The Sims 4. Now, here's where it may get a bit confusing: It's not The Sims 5. It's being viewed more like The Sims 4 2.0. I know, it is unnecessarily complicated.

As covered by Sims Community, the project is reportedly targeting September 2027 as its deadline to go gold, suggesting the game would launch in fall 2027. The game will release on PC and is also expected to be optimized for portable handhelds, such as the Steam Deck. If it really is releasing next year, we will likely hear more about it at The Game Awards or sometime in the first half of 2027.

Earlier this year, the team behind The Sims hinted at a new single-player game in the franchise for PC and console, noting that half of its development team was working on The Sims 4 and its "next evolution."

Ultimately, this sounds like a win for fans who have been hoping for a new traditional entry in the franchise. The Sims 4 was released in 2014, meaning it has been 12 years since the franchise got a new game. There are a ton of updates and expansions that keep the game fresh, but building something from scratch and moving away from all the bloat could be a strong move for the future of the series.

This is an IGN opinion piece by Jackie Thomas, who has been playing and replaying Mass Effect for nearly 20 years now.

I'm the sort of person who replays my favorite games whenever there's a big gap between releases. And those favorites usually end up being from the Mass Effect series, whether it's just the first game or a run through the entire original trilogy. So, for me, a Mass Effect 5 that captured the magic of the first three games has been something I've been looking forward to since before it was even announced in 2020. Now, that game will never exist, thanks to EA closing down BioWare. And that f**king sucks.

When Mass Effect came out in 2007, I stood in line to get it on release night, and I played it incessently until I finished absolutely everything in it. I did the same thing when the second and third games came out, except I also played the previous games again ahead of time so everything would be fresh in my mind.

Ever since Mass Effect 3 came out, I've replayed the original games maybe a dozen times. I don't even drastically change the way I play Mass Effect each time I play it. Even after nearly 20 years of experiencing the original game, I still play an Adept every time, because pistols are OP and biotics are cool. And I still ultimately do a paragon playthrough, even when I tell myself that I'm going to be bad and play renegade. Mass Effect has felt like home to me for years, and it became my ultimate comfort game.

But eventually, Mass Effect Andromeda came out, and even though I tried to power through it, I ultimately gave up after a deluge of bugs and weird writing turned me off. I still haven't gone back and finished that game, but I still find myself downloading and playing Mass Effect when I run out of other games to play. Hell, with the amount of times I've played the first game, I can probably navigate most of its empty optional planets with my eyes closed. After today's news, I might just download it and play it again in solidarity.

You'd think that after getting burned on Mass Effect Andromeda, I would've learned my lesson. But in the years since Bioware teased what should have the fifth Mass Effect game, I let myself hope that it would redeem the series once again and land in that annual ME replay rotation.

And I know that after Anthem, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard's weird shift to a straight-up action game, I didn't have much of a reason to believe that Mass Effect 5 would have been this magical return to form. But I think what's hitting me the hardest about BioWare's closure is that we'll never know whether or not Mass Effect 5 would have been good.

The truth is, we didn't know much about the next Mass Effect game at all. Hell, I don't even know if it would have been called Mass Effect 5, but that's just easier to say than 'the next Mass Effect game' over and over again. Ever since it was announced, BioWare had been pretty quiet about the project, only really speaking up to reassure fans that it was still in development. And look how that turned out.

But some of the things that popped up about the game over the years did look pretty cool. Bioware showed off some concept art late last year, showing a Krogan civil war with a properly grizzled Krogan leading a whole squad of the grumpy lizards in a fight. I want to play that game.

Likewise, in one of the only teasers we ever got, the camera zooms through the galaxy, past what looks like the ruins of the Citadel, until it finally shows an older Asari climbing up some snowy ruins. And we don't see her full face, but even from the side, it sure looked like Liara. And, again, I'd love to revisit her character after she fully becomes an Asari Matriarch. But again, that game will never exist.

But there is at least hope that some games that are at least similar to Mass Effect are on the horizon. Just last year, Mass Effect director Casey Hudson's new studio announced Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so when that game comes eventually comes out, I'm sure I'll burrow my way into it like a tick and not come out for a week. But, just like Mass Effect 5, there's not a lot we know about Fate of the Old Republic quite yet. But at least Hudson has come out and said that it won't take until 2030 to release, so maybe we'll get it in 2029.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is another one that I've had my eye on, and while I haven't really watched the show or read the books (even though both are on my list), I know that universe has a lot of potential for a Mass-Effect-Like. Then, there's Exodus, which is made by Wizards of the Coast of all companies, and has Mass Effect alumni working on it. The art style even makes it look like a Mass Effect game. Luckily, both of these titles seem like they're on track to actually come out next year, but only time will tell there.

As much as I'm earnestly looking forward to all three of those games, they're simply not Mass Effect. The aesthetics are there, the writing should be there, and it looks like the gameplay for Exodus at least is going to be quite good. And Fate of the Old Republic is a Star Wars game, and my love of Star Wars is what led me to play Mass Effect in the first place.

But no matter how good they end up being, I don't know if it's going to be as relaxing as hunting down all of the Keepers in the Citadel, and I probably won't be fighting a giant Reaper skeleton inside of a black hole. I am at least thankful that no matter how controversial Mass Effect 3's ending was, it was at least an ending. I would have loved another chapter and a chance to see whatever Bioware was cooking up with Mass Effect 5. But, at least I'll always have those first three games, and no amount of EA's mismanagement is going to take that away from me.

Humble Bundle has dropped an exciting new game bundle focused on Double Fine, and it's stacked with 11 great games to add to your Steam library. For as low as $8, you'll get beloved titles like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and Broken Age to boot up on your PC, which is an incredible deal when you take into account the bundle has a $146 value overall. That's some seriously huge savings.

The bundle won't be available for very long, though. From the time of writing, there's just over 16 days left to grab it, so keep that in mind if you want to mull it over before buying. Below, you can get a good look at all of the games included in this bundle before picking it up.

Humble Bundle – Double Fine Publisher Bundle

EA has confirmed that DICE and Respawn are working on a new project together, adding more fuel to rumors about Star Wars: Battlefront 3.

As part of a larger letter about the future of EA, the publisher confirmed that it is working on new Battlefield games. It also noted that in addition to Battlefield, DICE and Respawn are working together on a "future project" that they hope will unlock growth in their shooter portfolio. This follows rumors from earlier this week that the two companies are working together to make Star Wars: Battlefront 3.

"In addition to our future Battlefield titles, we’ll be bringing together our Respawn and DICE studios to collaborate on a future project that will help us achieve that ambition," said EA. "We can’t wait to share more when the time comes."

Variety also corroborated the Battlefront 3 rumors via sources, though nothing was shared on what the game will look like or when it might release. Other rumors recently suggested that Bungie was in the mix to work on Battlefront 3 or perhaps another project in the Star Wars universe, though nothing has been confirmed on that front. Star Wars: Battlefront 3 has been one of the most demanded titles over the last decade.

DICE's second crack at the Star Wars shooter franchise was controversial at launch due to issues with its monetization strategy, but the game itself was praised up and down by fans. It has remained a respected title among Star Wars lovers, and they've frequently rallied together to demand a sequel. Now, it seems like it will happen, though this time with the assistance of Respawn.

The Titanfall and Apex Legends studio has its own experience working on Star Wars through the Jedi games and the recently-released Star Wars Zero Company. Respawn also worked on a canceled Star Wars shooter, rumored to be a Mandalorian game, leaving fans to wonder what could've been. Only time will tell what this new Respawn and DICE game really is, but if it's Battlefront 3, it has serious potential to be something special.

This news came alongside some doom and gloom. EA confirmed that it was canceling the next Mass Effect and shutting down veteran RPG studio BioWare. The news comes after about a decade of commercial and critical misfires from the studio with games like Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

CD Projekt has revealed what to expect from the Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 update, which ties in with the release of Netflix anime Edgerunners 2.

Edgerunners content includes a new side quest called Clampdown, which is set before the events of Edgerunners 2 (CD Projekt recently confirmed that Edgerunners 2 is set in 2078, just one year after the game itself). During this quest you’ll get a new 5-piece gear set based on the character King from Season 2. There’s also a new radio station that has tracks from the Edgerunners series.

But there’s plenty more coming with 2.5 unrelated to Edgerunners, including more side quests. The Welcome to Paradise! side quest takes you on a journey to uncover a mystery and explore Night City on a guided tour narrated by Richard Night, the founder of Night City itself. There’s also a new side quest that acts as an extension of Fool on the Hill, which includes new tarot cards.

Meanwhile, 2.5 lets you customize your hand cyberware, which will let you give your Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, Monowire or Projectile Launch System implants a new look. Each Glamdoc is located in a unique shop, along with their own intro scene with voiceover and animations, and offers a unique catalog of cyberware skins with customizable colors.

Perhaps the most significant addition with 2.5 is the new Double Trouble perk in the Cool tree, which lets you dual-wield Pistols and Revolvers from the Power category for the first time. The hope is that the perk will enable an entirely new playstyle, and I’m sure fans will get a kick out of trying it out.

Elsewhere, there’s cross-platform mod support on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X and S, and various quality-of-life improvements, such as saves in the “Load Game” menu grouped by separate playthroughs, and, finally, an FOV (Field Of View) slider on consoles.

On the tech side of things, there’s support for DLSS 4.5, including up to 6X Multi Frame Generation or Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, and the 2nd Generation Transformer Model, and various performance improvements.

Overall, 2.5 is a welcome surprise for Cyberpunk 2077, after CD Projekt had indicated it had no plans for further DLC for the hugely successful game. Of course, The Witcher 3 is getting a new expansion 12 years after launch, so perhaps CD Projekt will return later on with a new expansion for Cyberpunk 2077. For now, though, 2.5 is sure to spark a return to Night City for lapsed players, and give fans of Edgerunners a push to jump in if they haven’t already.

Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 update patch notes:

Edgerunners Content

• Added a new side quest, Clampdown, set before the events of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2. To unlock it, complete The Heist and two gigs for Wakako, then wait for a message from her.
• Added a new 5-piece gear set based on the character King, which can be obtained during the Clampdown side quest.
• Added a new radio station, HKGN 102.0 FM, featuring a selection of tracks from the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners series.

Show Off

• A brand-new clothing collection has arrived in Night City! 5 new outfit sets can now be purchased from certain clothing vendors:
• Maxiwear: available in Heywood, Arroyo, Little China
• Jinguji: available in City Center
• NetWatch: available in Kabuki, Japantown
• IconAmerica: available in Pacifica, Badlands, Northside
• And one more set that will hit Night City shelves just a little later...
• The NUS Infiltrator clothing set can be now purchased from clothing vendors in Kabuki and Japantown.
• 4 new TWINTONE skins for Quadra Turbo-R V-Tech are now available via Twitch Drops.
• Some of the hairstyles that were previously exclusive to NPCs are now available for V. Please note that some hairstyles are available only to feminine or masculine body types.
• Show off your chrome! You can now customize your hand cyberware. Equip your Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, Monowire or Projectile Launch System, and visit one of 5 Glamdocs (marked with a spray paint icon on the map) to give your implants a fresh, new look. Each Glamdoc is located in a unique shop, along with their own intro scene with voiceover and animations, and offers a unique catalog of cyberware skins with customizable colors.
• Sometimes one gun just isn't enough. The new Double Trouble perk in the Cool tree (along with four auxiliary perks) introduces an entirely new playstyle, allowing you to dual-wield Pistols and Revolvers from the Power category.
• Added frames from the Cyberpunk Trading Card Game to Photo Mode, allowing you to make your preem shots look like custom cards.
• Added new poses in Photo Mode to show off your dual-wielding prowess.

Mod the World

• Added Cross-Platform Mod Support, powered by mod.io, a first step into cross-platform modding that allows you to easily browse and install a selection of player-created mods directly from the in-game menu. More mods will become available over time. The feature is available on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S.

Upgrading the World

• Welcome to Paradise! Added a new side quest that takes you on a journey to uncover a mystery and explore Night City on a guided tour narrated by Richard Night. It unlocks after completing The Heist and reaching level 15 Street Cred.
• Added 12 new Minor Arcana Tarot Cards to discover across Night City. The Tarot menu now has separate sections for Major and Minor Arcana. The new tarot cards are part of a new side quest, an extension of Fool on the Hill, which activates after scanning any of the new cards. Collect them all to get a special reward.

Quality of Life

• Saves in the “Load Game” menu are now grouped by separate playthroughs.
• Added item filters to apartment and vehicle stashes.
• Modded saves in the "Load Game" menu are now marked with a dedicated icon. Please note that achievements and trophies cannot be earned while playing on console from a modded save file.
• Added an FOV (Field Of View) slider on consoles.
• Updated the selection of AMD FSR options. FSR 3 upscaling is no longer included, while FSR 2.1, FSR 4, and FSR 3.1 Frame Generation remain available.
• Updated the CD PROJEKT RED Account connection, My Rewards and telemetry consent menus.

Technology

• Added support for DLSS 4.5, including up to 6X Multi Frame Generation or Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, and the 2nd Generation Transformer Model.
• Added support for glasses-free 3D effects on compatible Samsung Odyssey 3D monitors, along with a Motion Comfort setting that lets you balance 3D depth and viewing comfort.
• Added support for MetalFX Frame Interpolation and Denoising on Mac.
• Added a toggle in settings for FSR Anti-Lag 2.
• Introduced various performance optimizations, including improvements specifically for Ray Tracing and for PlayStation 5 Pro.
• Improved HDR rendering to provide more accurate colors, brightness, and contrast on compatible displays.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue on Nintendo Switch 2 where saving the game could result in a "Save failed - insufficient space" error.
• Fixed an issue where adjusting HDR settings on PlayStation 5 had no effect.
• Things Done Changed - Fixed an issue where the Delamain cab could get stuck after crashing into another vehicle, blocking quest progression.
• Fixed an issue where enabling Film Grain had no effect.
• Fixed an issue where tagging enemies while scanning could also cause V to crouch or stand up when using certain control schemes.
• Fixed an issue where controller settings for the Third-Person Camera were missing.
• Fixed several typos in various languages.
• Added various other fixes for features and content introduced since Patch 2.1.

As part of the ongoing Fallout Day celebrations, Bethesda has revealed new Fallout partnerships in the real world.

The highlight for me is the expansion of the World of Fallout exhibit at the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. This includes a collection of props, costumes, and memorabilia from the games and the Amazon TV show. The update will introduce two new galleries, doubling its footprint and featuring interactive installations, museum artifacts, and interpretive displays. Check out pictures of the exhibit in the slideshow below:

Across the globe, the Fallout Cafe returns to Tower Records in Tokyo for a second year, offering Fallout-themed food and exclusive merchandise. We’ve got images of what to expect if you can make your way to Japan for a visit. Images including of the menu are below:

Back on home soil, the third annual Fallout Night with the Texas Stars is set for October 24. Fans who attend can receive a collectible Fallout bobblehead.

And finally — and perhaps most importantly! — Bethesda and Jones Soda’s next collaboration is Project T.W.I.S.T. (Taste-worthiness Initiative for Shelter Transition), which invites fans to help choose the flavor of Nuka Twist. This is important because the flavor of Nuka Twist has not yet been established in game content. Voting takes place on the Jones Soda website October 21-31.

Nuka-Twist was added to Fallout 76 as a Nuka-Cola variant consumable as part of the Nuka-World on Tour update. Drinking it gets you a 10 minute, +2 buff of one of your 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, so it’s pretty handy. Watch out for those +5 rads, though.

Already this week, Bethesda has shown off three eye-catching mods for Fallout 4, one of which launched yesterday, October 20. Fallout Day itself is this Friday, October 23 (October 23, 2077 is of course the day in the Fallout timeline the bombs fell, sparking The Great War that caused the irradiated wasteland fans of the franchise have been playing in over the last few decades).

Fallout’s 30th anniversary arrives next year, so expect some big announcements from Bethesda then. What’s it working on? It’s got everything from Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters to Fallout 5, with an Obsidian-developed Fallout spinoff in there somewhere. Work continues on Fallout 76 and Fallout Shelter, and Season 3 of the Fallout TV series is also incoming. In short, Microsoft is doubling down on Fallout, with new Xbox boss Asha Sharma striving for increased profitability.

CD Projekt Red loremaster Patrick Mills has revealed the exact year Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 takes place, amid speculation from fans about what it means for the ending of Cyberpunk 2077.

According to Mills, Season 2 takes place not long after you bite the bullet and finally meet Hanako at Embers in Cyberpunk 2077.

"Ok so the thing is that I am seeing a lot of people assuming S2 takes place before 2077 but it doesn't, it takes place in 2078," Mills confirmed in a post on Bluesky. "Moving things forward, time doesn't stop in Cyberpunk."

Mills previously posted about a misunderstanding he had seen in early reviews of the series, but wanted to wait until it was out before dropping a truth nuke.

In Edgerunners Season 2, powerful corporation Arasaka doesn’t quite have the same pull it did during the events of Cyberpunk 2077, which is a hint that the anime takes place after the events of the game. There are also some other smaller and bigger details, but like the loremaster, I don’t want to spoil things for you.

Now they know Edgerunners 2 is set just a year after the events of Cyberpunk 2077, fans are trying to work out what it means for the plot of the game. Some believe it suggests certain endings are canon. Or, perhaps it would be better to say, some believe it suggests certain endings are not canon. In truth, Edgerunners 2 doesn't force CD Projekt into making a decision about canon — a bit like Bethesda's position on Fallout canon in the context of the Amazon TV show, which takes place after all the video games.

The world of Cyberpunk is set to expand further, of course, with the in-development Cyberpunk 2 (where and when the game takes place is yet to be announced). There's also a live-action film in the works, although according to CD Projekt, the Cyberpunk 2077 movie won't retrace the game's steps.

Before all that, Cyberpunk 2077 is set for a surprise Edgerunners 2-themed update this week. CD Projekt has confirmed it features cyberware customization and a new dual-wielding playstyle. CDPR released a similar update to tie into the first season. The Cyberpunk 2077 Edgerunners update added a short questline that let players track down the cool yellow jacket the protagonist of Season 1 wore. There’s a good chance the new update will come with some similar surprises when it drops on October 22.

More details about the Edgerunners 2 update will be revealed today, October 21, 2026, during a special episode of REDstreams.

A vocal group of Fortnite players are calling for a boycott of Epic's battle royale game after a skin of Obsession’s Nikki Freeman, played by Inde Navarrette, sparked backlash among fans.

On October 20, Epic Games revealed that Nikki Freeman is coming to Fortnite in a special collaborative video with the character’s actress, Inde Navarrette. And while there’s no denying Obsession’s popularity — Nikki was one of the most-searched Halloween costumes on Google this year, after all — her inclusion as a purchasable skin in a video game is rubbing some fans the wrong way.

Warning: Major spoilers for Obsession below!

This uncomfortable reaction is in direct response to Nikki being the victim of Bear’s wish in Obsession. In the movie, Nikki’s body is overtaken by a malicious entity while the real Nikki is locked away in her own mind, unable to do anything but watch as the entity possessing her commits atrocities while wearing her skin.

Be careful what you wish for… Nikki is coming to Fortnite tomorrow 🪾 https://t.co/iSY6eseqVX

— Fortnite (@Fortnite) October 20, 2026

She is also taken advantage of by Bear, who engages in intimacy with Nikki’s physical form without getting the consent of the real Nikki. (Bear becomes aware of this fact in the film, but decides against trying to save her, asking, ‘What’s so bad about being with me?’ to which Nikki replies, ‘I’ve never been with you, Bear.’)

Needless to say, making Nikki — who is a victim of rape — a playable character in a video game isn’t exactly being met with positivity from some folks in Fortnite’s playerbase. That’s not including her special emote, which sees her hold up Wiley E. Coyote-style signs reenacting the famous dinner scene where she flips out on Bear, or the skin’s recreation of her iconic frown.

“Wanting your rape victim character in a game as a fun element (ironically Nikki suffers from has no control on her body and mind in movie) is a f**king choice,” one user wrote on Twitter/X. “Also, f**k Fortnite too for this choice.”

“I kind of hate how Nikki was turned into a meme like this. It kinda overshadows the actual horrific s**t her character actually went through in the movie, in my opinion,” another said.

“So, lemme [make] this make sense: Fortnite is using a character who has a narrative about loss of coercion, loss of consent, psychological torment, and tragic violence for entertainment purposes? Fortnite monopolizing on obsession gives me the ick. I'm grossed out,” another argued.

A viral post, which has since been deleted, even called for a boycott of Fortnite altogether due to the skin — but another segment of the game's playerbase isn't on board with this idea, with several arguing that Nikki is merely a fictional character and that her Fortnite skin “isn’t that deep.”

“There’s obviously heated discussion surrounding Nikki being put into Fortnite, but I don't really get how the character [being] integrated into [the] game = not taking her story seriously. Most people BUY these things BECAUSE they care about a character, it's usually not for a punchline,” one said.

“Let’s please not try to reduce Nikki to just another ‘victim,’” another asked. “Yes, her story is horrific and tragic, but that does NOT mean we shouldn’t allow for her to appear in multi-media regardless of quality.”

“People have such a hard time comprehending that Nikki isn’t a real person and that she’s a fictional character,” yet another posed.

This isn’t the first time Nikki’s inclusion in other events an IPs has sparked a debate; she was also featured as a wandering character at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, which sparked its own discourse in the horror scene as to whether or not this was actually ethical (not to mention concerns about the actors’ safety). Indie Navarrette, for her part, seems to have no issue with the whole thing, even posing with one of the character's actors for a photo while visiting the theme park this October.

A brand-new ID@Xbox Showcase Presented by IGN has arrived, and it was filled with exciting upcoming games you won't want to miss. From remasters/director's cuts of Shrek 2, The Wolf Among Us, and Zero Parades to games about shredding paper (Paper Shredder!), tongue-grappling and pinball-bouncing (Croak), and digging holes (A Game About Digging a Hole Together), there it a lot to look forward to.

To ensure you don't miss a thing, we've gathered all the announcements and reveals in one place for you to check out! Let us know which was your favorite!

Shrek 2 Remastered Brings Everyone's Favorite Ogre Back to the Spotlight

Shrek 2 Remastered is bringing our favorite ogre back to the spotlight, and it will allow players to relive iconic moments and visit memorable locations from the film. Enjoy new graphics, new features, and more when Shrek 2 Remastered launches on November 10, 2026, on Xbox Series X/S.

The Big Bad Wolf Is Back in The Wolf Among Us Remastered

The Big Bad Wolf is back in The Wolf Among Us Remastered, and you can check how this new version of the 2013 classic looks in action. The remaster comes with enhances visuals, upgraded animation and audio, an all-new Noir Mode, behind-the-scenes content, playable deleted scenes, a redesigned werewolf form for Bigby, and more.

The Wolf Among Us Remastered will be released on October 29, 2026.

Zero Parades: Director's Cut Arrives Next Month

Zero Parades: Director's Cut will be released on November 3, 2026, on Xbox Series X/S and PC, and this new trailer features gameplay from the espionage RPG developed by ZA/UM. It's almost time to face you one final mission and all the trials and tribulations that come with it.

Travel to a Harsh, Remote Exoplanet in Magenta Down

Check out the reveal trailer for Magenta Down, a sci-fi atmospheric adventure game where players must traverse a harsh, remote exoplanet to endure injury and radiation exposure with scarce supplies.

Magenta Down will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2027.

Tongue-Grapple and Pinball-Bounce as a Frog Prince in Croak

Tongue-grapple and pinball-bounce to your heart's content in Croak, an upcoming hand-drawn 2D precision platformer game coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S in March 2027. Players become a frog prince and aim to reach the Witch's Banquet, fighting bosses, finding collectibles, and more along the way.

Transcend Through Music in Mr. Records

Feast your eyes on the Shine Level of Mr. Records to see more of George's upcoming adventure. Who is George? An old dreamer with an extraordinary gift that lets him transcend through music.

Mr. Records will be released on PC and Xbox Series X/S in Spring 2027.

See Both Worlds of Chronoscript: The Endless End In This New Trailer

Bosses and gameplay from Chronoscript: The Endless End take center stage in this new trailer that showcases the upcoming exploration-based action-adventure game comprised of two worlds: a 3D-rendered grand residence littered with thousands of manuscript pages, and the 2D pen-and-ink illustrated worlds within them.

Chronoscript: The Endless End will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in early summer 2027. It is also coming to PS5.

Love Is A Roguelite (LIAR) Mixes Turn-Based Tactics, Deck-Building, and Dating

Say hello to Love Is A Roguelite (or LIAR for short), an upcoming game that mixes turn-based tactics, deck-building, and dating, all set within a procedurally generated Love Story. Your choices matter thanks to the proprietary LoveSync system, so choose wisely!

Love Is A Roguelite launches in Fall 2027 on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Protect What's Yours in Drill Keeper

New gameplay has been revealed for Drill Keeper, the upcoming deck-building roguelike siege defense game that see players traversing the galaxy to secure vital resources for their people. Protect your mining operations, design labyrinthine pathways and traps to halt your foes, and more.

Drill Keep will be released on PC Game Pass in summer 2027.

Push Your Luck in Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game

Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game received a new trailer and gave a new glimpse at the sinister roguelike deckbuilding where you'll "build your deck, push your luck, and combine powerful synergies to tip the odds in your favour.

Mr. Magpie's Harmless Card Game Xbox Series X/S and PC in early 2027.

Craft, Battle, Make Friends, Explore, and More in Waveling Island

Waveling Island is an upcoming cozy creature-collecting game that features hand-drawn pixel-art and an island filled with mysterious creatures.

Waveling Island is headed to Xbox Series X/S and PC soon.

A Game About Digging a Hole Together Proves Things Are Always More Fun With Friends

It's always more fun with friends, especially when digging a hole! In A Game About Digging a Hole Together, you'll be able to dig a hole at a beach with your friends. Dig together, collect resources, sell them, upgrade your equipment, and search for the promised buried treasure.

A Game About Digging a Hole Together will be available on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox on PC on December 4, 2026, and PC via Steam, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 at a later date.

Scramble Knights Online Gets a Release Date Trailer

Scramble Knights Online is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC on October 26, 2026, and to celebrate the release date, a new trailer was released that showed off new gameplay for the MMO-lite action RPG. Get ready to step into the kingdom of Terracott as a knight-in-training and embark on a grand adventure.

Shred, Sweep, Upgrade, and Cut Down Tower-High Piles of Confidential Records in Paper Shredder

Paper Shredded is an incremental game where players need to shred their company's paperwork to earn a $1,000,000 payout. Shred, sweep, upgrade, and cut down tower-high piles of confidential records to uncover what's hidden below.

Paper Shredder will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in winter 2026.

Wield a Sealed Blade and Rise in Rebellion in Vanran

Embark on an adventure in Vanran, an upcoming dark fantasy action RPG where a human slave in the Demon Realm wields a sealed blade and rises in rebellion.

Vanran will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2027.

Survive a Slum Inhabited by Infected Outcasts Suffering from Cognitive Decline in Rustown

Rustown, the upcoming story-driven action-adventure game, has been given a release date of June 30, 2027, on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Check out this new trailer to see the game in action, which happens to be set in a slum inhabited by infected outcasts suffering from cognitive decline. Avoid danger without fighting, uncover clues, and try to find your missing father.

Say Hello to the Recently Resurrected Fritz and the Team in this Red Fritz Trailer

Vampire spy house leader Daddy introduces us to the recently resurrected Fritz and the team you'll lead in this latest trailer for Red Kiss. From developer Wispfire, Red Kiss is a tactical narrative RPG where you'll have to dispatch a team of vampire spies through the tense and fractured streets of Cold War Berlin.

Red Fritz will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2027.

Solve the Case in Graytail

Get ready to solve the case in Graytail, an upcoming mystery action-adventure title set within a 2.5D pixel-art world. After a famous pilot vanishes over the Pacific, a detective with a headache that never stops embarks on a journey to find them with the pilot's daughter in tow.

Graytail will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC in November 2027.

Arctic Eggs, Mouthwashing, and No, I'm Not Human Sizzle Reel

Check out this sizzle reel to learn about three exciting upcoming games - Arctic Eggs, Mouthwashing, and No, I'm Not Human.

Arctic (October 20, 2026) has you frying eggs on Mount Everest, Mouthwashing (October 29, 2026) has you taking responsibility for a dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter, and No, I'm Not Human (2027) has your interrogating door-knocking strangers to spot deadly shape-shifting imposters.

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.