PlayStation has confirmed that Spider-Man will be coming to Marvel’s Avengers as a free PlayStation exclusive. Spider-Man will be released post-launch, so he won’t be available when Marvel’s Avengers is released on September 4. In a new PlayStation Blog post, Marvel’s Avengers confirmed that Spider-Man will be added to the playable roster in early 2021 “at no additional cost” to anyone who owns the base game. As previously leaked, Spider-Man will be exclusive to PlayStation owners. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/29/hawkeye-reveal-trailer-for-marvels-avengers-4k"] A leaked retail listing previously seemed to indicate that Spider-Man would be an exclusive DLC character for Marvel’s Avengers. The retailer clarified that the listing was erroneous, but that appears to be damage control for a real leak. Marvel’s Avengers previously announced other post-launch DLC characters like Hawkeye, but unlike Spider-Man, Hawkeye will not be exclusive to any one system. For more, check out IGN First for Marvel's Avengers for our full, exclusive coverage. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Update: IGN reached out to Analogue to get clarification about today's pre-order for the Analogue Pocket. Following reports that some customers couldn't complete their pre-orders after having a unit in their cart, Analogue responded: "Shopify's shipping calculator was slowed down by immense traffic - we'll have a solution in the future. We apologize to those who experienced this issue." Analogue also reiterated that it is selling the Pocket during a global pandemic, which has made logistics more complicated. "This is certainly not a typical product launch." The company says customers should sign up for email notifications to be alerted when the Pocket and accessories will be available again. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Analogue Pocket, the stylish third-party handheld console coming in 2021, has sold all of its pre-order units within 15 minutes of going on sale - and some of those who missed out aren't happy. Announced in a tweet, Analogue said that it was aiming to produce more and meet demand. It's unclear how many units were available to buy initially, and Analogue's mention of the "unfortunate global state of affairs" implies there may be production problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially reducing how many units could be bought.

Pocket pre-orders are sold out. We will be producing more and do our best to meet demand during this unfortunate global state of affairs.

Signup at https://t.co/E3wd4IdMbE to be notified by email when we are able to make Pocket + accessories available again. pic.twitter.com/K3is9xG5uk — Analogue (@analogue) August 3, 2020

Unfortunately, many potential buyers seem to have run into an issue where they were able to add a Pocket pre-order to their basket, but ran into issues with Analogue's shipping calculator (with many reporting upwards of 5 minutes of wait time), only to be told that pre-orders had sold out once the calculation was complete. IGN has contacted Analogue for comment on potential pre-order issues, but has not heard back at time of publish.

Added everything to my cart at 10:59 EST. Shipping did not populate for 7 minutes at which time it had already sold out. Cool.

You guys are holding tens of thousands of dollars for nearly a year but you somehow can't afford enough stock to last longer than 10 minutes. Very Cool — DARK (@dark_573) August 3, 2020

Some are reporting that pre-ordered units are already showing up on auction sites for more than double the $200 asking price, although I've been unable to personally verify this at time of writing. The handheld is able to play three generations of Game Boy games, as well as a number of other handheld games using adapters.  We recently got an updated list of features ahead of its May 2021 release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=analogue-pocket-8-new-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Update: IGN reached out to Analogue to get clarification about today's pre-order for the Analogue Pocket. Following reports that some customers couldn't complete their pre-orders after having a unit in their cart, Analogue responded: "Shopify's shipping calculator was slowed down by immense traffic - we'll have a solution in the future. We apologize to those who experienced this issue." Analogue also reiterated that it is selling the Pocket during a global pandemic, which has made logistics more complicated. "This is certainly not a typical product launch." The company says customers should sign up for email notifications to be alerted when the Pocket and accessories will be available again. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Analogue Pocket, the stylish third-party handheld console coming in 2021, has sold all of its pre-order units within 15 minutes of going on sale - and some of those who missed out aren't happy. Announced in a tweet, Analogue said that it was aiming to produce more and meet demand. It's unclear how many units were available to buy initially, and Analogue's mention of the "unfortunate global state of affairs" implies there may be production problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially reducing how many units could be bought.

Pocket pre-orders are sold out. We will be producing more and do our best to meet demand during this unfortunate global state of affairs.

Signup at https://t.co/E3wd4IdMbE to be notified by email when we are able to make Pocket + accessories available again. pic.twitter.com/K3is9xG5uk — Analogue (@analogue) August 3, 2020

Unfortunately, many potential buyers seem to have run into an issue where they were able to add a Pocket pre-order to their basket, but ran into issues with Analogue's shipping calculator (with many reporting upwards of 5 minutes of wait time), only to be told that pre-orders had sold out once the calculation was complete. IGN has contacted Analogue for comment on potential pre-order issues, but has not heard back at time of publish.

Added everything to my cart at 10:59 EST. Shipping did not populate for 7 minutes at which time it had already sold out. Cool.

You guys are holding tens of thousands of dollars for nearly a year but you somehow can't afford enough stock to last longer than 10 minutes. Very Cool — DARK (@dark_573) August 3, 2020

Some are reporting that pre-ordered units are already showing up on auction sites for more than double the $200 asking price, although I've been unable to personally verify this at time of writing. The handheld is able to play three generations of Game Boy games, as well as a number of other handheld games using adapters.  We recently got an updated list of features ahead of its May 2021 release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=analogue-pocket-8-new-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Microsoft has revealed a new version of its Microsoft Store for Xbox, which will start being released to Insiders on August 5, and arrive this fall for all users. Shown off on the Xbox Wire blog, the store is a complete redesign (and clearly a newer version of the store design that leaked in June), which should be twice as fast to load, easier to search, and safer. The post only mentions this store with regard to Xbox One, but we've previously heard that that Series X will have the same UI as Xbox One, so we may well be looking at the next-gen store too. You can check out a series of screenshots below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=9-images-of-the-new-microsoft-store-design-for-xbox&captions=true"] The store should start up within two seconds, and be faster to browse and watch trailers within. Trailers can be played inline while browsing (i.e. without opening the game's store page), and can be set to autoplay. The store also now includes a "fully redesigned navigation system", which will allow for better search filtering, a rebuilt wishlist that will alert you to sales on items you're watching, an updated shopping cart, better-surfaced listings for games available from previous console generations, and more. In a walkthrough with Major Nelson, Microsoft's Cody Bird explained that the store's been designed in part to be more easily navigable for new users. The store will now only be usable if users are signed in, which has two main purposes. The first is that the store will seemingly recommend games more relevant to your interests, but the second is that game age ratings are better shown, and can be filtered on children's accounts to stop underage players viewing content inappropriate for their age. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Some Xbox Insiders will be able to try out the new store from August 5, and it will be gradually rolled out to more and more users ahead of a fall release. Cody Bird added that this is the "starting point" for the new store, not a finished product, and it will continue to evolve after launch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Microsoft has revealed a new version of its Microsoft Store for Xbox, which will start being released to Insiders on August 5, and arrive this fall for all users. Shown off on the Xbox Wire blog, the store is a complete redesign (and clearly a newer version of the store design that leaked in June), which should be twice as fast to load, easier to search, and safer. The post only mentions this store with regard to Xbox One, but we've previously heard that that Series X will have the same UI as Xbox One, so we may well be looking at the next-gen store too. You can check out a series of screenshots below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=9-images-of-the-new-microsoft-store-design-for-xbox&captions=true"] The store should start up within two seconds, and be faster to browse and watch trailers within. Trailers can be played inline while browsing (i.e. without opening the game's store page), and can be set to autoplay. The store also now includes a "fully redesigned navigation system", which will allow for better search filtering, a rebuilt wishlist that will alert you to sales on items you're watching, an updated shopping cart, better-surfaced listings for games available from previous console generations, and more. In a walkthrough with Major Nelson, Microsoft's Cody Bird explained that the store's been designed in part to be more easily navigable for new users. The store will now only be usable if users are signed in, which has two main purposes. The first is that the store will seemingly recommend games more relevant to your interests, but the second is that game age ratings are better shown, and can be filtered on children's accounts to stop underage players viewing content inappropriate for their age. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Some Xbox Insiders will be able to try out the new store from August 5, and it will be gradually rolled out to more and more users ahead of a fall release. Cody Bird added that this is the "starting point" for the new store, not a finished product, and it will continue to evolve after launch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Riot Games has revealed that Act II of Valorant will begin on August 4, 2020, and will bring with it a new Battlepass, a new agent, a new Glitchpop Skinline, and a free-for-all Deathmatch mode. Valorant's Act II Battlepass will feature "unique unlockables, including gun skins, gun buddies, sprays, player cards, player titles, and Radianite Points," and will cost 1000 VP. The new agent arriving in Valorant, Killjoy, was revealed last week and will become playable on August 4 as well. She is a "wunderkind" that can use a variety of robots and gadgets to gain the upperhand against her enemies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=valorant-act-ii-screenshots&captions=true"] The new Glitchpop Skinline "leans into a dystopian future where death has no consequence and comes to life through bright, colorful skins and a playful but deadly attitude." These new skins will be available for Frenzy, Odin, Bulldog, and Judge. There will also be a melee weapon as well. Free-for-all Deathmatch will launch in Beta form and will become available on August 5. It will see 10 players battling for dominance, with no abilities, infinite money, and no Spike. A player will become victorious with 30 kills or if they have the most kills after 6 minutes. All weapons will be available and players will start with heavy armor. When a player dies, they will respawn within 3 seconds and will start with 8 seconds of invulnerability that will allows them to swap weapons if desired. Once they move or fire, the invulnerability goes away. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/29/valorant-new-agent-reveal-killjoy"] Health packs will drop after an enemy is killed, an UAV will reveal the current location of enemies every 5 seconds, and Kill Banners will appear for those who can achieve a double kill, triple kill, etc. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who is a Sova main. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Riot Games has revealed that Act II of Valorant will begin on August 4, 2020, and will bring with it a new Battlepass, a new agent, a new Glitchpop Skinline, and a free-for-all Deathmatch mode. Valorant's Act II Battlepass will feature "unique unlockables, including gun skins, gun buddies, sprays, player cards, player titles, and Radianite Points," and will cost 1000 VP. The new agent arriving in Valorant, Killjoy, was revealed last week and will become playable on August 4 as well. She is a "wunderkind" that can use a variety of robots and gadgets to gain the upperhand against her enemies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=valorant-act-ii-screenshots&captions=true"] The new Glitchpop Skinline "leans into a dystopian future where death has no consequence and comes to life through bright, colorful skins and a playful but deadly attitude." These new skins will be available for Frenzy, Odin, Bulldog, and Judge. There will also be a melee weapon as well. Free-for-all Deathmatch will launch in Beta form and will become available on August 5. It will see 10 players battling for dominance, with no abilities, infinite money, and no Spike. A player will become victorious with 30 kills or if they have the most kills after 6 minutes. All weapons will be available and players will start with heavy armor. When a player dies, they will respawn within 3 seconds and will start with 8 seconds of invulnerability that will allows them to swap weapons if desired. Once they move or fire, the invulnerability goes away. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/29/valorant-new-agent-reveal-killjoy"] Health packs will drop after an enemy is killed, an UAV will reveal the current location of enemies every 5 seconds, and Kill Banners will appear for those who can achieve a double kill, triple kill, etc. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who is a Sova main. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s latest patch, containing the update for Season 5, has been deployed. It is, as they always are, massive, but Infinity Ward says that the update will actually shrink the overall install size of the game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-modern-warfare-and-warzone-season-4-screenshots&captions=true"] The Season 5 update, available to download now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One ahead of the season launch itself, weighs in at a chunky 36GB on PS4, although requires 90GB of free space on the hard drive to initiate the download. But Modern Warfare’s Production Director, Paul Haile, has said that this won’t just add more space demands on top of what the game currently takes up.

this means the download will be big, but the overall size of the game will actually shrink on your consoles after you download the patch, even though we're adding a bunch of new content for the season.

— Paul Haile (@Tyrael) August 2, 2020

“The overall size of the game will actually shrink on your consoles after you download the patch, even though we're adding a bunch of new content for the season,” he says. He also explains that the patch contains not just new content, but optimisation for the existing asset packs. With Modern Warfare taking up pretty much 200GB at the moment across all platforms, this shrinkage of the install size will come as good news to many players who'd like to have other large games installed on the same drive. For more on Call of Duty, check out Infinity Ward’s current stance on cheat bans, a listing that appears to be for this year’s unannounced Call of Duty game, and how our obsession with Yegor’s pink tracksuit jacket revealed some fascinating things about game design. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s latest patch, containing the update for Season 5, has been deployed. It is, as they always are, massive, but Infinity Ward says that the update will actually shrink the overall install size of the game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-modern-warfare-and-warzone-season-4-screenshots&captions=true"] The Season 5 update, available to download now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One ahead of the season launch itself, weighs in at a chunky 36GB on PS4, although requires 90GB of free space on the hard drive to initiate the download. But Modern Warfare’s Production Director, Paul Haile, has said that this won’t just add more space demands on top of what the game currently takes up.

this means the download will be big, but the overall size of the game will actually shrink on your consoles after you download the patch, even though we're adding a bunch of new content for the season.

— Paul Haile (@Tyrael) August 2, 2020

“The overall size of the game will actually shrink on your consoles after you download the patch, even though we're adding a bunch of new content for the season,” he says. He also explains that the patch contains not just new content, but optimisation for the existing asset packs. With Modern Warfare taking up pretty much 200GB at the moment across all platforms, this shrinkage of the install size will come as good news to many players who'd like to have other large games installed on the same drive. For more on Call of Duty, check out Infinity Ward’s current stance on cheat bans, a listing that appears to be for this year’s unannounced Call of Duty game, and how our obsession with Yegor’s pink tracksuit jacket revealed some fascinating things about game design. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Update: PlayStation has confirmed that, despite the denial from the retailer, Spider-Man will be coming to Marvel's Avengers as a PlayStation exclusive DLC. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Orignal Story: UK retailer Base sparked speculation this weekend after a PS4 listing for Marvel's Avengers specified that Spider-Man would be an exclusive character of the Sony version of the game - however the retailer has now told IGN that the information was "not correct". Base.com originally listed the PS4 version of the game with a description that said, "Play as Spider-man exclusively on PS4". After speculation began that it had listed unannounced information, Base removed the mention of the exclusive character (you can see the original listing here), only furthering internet intrigue. However, speaking to IGN, a Base spokesperson told IGN the information was wrong, and had been present on the page for over a year: "The information was removed from our product page as it was not correct.  We removed the information as soon as we found out that it was not correct. It had been on the product since E3 June 2019 (11 June 2019)." The spokesperson clarified that the offending line did not come from a publisher or supplier. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/29/hawkeye-reveal-trailer-for-marvels-avengers-4k"] The speculation was informed by the fact that Sony owns the film rights to Spider-Man, PlayStation exclusively releases Spider-Man games, and the fact that developer Crystal Dynamics has previously said that the PS4 version of the game would include "surprises" for PlayStation owners. There's also the fact that, when revealing Hawkeye as a post-launch character, he was seemingly listed as the second of four planned heroes to come to the game as free updates - which would leave the possibility that an exclusive Spider-Man would be the first. While it remains possible that Spider-Man could appear in the game, it seems Base wasn't working with any privileged information. Publisher Square Enix has not replied to a request for comment. Marvel's Avengers starts a series of beta tests this week - here's everything you'll be able to do in the demo versions of the upcoming hero game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.