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NetEase Games, one of the biggest video game developers and publishers in the world, is back with another NetEase Connect showcase to share not only updates on existing and upcoming games, but also to unveil brand-new, never-before-seen games. From Harry Potter: Magic Awakened to NARAKA: BLADEPOINT to The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War to Once Be Human, there were a wide variety of games on display this year that are worth a look. IGN Japan was on hand to get the drop on every NetEase Games’ title discussed in NetEase Connect 2022, and we’ve gathered each and every one below for you to ensure you don’t miss a thing. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is an upcoming immersive collectible card role-playing game that is set in the magical world of Harry Potter and will arrive on PC and mobile in 2022. Players will become a young witch or wizard who was just accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the journey will begin by customizing your ch

Blizzard has nerfed Hearthstone's infamous Drek'Thar card – which it was selling for $25 – and has offered refunds to the players who already bought it. The Diamond Drek'Thar, a premium version that could only be bought by paying $25 (or 3,000 in-game gold), was released in early April to significant player outcry due to its high price tag. In Hearthstone's latest patch (as reported by PC Gamer ), Blizzard significantly weakened all versions of the card, which would obviously have left paying players unhappy. Seemingly anticipating further backlash, Blizzard is automatically giving 3,000 gold to players who already bought Drek'Thar, and are even letting them keep the card (though it likely won't be viable in competitive play now anyway). Players who bought Drek'Thar using real money won't see that refunded, however, as they too will just be given the 3,000 gold equivalent. Diamond Drek'thar should summon 10-drops because it sure as hell cost

Update: Both Assassin's Creed Origins and For Honor: Marching Fire Edition will arrive on Xbox Game Pass in June. This has been confirmed in the Xbox Game Pass app in the 'coming soon' section on consoles, showing the release date for Assassin's Creed Origins is June 7, while For Honor: Marching Fire Edition will arrive on June 1. The original story continues below. Alongside the reveal of the second wave of Xbox Game Pass entries in April , Xbox has also announced that Assassin's Creed Origins and For Honor: Marching Fire Edition will be coming to Game Pass in the near future. According to an Xbox Wire blog post , both games will be coming to Game Pass within the next two months. 2017's Assassin's Creed Origins will be the first Assassin's Creed entry to join the game subscription service. For Honor Marching Fire Edition will also hit PC Game Pass via Ubisoft Connect. For Honor's base game is already available on Game Pass, so the Marching F

Someone has already remade the absurdly realistic Unreal Engine 5 train station demo inside PlayStation's Dreams. Martin Nebelong, an artist working for Dreams developer Media Molecule, recreated Lorenzo Draco's demo - intended to show off the never-before-seen power of Unreal Engine 5 - without touching the software at all. He shared his creation in a tweet (below), showing the process of putting the level together with a timelapse, adding that he did it all using the PlayStation Move controllers. Here's a timelapse of making the train station scene in Dreams on my PS5. No mouse, no keyboard. Just waving my arms in the air with two glowing wands :D Big props to Lorenzo Draco for the inspiration. #madeindreams #ue5 pic.twitter.com/yJbQx2GHP2 — Martin Nebelong (@MartinNebelong) May 18, 2022 The result is impressive thanks to the meticulous detail Nebelong includes, as the video shows him crafting the perfect length of girders, slabs of concrete, and so on. Th

The Pokémon GO trading card set is adding an amazing transforming Ditto mechanic straight from the game . When opening a pack of the new Pokémon GO cards, players should be on the lookout for a special Ditto symbol in the bottom left that can be found on basic Pokémon such as Bidoof. As shown in an official Pokémon TCG Instagram post (below), the unassuming Bidoof card (and presumably a handful of other Pokémon) will actually turn out to be a sticker, and can actually be peeled away to reveal a Ditto card behind it. In Pokémon GO itself , Ditto also hides in plain sight behind a rotating cast of Pokémon including Bidoof, Pidgey, Ekans, and so on, and only once you catch one does "Oh?" appear on the screen – before revealing that you actually just caught a Ditto. Pretty impressively, the Pokémon TCG has managed to recreate this perfectly in the new set of cards, as the Bidoof used as an example is just a common card from the set that can be encountered normally. The P

As far as the movies go, The Evil Dead series has a track record of being way better than it has any right to be, low-budget warts and all – and Evil Dead: The Game now finds itself squarely in that same boat. While it’s filled with things that irritate me, like slight inclines that my wimpy survivor was helpless to scale, finicky command prompts, and more, it also overwhelmingly succeeds at being a balanced, compelling battle of wits and reflexes that has kept my attention after more than 20 hours – and that’s no small task. Aside from the clunkiness, playing as a survivor absolutely nails the horror movie feel of working with a group to overcome an overwhelming evil threat, while playing as the menacing demon is a diabolically fun misadventure that fulfills the villainous mastermind fantasy. Yes, Evil Dead: The Game is an asymmetrical multiplayer game in the same vein of the likes of Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th , but here it’s presented with a goofy, Bruce Campbell-smoth

Bend Studio has revealed that PlayStation Trophy support will be added to Syphon Filter when the all-new PlayStation Plus subscription launches. "Agency intel reports that Syphon Filter will include Trophies when it arrives on the all-new PlayStation Plus," Bend Studio Tweeted out, with a video of a Trophy unlocking along with the familiar audio. It seems like one of the Trophies will be called "An Explosive Start" and it appears to be a Silver level trophy. Incoming From Bend Studio: Agency intel reports that Syphon Filter will include Trophies when it arrives on the all-new PlayStation Plus. pic.twitter.com/YVdMixZxBR — Bend Studio is Hiring! (@BendStudio) May 19, 2022 It's unclear right now whether this means that every original PlayStation title in the Premium tier will receive Trophy support or it will be on a case-by-case basis. Bend Studio is a first-party PlayStation developer, so Sony certainly has more say on what to do with its own games.

Warning: this article contains full spoilers for Halo: Season 1! If you haven't already, be sure to check out IGN's review of the Halo: Season 1 finale . Halo has ended its nine-episode first season on Paramount+, but this story is only just beginning. The streamer already confirmed Halo: Season 2 before the series even premiered. And based on the events of the finale, we definitely have an idea of where the series is headed. Keep reading for a full breakdown of Season 1's dramatic ending and how the show is building on the foundation of the games. IGN also spoke to executive producer Kiki Wolfkill, who serves as the Head of Transmedia at Halo developer 343 Industries, to learn more about why the show is making some significant changes to the traditional Halo mythology. Is Master Chief Actually Dead? The Season 1 finale showcases Master Chief's most dangerous mission to date, as he leads Silver Team into the heart of Covenant territory to steal back the two Fo

After months of closed beta testing, Fortnite has officially exited beta testing on GeForce Now . This means all members of Nvidia's cloud gaming service can now stream the popular free-to-play Battle Royale on iOS and Android devices, previously it was available on PC via the native GeForce Now app. Those interested in playing Fortnite on the service will need to sign up for a GeForce Now membership, which has three membership tiers to choose from: Free, Priority, and RTX 3080 . Important to note that the Free tier for GeForce Now only allows a 1-hour session of play. In comparison, Microsoft, which announced earlier in the month that Fortnite is available on Xbox Cloud Gaming , allows you to play as much as you'd like, and you don't even need to subscribe to the service. However, Android users opting to play via Xbox Cloud Gaming can only stream Fortnite through a web browser, rather than a dedicated app. GeForce Now subscribers with an Android device, on the other h

eFootball's next update will be available on June 2 with an official mobile version launching the same day. Announced on Konami's Twitter (below), version 1.1.0 will be the first update released for eFootball since its official launch in April . Though Konami is still being vague on what's included, it did say the update will improve the win/loss decision-making in online matches, enhance server capacity, and set the foundations for compatibility between the console and new mobile versions of eFootball, among other things to be announced later. About version 1.1.0 update for @play_eFootball pic.twitter.com/vvJT5iaNe4 — KONAMI UK (@KONAMIUK) May 19, 2022 The mobile game will be a re-launched version of eFootball PES 2021, now fitted with the full eFootball branding and compatibility with the new game. Konami again said more details would follow soon, including which features and players will carry over from last year's game to the new version, and did make cl

PS5 consoles will be in stock at Walmart from June 2, at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET. Walmart has confirmed its latest PS5 stock drop will occur on June 2 as part of its post-Memorial Day sales and Walmart+ weekend . In case this is your first rodeo, only Walmart+ members will get access to new PS5 stock this time around. If you haven't got a Walmart+ account just yet, it costs $98/ year or there is a $12.95/ month alternative. But, it's worth noting that you will not be able to access the PS5 drop via a free trial membership, so you'll need to have an active paid Walmart+ subscription to participate in the new PS5 drop. PS5 Walmart Restock is Happening on June 2 How to Buy a PS5 in 2022: Tips and Tricks First of all, make sure you're following @IGNDeals on Twitter, and stick notifications on for good measure. We'll inform you immediately when the PS5 stock goes live, and you can be quick to the mark. Remember, Walmart likes to release inventory in short bursts

Ubisoft's Roller Champions is finally being released next week on May 25, almost three years after its initial reveal at E3 2019 . The free to play, fast-paced roller derby game (with splashes of Rocket League and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater) was due to be released in early 2020 but suffered several delays, with the most recent being in February 2022. But following several rounds of alpha and beta testing, as Ubisoft likes to do with its multiplayer games , Roller Champions is finally ready to launch next week for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Switch users will have to wait a little longer, however, as the game still has no release date on Nintendo's platform, alongside the Epic Games Store, Stadia, and Amazon Luna versions. Roller Champions sees players battle in teams of three to race around roller derby tracks while in possession of a ball, with a successful score at the end of each lap granting a point. Whichever team is first to five points, or has the most points a

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is getting some visual enhancements as well as some additional content thanks to a new patch. The patch finally fixes the bug that made the game run slowly on PC if your characters had hair , reducing the frame rate for some players. It also includes quality of life improvements including adjustments to the game’s use of anti-aliasing as well as higher inventory limits for certain crafting items. Final Fantasy Origin is a game full of loot and things to pickup, so it is a welcome addition. In terms of content, it adds a Battle Simulator side mission that allows players “to try out jobs, equipment, and abilities” With the 28 jobs available in the game , the Battle Simulator sounds like a great way to test out new builds and playstyles. If you’ve been hesitant to pick it up, there is now an up to 25% off discount for the game across all platforms. You can snag all the chaos of Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin on sale in both Play

EA announced that it would be removing Battlefield 2042's 128 Breakthrough multiplayer mode on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC and will stick with the 64 player count version. The change will be reflected in Update 4.1 when it releases on May 19. "When reviewing the available experiences in All-Out Warfare, we felt that the 128 player modes are better suited for Conquest where gameplay spaces are larger, and where you have a more natural fit for sandbox gameplay," said EA on its website . EA notes that the player count was reduced as it felt like each individual player's contributions were reduced due to the sheer intensity and chaos during combat that come with having 128 players on one map. Update 4.1 for #Battlefield2042 goes live across all platforms tomorrow (19/5) at 08:00 UTC ✅ It's a zero-downtime update so you'll be good to jump in and play once you have it downloaded 🎮 Update Notes: https://t.co/t75GIOLdTS pic.twitter.com/95Dore6

Imagine compacting the gothic open world of 2004’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines into an RPG that is far slower and more deliberate in its execution, dousing it with the same variety of linear, character-driven storytelling made popular in Telltale’s The Walking Dead series, then finally handing it off to receive one last blood injection from the legendary puzzle game Myst. That’s the pedigree that Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong tries to live up to, but it struggles to piece its own identity as a detective RPG together until the very end. It’s rich with decisions that should feel meaningful in theory, but its emotional moments exist in service to a broader story with no clue what to do with them. Meanwhile, its many obtuse puzzles are often too clumsily explained. With all of that working against it, you’d be mortally forgiven for walking out of Swansong’s dark, hazy alcove before its final embrace. Things kick off as you step into a fancy pair of vampire shoes and head

If, for some reason, you decided you weren't too keen on LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga at full price, well my patient and frugal friend, the Nintendo Switch version is on sale right now at both Walmart AND Amazon. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on Sale It's important to note both Amazon and Walmart's deals are being offered by 3rd party sellers, but they're being fulfilled by the respective retailers. I buy 3rd party stuff all the time and haven't had any problems. At least, not yet. If you'd prefer, Amazon has the PS4 and the PS5 versions on sale as well, but the mark-down isn't really that exciting compared to the Nintendo Switch version. Traveller's Tales really did an outstanding job with this one. In our LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga review we called it "a series of interplanetary playgrounds that are dense with discovery and entertaining diversions." Basically, even the video game versions of the movies you didn

Epic’s new game engine, Unreal Engine 5, is set to add a new suite of options and seemingly ease the process of game development for developers large and small. That ease of use, plus a drastically improved toolset and multiple features designed to save time for developers, could lead to development methods that look vastly different from previous generations. But how poised is it to actually change the game development landscape? IGN spoke to a number of both AAA and indie developers to discuss what Unreal Engine 5 brings to the table and the possible ripple effects it could have on the industry. The picture these devs painted of the engine is one of efficiency, increased useability for spread-out dev teams, and the possibility of indie games being larger in scope than ever before. Nanite The biggest changes Unreal Engine 5 introduces include Nanite (Unreal’s geometry system), Lumen (its updated lighting system), and advancements in world and data streaming. These of course on