Marcus Morgan, Obsidian's VP of Operations, came by IGN Live to discuss The Outer Worlds 2 in the lead up to its much-anticipated October 29 release date, including its Flaws system, a new ice planet that has become one of his favorites, a goo pistol, and more.

Morgan began by sharing that the sequel is digging deeper into the RPG aspects, remarking, “Obsidian is rooted in RPGs. We wanted to evolve with Outer Worlds.” He's not even comfortable calling The Outer Worlds 2 part RPG, part FPS. Instead, he stressed he would "only ever call it an RPG."

However, the team heard a lot of feedback that fans wanted gunplay and combat to evolve, so there will be plenty of new weapons to look forward to, including some that are science-based. Morgan also described “a melee weapon that, if you hit it to the beat, it amplifies the damage.” These new additions are meant to add to the experience while retaining the RPG core.

“One of my favorite weapons is the goo pistol," Morgan added while joking he doesn't condone littering in real life. "You take this biomass canister and you dump the goo into the gun and you chuck the canister away."

Morgan also wants to let those who have never played the first Outer Worlds to know that they won't get lost in this sequel, noting, “We’re moving to a brand new colony, Arcadia. with a brand new set of characters.” He described the Earth Directorate, the organization you are part of, as “sort of the space rangers of the universe. You’re there to protect against the tyrannies of capitalism, authoritarianism and various aspects of extreme religions with certain group."

Morgan was also particularly excited by Outer Worlds 2’s Flaws system, saying it was a way to take the usual idea of leveling up and putting a humorous spin on it. For example, one of these flaws is “The Sungazer Flaw - if you stare at the sun for too long you can regain health but the world is blurred out.” Another is for those who never run out of ammo as you'll do more damage. If you do let it run down, however, you'll be penalized with a debuff for a bit." He described the Flaws as “A fun way to integrate progression with levity.”

As for the Psychopath Perk, Morgan remarked, “One great thing in Outer Worlds 1 is you could kill every single person, and we brought it back in Outer Worlds 2. And you'll get a perk if you do that. Also, you can finish a quest even if you kill the quest giver.” On the other hand, “You can be a pacifist if you choose. You can talk your way through the entire game [without killing anyone]. You’ve got the entire spectrum.”

When it came to bugs, Morgan noted “We’re already in our bug fixing mode. This is probably the earliest we’ve been in that mode.”

Among the new planets in The Outer Worlds 2, Morgan revealed, “One of my favorites is a planet called Cloister. It’s a giant ice planet you go to because there’s a super computer trying to solve a big calculation.” He elaborated by saying the computer is connected to one of the game’s groups of religious fanatics who believe they can predict the future using math. In this case, the super computer and the immense energy (and resulting heat) it takes to power it are on Cloister to keep it cool, and Morgan said “I loved the nuance of why we created the ice world.”

Lastly, Morgan mentioned the first game’s Dumb mode and how they are leaning into those sorts of options again for Outer Worlds 2. They’ve also integrated their dialogue system into the title screen, and Morgan explained that as you load up the game “You might hear prompts like ‘Hey, you seem to be dying a lot. Should you lower your difficulty?’”

The Outer Worlds 2 will be released on October 29, 2025, and it will officially be Microsoft's first $80 game.

For more, check out our hands-on preview of The Outer Worlds 2 and the incredible Moon Man Statue and artbook from Dark Horse for the game.

Anno 117: Pax Romana will officially be released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 13, 2025.

This latest entry in the beloved Anno series is finally taking players to Rome and allowing them to become a governor in charge of, among other things, encouraging economic growth, expanding their empire through war, leading a rebellion, uniting the different people in the region under one banner, and much more.

We were able to get our hands on Anno 117: Pax Romana in May and said, "I can already see myself losing dozens of hours to Anno 117: Pax Romana. Much of what made Anno 1800 such a great time has been deftly carried over here, while the building-specific bonuses and dedicated research tree are each smart innovations that, deployed wisely, can supercharge your economy."

Anno 117 takes place, unsurprisingly, in 117 AD and sets you loose in the uncharted territories of the Roman Empire with two provinces - Latium and Albion - under your control. The choice is up to you in how you rule and expand, and the fate of an empire will be up to you.

We had the chance to speak to creative director Manuel Reinher and brand director Haye Anderson about why this is the most exciting time to be or become a fan of the series and why this really is an Anno for the modern age."

"We want to tell the untold story of how it was to govern Roman provinces," Reinher said, "During that era, there was over 200 years of peace and it was the time after a big conquest. And we are talking an empire of people from three continents that accounted for almost 20% of the world's population. So, the story we are trying to tell is how did the Romans manage to stabilize this?"

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.

We’ve finally gotten our first look at IO Interactive’s new James Bond game: 007: First Light. It’s an origin story of the infamous spy, showing how he “earned the number” of 007.

So far, everything we’ve seen has been cinematic and story-focused, so there are still plenty of questions lingering about how First Light will play, and who exactly this new Bond will be. Fortunately, I was able to sit down with IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak at an IO Interactive event this weekend and grill him on everything Bond. While he wouldn’t tell me who they had cast as the new Bond (the internet thinks it’s Patrick Gibson, but Abrak says they’re “waiting a bit” to reveal the cast), he did confirm that 007: First Light isn’t part of the film canon; it’s a “standalone, reimagined interpretation.”

“I think from the get-go that was extremely important for us that we will be able to put our fingerprints on this,” Abrak said. “This is the first game we are making that is not our IP. IO is a creative house that's created five original IPs and we are doing the sixth IP on the Fantasy Project [literally codenamed Project Fantasy] we're working on as well. So we have to pour something of ourselves into what we do.

“...It was such a huge opportunity to take such a beloved franchise and then a privilege to be able to pour our originality into that. And our take was, well, we wanted to reimagine his becoming story. We wanted to reimagine a coming-of-age, this young man with all his quirkiness and optimism, his wits and his personality. Getting introduced to these intrigues and espionage, this harsh world of dog-eats-dog and how he fares and how he manages that with his inner values.”

But even if the story itself is creating its own canon independent from the movies, that doesn’t mean IO Interactive isn’t taking cues from the film Bond. For one, Abrak said he got “some insight” into how film Bonds are typically cast and what the film directors usually look for. But ultimately, IO Interactive was left to its own devices as to how it wanted to proceed on selecting a new Bond. And it did end up picking a real actor.

“It was a blank slate, which is a huge privilege, that we can cast these people or try to 3D-model something," he said. "Is it going to be an actor, or not, and what do we do? So that was really, really daunting. I tell you this, it took a long time, and we've been through a few models to figure out what we wanted. But I think the process was chaotic, to be honest. I mean the process was feeling it, trying some things out, feeling the emotional... And it's not necessarily huge A/B tests out there with a lot of agencies and whatnot. It was very important for us to feel his warmth or charm, his quirkiness and all these things. But then we found someone and we’re really, really happy about it today.”

We’ll be publishing our full interview with Abrak later this week, including discussion of not just 007: First Light, but also the future of the Hitman franchise and upcoming IO Interactive-published game MindsEye. We’ll keep waiting to hear more about 007: First Light, including gameplay, sometime soon. It launches in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Microsoft has confirmed The Outer Worlds 2 costs $79.99 in the U.S. — it's the first Xbox Game Studios game to make the jump.

The Steam page for Obsidian’s role-playing sequel revealed the $80 figure for the standard edition. Microsoft had confirmed it would follow Nintendo’s lead and make the jump with its games in time for the holiday season. It seems The Outer Worlds 2 will kick off this new Xbox video game pricing structure when it comes out on October 29, 2025, but it's worth noting that as an Xbox Game Studios title, it will of course launch straight into the Game Pass subscription service on day one.

Explaining the price-hike decision in May, Microsoft told IGN: “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.”

Much of the industry has been discussing and gradually implementing price increases in recent years, with AAA game prices jumping from $60 to $70 in just the last five years, and Nintendo going with $80 for Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World and some other Switch 2 Edition games.

Last month, Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford sparked a backlash in responding to a fan who had expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4, saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

During a recent PAX East panel, Pitchford offered his thoughts on video game pricing. "On one level, we've got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible and they want to be careful about people that are price-sensitive," he said. "There are some folks who don't want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.

"There's other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there's tariffs for the retail packaging. It's getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don't know what the price is going to be.”

Given The Outer Worlds 2 costs $80, we can assume the just-announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will too, although it doesn’t have a release date yet. 2026’s Gears of War: E-Day, the new Fable, and the next Forza will surely also cost $80.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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.

Dark Horse is releasing a new line of collectibles based on Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds 2. As revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 stream, the first entries in that lineup include an artbook called The Art of The Outer Worlds 2 and a really cool statue of the iconic mascot Moon Man.

IGN can exclusively debut the first images of The Outer Worlds 2: Moon Man Statue, which is being released through Dark Horse Direct. Check them out in the slideshow gallery below:

The Outer Worlds 2: Moon Man Statue depicts the Spacer's Choice mascot riding atop a rocketship. The statue features a light-up LED exhaust and oversized, glowing head. The statue measures 10” tall, 5” wide, and 3.75” deep.

The statue is priced at $159.99 and is limited to just 500 units worldwide. It's exclusive to the Dark Horse Direct website.

If you were tuning into Xbox Games Showcase 2025 hoping to see Gears of War: E-Day, you may have been left disappointed. Today's show was light on Microsoft's biggest franchises — with nothing from Forza, Halo or the upcoming Fable reboot.

Instead, Xbox boss Phil Spencer promised that 2026 would be the year Gears of War: E-Day arrives, alongside the next Forza game, as the Xbox brand celebrates its 25th anniversary.

The next chapter in Xbox's veteran Gears of War series was formally announced a year ago, at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. E-Day will be a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War game, and an origin story for classic heroes Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, voiced once again by John DiMiaggio and Carlos Ferro.

"Gears of War: E-Day is not just our next major game; it's a return to what makes Gears of War games special and authentic," Coalition studio boss Mike Crump said previously. Earlier this year, Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment studio People Can Fly was announced as a co-developer on E-Day, alongside Xbox's own studio The Coalition.

Until next year, fans have Gears of War: Reloaded, a remake of the series' original title, to look forward to, which launches for PC, Xbox Series X/S — and, for the first time, PlayStation 5 — on August 26.

Today's Xbox Games Showcase also featured a tease by Phil Spencer of a long-awaited return for Halo, with potentially a remaster of the series' original title. For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Microsoft is reportedly set to release a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster in 2026.

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer teased a number of new games coming out next year, including the new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and "the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning."

While that’s an obvious tease for Halo, The Verge reporter Mark Warren has said it specifically relates to a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster.

here's Xbox chief Phil Spencer announcing Gears of War: E-Day for 2026, and in the same year "the next Forza" and a tease of a Halo CE remaster pic.twitter.com/tTueF3YQcR

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 8, 2025

Warren had reported on the existence of this game before, which is apparently under consideration for release on rival platforms including PlayStation 5. Of course, Microsoft remastered Halo CE with 2011’s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was made a part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

This is not a brand new Halo game, then, which we know Halo Studios, which used to be called 343 Industries, is using Unreal Engine 5 to build. In 2024, Halo Studios released a seven-minute video showcasing the results of Project Foundry — an experimental project designed to show a Halo game built using the Unreal Engine. While it's not much more than a tech demo, it offered a glimpse at a fresh beginning for Xbox's flagship franchise in the wake of 2021's Halo Infinite.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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.