Xbox is reportedly looking to purchase Japanese game development studios, and has been in contact with both small and large developers.
According to a report from Bloomberg, “several Japan-based game developers” of varying size have been approached by Microsoft to talk about acquiring their business. The developers asked not to be identified at this time due to the private nature of the talks.
Bloomberg’s sources make it reasonable to suggest that Microsoft is scoping out potential new Japanese developers to bring under its wing as part of the Xbox Games Studios brand, even after recently acquiring Bethesda and Zenimax for a whopping $7.5 billion. In response to the reporting, Xbox business lead for Asia Jeremy Hinton told Bloomberg that Microsoft “is always open to discussions with creators that are a good fit. Acquisitions are a possibility but there are no announcements to share at this time,” the article reads.
Like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Origins before it, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continues the series trajectory into a full-fledged open-world RPG. Though Ubisoft has dug up some of its stealth-action roots to make that style more appealing, Valhalla’s focus is on the absolutely massive recreation of Dark Ages England, brought to life with stunning beauty and a level of detail I’ve rarely seen. It’s been an impressive showcase for the Xbox Series X (and presumably the PlayStation 5, but Ubisoft only gave us access to the Xbox version ahead of launch), playing in 4K and a near-constant 60 frames per second. You have to put up with some new progression system ideas that don’t quite deliver, and an abundance of bugs, but there’s a staggering number of things to do, explore, and discover in and around Valhalla’s more atmospheric storytelling.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s story follows Eivor, a male or female Norse Viking who grows up with a chip on their shoulder and vengeance in their heart after some particularly dastardly events in the opening cinematic. From those starting moments, the table is set and soon you and your brother Sigurd are off on a grand adventure to England, a land ripe with wealth and glory, and already well-integrated with Danes and Norse from years of Viking invasion and conquest. That sets the stage for your arrival in England as you settle the land and forge alliances to protect and expand your fledgling homestead against the chaos and political dust storm of warring factions across England’s four kingdoms: Mercia, East Anglia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
The last time Assassin’s Creed tried letting us choose to play as a male or female protagonist the results were hit or miss, especially on the male side. Here, however, the performances of both the male and female versions of Eivor are admirable, though some accents drift a bit. (At one point I could’ve sworn female Eivor made a stop in Boston from the way she crushed the word “harbor,” but quickly enough it was back to Norse normal.) These brief moments are absolutely the exception to the otherwise steady and earnest delivery throughout, which is also true of most of the main characters. Outside the main cast, though some random NPCs can be a little… much. But special mention goes out to Sigurd, who channels fiery intensity and flirts with crazy in his performances, and that performance is accentuated by fascinating facial expressions that often lean uncomfortably close to the latter.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20siblings%E2%80%99%20quest%20for%20wealth%2C%20glory%2C%20and%20power%20throughout%20England%20is%20darker%2C%20sadder%2C%20and%20more%20grounded%20than%20the%20tones%20of%20the%20past%20few%20games%20had%20led%20me%20to%20expect.”]Even so, the siblings’ quest for wealth, glory, and power throughout England is darker, sadder, and more grounded than the tones of the past few games had led me to expect. There are moments throughout where the griefstriken, bittersweet, and just plain bitter resolutions reminded me of The Witcher 3’s Bloody Baron delivery. This is a dirty, dingy world where life is cheap and nearly everyone is scratching and clawing to gain power – or to keep it – regardless of who gets burned along the way.
One particular instance found me helping the leader of a nearby shire – regions within the four kingdoms (no hobbits) – who had discovered a traitor in her inner circle and charged me with rooting them out because she loved each one of them as family and couldn’t trust herself to see past their lies. The resulting few hours of investigation brought me to the end of the road, and I made the best decision based on the available information I had. To be honest, I’m not sure I was right; I still don’t know. If the person I accused was guilty, Valhalla never gave me more clarity, and the uncertainty seems very intentional. My judgment was accepted and the consequences were swiftly doled out, and that was that. I’ve found myself thinking about that decision ever since. But that’s the business of eighth-century England, I suppose.
Valhalla’s vast interpretation of The Dark Ages of Britain is massive, and when coupled with a significant portion of Norway, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla presents a staggeringly large playground through which you ply your trade. And no matter where you are, it’s absolutely stunning.
As I played it on the Xbox Series X, running 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, it may be the most beautiful Assassin’s Creed world yet; certainly the most satisfying to sit back and watch. The snow-blanketed tundras and mountainous ranges of Norway are breathtaking, especially at night as the aurora illuminates the sky above. The rolling green hills of England, cut up by iconic stone walls, are a ready canvas for the rays of light that pierce through the muggy cloud cover, casting shadows that slowly roll across the landscape. It’s hard to overstate how gorgeous a scene can be when the various lighting and weather effects systems are all working in unison. When I stormed the banks of a small riverside church, ready to pillage and plunder, the streaks of light bombarding the dense fog lit up the screen and enveloped the Christian cross in a scene that could’ve been pulled from a Dennis Villeneuve film, only with more heavy-handedness.
Beyond the beauty and thick atmosphere of the locales themselves, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s England is in turmoil. It’s home to clashes between Danes, Norse, Saxons, Britons, Picts, and more, all of whom have stuck a claim in one hunk of rock or another and will kill you to defend it – or to take it, depending on which side of the fence you happen to land on. It’s a confusing mess of integration that creates an excellent social and political knot into which to tie this story, compounded by cultural and religious elements that really drive a sense of otherness in the many different regions, even if they’re just down the river.
But as all Assassin’s Creed games do, the undercurrent of Assassins versus the Order of the Ancients runs everywhere. It’s well represented in the various factions, and even in the decaying bones of the Roman Empire whose structures and architecture not only litter every region, but serve as excellent places to delve into the necessary long-forgotten tombs, crypts, and subterranean structures the series needs to hide its ancient order secrets. Again, that’s similar to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but much of the legwork of hunting down The Order is optional outside the main antagonists that inject themselves into your tale and force that storyline.
In fact, the Assassin’s Brotherhood elements that rope Eivor in start softly, slowly weaving in and out of their story with admirable restraint before the usual Dan-Brown-ification picks up and reveals everything is touched by these organizations in one form or another. But the focus rarely shifts completely from the Eivor’s more-engaging efforts to build a network of alliances throughout England’s four kingdoms and its many, many shires.
One final note before we move on, without spoiling anything: as a huge fan of mythology, I’m stupidly excited for everyone to see Ubisoft’s interpretation of the Norse pantheon and Asgard. Tackling something so mystical and otherworldly had to be tough, but the end result is a more “realistic” and granular take on it than you’d be used to if your familiarity revolves around the Marvel Cinematic Universe or comic books. That’s not a slight on either, just an acknowledgement that this is a refreshing change of pace, especially considering how insane Norse mythology is when you get into the weeds.
Many of Valhalla’s consistent high points come as you live the life of a stereotypical Viking. Aboard your customizable longship, you’ll sail along snaking rivers and lead your clan in raids against the gold-swollen churches and monasteries of England, bloated with supplies and materials needed to build your new settlement that then acts as your homebase and quest hub. The pageantry of raiding is powerful: as you charge in, thatch-roof huts erupt in flames while priests and villagers wail and scurry throughout the fray. Even after so many hours, I’ve yet to grow tired of blowing the horn as we approach the shore, and running up the hill as imposing stone steeples adorned in crosses and decoration tower over. It’s a welcome distraction from longer and more involved quest chains, and provides a quick hit of combat serotonin when you just need to bury your axe in something.
Like many wars of that time, eventually you’re going to have to siege a castle or fortress, and that’s where Valhalla really cranks up the medievalness. These mass assaults often serve as the payoffs for longer quest chains, pitting your armies against whatever upstart king, jarl, or noble calls themselves lord of the lands you aim to conquer. These battles are fever-pitched and chaotic, and while they’re often impressive to look at they usually require a small checklist of orderly tasks to complete: ram the gates to smithereens, breach the inner keep, and kill the despot at the center. After a few of these you can start to pick up the patterns, but often they involve scouting defenses and softening up the opposition before going in, so that adds an element of strategy to it even if it eventually boils down to you taking on the big bad guy at the end. Still, breaking through fortifications with siege weaponry and working toward the inner keep is a very cool spectacle and captures the grandeur of all-out warfare that’s befitting a story of conquering kingdoms.
But when you’re done pillaging on your raid or shoring up an alliance with the new ruler you’ve installed, it’s time to spend those supplies and raw materials. For that we return to the Settlement, a place to invest your resources that serves not only as your quest hub, but as a separate layer of progression with tangible benefits.
As you begin to build out your settlement you’ll construct vital locations like a merchant to quickly buy and sell goods, a barracks to recruit and hand-pick your raiding party, a stable to buy mounts and upgrade riding abilities, a blacksmith to upgrade weapons and armor, and much, much more. On the surface, these are welcome additions and giving you stake of land to handle your business definitely beats tracking down merchants in the big wide world. It’s a little bastion of productivity that you’ll revisit again and again, and serves as the welcome “come home” location where you’ll plan your campaign across England, and dive into side character backstories and storylines.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=I%E2%80%99d%20love%20to%20see%20more%20variety%2C%20customization%2C%20uniqueness%2C%20and%20integration%20into%20the%20core%20gameplay.”]At first, the settlement had me excited, because I love a good management experience – especially when everything offers some kind of reward to further power my character. Eventually, though, as upgrades and management started to slow down and shifted away from unlocking cool new things to getting statistical bonuses, the allure of my settlement began to dwindle and I found myself spending less on my building plans and more time just getting my shopping done before I went out to discover new interesting things. To be fair, there are strong elements at play in your settlement – like the shopkeepers and characters that live and work there which you’ll get to know and potentially care about – but I hope it’s a mechanic that Ubisoft continues to flesh it out in future Assassin’s Creeds entries because I’d love to see more variety, customization, uniqueness, and integration into the core gameplay to make me want to spend time there for reasons other than a trade and quest depot.
Trying Things Out
While Valhalla faithfully sticks to the open-world script of Origins and Odyssey, there are some new systems in play, for better and worse. This time around, skill progression and abilities have been decoupled, meaning you no longer gain cool new abilities automatically simply through leveling up. In fact, the entire level system is effectively gone. Though you still earn experience, and it’s still cached at steady intervals to reward you with skill points, you don’t gain levels in the traditional format.
Those skills points you earn are spent on the Skill Tree, which is more of a web, linking various clusters of unlockable upgrades into constellations that you work your way through along the three main regions: combat, stealth, and ranged. On paper it’s a good system, and slightly reminiscent of Skyrim in style, but for me it’s ultimately a step backward, for two reasons.
First, while you’ll know which direction to invest in from the start depending on what pillar you want to go toward first, once you’ve unlocked the skill at the center of the cluster you’ve got to decide which direction to move from there. Do you work toward the left, to the right? Normally you’d likely take a look at the skills further down the tree and figure out where you want to end up, but that’s the rub: every neighboring cluster is hidden by fog until you spend the necessary points to unlock the node that connects one cluster to another. What this means is you don’t know what the skill in the next group is going to be until you spend a few points to head that direction. That’s really frustrating early on, when you sink your valuable early points only to reveal a skill you don’t care about.
“But there’s still value in the smaller nodes between the main skills in each constellation,” you might say, being technically correct. And that’s true. But these nodes are only minor statistical upgrades, offering “+2 to melee” or “+1 to heavy melee attacks,” for example. Those are useful, but they’re numbers. Numbers aren’t fun. Wielding a two-handed greatsword in each hand so you’re a tornado of sharp edges? That’s fun! But do you know where that skill is? Not until you stumble upon it, or just look it up online. That’s not a great experience.
Secondly, these unlockable skills at the center of the clusters are more passive, or augmentation to things you can already do, rather than the cool new abilities you’d normally find in a skill tree. Granted, a lot of them are incredibly useful – vital even – but while being able to stomp on a downed enemy or control an arrow you fire from a predator bow are very useful, they’re not as impactful as being able to light your weapons on fire or kick someone off a bridge to their doom.
Those game-changing new abilities are hidden throughout the world in books of knowledge, so unless you’re exploring and hunting them from the get-go, the big-ticket abilities may not end up in your arsenal for dozens of hours. Because of this, for the first 10 or 15 hours I felt like Valhalla’s combat was underwhelming next to Odyssey’s bombastic style and flair. I was eventually proven wrong, of course, and it became as flexible, fluid, and brutal as ever after I unlocked enough skills and found enough abilities. But the whole system is skewed toward the mid-to-late game, which left me feeling fangless for over a dozen hours. It just takes way too long to start adding complexity to combat. So if this isn’t your first Assassin’s Creed game, know that the initial scuffles can seem very bland hack-and-slash affairs until you’ve started discovering some tools in the open world.
This Is My Axe; There Aren’t Many Like It, and This One Is Mine
On the other hand, I adore the new direction Ubisoft has taken inventory and quests in here. For instance, there’s far less loot in Valhalla than in Origins and Odyssey; instead of finding 400 junk-level bearded axes that you’ll inevitably sell to a merchant, Valhalla gives you different kinds of the archetypal axe, or shield, or greatsword, etc. Each weapon has a unique look, and even though two greatswords might be only slightly different statistically, they carry different passive bonuses for flavor preference. For example, one sword might do more heavy damage the more light attacks you land, while another might poison enemies you’ve knocked to the ground. Both are interesting, and useful, and offer you different ways to approach the same weapon style.
If you find one you like, you can invest collectible currencies to not only upgrade its level, which improves its stats, but upgrade the quality, and that often comes with a new visual appearance and always allows you to upgrade its level even further. It’s much less of a hassle and more rewarding in the long run than having to sift through two pages of greatswords, and weirdly allows me to grow more attached to them.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=As%20a%20pro%20tip%2C%20don%E2%80%99t%20sleep%20on%20the%20spear.”]And as you further augment these weapons and shields with runes, you’ll find unique combinations of attack animations depending on which hand you’re holding it in, for a nuanced system that’s so much deeper than I’d initially thought. As a pro tip, don’t sleep on the spear. I know it’s not as sexy as the big two-handed axe, but its two-handed/left-handed heavy attack lets you stick an enemy and fling them in a direction of your choosing for massive damage.
The other great change is in the greater flexibility and organic discovery of side quests and activities. Ubisoft has done away with the cascading list of side quests to track in favor of revealing colored-coded points of interest on the map for mysteries, wealth, and artifacts. Often you’ll find one of the many insane and light-hearted side stories – like one involving a crazy cat lady who happens to live next to a farmer whose field is overrun with rats (convenient!) – but it could also be a place of mystical power, a psychedelic hallucination challenge, or an ambush by bandits.
These mysteries are, more often than not, much sillier than the main storyline, even farcical at times, but there are many that hide deeply unsettling secrets and deadly encounters. The beauty of the system is you don’t know what you’re getting into, but you’re free to walk away at any time knowing that pale dot will still be there waiting for you when and if you decide to come back. Ultimately, they’re excellent quick reprieves from the darker, heavier tones of the long, multi-part main story quests, and the freedom to pick what you want to pursue without obligation keeps the elements of surprise refreshing and engaging.
Glitch in the Animus
No matter where you go in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, though, you’re sure to encounter some… let’s call them quirks. Everyone and everything here is fighting a common foe: a large number of bugs and technical hiccups that span the spectrum of hilarious, annoying, frustrating, and downright broken.
I’ve run into half a dozen hard crashes that returned me to the Xbox dashboard. I’ve cursed out loud at ore deposits and door barricades that just refused to break thanks to the attack animation of whatever weapon I was holding not connecting perfectly, I guess? I’ve avoided a number of staircases that snag you halfway up and refuse to let you do the one thing they were made to do. I’ve stood perfectly still as enemies ran tight, fast circles around me, or brazenly ignored the arrows I’ve buried in their heads. I’ve ridden nitro-powered rowboats that take flight whenever you dash onto the shore, and restarted Valhalla because quest progression came to a grinding halt when a vital NPC got stuck in a river or decided to just never move to begin with. I’ve looked past lingering HUD elements that overlap or stay on screen. I’ve raged against enemy Zealots – Valhalla’s version of mercenaries – that inexplicably regained health even when I was drowning them in a river or beating them to death with my bare hands, becoming effectively immortal. And friends, I swear to you, I’ve seen a flying whale.
Lastly, I don’t know if this is a bug or just a result of the developers wanting you to be able to do cool aerial attacks, but the fact you can survive a 100-foot fall by performing an attack in mid-air seems like the former. I’m not complaining, it helps speed up getting from point A to point B when I don’t want to look for a safe landing space, but it’s just so odd.
Anyway, you get it. Valhalla is buggy – really buggy. That said, it wasn’t overpowering; looking back after over 60 hours played, all those nagging issues feel like small footnotes in what’s otherwise been many great hours of exploration and discovery. And, in the moment, I think it’s easy to miss out on the forest for the trees. So while I may never forget that flying whale, it’s not the first, or second, or even tenth thing I think about when I think of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is finally set to launch on November 10 for Xbox One, Series X, PS4, and PC players, with PS5 following up a couple of days later on November 12. If you’re ready to jump back into the Animus, then this is the perfect deal for you.
Right now at Amazon, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is down to at least $49.94 for Xbox One and PS4, both of which include free next-gen upgrade options. That means you can buy the game and get all the wondrous PS5 and Xbox Series X graphical and performance improvements, even on release day.
Save $10 on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Free Next-Gen Upgrade
It’s quite simple really. For Xbox users, just insert the disc and complete the install, the console will then inform you of a next-gen patch available, which will then optimize the game for your new system. This is what Xbox is calling, Smart Delivery.
On PlayStation, this is a similar process, but the console will instead inform you that a free upgrade path is available, and then prompt you to download a PS5 copy of the game at no extra cost. You’ll need to keep your disc in both cases, as proof of purchase. But from there forward, you’ll be using a next-gen version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, 60FPS, 4K resolution, Huzzah!
How to Pre-Download Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on Xbox One
If you’re looking to take advantage of pre-downloading on Xbox, you can now do it even if you don’t own the game digitally. This is done via the new and improved Xbox app on mobile devices. This process will significantly reduce the time it takes to install and play your game on launch day.
Starting off, download the Xbox app on your phone, and make sure all your account info is set up correctly. From here, look for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla using the search bar within the app. Once you’re on the page, you should see a big download button. Hit this to start a remote download on your console, the app will inform you that you won’t be able to play if you don’t own the game, this is okay.
Next, head on over to your console and check if the download has started. If you’re lacking in space on your base console, you’ll definitely want to check this as you’ll need to tell your system to download to an external drive, or to delete another game to make room.
This is another important decision if you’re upgrading to Xbox Series X as well. When you’re new console comes, you can do a network transfer to bring all your current games over to the new console, or just plug your external hard drive in the back of the Series X and transfer Valhalla over that way. You’ll want to do this if you’re looking to take advantage of the Series X upgrade, alongside the superfast internal SSD. Once you’re all set up, just pop the disc in when you’re ready, and the game will be good to go (once you’ve sorted that day one patch as well).
Now that the wild and erratic preorder stage is pretty much done, it’s time to move on to launch day. There’s plenty of signs to indicate that we will be getting more console stock at major retailers on November 10 for Xbox Series X, and November 12 for PS5.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert for IGN, he’s both excited and terrified at the prospect of Black Friday. Be nice and ask him how his day is going @robertliam21
We’re only a few days away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, and details are trickling out about every aspect of the console prior to its release. In a recent PS5 FAQ, Sony clarifies that the new DualSense controller is expected to have a battery life that is comparable to that of the DualShock 4, with recharging taking approximately three hours.
This claim comes as several outlets that received a PS5 prior to release said that the DualSense controller lasts only two to four hours, particularly when playing Astro’s Playroom. Since Playroom is specifically designed to show off the DualSense’s new features, such as haptic feedback, this would appear to suggest that games that take full advantage of those features may drain the controller’s battery faster than other games. In the experience of several GameSpot staff members, the DualSense battery life hasn’t been noticeably poor.
The PS5 FAQ says that the DualSense will be available in other colors in the future, though not for a while. It also clarifies that third-party specialty controllers like fight sticks and steering wheels will work on the PS5 if the specific game supports it, but that standard third-party controllers like the SCUF Vantage will not work on the PS5. Sony also says that the DualSense works on PC Remote Play through a standard USB connection, though it’s not clear if that means that it works as a standard PC controller. If you’re looking for how we feel about the PS5 and its games, check out our reviews page for more.
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While PlayStation 5 is only able to output up to 4K on 8K displays at launch, a future system software update will allow the PS5 to “output resolutions up to 8K when content is available, with supported software.”
Supported resolutions for the PS5 are 720p, 1080i, 1080p, and 2160p. The PS5 also supports the HDR10 specification, and an HDMI 2.1 cord will enable 4K/120Hz.
As it stands, even the most budget 8K TVs are $4,000. Our choice for the best 8K TV in 2020 is the Sony 85″ Class Z8H Master Series, and that retails for $8,999 USD.
It will also be interesting to see if the PS5 will be able to support native 8K, or is if it will use techniques like checkerboarding to conserve bandwidth like the PS4 Pro.
Only time will tell, but 4K/120Hz for PS5’s launch will be a big jump for many when it launches at November 12, 2020, and will make PS5 games and backward compatible PS4 games look better than ever.
343 Industries has been slowly releasing each Halo game in the Master Chief Collection on PC over the past few months, and it’s now Halo 4’s turn. According to a new trailer, Halo 4 will arrive on PC as part of the MCC on November 17.
This completes the original remit of the Master Chief Collection, at least according to 343. The studio has said repeatedly that the divisive Halo 5 will not be added to the collection. A recent announcement from 343 emphasized that Halo 4 is the “last title we have planned for the collection.”
Halo 4 was the first Halo game not to be developed by original studio Bungie. The MCC version of the game is visually enhanced and features new armor customization compared to the original game. It also includes the co-op mode Spartan Ops, which was introduced as a new feature in Halo 4, along with the traditional campaign and multiplayer modes. According to 343, the campaign is “totally remastered,” which presumably refers to the visual improvements. If you’re planning to play the MCC on console, it will receive optimizations for the Xbox Series X and Series S as well.
Update: A new PS5 FAQ covers the current issues with storing PS5 games on an external USB hard drive, saying a future update could allow that process.
“No, players cannot transfer PS5 games to a USB drive,” reads the answer to a question titled ‘Can I store or play PS5 games from a USB drive?’. “PS5 games must be stored on the console’s internal ultra-high speed SSD for gameplay. Explorations for allowing players to store (but not play) PS5 games on a USB drive in a future update are underway.”
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PlayStation 5 currently doesn’t allow you to install, store or play next-gen games anywhere other than its internal SSD.
As noted by Digital Foundry, next-gen games can’t be played from an external drive, and the console currently offers no options to move your PS5 games into external storage. When the internal SSD is filled, the only option given is to delete games to free up space.
It’s concerning given that the console comes with a relatively slim 667GB of usable storage space, and doesn’t support SSD external storage (which could presumably play next-gen games) at launch. No window has been given for when an update will allow SSD storage.
Xbox Series X also cannot play next-gen games on anything other than its internal SSD and (expensive) approved external drive – but unlike PS5 it does offer the option to store games on external hard drives and transfer them back to the SSD without a lengthy download process. PS5 does allow PS4 games to be moved between internal and external storage.
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 [email protected].
With the launch of the PlayStation 5 this week, console gamers will be able to experience solid-state drive technology that has been fine-tuned for quicker loading times and transitions between games. Both models of the PS5 will come equipped with an 825 GB internal NVMe SSD, but only 667 GB will actually be usable.
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem when external USB 3.1 hard drives are commonplace and can easily serve as a storage point for unused games, but the PS5 won’t allow for its games to be temporarily moved and stored on one of these devices. If you run out of space you’ll need to delete that game and then re-download it at another time, which could be a problem for people who have capped internet access.
Sony is looking into a solution for this, as Sid Shuman, senior director SIE content communications, explained on the PS Blog that “explorations for allowing players to store (but not play) PS5 games on a USB drive in a future update are underway.”
PS4 games can currently be stored on a compatible external hard drive and accessed, a feature that the PS5 will continue to provide. In the options menu for storage, users can choose to always have PS4 games install on extended storage. This system comes with a catch though, as it will force all PS4 games to be installed on external storage and you’ll need to choose which games to move onto the PS5’s internal storage.
In contrast, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles have a much simpler approach. External storage can also be used to store and play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox backwards compatible games, while Xbox Series X/S games can be copied over to these devices when they’re not in use.
Netflix has released a trailer for the Russo Brothers-produced Mosul, a military drama about a young police officer who joins a rogue Iraqi squadron in their fight against ISIS in a decimated Mosul. The movie is due to hit the streaming platform on November 26–check out the trailer below.
The official synopsis adds a little more shading to the broad strokes known so far: “When ISIS took their homes, families and city, one group of men fought to take it all back. Based on true events, this is the story of the Nineveh SWAT team, a renegade police unit who waged a guerrilla operation against ISIS in a desperate struggle to save their home city of Mosul.”
In addition to the Russo Brothers’–who themselves haveCherry, a military-inspired movie coming for Apple TV+–Mosul was written and directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan (World War Z, State of Play). It stars Adam Bessa (Extraction, The Blessed) as the inexperienced Iraqi cop Kawa, and Suhail Dabbach (The Hurt Locker, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) as the wise Major Jasem who leads a struggling squadron of 10 brothers in arms.
The Russo brothers are also producing Everything Everywhere all at Once for distributor A24, pairing with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert–the duo behind 2016’s poignantly kooky drama Swiss Army Man. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as a farting corpse (really), the film was so divisive that there were reportedly walk-outs from screenings during its premiere in the Sundance Film Festival that year.
It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is nearly over: Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S arrive on Tuesday, November 10. The initial wave of preorders has come and gone, but Microsoft will be providing more units on launch day. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know to have the best chance of securing an Xbox Series X or Series S at launch. As new information comes out about which retailers will get new stock and when, we’ll add it below.
Where to Find Xbox Series X in Stock Online at Launch
More Xbox Series X|S stock is expected to be available on launch day. As for your options to purchase a console online, here is the concrete data we’ve seen so far:
Walmart – Walmart announced it will have Xbox Series X in stock online at walmart.com at 12 PM ET on November 10.
So far, that’s all we know for sure. That said, it’s unlikely Walmart is the only place Microsoft is sending a batch of new systems at launch. It’s a safe bet other retailers will offer additional stock of the new consoles as well–they just haven’t announced it yet. If/when announcements arrive, we’ll update the bullet point “list” above.
In the meantime, if you want to manually check to see if the console is in stock anywhere, use the above links to visit the listing pages.
For the most up-to-the-second information about where you can find Xbox Series X|S in stock at any given time, you’ll want to follow IGN Deals on Twitter. Since stock of these consoles is likely to sell out shortly after it goes live, your best bet is to follow our deals team on Twitter, where we’ll post links as soon as stock becomes available.
Where to Buy Xbox Series X in Physical Stores at Launch
Based on what we’ve heard so far, it seems unlikely that you’ll be able to go into a store and buy an Xbox Series X|S at launch or even for a while after that.
Target has suggested it will have Xbox Series X in stock at brick-and-mortar locations, but it sounds like you’ll have toorder it online for pickup or as a Drive Up order.
Best Buy has also announced you won’t be able to walk in and buy next-gen consoles in stores “this year.” Instead, you’ll be able to order them online when they become available and select pickup at checkout.
For its part, Sony announced that brick-and-mortar retailers will not offer PS5 at launch for anyone who didn’t preorder it online and choose to pick up at a local store. Microsoft hasn’t made any similar sweeping statements, but details about where to find an Xbox Series X|S at a local retail store are scant at the moment. We’ll update here if that changes.
More Xbox Series X|S May Be Available for Black Friday
According to Best Buy’s Black Friday ad, it will have “limited quantities” of Xbox Series X and S available online only on Black Friday, which falls on November 27 this year.
Other retailers may follow suit and open up more stock of Xbox Series X|S on Black Friday or during the lead-up to the sale event.
How Much Does Xbox Series X|S Cost?
Xbox Series X costs $499.99. The less powerful and disc-drive-less Xbox Series S retails for $299.99.
Halo Infinite was originally planned as an Xbox Series X|S launch title, but it has been delayed into 2021. That said, you’ll have plenty of games to play on November 10, including Gears Tactics, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and more.
Remember nearly every single game you could play on Xbox One, including backwards-compatible titles dating back to the original Xbox, will be playable on the Series X and Series S right out of the box.
Accessories can help you get the most out of your new console, but not all accessories are created equal. The most useful accessory for anyone who wants to add a player two is going to be an extra controller. These new Xbox Series X|S controllers have a few new tweaks, but aren’t a giant leap beyond Xbox One controllers. And it’s worth noting that any Xbox One controllers you have lying around will work just fine on the Series X and S. For more details about the new controller, check out our Xbox Series X controller review.
One problem rearing its head for anyone with a lot of games is storage space. Xbox Series X and S can load games super fast, thanks to their onboard solid state drives, but SSDs being expensive, they come with limited storage space. The Series X comes with 1TB, while the Series S has 512GB, which turns out to be only 364GB of usable storage thanks to the OS. That’s going to fill up fast for a lot of people. Fortunately, you can buy an official Seagate storage expansion card to get an extra 1TB of fast-loading storage. Unfortunately, it costs $219.99. It is what it is.
Beyond that, you can pick up things like a rechargeable battery pack, charging stand, and media remote, but none of these are absolutely necessary, especially at launch.
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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and bonafide deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
