As part of the Intel Gamer Days Sale event, Lenovo is offering an excellent price on one of its highest end laptops. You can pick up the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with a 16" OLED display and RTX 5080 GPU, for $2,369.99 after you apply two stackable coupon codes "BUYMORELENOVO" and "EXTRAFIVE". That's a total of about $1,200 off in savings and the lowest price I've seen so far for this particular configuration.

Lenovo Legion 7 Pro Gen 10 RTX 5080 Laptop for $2,370

Apply both codes: "BUYMORELENOVO" and "EXTRAFIVE"

The recent Deadpool/Batman #1 was notable for being the first Marvel/DC crossover comic in over two decades, but that was just half the story. DC is poised to release Batman/Deadpool #1 in November, and they've revealed the incredible lineup of backup crossovers that will accompany the main story.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see a new preview of Batman/Deadpool #1:

• Batman/Deadpool #1 features a main story, "The Cosmic Kiss Caper," by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, who previously collaborated on Klaus. This issue will also include four backup stories:
• John Constantine and Doctor Strange in “A Magician Walks Into a Universe” by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Hayden Sherman, Mike Spicer, and Frank Cvetkovic
• Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Wolverine (Laura Kinney) in “Sticks & Snikts” by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott
• Harley Quinn and The Incredible Hulk in “Harley & Hulk’s Amazin’ Saturday!!!!” by Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Conner, Tamra Bonvillain, and Dave Sharpe
• Static (Virgil Hawkins) and Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) in “New Friends in Old Places” by G. Willow Wilson, Denys Cowan, Klaus Janson, Francesco Segala, and Steve Wands

DC's official description of Batman/Deadpool #1 teases, "it’s a metaphysical car crash between two storytelling philosophies. One character broods in the shadows of trauma and justice. The other cartwheels through chaos, breaking the fourth wall and occasionally the laws of physics. Together, they’re forced to confront a threat that doesn’t just endanger their worlds—it questions their very existence as fictional constructs."

Batman/Deadpool #1 is priced at $7.99 for the main cover and $8.99 for the variants. This issue will be released on November 19, 2025. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

Deadpool/Batman #1 and Batman/Deadpool #1 will mark the first act in a larger collaboration between the two publishers. We recently learned that they'll publish a pair of new Superman/Spider-Man crossovers in 2026, timed to the 50th anniversary of Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man #1.

For more crossover fun, check out the top 10 Batman crossovers of all time.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Ahead of the holiday season, Dell is offering an Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop equipped with the GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card for under $2,000 with free delivery. Most RTX 5080 prebuilts you'll find elsewhere, including the more affordable brands you find on Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, are priced closer to $2,400 and up. That's impressive considering Alienware usually commands a higher price premium. Such a system would have cost as much as $3,000 at the beginning of the year, but Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 prices have been trending downwards lately.

Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC From $1,945

Although a big Hollywood music biopic, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere owes more to intimate 1970s character studies than it does to glitzier films in a genre largely populated by crowd-pleasers that tell a familiar rags to riches tale set to a hit parade of jukebox favorites. This is a throwback, indie-style drama whose protagonist just so happens to be then-burgeoning rock star Bruce Springsteen, but it nevertheless still has some music biopic cliches, a measured pace, and an overall lack of conflict that may limit its appeal to just hardcore fans of The Boss.

As directed by Crazy Heart’s Scott Cooper, Deliver Me From Nowhere only focuses on a very narrow period of Bruce’s life and career - the two years he spent making what would become his most daring (and arguably best) album, 1982’s Nebraska. This limited timeframe is already a blessing in a genre full of bloated cradle-to-grave entries.

Deliver Me From Nowhere is a small, introspective and subdued story about a depressed guy writing sad songs about serial killers and lost souls. Played with brooding soulfulness by Jeremy Allen White, who also impresses with his own singing of Springsteen’s classic tunes, Bruce is trying to figure out what is eating away at him despite achieving mainstream success with his most recent albums, Born to Run and The River.

He is poised to become a big-time rock star (and later America’s working class poet laureate) so the powers that be want him to make his next Top 10 hit, but that’s not what Bruce wants to do. Something is profoundly wrong with him and if he doesn’t purge that darkness through these (less commercially appealing) songs stirring inside him, there’s a very real chance he won’t even be around to ever make another Top 10 hit again.

Deliver Me From Nowhere is the anti-Elvis, the Baz Luhrmann maximalist epic about Springsteen’s boyhood musical hero that covered all the major beats of the King’s life, but rarely slowed down long enough to let the audience just sit with Elvis and truly get to know him. Deliver Me From Nowhere, on the other hand, is a lot of literally just sitting around with Bruce.

We see him writing the songs that will make up the album Nebraska (and the ones that ultimately were cut and later used as his global bestseller Born in the USA). An adaptation of Warren Zanes’ book, the film lovingly documents the (by modern standards) lo-fi approach Springsteen embraced to record these songs, even if Bruce and his guitar tech, Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser), were just trying to make a demo on a cassette and not an actual album.

It wasn’t until he was in the studio trying in vain to recreate those recordings with the E Street Band that Bruce made the risky career move of simply releasing the recorded demo, imperfections and all, much to the concern of his record label (personified by David Krumholtz’s exasperated exec).

The slow-moving first hour of the film comes perilously close to rock biopic cliche territory as Bruce finds inspiration for some of the album’s key songs, such as the title track Nebraska (which was inspired by the Terrence Malick movie Badlands, itself a fictionalized take on the Charles Starkweather killings of the 1950s). But the second half of the movie is the stronger part, where Bruce’s anxieties and crippling depression mount as he struggles with the album that’s in his head, but which he can’t seem to capture in the studio.

This is all unfolding as his unresolved issues with his alcoholic, abusive and mentally ill father Douglas (Adolescence’s Stephen Graham) also come to a head, and his romance with hometown girl Faye (Odessa Young) is threatened by his depression and emotional withdrawal.

As great as he is at recreating Bruce’s onstage and studio performances, it’s in these quieter, lonesome moments that Jeremy Allen White shines most, conveying a deep internal life through just his posture and a meaningful look in his (brown contact lens) eyes. That said, dramatizing the act of writing and the curse that is depression is very difficult to pull off (or to at least make cinematically compelling) since both involve isolation and internal thoughts an audience isn’t privy to.

That’s where the screenplay, which Cooper also wrote, strains to make sure there isn’t any uncertainty about what’s driving Bruce by having his producer-manager Jon Landau (an understated, empathetic Jeremy Strong, in a rare good guy role) articulate it to others, such as his wife (Grace Gummer in a thankless, largely dialogue-free role). These sequences are all pretty clunky and on the nose.

The black and white flashbacks to Bruce’s blue collar youth in Freehold, New Jersey, more than suffice in explaining with imagery, rather than words, what the root causes of Bruce’s demons are. Now, it’s important to emphasize that back in the early ‘80s, when Nebraska was being made, anxiety and depression were still largely taboo subjects for most people (famous or otherwise) to recognize and deal with. So Bruce himself and those around him just don’t get what’s happening with him.

The film’s exploration of depression, and of ultimately finding light within the darkness, makes Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere a rarity in the music biopic genre. This isn’t about a rock star who lives fast and dies young due to excess and the trappings of fame. This is a hopeful story about a flawed, vulnerable human being who finally confronts their pain and survives to see better days and greater success.

While the work of the two Jeremys has dominated the film’s promotional cycle — the brothers-in-arms bond between Bruce and Jon offers a healthy and compassionate counter to, say, the toxic and destructive bond between Baz’s Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Parker — more kudos needs to be given to the always reliable and compelling Stephen Graham, who brings Bruce’s deeply troubled dad to life with few words and the threat of violence always simmering underneath the surface. The film ultimately finds humanity in Douglas, offering him the sort of redemption many of the characters in Bruce’s own songs desperately yearn for.

Unfortunately, like Grace Gummer’s aforementioned thankless wife character, there are a few other characters who chew up screen time but whose names you’d be forgiven for not remembering. Like, say, Bruce’s pal who works on motorcycles and later drives him to California. Who is he exactly? Then there’s mustache-less Marc Maron, who does a few big scenes as the Nebraska studio producer, Chuck Plotkin, without ever saying a line of dialogue. Why hire a guy of Maron’s stature just to have him be a background player?

Odessa Young shines in her limited screen time as Faye Romano, a waitress, single mom and the sister of one of Bruce’s high school classmates. But Faye is a composite character of a few different women Bruce was seeing at that time, so once you know that she’s not real, her scenes lose something intangible yet keenly important. Maybe it’s because the film takes such pains to be seen as authentic, from its New Jersey locations to the classic recording equipment to the involvement of Springsteen himself (who was often on set and has been heavily promoting the film alongside Cooper and the cast), that finding out one of the film’s most integral relationships is fictional just feels off-putting.

Whether Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere introduces The Boss to a new generation of listeners or merely appeals to his aging fan base remains to be seen, but in the end, Scott Cooper’s film has its (hungry) heart in the right place even if its overall execution is sometimes clumsy and cliche.

As part of its Fallout Day broadcast, Bethesda announced Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition, due out across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on November 10, 2025, and on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026. It’s the first time Fallout 4 will be available on a Nintendo console.

Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition — designed to coincide with the post-apocalyptic role-playing game’s 10th anniversary — contains the six official add-ons and over 150 pieces of Creation Club content. Creations (user created content) arrive in Fallout 4 via a brand new in-game Creations menu, which will make it easy for players to find and download the new content on PC and console.

The six official expansions included are the Far Harbor, Automatron, and Nuka-World story add-ons, and the Contraptions, Vault-Tec, and Wasteland Workshop add-ons. The Creation Club content includes unique weapons, power armor, Pip Boy paint jobs, and more. Bethesda teased some of the Creations in the works, including one that will bring a "slice of the Mojave Desert" to the Commonwealth, an escape room experience, and even a mind's eye version of your spouse voiced by the original actors you can interact with.

Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition will be available on Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam and PC. The Anniversary Upgrade comes to the same platforms, and players on Game Pass and PlayStation Plus will be able to access the DLCs and/or Creations content via two Upgrade options.

It’s the latest version of Fallout 4 following last year’s big next-gen update, which was released following heightened interest in all things Fallout following the hugely popular Fallout TV show. Bethesda has said it will get around to releasing Fallout 5, but not before The Elder Scrolls 6 comes out.

Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition wasn’t the only Fallout project revealed by Bethesda today. For more, check out everything announced during the Fallout Day broadcast.

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.

Bethesda has announced native versions of Fallout 76 are coming to Xbox Series X and S and PlayStation 5 early 2026.

The announcement came as part of Bethesda's Fallout Day broadcast, which also brought news that “optimizations” are coming for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players, too. Bethesda didn't reveal any more info on what these new versions of Fallout 76 actually do.

However, Bethesda did use Fallout Day to show more of Fallout 76’s Burning Springs update, which is due out December 2, 2025. This is the big update that expands the map to include a brand-new arid region in Ohio, where players will encounter the raider-like supermutant Rust King, battle desert Deathclaws, and join up with friends in two new public events.

But the headline here is the new bounty hunting system, which is led by The Ghoul from the Fallout TV show. Actor Walton Goggins has reprised his role for Fallout 76 with new voice work. It’s a well-timed update, given Season 2 of the Fallout TV show is set to him Prime Video in December.

Timeline wise (both Fallout 76 and the Fallout TV show are canon), it turns out The Ghoul set up shop in Ohio to run a bounty hunting operation before the post-apocalyptic events of the Fallout TV series, which takes place after all the Fallout games.

It’s worth remembering where we are in the overall Fallout timeline: the TV show is set in the year 2296, Fallout 4 takes place in the year 2287, while Fallout: New Vegas is set in the year 2281, a full 15 years prior to the events of the show.

The Fallout 76 timeline, meanwhile, begins in 2102, on October 23, known as Reclamation Day. It is the earliest game in the Fallout franchise, set 25 years after the Great War of 2077, when nuclear bombs devastated the Earth. We know from Season 1 of the Fallout TV show that The Ghoul has survived for over 200 years out in the wasteland. Now we know some of what he was up to.

For more, check out everything announced during the Fallout Day broadcast.

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.

Bethesda has used Fallout Day to announce the Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle, which celebrates Obsidian’s much-loved post-apocalyptic role-playing game turning 15 years old.

This edition will be available for pre-order on October 23 via the Bethesda Gear Store, and includes:

• Fallout: New Vegas: Ultimate Edition PC Code
• Victor Statue (8" PVC): The friendly Securitron stands tall and is ready to roll
• Doc Mitchell’s Evaluation Cards (8x8 cardstock set): Straight from your first moments in Goodsprings, a true piece of New Vegas history
• Vault Boy Enamel Pin (1.5"): Vault Boy stacks the odds with poker chips in hand
• Mojave Express Patch (3.5" × 1.9"): Woven, iron-on, and full of wasteland charm
• NCR Recon Patch (3.25" × 3.5"): Woven, iron-on insignia of the New California Republic’s finest
• Collector’s Big Box: A throwback-style display box created exclusively for the anniversary

Fallout Day 2025 has come to an end without the announcement of any new Fallout video games. Yes, there’s a new version of Fallout 4, a new Fallout: New Vegas bundle, and new content for Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76. But there was no word on any Fallout remasters, which some had hoped for, or — less likely — Fallout 5.

At the end of the Fallout Day broadcast, Bethesda design chief Todd Howard acknowledged that Fallout fans were probably left a little disappointed by this, and promised that the developer is working on “even more” Fallout. What that means exactly is anyone’s guess, but Howard did say Bethesda is looking forward to showing fans what it’s cooking.

Weapons, the horror/thriller movie from writer/director Zach Cregger (known for also writing and directing Barbarian and being in the mid-aughts sketch group The Whitest Kids U' Know), is finally going to be available to stream, just ahead of Halloween. It's been available to rent or purchase digitally since September, but if you haven't wanted to dish out $20 or more just to watch it at home, now's your chance to stream it on HBO Max staring at midight PT.

I haven't gotten a chance to see Weapons yet, but I plan on doing so this weekend. It's been at the top of my watch list since reviews started rolling in and everyone I know who has already seen it has had nothing but great things to say. I'm ready to understand what the hot dog meme is all about.

Weapons Streaming Release Time

It's Also Available on Blu-ray

If you're going to rent Weapons from SVOD, you might want to consider opting for a physical copy. The limited edition 4K steelbook has already sold out, but there are still plenty of regular 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions available.

Who's in the Cast?

Weapons was written and directed by Zach Cregger. It stars the following actors:

• Julia Garner - Justine Gandy
• Josh Brolin - Archer Graff
• Alden Ehrenreich - Paul
• Austin Abrams - James
• Cary Christopher - Alex Lilly
• Benedict Wong - Marcus
• June Diane Raphael - Donna
• Amy Madigan - Aunt Gladys

Rating and Runtime

Weapons is rated R mostly for violence, gore, and intense scenes. The movie runs for 2 hours and 8 minutes, including credits. There is no mid- or post-credits scene, so there isn't any need to sit through the credits if you don't want to.

LEGO is getting ready to sunset 18 sets from the Star Wars theme, according to the 'last chance to buy' section of its website. These sets range from everything like Brick Headz and playsets for kids, to scale models and display sets. The retirement dates on LEGO sets aren't always entirely clear, but it's fair to assess that these will be retired in the coming months as 2025 comes to a close. Once a set is retired, it will be difficult to find anywhere at its normal retail price. There is some strategy on the best time to buy LEGO sets, and the sets that are about to retire will sometimes get steep discounts during sales events. So it's worth checking out what's on the chopping block ahead of the LEGO Black Friday sale.

LEGO Star Wars Sets Retiring Soon

Some of the most notable sets included in this batch of retirees are Din Djarin's ship the Razor Crest from the Mandalorian, The Onyx Cinder from Skeleton Crew, the X-Wing Starfighter, and the Mos Espa Podrace Dioroma. Personally, I'm a big fan of the buildable Droideka model and the Duel on Peridea set, which comes with some great minifigure versions of characters from Disney+'s Ahsoka show. These sets cover pretty much every era of Star Wars, spanning the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars, the original trilogy with the Tantive IV scale model, and the sequel trilogy and beyond, so there's really something for everyone if a certain time period speaks to you more than others.

LEGO Brick Headz are a staple of almost every property they make sets out of. The Revenge of the Sith Heroes & Villains collection has some of the coolest designs I've seen of the buildable figures I've seen, with General Grievous and Emperor Palpatine being some of the highlights. Then you have Clone Commander Cody on his own, which is a faithful recreation of the Clone who serves Obi-Wan Kenobi. And if collecting minifigures is more your bag, many of these sets include some exclusive characters that will surely become much harder to obtain once they're retired.

We don't quite have the official dates for retirement, but according to BrickEconomy, the Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Vader and Revenge of the Sith Heroes & Villains Brick Headz sets will likely be sunsetted by the end of 2025.

Free LEGO Gift With Purchase Right Now

If you're looking for an Anker power bank that can handle the demands of power hungry electronics like the new Xbox Ally X handheld gaming PC or the latest MacBook Pro 16" laptop, then the model that I currently use and recommend is on sale. Amazon is offering Prime members the Anker PowerCore 737 24,000mAh Power Bank with 140W of Power Delivery for just $74.99 with free shipping. I've owned this exact power bank for a few years and still use it regularly; it has been on multiple flights and road trips and works as intended. There are plenty of good battery brands nowadays, but Anker is still up there as of the most, if not the most reliable brands on Amazon.

Anker 737 24,000mAh 140W Power Bank for $74.99

The Xbox Ally X, the latest powerful handheld gaming PC, is a terrific machine, instantly taking the top spot on our list of the best handheld gaming PCs. For some, however, the price was a source of sticker shock (cue the Drew Scanlon blinking meme.) To help out against the $999.99 MSRP, you can now get a small discount on the Xbox Ally X at Best Buy. If you’re cool with buying an open-box unit, you can save up to $110, depending on the condition (see it at Best Buy).

A compact power bank that is perfect for your Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Apple iPhone 17 has dropped in price for a limited time. Amazon is currently offering the Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for just $10.19 after you clip the 49% off coupon on the product page. I hope you don't mind a power bank with a bit of pizzazz because this one's decked out in a fun tropical punch colorway. I expect this deal to reach its redemption limit very quickly.

Update: Unfortunately, the price has now gone up to $16.82

Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for $10.19

Gearbox has released the big Borderlands 4 Day 30 patch, which makes a number of key balance changes to the game.

This update, released October 23, includes widespread stability improvements, multiplayer fixes, UI polish, and a suite of quality-of-life upgrades across visuals, audio, and accessibility. It also addresses various reported issues for Vault Hunters including major balance tuning, loot systems, gear, and achievements — further refining late-game, mission flow, and overall player experience.

Borderlands 4 players had been bracing themselves for this patch, as it finally takes aim at what Gearbox called "unintended interactions." Chief among these were builds that revolved around what was dubbed the 'crit knife,' which caused so much damage players were able to one-shot bosses even on Borderlands 4's toughest difficulties.

“We will monitor the community closely for feedback and respond after the changes have settled,” Gearbox said. “This measured approach to your input will provide a consistent and better experience. As a reminder, our primary goal with balance adjustments is to provide you the greatest number of viable builds.”

The update launches alongside the free Horrors of Kairos Seasonal Mini-Event. From today, October 23 to November 6, players will experience “a terror-inducing blood rain during all world boss encounters, with the added chance to loot the all-new legendary ‘Murmur’ Tediore Assault Rifle and ‘Skully’ Order Grenade.

The patch notes, courtesy of the Borderlands website, are below:

Borderlands 4 Day 30 October 23 update patch notes:

Change List:

Horrors of Kairos!

• Added support for the Horrors of Kairos! This free mini-event will be live from October 23 to November 6.
• Added the "Murmur" Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle and "Skully" Legendary Order Grenade to the rewards for world bosses across Kairos! These special drops will only be available during Horrors of Kairos, and delivered to the Reward Center. These do not change the rates on any other gear for that boss.

Read the official announcement article for Horrors of Kairos for more information on the event and a spooky SHiFT code to shoot fear into your enemies!

Progression, Loot, & Rewards

• Reduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5000 Eridium to 1500
• Added drops to a certain boss fight that was not dropping loot
• [PC] Ultimate Vault Hunter Level 5 Rank Up mission now correctly increases rank on Steam
• Granted missing cosmetic rewards for players who completed Kairos Speaks with 155 Echo Logs prior to a previous update
• Improved equipment handling when opening Rewards while driving
• Lost Loot Machine logic updated to better prioritize higher-quality loot in overflow situations
• Lost Loot Machine SDU upgrades now properly expand slots in multiplayer sessions
• Addressed a reported issue with the Lost Loot Machine that could cause duplications in multiplayer
• Loot enemies now drop more cash
• Golden Chests can now consistently be opened after joining a session and redeeming SHiFT keys
• Reward Center behavior adjusted after claiming the Gilded Glory Pack, to prevent it from losing function
• Break Free reward bundle redemption standardized, will now correctly apply account-wide as intended
• Adjusted unlock conditions so Rift Incompatible achievement now correctly completes for all players in multiplayer
• Cut That Out achievement now unlocks when viewing the board from a further distance.
• Level-based progression updated so Crimson Rising achievement unlocks at character level 10 as designed
• Timing adjustments made so Catch a Ride! achievement unlocks only at the intended progression point
• Challenge tracking updated so Jakobs Throwing Knives no longer count as gun kills
• Ensured that Bobblehead collectibles in Pester’s Grotto and Motherbird Node were accessible.
• Discovered locations now stay discovered when returning to single-player after multiplayer
• Various Fast Travel stations have been adjusted to unlock when they’re intended to, including concerns seen in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode
• Vault Key animations now play correctly during ECHO-4 sequences
• ECHO Log pickup in Unpaid Tab now counts properly
• Amara’s Escort to Core objective now consistently advances when replayed
• Improved various instances of mission waypoints not showing up accurately

Gameplay & Missions

• Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine is able to be interacted with reliably in multiplayer
• Legendary Vending Machine no longer closes unexpectedly during Vend of the Line
• Made general improvements to prevent enemies from getting stuck when spawning, and addressed various reported spawn point issues
• Addressed bounties Beatloaf, Grip, and Shagriculture not reliably spawning
• Addressed reported instances of Terminus Range Vault enemies getting stuck on ledges during encounters
• Addressed a reported issue in co-op during the Splashzone boss fight, leading to more consistent behavior
• The Howl Capture Station no longer reactivates after safehouse capture
• One Fell Swoop has been updated to prevent players from being left floating in the air. Bio-Bulkhead now shows the correct elemental icon and movement has been smoothed to eliminate jitter after certain attacks
• Warden Scathe no longer clips through arena walls in his boss fight
• Improved Echo Location guidance across several missions
• Patched collision gaps, holes, clipping, and invisible walls
• Corrected Order drop pod events to consistently reach that ground and no longer appear stuck in the air
• NPCs should no longer cause players or vehicles to get stuck when the player runs them over
• Pangolin enemies can now be damaged by grenades while in ball mode
• Chain Master trait now tethers to all allies in range when multiple enemies have the ability
• Mangler enemies no longer desync their position when dodging in multiplayer

Vault Hunter Changes

Harlowe the Gravitar

• Addressed some Gravitar builds that reportedly caused performance slowdowns; they should no longer prevent UI elements from updating or Fight For Your Life sequences from completing
• Gravitar passive and Augment bonuses to Gun Damage now correctly apply to Ripper Heavy Weapon barrels and the Ripper Legendary Heavy Weapon Steamer; Entanglement interactions also function as designed
• Gravitar class mods have been adjusted to no longer roll +5 Pencils Down and push passives past their intended cap

Creative Bursts

Balance Adjustments:

• Neutron Capture now converts all Gun Damage into radiation, and now only applies to Gun Shots, and not all instances of Gun Damage.
  • Dev Note: Neutron Capture is one of the best damage scalars in the entire game, but during testing, we found that this was erroneously applying to all instances of Gun Damage and was able to scale in unanticipated ways as a result. This new change will still see Neutron Capture being one of the best (if not the best) damage scalars in the game, but the power level will be much more in line with our expectations. Additionally, since all damage from the Gun is converted into Radiation, it should have more scaling vectors for clever build crafters, and allow for meaningful boosts from Gun Damage.

Cosmic Brilliance - Passive

• Flux Generator + Annihilation interaction updated so spawned grenades now scale correctly with character level

Amon the Forgeknight

• Shield visuals adjusted for improved clarity in combat situations

Trait - Forgeskill

• Adjusted interaction with Forge Master class mod so Forgeskill now respects its cooldown in multiplayer

Onslaughter - Calamity

• Camera behavior stabilized when combining Onslaughter with Order Legendary Pistol Noisy Cricket
• Attack frequency of Rocket Punch is now consistent in multiplayer

Balance Adjustments

• Seeing Red Duration restored no longer increases per point invested, and is now 4 seconds for all ranks.
  • Dev Note: Seeing Red was always meant to have huge damage scaling potential, but was always meant to be hard to maintain. We didn't want to nerf this passive's power, but we're making the effect harder to maintain.

Scourge - Vengeance

• Scorched Kairos passive now displays consistent magazine size values for the Ordnance gadget
• The Forgewave no longer fires unintentionally during Glacial Rapture
• Projectiles no longer get stuck in the air when Forgemaster Firewall is active during the Fortress Indomita boss fight
• Blackout Shock Damage now properly scales with points invested
• Blackout is now 15% per point, down from 21% per point
  • Dev Note: After fixing the scaling of the DoT (damage over time), we found that Blackout was overperforming a bit, so we gave it a slight re-adjustment. This will still be an overall buff, now that the DoT properly scales.

Crucible - Cybernetics

• Visuals corrected so Forgeknight Forgeaxe no longer disappears when activating Crucible at the same time as throwing with Double-Edge
• Corrected animation of Crucible while climbing
• Raging Inferno Incendiary Damage now properly scales with points invested

Vex the Siren

• Challenge “Me, Myself, Myself, and I.” now tracks correctly in multiplayer, independent of clone duration on other players

Dead Ringer - The Fourth Seal

• Specter’s copied weapon now displays proper visual effects when firing with a Maliwan Element Switcher

Incarnate - Vexcalation

• Bleed from Bloodletter has been updated so it no longer recursively triggers itself, preventing unintended damage loops

Phase Phamiliar - Here Comes Trouble

Balance Adjustments

• Double Trouble Illusion Damage Multiplier is now 75%, up from 50%
• Double Trouble Illusion's Duration is now 8 seconds, up from 5 seconds
• Apex Beast Damage Dealt increase increased to 15% from 10% per stack of Unsealed

Rafa the Exo-Soldier

• Free Grenade from Filantropo class mod now deals appropriate damage even when no grenade is equipped

People Person skill tree

Action Skills - APOPHIS Lance

• APOPHIS Lance changed to penalize Gun Accuracy instead of Gun Handling, resulting in projectile speed being unaffected.
• APOPHIS Lance now benefits from cooldown reduction effects

Gear

• Skills that boost Gun Handling now properly increase Projectile Speed
• Addressed reports that swapping weapons with the Free Loader Enhancement on an Order weapon with a Ripper magazine would cause all weapons to not consume the accurate amount of ammo
• Health restoration from Legendary Repkit Adrenaline Pump now works correctly when combined with Legendary Shield Guardian Angel
• Reduced critical chance on Jakobs crit knife to 30%
  • Dev Note: It had to happen, you knew it was going to happen!
• Jakobs Legendary Pistol San Saba Songbird no longer stacks infinitely when swapping weapons
• Using a Jakobs Shotgun with Torgue sticky projectiles and the Knife Launcher underbarrel no longer deals knife damage after switching fire modes
• Jakobs weapon parts updated so ricochet effects only trigger from intended damage sources
• Ripper Legendary Shotgun Golden God overheating effect now clears correctly when switching weapons
• Corrected behavior on Maliwan Legendary SMG Ohm I Got so the first three shots no longer consume ammo without dealing damage during continuous fire
• Maliwan Legendary Heavy Gun Gamma Void corrected to apply proper increased Radiation damage to enemies inside the Singularity
• Weapons with COV magazines now function correctly if a repair animation is interrupted with a Repkit in multiplayer
• Daedalus Legendary SMG Frangible removed from chest loot tables
• Daedalus Legendary AR First Impression reduced the critical damage multiplier
• Recoil behavior improved while charging and firing Order ARs and Torgue Heavy with Triple Barrel parts with Gun Handling passives
• Vladof Flamethrower underbarrel no longer deals infinite damage or bypasses Bio Armor
• Torgue Grenades with Spring and Apex Augments now always explode on its first apex
• Grenades with Spring Augment and Divider Payload now have the intended three additional bounces when paired
• Gadgets no longer reset to maximum uses after gaining Second Wind
• Healing Orbs spawned from Legendary Repkit Kill Spring can no longer heal enemies
• Order Legendary Shield Cindershelly combat voice lines now trigger at the intended frequency, less often to be less distracting
• Tediore underbarrel names now match correctly across item cards and ammo widgets
• Maliwan Lingering Payload and Splat Pack Augment projectiles no longer persist when thrown at vending machines

Gear Balance: Assault Rifles:

• Star Helix fire rate increased by 33%
• Bonnie and Clyde base damage increased by 40%; Pair of Thieves: Bonus damage granted increased to 150% from 100%
• Bugbear base damage increased by 40%; Rotary Gun: Max Damage increased to 200% from 100%
• Rowan's Charge base fire rate increased by 100%
• Rowan's Charge recoil reduced slightly
• Lucian's Flank base damage increased by 50%
• Lucian's Flank recoil reduced slightly
• Aegon's Dream base damage increased by 35%

Heavy Weapon Ordnance:

• Gamma Void base damage increased by 450%; Singularity Duration decreased to 6s from 10s, Radiation damage amp increased to 50% from 40%, Gamma Void Cooldown increased by 100%
• Ravenfire base damage increased by 25%

Class Mods: Dev Notes: Class Mods relating to Melee Damage, Action Skill Damage, and specific one-off stats on Legendaries have been buffed to make them more desirable.

All Class Mods:

• Melee Damage Action Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%

Siren Class Mods:

• Avatar's Attunement Skill Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
• Kindread Spirits' Command Skill Cooldown rate on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%

Forgeknight Class Mods:

• Blacksmith's Forgedrone Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
• Blacksmith's Legendary Effect now also increases all Forgedrone Damage by 20% per active Forgedrone
• Viking's Detonation Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Forge Master's Forgeskill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Elementalist's Legendary Effect now also increases all Damage Dealt by Amon by 2% per active Affinity Stack

Gravitar Class Mods:

• Bio-Robot's Hazard Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
• Skeptic's Stasis Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%

Other Gear:

Dev Notes: Gear effects that are related to Melee and Action Skill Damage have increased effectiveness. We want these builds to be pushed up a bit, but wanted to distribute the power among the various pieces of gear to make them more desirable.

Rep Kits:

• Hard Hitter now grants 50% Melee Damage Dealt, up from 40%

Firm Ware:

• Reel Big Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1 and 2, up from 15%/25%
• Action Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1, up from 15%
• Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage at rank 2, up from 30%
• Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage on Melee Kill, up from 25%

Shields:

• Boxer Armor Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 15%/25%/40%
• Berserker Energy Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 20%/27.5%/35%

Specializations

Groundbreaker:

• Groundbreaker now only stores Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage.
  • Dev Note: Groundbreaker was causing recursive loops that could lead to infinite damage by storing “Bonus Damage” across the board. We still want this skill to be effective, but it should not be able to scale infinitely. We’ll be monitoring Melee builds after this change to make sure they are meeting expectations, and will further adjust if necessary. This ultimately had to be fixed so we can establish a baseline before we investigate further buffs/changes.

UI & UX & Text

• Sorting settings in menus now persist when switching tabs or leaving the menu
• “Toggle Junk” behavior has been corrected to target the desired item in Bank menus and Backpack
• Weapon wheel no longer sticks when opened near Guns vending machines
• Combat Radar now features a dedicated Legendary Loot Indicator, making high-value drops easier to spot in the heat of combat
• Press/Hold input now cancels correctly without triggering unintended actions
• “Apply Settings” prompt only appears when changes are made
• [PS5 and Xbox] Splitscreen updates, including number text scaling, Equipment/Backpack improvements, scrollbar behaviors, Party list layout, and “Flip Card” functionality
• Restored Fullscreen resolution controls and switching behavior
• Weekly Activities now populate after campaign completion
• Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine timer updates to show correct cooldown
• Firmware 3-Piece bonuses (Ahoy, Oscar Mike, Daed-dy O’) now show cooldown icons; Deadeye Tier-3 stacks now appear in the passive bar
• Boss Bar spacing corrected when Combat Radar is active
• Transfer Machine naming has been standardized across the game
• Travel notification now displays the initiating player’s name
• ECHO Location path remains readable over time; made improvements to pathfinding
• Updated various UI visuals and icons for alignment, consistency, and clarity
• Updated localization and various text descriptions across the game
• Standardized/updated terminology across gear, menus, customization, and manufacturers

Visuals

• Updated various character and NPC animations
• Corrected various reported instances of VFX not rendering correctly
• Grapple Vault points now show proper models instead of placeholders
• Reduced reported instances of visual pops at cinematic starts

Audio

• Audio and VO now remain active when returning to menus after level traveling in multiplayer
• Adjusted audio mix for improved balance across gameplay and VO
• SFX volume slider now correctly applies to high HDR-value sounds
• Addressed several reported instances of VO not playing as intended across multiple missions and scenarios
• Vault Hunter battle voiceover frequency has been tuned so lines repeat less often
• Missing pain reaction audio restored for several named NPCs
• Improved various subtitle timing and text
• Background music now continues as expected during the Idolator Sol boss fight
• Unique audio cue restored for Phosphene (shiny) gear spawns

Settings & Accessibility

• Personal Cross-play settings can now be adjusted immediately after switching Party Privacy from Local Only to Public in Session Settings
• Air Dash is now fully usable on controller when Toggle Crouch is set to Off under Accessibility → Gameplay
• Individual graphics options now reset properly after making changes and then selecting Run Auto-Detect in Options
• [PS5 and Xbox] Field of View resets consistently to Default on consoles without showing mismatched values

Player Experience

• Improvements to stability
  • We are continuing to investigate and will make further improvements to stability and performance.
• Addressed multiple reported issues across multiplayer, missions, menus, and engine systems.
• Improved matchmaking and session stability.
• Addressed performance in multiplayer when there were large numbers of homing projectiles
• Refined graphics settings and shader handling
• Improvements made to patch reliability and automation processes
• Ocean could occasionally fail to load

Miscellaneous

• [Epic] Rich Presence now displays correctly in non-English languages on Epic
• [PS5] Friend list now loads properly after logging out and back in during patch checks on the title screen
• Joystick input now behaves consistently when lowering deadzones
• [PS5 and Xbox] SHiFT account linking verification codes now auto-copy and apply correctly on console

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.

Bethesda Softworks brought its Fallout Day 2025 livestream to a close after delivering around 30 minutes of announcements, including reveals for Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, the Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary bundle, new content for Fallout 76, and more.

Although actor and Fallout alum Danny Trejo didn’t get his wish for a Fallout: New Vegas remaster, Bethesda did take time to celebrate the classic offshoot’s 15th anniversary with the announcement of a new bundle. Plus, as the fourth mainline Fallout game celebrates its 10-year anniversary, players should be excited to know that an all-inclusive Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition re-release is on the way.

With Fallout Season 2 approaching, Fallout 4 prepped to make its Nintendo Switch 2 debut, and Fallout 76 ready to deliver its Burning Springs update, Bethesda had plenty to talk about during today’s show. While we wait for more news about the classic post-apocalyptic series’ future, you can check out everything announced during the Fallout Day 2025 stream below.

Fallout Day 2025 Is Here

Following a very musical pre-show, the Fallout Day 2025 livestream began with an introduction from senior community director Jess Finster and senior community manager Richard Stanford – and even a live-action Dog Meat. They tease updates on projects like Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Fallout Shelter, while also promising appearances from a few special guests.

Celebrating 10 Years of Fallout 4 With an Anniversary Edition and Nintendo Switch 2

Studio and production director Angela Browder showed up for the Fallout Day 2025 livestream to talk about 10 years of Fallout 4 and what Bethesda had planned for it next. Fallout 5 is surely many years off, but the newly announced Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition should help with the wait.

It’s a bundle aimed to revitalize the fourth mainline Fallout game with a re-release that includes all six pieces of DLC: Nuka-World, Far Harbor, Automatron, Vault-Tec Workshop, Contraptions Workshop, and Wasteland Workshop.

“In addition to the add-ons, the Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition also includes over 150 pieces of Creation Club content, including some previously unreleased items to supplement your adventures,” associate art director Daniel Lee said during the show. “And now, with this anniversary, we’re taking your experience to the next level because Creations are coming to Fallout 4. That means you’ll see even more new content coming to the Commonwealth.”

Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition has a November 10 release date. Platforms remain unclear for now, but Bethesda at least confirms that Fallout 4 will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.

Obsidian Entertainment Shows Up to Celebrate Fallout: New Vegas and Reveal a New Bundle

Trejo may have to wait for a proper remaster, but Fallout Day 2025 did at least bring some Fallout: New Vegas news. Original developer Obsidian Entertainment made an appearance during today’s livestream to talk about the classic offshoot, revealing that a 15th Anniversary Bundle will soon be available. It comes with a Collector’s Big Box containing the PC version of the Ultimate Edition of the game, a Vault Boy pin, Evaluation Cards, Mojave Express and NCR Recon patches, and a Victor Statue as its centerpiece.

The Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Edition bundle is available to pre-order via the Bethesda Gear Store today.

Today's daily deals is a mixed bag of an insane 75-inch TV and sound system deal from LG, 30% off Hulu with ads and a solid deal on a powerhouse portable charger from Anker. Fanatical is also running a spend $15 get a free game promo, so I've also picked out some of the best games on offer on there right now that would qualify.

TL;DR: Deals for Today

Fancy having DLSS 4-powered gameplay on the go with a Nvidia RTX 5070ti gaming laptop? Lenovo Legion has you covered for under $1,800, which is an insane pricepoint when you check the overall specifications. Let's gets into it:

Hulu (with ads) + Live TV for $64.99/mo for 3 Months

77" LG Evo C5 4K OLED Smart TV

Anker 25,000mAh 165W Power Bank

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 10

Football Manager 26 (Steam)

Once Upon A KATAMARI (Steam)

SILENT HILL f (Steam)

Alienware Gaming Desktop Discounts

Fancy a solid RTX 5080 build for under $2,000 including free delivery? You'll be able to take advantage of DLSS 4 with more gas in the tank than a RTX 4080 Super, which is one of Nvidias best graphics card releases last year. Buyers can look forward to high frame rate 4K gameplay with all the bells and whistles added. We're talking ray tracing and definition sharper than any console can currently output. Check our review out for more information on this epic GPU.

Alienware Gaming Laptop Discounts

When it comes to gaming laptops in general, picking one within your budget is the first major step. For something worth gaming on, the $1,000 mark is the price of entry. That will include a RTX 5060, going all the way up to $3,549 for a RTX 5090 build if you really want that mobile gaming flex.

Nvidia RTX 5000 Series Refurb Deals

Still running a Nvidia RTX 1000 to 3000 series? This is your chance to upgrade your rig to DLSS 4 and Ray Tracing with Woots RTX 5000 series refurbished sale. The sweet spot with this generation has to be RTX 5080 that includes 16GB of GDDRR6 RAM that can handle 4K gaming and all the frames. Need to upgrade on a budget? RTX 5070 12GB is a great option for $529 too.

MTG: Cheapest at Amazon

There's a handful of booster boxes available for slightly less at Amazon this week, but it's a bit of a poor turnout for Magic: The Gathering players. Most of the listing on Amazon are above MSRP and higher than secondary market values, but the carosel above are good deals when compared to TCGPlayer.

MTG: Cheapest at TCGPlayer

TCGPlayer's sellers are keeping away from the sneaker-heads and crypo bro mentality that's hit Magic and Pokémon TCG is 2025 and is keeping prices down. Market value for MTG sealed product goes off what people are willing to pay, and it shows. There's so much here that's at a lower price than big box retailers it's embarassing. But, it's great for your pocket!

Blaziken ex & Volcanion ex Premium Collection

Poké Price Check: Mega Evolution In Stock

Mega Evolution seems to be a well-printed start to the next era of Pokémon TCG. I'm seeing boosters in convienience stores and some products on physical shelves, not to mention the Booster Bundle ($52.89), Gardevoir ETB ($88.81) and Three Booster Blister ($28.90) available on Amazon. Like the rest of the products in this carousel though, the cheapest is TCGplayer right now.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

Some Battlefield 6 players are up in arms after first information about Season 1 revealed what they believe is an out of place soldier skin.

Fans have waited weeks for a first look at Season 1 and its new maps, modes, and guns. However, after EA and Battlefield Studios finally pulled back the curtain with a trailer yesterday, the only thing on the community’s mind was a question: could this be the beginning of the end?

New Battlefield 6 maps like Blackwell Fields and Eastwood certainly served as meaningful attention grabbers, but it’s just one skin that has completely controlled the conversation. The cosmetic in question is Wicked Grin, a new skin for the Assault Class. A sneak peek at the suit arrived via various Battlefield 6 Season 1 previews that hit the web yesterday, revealing a wardrobe that fans feel ranges from grounded to gaudy.

PC Gamer was one of a few sites to share an image of the skin, which features dark blue highlights from head to toe. It’s Class operator also sports a toothy smile painted across their bandana. It’s been more than enough to set off alarm bells among the Battlefield 6 community, especially considering the Wicked Grin skin description teases that it can be “unlocked as a free store gift.” It suggests Assault players could flood lobbies with those standout blues as soon as next week, potentially bringing fans' fear of goofy skins into reality. Even if this or any of the other Season 1 skins remain a far cry from the dozens of celebrity, superhero, and cartoon character crossovers present in other popular shooters like Call of Duty and Fortnite, tens of thousands of fans are clearly unhappy with what they’re seeing so far.

“So, weren't we supposed to have realistic skins for some time?” one popular comment from a fan says. “Something that someone would really wear during a war? Yet it seems that with the start of Season 1, everything will turn to colorful mess, with no way of differentiating teams based on uniforms, the game will look more like a Paintball or [ActionSportGames] event.”

“I will not revive anyone wearing this kind of skin. My take,” one Reddit user says. “I’m gonna miss the days when everyone has default and beta skins,” another Reddit user adds. “I’m afraid this game won't be recognizable in the future.”

EA and BF Studios have never set a hard rule describing what exactly their version of a grounded Battlefield 6 looks like. Still, the Season 1 skin is being perceived as a breach of trust after the community had been told to expect grounded visuals across the board for at least a while.

“We are a gritty, grounded, realistic shooter,” Ripple Effect and BF Studios technical director Christian Buhl told IGN last month. “That's what we intend to be, and that's what the game is going to look like for a while.”

Many admit that there is still much ground to cover before Battlefield 6 stops looking like the grounded military shooter that it currently is and starts introducing some of the more outrageous characters seen in other games. There's also the fact that there are, of course, many other more grounded outfits both in the Battlefield 6 base game and coming in Season 1. As for what we’ve seen from Season 1 so far, though, fans are now more on edge than ever.

“Is it realistic? No,” another community comment adds. “Is it more grounded then Beavis and Butt-Head, Peter Griffin, Sgt. PsPsPs, Wubz, Feelin Sloothy, the list goes on... I would say yes.”

"If you want to use regular, realistic outfits, there are plenty," someone else says. "If someone wants to wear one with a bit of colour, they can. It’s a video game, not real war."

Time will tell if Battlefield 6 will push past the Wicked Grin skin seen with Season 1. Until then, you can check out all of the major additions set to be introduced in next week’s content drop. You can also read up on how players in the Engineer class are using the repair tool to create works of art.

Finally, be sure to check out our full list of all currently available Battlefield 6 multiplayer maps. Those looking to brush up on their online skills can also read our multiplayer tips and tricks guide.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Netflix is doing stranger things lately — and this time it's both literal and figurative. The series finale episode of Stranger Things will officially be shown in movie theaters, a move that goes against the streamer’s well-known ethos.

The two-hour Season 5 finale episode, titled 'The Rightside Up,' will premiere both on Netflix and in over 350 nationwide theaters in tandem on December 31, 2025 at 8pm ET and play into New Year’s Day. This marks the first time a Netflix episode will premiere both on streaming and in a theatrical setting, let alone simultaneously. An official list of participating theaters will be announced at a later date.

In a recent Variety story, Stranger Things co-creators and showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer opened up about wanting the series finale to have its day in the theater.

“That would be amazing,” Ross told the outlet. “Because the fans could be there with other fans, and experience it as a communal thing — it would be incredible.”

“People don’t get to experience how much time and effort is spent on sound and picture, and they’re seeing it at reduced quality,” Matt added. “More than that, it’s about experiencing it at the same time with fans.”

Netflix has been notoriously against and uninterested in exhibiting its films theatrically. In fact, Netflix’s chief content officer Baja Balaria recently said she didn’t think a show on the level of Stranger Things needed what a theatrical release could offer.

“A lot of people — a lot, a lot, a lot of people — have watched Stranger Things on Netflix,” she told Variety earlier this month. “It has not suffered from lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think releasing it on Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”

However, late this summer, Netflix took its mega hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters to theaters for a one-weekend special singalong edition release — which totally killed at the box offices and fans (I can say from experience, I actually hosted one of these) had a blast. Did KPop Demon Hunters blaze a trail for Netflix in theaters?

Stranger Things Season 5 is set to release in three sections: the first four episodes will drop for Thanksgiving on November 26, the next three episodes will come out on Christmas, and the final episode will debut on New Year’s Eve.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Elden Ring Tarnished Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 has had its release date delayed until 2026.

Originally planned for a 2025 launch, the Switch 2 version of FromSoftware’s 2022 Game of the Year-winning fantasy RPG, Elden Ring, will now arrive next year to “allow time for performance adjustments."

This new package of the base game plus its Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was due to land on Nintendo’s new console sometime this year, but the studio has now pushed it to presumably focus on the technical concerns that have been raised by those who have played it in its pre-launch state.

This is something IGN has first-hand experience of, having called Elden Ring on Switch 2 “a disaster in handheld mode” after checking it out at gamescom a couple of months ago. Performance was said to suffer in particular when exploring the world.

We noted that “frame rate drops were significant when turning the camera whilst exploring outside of the tutorial area, and this, combined with a confusing button layout on Switch 2, made combat confusing and exploration fairly dispiriting.”

FromSoftware has apologized to fans looking forward to playing Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin’s epic on a handheld console, but thanked them for their “patience and support."

We don’t yet know when in 2026 Elden Ring Tarnished Edition will arrive, with a firm date still being kept close, but let's hope it's in a much better state when we get to see it next.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

A new report has shed light on the goings on at Microsoft, which has allegedly pushed Xbox studios to deliver a 30% profit margin — much higher than the industry average.

Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that Microsoft’s 30% profit margin goal had led to the gaming division’s huge layoffs, canceled projects, controversial price rises, and multiplatform push.

The cuts to Xbox have been deep. Thousands of staff have lost their jobs over several rounds of layoffs. Games such as Rare’s Everwild and The Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot were canceled after years of development. ZeniMax Online Studios game Project Blackbird was canned, leading to mass layoffs. The Initiative was also shut down. Last year, Microsoft closed Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi rush developer Tango Gameworks.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has increased the price of the Xbox Series X and S consoles, and the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $29.99 a month — the latter of which was a hugely controversial move. Microsoft tried to make the jump to $80 video games, but ended up reverting to $70 after fans pushed back on the idea of paying $10 more for Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2. Most expect Microsoft to go to $80 at some point next year.

Bloomberg said the average profit margin in the video game industry is 17-22%. Over the past six years, Xbox has hit 10-20%. To put that 30% target into more context, Sony's PlayStation division achieved a 16% profit margin in Q1 FY25. Bloomberg said Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood enforced the new target in fall 2023 — amid Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

The upshot now is, according to Bloomberg, that games that are cheap to make or considered more likely to make lots of money may take priority over riskier projects. Xbox’s “floundering” hardware division, meanwhile, may face “a significant rethinking.”

IGN has reported on recent comments from Xbox president Sarah Bond, who said the next-gen Xbox console will be “a very premium, very high-end curated experience.” Bond has also called the idea of exclusive games “antiquated.” Nowadays, Xbox Game Studios is one of the most prolific and successful publishers on PlayStation.
Microsoft issued Bloomberg a statement that suggested its Xbox profit margin target isn’t the same across every project.

“We look at the business as a whole, balancing creativity, innovation, and sustainability across a diverse portfolio of offerings. As with any creative business, sometimes that means making hard decisions and stopping work on things that are no longer working for a variety of reasons, and shifting resources toward the projects that are more aligned with our direction and priorities.”

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.

If Star Trek is the optimistic dream of what humanity could become, The Outer Worlds 2 is the nihilistic nightmare of what it will probably be. Thankfully, both make for highly entertaining material to explore, and this second run through Obsidian’s corporate dystopia is a significant step up from the original. With a story that’s more grounded and interesting, significantly more competent combat, and an irresistible RPG grind, I had a blast putting my fist through the kafkaesque final frontier alongside a cast of memorable companions, even when a weak first act and some truly terrible enemy variety made the going less exciting. Across the more than 65 hours my completionist playthrough took, I fought with myself over moral dilemmas, giggled at absurd worldbuilding, and brought several would-be dictators to their knees – that’s exactly what the for-profit space doctor ordered.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a good old-fashioned single-player, open-world RPG in the same vein as Dragon Age, Fallout, and Avowed. Y’know, the ones where you’re an especially cool person given undue authority to insert yourself into the various conflicts of the world and decide the fate of all living beings while collecting a cast of snarky companions in the process? Well, as a followup to 2019’s The Outer Worlds and a sorta, kinda followup to 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian is at it again with a very similar blueprint here. It lays out a new dystopia to shoot your way through as you level up, grab every piece of loot within reach, and solve all the galaxy’s long-standing problems in no time at all. It’s not the most novel concept, to be sure, but it’s one I love that we simply don’t get enough of, and pulls it off better than the vast majority of recent attempts.

This sequel returns to a wonderfully satirical alternate reality where unfettered capitalism has conquered the stars to turn majestic celestial bodies into tacky outdoor strip malls. Though it shares the same pessimistic vision for the future, it ditches the first game’s Halcyon system for a different part of the galaxy called Arcadia, with a fresh batch of planets for you to single-handedly decide the fate of. More prominent than the new planets to explore though is a distinct shift in tone. While there’s still plenty of goofy jokes and ways to make your trek through corporate-owned space completely absurd, this sequel is much more interested in telling a grounded story – one that focuses squarely on the politics of Arcadia’s various factions and repeatedly forces you to make judgement calls on which of these deeply flawed organizations is the lesser evil.

That bet on more serious topics and the delicate balance of warring political entities is one that pays off, thankfully, and I found myself genuinely torn by who to side with and even frustrated by my inability to appeal to the better angels of these selfish, power hungry monsters, which is exactly what I look for in these kinds of make-your-mark-on-the-world games. The way you’re positioned as a central figure who will decide which of these power-hungry factions will emerge victorious is quite reminiscent of one of my favorite Obsidian RPGs, Fallout: New Vegas, and just like with that one, there aren’t any truly good answers here. Auntie’s Choice is a supposedly freedom-forward capitalistic organization that actually functions as an oppressive, monopolistic pseudo-government that would make Helldivers 2 proud, while The Protectorate is an openly fascistic society that seeks to suppress any thought diverging from their orthodoxy, and choosing which of these two vipers nests gets to control the fate of an entire planet is rarely straightforward. Even the groups that seem more reasonable like the Order of the Ascendant, which uses science and math to predict the future as it tries to guide humanity towards enlightenment, will get caught casually committing atrocities to prevent some supposed future they’ve seen through their abacus, which made me ponder if their way of life was actually any better.

When The Outer Worlds 2 is putting the political jockeying front and center, it’s sick as hell, and without question has some of the coolest worldbuilding and satisfyingly perilous moral dilemmas I’ve seen in some time – but it takes its sweet time getting there, mostly focusing on this conflict in its second half. For the first half of the story, you’ll instead prioritize a humdrum revenge quest I cared about so little that I actually forgot it was even the first act’s main focus by the time I reached credits. In fairness, they do use this early time to introduce you to the principle movers and shakers in Arcadia while you seek vengeance, which sets it up for a much stronger second act, but for the first 20 or so hours felt like the main story was quite slow and unengaging. It does rally if you can hang in there for a bit, but I wish it was more consistent throughout.

One area that is much more consistent is the absolutely gripping RPG climb, which sunk its teeth into me from moment one with a near-constant stream of interesting decisions to make about who my character was and how in the heck he was going to be able to save the galaxy. With only two skill points earned per level to spend across 12 skills that make you good at everything from Leadership to Lockpicking, you’ve got some serious decisions to make about what you want to excel in. This becomes an even more stressful decision once you take a look at the enormous list of perks, which can only be unlocked if you’ve sufficiently bought into the relevant prerequisite skills. That includes things like the ability to pickpocket others, which only becomes available to those who have leveled up Sneak, or another perk that allows you to sell increasingly unbelievable lies as you improve your Speech skill. You’re only allowed to buy 15 of these bad boys before you hit the level cap of 30, so planning out your ideal spacefaring badass and making sure you’ve got the skills you need to get the job done becomes very compelling, and I found myself hungrily looking for enemies to kill and side quests to complete to feed my XP habit.

But the best part of this power climb is how it manifests in unexpected ways in the form of flaws. The Outer Worlds 2 tracks the things your character does in search of certain trends, then provides opportunities for you to lean into those quirks by offering benefits that come at a cost. For example, if you tend to steal a lot, you might be offered the Kleptomaniac flaw, which allows you to sell all your stolen goods for more money, but also makes your character steal things automatically from time-to-time, which can get you in quite a bit of trouble with the locals. Alternatively, if you skip through a lot of dialogue, you’ll be offered the Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome flaw, which gives you bonus XP but forces you to choose all your dialogue options under a very short time limit before choosing an option for you randomly. Each of these has pretty massive implications on how you play and are irreversible, which can lead to all sorts of hilarious mistakes.

Early on in my playthrough, I was tempted by a Jack of All Trades flaw offered to me, which gave me a whole extra skill point every time I leveled up, but came at the cost of never being able to raise a skill more than one point above my lowest rated skill. This seemed like a pretty fair trade at the time, but I quickly realized that my character was now just bad at pretty much everything and constantly ran into roadblocks in my journey that made me thoroughly regret my decision (although it actually made for a pretty great way to play for the purposes of this review, since I got a taste of being semi-good at every skill on the roster). Even when these choices went on to haunt me for the rest of my playthrough, I couldn’t help but love them, and if anything it made me excited for subsequent playthroughs where I could learn from the error of my ways and perhaps stumble across some new flaws to saddle myself with.

Like its predecessor, you spend most of your time exploring the wild frontiers of untamed planets while staring down the barrel of a rifle and/or stabbing jugulars, and this is an area of significant improvement since the last time we were let loose in this setting. While the first Outer Worlds was mostly passable when it came to combat, this sequel manages to level up to “generally enjoyable” with snappier gunplay, improved mobility that has you sliding and double jumping around, and, most importantly, an arsenal of weapons that feels much better suited for the gloriously goofy sci-fi setting. I found so many weird and unexpected weapons with unique effects, like a shotgun that fires shots completely silently and instantly melts its target so bodies can’t be found (especially useful when trying to go undetected), and another weapon that started out weak but leveled up as I scored kills until is was an absolute beast (and which made me want to rewatch Solo Leveling).

Not only that, but there are a ton of ways to customize your weapons and armor with loads of mods you can buy and craft. Those do things like reduce your damage output overall to gain explosive rounds or better protect yourself against a certain elemental effect – and this is without me going into some of the truly bonkers and unique options that I won’t spoil here! They really do a lot more to make your rewards for exploring and completing quests more interesting and befitting of the silly world around you, which makes all the difference in the world. As you might expect, combat still has its quirks, like how the reticle on weapons often feels a bit more slippery than I’d like and how enemies would sometimes manage to hit me in melee even though I’d double-jumped a meter over their head. If you’re (unrealistically) hoping this has caught up with the best practices of a proper FPS like Battlefield 6, then you’re likely going to be disappointed, but it’s still at least a huge step up compared to the average open-world RPG, and that’s something.

The biggest letdown with combat is definitely the enemy variety, which usually features two or three types of wild animal on each world that you see way too much of for several hours at a time, alongside your standard humanoid enemies and a few robotic foes here and there. You’ll encounter a whole helluva lot of Raptidon creatures from the original, for example, and I found myself extremely sick of seeing them before I’d even left the first planet, much less by the time I entered the final stretch and was still running into them. It’s pretty disappointing that in a galaxy filled with so much promise, there’s practically no surprises in terms of the adversaries you face after only a few hours.

Even worse, The Outer Worlds 2 does the same thing as Avowed where all the enemies you encounter are finite and placed in specific spots in the world, and once you kill them they’re gone for good. This means that eventually you’ll be running through large swathes of the map utterly devoid of life, which makes areas feel very empty and also removes any possibility for random and unexpected encounters to occur. I’m not entirely sure why Obsidian keeps taking this approach, as I thought it was a detriment in Avowed as well, but they’ve stuck with it here and I still don’t dig it. That said, there’s at least a pretty decent fast travel system that let me jump around to important areas rather than backtracking through completely dead space, which I feel like I did a fair amount in Avowed. So even though it was disappointing to see this approach return, I ran into the ramifications of it far less frequently.

Speaking of running around, The Outer Worlds 2 has four main destinations, each with their own particular vibe, usually dictated by whichever faction has controlling interest, from the monk-like temples hidden in the snow on Cloister to the busy backwaters in the jungles of Eden. Exploring each is a lot of fun as you kill stuff, learn about the world, recruit new members to your party, and feverishly check off every quest on the map. I felt like I was always finding someone interesting to talk to or some loot just out of reach for me to puzzle through. All of that usually made for a good time, apart from the previously mentioned enemy repetition and the empty map that results from killing them, which does make for a very feast and famine situation.

Just like real life, a story-focused RPG is only as good as the companions who follow you around, judging your every decision, and this is one area where The Outer Worlds 2 most improves upon its predecessor. The six mostly-memorable characters you befriend and travel alongside each stand as a representative of the respective organization from which they hail. For example, Tristan, a heavily-armored brute serves as the group’s cop, eager to carry out his authoritarian government’s twisted form of justice on pretty much everyone you meet, while Inez, an entrepreneurial combat medic, is constantly reminding you of the virtues of the so-called free market enterprises she grew up with.

Like Mass Effect and Fallout before it, this tactic of making your party members serve as mouthpieces for each of the world’s factions is incredibly effective. It both immediately makes each companion’s worldview crystal clear and also helps you understand the powers at play and the philosophical disagreements that become pretty important for you to know as you start making decisions that massively alter the balance of power. Even if you’re not reading every journal entry you stumble across or following every bit of dialogue, it’s almost impossible not to become intimately familiar with Arcadia’s most important players just by absorbing it from your comrades, which makes it much easier to care about the story and the ultimate fate of the galaxy.

That said, there are still some companions who are a little less compelling, like Niles, an engineer who is mostly defined by a revenge quest that can resolve itself fairly early on in your journey, leaving little reason to bring him with you, and Valerie, a robot assistant who has some pretty amusing one-liners, but feels fairly disconnected from the story compared to the others. Unfortunately, these characters are the ones who appear earliest in the story, which makes a fairly bad first impression compared to how much better they eventually get. Although, now that I think about it… that is sorta a time-honored tradition in RPGs of this kind, isn’t it?

With Gen V Season 2 wrapped up, fans are wondering how the incredibly powerful Marie might fare in a showdown with The Boys supervillain Homelander. Well, according to showrunner Eric Kripke, fans shouldn’t expect Marie to appear in The Boys Season 5 as a Captain Marvel-style deus ex machina who kicks Homelander’s ass.

That’s because Marie still hasn’t mastered her powers, or as Kripke has put it in a number of Gen V Season 2 finale spoiler interviews, she’s not Net at the end of The Matrix.

Warning! Spoilers for The Boys and Gen V follow.

For a much deeper dive on all this, check out IGN’s Gen V Season 2 Ending Explained: How It Sets Up the Final Season of The Boys article, but to summarize, Marie can control blood, which potentially makes her more powerful even than Homelander. Homelander, for the uninitiated, is a sort of evil Superman, a character so overpowered that few rivals dare question his word. But Marie Moreau, played by Jaz Sinclair, has the potential to kill him due to her ability to command and weaponize blood.

But, it seems, Marie hasn’t realized her potential, and won’t have by the time The Boys Season 5 rolls around. Speaking to Variety, Kripke confirmed that The Boys Season 5 picks things up around half a year after the Gen V Season 2 finale, with Marie and co joining Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) in the fight against Vought.

“She’s super powerful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s amazing at controlling it,” Kripke said. “She’s not Keanu at the end of The Matrix, because — based on the next couple Matrixes — it’s not great for drama. You want a character who’s really struggling and growing, especially a kid like Marie. So even though she has a lot of raw power, she has to learn how to control it.”

It was a similar thought in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which Kripke said: “... Marie’s still young, and just because she’s incredibly powerful doesn’t mean she has perfect control over it. There’s a journey. She’s not Neo at the end of The Matrix. Those become bummer, boring Messiah characters, and she’s not that. She’s still a person and has a hard time wrestling with the amount of power that she’s finding herself to have.”

And, following the same thread in an interview with ComicBook, Kripke added: “Obviously, what I would like to see is Homelander get his ass kicked. He deserves it. The truth is just because Marie is very powerful, it doesn’t mean she knows how to control it. She is still just a kid. She is not Neo at the end of The Matrix. Marie has a lot of growing to do, and a lot of setbacks and challenges. And she should. That’s what makes the character interesting… the struggle. With all that being said, I don’t know if a direct confrontation with Homelander would go so great. And, there are a lot of people in line and waiting to bitch slap Homelander.”

The big question, of course, is whether Homelander actually dies in The Boys Season 5. Kripke wouldn’t give that away, of course, but did tell THR that Billy Butcher is “front of that line.” But then there’s the likes of Stan Edgar, the aforementioned Marie, Annie, and Huey who would no doubt all like a piece.

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.

With Fallout Day upon us and rumors swirling around remakes, remasters, and even new games in the famous post-apocalyptic role-playing series, one Hollywood star has made his thoughts crystal clear.

That star is Danny Trejo, whose appearances in the likes of From Dusk till Dawn, Con Air, and Spy Kids made him a cult figure. But he’s intimately familiar with Fallout, too, having played Raul Alfonso Tejada, a Ghoul companion, in the much-loved Fallout: New Vegas.

So it stands to reason that Trejo would, like so many fans, love to see Fallout: New Vegas return in some fashion. Responding to Bethesda’s official Instagram post on what to expect from Fallout Day, Trejo said: “Remaster New Vegas boss!” alongside a fire emoji. Trejo has 3.1 million followers on Instagram, so his comment will be heard loud across the social network.

Alas, a Fallout: New Vegas remaster was not on Bethesda’s official list of games set to appear during its Fallout Day broadcast, which is set for 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK today, October 23. Specifically on Fallout 76, Bethesda will show more of the Burning Springs update. This big expansion, due out in December, sees Walton Goggins reprise his fan-favorite role as The Ghoul from the Fallout TV show.

Fallout Shelter is also mentioned, as is Fallout 4 and Creations, which suggests the decade old role-playing game will get some new content soon. Creations are community created mods released officially for Bethesda’s video games.

Elsewhere, there are new merch drops, community in-person events, and a post-show celebrating the community. There is no specific mention of the Fallout TV show, either. with Season 2 due out in December.

There are all sorts of rumors floating around about potential Fallout remakes now that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is out the door (Fallout 3 Remastered was leaked back in 2023, but those plans may have changed). And we know Bethesda plans to eventually get to Fallout 5, albeit after The Elder Scrolls 6.

The last we heard on Fallout 5, by the way, was back in June 2024, when Bethesda Softworks head Todd Howard said he wasn’t interested in rushing it out the door. Howard opened up about the future of the hit post-apocalyptic RPG series during an interview with YouTube content creator MrMattyPlays.

"For other Fallout games in the future, you know, obviously I can’t talk about those right now, but I would say, sort of rushing through them, or we kind of need to get stuff out that is different than the work we’re doing in 76… we don’t feel like we need to rush any of that," he said. "The Fallout TV show fills a certain niche in terms of the franchise and storytelling."

The last mainline Fallout game was Fallout 4, which was released in 2015. DLC content for the entry was steadily released for PC and consoles over the next year, and in 2018, Bethesda launched its multiplayer-centered offshoot, Fallout 76. While fans slowly flocked to the West Virginia-set open-world RPG, it wasn’t until the premiere of Prime Video’s Fallout TV show that the Bethesda series leveled up in terms of attention.

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released the Into the Unjust: 4.1.0 update, which it said is designed to make the game “feel better to play.”

This much anticipated update overhauls how Arrowhead approaches patching “to better target the pain points you’ve shared with us.” The studio said that means “more focus on stability, balance, and the issues that affect your experience the most.”

Over 200 bugs have been fixed, along with key balance updates and quality-of-life improvements. Arrowhead said that while new features are coming, this patch marks “a big step forward: both in the game itself and in how we work to improve it.” More refinements are already underway, the studio continued.

In terms of balance, the overall effectiveness of primary weapons, sidearms, throwables, and stratagems is increased. SMGs and pistols, for example, have been adjusted to emphasize their role as close-quarters weapons, with increased close-range damage and increased damage falloff.

It’s worth noting changes are made to enemies across the board. The Dragon Roach, for example, has seen its spawn rate decreased, and destruction of the wings now results in instant death. Each wing has a health pool, and the Dragon Roach should be more susceptible to explosions because even if you hit the body you now also hit the wings and do more damage. Overall, there should be fewer Dragon Roaches and they should be easier to take down.

Check out the patch notes, courtesy of the Helldivers 2 Discord, below:

Helldivers 2 Into the Unjust: 4.1.0 patch notes:

Balancing

General changes

Primaries, Sidearms, Throwables, and Stratagems

• Improvements have been made to increase the overall effectiveness of primary weapons, sidearms, throwables, and stratagems

Light vs. Medium Penetration Weapons

• Light and medium penetration weapons now offer more distinct advantages.

Light penetration weapons generally deal a higher percentage of their total damage against durable enemies, differentiating them more clearly from medium penetration options

SMGs and Pistols

• SMGs and pistols have been adjusted to emphasize their role as close-quarters weapons. Close-range damage has been increased, and damage falloff has been increased to reinforce their short-range combat identity

Melee Weapons and Throwables

• Melee weapons and throwables have been improved to make each feel more impactful and unique in their function

Resupply Rack

• The resupply rack is not climbable anymore

Primary weapons

SG-8P Punisher Plasma

• Damage projectile decreased from 100 to 0
• Damage explosion increased from 150 to 225

SG-8S Slugger

• Damage increased from 280 to 330
• Durable damage increased from 75 to 90

AR-23 Liberator

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23A Liberator Carbine

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23P Liberator Penetrator

• Damage increased from 60 to 65

AR-23C Liberator Concussive

• Damage increased from 65 to 75
• Durable damage increased from 30 to 35

AR-61 Tenderizer

• Durable damage increased from 22 to 30

AR-32 Pacifier

• Damage increased from 50 to 55
• Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2

SMG-37 Defender

• Damage increased from 80 to 100
• Durable damage increased from 8 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

MP-98 Knight

• Damage increased from 70 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-32 Reprimand

• Damage increased from 125 to 135
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-72 Pummeler

• Damage increased from 70 to 85
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

LAS-16 Sickle

• Damage increased from 55 to 60
• Durable damage increased from 5 to 6

MA5C Assault Rifle

• Damage increased from 80 to 90

M7S SMG

• Damage increased from 70 to 80
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 16
• Drag increased from from 0.6 to 1.2

StA-11 SMG

• Damage increased from 70 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 7 to 18
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

PLAS-39 Accelerator Rifle

• Extra spare magazines increased from 8 to 12
• Ergonomics increased from 40 to 60

Sidearm weapons

CQC-2 Saber

• Damage increased from 110 to 125
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 65

CQC-5 Combat Hatchet

• Damage increased from 110 to 160
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 80
• Attack speed has been slightly reduced

CQC-42 Machete

• Damage increased from 170 to 200
• Durable damage increased from 80 to 100

P-2 Peacemaker

• Damage increased from 85 to 95
• Durable damage increased from 25 to 30
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-19 Redeemer

• Damage increased from 60 to 70
• Durable damage increased from 5 to 12
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-113 Verdict

• Damage increased from 125 to 135
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

M6C/SOCOM

• Damage increased from 100 to 110
• Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-92 Warrant

• Drag decreased from 0.3 to 0
• Gravity multiplier decreased from 1 to 0.3

Throwables

TED-63 Dynamite

• Damage increased from 700 to 1000
• Armor penetration increased from Medium to Heavy
• Demolition strength increased from 30 to 40
• Stagger increased from 30 to 40
• Uses decreased from 4 to 3

G-7 Pineapple

• Shrapnel from main explosion increased from 7 to 18
• Demolition strength on the main explosion increased from 20 to 30
• Inner radius on shrapnel explosion increased from 1 to 2.5m
• Damage on shrapnel explosion increased from 70 to 100
• Removed lifetime on the shrapnel
• Shrapnel from the shrapnel explosion decreased from 6 to 0

G-50 Seeker

• Higher priority for flying enemies
• Highest target priority for marked target
• Damage increased from 400 to 500

G-6 Frag

• Uses increased from 5 to 6

G-3 Smoke

• Uses increased from 4 to 5

Throwing knifes

• Damage increased from 250 to 300
• Durable damage increased from 100 to 150

PLAS-1 Scorcher

• Plasma projectiles will now pass through foliage without losing velocity

Stratagems

PLAS-45 Epoch

• Duration until explosion increased from 3 to 3.25 sec
• Delayed muzzle charge VFX by 0.5 seconds so it now appears when the projectile is overcharged, improving visibility of the charge state
• Damage on standard projectiles explosion increased from 400 to 500
• Demolition strength on overcharged projectile increased from 10 to 30

M-105 Stalwart

• Damage increased from 80 to 90
• Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

FLAM-40 Flamethrower

• Canister capacity increased from 130 to 150
• Starting canisters increased from 2 to 3
• Max spare canisters increased from 4 to 5

APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle

• Durable damage increased from 180 to 225
• Starting magazines increased from 4 to 5
• Max spare magazines increased from 6 to 8

AC- 8 Autocannon

• Damage increased from 260 to 325

GL-52 De-Escalator

• Damage increased from 55 to 100
• Durable damage increased from 55 to 70

MS-11 Solo Silo

• Health increased from 800 to 1500
• Enemies will not attack it
• Increased demolition strength needed to destroy it

Orbital Railcannon Strike

• Cooldown decreased from 210 to 180 sec

EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit

• Missile Armor penetration in worse angles increased from 6-6-4-0 to 6-6-5-0
• Rotary gun ammo capacity increased from 1000 to 1350

Enemies

• The goal is to make light and medium armor-piercing weapons equally effective against certain common enemies by adjusting their durable damage and durable resistance values

Illuminates

Fleshmob

• Targeting the faces deals extra damage to its main health, effectively creating weak spots
• Main health decreased from 6000 to 5000
• Most health zones are slightly more durable
• Slightly less vulnerable to fire to balance health decrease

Elevated Overseer

• Main health decreased from 600 to 450
• Head health increased from 150 to 200
• Head zone armor decreased from 3 to 2
• Torso health decreased from 600 to 450
• Arms health decreased from 300 to 250
• Slight increase on how easy it is to set on fire

Leviathan

• Now equipped with beam-based weaponry
• Leviathans will not show up in missions outside of cities

Terminids

Rupture Strain enemies

• Updated textures for all Rupture Strain enemies for better readability

Rupture Warrior

• Movement speed when underground has been decreased
• Needs to surface more often when moving underground
• Its burrow attack is slightly slower and leaves more space to be dodged
• Smaller damage boxes when attacking from below
• Front legs armor decreased from 3 to 2
• Will prefer to emerge before attacking turrets instead of destroying them from below ground

Rupture Spewer

• Retuned the timing of how fast it starts to act from when it unburrows

Bile Spewer Variations

• Increased size of its mouth weak spot

Brood Commanders

• Slightly harder to set on fire

Warriors

• Slightly harder to set on fire
• Slight durable increase in head and body

Dragon roach

• Spawn rate decreased
  • 50% lower on difficulty 5,6
  • 40% lower on difficulty 7,8,9
  • 33% lower on difficulty 10
• Destruction of the wings results in instant termination of the Dragon
  • Wings now have their own health pool of 4000
  • Increased how much damage wings take from explosion

Bile spewers

• Slightly harder to set on fire
• Larger body parts are slightly more durable

Hive Lord

• Improved performance during Hive Lord encounters.

Automatons

Base Alarming

• Automaton troopers in bases will require better visual confirmation before calling in reinforcements, instead of calling them in immediately

Devastators

• Slightly harder to be put on fire
• Large body parts are slightly more durable

Command Bunker Turret

• Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosion

Factory Strider

• Slightly less vulnerable to fire

War Strider

• Shoots 2 fewer grenades per salvo
• Shoots grenades less often
• Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosions
• Added weak spots aim for the eyes and the vents on the back

Scout Striders

• Armored top shield is more durable

Fixes

Stratagems

• Fixed an issue where Helldivers were unable to call down stratagems in the objective area of the "Nuke Nursery" cave mission
• Fixed an issue with the B-100 Portable Hellbomb stratagem sometimes falling on Cave roofs in the "Destroy Spore Lung" mission
• Fixed an issue with the drill objective stratagem sometimes landing in unintended places such as on top of caves, in Nuke Nursery Hive World missions
• Players can now stay aiming down sights when activating the LIFT-860 Hover Pack

Crashes

• Fixed a rare crash occurring when fighting Illuminates
• Fixed a crash when hotjoining and readying up before other hotjoiners
• Fixed a crash occurring when a player would re-join multiple times
• Fixed a rare crash caused by Eagle-1
• Fixed a rare bug where the Eagle-1 would never be removed from the game session and eventually cause crashes
• Fixed rare crash bug that could happen when spawning in groups of enemies
• Fixed crash affecting Helldivers trying to lean out from a vehicle
• Fixed a crash that could happen when scrolling through the weapon customization menu
• Fixed a crash that could happen during game shutdown

Weapons

• Fixed armor penetration values in the Stats Menu for CQC-5 Combat Hatchet, CQC-30 Stun Baton,CQC-19 Stun Lance, CQC-2 Saber, CQC-1 One True Flag and the G-7 Pineapple grenade; the armor penetration value displayed as Medium instead of Light
• Improved initial bullet alignment while strafing and riding in vehicles
• Moved the first person camera further away from the MS-11 Solo Silo's Target Designator scope
• Fixed the weapon reload animations desyncing when wielding armor passives that give increased reload speed
• The FAF-14 Spear can now lock onto Automaton AA turrets
• Fixed projectiles hitting direct center of sights when extremely close to objects
• Haptics feedback is now present throughout the firing of the FLAM-40 Flamethrower stratagem

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a bug where Hive Lord body parts would not spawn properly
• Fixed an instance where the Helldiver couldn't re-join their previous host, if said host left a joined game in progress from the loadout
• Fixed a bug where the LIFT-182 Warp Pack would sometimes get stuck suspended in the air or crash
• Fixed Adreno-Defibrillator armor passive animation bug
• Fixed disconnection issues when joining a solo player with 3 cross-platform players
• Fixed mesh clipping for the arms on some animations
• Reduced the chance of the Extraction Shuttle clipping through terrain
• Fixed a flickering bug on the avatar when the Helldiver gets affected by mud or snow
• Fixed a bug hole covered by terrain in one of the CR10 Mega Nests
• Rupture Warriors can no longer destroy deployable turrets while still underground
• Fixed an issue where the front door of the GATER could become inaccessible
• Fixed a rare issue where the player could be disconnected when they are a part of a mixed platform, 3 person lobby that joins a solo player under poor network conditions
• Fixed an issue with Illuminate dropships not taking correct damage during the “Repel Invasion Fleet” missions
• The currency symbol for Saudi riyal is now displayed correctly in the in game shop
• The Oil Rigs reverse audio will no longer continuously play if the player attempts to reverse during oil extraction
• Fixed Helldivers going through the floor in the tutorial mission, when diving near the barbed wires
• Fixed a rare soft-lock in tutorial
• Helldiver is now killed when driving into drill holes during Nuke Nursery missions
• Fixed an issue where Helldivers could enter a vehicle even though the seat got claimed by someone else first
• Fixed controller vibrations behaving incorrectly when connecting or disconnecting controllers on PC
• Fixed miscellaneous threading issues in the audio system
• Fixed minor texture clipping issues on the floor between hellpod launchers on the ship
• Fixed an issue where voice chat could sometimes change volume unexpectedly - particularly when entering caves

Optimizations

• Optimized status effects
• Optimized physics by only enabling powered ragdolls when needed
• Optimized physics body handling for damage calculations
• Optimized Automaton units and NPC eyes, by changing them from particle effects to shaders
• Optimized AI behaviors by analyzing and stripping out redundant code
• Reduced stuttering during drop-in sequence for missions on Hive Worlds
• Improved audio IO performance
• Snow distribution and overall look has been reworked
• Improved performance by tweaking LOD settings for characters
• Optimized asset distribution for several planets types
• Optimized scattered assets such as grass on various planet types
• Optimized asset distribution in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves
• Optimized asset setup and geometry for assets used in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves
• Optimized status effect physics and particle systems while maintaining visual feedback and fidelity
• Optimized various Automaton explosion VFX
• Optimized Acid Rain effects during Acid Storms
• Optimized Dragonroach fire attack VFX
• Made various optimizations to the fire system, including particle and light optimization.
• Improved performance by optimizing the rendering of several shaders

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.