2024-01

Nintendo revealed during a Direct last September Splatoon 3's Side Order DLC would be coming to the game sometime in the spring of this year. Now, just a few months later, Nintendo has revealed exactly when: February 22, 2024. That's when Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3 expansion pass, which features Side Order as the star of the show, goes live, and it's when players can explore the Spire of Order, a brand new location.  Nintendo announced this news with a short teaser trailer today that shows Agent 8 sleeping on a train. The teaser then transitions to the Spire of Order where a mysterious voice is calling out to Agent 8.  Check it out for yourself below in the Splatoon 3 Side Order DLC release date trailer:  For the uninitiated, Agent 8 is the protagonist from Splatoon 2's...

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Palworld has sold five million copies in three days, instantly making it a force to be reckoned with while simultaneously opening the floodgates of discourse surrounding intellectual property theft in video games. But are the accusations that Palworld is little more than a Pokemon rip-off justified? IGN takes a deeper look....

Half Mermaid, led by Sam Barlow, is known for making video games using FMV, and they often require the player to sort through footage to solve mysteries. But for the studio's next projects, it seems the mystery will begin before the games are even announced – today, two Steam listings were posted on Half Mermaid's developer page, but most of their information is redacted. The games, currently called "Project C" and "Project D," have very few concrete details listed. White text blocks give the page a redacted look, so only a few words in each sentence are legible, and the images and videos in their galleries are surreal and vague. Obscure details are still details, however, so here's a breakdown of what we know about each game so far. Project C The description underneath Project C's profile image is as...

Square Enix has partnered with Fathom Events and Sony Pictures to bring the director's cut of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children to theaters for the first time. Premiering ahead of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s launch on February 29, the theatrical sequel to the original Final Fantasy VII will get its first run in U.S. theaters for just two days.  Dubbed Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete, this expanded version of the 2005 CG film is 26 minutes longer than the original. Square Enix states it features “roughly a thousand revised scenes with expanded themes and improved visuals.”  Before the film starts, though, fans who arrive early will witness exclusive introductory content, such as a history of Final Fantasy VII presentation that explains its ties to Advent Children. Gameplay footage of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be shown off, along with...

Nintendo has revealed pink Joy-Con controllers for the Switch alongside a new Princess Peach: Showtime gameplay trailer. Fittingly, these new Joy-Con are pastel pink, just like Peach's signature dress. They will be available for purchase at select retailers and Nintendo's online store for a limited time, although Nintendo did not mention exactly when players can buy them.  And speaking of Princess Peach: Showtime, in the latest gameplay trailer for it released today, we get a glimpse at several new iterations of the titular character, including Ninja Peach, Cowgirl Peach, and Kung-Fu Peach, as well as new looks at others like Patissiere Peach, Detective Peach, and Swordfighter Peach.  Check them out for yourself in the new Princess Peach: Showtime gameplay trailer below:  Princess Peach: Showtime hits Switch on March 22.  For more about the game, check out the Princess...

Riot Games, the publisher-developer company behind League of Legends, has announced that it is laying off 530 employees. Plus, it's ending new game development under its Riot Forge arm, which produced third-party-developed games with the "A League of Legends Story" tag, like Ruined King, The Mageseeker, Song of Nunu, and the upcoming Bandle Tale, which will be the last in this line of releases.  As for why, Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja and co-founder and chief product officer Marc Merrill sight the need to "move us toward a more sustainable future" in the announcement post released on January 22.  "Minutes ago, we shared with Rioters that we are focusing on fewer, high-impact projects to move us toward a more sustainable future," it reads. "Now, we want to tell you what these changes mean for our games, everything around them (esports, Arcane,...

Developer Rocksteady Studios has pulled back the curtains on the free seasonal content coming to Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League after the game's launch on February 2. Season 1 will kick off in March and includes the most famous villain in the DC roster: The Joker. Not only is The Joker joining the game, but he'll be a new playable member of the Suicide Squad.  Notably, this take on The Joker is not the Mark Hamill-voiced character from the Batman: Arkham series. Instead, Brainiac is pulling Elseworlds together in an attempt to merge them into a unified multiverse. This is how The Joker in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League joins the roster. In his universe, he was already a member of the Suicide Squad. His playstyle is fast and dynamic and requires players to stay moving, according to...

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Last week, the internet began to speculate that Gothic and Elex II developer Piranha Bytes was being shut down after fans noticed the studio's website was essentially defunct. Many speculated Piranha Bytes was another casualty in owner Embracer Group's purge of studios that began last year after a planned $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group fell through in 2023. Studio closures at the hands of Embracer include Saints Row developer Volition Games and reformed TeamSplitters team Free Radical Design. Game Informer reached out to Piranha Bytes following last week's speculation to see if it was, indeed, another closure at the hands of Embracer, and today, studio CEO Michael Rüve responded, stating the studio's situation right now is difficult but that people shouldn't write them off yet.  Here's what Rüve's statement says, in full:  "Dear fans, yes, it's true. We, Piranha Bytes, are...