We’re a little over four months into this new generation of graphics cards, and while we would usually be waiting more than a year for cards like the Radeon RX 9060 XT, we got this one three months after the flagship, which is a blistering pace. I mean, the RX 7600 XT, the 9060 XT’s direct predecessor, launched in January 2024, more than a year after the Radeon RX 7900 XTX that headlined that generation.

That does mean the 9060 XT is launching a little sooner than it would have in previous years, but it also means it comes less than two years after the card it’s replacing. That’s going to suck if you bought a 7600 XT thinking it was going to be current-gen for a couple years, but if you’ve been on the fence about upgrading, the 9060’s on-average 40% performance uplift over its predecessor rewards your patience a bit.

Unfortunately, like Nvidia did recently with its RTX 5060 Ti, Team Red is launching two versions of the Radeon RX 9060 XT, one with 16GB of VRAM for $349 and one with 8GB for $299. AMD only sent the 16GB model for review, but you should still avoid the 8GB version – games are becoming more dependent on VRAM every day.

Specs and Features

Both versions of the Radeon RX 9060 XT are built on the RDNA 4 graphics architecture, just like the incredible RX 9070 XT. Both versions of the 9060 XT are built on the same AMD GPU, with 32 Compute Units, making for a total of 2,048 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs). The only major difference between the two cards is the memory budget, with one 16GB model and an 8GB version for $50 less.

This makes the RX 9060 XT a substantial step down from the 9070 XT, which features double the Compute Units, or even the 9070, with its 56 CUs. The Radeon RX 9060 XT does have the same amount of VRAM as these more powerful cards, but on a much smaller 128-bit memory bus. Compared to the 256-bit bus of Team Red’s pricier cards, you get half the memory bandwidth, at 320GB/s.

Compared to its predecessor, though, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT basically takes the same specs of the RX 7600 XT and moves them to a new graphics architecture, along with some faster memory. Both cards have 32 Compute Units with a total of 2,048 SMs and 16GB of VRAM on a 128-bit bus. However, the memory is clocked a bit faster on the new generation, at 20GB/s, compared to 18GB/s on the 7600 XT.

What’s confusing, though, is that AMD essentially has two power budgets listed in the specs it shared with me. There seems to be both a 160W ‘base’ version of the card, and a 180W version, presumably meant for factory-overclocked versions. The card I tested peaked at 182W in my testing suite, so I obviously got the latter. There likely isn’t a major difference between these two cards when it comes to performance, it’s just that clock speeds are obviously going to be higher in a graphics card with a higher power budget. This only accounted for around a 200MHz difference in my testing, which isn’t enough to make a meaningful impact to gaming performance.

Just like the 9070 cards, AMD is not selling its own reference version of the RX 9060 XT, but the Gigabyte RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16G I was sent had no problem dealing with temperatures. Throughout my testing, the 9060 XT peaked at just 59°C, with a hot spot temperature of 86°C. That’s thanks to this card’s triple-fan design, which leaves plenty of room if you want to try your hand at overclocking this card.

Performance

While the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT can totally play most games at 1440p, it really shines at 1080p, especially if you like to turn on all the spiffy graphics effects in modern games. On average, I found that the 9060 XT was about 41% faster than the RX 7600 XT at 1080p – not bad considering that card is just over a year old. What’s more interesting, though, is how well it compares with the more expensive RTX 5060 Ti.

I don’t have a RTX 5060 for testing yet, so comparing instead to the RTX 5060 Ti, Nvidia’s latest mid-range card was on average about 12% faster than the Radeon RX 9060 XT, despite being 19% more expensive. The performance difference does grow to 14% when I eliminate 1440p and synthetic performance, but you’re still getting a better deal with the AMD card, assuming prices hold up. They probably won’t, of course, but I can’t tell the future.

As with all of our graphics card reviews, all testing was done on the most recent driver, to make sure all data is up to date. That means Nvidia cards were tested on Game Ready Driver 576.52, AMD cards on Adrenalin 25.5.1, and the Intel Arc B580 was tested on Intel Graphics Driver 32.0.101.6874. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT itself was tested on a pre-release driver provided by AMD.

While it doesn’t exactly represent real-world gaming performance, 3DMark is usually the first test I run on a new graphics card, as it shows the potential I’m dealing with. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT got 2,995 points in Speed Way and 3,753 in Steel Nomad. These are both DirectX 12 tests, with and without ray tracing, respectively. And while the 9060 XT did fall behind the RTX 5060 Ti in Speed Way, it essentially broke even with the more expensive Nvidia card in Steel Nomad. The 9060 XT did so well in Steel Nomad, in fact, that it beat its last-generation counterpart by a whopping 60% at a similar price point – something I haven’t seen much of this generation.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is generally considered optimized for AMD hardware, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that AMD edges out a win against the RTX 5060 Ti here, even if it’s just a slight lead. Team Red’s latest is about 8% faster than the RTX 5060 Ti in this game at 1080p, averaging 202 fps with FSR 4 and DLSS set to ‘Quality’, respectively.

Cyberpunk 2077 is basically on the opposite side of the spectrum, and in my experience performs better on Nvidia’s GPUs. Even here, though, the Radeon RX 9060 XT managed 80 fps with the ‘Ray Tracing Ultra’ preset at 1080p, with FSR set to Quality. The RTX 5060 Ti was faster, for sure, but only by 10%, averaging 88 fps with the same settings, just with DLSS. This shows how far AMD has come, too, as the RX 7600 XT gets just 46 fps with the same settings – making for a 74% performance jump.

I like to test Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition without upscaling, simply because the game only supports DLSS. And while I do think upscaling is necessary these days, I’m not going to enable it on Nvidia cards if I can’t apply similar settings on the competing cards. But even in this ray tracing-heavy game with no upscaling, the 9060 XT hits 59 fps at 1080p, which is just 9% short of the 5060 Ti’s 65 fps.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the Radeon RX 9060 XT averages 105 fps with all the settings cranked, compared to 101 fps from the 5060 Ti and just 73 from the Radeon RX 7600 XT. The difference between Team Red and Green’s latest cards is within the margin of error here, but considering the price difference, that’s still a win in AMD’s favor.

Total War: Warhammer doesn’t support anything in the way of ray tracing or upscaling, so it gives a clear picture of pure rasterization performance, which is especially important if you play older games. In this game, the Radeon RX 9060 XT managed an average of 125 fps, compared to 154 from the 5060 Ti and 91 from the 7600 XT. That’s a 19% lead in favor of Nvidia.

What’s fun about Assassin’s Creed Shadows is that it’s so demanding, which is a far cry from how easy Mirage was to run, especially on AMD hardware. Shadows has become one of the most demanding benchmarks in my entire suite, and the 9060 XT manages just 45 fps on average at 1080p with all the settings maxed out. Nvidia isn’t too far ahead here either, getting just 51 fps at the same settings.

Black Myth Wukong is another incredibly demanding game that has ray tracing baked into it by default. Just like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the Radeon RX 9060 XT scrapes by with 45 fps, compared to 57 from the 5060 Ti and 31 from the RX 7600 XT.

A Budget Card?

Whenever I talk about any graphics card launching this year, pricing is the elephant in the room. Because AMD is advertising a price of $349, which is totally reasonable for what the RX 9060 XT is. However, there is a very high possibility that the price is going to be much higher when it actually lands on store shelves. I just can’t possibly predict how much the price is going to move when the card actually launches a day after this writing.

It’s entirely possible that AMD is able to produce enough of these cards to keep the price relatively stable over the next few months. Unfortunately, I have no way of accurately predicting this one way or the other.

If the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT stays available for around $349, it’s an incredible graphics card. It’s significantly faster than its last-generation counterpart and manages to stay within grasping distance of the more-expensive RTX 5060 Ti. But if the price rises by a hundred dollars? Well, it becomes a lot harder to recommend, and that’s without the 8GB model further complicating the matter.

My advice? Pay close attention to the store listing and make sure you’re getting what you pay for. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT has the potential to be an awesome mid-range GPU, just don’t pay too much for it.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

A Switch 2 Edition for No Man's Sky will be available alongside the launch of Nintendo's new console, developer Hello Games has announced.

This version will come as a free upgrade for current No Man's Sky owners, and offer a range of improvements such as full multiplayer, high-res texture support, and improvements to resolution and frame-rate.

No Man's Sky on Switch 2 also offers cross-save and cross-play, so you can pick up exactly where you left off on Switch 1 — or elsewhere.

Hello Games has said the Switch 2 version of its successful sci-fi adventure survival game is the product of 12 month's work getting to grips with Nintendo's new hardware, after receiving development kits a year ago.

This new version arrives alongside (and, unsurprisingly, also contains) the latest big update for No Man's Sky, entitled Beacons. This overhauls settlements and adds town management to the game, with some surprising new features.

Alongside new homesteads to discover, you'll be able to become mayor of multiple locations. This will let you design hangout locations such as bars or fishing ponds, defend your towns from attack, and even get involved in the lives of your settlers, welcoming them in and helping them resolve disputes.

Beacons launches as a free update on all No Man's Sky platforms today, ahead of the game's Switch 2 version launching tomorrow, June 5.

Nintendo has a swathe of Switch 2 Editions also set to arrive tomorrow, although some of these will need paying for, while others (Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) also come included with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Today, Nintendo has released an array of updates to existing Switch 1 games in readiness for them to be played on Switch 2. For some, such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, this means improved visuals on when running on Nintendo's new console. For others, such as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, this includes support for GameShare sessions.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Mario Kart 8's souped-up 200cc difficulty isn't yet included within Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World — but Nintendo has hinted at the possibility of its reappearance via a post-launch update.

Nintendo added 200cc mode to the Mario Kart series for the first time in Mario Kart 8, though it only turned up in a post-launch patch. Could Nintendo be planning to do the exact same thing for the series' follow-up? It seems very likely.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki acknowledged that 200cc had been a popular addition to the series, but stopped short of confirming anything around its return — for now.

"Some players are really happy with the addition of high difficulty modes likes this," Kosuke teased. "However, does that mean we're going to consider adding engine sizes that are larger than 150cc to Mario Kart World? I'm afraid I can't say just yet."

It's not surprising that Nintendo has not included 200cc within Mario Kart World at launch. The mode's arrival at a later date allows the game's fans to learn courses and get used to playing at the standard 150cc (or lower, if you need) before the tougher challenge of 200cc arrives at a later date.

This will likely only be more of a consideration with Mario Kart World's multiplayer-friendly gameplay, in which groups of players are encouraged to team up and explore together, their GameChat open, and cameras switched on.

Presumably, whenever Mario Kart World's 200cc update does arrive, all players will need to be playing at the same level to explore the game's map together. It's therefore better, once again, to let players get to grips with 150cc first before things step up a gear, or engine size.

Mario Kart World launches this week alongside Nintendo Switch 2, and boasts a seamless map that can be explored at will. Just don't go into this offering expecting it to be like Forza Horizon, IGN has said. And in other important Mario Kart news, IGN asked Nintendo if the game's already-beloved Cow character is really eating beef.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The Witcher 4 tech demo offered a stunning look at what CD Projekt has insisted is just that: a tech demo. As IGN has reported, it is not representative of The Witcher 4 gameplay. But it’s hard not to look at the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo set within the world of The Witcher and wonder if it gives us a clear sense of what to expect from the game, which is still years from release.

The tech demo, captured on a PlayStation 5 and running at 60 frames per second, follows Ciri as she explores the never-before-seen region of Kovir in the midst of a monster contract (CD Projekt confirmed Kovir is a playable area in The Witcher 4).

There is an incredible amount of detail in the tech demo, with fluid animations on a level we have yet to see on the current generation of consoles. Ciri and her horse Kelpie have particularly impressive movement and interactions with each other, NPCs, and the game world as they make their way through the mountains of Kovir to the bustling port town of Valdrest. At one point in the demo, CD Projekt upped the NPC count in the market scene to 300 individually animated characters. The showcase ended with a first look at Lan Exeter, the winter capital and a major port city in Kovir.

CD Projekt, of course, knows what it’s like to set expectations for one of its upcoming video games and then miss them. Just look at the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 back in 2020, which the company spent years recovering from. So, there is an inevitable question for CD Projekt: is what we’ve seen in The Witcher 4 tech demo what The Witcher 4 will look like?

That’s a question we put to Kajetan Kapuściński, Cinematic Director at CD Projekt, at Epic’s State of Unreal 2025 event. His response was as vague as you’d expect from a developer working on a game that won’t be released until 2027 at the earliest, but he did say this: the tech demo "shows our ambition."

Here’s Kapuściński’s response in full:

“So what you've seen today is a tech demo that was powered by Unreal Engine 5, and that was a project that we worked on together with the Epic team. That was a demo that we crafted so both companies can work on some technology that will be powering Witcher 4 in the future.

“So it's not gameplay of The Witcher 4 per se. What you have seen shows our ambition, our cutting edge technology that we co-developed to make the game possible to be made. And it shows our artistic direction as well, and our, let's say, how we would like to approach some things.

“But everything you saw is subject to be changed. That is a snippet of what we have now. We wanted to show it to the public, we wanted to show what we worked on together. And now having these tools, having these possibilities, we are working with the game.”

In the same interview, we asked Wyeth Johnson, Senior Director, Product Strategy at Epic Games, if the tech demo’s performance (60fps with ray tracing on a base PS5) reflects what players can expect to play on a PS5 in a released product.

“Oh absolutely. We can't lie here," he replied. “The technology that we're making has to be directly relevant for what players expect and players across the entire hardware spectrum are asking for amazing 60 frame per second gameplay.”

60fps with ray tracing in a big open-world game like The Witcher 4 on base PS5 is beyond the performance we’ve come to expect from the current generation of consoles, but Johnson said working with CD Projekt on The Witcher 4 tech demo “allowed us to push very rapidly and aggressively towards far higher performance at incredible fidelity.”

This, clearly, is beyond what we’re expecting from the five-year-old PS5. Players have become conditioned to believe that if they're playing on a PlayStation or an Xbox and they want ray tracing, it’s 30 frames per second and that’s it. But Johnson insisted the console hardware “is incredible” and there’s more performance to be squeezed out of it.

“What you have to do is you have to be clever about how you take advantage of that hardware,” he said. “And I think if you were to summarize many of the things that we did, it's to take things that normally happen serially one after another and make them go wide, make them go parallel. Much more hardware capability is harnessed when you take that approach.

“When you look at things like our new Unreal animation framework and this fast geometry streaming, letting you move through the environment at whatever speed is desired, all of these things are there to go much more wide, and that enables you to unlock the hardware a little bit more easily. And these are intrinsic to Unreal Engine going forward.

“You have to take time to understand how you can unlock all these little amazing capabilities that were handed by the hardware manufacturers. You work with it and you find the areas, you find the bottlenecks and you optimize.

“It's somewhat remarkable; if you look at some of our more early demos, you're seeing two, three, 10x improvements in performance with very, very similar visuals, and that's just you're finding the edge cases, you're finding the ways to improve, and then you go right down to the bottom and make those intrinsic to what Unreal can do. Then amazing developers like CD Project Red get to then build on top of that.”

Expectation for The Witcher 4 is sky-high, and fans want to know exactly what to expect from the game right now. On this, Kapuściński kept his cards close to his chest. But he did offer a tease of sorts:

“If you analyze the flow of the demo, you can actually pick up some elements that can show the direction that we are heading to, and the possibilities that come with our cooperation and what we've achieved so far. So for example, looking at the forest, there's this vista bit when you can see a huge forest, which is now using Nanite foliage. The ability to render such amount of trees and foliage of such fidelity, that's something that unlocks new powers.

"And also the Unreal animation framework, the optimization that comes with the amount of NPCs, so moving characters that you can see in the screen space. We have another vista moment with the huge crowd, like over 300 animated actors there. And that's something we need, and that's something that if you connect some dots that shows the direction we want to go to.”

So, huge, highly detailed forests and huge, highly detailed crowds confirmed for The Witcher 4!

One of the big questions about The Witcher 4 is target launch platforms. With this tech demo on PS5, the suggestion is it will be a cross-gen game that also runs on the next-gen consoles (PS6 and the next-gen Xbox). But if it’s due out on current-gen, does that also mean it will be available on the underpowered Xbox Series S? It’s worth remembring that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI is, as it stands, also due out on current-gen consoles including the Xbox Series S. So if GTA 6 is possible on Microsoft’s cheaper console, perhaps The Witcher 4 is, too.

CD Projekt has indicated The Witcher 4 won’t be out until 2027 at the earliest, so it may be some time before we find out.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Surprise! Unknown Worlds has dropped a new 10-minute Q&A about all things Subnautica 2.

The video interview between community manager Donya Abramo and creative producer Scott MacDonald gives us few more details about what's coming up in the action survival game, including confirmation that we're going back to a silent protagonist. There was also an emphasis on assuring fans that rather than being a co-op game that lets you play solo, Unknown Worlds has specifically designed Subnautica 2 to be a single-player adventure with optional co-op (yes, there is a difference!).

As for just how big Subnautica 2 will be? "The playable map size will be bigger than what we originally launched in early access on the original Subnautica, and even Below Zero's early access release," said MacDonald. "But just how big and how deep you'll be able to go over the course of early access? We're not exactly sure yet. The entire world is being handcrafted by a talented team of world designers and environment artists, and they're pouring everything into the world right now.

"We're aiming for this to be the biggest and most exciting Subnautica game ever once we hit 1.0 in a few years' time."

Not everything is coming back bigger and better, though. Apparently, the Cyclops, Seamoth, and Sea Truck will not return, but new vehicles are being developed that are "designed in the same spirit, just more suited to the brand new environment they need to navigate."

"Though a big sub won't be ready for the start of early access, know that the team is hard at work behind the scenes crafting one," added Abramo.

While we're still no closer to a concrete release date, the team did confirm an early access period will launch later this year, and it's because of that early access period that the release is limited to PC and Xbox — there is no way of releasing an early access product on PlayStation as yet. There is sadly no VR support at this time, either.

Right now, there are no plans for proximity chat, but the option is "being investigated" by the development team. In the meantime, it's recommended you connect with your pals via Discord.

The new installment in the Subnautica series accommodates up to four players, taking them to an all-new planet, complete with new environments, flora, and fauna to discover. We still don't know when it's coming, but you'll be able to dive in sometime later in 2025 on PC and Xbox Series, including on Game Pass for top-tier subscribers.

We thought predecessor Subnautica was amazing, awarding it a 9.1, writing: "Subnautica's a survival game with focus and an excellent sci-fi story, but its greatest achievement is its underwater horror." The last game in the series, Subnautica: Below Zero, similarly scored an impressive nine out of ten in its IGN review.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

The developer of Balatro has confirmed the reason his viral hit poker game doesn't have any microtransactions or ads is because seeing games with those types of things "makes me want to put my computer in the dishwasher and set it to pots and pans."

"The honest reason I don't have microtransactions/season pass/ads/100 DLCs/etc in Balatro isn't just about the ethics of those practices, but because when I play other games that have those things it makes me want to put my computer in the dishwasher and set it to pots and pans," Localthunk posted on Bluesky.

"Like, I get why people add those things, but you're shooting your UX in the foot if players are having their first impression and also being bombarded with a bunch of nonsense that isn't actually the game."

When asked if he was "subskeeting" free to download digital collectible card game Marvel Snap, Localthunk replied: "This isn't about them, but I'm not letting them off the hook either lol. There's, like, a 95% chance that if the game is [free-to-play] then the main menu UI is more complicated than the actual game UI."

Microtransactions are an ever-present hot topic within the gaming community, with some developers and publishers accused of exploiting their customers with predatory in-game stores. Some government agencies, like the consumer council in Norway, have called loot boxes exploitative and predatory, and they're banned in some parts of the world like Belgium and the Netherlands. Even some senators in U.S. have called for a ban on "greedy" in-app purchases after they were investigated by the FTC.

Just last week, Activision sparked a backlash when it quietly added adverts to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone's loadout menus, which the company later removed, claiming it was a "feature test" published "in error."

Localthunk was recently compelled to denounce AI art after a subreddit moderator erroneously claimed neither the developer nor publisher Playstack had an "issue" with AI-generated art. Localthunk came out on the record to say: "Neither Playstack nor I condone AI 'art'. I don't use it in my game, I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds. The actions of this mod do not reflect how Playstack feels or how I feel on the topic. We have removed this moderator from the moderation team."

Balatro is the viral deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping and outrageous combos. IGN's Balatro review returned a 9/10. We said: "A deck-building poker roguelike of endlessly satisfying proportions, Balatro is the sort of fun that threatens to derail whole weekend plans."

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Ahead of the console’s launch tomorrow, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is back in stock at Amazon UK for £74.95.

Otherwise, this latest controller for the Switch 2 is out of stock at almost all other major UK retailers, including My Nintendo Store, Argos, ShopTo, Smyths, Currys, John Lewis, EE, and Game UK.

The developers of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 have essentially said "it’s what the Emperor would have wanted" and made a big weapon change in the game not for balance reasons, but because it’s just really, really cool.

Saber Interactive released patch notes for the Siege Update (Patch 8), which is available now on the Public Test Realm (PTS) for PC players, and in those confirmed it had extended the weapon arsenal in PvE to add the Thunder Hammer for the Bulwark class.

Thunder Hammers are perfect for bonking the crap out of Tyranids and Chaos Marines with wide, swinging attacks that have great reach, but the weapon type is limited to the Assault class. The Bulwark class is also great, with its huge shield and overpowered, game-saving abilities. But up to this point the Bulwark was unable to wield a Thunder Hammer. It made sense that it couldn’t, given you need two hands to bring a Thunder Hammer to bear on a heretic’s noggin, and you can’t do that while holding a Storm Shield.

Now, a Bulkwark can equip a Thunder Hammer, but there is an understandable catch: if the Bulwark uses a Thunder Hammer, it can’t also use a Storm Shield. This significantly changes what the Bulwark is all about, which is being a Space Marine who hunkers down for proper last stand stuff. The class has various abilities tied to using the Storm Shield, such as Shield Bash, which when using a Thunder Hammer are no longer available.

What I love is the patch notes explanation from Saber Interactive justifying this change. It basically amounts to an admission that it doesn’t make a great deal of sense lore wise, but they’re doing it anyway for FUN.

“We are adding this option only because we think it will be very cool and it's a shame that only one class can use the Thunder Hammer,” Saber explained. “We are not done with Bulwark, more interesting gameplay things are to come.”

As a result, the Bulwark’s perks have been updated, which you can find detailed in the patch notes below.

Elsewhere, there is a hugely exciting tease for expanded customization options coming to Space Marine 2, one that’s already got fans hyped for what’s to come in future patches.

We are preparing a very big update for customisation, players will be able to reuse chapter champion armour parts on other classes (with lore accuracy, clipping and technical restrictions). While it's not going to be in this patch, we wanted to mention this in this patch notes to assure you that we are going to continue expanding our customization system.

The patch notes do not reveal any new weapons or Operations mode maps, so it seems the focus here is squarely on Siege, which arrives in fully fleshed out form as part of Patch 8 on June 26. But Saber has confirmed new content is set to hit the game, including a new class. Season 4 also includes a new game mode for PvP and a new Chaos enemy. Check out IGN’s exclusive interview with Saber on Space Marine 2’s Siege mode for more information.

There’s a lot happening in the world of Space Marine 2, despite the surprise announcement that development of Space Marine 3 development had begun. Space Marine 2’s year one roadmap remains in place, and a Master Crafted Edition of Space Marine 1 is about to launch.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Patch 8 Siege Update PTS patch notes:

New Features

• New PvE Mode — Siege

Siege Mode expands on our PvE operations, emphasizing endless enemy waves that challenge even the strongest teams. When overwhelmed, players may call reinforcements for assistance. Engage in intense battles across three distinctive sectors, each requiring strategic adaptation. Side objectives emerge during combat, providing essential resources used to summon elite Space Marines or a formidable Dreadnought, drastically shifting battlefield dynamics.

The Battlefield

The battle unfolds within a fortified Imperial stronghold on Kadaku, relentlessly attacked by endless waves of Tyranid and Thousand Sons enemies. The fortress has three rotating sectors: Defensive Positions, the Arsenal, and the Control Room. In each sector, you will face five waves of enemies before your squad advances to the next sector, ultimately cycling back to reinforce earlier positions.

Survival Against Waves

Face increasingly challenging enemy waves, with direct assaults from Tyranids and cunning sabotage by Chaos forces. Brief (1 minute) intermissions between waves offer strategic opportunities, clearly indicated through UI notifications.

Side Objectives

Dynamic tasks such as capturing strategic points or retrieving Data-slates from fallen allies deepen tactical gameplay and supply critical resources essential for continued survival.

Shop and Reinforcements

Earn Siege Mode resources through successful combat and Side Objective completion. You can spend these resources at the fortress Shop. You can:

1) Buy ammunition, medicae stimms, equipment, armour boosts, guardian relic (these items have the same exact behaviour as in Operations Mode).

2) Summon specialized Space Marines providing targeted support and bonuses. Each player can have only one summoned Space Marine.

3) Deploy Cadian Troopers to provide additional firepower.

4) Collectively pool your resources to unleash the devastating power of a Dreadnought.

Boss Encounters

Every fifth wave introduces formidable boss battles, occasionally facing multiple elite foes simultaneously. Triumph in these encounters to progress to new fortress sectors.

Infinite Waves

If your resolve endures through fifteen brutal waves, prepare for endless combat of increasing difficulty, reduced resources, and shorter preparation times. Even the Primarch of the Ultramarines understands that ultimate victory here is unlikely — but your bravery will echo through the halls of eternity."

• Added option to disable bots spawn in Private Mode.

Perfect if you’re looking for a challenge

• RTAO experimental feature added — enables in in-game video settings
• DLSS 4 — better upscale for 50xx series cards.

• New Season Pass Content

Added White Scars Chapter Champion.

Added White Scars Chapter Weapon Skin Pack.

Added White Scars Chapter Customisation Pack.

Added Blood Angels Customisation Pack.

GAMEPLAY AND BALANCING TWEAKS

Extended Weapon arsenal in PvE

• Added Thunder Hammer for Bulwark. Picking this weapon will prevent you from using the Storm Shield.

We are adding this option only because we think it will be very cool and it's a shame that only 1 class can use the Thunder Hammer. We are not done with Bulwark, more interesting gameplay things are to come.

New Finishers for Bulwark

• Adding new finishers for Bulwark with shield — 1 for Hormagaunts and 1 for Tzaangors.

Terminus Update for Absolute Difficulty

• A second Terminus can now appear during a mission.
• The Terminus's HP has been increased by 66% and additional enemy packs will appear upon its spawn and again when its HP is reduced to 50%
• These additional packs are now slightly more challenging featuring more Extremis enemies
• Mission with final bosses can now also spawn Terminus enemies (previously, missions like “Decapitation” didn't allow any Terminus spawns)".

This change is made according to the community poll that we made a while ago. We think that Absolute difficulty wasn't that hard to begin with and now with a slight power creep of constant weapons buffs, perk buffs and prestige perks the situation is much worse.

After doing multiple test we have scrapped the idea of having 2 Terminus enemies in Operations mode at the same time (except in Siege mode), because this meant that you would have to encounter them all of the time, otherwise one run with dual terminus spawns would be much harder than a run with 2 Terminus enemies spawning one by one.

Instead we've tried to make Terminus spawns harder and more intense. We are going to continue to monitor how Absolute Difficulty is, and make necessary tweaks.

Prestige Perks Class Update

Bulwark Prestige Perks Update

• “Rally Point”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Emboldened Stand”.

Old: “Chapter Banner additionally removes negative Status Effects while active.”

New: “When the Chapter Banner is active, all Squad Members do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and cannot be knocked back within its zone.”

Assault Prestige Perks Update

• "Boosted Recharge": The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Unyielding Oath”.

Old: “Collecting an Armour Boost restores Ability Charge by 100%.”

New: "When charging a Ground Pound, you become Invulnerable for 3 seconds."

Sniper Prestige Perks Update

• ​"Boosted Recharge": The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Materiel Upgrade”.

Old: “Collecting an Armour Boost restores Ability Charge by 100%.”

New: "Equipment Damage radius increases by 15%."

Heavy Prestige Perks Update

• “Restorative Capacity”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Honed Precision”.

Old: ”Activating Iron Halo removes negative Status Effects.”

New: "Equipped Weapon's Maximum Spread decreases by 25% when firing without aiming."

Tactical Prestige Perks Update

• "Skilled Supplier": Fixed a bug preventing the player from getting the maximum ammo.

Class Perks Updates

Bulwark Perks Update

Perks have been updated to reflect the addition of the Thunder Hammer to the Bulwark’s arsenal.

• "Forward Momentum": The perk has been updated.

Old: “After a Shield Bash, Melee Damage increases by 30% for 10 seconds.”

New: "After a Shield Bash or Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash, Melee Damage increases by 30% for 10 seconds".

• "Concussive Force": The perk has been updated.

Old: “Shield Bash deals 200% more Damage.”

New: "Shield Bash deals 200% more Damage. Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash deals 100% more Damage and deals area-of-effect Damage within a 7-metre radius. Cooldown is 5 seconds."

• "Merciless Resolve": The perk has been updated.

Old: “After a Shield Bash, Melee Damage increases by 15%, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds.”

New: "After a Shield Bash or Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash, Melee Damage increases by 15%, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits, and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds".

• "Focused Restoration": The perk has been buffed.

“Every 40 seconds, all Squad Members automatically restore 1 Armour Segment “ -> Cooldown decreased from 40 to 30 seconds.

Tactical Perks Update

• "Final Shot": The perk has been reworked.The new perk is “Emperor’s Judgement”.

Old: “After a Finisher, the equipped Ranged Weapon reloads automatically.”

New: "After a Finisher, the equipped Ranged Weapon reloads automatically, and your Primary Weapon deals 20% more Damage for 10 seconds".

• "Communion of Fire": The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Secure Stockpile”.

Old: “Recoil is reduced by 25% and Ranged damage against Extremis-level enemies is increased by 10% for all Squad Members.”

New: “Equipment Charge is restored by 1 for all Squad Members. Cooldown is 60 seconds.”

• "Steady Aim": The perk has been buffed.

“Weapon Spread and Recoil is reduced by 20% and Ranged Damage against Terminus-level enemies is increased by 10%” -> Ranged Damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%.

Assault Perks Update

• "Winged Fury": The perk has been buffed.

“Damage from Melee Attacks executed while sprinting or dashing increases by 40%.” -> Damage increased from 40% to 100%.

• "Hammer of Wrath": The perk has been buffed.

“After a Ground Pound, you take 15% less Ranged Damage, do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds” -> Damage reduction increased from 15% to 20%. Knock back immunity duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds.

Vanguard Perks Update

• "Moving Target": The perk has been buffed.

“Each Melee Attack you land reduces the Ranged Damage you take by 2% (up to 20%). If you do not land a Melee Attack for 5 seconds, the effect ends.” -> Consecutive hit multiplier increased from 2% to 5%. Max bonus increased from 20% to 30%.

• "Retribution": The perk has been buffed.

“After you are grabbed or knocked back, you deal 25% more Melee Damage for 15 seconds.” -> Bonus damage increased from 25% to 30%. Duration increased from 15 to 20 seconds.

Sniper Perks Update

• "Precision Targeting": The perk has been buffed.

“Weapon Spread is reduced by 25% and Ranged Damage against Extremis-level enemies is increased by 10% for all Squad Members.” -> Ranged Damage increased from 10 to 15%.

• "Dexterous Hands": Instigator Bolt Carbine is now also affected.

“Bolt Carbines reload 20% faster, and their Weapon Spread and Recoil are reduced by 15%.”

Weapon Perks Update

Inferno Pistol Perk Update

• "Know no fear": The perk has been reworked.

Old: “When your Health is below 10%, Reload Speed increases by 30%.”

New: “If your Armour is fully depleted, Reload Speed increases by 20%.”

Neo-Volkite Pistol Perk Update

• "Combustive momentum": The perk has been buffed.

“After a Gun Strike, heating speed increases by 30% for 6 seconds.” -> Duration increased from 2 to 6 seconds.

Combat QoL

• If a Sniper type enemy aims at you, using Assault’s Jump Pack ability will allow you to dodge the shot. The sniper will shoot instantly, but the shot will miss.
• Fixed an issue where Neurothropes' Warp Storm afterblasts could stun-lock the player with heavy hits. Now, afterblasts will damage the player but not control them. Additionally, Neurothropes' shots now have a slightly longer delay between them.
• Fixed a lot of minor issues improving overall combat responsiveness

Firearms (PvE Only)

There are not many weapon balance tweaks in this patch because our statistics show that usage and win rate for all weapons is in a good spot right now. With the next big update we are going to focus on weapon versions balance inside each archetype, because this is where we see a big room for improvements.

Bolt Pistol

• Hip-Fire spread decreased by 50%.
• Velocity of spread increasing in minizoom state is decreased by 15%.

Inferno Pistol

• Gun Strike Damage increased by 20%.

PvP

With the next patch we are going to take a closer look at PvP weapon balance.

• Large amount of small fixes in level geometry collision.
• Lots of minor fixes for private lobbies gameplay modificators.

AI

• Spore Mines: Explosion damage is reduced by 55%.
• Neurothrope: Temporary invulnerability is replaced with high damage resistance when it flies up from the ground.
• Lots of minor animation fixes for various enemies.

Customisation

We are preparing a very big update for customisation, players will be able to reuse chapter champion armour parts on other classes (with lore accuracy, clipping and technical restrictions). While it's not going to be in this patch, we wanted to mention this in this patch notes to assure you that we are going to continue expanding our customization system.

• Added Red, White and Blue weapon skins as Siege mode rewards
• Added Prestige reward shoulder pad on left shoulder as well.
• Added left pauldron decal "Ultramarine Sergeant".
• Lots of other minor fixes for customizations of armour parts and emblems.

Levels

• Large amounts of small fixes in level geometry collision and Terminus enemies getting stuck in some areas.

General Fixes

• Fixed an issue where spore mines could spawn on top of the player.
• Fixed several cases where contested health may decrease while performing a finisher.
• Fixed: Combining Sniper's prestige perk "Emperor's Grace" with "Lingering Concealment" perk drains the ability charge while linger is active
• Fixed: Weapon perk "Reloaded Restauration" was not activated by the Sniper's perk "Efficient Readiness".
• Fixed an issue where the Bulwark perk’s “Intimidating Aura” was not triggering with a Perfect Block.

Intimidating Aura is probably the most overpowered perk right now, but we think that it should still work independently from selected weapon

• Fixed a bug with the “Final Shot” perk not increasing damage in some cases.
• Fixed a bug affecting Heavy's “Bonds of brotherhood” perk not granting full health when the player is revived by a bot.
• Fixed an issue where some pick ups were inaccessible as a consequence of the interaction button failing to appear.
• Fixed rare camera bugs after finisher.
• Lots of minor animation fixes for the player.
• Minor UI, sound and VFX fixes and improvements

Tech

• Crash fixes and general stability improvements.
• Matchmaking and network stability fixes.
• Minor memory optimization.
• Improvements to game modding capabilities.

Main Known Issues

• PvE Quick Match - Returning to the Battle Barge from a PvE mission in Quick Match makes the game switch to Offline.
• Performances: Horde Mode - FPS drops may occur.
• PvP - The players are assigned to a random server instead of the one closest to them, which may result in higher latency than usual.
• Localization is not fully integrated in other languages than English.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo has released a wave of patches for many of its biggest Switch games, ahead of Switch 2's arrival. These free updates are now available to download, and include a fresh version of Super Mario 3D All-Stars — the retro game compilation Nintendo controversially only sold for a limted time.

To be clear, these updates are free to download, and separate to the paid Switch 2 Editions of some games that Nintendo is also selling.

As ever, Nintendo has kept the details of many of these patches vague — so it may be that further changes are found in the coming days as fans finally get their hands on Switch 2 and find out for themselves.

In the meantime, the update to Super Mario 3D All-Stars has players wondering whether Nintendo might be planning to put its classic compilation of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy back on sale. Nintendo only sold the game for a specific window around Mario's 35th anniversary, and now only physical copies are available to buy second hand.

If you own any of the Switch games listed below, it might be a good idea to get your updates downloading as soon as possible, since Nintendo's servers will likely be very busy in the coming days.

Here are all of the Nintendo Switch game updates now available to download:

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Version 1.4.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Added support for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
• Added support for the Portuguese (Brazil) system language setting.
  • Because Portuguese is not a supported voice language, the voice content will use the language you select in the in-game options.
• Added support for the Sidon, Tulin, Yunobo, and Riju amiibo.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch:

General

• Added support for the Portuguese (Brazil) system language setting.
  • Because Portuguese is not a supported voice language, the voice content will use the language you select in the in-game options.
• Added support for the Sidon, Tulin, Yunobo, and Riju amiibo.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Version 1.8.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Added support for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
• Added support for the Portuguese (Brazil) system language setting.
  • Because Portuguese is not a supported voice language, if you select the Match System Settings option in the game, the voice content will use English.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch:

General

• Added support for the Portuguese (Brazil) system language setting.
  • Because Portuguese is not a supported voice language, if you select the Match System Settings option in the game, the voice content will use English.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe - Version 1.1.2

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Partially alleviated an issue that occurs when playing on Nintendo Switch 2 where the entire screen flickers during some scenes in the game, such as when a day starts and ends.
  • We will be releasing an update in the near feature to fix this completely.

Note: An update addressing the problem above has not been distributed for “Pikmin 3 Deluxe Demo ver.” However, we plan to perform the same fix as the full game in a future update.

Super Mario Wonder - Version 1.0.2

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Several adjustments have been made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.

Kirby's Dream Buffet - Version 1.0.0a

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Several adjustments have been made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.

Note: The version number in the lower right of the software title screen is still Ver. 1.0.0. The version number displayed in the software menu on the HOME Screen will display 1.0.0a if the update is applied.

Kirby Star Allies - Version 4.0.0a

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Several adjustments have been made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.

Note: The version number in the lower right of the software title screen is still Ver. 4.0.0. The version number displayed in the software menu on the HOME Screen will display 4.0.0a if the update is applied.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Version 1.1.2

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Several adjustments have been made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.

Note: The software update is required to play on Nintendo Switch 2.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Version 2.2.1

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Several adjustments have been made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.

ARMS - Version 5.51

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• Frame rate: Optimized for Nintendo Switch 2 for smoother movement (even when playing with 3 or more players).
• Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.

*Compatible with Ver. 5.4.1 for "local communication" and "LAN play". Not compatible with Ver. 5.4.0 or earlier for "local communication" and "LAN play". Please be aware of the versions of each other's update data.

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain - Version 1.2.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Added support for GameShare.
  • Party Mode content can be played with up to 4 users.
  • The user who will host the GameShare session should select “GameShare” on the mode selection screen after launching the software. They can then choose to use GameShare with Local Users or with GameChat members.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - Version 1.4.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for improved image contrast and brightness.
  • Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.
• Added support for GameShare.
  • Two people can play all the courses, and each person can have their own unique display that is easier to see.
  • The person sharing can press the - button on the title screen or course select screen or go to "Partner Adventure" in the pause menu and select "GameShare + Local Play" or "GameShare + GameChat."

Club House Games: 51 Worldwide Classics - Version 2.0.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Added Korean as a supported language.
• Added support for GameShare:
  • You can play 34 kinds of games with up to 4 players.
  • The user who will host the GameShare session should select “GameShare” from the main menu, then “Via GameChat” or “Play With Local Users”.

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch:

General

• Added Korean as a supported language.
• Several other adjustments and revisions have been made to improve the gameplay experience.

Note: Update data with the above content will also be distributed for the demo “Clubhouse Games: Guest Pass” as Ver. 2.0.0d.

Game Builder Garage - Version 1.1.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• Added support for Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. Up to 8 Joy-Con 2 can be used. (As up to now, 1 USB mouse can be used, as well.)
• As a result of improved processing speed, there may be some changes in behavior in games that were made previously on Nintendo Switch.

Note: An update is also available for the Game Builder Garage Demo version to support the content above (Ver. 1.1.0).

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - Version 1.2.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

To make playing on Nintendo Switch 2 more enjoyable, we have implemented the following features:

• The frame rate has been improved, making the movement smoother.
• Higher resolution makes the graphics clearer.

*Even if you play on Nintendo Switch, you will need to download the latest update data to play online elements.
*Local communication is not compatible with previous versions. Please make sure that you and the people you play with have the same version of the update data.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Version 1.2.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• Frame rate: Optimized for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2 (including Bowser's Fury).
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for improved image contrast and brightness (Bowser’s Fury only).
  • Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.
• Added support for GameShare.
  • You can play “Super Mario 3D World” with up to four people. Press R on the course select screen for “Local/Online,” and then choose “GameShare + Local Users” or “GameShare + GameChat.”
  • In “Bowser’s Fury,” two players can play, with one controlling Mario while the other controls Bowser Jr. Once you can control Mario, press the + button to open “Menu,” and then choose “Local/Online,” and then choose “GameShare + Local Users” or “GameShare + GameChat.”

Note: Does have local user compatibility with Ver. 1.1.0. Does not have local user compatibility with Ver. 1.0.0. Please be careful of the update version on each player’s system.

Super Mario Odyssey - Version 1.4.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for improved image contrast and brightness.
  • Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.
• Added support for GameShare.
  • Two players can play, with one controlling Mario while the other controls Cappy.
  • The user who will host the GameShare session should select “Resume 2P” on the title screen or “Two Players” on the Pause menu, then select “GameShare + Local Play” or “GameShare + GameChat”.

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Version 1.1.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Added a feature to display only favorited echoes in the list of echoes after 30 or more echoes have been learned.
• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.
• Fixed various issues to create a smoother gaming experience.

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch:

General

• Added a feature to display only favorited echoes in the list of echoes after 30 or more echoes have been learned.
• Fixed various issues to create a smoother gaming experience.

Zelda: Link's Awakening - Version 1.1.0

The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:

General

• Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.
• Note: HDR-compatible display required when playing in TV mode.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Kinetic Games' terrifying ghost investigation game, Phasmophobia, is getting the Hollywood treatment.

Horror specialist Blumhouse — the credits of which include Five Nights at Freddy's, The Conjuring, and M3gan — has partnered with the UK developer to create a feature film adaptation. At the moment, nothing else is known, so we're not yet sure who'll be writing or directing it, let alone starring in the movie.

“It’s a big moment for the whole Kinetic team, and the start of something really exciting,” said Daniel "Dknighter" Knight, director of Kinetic Games. “We never could’ve imagined the incredible heights this game would reach when it launched five years ago, and we’re so thankful to our amazing community for the lasting impact Phasmophobia has had in the gaming space and beyond.

"Working with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster marks an incredible new chapter for the game, and we can’t wait to share more as the project develops.”

Phasmophobia is a four-player online co-op psychological horror where you and your team of paranormal investigators enter haunted locations filled with spooky activity and gather as much evidence of the paranormal as you can. Since it launched in early access in 2020, spawning a new genre of ghost hunting games, it's passed 23 million sales thanks to its blend of co-op horror and investigative gameplay. Later this month, we'll get the Chronicle update, which overhauls evidence, the journal, and levelling and progression.

Phasmophobia even made IGN's 25 best horror games ever made list… do you agree with our placement?

We didn't have a great time with Blumhouse's last big horror game adaptation; we gave Five Nights at Freddy's a 4/10: "This big-screen take on the indie-horror sensation has too much plot and not enough of the game's primal security-cam thrills." A second Freddy's move is out in December 2025.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman has commented on whether Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom will make an appearance in the upcoming movie, and seemingly confirmed the character will be absent.

But Shakman's awkwardly-phrased response has left fans doubting the director's words.

When asked about Doom's presence within The Fantastic Four: First Steps by Empire magazine, Shakman stated: "Doom is not a part of my film, and therefore not a part of my purview" (thanks, ComicBookMovie).

On the surface, this response looks pretty definitive. Doom is not part of the film Shakman made, and also therefore not something the director can discuss. But fans have been quick to point towards the post-credit scene added to Thunderbolts*/The New Avengers just weeks before its launch — which wasn't technically a part of the film its director made either.

Indeed, pre-production on the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday (which definitely does feature Downey Jr's Doctor Doom) began with its directors, the Russo brothers, filming Thunderbolts' post-credits scene that links that film with The Fantastic Four.

As the run-up to Avengers: Doomsday continues, fans think the Russo brothers may have done exactly the same thing with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including a scene revealing Doctor Doom to link it forward into Doomsday.

Fans have also pointed to the fact that, in the Marvel comics, Doom is a key antagonist for the Fantastic Four, and in particular its leader Reed Richards. If Doom was to debut anywhere, the end of First Steps would be fitting.

And then there's the fact that, when faced with otherwise confirming what would be a huge reveal, Shakman is clearly limited in what he can say. Will Doom pop up? Whatever the film's director may be saying, it feels likely we'll have to wait until the film's July 25, 2025 launch date to find out for certain.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The Nintendo Switch 2’s launch is imminent, and with it, free Switch 2 updates for more than ten existing games from the original Switch’s library. A pair of these are Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, which are pretty widely criticized for their relatively poor performance on the Switch. I got to play the newly updated Pokémon Scarlet on the Nintendo Switch 2 for thirty minutes, and the Switch 2 upgrades are incredibly clear.

The official Nintendo website says the free Switch 2 updates for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet include:

• “Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.”
• “Frame rate: Improved for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2.”

The vague description definitely put me off at first, but now I know Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet on the Nintendo Switch 2 run in 4K at 60FPS. Or, at least, those are the settings–I didn’t have the equipment to measure if that 60FPS is indeed steady–but by the naked eye, I can still recognize it as markedly improved. As soon as I loaded into the game, on a huge 4K TV, I was stunned by how nice everything looked. No jagged pixelated edges on blades of grass, or even Pokémon, here.

The Switch 2 updates have also increased the number of Pokémon that can appear on screen, and from a further distance. For instance, flying over Casseroya Lake on the Switch 2 was a drastically different experience compared to on the Switch: I saw numerous Pokémon swim along the surface from a distance and didn’t experience any noticeable stuttering once I began to swim. Even when it began to rain, Pokémon Scarlet on the Switch 2 still didn’t struggle even a little. In fact, it continued playing like normal, as if the weather effects were meant to just… work.

The framerate improvements are especially immediately obvious when viewing faraway moving objects, like the windmills by West Province (Area One) - Central, or distant Pokémon and people. I also didn’t experience stalling or glitches when in a raid battle or when Terastalizing. I didn’t get to play online or co-op, however, so we’ve yet to see if the updates improved those aspects (that desperately need it.)

Visuals are subjective, so there’s only so much I can say to emphasize that the difference is certainly noticeable, but you can watch the comparison video on this page. I can also report on some favorable loading time comparisons that will let you judge for yourself.

These approximate comparisons are between Pokémon Violet running on a V2 Switch (the Monster Hunter Rise special edition, specifically) in 1080p, and Pokémon Scarlet running on a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 in 4K.

Loading from title screen:

• Switch: 19 seconds
• Switch 2: 5 seconds

Fast travel from North Province (Area One) to Casseroya Lake:

• Switch: 9 seconds
• Switch 2: 4 seconds

Fast travel from Blueberry Academy to Paldea:

• Switch: 17 seconds
• Switch 2: 5 seconds

Besides the fast travel loading time improvements, the menus are also so much snappier. Models in menus load in pretty much immediately, a stark contrast to the agonizing seconds you’d have to wait on the original Switch between trying on clothes in the menu; or hairstyles or accessories in stores.

It’s a corker of a week for gaming discounts (and very imminent console launches). Basically, your backlog is about to get even heavier. From experimental indies to sprawling open worlds, the savings this week are spread across all platforms like butter on warm banana bread. And with some of these titles dipping to historic lows, it’s not a bad time to fill in the gaps in your shelf (digital or otherwise).

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 16th birthday of Infamous, a PS3 exclusive that I refuse to inexplicably capitalise as inFamous or inFAMOUS (no wait, just did...God damn it). My overriding memory of this super sandboxer from Sucker Punch was that it was edgier and more mature than its Sly Cooper stablemate. Also, it went more or less head-to-head against Radical Entertainment's Prototype.

Despite not letting me flying kick gunships like Alex Mercer, I loved Infamous over its more mean-spirited (and morale-system-less) competitor. There was a real joy of movement to zipping about Empire City as Cole, the newly minted Electro super. SP also wove a compelling tale with a decent twist that drew from two absolute money DC Comics, DMZ and Batman: No Man's Land. It's a sin this joy-sparking classic hasn't been remastered properly for modern audiences.

• Monster Hunter Rise (-75%) - A$14.90
• Disco Elysium – The Final Cut (-70%) - A$18
• Dragon Ball FighterZ (-44%) - A$50.20
• Into the Breach (-70%) - A$5.20
• Ni No Kuni: WotWW (-84%) - A$14.30
• Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 (-41%) - A$47

Expiring Recent Deals

• Lego Horizon Adventures (-51%) - A$53.80
• Cyberpunk 2077 Ult. Switch 2 (-5%) - A$114
• MGS: Master Col. Vol. 1 (-51%) - A$44.30
• Bravely Default II (-21%) - A$63.20
• Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (-31%) - A$59
• Biomutant (-20%) - A$48
• NBA 2K25 - A$29

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

Back to top

Have you won the battle to secure a Nintendo Switch 2 preorder? Well, now it's time to set your sights on the new Pro Controller, which is also available starting today. It's currently orderable via Target, Walmart, Gamestop, and Best Buy for $84.99 with a release date of June 5. Just like the Switch 2 console itself, we expect this item to become much harder to find and possibly more expensive if tariffs go back up, so this may very well be the best opportunity to secure one.

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In a huge reveal at this week’s Unreal Fest Orlando, Epic Games and developer CD Projekt Red showcased a technical demonstration of The Witcher 4. Built in Unreal Engine 5 using many of the latest tools and technologies, it offers a window into the future of The Witcher; not just in terms of what Ciri’s saga will (hopefully) look like, but also the people we’ll meet, the places we’ll go, and the general vibe of the game we’ll one day get our hands on.

There was plenty to see in the 14 minutes of demonstration footage, so we’re here to break it down with the help of CD Projekt Red and Epic Games. Here are the 10 most important things we’ve learned about The Witcher 4 and its new tech demo.

1. The Demo is Not Gameplay

The demo we saw was played live on stage by CD Projekt Red’s Cinematic Director, Kajetan Kapuściński. But while Kapuściński was literally moving Ciri around the game world, the studio is keen to emphasise that the demo is not a true slice of the game. While the mountain region, forest, and port town you saw will be part of The Witcher 4, the quest being played and the characters Ciri interacts with may not be featured in the final game.

As Kapuściński explains to me, this “was a demo that [CD Projekt Red and Epic Games] crafted so both companies can work on some technology that will be powering The Witcher 4 in the future. So it's not gameplay of The Witcher 4, per se.”

So if it’s not gameplay, what can we learn from it? “It shows our artistic direction and how we would like to approach some things,” Kapuściński explains. And so everything you see – the scope of the world, the density of the foliage, the way Ciri and NPCs react to each other, and how cinematic cutscenes blend with the interactive parts – is CD Project Red’s ambition. It’s how the studio currently envisions the game and what the team is working towards.

“But everything you saw is subject to be changed, because that is a snippet of what we have now,” Kapuściński says. In short, this is not a full representation of the final version of The Witcher 4.

2. Will The Witcher 4 Look Like That?

The visual quality of this tech demo is astonishing, but we’ve been here before. Many people will remember the first footage of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Cyberpunk 2077, which turned out to be more ambitious, at least visually, than the final product. In The Witcher 4’s case, it’s especially easy to be skeptical, as this demonstration was running on a regular PlayStation 5 (not even a PS5 Pro!) at 60 frames per second. I asked Wyeth Johnson, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Epic Games, if this quality was genuinely something players could expect to experience on a base PS5.

“Oh absolutely. We can't lie here,” he says. “I mean the technology that we're making has to be directly relevant for what players expect, and players across the entire hardware spectrum are asking for amazing 60 frames per second gameplay.”

The new advancements in Unreal Engine 5.6 are allowing developers to run complex tech more efficiently. As explained in an Unreal blog post, “The Hardware Ray Tracing (HWRT) system enhancements are designed to deliver even greater performance for Lumen Global Illumination. By eliminating key CPU bottlenecks, you can author more complex scenes while maintaining a smoother 60 FPS frame rate.” The promise of all this is that the experiences that are currently typically locked behind a 30 frames-per-second ‘Quality’ mode will be available at 60fps – all without requiring new hardware.

“The goal that we set at the very beginning, to make this demo and play it live on a standard PlayStation 5 in 60 frames per second, that was a challenge on its own,” says Kapuściński. “And pushing towards that allowed us to achieve these optimizations that allow us to use technology on a bigger scale.”

3. We're Headed North. Very North

The technical demo takes place in Kovir, a region in the very north of The Continent, the world in which The Witcher takes place. It’s situated north-west of the lands of Redania and Temeria, locations you’ll be familiar with from The Witcher 3. Its mountainous terrain is resource-rich, and so mining is one of the kingdom’s key industries. Kovir is the world’s leading exporter of minerals, and among those minerals is salt; you’ll have noticed that Ciri’s quest in this demonstration is to investigate a salt merchant’s missing cargo.

Fans of The Witcher books have waited a long time to visit Kovir, but creating it for a video game is no easy task. As Game Director Sebastian Kalemba explained as part of the demonstration, “So much of The Witcher world is natural, organic, especially Kovir with its dense forests and wild nature.” The Witcher 3 featured some grand woodland environments that remain impressive even 10 years later, but the forest shown in this demo is a league ahead of them. It stretches as far as the eye can see, with detailed pine trees creating a blanket of green through the mountain’s ravine. Both vertically and horizontally, there’s an astonishing amount of foliage detail.

“I think for the Witcher franchise, the forest is definitely the soul of the game,” says Charles Tremblay, VP of Technology at CD Projekt Red. “And this is something that we were struggling [with] since the beginning of the project. How are we going to make the next generation of foliage?” The answer was Nanite Foliage, a new Unreal technology that has a whole new approach to how assets like leaves, flowers, and pine needles are loaded into the environment. It allows for a much more detailed natural world without the need for constant load times and pop-in – and it was that that has helped CD Project Red work on a seamless forest environment that is so richly detailed.

4. A Horse Named Kelpie

For hundreds of hours we travelled around The Continent on a very beloved steed. But Roach was Geralt’s horse. Ciri needs her own mount, and luckily she has one. Kelpie is a black horse and we can see her in action for the first time in this tech demo. While Kelpie is new to the games, this horse has roots in The Witcher books. Originally belonging to a member of the Guild of Merchants named Hotspurn, Ciri took ownership of Kelpie when he died. Recognised as a magnificent horse wherever she goes, Kelpie’s best trick is that she can be summoned by rubbing a magical bracelet (it’s as if she were written to be a video game horse).

In the books, Kelpie is said to be able to jump over seven-foot-tall walls with ease. Anyone who’s played The Witcher 3 will tell you that’s an impossibility with Roach – he’s more likely to disappear and end up on a roof. And so all this begs the question: will Kelpie be easier and more enjoyable to control than Geralt’s old steed?

“No offense to Roach, but when you have this jank it can get you out of the immersion, that's for sure,” admits Tremblay. “We want [players] to explore the world with [Kelpie] as a companion and it has to be close to perfection, for sure.” New tech like Unreal’s multi-character motion matching should hopefully ensure riding Kelpie is a smooth experience.

Like so many of The Witcher’s creatures, Kelpie has a mythological connection. In Scottish folklore, a Kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit that has the ability to disguise itself as a horse when on dry land. Could this name hint at Kelpie also being able to take Ciri across spans of water? We’ll just have to wait and see.

5. The Quest and The Manticore

As we’ve established, this showcase is a technical demonstration rather than a slice of the game, and so there’s not really a quest to see, at least not in the game sense of the word. But Kalemba wanted to ensure the demo had a sense of narrative running through it – this is CD Projekt Red, after all.

“The big challenge was how to make a tech demo, but in a way that we'll also be able to incorporate story and bits and pieces from this world,” he explains. “I love that narrative layer in this entire piece, [it] actually even helps to boost the technical achievements behind the entire demo.”

In that narrative layer, we see that Ciri has taken on a classic bit of Witcher work. She’s accepted a contract from a salt merchant to find his missing cargo and crew. Unluckily for him, both his salt and men are long gone. Luckily for Ciri, their grisly fate arrived via the blood-soaked jaws of a manticore. And, as we all know, killing monsters is exactly what Witchers are known for.

It’s a pleasant surprise to see a manticore in this demo. Production materials that were leaked during the development of The Witcher 3 suggested that manticores were planned to be part of Wild Hunt, but they were cut from the final game. While this tech demonstration is by no means confirmation of anything appearing in The Witcher 4, we at the very least have been able to see one of the beasts rendered in Unreal Engine 5. Hopefully we’ll get to fight it in the final version of the game.

Including this quest was important to Kalemba. “One of the common denominators between the writing [in the] books and the games is a cocktail of genres. It's a cocktail of experience,” he says. The reveal trailer shown at The Game Awards last year, he explains, was a more “grounded” experience that showed the ugly realities of living in the world of The Witcher. “Here you have this adventurous vibe, you know what I mean?”

6. Welcome to Valdrest, Population: Over 300

As Ciri adventures through Kovir, she returns to Valdrest, the port town that’s home to the trader who gave her the salt contract. It’s also home to over 300 other people, thanks to a whole host of tech optimisations and Unreal Engine’s new animation framework. That means larger, more realistic crowds – Novigrad will hopefully feel primitive in comparison.

Among the town’s population we see men, women, and children, a marketplace full of traders and guards, several dwarves, a few sex workers, entertainers, and a number of different animals, including a tamed bear. Perhaps most impressive is the variety of body types and unique animations on display; it feels like everyone is an individual, something emphasised by unique characteristics, such as a disabled man walking with a crutch, or a mother wrapping her arm around her child. It’s an example of Epic’s metahuman technology bringing ever-increasingly lifelike and varied characters to video games. Something that can also be seen in the way they interact with each other…

7. A Responsive, Living World

The NPCs in Valdrest are interesting for many reasons beyond just their visual variety. As Kalemba explained during the demo, “Notice how responsive the world is. Character actions directly affect what happens around you, sometimes even setting off chain reactions. Everything is working together.” We see this in action as Ciri bumps into a merchant carrying a crate of apples, which causes him to lose balance and drop his fruit all over the floor. The apples, fully rendered with physics, begin to roll down the hill. A nearby chicken, startled by the noise, clucks and flaps away.

We also see how NPCs can react to Ciri – upon spotting her, a guard says “Oh bugger, not her again,” and spits at Ciri as she walks past. It’s reactive behaviour like this that helps sell a Witcher’s shadowy reputation. Many people are prejudiced against these mutated monster hunters. “The idea is that there are physical interactions that when you get poked at, you get a reaction to it in a way that feels plausible to you,” says Johnson. “All of these things keep you in the world.”

There are a number of other cool events we see, such as a man being thrown out of a tavern (apparently for cheating at Gwent – does this mean our beloved card game will be back for another round?). It’s unclear if these behaviours are scripted or dynamic based on schedules or routines à la The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, and when asked, CD Projekt Red would not say what its ambitions were there. But the goal is a living, breathing world.

“For us, the world words we are creating, it's super important for us to actually make them as vivid and as believable as possible,” says Kapuściński. “Naturally behaving, properly looking NPCs are an important part of it. So yeah, we've proved that with previous games, and we're not aiming any lower than that.”

8. Seamless Cinematics

Because this is a technical demonstration and not actual gameplay, we didn’t see a lot of “game” – you’ll no doubt have noticed how the camera swung away from Ciri’s conversation with the merchant before any kind of dialogue system and UI could be shown. But what we did see is a vision of how dialogue sequences in The Witcher 4 will begin, and it’s completely seamless. The Witcher 3 featured brief loading screens as it transitioned from the gameplay camera to the cinematic camera, but all that’s gone now thanks to Unreal Engine’s tools. Now, as Ciri approaches the geographic trigger point for a dialogue – in this case, a balustrade – the camera automatically ‘unhooks’ itself from its regular game position behind Ciri and begins to frame the scene as required for the cinematic.

CD Projekt Red first achieved seamless game-to-cinematic transitions in Cyberpunk 2077, where it was vital to maintaining the first-person immersion. While things are a little different here, thanks to the third-person perspective, it’s cool to see the studio’s vision for keeping the experience flowing naturally.

9. A Small Gift for All Witcher Fans

Right at the end of the demo, Kalemba said that the demo was going to finish with “a small gift for all Witcher fans.” That gift was a first look at Lan Exeter.

While it is briefly mentioned by characters in both The Witcher 3 and its expansion, Blood and Wine, this is the first time we are seeing this grand city rendered for a video game. Lan Exeter is a port city in Kovir and the kingdom’s winter capital (there is also a summer capital, called Pont Vanis) that features in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher books. With no pedestrian walkways, the only way to navigate Lan Exeter is via its canal network. Unsurprisingly, the city is essentially a wintry, fantasy Venice.

The Great Canal that runs through Lan Exeter leads to a number of important places, but the most important of them all is Ensenada Palace; the residence of the King of Kovir and Poviss. On the boat ride to the palace, a visitor would also be able to see the grand homes of many admirals and business magnates. It seems a sure bet that we’ll be visiting at least one or two of those estates when we visit Lan Exeter in The Witcher 4.

10. The Next Generation of Open World RPGs

As the demo draws to a close, Kalemba says, “I think what we’re doing together [with Epic Games] is going to bring in a new generation of open world RPGs.” But what exactly does that mean?

“For us, story [and] quest is always key,” says Tremblay. “And now with the immersion, we want people to experience this world, but the technology should not be in the way. We want people to feel like they belong to this world, they interact with the world, that they can experience the emotion of the character, feeling that they are connected to the story. With our partnership and all the tools we build and all the technology, I think it'll be yet another level for us going forward.”

“For us, we don't want to get in the way of artistic vision,” says Johnson. “We want everybody who uses Unreal Engine to come at the tools and the technology unburdened by what they imagine and believe that it can't do. We want [them] to come to the technology with a vision of ‘Here's what we want to achieve. We're going to dream big, and we hope that the engine moves out of our way as efficiently and effectively as possible and allows us to achieve it.’”

Matt Purslow is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

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