Category: Games

The PS4 to PS5 upgrade situation can get a little confusing when you start to think too much about it. So, we’re going to do some of the thinking for you. The PS5 upgrade approach is a new system being put in place that allows players to download a PS5 copy of a game if they already own the PS4 version. This can be achieved for free, or with a paid fee, and is also different from backward-compatibility.

This is also different from the Xbox approach, which involves simply installing the game on whatever console you’re using and it’ll work with the correct graphical settings. This is what Microsoft is calling Smart Delivery, and it allows players to just buy an ‘Xbox’ game, without having to jump through any hoops. But, are there going to be any hoops for PlayStation users?

Do You Need to Pay for Both PS4 and PS5 Copies of Games?

According to the official PlayStation 5 page, ‘The PS5 console gives game publishers the ability to let players upgrade their disc and digital PS4 games to digital PS5 games’. This means that, for the most part, you will not be required to pay full-price for both PS4 and PS5 copies of games, so long as the publisher is providing the option to. Thankfully, for the more part, this is the case currently, and there are already several games already confirmed to include a PS5 upgrade path. Not all games can be upgraded for free, however, so check down further in the article for the full list of PS4 games getting a free PS5 upgrade.

Remember, upgrading a game to a PS5 version is not the same as backwards-compatibility. The upgrade we are referring to is when the developer is specifically releasing a PS5 copy of the game that includes upgraded 4K performance, increased clarity, faster load times, and consistent/ uncapped FPS. Sony has confirmed that a large number of PS4 games will be backward-compatible on the new console.

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How Do I Upgrade My PS4 Games to PS5?

We’re going to refer to the official PS5 page again for this. If you have a PS4 game as a physical disc, you will need to insert the game disc into the PS5 to see an upgrade path. You will then have to download the PS5 version and keep the PS4 disc to use and insert every time you play the game. Presumably, the PS4 disc will still work on your PS4 as well.

To take part in this upgrade, you will obviously need the PS5 console with a disc drive. That means no what version of a game you’re upgrading, digital or physical, it will always result in a digital PS5 copy of the game.

If you own a digital copy of a game that can be upgraded, you can simply download the game on your new console, as the console and publishers will automatically know you’ve already purchased a license for the game you’re looking to play, and provide you with a PS5 copy of the game. So, as an example, you could preorder Spider-Man Miles Morales on PS4 digitally, and then download the PS5 version onto your new console at no added cost at launch. 

What PS4 Games Are Getting Free PS5 Upgrades?

To help you decipher the current PS4 to PS5 upgrade situation, here is a full list of all the games that you can purchase on PS4 that will upgrade to PS5 at no added cost. But, a few of these do have some caveats to take note of. FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21  will require you to upgrade to the PS5 version before next year’s installment (FIFA 22, and Madden NFL 22). Control will only upgrade to the PS5 edition if you own Control Ultimate Edition, not the original PS4 base game, and Hitman 3 will only be receiving a free upgrade for a digital copy of the game.

Free Upgrades

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PS4 Games with a Paid PS5 Upgrade Path

Unfortunately, not all games will be including a free upgrade path. Marvel’s Spider-Man is available to play as a remastered version on PS5, but there isn’t an upgrade version from the PS4 copy, and at the time of writing, it can only be accessed via the PS5 copy of Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition that will cost $69.99.

Moreover, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has a slightly confusing upgrade path. But put simply, you’ll need to pay at least $70 to get access to the PS5 version. Right now you have three options, the cross-gen bundle for $70, the PS4 version for $60, and the PS5 version for $70. If you buy the PS4 version, you’ll be required to pay an extra $10 to get access to the game on PS5. To be fair, however, this is also the case with Xbox One to Xbox Series X.

NBA 2K21 is another game that isn’t receiving much of a free upgrade path, as you’ll only be getting an upgrade to the PS5 copy if you own the $96 special edition copy of the game, the Mama Forever Edition. You’d probably be better off waiting for the $69.99 PS5 copy if you’re looking to play next-gen.

Edit: We’ve decided to move Control here, considering you’ll be required to buy all the content again with Control Ultimate Edition in order to upgrade for free.

Paid Upgrades

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Will My Save Files Carry Over From PS4 to PS5?

Right now, the situation actually remains a little murky until Sony bucks up and clarifies the situation overall, or whether it’s simply on a developer by developer basis to make the decision. There was some recent confusion when Yakuza’s March PS5 release date announcement also confirmed that PS4 saves for the game can’t be carried over to the PS5 version if players decide to upgrade. Moreover, Dirt 5’s developers also confirmed that, while Playgrounds creations can be migrated, other game progress, like career mode and currency, cannot be moved from the PS4 to PS5.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered will also not carrying over saves, so you could argue that most PS4 game saves won’t carry over. It still sounds like any games that utilize online or cloud game saves will carry over your online process, but only time will tell for now. If you want a more in-depth overall of save games when it comes to PS5, check out everything we know on the PS4-PS5 game save confusion.

If PS4 Games are Cheaper, with an Upgrade Path, Why Buy the Game on PS5?

For a shiny white box. Yeah, it’s a little odd but maybe you could argue you can avoid the additional PS5 download as well? If you can find a game like Far Cry 6, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, or Watch Dogs Legion preorders on sale at Amazon for $49.94, all of which are getting free PS5 upgrades, then maybe just get the PS4 copy and save yourself $10.

Free Next-Gen Upgrades: PS5 vs Xbox Series X

Xbox has a different approach to how PlayStation is doing things. From what we know currently, playing games on the Xbox Series X will function in a comfortably similar fashion to going between an Xbox One, to an Xbox One X. It’s the same game, with a performance bump. This is seemingly how the current generation worked with different hardware, as you could play Xbox One games on Xbox One X and PS4 games on PS4 Pro without any change. Presumably, this should also be how PS4 backward-compatibility games will work on the new console, but that’s yet to be confirmed.

As we’ve explained previously, this isn’t the case with the PS5. You’ll be specifically instructed to upgrade to a digital PS5 version of the game upon inserting your PS4 disc, and you’ll need to keep that PS4 disc to play the PS5 version of the game. This is why Xbox games are being promoted as just that, Xbox games, while PlayStation is very much leaning towards labeling games as next-gen. Although, it’s not like Xbox isn’t doing this a bit either, with it’s massive ‘Optimised for Series X’ logo planted everywhere. Not only that but there also a few games that haven’t opted into Xbox Smart Delivery, such as Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War.

Another difference when it comes to Xbox vs PlayStation (make love, not console wars), is the ability to go forward and backward generations using the same disc on Xbox. Seemingly, this is while Xbox One consoles are still being supported by Xbox, but for now, any Xbox games you buy can be played on both generations of the console. Whereas you will not be able to use a PS5 disc on a PS4, nor will buying a PS5 game entitle you to a PS4 copy as well.

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Have we missed any games on the lists above? Let us know in the comments, and keep an eye on our PS5 preorder guide and @IGNDeals for future PS5 and Xbox Series X stock updates.

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Robert Anderson is a Commerce Writer for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21

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Xbox has taken a playful jab at PS5 after Sony revealed the process for switching its new console from a vertical to horizontal orientation.

In a PS5 teardown, Sony’s Yasuhiro Ootori explained that to turn the console sideways a vertical stand needs to be unscrewed, with the screw then stored inside the stand, which is then clipped onto the side of the console.

Xbox then responded on Twitter, showing a slightly more simple process for Xbox Series X – you just turn the console on its side:

How to switch the Xbox Series X from vertical to horizontal pic.twitter.com/efnCoBPWTW

— Xbox UK (@xboxuk) October 7, 2020

The tweet harks back to a similar moment before the launch of PS4 and Xbox One. After Xbox revealed that, initially, it would potentially support players paying a licensing fee to activate used games, Sony produced a joking guide to sharing used games on PS4 – which amounted to handing someone else your old game. You can watch the video below:

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Today’s tweet doesn’t mark the first time Xbox has called out Sony ahead of the next generation of consoles – previously it made a point of pointing out the chaos around PS5 preorders, saying its process would be more transparent. Unfortunately, other problems conspired to make Xbox preorders a mess in their own right.

Xbox Series X retails at $499 USD / £449 / $749 AUD, while Xbox Series S comes in at $299 USD / £249.99 / $499 AUD. Both Xbox Series consoles will be released on November 10.

PS5 will cost US$499 / £449 / AU$750 for the full edition, and US$399 / £359 / AU$600 for the digital edition. It will arrive on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and November 19 in all other territories.

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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].

BOOM! Studios’ beloved comic book series Lumberjanes is getting an animated special and a follow-up series at HBO Max.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Noelle Stevenson, who co-created the award-winning comic book, is attached as a writer and an executive producer on the project, which would initially launch on the streaming service as an animated special before leading into a complete animated series. The outlet notes that Stevenson will direct the Lumberjanes special and some of the subsequent episodes.

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Lumberjanes follows a group of girls named Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley during a summer break at “Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types.” However, the butt-kicking best pals soon discover that things are not what they seem, though they refuse to let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in the way of their adventures.

In addition to Lumberjanes, Stevenson is well known for the fantasy comic book Nimona and her illustrated memoir The Fire Never Goes Out, which chronicles her successful career through a series of essays and short, autobiographical comics. On the TV side of things, Stevenson most recently helmed Netflix’s animated series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

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The Lumberjanes animated series at HBO Max will be executive produced by Ross Richie and Stephen Christy for BOOM! Studios. BOOM’s Mette Norkjaer will also join the creative team as a co-executive producer along with Lumberjanes comics’ co-creators Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Brooklyn A. Allen who took home the 2016 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Sony is changing up its PlayStation Trophy system a bit, including increasing the Trophy level range from the current “1-100” to “1-999,” and it has confirmed that all previous trophies will carry over to PS5, just as they have for previous console generations.

As detailed on PlayStation.Blog, this update will be out starting “later tonight (North America) / tomorrow (Europe),” and your Trophy level will “automatically be remapped to a new level within this new range based on the Trophies you’ve earned to date.”

So, if your current Trophy level is 12, for example, it will now jump “somewhere in the low 200’s.” The exact level will “depend on the number and grades of trophies you’ve acquired.” Also, there will be no changes to the Trophies already earned or Trophy information, such as unlock requirements.

In addition to the change to Trophy levels, there will also be a new Trophies level calculation system that is more “optimized and rewarding.” Early levels will be easier to progress through, and levels will “increase more consistently.” Furthermore, Platinum Trophies will be worth more, making them even more valuable than before.

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The trophy level icon on PlayStation 5, as well as PlayStation App at a later date, will also be getting an upgrade. Currently, the Trophies icon is a single star, but soon there will be more variants and ways to show off your accomplishments. They are as follows:

• Bronze: Levels 1-299
• Silver: Levels 300-599
• Gold: Levels 600-998
• Platinum: Level 999

The icons will also have a “subtle distinction” that will visually suggest how close a player is to the next level.

This news arrives shortly after PlayStation revealed a PS5 teardown that shows more of the upcoming next-gen console and helps explain why it’s so big.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sony has finally given us a full, in-depth look at what’s inside a PS5 in a new teardown video, and it’s an elegant machine that seems built very much with the failings of the PS4 in mind. You can watch the full video below, or read on for everything we’ve learned about the silicone and metal guts of PlayStation’s next-generation offering.

Let’s start from the outside with the obvious point: it’s massive, and bigger than a PS4. The teardown, performed by Sony Interactive Entertainment’s VP of Mechanical Design Department, Yasuhiro Ootori, revealed some interesting elements about the console’s size. Standing 104mm wide, 390mm high, and 260mm deep (thats 4.09 inches wide, 15.35 inches high, and 10.23 inches deep if you speak Imperial), it’s a chunky machine for a home console. For reference, a PS4 Pro is 55mm x 327mm x 295mm.

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Ootori says that the size results in a “dramatic improvement in performance in terms of processing power and quietness”. It appears that the design ethos behind the PS5 has focused a lot on heat management.

On the front panel are two USB ports, a USB type-A port with hi-speed data transfer, and a USB type-C with SuperSpeed 10gbs transfer. On the rear are a further two USB type-A ports (both SuperSpeed 10gbs), a LAN port for networking, HDMI Out to link to your TV/display, and AC In for power. If you don’t plan on using the LAN port, the console has Wi-Fi 6 support for wireless networking, and also Bluetooth 5.1 for connecting devices.

The sides of the console can be slid off by hand with no tools required, which reminds me a lot of tool-less entry PC cases. Those sides flair out along the sides of the console, as air intakes are on both sides of the machine, with air drawn by a 120mm diameter, 45mm thick dual-intake fan. Airflow is then exhausted out the back of the console, where vents cover basically every section of the backplate not dedicated to ports.

With the covers off, you can access two ports for the dust filters that run along the intakes. Ootori specifically notes that these ports can be used with a vacuum cleaner, which will allow users to easily clean the filters with a household vacuum cleaner. Again, another way to help keep heat under control.

With the side panels off, users can also access a metal plate, under which is a bay for an SSD drive, should you wish to expand your storage. This is an M.2 interface with the latest high-speed PCIe 4.0 rating, which is the same as those used in PCs, so standard off-the-shelf NVMe drives will work.

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That’s all you can reach from beneath the side panels, but Ootori unscrewed the casing and showed off the guts of the machine, too. Inside is a one-piece motherboard fitted with a AMD SoC (system on a chip) that contains the x86-64-AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU and RDNA-2 Radeon graphics processor. On the rear of the board is also eight units of GDDR6 system memory, clocking in at 16GB overall at 448GB/s. For more on the nitty gritty, see our complete PS5 specs page.

The SSD is also soldered directly onto the motherboard, with its chips surrounding the custom SSD controller module, which allows for the fast 5.5GB/s raw transfer speeds.

Running almost the entire length of the console is a huge heatsink. It’s a classic finned design with heat pipes, but Ootori claims that because of the shape and airflow design, it actually functions with the same performance as a vapor chamber. Between the chipset and the heatsink is a layer of liquid metal, which is used instead of a standard thermal paste. Ootori says that liquid metal has had to be used because the chipset runs at a very high clock rate within a very small die, and so had very high thermal density which needed to be dealt with by an enhanced thermal conductor.

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The whole thing is powered by a 350W power supply, which sits in the bottom corner of the unit. Above it is the UHD blu-ray player, which is housed in a sheet metal shroud and insulated by two layers to reduce noise and vibration.

Finally, the entire thing can be used horizontally or vertically. A stand comes in the box, and can be easily attached with a single slot-head screw. The screw is only needed in the vertical position; if you use it horizontally, the screw can be stored in a little compartment in the base, and there’s a plastic plug to put in the screw-hole that no longer has a screw in it.

PS5 will cost US$499 / £449 / AU$750 for the full edition, and US$399 / £359 / AU$600 for the digital edition. It will arrive on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and November 19 in all other territories.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is set to hit the PS4 and PS5 in just a few weeks, but fans of Insomniac’s take on Miles will have more opportunities to jump into the character’s world via two newly announcred books.

IGN can exclusively reveal the titles and cover art for Titan Books’ Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury, the prequel novel tied to the game, as well as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – The Art of the Game. Check out the cover art for both below:

Wings of Fury will actually hit before the PS4/PS5 game is released, with the novel written by SLAY author Brittney Morris being available from Titan on November 10. The story focuses on Miles grappling with the responsibility of being Spider-Man as he deals with Vulture and Starling setting experimental tech onto the streets of New York. It will cost $16 and is 288 pages long.

The official description reads:

With an exclusive adventure leading directly into the game itself, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury features Miles Morales coming to terms with what it means to be Spider-Man. A mix-up with the law leaves Miles questioning everything and when Vulture and his accomplice Starling unleash experimental tech on Marvel’s New York, Miles must decide what kind of hero he wants to be.

Meanwhile, Titan will release The Art of the Game in February 2021. Written by Matt Ralphs, the book will trace the creative process of in a hardcover book that includes concept art, in-game renders, and insight from the artists and developers at Insomniac, Marvel, and PlayStation. The 192-page art book will cost $39.95.

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Titan also previously released a prequel novel and art book for Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4, which fans can still purchase if they’re looking for even more of Insomniac’s take on the webhead.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales will hit the PS4 and PS5 on November 12, the launch day of the PS5, and after recently getting an extended look at Miles Morales PS5 gameplay, we also learned about Spider-Man and other games’ PS5 preorder bonuses. And if you want to learn about the game’s villain, be sure to check out our character breakdown of villain The Tinkerer.

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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

 

BioWare has spent 25 years building a reputation for crafting high-quality video games with immersive, lore-heavy worlds. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work behind the scenes and bring those epic games to life, Dark Horse Comics has just the book for you.

Dark Horse is releasing a new hardcover artbook called BioWare: Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development. As the name suggests, this book gives fans a closer look at the company’s inner workings and the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories that arose out of modern classics like Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic. Plus, you can expect a copious amount of sketches and concept art and even glimpses of BioWare games that never saw the light of day.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive preview of this sprawling BioWare retrospective:

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Here’s Dark Horse’s official description for the book:

BioWare – Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development puts you in the room during key moments in BioWare’s history, with never-before-seen art and photos anchored by candid stories from developers past and present. See what it took to make games in those wild early days. Pore over details of secret, cancelled projects. Discover the genesis of beloved characters and games. Presented and designed by Dark Horse Books, this tribute to BioWare’s legacy is a must-have for any fan of the best stories you can play.

BioWare: Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development is priced at $49.99 and is scheduled for release on November 11, 2020.

Currently, BioWare is crafting some major changes to its live-service shooter Anthem, with the update dubbed “Anthem Next.” We also know the developer is one of many EA-owned studios working on next-gen projects for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. One of those projects could even be the rumored Knights of the Old Republic remake, which will reportedly overhaul the game’s story to fit within the context of Disney’s Star Wars timeline.

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For more on BioWare’s long, notable history, check every BioWare game review on IGN.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Against all odds, the long-delayed New Mutants movie finally made it to theaters in 2020. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in an area where going to the movies is a safe option, there’s good news. 20th Century Studios’ final X-Men movie is headed to Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, DVD and Digital HD on November 17.

To celebrate the news, IGN can exclusively debut a new clip from this upcoming release. Check out the video player above or the embed below to see several members of the crew reflect on the iconic work of comic book artist Bill Sienkiewicz and how it helped shape the look and tone of the movie:

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The clip shows director Josh Boone, other crew members and even Sienkiewicz himself reflecting on the influence classic New Mutants stories like “The Demon Bear Saga” had on the movie. That landmark 1984 story established a very different and much darker tone for the comic. Sienkiewicz’s surreal, even psychedelic approach was wholly unlike anything X-Men readers at the time had ever seen. And this featurette shows us how much Boone and his team worked to capture that feeling in both the look of the monstrous villain and the way the New Mutants themselves are portrayed on screen.

Sienkiewicz previously illustrated the cover for the Best Buy-exclusive steelbook version of the Dark Phoenix Blu-ray. We were able to interview Sienkiewicz last year to learn more about how that collaboration came about. He also had plenty of great things to say about his experience on the New Mutants set, even revealing his belief that the series could continue on at Marvel Studios.

Unfortunately, there’s no sign Marvel will be greenlighting a New Mutants sequel or working this particular incarnation of the team into the MCU. Still, with WandaVision dropping a very intriguing X-Men cameo and the next Doctor Strange movie delving headlong into the multiverse concept, anything is possible.

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IGN’s Jim Vejvoda gave The New Mutants a 7 out of 10 in his review, saying, “The New Mutants had already earned its place as a curious footnote in Fox’s now-defunct X-Men franchise, but it’s a stronger, better movie than such diminished expectations from its long-delayed release would suggest.”

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.