October is a big month for HBO Max subscribers, as two of the most anticipated films of the year - Dune and the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark - both arrive just weeks apart from each other. Dune is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel that tells the story of Paul Atreides who has to travel to an incredibly dangerous planet to save not only his family, but his people as well.

Check out our video review of Dune in the video player below:

Comedy fans are also in for a treat as Seinfeld creator Larry David returns in Curb Your Enthusiasm's 11th season for more hilariously awkward moments that will have us both laughing and cringing from the ridiculousness.

October also brings with it Halloween, and HBO Max will feature some big-name horror films this month including The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, It: Chapter 2, Amityville Horror, and Mama. The latest Conjuring film was on HBO Max earlier this year when it also debuted in theaters, and it returns alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda's In The Heights for all subscribers.

Some big-name shows, including Succession and Insecure, are also getting new seasons this month, and Aquaman: King of Atlantis will tell a new story for Arthur Curry that's told by, among others, Aquaman director James Wan.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for the highlights of HBO Max's October 2021 offerings, followed by the full list:

October 1

• Admission, 2013 (HBO)
• A Royal Affair, 2012 (HBO)
• After the Thin Man, 1936
• All The President's Men, 1976 (HBO)
• American Gigolo, 1980 (HBO)
• American Graffiti, 1973 (HBO)
• Argo, 2012 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• Bad Boys II, 2003
• Bad Boys, 1995
• Bad Words, 2013 (HBO)
• Ballet 422, 2014 (HBO)
• Being Flynn, 2012 (HBO)
• Best Man Down, 2013 (HBO)
• Beverly Hills Cop, 1984 (HBO)
• Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987 (HBO)
• Beverly Hills Cop III, 1994 (HBO)
• Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure, 1989 (HBO)
• Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey, 1991 (HBO)
• Billy Elliot, 2000 (HBO)
• Black Christmas, 2019 (HBO)
• Black Hawk Down, 2001 (HBO)
• Blades Of Glory, 2007 (HBO)
• Blazing Saddles, 1974
• Blood Father, 2016 (HBO)
• Bloodsport, 1988 (HBO)
• Blue Crush, 2002 (HBO)
• Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, 2004 (HBO)
• Bridget Jones's Diary, 2001
• Broken City, 2013 (HBO)
• Caddyshack II, 1988
• Cake, 2005 (HBO)
• Cats, 2019 (HBO)
• Child 44, 2015 (HBO)
• City of God, 2002 (HBO)
• Clash of Titans , 1981
• Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer, 2010 (HBO)
• Culpa, 2021 (HBO)
• Danny Collins, 2015 (HBO)
• David Lynch: The Art Life, 2016
• Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985 (HBO)
• Dinner For Schmucks, 2010 (HBO)
• Doubt, 2008 (HBO)
• Down A Dark Hall, 2018 (HBO)
• Downhill, 2020 (HBO)
• Drop Zone, 1994 (HBO)
• Dying Young, 1991 (HBO)
• El Cantante, 2007 (HBO)
• El Profugo, 2020 (HBO)
• Emma., 2020 (HBO)
• Endless Love, 2014 (HBO)
• Entre Nos: The Winners 2, 2021 (HBO)
• Entre Nos: What She Said, 2021 (HBO)
• Family Matters
• Fifty Shades Of Black, 2016 (HBO)
• For A Good Time, Call…, 2012 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• Full House
• Gangs Of New York, 2002 (HBO)
• Gangster Squad, 2013 (HBO)
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips, 1969
• Hacksaw Ridge, 2016 (HBO)
• Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, 2008
• He Said She Said, 1991 (HBO)
• Hearts In Atlantis, 2001 (HBO)
• Hitch, 2005
• Hitman, 2007 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• Hooper, 1978
• Hostage, 2005 (HBO)
• House of Wax , 2005
• House, 2008 (HBO)
• Imagine That, 2009 (HBO)
• Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, 2015
• J. Edgar, 2011 (HBO)
• Johnny English Strikes Again, 2018 (HBO)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth, 2008
• Just Mercy, 2019 (HBO)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1, 2003 (HBO)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2, 2004 (HBO)
• Kin, 2018 (HBO)
• Leap Year, 2010 (HBO)
• LEGO DC Shazam: Magic and Monsters!, 2020
• Less Than Zero, 1987 (HBO)
• Like Water for Chocolate, 1992 (HBO)
• Little Man, 2006 (HBO)
• Lincoln, 2012 (HBO)
• Lottery Ticket, 2010 (HBO)
• M*A*S*H, 1970 (HBO)
• Mama, 2013 (HBO)
• Marathon Man, 1976 (HBO)
• Misery, 1990 (HBO)
• Monster's Ball, 2001 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• Moonrise Kingdom, 2012 (HBO)
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 1989
• National Lampoon's Vacation, 1983
• Natural Born Killers, 1994
• Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, 2020 (HBO)
• Night Catches Us, 2010 (HBO)
• Orphan, 2009
• Parental Guidance, 2012 (HBO)
• Pariah, 2011 (HBO)
• Police Academy, 1984
• Poltergeist II: The Other Side, 1986 (HBO)
• Poltergeist III, 1988 (HBO)
• Private Parts, 1997 (HBO)
• Proof Of Life, 2000 (HBO)
• Racing Stripes, 2005 (HBO)
• Reservation Road, 2007 (HBO)
• Say Anything…, 1989 (HBO)
• Sergeant York, 1941
• Shaft, 1971
• Shall We Dance?, 2004 (HBO)
• She's All That, 1999 (HBO)
• Sherlock Holmes And The Great Escape, 2019 (HBO)
• Sherlock Holmes, 2009
• Shrek The Third, 2007 (HBO)
• Six Degrees Of Separation, 1993 (HBO)
• Sliver, 1993 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• Snitch, 2013 (HBO)
• Speedway, 1968
• Step by Step,
• Stigmata, 1999 (HBO)
• Strange But True, 2019 (HBO)
• Superstar, 1999 (HBO)
• Super 8, 2011 (HBO)
• Talk To Me, 2007 (HBO)
• Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, 2019
• The Banger Sisters, 2002 (HBO)
• The Blind Side, 2009 (HBO)
• The Bonfire of the Vanities, 1990
• The Book Of Eli, 2010 (HBO)
• The Campaign, 2012 (Alternate Version) (HBO)
• The Cider House Rules, 1999 (HBO)
• The Cincinnati Kid, 1965
• The East, 2013 (HBO)
• The Eichmann Show, 2015 (HBO)
• The Internship, 2013 (HBO)
• The Invisible Man, 2020 (HBO)
• The Harvey Girls, 1946
• The High Note, 2020 (HBO)
• The Hours, 2002 (HBO)
• The Legend Of Hercules, 2014 (HBO)
• The Many Saints of Newark, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021 (Only available on the $14.99/month Ad-Free plan. Streaming in the US only for a limited time.) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
• The Outsiders, 1983
• The Perfect Storm, 2000
• The Poseidon Adventure, 1972 (HBO)
• The Quarry, 2020 (HBO)
• The Rite, 2011 (HBO)
• The Running Man, 1987 (HBO)
• The Way Way Back, 2013 (HBO)
• The 15:17 To Paris, 2018 (HBO)
• Things We Lost In The Fire, 2007 (HBO)
• Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, 2005
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 2011 (HBO)
• Trance, 2013 (HBO)
• Tully, 2018 (HBO)
• Twelve Monkeys, 1995 (HBO)
• Underwater, 2020 (HBO)
• Up In The Air, 2009 (HBO)
• Wall Street, 1987 (HBO)
• Warm Bodies, 2013 (HBO)
• Wendy, 2020 (HBO)
• XXX, 2002

October 3

• Simmer, 2020

October 4

• Laetitia, Limited Drama Series Finale (HBO)
• Niña Furia
• Sublet, 2020

October 5

• American Masters: Mike Nichols, 2016
• American Masters: Nichols and May: Take Two, 1996
• El Verano Que Vivimos, 2020
• Level Playing Field, Documentary Series Finale (HBO)

October 6

• Muy Gay Too Mexicano (Short), 2020
• The Republic of Sarah, Season 1
• Rosa (short), 2020

October 7

• 15 Minutes of Shame, Max Original Series Premiere
• Craftopia, Max Original Season 2A Premiere
• The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Amber Ruffin / Bebe Rexha

October 8

• Voyagers, 2021 (HBO)

October 9

• Birdgirl , Season 16
• To Your Eternity, Season 1 (Subtitled) (Crunchyroll Collection)

October 10

• It: Chapter 2, 2019
• Nuclear Family, Documentary Series Finale (HBO)
• Scenes From A Marriage, Limited Series Finale (HBO)

October 11

• We're Here, Season 2 Premiere (HBO)

October 14

• Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Chapter One: Dead Sea, Max Original Series Premiere
• Little Ellen, Max Original Season 1B Premiere
• Love Spells (aka Amarres), Max Original Series Premiere
• Teen Titans Go!, Seasons 1-6
• The Missing, (aka Os Ausentes), Max Original Series Premiere
• The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Jenna Bush Hager / Sophie Fatu
• Phoebe Robinson: Sorry, Harriet Tubman, Max Original Special Premiere
• Welcome to Utmark (aka Utmark) , Max Original Series Premiere
• What Happened, Brittany Murphy?, Max Original Series Premiere

October 15

• In the Line of Fire, 1993
• Point Break, 1991 (HBO)
• Tu Me Manques, 2019 (HBO)

October 17

• Succession, Season 3 Premiere (HBO)

October 18

• El Huésped Americano (aka The American Guest), Limited Drama Series Finale (HBO)
• Women is Losers, 2021

October 19

• Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

October 20

• Entre Hombres (aka Amongst Men), Limited Series Finale (HBO)

October 21

• Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Chapter Two: Primordius
• Reign of Superwomen, Max Original Documentary Premiere
• The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, 2021 (HBO) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and
• Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
• The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Ames McNamara / Leslie Odom Jr.
• Tuff Money (aka Bani Negri), Max Original Series Premiere

October 22

• Dune, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021 (Only available on the $14.99/month Ad-Free plan. Streaming in the US only for a limited time.) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)

October 24

• Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 11 Premiere (HBO)
• Insecure, Season 5 Premiere (HBO)

October 26

• Maricon Perdido, Max Original Series Premiere
• The Mopes, Max Original Series Premiere
• The Truth of Dolores Vazquez (aka The Caso Wanninkhof), Max Original Series Premiere

October 28

• Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Chapter Three: Tidal Shift
• In The Heights, 2021 (HBO) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
• Love Life, Max Original Season 2 Premiere
• A Thousand Fangs (aka Mil Colmillos), Max Original Series Premiere
• The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Dani & Dannah Lane / AJR

October 29

• Victor and Valentino, Season 2

October 31

• The Bachelorette, Season 16

Dates TBA

• Para (aka Para - Wir sind King), Max Original Series Premiere
• Paraiso, Max Original Series Premiere
• Selena + Chef, Max Original Season 3 Premiere

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. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Saturday Night Live's season premiere included a touching tribute to late comedian Norm Macdonald.

Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che honored Macdonald on Saturday, playing clips of some of his best moments on SNL. Jost also credited Macdonald as the reason he wanted to do Weekend Update in the first place.

A Weekend Update tribute was only fitting for Macdonald, as he was best known for anchoring Weekend Update in the 1990s. The clip below doesn't include the tribute, but you can watch it yourself on SNL's official YouTube channel.

#SNLPremiere Weekend Update! pic.twitter.com/nXbxI7wAzo

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) October 3, 2021

Besides SNL, Macdonald appeared in films including Billy Madison and The People vs. Larry Flynt, along with recurring roles on TV shows like The Orville and The Middle. During the pandemic, Macdonald hosted a show called Quarantined on YouTube where he interviewed celebrities including Chevy Chase and Bob Saget.

Macdonald died last month after a nine-year battle with cancer. His producing partner and friend, Lori Jo Hoekstra, said Macdonald kept his diagnosis a secret because he, "never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him." Ever since news of his passing, the internet has been sharing some of his funniest moments, including his legendary roast of Saget.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Saturday Night Live's season premiere included a touching tribute to late comedian Norm Macdonald.

Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che honored Macdonald on Saturday, playing clips of some of his best moments on SNL. Jost also credited Macdonald as the reason he wanted to do Weekend Update in the first place.

A Weekend Update tribute was only fitting for Macdonald, as he was best known for anchoring Weekend Update in the 1990s. The clip below doesn't include the tribute, but you can watch it yourself on SNL's official YouTube channel.

#SNLPremiere Weekend Update! pic.twitter.com/nXbxI7wAzo

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) October 3, 2021

Besides SNL, Macdonald appeared in films including Billy Madison and The People vs. Larry Flynt, along with recurring roles on TV shows like The Orville and The Middle. During the pandemic, Macdonald hosted a show called Quarantined on YouTube where he interviewed celebrities including Chevy Chase and Bob Saget.

Macdonald died last month after a nine-year battle with cancer. His producing partner and friend, Lori Jo Hoekstra, said Macdonald kept his diagnosis a secret because he, "never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him." Ever since news of his passing, the internet has been sharing some of his funniest moments, including his legendary roast of Saget.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Apple is reportedly on top when it comes to video game revenue, despite not developing consoles or major AAA games of its own.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple made $8.5 billion in operating profits from gaming in 2019. According to the post, this totals more than Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Activision combined.

Because the company doesn't make or sell dedicated gaming consoles or have a major game development division, most of these profits come from third-party games on the App Store. Apple gets revenue by taking a 30% cut from all purchases made on the App Store.

Players reportedly spend $45 billion on mobile games on the App Store in the 2020 fiscal year. The top two regions for spending were China and the U.S. Going forward, Apple may see less revenue coming in from China, as the Chinese government recently set a three-hour limit for kids playing online games.

The top 1% of spenders made up for over 64% of sales on the App Store, spending about $2,694 each year. These players are known as "whales", and are often the target for microtransactions in free-to-play games.

The numbers the Journal used came to light as part of the recent antitrust trial between Apple and Epic, the developers of Fortnite. However, Apple says the numbers discussed were flawed and too high.

The trial ended with Apple effectively banning Fortnite from returning to its App Store for years. The battle started when Epic said Apple's 30% fee on every purchase in Fortnite was, "commission-theft." Other developers have also pushed back on Apple's App Store policies.

Apple just released its new line of iPhones, and you can check out how it handles video games in our iPhone 13 Pro review.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Apple is reportedly on top when it comes to video game revenue, despite not developing consoles or major AAA games of its own.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple made $8.5 billion in operating profits from gaming in 2019. According to the post, this totals more than Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and Activision combined.

Because the company doesn't make or sell dedicated gaming consoles or have a major game development division, most of these profits come from third-party games on the App Store. Apple gets revenue by taking a 30% cut from all purchases made on the App Store.

Players reportedly spend $45 billion on mobile games on the App Store in the 2020 fiscal year. The top two regions for spending were China and the U.S. Going forward, Apple may see less revenue coming in from China, as the Chinese government recently set a three-hour limit for kids playing online games.

The top 1% of spenders made up for over 64% of sales on the App Store, spending about $2,694 each year. These players are known as "whales", and are often the target for microtransactions in free-to-play games.

The numbers the Journal used came to light as part of the recent antitrust trial between Apple and Epic, the developers of Fortnite. However, Apple says the numbers discussed were flawed and too high.

The trial ended with Apple effectively banning Fortnite from returning to its App Store for years. The battle started when Epic said Apple's 30% fee on every purchase in Fortnite was, "commission-theft." Other developers have also pushed back on Apple's App Store policies.

Apple just released its new line of iPhones, and you can check out how it handles video games in our iPhone 13 Pro review.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Update: Facebook and its other sites like Instagram and WhatsApp are slowly coming back online according to reports online. The New York Times' Mike Isaac confirmed with Facebook that sites are returning, but "it will take some time to stabilize and appear for global users widely."

So while you may be able to finally start getting updates and messages again, expect operations to remain unstable until a full fix arrives.

Original Story: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all currently down as Facebook's network of sites suddenly went offline earlier today.

Details are unclear as to why Facebook's network, which includes popular photo social network Instagram and instant message service WhatsApp, became unavailable. But these sites have been offline for at least the last two hours.

We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

— Facebook App (@facebookapp) October 4, 2021

The only official update is from Facebook's Twitter account which says the company is working to get the services back up and running soon.

"We're aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, is also down and some Oculus VR devices and games are impacted as a result.

IGN's sister site DownDetector saw a spike in Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp outages around 8 am PT/11 am ET. We'll have updates for if anything changes with these services.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all currently down as Facebook's network of sites suddenly went offline earlier today.

Details are unclear as to why Facebook's network, which includes popular photo social network Instagram and instant message service WhatsApp, became unavailable. But these sites have been offline for at least the last two hours.

We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

— Facebook App (@facebookapp) October 4, 2021

The only official update is from Facebook's Twitter account which says the company is working to get the services back up and running soon.

"We're aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app. We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, is also down and some Oculus VR devices and games are impacted as a result.

IGN's sister site DownDetector saw a spike in Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp outages around 8 am PT/11 am ET. We'll have updates for if anything changes with these services.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Netflix's Squid Game has become a global phenomenon, following its September 17 premiere, but one viewer has claimed that the show's English-language subtitles are "botched."

Fluent Korean speaker Youngmi Mayer took to social media last week to highlight some of the subtle distinctions between Netflix's closed-caption subtitles and the direct English-language translations, pointing out how the meaning behind the dialogue is often being lost for viewers who are relying on the on-screen subtitling to follow the story.

"Not to sound snobby but I'm fluent in Korean and I watched Squid Game with English subtitles and if you don't understand Korean you didn't really watch the same show," she wrote on Twitter as part of a thread that included a video showing some examples. "Translation was so bad. The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved."

In the accompanying video, Mayer picked out a handful of scenes to illustrate her point. One segment of the video featured Kim Joo-Ryoung's character Han Mi-nyeo who is quoted in Netflix's close captions as saying, "I'm not a genius, but I can work it out," yet Mayer says the direct translation is actually: "I am very smart – I just never got a chance to study."

However, GamesRadar notes that the "English [CC]" subtitling option on Netflix derives from the dubbed version of the series, so if you switch that setting from "English [CC]" to "English," you will get a much more accurate reading, as the translation of that sentence then becomes: "I never bothered to study, but I'm unbelievably smart."

Squid Game is on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever — if early viewership figures hold out. So if you happen to be coming into the series with fresh eyes, you might want to consider watching the episodes with the proper "English" subtitles turned on to ensure that you don't lose the nuances of Hwang Dong-hyuk's script.

Squid Game is a nine-episode South Korean survival drama where hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to gather on a remote island and compete in a series of deadly children's games for the chance to win a big cash prize and escape poverty — with deadly high stakes. The full first season is available to watch now on Netflix.

IGN awarded Squid Game a 9 out of 10, calling it "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." We praised the way it unravels the story to deliver "a white-knuckle thriller, drama, and episodic psychological breakdown with a sickly pastel veneer," which is "equal parts gut-wrenching and squirm-inducing" for both the players and the audience.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Netflix's Squid Game has become a global phenomenon, following its September 17 premiere, but one viewer has claimed that the show's English-language subtitles are "botched."

Fluent Korean speaker Youngmi Mayer took to social media last week to highlight some of the subtle distinctions between Netflix's closed-caption subtitles and the direct English-language translations, pointing out how the meaning behind the dialogue is often being lost for viewers who are relying on the on-screen subtitling to follow the story.

"Not to sound snobby but I'm fluent in Korean and I watched Squid Game with English subtitles and if you don't understand Korean you didn't really watch the same show," she wrote on Twitter as part of a thread that included a video showing some examples. "Translation was so bad. The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved."

In the accompanying video, Mayer picked out a handful of scenes to illustrate her point. One segment of the video featured Kim Joo-Ryoung's character Han Mi-nyeo who is quoted in Netflix's close captions as saying, "I'm not a genius, but I can work it out," yet Mayer says the direct translation is actually: "I am very smart – I just never got a chance to study."

However, GamesRadar notes that the "English [CC]" subtitling option on Netflix derives from the dubbed version of the series, so if you switch that setting from "English [CC]" to "English," you will get a much more accurate reading, as the translation of that sentence then becomes: "I never bothered to study, but I'm unbelievably smart."

Squid Game is on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever — if early viewership figures hold out. So if you happen to be coming into the series with fresh eyes, you might want to consider watching the episodes with the proper "English" subtitles turned on to ensure that you don't lose the nuances of Hwang Dong-hyuk's script.

Squid Game is a nine-episode South Korean survival drama where hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to gather on a remote island and compete in a series of deadly children's games for the chance to win a big cash prize and escape poverty — with deadly high stakes. The full first season is available to watch now on Netflix.

IGN awarded Squid Game a 9 out of 10, calling it "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." We praised the way it unravels the story to deliver "a white-knuckle thriller, drama, and episodic psychological breakdown with a sickly pastel veneer," which is "equal parts gut-wrenching and squirm-inducing" for both the players and the audience.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Sony has begun testing free game trials on PlayStation 5, allowing users to play a few hours of games before purchasing them – but it's not a perfect service just yet.

As spotted by Eurogamer, the trial feature appears to be available only in the United Kingdom right now, and currently includes just two games - Death Stranding: Director's Cut and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. For those wondering how long you can play each game, that seems to be dependant upon what you choose. Death Stranding: Director's Cut gives players up to six hours of free gameplay while Sackboy: A Big Adventure offers five.

However, the actual amount of time that players will end up spending in the game is likely to be considerably lower than that. In a decision that's likely to affect players differently depending on their internet download speeds, the trial period for each game has been set to trigger from the moment that you select "Download Trial" on your console, or "Add To Library" from the web - as opposed to when you actually start playing the game for the first time.

This means that if the game takes you two hours to download, then you'll already have used up a significant portion of your trial period without actually experiencing any gameplay. At 68GB (and 48GB before its playable), Death Stranding's file size could mean that some users end up using most of their trial period just getting the game onto their consoles. You'd hope that, should Sony make game trials available worldwide, it would adjust that system.

To access either trial, UK players just need to navigate to each of the game's respective store pages. It's worth noting, however, that the feature is only available for PlayStation 5 users and that attempting to access a trial for PS4 will not be possible. Sony also notes that the feature is limited to one trial per account, per game.

Despite the fact that Sony's 'try before you buy' system isn't without its issues, many will hope that it is indicative of a more general trend moving forward, and that further games and regions will see be added to its list soon.

If you're looking for more on Sackboy: A Big Adventure, then make sure to check out our review of the game. Alternatively, if you'd like to delve further into the recent release of Death Stranding: Director's Cut, then take a look at this article where we talk about the differences in performance that the PS5 version of the game has brought.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.