Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack has added five new SEGA Genesis games to its service, including Altered Beast, ToeJam & Earl, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermilion, and Thunder Force II.

Nintendo announced the news on Twitter alongside sharing a quick video of each of the five games in action. As a reminder, these games are available to all who have subscribed to the higher-priced Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.

5 additional #SEGAGenesis games are now available for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members! Which will you play first?

- Altered Beast
- ToeJam & Earl
- Dynamite Headdy
- Sword of Vermilion
- Thunder Force II pic.twitter.com/MhtISzBN0M

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 17, 2021

After today's additions, the full list of SEGA Genesis games includes Castlevania: Bloodlines, Contra: Hard Corps, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe, Gunstar Heroes, M.U.S.H.A., Phantasy Star 4: The End of the Millennium, Ristar, Shining Force, Shinobi 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, and Strider.

Subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack also gives you access to N64 games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise DLC, and all the benefits of the standard Nintendo Switch Online service.

These games arrive after Nintendo added N64's Paper Mario to the service on December 10, and they are available a month before Banjo-Kazooie joins the ever-growing list of classic games that are playable on Nintendo Switch.

Hopefully, these SEGA games will help make your holiday season just a bit better. If you need even more ideas to help make the holidays brighter, be sure to check out our Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide to help get you and/or your loved ones the perfect present.

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.

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack has added five new SEGA Genesis games to its service, including Altered Beast, ToeJam & Earl, Dynamite Headdy, Sword of Vermilion, and Thunder Force II.

Nintendo announced the news on Twitter alongside sharing a quick video of each of the five games in action. As a reminder, these games are available to all who have subscribed to the higher-priced Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.

5 additional #SEGAGenesis games are now available for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members! Which will you play first?

- Altered Beast
- ToeJam & Earl
- Dynamite Headdy
- Sword of Vermilion
- Thunder Force II pic.twitter.com/MhtISzBN0M

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 17, 2021

After today's additions, the full list of SEGA Genesis games includes Castlevania: Bloodlines, Contra: Hard Corps, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe, Gunstar Heroes, M.U.S.H.A., Phantasy Star 4: The End of the Millennium, Ristar, Shining Force, Shinobi 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, and Strider.

Subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack also gives you access to N64 games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise DLC, and all the benefits of the standard Nintendo Switch Online service.

These games arrive after Nintendo added N64's Paper Mario to the service on December 10, and they are available a month before Banjo-Kazooie joins the ever-growing list of classic games that are playable on Nintendo Switch.

Hopefully, these SEGA games will help make your holiday season just a bit better. If you need even more ideas to help make the holidays brighter, be sure to check out our Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide to help get you and/or your loved ones the perfect present.

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.

Update 3:23 pm PT: A little under an hour after posting and deleting a tweet justifying the decision to incorporate NFT technology into the upcoming STALKER 2, GSC Game World has published a follow-up statement announcing it is backing away from the use of NFTs.

"We hear you," GSC Game World writes in a new statement. "Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in STALKER 2," the developer writes.

GSC Game World had come under intense scrutiny for announcing the use of NFT technology in its upcoming shooter. Critics say NFT in games offers nothing tangible to players while feeding a highly speculative market. There are also environmental concerns related to NFT's energy consumption.

Check out the full statement from CSC Game World below.

pic.twitter.com/mffnmpiQiw

— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) December 16, 2021

Original story: STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World has responded to criticism for its decision to include NFTs in its upcoming first-person shooter game.

In a now-deleted tweet from the official STALKER game account, GSC elaborated on its decision to include NFTs, and asked fans to "hear us and understand our reasons." It's unclear why GSC deleted the tweet shortly after it was posted Thursday afternoon U.S. time, but the broad community sentiment appears to be negative, or unenthused at best.

Here's a screencap of the now-deleted statement.

All funds that GSC earns from sales of NFTs will go towards game development costs, GSC said.

"Why did we choose NFT?" the statement reads. "It's a new technology and we are eager to do NFT right, give certain fans an opportunity to get into the game without interfering with other players' experience. That's why the tokens are entirely optional and have no impact on gameplay or story (no weapons, quests, locations, etc) and can be activated only before the game release [date]."

GSC has stated it's making a number of NFTs for STALKER 2, but one particular draw is a token that will let the owner become an in-game NPC, provided they can get to GSC's studio in Ukraine after successfully bidding on the NFT. An auction will take place in January 2022, with the winning bidder receiving the prize of becoming what GSC refers to as a "metahuman" in STALKER 2. The winning bidder will also be able to sell their prize token to anyone else should they choose.

Other NFTs GSC plans to include: Nicknames/names of players on in-game items or architecture, gloves, tattoos, skins and badges for multiplayer mode, and collectible cards. GSC is partnering with the NFT marketplace "DMarket" to facilitate auctions and the collectible cards.

GSC added that their decision to partner with DMarket was influenced by a desire to keep blockchain CO2 emissions and other harmful effects minimized.

So in short: GSC still appears to be implementing NFTs into STALKER 2 when it launches in April 2022.

NFTs have quickly become a divisive and frequently derided topic in the video game and tech world. Major studios and businesses like Ubisoft and Fable creator Peter Molyneux are implementing NFTs into their respective games, including simple cosmetics and more elaborate purchases.

"Hey bro - you don’t need NFT’s or blockchain to pre-sell unique customized stuff in your game," Gearbox founder and CEO Randy Pitchford tweeted. "I’m not into that sort of thing because it’s, like, kind of a shittier version of ad placement. But it’s been done for years and you don’t need NFT’s to do it. Anyway - Love your work!"

Meanwhile, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has had unkind words for blockchain and NFT implementation, calling it "more exploitative than about entertainment."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Update 3:23 pm PT: A little under an hour after posting and deleting a tweet justifying the decision to incorporate NFT technology into the upcoming STALKER 2, GSC Game World has published a follow-up statement announcing it is backing away from the use of NFTs.

"We hear you," GSC Game World writes in a new statement. "Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in STALKER 2," the developer writes.

GSC Game World had come under intense scrutiny for announcing the use of NFT technology in its upcoming shooter. Critics say NFT in games offers nothing tangible to players while feeding a highly speculative market. There are also environmental concerns related to NFT's energy consumption.

Check out the full statement from CSC Game World below.

pic.twitter.com/mffnmpiQiw

— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) December 16, 2021

Original story: STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World has responded to criticism for its decision to include NFTs in its upcoming first-person shooter game.

In a now-deleted tweet from the official STALKER game account, GSC elaborated on its decision to include NFTs, and asked fans to "hear us and understand our reasons." It's unclear why GSC deleted the tweet shortly after it was posted Thursday afternoon U.S. time, but the broad community sentiment appears to be negative, or unenthused at best.

Here's a screencap of the now-deleted statement.

All funds that GSC earns from sales of NFTs will go towards game development costs, GSC said.

"Why did we choose NFT?" the statement reads. "It's a new technology and we are eager to do NFT right, give certain fans an opportunity to get into the game without interfering with other players' experience. That's why the tokens are entirely optional and have no impact on gameplay or story (no weapons, quests, locations, etc) and can be activated only before the game release [date]."

GSC has stated it's making a number of NFTs for STALKER 2, but one particular draw is a token that will let the owner become an in-game NPC, provided they can get to GSC's studio in Ukraine after successfully bidding on the NFT. An auction will take place in January 2022, with the winning bidder receiving the prize of becoming what GSC refers to as a "metahuman" in STALKER 2. The winning bidder will also be able to sell their prize token to anyone else should they choose.

Other NFTs GSC plans to include: Nicknames/names of players on in-game items or architecture, gloves, tattoos, skins and badges for multiplayer mode, and collectible cards. GSC is partnering with the NFT marketplace "DMarket" to facilitate auctions and the collectible cards.

GSC added that their decision to partner with DMarket was influenced by a desire to keep blockchain CO2 emissions and other harmful effects minimized.

So in short: GSC still appears to be implementing NFTs into STALKER 2 when it launches in April 2022.

NFTs have quickly become a divisive and frequently derided topic in the video game and tech world. Major studios and businesses like Ubisoft and Fable creator Peter Molyneux are implementing NFTs into their respective games, including simple cosmetics and more elaborate purchases.

"Hey bro - you don’t need NFT’s or blockchain to pre-sell unique customized stuff in your game," Gearbox founder and CEO Randy Pitchford tweeted. "I’m not into that sort of thing because it’s, like, kind of a shittier version of ad placement. But it’s been done for years and you don’t need NFT’s to do it. Anyway - Love your work!"

Meanwhile, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has had unkind words for blockchain and NFT implementation, calling it "more exploitative than about entertainment."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

The Halo universe has an ever-expanding canon, but we're now learning the upcoming Halo TV series coming to Paramount Plus won't be a part of the current canon. In a video posted to Twitter (via Halopedia), Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill says the decision should be beneficial for both universes.

"We're referring to this as the Halo Silver Timeline as a way of differentiating it from core canon," Wolfkill said. "In both protecting core canon and protecting the television story, and by that I mean being able to give ourselves the chance to evolve both and for both to be what they need to be for their mediums without colliding with each other."

The upcoming Halo TV show now has its own canon status! It falls under something called the "Halo Silver Timeline".

According to @k_wolfkill, this was done to help protect both the Core Canon and the TV show's story, letting each evolve to best suit the medium that they are on. pic.twitter.com/e3YAv5UDUm

— Halopedia (@Halopedia) December 16, 2021

The Halo universe is filled with canonical content, including the games, books, audio series, and more, so it makes sense for a television show to branch out from the firmly established lore. Otto Bathurst is director and producer of the Halo TV series, which we just got our first look at in a trailer debuted at The Game Awards.

The show will premiere on Paramount Plus next year, starring Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Danny Sapani and Olive Gray as Jacob and Miranda Keyes, and Jen Taylor, reprising her role as Cortana. You can check out the full cast list here. And, if you still want to know more about the show, check out everything you might have missed in the trailer in our breakdown below.

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

The Halo universe has an ever-expanding canon, but we're now learning the upcoming Halo TV series coming to Paramount Plus won't be a part of the current canon. In a video posted to Twitter (via Halopedia), Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill says the decision should be beneficial for both universes.

"We're referring to this as the Halo Silver Timeline as a way of differentiating it from core canon," Wolfkill said. "In both protecting core canon and protecting the television story, and by that I mean being able to give ourselves the chance to evolve both and for both to be what they need to be for their mediums without colliding with each other."

The upcoming Halo TV show now has its own canon status! It falls under something called the "Halo Silver Timeline".

According to @k_wolfkill, this was done to help protect both the Core Canon and the TV show's story, letting each evolve to best suit the medium that they are on. pic.twitter.com/e3YAv5UDUm

— Halopedia (@Halopedia) December 16, 2021

The Halo universe is filled with canonical content, including the games, books, audio series, and more, so it makes sense for a television show to branch out from the firmly established lore. Otto Bathurst is director and producer of the Halo TV series, which we just got our first look at in a trailer debuted at The Game Awards.

The show will premiere on Paramount Plus next year, starring Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Danny Sapani and Olive Gray as Jacob and Miranda Keyes, and Jen Taylor, reprising her role as Cortana. You can check out the full cast list here. And, if you still want to know more about the show, check out everything you might have missed in the trailer in our breakdown below.

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

Bandai Namco announced that it has paused preorders on the Elden Ring Premium Collector's Edition due to overwhelming demand. The company will announce when these limited editions will be available for preorder again.

Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games coming in 2022, so it's normal to expect demand for its Premium Collector's Edition to be high. The Collector's Edition is the most limited edition of the game up for sale. For $260, it includes an official scale replica of a helmet from Elden Ring, along with a statue, collector's box, art book, steelbook, digital soundtrack, and a copy of the game.

However, Bandai Namco also relaunched its store with a new look at the same time preorders for the Collector's Edition went live. Users (including myself) experienced issues with new account creation, as those requests didn't go through until much later.

There was also an issue where users could not get past the "please enter your date of birth to continue" screen that pops up when trying to access the item page. Those who somehow managed to get past the age gate and successfully add the item to their carts were faced with another issue: guest checkouts were not allowed and users must have a Bandai Namco Store account to confirm preorder reservations. Since the site was experiencing account creation and log-in issues, many users were stuck with the item in their carts with no way to quickly check out.

We appreciate your patience with the new account creation issues on the Store this morning. Given the limited availability of the Premium CE we have paused reservations and will notify here again when we will make it available for pre-order.

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) December 16, 2021

Some users were able to push through and secure their pre-orders. But Bandai Namco has now removed the listings for the Premium Collector's Editions from the store page altogether. Although, the company did not mention what will happen to the orders that were successfully placed and whether or not they'd be canceled.

Elden Ring is the next action RPG from Japanese developer FromSoftware. From our Elden Ring preview, it will be familiar for anyone who has played games like Dark Souls but on a much bigger scale. And there's the bonus of knowing the game's lore was established by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Bandai Namco announced that it has paused preorders on the Elden Ring Premium Collector's Edition due to overwhelming demand. The company will announce when these limited editions will be available for preorder again.

Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games coming in 2022, so it's normal to expect demand for its Premium Collector's Edition to be high. The Collector's Edition is the most limited edition of the game up for sale. For $260, it includes an official scale replica of a helmet from Elden Ring, along with a statue, collector's box, art book, steelbook, digital soundtrack, and a copy of the game.

However, Bandai Namco also relaunched its store with a new look at the same time preorders for the Collector's Edition went live. Users (including myself) experienced issues with new account creation, as those requests didn't go through until much later.

There was also an issue where users could not get past the "please enter your date of birth to continue" screen that pops up when trying to access the item page. Those who somehow managed to get past the age gate and successfully add the item to their carts were faced with another issue: guest checkouts were not allowed and users must have a Bandai Namco Store account to confirm preorder reservations. Since the site was experiencing account creation and log-in issues, many users were stuck with the item in their carts with no way to quickly check out.

We appreciate your patience with the new account creation issues on the Store this morning. Given the limited availability of the Premium CE we have paused reservations and will notify here again when we will make it available for pre-order.

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) December 16, 2021

Some users were able to push through and secure their pre-orders. But Bandai Namco has now removed the listings for the Premium Collector's Editions from the store page altogether. Although, the company did not mention what will happen to the orders that were successfully placed and whether or not they'd be canceled.

Elden Ring is the next action RPG from Japanese developer FromSoftware. From our Elden Ring preview, it will be familiar for anyone who has played games like Dark Souls but on a much bigger scale. And there's the bonus of knowing the game's lore was established by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Dying Light 2's PC specs have been officially released. If you're looking forward to parkouring over the scalps of the undead, here's the hardware you'll need to either just get by or fly high.

The big kicker here will be the requirements to run Dying Light 2 with ray tracing, which should go a long way to upping the beauty of the "City." At a minimum, you'll need 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB.

That will still only get you 1080p and 30fps. If you want ray tracing on and running at 60fps, you'll need one of those elusive Nvidia RTX 3080 GPUs, plus an Intel i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 7 3700X.

Read the list or image below for more details.

Minimum System Requirements (Ray Tracing Off)*:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-9100 or AMD Ryzen™ 3 2300X

RAM: 8GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon™ RX 560 (4GB VRAM)

OS: Windows 7

Available storage space: 60GB HDD

*for 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second

Recommended System Specifications (Ray Tracing Off)**:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 56 8GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SSD

**for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second

Ray Tracing On Minimum System Requirements***:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 2070 8GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SSD

***for 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second

Ray Tracing On Recommended System Requirements****:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 7 3700X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 3080 10GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SDD

****for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second

Dying Light 2 releases on February 4, 2022. You can check out IGN's first hands-on preview, or watch the latest cinematic trailer for a look at this post-apocalypse world. Developer Techland has also released a few in-depth looks at gameplay mechanics, including parkour, weapons, story details, and more.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/hardcore parkour man for IGN.

Dying Light 2's PC specs have been officially released. If you're looking forward to parkouring over the scalps of the undead, here's the hardware you'll need to either just get by or fly high.

The big kicker here will be the requirements to run Dying Light 2 with ray tracing, which should go a long way to upping the beauty of the "City." At a minimum, you'll need 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB.

That will still only get you 1080p and 30fps. If you want ray tracing on and running at 60fps, you'll need one of those elusive Nvidia RTX 3080 GPUs, plus an Intel i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 7 3700X.

Read the list or image below for more details.

Minimum System Requirements (Ray Tracing Off)*:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-9100 or AMD Ryzen™ 3 2300X

RAM: 8GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon™ RX 560 (4GB VRAM)

OS: Windows 7

Available storage space: 60GB HDD

*for 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second

Recommended System Specifications (Ray Tracing Off)**:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 56 8GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SSD

**for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second

Ray Tracing On Minimum System Requirements***:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 2070 8GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SSD

***for 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second

Ray Tracing On Recommended System Requirements****:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen™ 7 3700X

RAM: 16GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX 3080 10GB

OS: Windows 10

Available storage space: 60GB SDD

****for 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second

Dying Light 2 releases on February 4, 2022. You can check out IGN's first hands-on preview, or watch the latest cinematic trailer for a look at this post-apocalypse world. Developer Techland has also released a few in-depth looks at gameplay mechanics, including parkour, weapons, story details, and more.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/hardcore parkour man for IGN.