Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for season 4. The cast appeared in a special video to announce that filming for the next season will begin on November 2. Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham on Discovery, and Doug Jones who plays Saru, appeared in a short video alongside the co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman to announce the season 4 renewal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discovery-season-3-photos&captions=true"] No plot details were shared in the video, but the cast and crew shared their excitement at filming together again after being separated throughout the pandemic. Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 and was developed specifically for CBS All Access. The news comes a day after the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 on CBS All Access. Set after Commander Burnham went into a wormhole in the season 2 finale, season 3 finds the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery in a mysterious future. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/star-trek-discovery-cast-wants-a-crossover-with-picard-2019"] You can read IGN’s Star Trek: Discovery season 3 premiere review. No release date has been set for the season 4 premiere. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Microsoft shocked the gaming world when it acquired Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax Media recently for a whopping $7.5B. However, the decision has left a lot of people curious about the future of Bethesda games on other platforms, notably Sony's upcoming PS5. Kotaku's Stephen Totilo interviewed Xbox's Phil Spencer to discuss a bit more about the deal and what implications it may have for players outside the Xbox ecosystem. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-xbox-one-first-party-review&captions=true"] “Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” asked Totilo. “Yes,” Spencer quickly replied. Then he paused. “I don’t want to be flip about that,” Spencer added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games." "When I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us," Spencer continued. "Whatever that means.” [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/15/xbox-series-x-the-final-preview] Bethesda is home to some of the biggest franchises in gaming including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, as well as DOOM, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and more. Not having future titles arrive on PlayStation 5 or elsewhere puts Microsoft in a unique position, and one it must navigate delicately. Xbox purchased Bethesda after it already had timed exclusivity with PS5 for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo and Spencer has stated that the company plans to honor those deals. It has already begun adding some of Bethesda's back catalog of games to Xbox Game Pass including the recent addition of DOOM Eternal earlier this month. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] While he didn't completely rule out the idea of the upcoming Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield coming to other platforms outside Xbox and PC he did confirm in September that future titles would come to "other consoles on a case by case basis." This wouldn't be out of the norm as Xbox has already released a number of first-party games on other platforms—most notably Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired in 2015 for $2.5B. Additionally, titles such as Cuphead have made it over to PS4 and Nintendo Switch with a version even playable on Tesla electric cars. Recently, Ori and the Will of the Wisps debuted on Nintendo Switch, as well. Even after the massive purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft said it still considering purchasing additional video game studios "where it makes sense." [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/16/pros-cons-of-buying-at-launch-next-gen-console-watch] We've learned quite a bit about the upcoming Xbox Series X during our final hands-on preview including how specific games enhanced for Xbox Series X perform as well as just how important an SSD is for next-gen gaming. If you're still looking to get your hands on Xbox Series X or S be sure to check out our Xbox preorder page for the most up-to-date information on where to purchase. We've also got a handy next-gen guide that includes how to transfer saves and a list of all games coming to Xbox Series X and S. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Microsoft shocked the gaming world when it acquired Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax Media recently for a whopping $7.5B. However, the decision has left a lot of people curious about the future of Bethesda games on other platforms, notably Sony's upcoming PS5. Kotaku's Stephen Totilo interviewed Xbox's Phil Spencer to discuss a bit more about the deal and what implications it may have for players outside the Xbox ecosystem. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-xbox-one-first-party-review&captions=true"] “Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” asked Totilo. “Yes,” Spencer quickly replied. Then he paused. “I don’t want to be flip about that,” Spencer added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games." "When I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us," Spencer continued. "Whatever that means.” [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/15/xbox-series-x-the-final-preview] Bethesda is home to some of the biggest franchises in gaming including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, as well as DOOM, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and more. Not having future titles arrive on PlayStation 5 or elsewhere puts Microsoft in a unique position, and one it must navigate delicately. Xbox purchased Bethesda after it already had timed exclusivity with PS5 for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo and Spencer has stated that the company plans to honor those deals. It has already begun adding some of Bethesda's back catalog of games to Xbox Game Pass including the recent addition of DOOM Eternal earlier this month. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] While he didn't completely rule out the idea of the upcoming Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield coming to other platforms outside Xbox and PC he did confirm in September that future titles would come to "other consoles on a case by case basis." This wouldn't be out of the norm as Xbox has already released a number of first-party games on other platforms—most notably Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired in 2015 for $2.5B. Additionally, titles such as Cuphead have made it over to PS4 and Nintendo Switch with a version even playable on Tesla electric cars. Recently, Ori and the Will of the Wisps debuted on Nintendo Switch, as well. Even after the massive purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft said it still considering purchasing additional video game studios "where it makes sense." [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/16/pros-cons-of-buying-at-launch-next-gen-console-watch] We've learned quite a bit about the upcoming Xbox Series X during our final hands-on preview including how specific games enhanced for Xbox Series X perform as well as just how important an SSD is for next-gen gaming. If you're still looking to get your hands on Xbox Series X or S be sure to check out our Xbox preorder page for the most up-to-date information on where to purchase. We've also got a handy next-gen guide that includes how to transfer saves and a list of all games coming to Xbox Series X and S. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Sony showcased the PS5 user interface in a new walkthrough video that shows the next-gen PlayStation is in for a major revamp. While there are still plenty of questions left about the PS5 UI experience, we also learned about some major changes. Here’s our rundown of the biggest. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-ui-screenshots&captions=true"]

It’s Fast

Let’s start with the most obvious upgrade - PS5’s UI looks fast. The demonstration shows the console booting up from rest mode, and hopping from the dashboard view to in-game action to the new Activities feed looks snappy and responsive. There’s no slowdown or hitching while scrolling through the UI, icons don’t take much time to load in, and all other speed issues the PS4 interface seem to be gone. Jumping into a new game is immediately faster on the PS5 than it is on the PS4. Of course, there’s the question of whether or not having a bunch of applications running in the background affects this, but at least fresh out of the box, it looks fast as hell. Pending any firmware updates, I assume.

Control Center Activities Cards

Sony spent the most time talking about the PS5’s new Control Center view. On the PS4, pressing the DualShock 4’s PlayStation button kicks you back to the dashboard, while holding the button down for a bit brings up a shorthand version of the UI... and a slow one at that. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/15/first-look-at-the-ps5-ui"] On the PS5, it looks like pressing that button on the DualSense brings you to the new Control Center, which allows you quick access to most of the features you’d need while in-game, like notifications, your friends, download status list, and even the power settings. But most of the real estate is taken up by Cards, which look to introduce some much-needed additions to the PlayStation experience. Cards will look familiar to anyone who’s spent time in the Apple App Store UI, but Sony’s take offers a row of bold images with limited text that pop up over your in-game screen, offering you quick access to a variety of PS5 and game options. Some Cards allow you access to a media feed of news or new trailers for games you’re following, while another holds your recently captured media. Both are easily accessible evolutions of what you can do on PS4. But it’s the Activities Cards that marks the biggest change. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/30/sackboy-a-big-adventure-sumo-introduces-sackboy-video"] In Sackboy: A Big Adventure, for example, players can track progress of certain objectives, like levels they’ve played, trophies they’ve earned, and even ones “suggested by the system.” Starting off with levels played, we see the player jump into a level directly from the PS5’s UI that they’ve already started, but with some objectives they’ve yet to complete. All of that info is listed in this Activity card, rather than within the game itself. Other cards not clicked on in the video show a promising advancement for Trophy hunters - individual trophy cards that list completion percentage. We know how frustrating it is to be hunting a trophy that requires you to collect 150 orbs but doesn’t tell you progress, so for completionists, this should be a big help in tracking progress and deciding on what objectives to focus on next. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-teardown&captions=true"] The cards can even give you an estimate of how long an objective will take to complete, which the walkthrough describes as “PlayStation 5’s personalized playtime estimate.” It’s unclear as of now if this is something the system can intuit based on the rest of your play experience, or the experience of other players, but it’s a cool feature nonetheless for those who need to be selective about their game time. PlayStation also mentions there will be some cards ‘suggested’ by the system. While we don’t know the full extent of what this means, we’re shown a brief example of the next levels the player can pursue in Sackboy: A Big Adventure. All of this, of course, raises the question of how much work developers will need to put into designing bespoke Cards for their games, versus what data the PS5 can pull from game saves and trophy progress. The PS4 already tracks what trophies you have, and your overall completion progress,, but the PS5 has a lot more information to keep track of.

Built-In Help

Activities cards also offer in-game help, though this appears to be a PlayStation Plus-exclusive benefit. Sony notes that in-game help won’t be available in every game, or even for every objective, but it is intended to keep you in the experience, rather than having to hop to a secondary screen. In Sackboy, for example, you can access a series of hints with varying amounts of information, from screenshots to full-on walkthrough videos. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/destruction-allstars-announcement-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] These hints can all be accessed without ever leaving the game. The PS5 UI now allows for information to be pinned alongside your game, so if you’re playing a particularly complicated section, you could temporarily pin the help video next to your game as you play.

Friend Interactions

PS5’s friend interactions are also designed to keep you involved in whatever you’re doing without forcing you to scroll through a ton of menus outside of your game. In the example given, a voice chat invite can be joined quickly while in the middle of whatever you’re playing. You can start chatting immediately with friends via the DualSense’s microphone, but also mute yourself via the controller or in menus if needed. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-and-announcement-featured-in-the-playstation-5-showcase-event&captions=true"] Sony describes parties as more of a persistent experience across your PS5 experience. For example, your friends within a party can now share their screen. You can watch someone play while you continue playing, and you can customize that view however you’d like it. You can pin it like you would game help, or even watch it picture-in-picture in various spots on your screen. Perhaps most impressively, if a few friends in your party are in a multiplayer game that you’re not playing, you can join the game via a Card in the control center, and the PS5 immediately drops you into the action. Sony’s quick fast forward aside, the jump from joining the game to being in-game is seconds long.

Less Clutter

In the walkthrough video, Sony didn’t spend much time on the PS5’s home screen — we see nothing of the Media center, or any of the extraneous options we’ll get. But, what we did see looked like an evolution of the PS4’s dashboard. Whenever you hover over and expand info on a single game, we’re invited into a home page of said game, with a large piece of artwork, a big ol’ play button, and a brief encapsulation of your trophy progress. The idea seems to be to get you into your games without any fuss. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ps5-launch-answers-sony-addresses-major-questions-beyond-episode-670"] While the main page is sparse, players can scroll down to see a batch of Activities Cards you can use to easily jump into different games, levels, or newsfeeds. Sony only showcased one PS5 game’s home page in the video in detail, but it did promise backward-compatible PS4 games will benefit from “some” of the layout’s features. And finally, the PlayStation Store, that slow, long-loading way to expand your library, is “completely integrated into the system” rather than an app you click into. Sony didn’t spend much time explaining exactly how the new Store experience will work, but did promise some level of personalization. Overall, though, the messaging points toward a much smoother Store experience than what the PS4 currently offers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] There’s plenty more to the PS5 UI not detailed in Sony’s first video,, and we still have a bunch of questions — the Create button’s functionality, for example, is only briefly touched on, while the compatibility of all these features could vary game-to-game. But everything shown is certainly an indication that Sony has taken criticisms of the PS4 dashboard to heart, and has created an experience that gets you into games more quickly, tracks your progress more comprehensively, and hopefully breaks some of the multiple-menu barriers when it comes to playing with friends. And thankfully, we only have to wait a few more weeks to try it out ourselves. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Sony showcased the PS5 user interface in a new walkthrough video that shows the next-gen PlayStation is in for a major revamp. While there are still plenty of questions left about the PS5 UI experience, we also learned about some major changes. Here’s our rundown of the biggest. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-ui-screenshots&captions=true"]

It’s Fast

Let’s start with the most obvious upgrade - PS5’s UI looks fast. The demonstration shows the console booting up from rest mode, and hopping from the dashboard view to in-game action to the new Activities feed looks snappy and responsive. There’s no slowdown or hitching while scrolling through the UI, icons don’t take much time to load in, and all other speed issues the PS4 interface seem to be gone. Jumping into a new game is immediately faster on the PS5 than it is on the PS4. Of course, there’s the question of whether or not having a bunch of applications running in the background affects this, but at least fresh out of the box, it looks fast as hell. Pending any firmware updates, I assume.

Control Center Activities Cards

Sony spent the most time talking about the PS5’s new Control Center view. On the PS4, pressing the DualShock 4’s PlayStation button kicks you back to the dashboard, while holding the button down for a bit brings up a shorthand version of the UI... and a slow one at that. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/15/first-look-at-the-ps5-ui"] On the PS5, it looks like pressing that button on the DualSense brings you to the new Control Center, which allows you quick access to most of the features you’d need while in-game, like notifications, your friends, download status list, and even the power settings. But most of the real estate is taken up by Cards, which look to introduce some much-needed additions to the PlayStation experience. Cards will look familiar to anyone who’s spent time in the Apple App Store UI, but Sony’s take offers a row of bold images with limited text that pop up over your in-game screen, offering you quick access to a variety of PS5 and game options. Some Cards allow you access to a media feed of news or new trailers for games you’re following, while another holds your recently captured media. Both are easily accessible evolutions of what you can do on PS4. But it’s the Activities Cards that marks the biggest change. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/30/sackboy-a-big-adventure-sumo-introduces-sackboy-video"] In Sackboy: A Big Adventure, for example, players can track progress of certain objectives, like levels they’ve played, trophies they’ve earned, and even ones “suggested by the system.” Starting off with levels played, we see the player jump into a level directly from the PS5’s UI that they’ve already started, but with some objectives they’ve yet to complete. All of that info is listed in this Activity card, rather than within the game itself. Other cards not clicked on in the video show a promising advancement for Trophy hunters - individual trophy cards that list completion percentage. We know how frustrating it is to be hunting a trophy that requires you to collect 150 orbs but doesn’t tell you progress, so for completionists, this should be a big help in tracking progress and deciding on what objectives to focus on next. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-teardown&captions=true"] The cards can even give you an estimate of how long an objective will take to complete, which the walkthrough describes as “PlayStation 5’s personalized playtime estimate.” It’s unclear as of now if this is something the system can intuit based on the rest of your play experience, or the experience of other players, but it’s a cool feature nonetheless for those who need to be selective about their game time. PlayStation also mentions there will be some cards ‘suggested’ by the system. While we don’t know the full extent of what this means, we’re shown a brief example of the next levels the player can pursue in Sackboy: A Big Adventure. All of this, of course, raises the question of how much work developers will need to put into designing bespoke Cards for their games, versus what data the PS5 can pull from game saves and trophy progress. The PS4 already tracks what trophies you have, and your overall completion progress,, but the PS5 has a lot more information to keep track of.

Built-In Help

Activities cards also offer in-game help, though this appears to be a PlayStation Plus-exclusive benefit. Sony notes that in-game help won’t be available in every game, or even for every objective, but it is intended to keep you in the experience, rather than having to hop to a secondary screen. In Sackboy, for example, you can access a series of hints with varying amounts of information, from screenshots to full-on walkthrough videos. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/destruction-allstars-announcement-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] These hints can all be accessed without ever leaving the game. The PS5 UI now allows for information to be pinned alongside your game, so if you’re playing a particularly complicated section, you could temporarily pin the help video next to your game as you play.

Friend Interactions

PS5’s friend interactions are also designed to keep you involved in whatever you’re doing without forcing you to scroll through a ton of menus outside of your game. In the example given, a voice chat invite can be joined quickly while in the middle of whatever you’re playing. You can start chatting immediately with friends via the DualSense’s microphone, but also mute yourself via the controller or in menus if needed. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-and-announcement-featured-in-the-playstation-5-showcase-event&captions=true"] Sony describes parties as more of a persistent experience across your PS5 experience. For example, your friends within a party can now share their screen. You can watch someone play while you continue playing, and you can customize that view however you’d like it. You can pin it like you would game help, or even watch it picture-in-picture in various spots on your screen. Perhaps most impressively, if a few friends in your party are in a multiplayer game that you’re not playing, you can join the game via a Card in the control center, and the PS5 immediately drops you into the action. Sony’s quick fast forward aside, the jump from joining the game to being in-game is seconds long.

Less Clutter

In the walkthrough video, Sony didn’t spend much time on the PS5’s home screen — we see nothing of the Media center, or any of the extraneous options we’ll get. But, what we did see looked like an evolution of the PS4’s dashboard. Whenever you hover over and expand info on a single game, we’re invited into a home page of said game, with a large piece of artwork, a big ol’ play button, and a brief encapsulation of your trophy progress. The idea seems to be to get you into your games without any fuss. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ps5-launch-answers-sony-addresses-major-questions-beyond-episode-670"] While the main page is sparse, players can scroll down to see a batch of Activities Cards you can use to easily jump into different games, levels, or newsfeeds. Sony only showcased one PS5 game’s home page in the video in detail, but it did promise backward-compatible PS4 games will benefit from “some” of the layout’s features. And finally, the PlayStation Store, that slow, long-loading way to expand your library, is “completely integrated into the system” rather than an app you click into. Sony didn’t spend much time explaining exactly how the new Store experience will work, but did promise some level of personalization. Overall, though, the messaging points toward a much smoother Store experience than what the PS4 currently offers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] There’s plenty more to the PS5 UI not detailed in Sony’s first video,, and we still have a bunch of questions — the Create button’s functionality, for example, is only briefly touched on, while the compatibility of all these features could vary game-to-game. But everything shown is certainly an indication that Sony has taken criticisms of the PS4 dashboard to heart, and has created an experience that gets you into games more quickly, tracks your progress more comprehensively, and hopefully breaks some of the multiple-menu barriers when it comes to playing with friends. And thankfully, we only have to wait a few more weeks to try it out ourselves. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the cooperative multiplayer mode launching today as a free update for GoT players, may be coming after the initial game's release, but some form of multiplayer has been part of the Tsushima vision since the start. Speaking to IGN ahead of Legends' launch, Sucker Punch's Darren Bridges, the lead on Legends, explained how, while the concept for Legends came some part into development, multiplayer was always considered a "pillar" of the game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ghost-of-tsushima-legends-and-version-11-new-game-screenshots&captions=true"] "From the very beginning when Nate [Fox] and the team pitched Ghost, we knew that we wanted cooperative multiplayer to be a pillar of the game," Bridges explained. "We probably spent six months to a year thinking about different ideas... and ultimately we came to Legends. We've been working on it really in parallel, both on the engine side and the content side from the beginning of the project." But of course, one major way in which Legends deviates from the core Tsushima experience is in its exploration of supernatural myth in a very real way that Jin Sakai's main story doesn't. "We at the studio like supernatural stuff, but Ghost of Tsushima from the beginning was a very grounded experience. That was a core thing that we wanted to get right. So when we batted around different ideas for multiplayer, Legends rose to the top, in part because it allowed us to connect to Jin's story without [the player] being exactly Jin," Bridges explained. "It allows us to also have the freedom to have cooperative abilities that players can use. We have supernatural elements that allow us to be more flexible with the fiction and the abilities and the techniques, all the way down to the cosmetics. And it allowed it to fit nicely in Jin's story because these are Legends, these aren't grounded. These are separate, these are Legends that are told by a storyteller in Tsushima." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ghost-of-tsushima-version-11-update-trailer"] As confirmed before, players will be able to access Legends either via in-game menus or by finding this new storyteller, who is being added to Tsushima alongside the rest of the robust 1.1 update, which includes New Game+ and more. And game director Nate Fox explained how New Game+ came about, in part, because the the fans asking for it. "We want to give people New Game Plus because, frankly, people were clamoring for it. We kept getting requests, 'I want to go in through the story again, I've got all of these abilities, I want to use them and experience some of these missions or some of the Mongol encampments.' And so we came at it being very focused on delivering what we were being asked to do, which was let people have more time with their character that they've developed and with the equipment that they've earned," Fox explained, noting that they also wanted to offer something new to the experience for players to discover, which led to the addition of Ghost Flowers and a new merchant. The mode will also increase enemy strength from the get-go, so players can really put their maxed out character builds to the test. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ghost-of-tsushima-creative-director-interview-podcast-beyond-episode-658"] "We wanted to bring up the level of the enemies and their aggressiveness, the speed, to match your level of power. Of course, if it's too challenging, you can always ratchet up or down the difficulty in the game and New Game Plus, but we've tried to equalize the enemies to match your level of progression," he said. But also, players, by the time they get to the end of the single-player game, they're really skillful, and there is a strong element of skill that allows you to succeed at the game. You can't just mash your way through it." Players will be able to test their skills in both New Game+ and in Legends starting today, as the update rolls out to all Ghost of Tsushima players for free. For more on the game, be sure to check out our original Ghost of Tsushima review, and if you're playing through, check out our Ghost of Tsushima guide for help along the way. You can also watch our deep dive interview with Sucker Punch's Jason Connell on the making of Ghost above, and find out what to expect if you plan to play Ghost of Tsushima backward compatible on PS5.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the cooperative multiplayer mode launching today as a free update for GoT players, may be coming after the initial game's release, but some form of multiplayer has been part of the Tsushima vision since the start. Speaking to IGN ahead of Legends' launch, Sucker Punch's Darren Bridges, the lead on Legends, explained how, while the concept for Legends came some part into development, multiplayer was always considered a "pillar" of the game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ghost-of-tsushima-legends-and-version-11-new-game-screenshots&captions=true"] "From the very beginning when Nate [Fox] and the team pitched Ghost, we knew that we wanted cooperative multiplayer to be a pillar of the game," Bridges explained. "We probably spent six months to a year thinking about different ideas... and ultimately we came to Legends. We've been working on it really in parallel, both on the engine side and the content side from the beginning of the project." But of course, one major way in which Legends deviates from the core Tsushima experience is in its exploration of supernatural myth in a very real way that Jin Sakai's main story doesn't. "We at the studio like supernatural stuff, but Ghost of Tsushima from the beginning was a very grounded experience. That was a core thing that we wanted to get right. So when we batted around different ideas for multiplayer, Legends rose to the top, in part because it allowed us to connect to Jin's story without [the player] being exactly Jin," Bridges explained. "It allows us to also have the freedom to have cooperative abilities that players can use. We have supernatural elements that allow us to be more flexible with the fiction and the abilities and the techniques, all the way down to the cosmetics. And it allowed it to fit nicely in Jin's story because these are Legends, these aren't grounded. These are separate, these are Legends that are told by a storyteller in Tsushima." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ghost-of-tsushima-version-11-update-trailer"] As confirmed before, players will be able to access Legends either via in-game menus or by finding this new storyteller, who is being added to Tsushima alongside the rest of the robust 1.1 update, which includes New Game+ and more. And game director Nate Fox explained how New Game+ came about, in part, because the the fans asking for it. "We want to give people New Game Plus because, frankly, people were clamoring for it. We kept getting requests, 'I want to go in through the story again, I've got all of these abilities, I want to use them and experience some of these missions or some of the Mongol encampments.' And so we came at it being very focused on delivering what we were being asked to do, which was let people have more time with their character that they've developed and with the equipment that they've earned," Fox explained, noting that they also wanted to offer something new to the experience for players to discover, which led to the addition of Ghost Flowers and a new merchant. The mode will also increase enemy strength from the get-go, so players can really put their maxed out character builds to the test. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ghost-of-tsushima-creative-director-interview-podcast-beyond-episode-658"] "We wanted to bring up the level of the enemies and their aggressiveness, the speed, to match your level of power. Of course, if it's too challenging, you can always ratchet up or down the difficulty in the game and New Game Plus, but we've tried to equalize the enemies to match your level of progression," he said. But also, players, by the time they get to the end of the single-player game, they're really skillful, and there is a strong element of skill that allows you to succeed at the game. You can't just mash your way through it." Players will be able to test their skills in both New Game+ and in Legends starting today, as the update rolls out to all Ghost of Tsushima players for free. For more on the game, be sure to check out our original Ghost of Tsushima review, and if you're playing through, check out our Ghost of Tsushima guide for help along the way. You can also watch our deep dive interview with Sucker Punch's Jason Connell on the making of Ghost above, and find out what to expect if you plan to play Ghost of Tsushima backward compatible on PS5.

Blizzard has announced that it is ending development of paid-for content for StarCraft 2, a decade on from the game’s first launch. A blog post from the StarCraft 2 team explained that “for-purchase content”, such as Commanders and War Chests, will no longer be developed, but that the team will continue to support the game and its esports scene. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/07/26/starcraft-2-pc-starcraft-ii-campaign-overview"] “We’re going to continue supporting StarCraft 2 in the same manner as we have with our previous longstanding games, such as Brood War, focusing primarily on what our core and competitive communities care about most,” the post explains. “What this means is that we’re not going to be producing additional for-purchase content, such as Commanders and War Chests, but we will continue doing season rolls, and necessary balance fixes moving forward.” Blizzard will not release another update in 2020, making the August balance update the last of the year. However, the blog does emphasize that these balance updates will still be developed as needed in the future. The esports scene, maintained by Blizzard in partnership with ESL Gaming and GSL, will continue as normal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-blizzard-game-review&captions=true"] Perhaps most exciting for StarCraft fans is the explanation as to why the team is winding down content development. “We know some of our players have been looking forward to some of the things we’re moving away from, but the good news is this change will free us up to think about what’s next, not just with regard to StarCraft II, but for the StarCraft universe as a whole,” said Blizzard. It’s impossible to know what Blizzard is planning for StarCraft, but the important thing is that the studio is thinking about the series’ future. Whether that’s a classic-style sequel with StarCraft 3, or something else entirely, remains to be seen. For more future plans from Blizzard, check out what we know about Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Blizzard has announced that it is ending development of paid-for content for StarCraft 2, a decade on from the game’s first launch. A blog post from the StarCraft 2 team explained that “for-purchase content”, such as Commanders and War Chests, will no longer be developed, but that the team will continue to support the game and its esports scene. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/07/26/starcraft-2-pc-starcraft-ii-campaign-overview"] “We’re going to continue supporting StarCraft 2 in the same manner as we have with our previous longstanding games, such as Brood War, focusing primarily on what our core and competitive communities care about most,” the post explains. “What this means is that we’re not going to be producing additional for-purchase content, such as Commanders and War Chests, but we will continue doing season rolls, and necessary balance fixes moving forward.” Blizzard will not release another update in 2020, making the August balance update the last of the year. However, the blog does emphasize that these balance updates will still be developed as needed in the future. The esports scene, maintained by Blizzard in partnership with ESL Gaming and GSL, will continue as normal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-blizzard-game-review&captions=true"] Perhaps most exciting for StarCraft fans is the explanation as to why the team is winding down content development. “We know some of our players have been looking forward to some of the things we’re moving away from, but the good news is this change will free us up to think about what’s next, not just with regard to StarCraft II, but for the StarCraft universe as a whole,” said Blizzard. It’s impossible to know what Blizzard is planning for StarCraft, but the important thing is that the studio is thinking about the series’ future. Whether that’s a classic-style sequel with StarCraft 3, or something else entirely, remains to be seen. For more future plans from Blizzard, check out what we know about Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Analogue, the makers of high-end retro consoles, have announced their latest vehicle for nostalgia: The Duo. The Analogue Duo is a system that can play NEC's high energy video games. The All-in-one system is capable of playing nearly every NEC system and game formate including TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, SuperGrafx, TurboGrafx CD. PC Engine CD-ROM2, and Super Arcade CD-Rom2 all at 1080p. The Analogue Duo has two drives for CD-ROMs and Hucards and TurboChips. There are also accessory ports that support controllers and original hardware from Analogue. The Duo also supports 2.4g and Bluetooth and will sync up with any wireless 8BitDo Bluetooth or 2.4g controller directly. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=analogue-duo-nec-system&captions=true"] As a bonus, Analogue also announced a new adapter for Analogue Pocket which supports TurboGrafx-16 cartridges. This will be released separately in 2021. Analogue is a hardware manufacturer founded in 2011 specializing in high-end retro consoles. Unlike emulators, Analgoue's systems can play retro games directly from the source and can usually upres the games for modern TVs. Analogue previously released the Analogue Nt and Super Nt for NES and SNES games as well as the Mega Sg for Sega systems. The most recent release was the Analogue Pocket which can play most handheld game cartridges. Analogue says the Duo will be released in limited quantities in 2021 for $199.99. Check out IGN's review of the Analogue Mega Sg for our take on Analogue's previous retro hardware. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.