Google has announced it is winding down its Stadia video game streaming service and will shut it down on January 18. 2023.

In a new blog, the search engine company revealed that Stadia "hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected," and as a result, the company has made the "difficult" decision to begin winding down the service. Google will be refunding users who purchased either hardware or games from Google and Stadia.

"We're grateful to the dedicated Stadia players that have been with us from the start. We will be refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia Store."

Players will still be able to access their game library and play until January 18.

Stadia is Google's cloud gaming service where users are able to stream video games, including AAA titles like Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Cyberpunk 2077, directly through Google cloud service. Meaning there was no need to purchase physical hardware so long as someone had access to Google Chrome. There was a dedicated controller players could purchase, however.

Google says that the underlying technology that powers Stadia has proven to be powerful, and Google has already started offering Stadia as a white-label product, meaning other companies can use the technology without becoming a part of Stadia's ecosystem.

AT&T for example used Stadia technology to offer Batman: Arkham Knight to users for free, and Google says the tech will be used to power other parts of Google including YouTube, Google Play, and Augmented Reality.

Stadia's closure is not a death-knell for video game streaming. Xbox and Nvidia offer cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and GeForce Now respectively. And Logitgech is making a dedicated cloud gaming handheld called the Logitech G.

While booting up a game instantly on Chrome or Chromecast could feel like magic, and Stadia's tech lowering latency and other streaming-based issues, the main issue with Stadia was always its catalog and promised features that never materialized. For our full impressions, read our Stadia review.

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Microsoft has announced October 2022’s Xbox Games With Gold, including Windbound and Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition.

As revealed at Xbox Wire, next month’s lineup is led by the shipwreck survival game, Windbound. Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition rounds out this month’s offerings – a strategic World War II bombing game that puts you in the cockpit.

The two new Games With Gold titles will be available throughout October for anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Beginning on October 1, Windbound will kick things off with a neat shipwreck survival experience.

Windbound is available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S – a delightfully challenging survival game that sees you play as Kara, shipwrecked on the Forbidden Islands with nothing except what she can scavenge and build.

Windbound is available throughout the month until October 31 and will task players with crafting weapons and tools to survive, as well as building a new boat to explore the Forbidden Islands for yourself.

Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition arrives halfway through the month, on October 16.

A strategic World War II bombing game, it’s available for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and will see you taking to the skies to head off on strategic bombing runs. But it’s not just about where to drop your payload – you’ll manage fuel, ammo, and hydraulics all while trying to avoid enemy gunners. It’s available on Games With Gold until November 15.

IGN’s Bomber Crew review gave it 8/10 and said: “Bomber Crew is an exciting, in-depth management sim with a charming style that offsets the occasionally brutal difficulty of keeping your crew alive and trying to hit a target, all in real-time. A rewarding upgrade cycle makes some trial-and-error frustration worthwhile, and once you get into the groove you can lose hours to its enjoyable rhythm.”

As previously announced, Xbox Games With Gold will no longer include Xbox 360 games from October 2022, so now is your last chance to grab Portal 2 – available until tomorrow, September 30.

Be sure to check out what's headed to Xbox Game Pass in September.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Shenmue: The Animation, which debuted earlier this year, has seemingly been canceled.

The recent TV adaption of Sega’s cult classic has been canned ahead of a second season, and the first season now being withdrawn from streaming services. It’s thought that these removals are part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s continuing cost-cutting measures, which have led to many cancellations, most notably for streaming movie Batgirl.

Fans noticed that Shenmue, as well as Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Fena: Pirate Princess, Lazor Wulf, and Tigtone had been removed from the Adult Swim website. “Sorry guys. This happened,” said Warner Discovery SVP of Animation and Anime, Jason DeMarco, quote-tweeting the list. “You can still watch all of the anime on Crunchyroll and it will still be available as digital downloads."

DeMarco, who produced the Shenmue show, added: "And yes, it’s looking like no [season 2] of Shenmue, even though sadly- it did well enough that we were gearing up for S2. Maybe one day…”

Shenmue: The Animation was announced back in 2020 and eventually launched earlier this year, appearing on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll from February 5, 2022.

Now, it looks as though the English dubs are being pulled… and while the Japanese versions remain on Crunchyroll, it looks unlikely that we’ll see the English dubs appear there.

“I don’t think they’re interested in that,” said DeMarco. “And not sure if it would even be allowed.”

IGN’s review of the Shenmue: The Animation premiere gave it 7/10 and said its "inaugural episode makes a solid first impression, even for viewers who aren’t familiar with the Shenmue lore or characters. Though there’s a lot of ground to cover and, despite a few missteps, this installment does a great job of setting the scene, introducing the people that matter, and prepping them for an action-packed revenge epic.”

Want to read more about Shenmue? Check out what Shenmue 3 got right and what it got wrong as well as some of the funniest moments in serious games.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Surprise! Skyrim Anniversary Edition just landed on Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo has announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available now on the Nintendo eShop – a nice surprise for fans who want to play the classic RPG on the move.

“New quests, foes, weapons, and more await you in Tamriel,” said Nintendo via Twitter. “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is out now on #NintendoSwitch!”

Of course, it’s been on the cards for a while. Skyrim was released on Nintendo Switch back in 2017 and with the arrival of the Anniversary Edition on other platforms, it was only a matter of time. It's a lovely surprise to wake up and find it's already out, however.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available from today, September 29 as a stand-alone bundle or as an upgrade if you already own the base game on your Switch. The bundle includes the base game and all bonus content for $69.99 USD, whereas the upgrade will set you back $19.99.

IGN’s original Skyrim review gave it 9.5/10 and said: “It's difficult to ever feel completely satisfied with a play session of Skyrim. There's always one more pressing quest, one more unexplored tract of land, one more skill to increase, one more butterfly to catch. It's a mesmerizing game that draws you into a finely crafted fictional space packed with content that consistently surprises.”

Since its release in 2011, Skyrim's become one of the most beloved games of modern times, seeing many, many re-releases. We've since placed it at number 41 in our list of the 100 best games of all time.

Want to read more about Skyrim? Check out our full walkthrough to help you defeat the World-Eater as well as the new mod that lets you play Skyrim in two-player co-op mode.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Like most major corporations, Nintendo is very protective of its brand as a leader of family friendly entertainment. This protectiveness has sometimes come at the expense of the competitive Super Smash Bros. community, which for years has often gone it alone to organize grassroots tournaments and nurture a passion they all share.

But in November 2021, Nintendo announced it was partnering with Panda Global on the first officially licensed Super Smash Bros. Circuit. A series of tournaments throughout 2022 will all lead up to the Panda Cup Finale from December 16 to 18. The Los Angeles event will offer a $100k prize pool for 32 of the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee players across the country.

Nintendo Embraces the Grassroots

The Panda Circuit could finally bring Nintendo together with the powerful grassroots community that has grown alongside the popularity of Super Smash Bros. IGN spoke with Nintendo’s Bill Trinen and Panda Global’s Dr. Alan Bunney about what the Panda Circuit means for Super Smash Bros. and its competitive future.

“For [Nintendo], Panda Cup was really an important kind of step for us and finding a way to partner with the community, finding a way that we can partner with a company like Panda who’s been in the community, knows the history of the community, and is really familiar with all of the grassroots efforts that have gone into it,” Trinen says.

The basic structure of the Panda Circuit is broken up into qualifiers at various grassroots tournaments, and existing events like CEO and Dreamhack will field competitors for the Panda Cup Finale. Online qualifiers have also taken place for additional competitors, with the final invitations handed out to players chosen by a panel composed of trusted members of the Super Smash Bros. competitive community.

Nintendo chose Panda for its ability to engage and organize the Smash Bros. grassroots community that has built itself over the years, and give it the official backing of Nintendo’s brand.

“We’ve been in this community for eight and a half years… We understand it very intrinsically. We know what it needs, we know we have that vision. But also we’ve been doing it, we create infrastructure, we create stability,” Bunney explains.

Along with elevating the grassroots tournaments, Panda can also upgrade the health and safety of these events and let these tournaments highlight the players who’ve dedicated themselves to Smash Bros. That's a key element considering some of the controversies the community has faced over the years.

As for Nintendo, becoming an official partner means that these grassroots events can be taken to a new level of polish, with clear goals and prizes for winners.

“In terms of what we’re bringing to the table obviously number one is the license, and licensing this circuit with Panda means Panda becomes the only officially licesned Super Smash Bros. circuit that there is. That opens up a lot of opportunities,” Trinen explains.

Aside from having access to Nintendo’s partners for potential sponsorship opportunities, Nintendo is also helping with logistics, production, and even helping individual tournaments that make up the building blocks of the Panda Circuit series.

Trinen and Bunney point out that this is a true partnership, and Bunney wanted to clarify exactly what that means: “Some people see this little legalese clause that Nintendo’s not a sponsor at the bottom of some of our trailers and social media things and whatnot,” Bunney says. “They make a big deal about that. That specifically means that Nintendo is not paying us to put advertisements like a sponsor would. That is what a sponsor is… [Nintendo is] truly a partner of us.”

Overcoming Internal Challenges

Nintendo has hosted various Super Smash Bros. events and tournaments over the years, most notably the E3 2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate invitational. But the community has also criticized Nintendo for attempting to shut down some grassroots events and competitive ventures.

Trinen says that it is a result of internal challenges that can sometime override the grassroots community.

“We love the grassroots community, we want to see it thrive, we want to see it be strong, but there’s also- we as Nintendo have our own internal challenges,” Trinen says. “For example, if we run into issues where people are trying to do things that aren’t using the brand in a way that’s appropriate, that can be a challenge for us. If people are either not engaging with us or are maybe engaging with us without giving us enough time to be able to work through some of those questions or requests, that becomes a challenge.”

“That’s actually why we wanted to specifically partner with Panda, because they’ve been in the community for a long time as an organization. They’ve been around for a number of years and have been a part of that. But what it does bring is it brings a place where those grassroots tournaments can find a home.”

Bunney says that working with Nintendo elevates the production of these grassroots tournaments. “Nintendo also gives us access to assets that are official from the game, from the brand, and also know the guidelines to be able to assist these events - and doing promotional materials and to do things correctly.” Bunney cites access to “really high quality” character renders which Panda can use for its events.

It's Ultimately About Smash Bros.

The crowning jewel of the circuit is the Panda Cup Finale in December and there’s one thing the Panda Cup has that other esports don’t: Super Smash Bros. itself.

“The thing about Super Smash Bros. - and really competitive Super Smash Bros. - is that there’s a camaraderie there that I think is unique among a lot of games,” Trinen explains.

“The way that game brings people of many different backgrounds together, you get exposed to lots of different types of people and the number of people that have made friends through that grassroots community over the years has, to me, been really touching.”

“I think that to me is really kind of what Nintendo is about. If you even go back to the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System or the Nintendo 64, or even the Wii, a lot of what Nintendo has been about is bringing people together in front of the television to enjoy that fun and enjoy that camaraderie and enjoy a little bit of that competition. Smash Bros. kind of epitomizes what has really been at the heart of Nintendo and the smiles that it tries to bring through the entertainment it creates.”

“I firmly believe that we don’t really want to do the same stuff that everyone else is doing,” Bunney agrees. “Everyone’s got what you think of certain ways for competitive play, you think that everyone wants to be that super cool thing and fog machines and all that stuff. That’s fine, that is totally fine. But we view this and the Panda Cup and what we want to create hopefully is more — it’s going to sound corny, I apologize — but magic.”

Presently the focus is on the Panda Cup final, and while Nintendo and Panda are keen on growing the competitive Smash Bros. scene they’re not ready to discuss plans beyond 2023 just yet. While the E3 2018 invitational was a huge event for the series, there are no plans for adding next year’s E3 to the event schedule just yet.

“I wish I could answer that question, but obviously, I think the E3 news, at least the most recent news, just hit [this week]. I don’t have any plans at the moment, but also we’re still looking at what the future holds and where we might try to put some of those tournaments and what tournaments Nintendo may be looking at running versus what Panda may do on its own for Panda Cup or how the two of those may mix together.”

While Trinen tells IGN to stay tuned, it seems clear that Nintendo is moving forward with competitive Smash Bros. Lucky for them, the enthusiasm and community for the game are already there, waiting for them.

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

Horror anthology show Creepshow is being turned into a video game.

According to Variety, the Shudder exclusive TV series is being adapted in a collaboration between DreadXP and developer DarkStone Digital – heading for a 2024 launch.

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of such a fun project,” said developer Brian Clarke. “I’ve always loved Creepshow’s format, and the idea of driving the cohesion of multiple perspectives on horror is really compelling to me. I feel honored to have been asked to be a part of this. I can’t wait to jump in and bring the best I can to such a great IP.”

The show is based on George A. Romero’s 1982 film, and It’s reported that the game will follow Creepshow’s anthology format – telling multiple self-contained horror stories using different kinds of gameplay styles and tones.

As for where you’ll be able to play it, production company Cartel Entertainment will help bring the game to “multiple platforms”, but that's all we're getting right now.

“The game will represent an expansion of our tremendously successful collaboration with Brian Clarke, whose expertise in crafting lore-rich narratives and clever scares makes him the perfect creative director for the project,” said DreadXP producer Ted Hentschke.

Using the show’s anthology format is likely a smart move, especially if the game debuts in an episodic format like Tales from the Borderlands and the like.

“Hot on the heels of the Skybound Comic release this summer and wrapping post-production on Season 4, I feel like this is an opportunity to celebrate the genre with horror fans around the world in a way that takes us through a myriad of experiences,” said Creepshow producer Greg Nicotero.

IGN’s review of Creepshow’s season 1 debut gave it 8/10 and said: “Creepshow is one of the more innocuous, ‘Why the hell not?’ revivals of the streaming age (which has also recently seen Netflix spend millions of dollars and thousands of arduous labor hours on a full Dark Crystal prequel series). It's a free-wheeling and easy fit for Shudder that, while not out for blood, is good for a chuckle and a jump. Creepshow isn't out to change the game in horror but instead take us back to splashy scares from long ago, with quasi-campy shorts filled with familiar faces.”

Want to read more about Creepshow? Check out the show’s horror influences as well as the best horror movies on Shudder right now.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

A leak has confirmed PlayStation exclusive Sackboy: A Big Adventure is coming to PC on October 27, 2023.

According to an official trailer (which seems to have been published early by Sony’s Latin America YouTube account), the recent Sackboy game will be heading to PC next month after previously only being available on PS4 and PS5.

The trailer also confirms that the PC version of Sackboy: A Big Adventure will support 4K, 120FPS, 21:9 ultrawide monitors, Nvidia DLSS, and VRR. An official announcement is likely to be on its way soon.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure was originally released in 2020. Starring Sackboy from the LittleBigPlanet franchise, the game follows in its footsteps, instead offering 3D platforming which differs from the side-scrolling action of the main series.

IGN’s Sackboy: A Big Adventure review gave it 8/10 and said: “A Big Adventure is a lovely spin-off of LittleBigPlanet that’s filled with charming sights and sounds alike. Its level designs are adorable and creative, really shining in co-op but still entertaining when played alone. Its platforming can occasionally frustrate, falling short of the precision and nuance needed to really make it stand out from other games like it, but the feel-good vibe that permeates every corner of its crafted world still makes it a joy to play.”

This isn’t the only PlayStation exclusive to make its way to PCs this year. A PC version of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is heading to PC on October 19, with a PC version of Spider-Man: Miles Morales on its way, too.

A recent leak also suggests that Returnal is heading to PC, too, with several improvements over the original PS5 version.

Want to read more about Sackboy: A Big Adventure? Check out our Sackboy: A Big Adventure walkthrough for a full guide or get some hints and tips if you just need a helping hand.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Scorn, the upcoming H.R. Giger-inspired puzzle adventure, is coming out earlier than expected. The game will now be released on October 14 instead of October 21.

Coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC, no reason has been given for the move in date – but given how many delays we've had this year, it's a welcome bit of news.

Scorn promises to take players "into an isolated, strange, dream-like world. Left unguided to fend for themselves, players must explore Scorn’s interconnected bio-labyrinth, learning its rules and mastering grotesque puzzles along the way as they come to understand their own predicament."

We went hands-on with the first hour of the game recently, saying, "At its best, Scorn already feels like a deeply odd, deeply thoughtful approach to more open puzzling, perhaps most easily comparable to The Witness. Personally, that’s what I hope to see more of – but if you’re looking for a dose of real unpleasantness, it seems to have you covered there too."

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.

Sony's PlayStation Stars loyalty programme is offering better customer support to those at a higher reward tier.

As reported by VGC, those using the service after its launch in Japan today, September 29, have complained that those on the service's fourth tier get improved customer support. Users can move up tiers by buying games from the PlayStation store and earning trophies, effectively meaning that those with more money will receive better support from Sony.

"When contacting PlayStation Customer Support, you will be given priority in the chat order," the reward list reads, and getting there requires users to first buy four games from the PlayStation Store and earn 128 rare trophies.

【ニュース】PS4/PS5向け特典プログラムPlayStation Stars国内でスタート。ポイントがもらえ、レベルを上げればカスタマーサポートも優先順位上がるhttps://t.co/R5hjUYK0oW pic.twitter.com/HnecYI4Ur1

— AUTOMATON（オートマトン） (@AUTOMATONJapan) September 29, 2022

Those who've done so will therefore be able to speak with PlayStation's customer support ahead of those who've spent less money, something that has some users upset.

It's not guaranteed that this PlayStation Stars reward will arrive with the North American, European, and other versions of the service, but Sony hasn't indicated that anything will be different between regions.

The reward programme will also give players the likes of PlayStation Store wallet funds and select PlayStation Store products, alongside a series of virtual collectibles (that are definitely not NFTs).

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

This story contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel’s Scarlet Witch star Elizabeth Olsen wants to team up with the X-Men in the MCU after Hugh Jackman announced his return as Wolverine.

During an interview with Variety, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star explained that she’d love to team up with the X-Men now that Logan is in the mix.

“I guess Wolverine is X-Men,” said Olsen, when asked about which characters she hopes to team up with in the future. “It would be cool to work with a lot of those people from the X-Men franchise. I guess [Magneto actor Michael Fassbender] is my dad in some world?”

In the comic books, both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are mutants – the children of villain, Magneto. Magneto has been played by both Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellan in the X-Men film series. However, it’s a very different story in the MCU.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (played in the MCU by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) made their MCU debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron back in 2015, long before Disney’s high-profile purchase of 20th Century Fox. Since Marvel didn't have the rights to the X-Men, it was forced to come up with a different backstory for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver that veered away from their comic book origins. In the films, they were experimented upon by Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) and obtained their powers from Loki’s scepter during these frightful tests.

Obviously, Olsen is keen to play the Scarlet Witch again… but can she return? Despite the character seemingly dying off-screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it looks as though she could be back at some point.

“There really is so much more to explore,” Marvel boss Kevin Feige told Variety. “We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I’d work with Lizzie for another 100 years if we could. Anything’s possible in the multiverse! We’ll have to see.”

Hugh Jackman’s entry into the MCU comes via the upcoming Deadpool 3, which was recently unveiled by Ryan Reynolds. Whether or not he’ll cross paths with the Scarlet Witch remains to be seen.

Want to read more about Marvel’s upcoming plans? Check out Marvel’s Phase 5 line-up as well as everything we know about Marvel’s Phase 6 so far.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.