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Call of Duty: Warzone still has a zombies problem, and it’s getting worse. Activision continues to tease some kind of zombies event for the battle royale game, again through swag that it’s sending to media and influencers.

CharlieIntel has received a care package that seems to suggest that zombies are now taking over the Superstore location on the Verdansk map. “Clean up on aisle four. Bring more than a mop,” reads a line from the teaser. “The place for killer deals. Their latest customers shop long after they drop.”

Activision has been teasing the zombies event for Warzone through swag. Before this, the publisher sent hospital scrubs to reference how the undead were taking over the hospital in Verdansk. Before that, the publisher sent jumpsuits to signal zombie infection spreading to the prison on the map.

The prevailing belief here is that this is an extended tease for a nuke event. Many believe the zombie infestation will get so bad that a nuke will be set off to rid the game of the problem. In doing so, Activision will re-launch Warzone with a new, ’80s-themed map based on Black Ops Cold War, according to rumors and reports.

This is all supposed to happen at the end of Season 2, which is sometime in April.

In other news, Sledgehammer Games is reportedly getting ready to officially reveal Call of Duty: Vanguard as the new Call of Duty game coming this year. It’s said to be set in World War II, just like Sledgehammer’s 2017 game, Call of Duty: WWII.

Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s brief Easter-themed Max Raid event has ended, but a new one is now underway in the games. Unlike the past few Max Raid events, however, this one doesn’t appear to feature any Gigantamax Pokemon, although it does give you more chances to catch Ditto as well as a few other Gen 8 monsters.

According to Serebii, Ditto is currently appearing more frequently in Max Raid dens across the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and Crown Tundra. Since Pokemon you encounter in Max Raids typically have better base stats than the ones you find in the field, this is a good chance to catch a few Ditto (particularly if you’re interested in breeding Pokemon). Corviknight, Centiskorch, Dubwool, Drednaw, Orbeetle, and their pre-evolved forms are also appearing more frequently for the duration of the event.

Before you can encounter the featured Pokemon in your game, you’ll first need to refresh your Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting your game online or by opening the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get the Wild Area news.

Sword and Shield have been regularly holding Max Raid events since the games launched back in 2019. These typically run for the entire month and feature some normally hard-to-find Pokemon, such as Gigantamax forms. The Pokemon Company also periodically holds brief “special” Max Raid events that give players a chance to catch some Shiny Pokemon. The most recent one took place this past weekend and featured various rabbit Pokemon for Easter, including Shiny Azumarill.

A handful of Pokemon games are on the way to Switch over the next few months. New Pokemon Snap, the long-awaited follow-up to the classic N64 spin-off game, releases on April 30, while remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are coming later this year. Then, in early 2022, Game Freak and The Pokemon Company are releasing Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a new open-world installment set in ancient Sinnoh.

If you’re gearing up to save the galaxy again in Halo Infinite or explore the globe in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you’ll want to come strapped with the best controller you can get your hands (and sometimes feet) on. Xbox fans have always been spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a pad, wheel, or joystick, and the Xbox X/S generation continues this tradition.

Unlike with the PS5, players can bring all their own old Xbox One controllers to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S and there’s a handful of new options too. That opens up Xbox gamers to an almost overwhelming number of controller choices. So we’ve gone down the lists and hand-picked our favorite controllers for a variety of budgets and games. Whether you’re looking for affordability, customizability, or a competitive edge we’ve got your back.

TL;DR – These are the Best Xbox Series X/S Controllers:

• Xbox Core Controller
• Xbox Elite Series 2
• Razer Wolverine V2
• PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller
  
• Thrustmaster TMX Force Feedback
• Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS One

1. Xbox Core Controller

Best Xbox Series X/S Controller

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The reigning champ. The go-to gamepad for general use on Xbox and gaming PCs. There isn’t a whole lot to say about the Core Controller (see our review) because it just speaks for itself. It’s a solidly-built, reliable, standard-setting piece that’s friendly to lots of different hand sizes and control schemes. It’s almost like the Platonic ideal of a game controller. There’s nothing extra fancy about it, because it doesn’t need any gimmicks to do what it does best. It simply gets the job done.

The one thing that I’m not thrilled about with this one is that it requires AA batteries to play wirelessly. But if you get rechargeable ones and a wall charger, you can get away with charging one set of batteries while you’re using the other and not have to keep buying those giant blister packs like it’s 1999 or something. And the core controller comes with a USB-C plug that works on PC and console, if you don’t want to have to deal with batteries at all.

2. PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller

Best Budget Xbox Series X/S Controller

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On the other end of the spectrum, PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controller (see our review) continues a tradition of offering cheaper options that still hold up well. If you want to be that awesome friend who has a full flight of controllers ready to go whether your buddies remembered to bring one or not, you probably don’t want to splurge on four Elite controllers. That would be a power move, so don’t let me tell you how to live your life if that’s the kind of baller you are.

But for the rest of us, these more affordable workhorses are perfect for those P3 and P4 slots. They can stand up to a lot of punishment, and don’t feel as cheap as a lot of other options in this price range. They also come with a built-in share button and a mic mute switch, which is nice if your pet suddenly demands your attention in the middle of a match. The face buttons aren’t quite as tactile as the ones on the core controller, but the overall ergonomics feel great.

3. Xbox Elite Series 2

Best High-End Xbox Series X/S Controller

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The Xbox Elite Series 2 (see our review) is the fancy sports car of Xbox controllers. It’s going to cost you, but you’re paying for premium components, customizability, and luxury feel. The thumbsticks, D-pad, and triggers are swappable, so you can pick the parts that feel best for you. It also comes with a rechargeable battery that can last up to 40 hours, so you won’t have to go hunting for batteries like you might with the Core controller.

It even comes with four additional paddles on the back that can be programmed to do things like change the function of your face buttons when held down. This is especially awesome if you’re using it on PC for games like Final Fantasy XIV where you might have more abilities than a standard controller can handle. All of that comes with a price tag more than twice that of a Core controller. But you get what you pay for.

4. Razer Wolverine V2

Best Tunable Xbox Series X/S Controller

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Priced at a nice mid-point between the Core and Elite pads, the Razer Wolverine (see our review) is the overall best third-party pad for Xbox. This isn’t like that janky off-brand controller you used to hand to your little brother during Halo night back in the day. Razer has gone all-out to make sure that it stacks up to, or even surpasses, the official hardware Microsoft has put out.

Like you might expect from Razer, this thing is highly customizable. The face buttons are fully remappable, and there’s even a hair trigger mode you can activate on the fly using physical switches. That means your LT and RT will register an input with only a slight tap, rather than having to push them down all the way, which is a huge edge in fighting games and shooters. This is an ideal option for competitive players who don’t want to drop a fortune on something like the Elite controller, but need more features than what the Core controller can offer.

5. Thrustmaster TMX Force Feedback

Best Upgradable Xbox Series X/S Controller

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The next Forza game might not have a release date yet, but there are already plenty of great driving games on the Xbox and PC best played with a proper steering wheel set-up. Thrustmaster always impresses me with the ruggedness and feel of their components. When I buy something from them, it feels like it came off of an industrial assembly line in a car factory, not out of a toy store. The TMX provides seriously realistic force feedback with its fine-tuned internal motors and the non-slip wheel grip feels great.

It only has two pedals, so you’ll be shifting gears with the attached paddles instead. But it’s also relatively cheap for the quality you’re getting at just $200. You could definitely spend a lot more than that on a racing set-up. I also really like the button layout and styling on this one, because it looks more like something you’d see in a professional race car as opposed to on a standard controller.

6. Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS One

Best Xbox Series X/S Flight Stick

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Microsoft Flight Simulator looks incredible on the Xbox Series X and modern PCs, and for the proper experience you’re going to want to play it with a stick and throttle. Thrustmaster brings an excellent all-in-one controller to your virtual cockpit with the T-Flight HOTAS One, which is simple enough for even brand new pilots to get the hang of quickly but also satisfying for seasoned aces.

This is a one-piece controller, which is ideal for console play, and it has a very modern, streamlined look that won’t seem out of place sitting around your living room. The switches and buttons on both the stick and throttle are raised and shaped in such a way that you can easily find them without looking down, which can be trickier on other sticks like Logitech’s where all of the buttons kind of feel the same. It also has a Share button built right into the base for capturing the scenic vistas you’ll be swooping over, which most made-for-PC sticks usually don’t.

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Leana Hafer is an avid PC gamer. Talk action-RPGs, strategy games, and more with her on Twitter at @AsaTJ

Major League Baseball, otherwise known as MLB, is behind the decision to bring Sony San Diego’s MLB The Show 21 to Xbox, according to PlayStation.

This news comes by way of Inverse, who spoke to PlayStation about the decision to bring MLB The Show 21. The upcoming installment in the franchise is coming to Xbox for the first time ever after being exclusive to PlayStation since 2006. Not only is The Show coming to Xbox when it releases on April 20, but it’s also launching day-and-date on Xbox Game Pass, which has an audience of at least 18 million subscribers.

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“As part of the goal for this year’s game, MLB decided to bring the franchise to more players and baseball fans,” a PlayStation representative told Inverse. “This decision provides a unique opportunity to further establish MLB The Show as the premier brand for baseball video games.”

Microsoft confirmed last week that MLB The Show 21 will launch on Xbox on April 20, as both a traditional purchase and as a part of the Game Pass library, which is the same day the game launches on PlayStation consoles. Those with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be able to play the game on Android phones and tablets via the Beta version of Xbox Cloud Gaming too.

MLB The Show 21 features cross-play, which means Xbox players and PlayStation players will be able to play with each other, and thanks to cross-progress, players can play take their progress data to any platform.

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MLB The Show 21 will launch on April 20 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. While waiting for that later this month, check out this video of the game running on Xbox Series X and then check out this MLB The Show 21 next-gen trailer.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

It’s an exciting time for those deep into Among Us (or looking to get back into the game) since the new Airship map dropped just last week. The wildly popular social deduction game blew up relatively recently, and while it has sustained a massive following, it’s been thriving off of three different maps for quite some time. The Airship affords the game a fresh experience for longtime players not just because it’s new but also because it asks you to play quite differently from older maps.

It’s the largest map so far, but its tight corridors and handful of one-way paths make it a challenge to navigate. It’s so big and labyrinthine that the game lets players choose one of three spawn points when they start a round in the match. Understanding what’s around each of the spawn points becomes part of your strategy for both crewmates and imposters, and uncovering those intricacies has made figuring out the Airship so much fun.

A key thing to notice about the map’s spawn points is that when they’re represented on screen for selection, the background of the icon shows you which part of the map it’s in–eventually, you’ll be familiar with the names and locations of these rooms, but for shorthand purposes, they’re also ordered in a way that’s indicative of their general location (left, middle, right). Crewmates should have tasks nearby right when the match starts, but as the match progresses, you’ll want to keep in mind where your remaining tasks are.

The Airship introduces a few new tasks as well. You’ll have the typical switch-flipping, garbage-disposing, color-coded wire-connecting, and so on. However, you’ll notice the download-and-upload type of objectives have a new second step–moving around a cell phone on screen searching for the right position to get a better signal for faster upload speeds. In the cargo bay, crewmates may have the safe-unlocking task where you need to reveal that lock combination through trial-and-error. In the locker rooms, crewmates might be tasked with picking up dirty towels and accurately tossing them into the hamper, and in the armory, you may have to pick up guns and rack them on the wall. It’s some real Among Us nonsense that you’ve probably come to expect and get a kick out of.

With all these new tasks spread across an intricate map, the thing that stands out in the new map’s design is that there’s more risk-reward when it comes to killing crewmates as the imposter. Since more of the pathways are tighter and shuffle you through specific locations, the sharp eye of a crewmate could more easily deduce who could be the killer if they stumble upon and report a dead body and paid close attention to who may have passed by. At least in the early days of playing the Airship, there tends to be less ambiguity if you’re trying to act normal as the imposter with crewmates nearby.

At the same time, an imposter who is either lucky or has excellent situational awareness has ample opportunity to get away with murder cleanly. The sheer size of the Airship means dead bodies could easily pile up before anyone even starts to take notice. In my experience, there’s less grouping up of crewmates since objectives are spread wide, and navigating the premises and covering ground is a bit more difficult without open areas and less interconnectedness between the important rooms.

Another small but sometimes impactful design choice was putting the meeting room at the very top of the map with one route to get there. This makes it an ordeal to access given the sheer size of the Airship–so if you feel the suspicion of a fellow player and need to talk it out, or if you know you’re getting chased down by an imposter, and can’t find a body to report, you better get to stepping. And, of course, the deliberation process will be as chaotic and potentially deceiving as they always are.

What it boils down to is that the Airship maintains the core ideas of Among Us, but can challenge you to act, move, and think differently more so than the previous three maps. I’d say that’s a good thing since it can freshen up the gameplay and social dynamic, especially for folks who’ve been playing with a consistent group. This leads to a few new ways to experience the tension you had in your first few times playing it. But if you haven’t jumped in yet, this new map is all the more reason to give the game a try if you’re willing to deal with the lighthearted stresses that go hand-in-hand with a good game of Among Us.

After a series of launch-day woes for developer People Can Fly’s popular looter-shooter Outriders, it seems a nasty bug that wipes players’ inventories on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S is back again.

Players have taken to social media to decry the insidious bug. Some who have been playing for upwards of 50 hours have lost all of their gear, while others say the bug struck while matchmaking. People Can Fly and publisher Square Enix have not specified what is causing accolades and inventories to get wiped clean.

Senior community manager Toby Palm told players on Reddit that while People Can Fly is dedicated to stabilizing the servers, a fix for the inventory glitch is being considered.

“We’re still figuring out whether the best way would be a one-to-one customer support team method (which may be more accurate but would take much longer and may not be feasible if there are many cases), or whether we are able to (as previously) run a mass-one-off restoration event via our backend,” Palm said.

A rising post on Reddit shows what appears to be a collage of players’ inventories, all emptied of clothing and weapons. This isn’t the first time the glitch has occurred.

The inventory glitch previously affected the Outriders demo. Before its April 1 launch, People Can Fly noted that the inventory glitch would be resolved going forward. However, only Legendaries would be restored.

In other Outriders news, Square Enix has commented on a line in the game that seemingly references the Jan. 6 coup attempt at the US Capitol, calling any similarities “purely coincidental.” A company spokesperson said that the script was written and recorded “a couple of years ago,” with anything happening in Outriders–even that “redneck mob storming DC”–being “entirely fictional and related to the backstory of the game.”

Overwatch’s Archives event has returned and it gives players the chance to earn new skins, complete weekly challenges, and more from now until April 27.

Archives is an annual event that brings cooperative PvE campaign-like missions into the hero shooter and this year is no different. It brings back the Overwatch: Uprising, Overwatch: Retribution, and Overwatch: Storm Rising missions into rotation, each complete with a set of challenges to complete while playing.

While doing that, players will have the chance to complete new weekly challenges and unlock five new Legendary skins and three new Epic skins.

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“Heroes never die,” a press release about this year’s Archives event reads. “Experience Overwatch’s storied past in this year’s Archives event, featuring a new weekly challenge reward system and new Archive missions — now live on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. Don’t forget to log in from April 6 to April 27 to lock and load new cosmetics into your collection.”

The three Epic skins new to this year’s Archives event can be earned by completing weekly challenges that go live each week of the event. The first week is now live and will run through April 13. You’ll earn stars for simply playing the PvE missions in the Archives event and after earning 30 stars, you’ll earn the Epic “Corridor” Lucio skin. Earn 30 stars in between April 13 and April 20 to earn the Epic “Subaquatic” Zenyatta skins and finally, earn 30 stars in between April 20 and April 27 to earn the Epic “Camouflage” Mercy skin.

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Here’s a full rundown of what you can expect during the Archives event:

• New Cosmetics: Legendary “Bushi” Genji skin, Legendary “Calvary” Tracer skin, Legendary “Mousquetaire” Widowmaker skin, Legendary “Polyanitsa” Zarya skin, Legendary “1776” Soldier: 76 skin, Epic “Camouflage” Mercy skin, Epic “Corredor” Lucio skin, and the Epic “Subaquatic” Zenyatta skin.
• New Player Icons
• New Reward System: Instead of winning nine games, you’ll now earn stars as you play, although you do not need to complete a mission to earn stars. The harder the mission, the more stars you’ll earn. You’ll unlock cosmetic rewards each week after earning 10 stars, 20 stars, and 30 stars.
• Weekly Challenges: Each week of the event brings new challenges based on earning stars. Each PvE mission will include mods such as Molten Cores, for example, which causes all enemies to drop lava upon death. Players will earn double credit for playing the Uprising missions during Week 1, double credit for playing the Retribution missions during Week 2, and double credit for playing the Storm Rising missions during Week 3.

 

Overwatch’s 2021 Archives event is already live on all platforms and it will run until April 27.

If you’ve never taken part in the Archives event, check out this video of 13 minutes from one of the events’ PvE missions. After that, check out IGN’s updated 2020 Overwatch review and then read this story about 55 new Overwatch 2 details recently revealed at BlizzCon 2021.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.