Best Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Deals: 3-Month Subscriptions For $23

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is arguably the best value in gaming. For $15 per month, you get Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, which grants access to hundreds of great Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC games. Right now, you can save a good chunk of change on 3-month subscriptions at numerous major retailers, but Newegg has the best deal, discounting the subscription from $45 to $23 with promo code EMCDFFG23.

If you prefer to shop at Amazon or other retailers, Game Pass Ultimate 3-month subscriptions are on sale for $25.

Best Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Deals

The Xbox Game Pass library is constantly growing with new titles added each month. Earlier in February, Final Fantasy XV and Wolfenstein: Youngblood were added to the service. The library includes an eclectic mix of awesome games, from 2019 hits like Devil May 5, The Outer Worlds, and Outer Wilds to excellent indies like Moonlighter and Yoku’s Island Express to classic Xbox 360 titles such as Fallout: New Vegas and Mass Effect. If you’re not convinced, check out GameSpot’s roundup featuring all of the best games available through Game Pass.

Don’t forget that as a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber you also get Xbox Live Gold, which allows you to play online multiplayer and grab four free games each month. February’s Games with Gold freebies are available now and include original Xbox hit Star Wars Battlefront.

While Game Pass Ultimate opens up a large library of games, it obviously doesn’t have everything. If you’re looking for a new game or two to add to your collection, the Xbox Store currently has great deals on EA and Ubisoft games.

Now Playing: Biggest Xbox Series X and Xbox One Exclusives Coming In 2020 So Far

Microsoft Flight Simulator Will Include ‘All Airports on Earth’

2020’s Microsoft Flight Simulator will include “all airports on Earth,” ranging from countryside airstrips to international airports, according to developer Asobo Studio.

A total number of airports was not disclosed, though according to the CIA, as of 2013, there were over 40,000 airports in the world. As detailed on YouTube, the studio manually edited 37,000 of those airports to ensure accuracy — from the size and surface material of the runway to the precise location of the planes’ parking spots.

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Not all airports have been given the same amount of attention; the 80 “most-played and busiest” airports are more detailed, according to Asobo. These airports feature official names for taxiways and more “accurate surface definition.”

An even higher tier, dubbed the “most iconic airports” in the development video, have been “dressed up to reach a new level of realism in flight simulation.” These airports feature “unique building and props matching reality” and terraformed landscapes that “nest [the airports] in their real environment.”

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IGN’s Alex Simmons went hands-on with Microsoft Flight Simulator at XO19 and called it a “serene, calming experience [that] feels more like an exercise in mindfulness than a game.”

For more on the promising flight sim, read up on how Microsoft Flight Simulator will deal with secretive areas, such as military bases and government research sites.

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Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.

Nvidia Teases Thousands More Games For GeForce Now As Service Reaches Subscriber Milestone

Nvidia has already reached a milestone with its GeForce Now streaming service, with the company celebrating over 1 million subscribers just a few weeks after its launch.

The subscriber total includes all new users from both the free plan and the Founder’s membership, which itself includes a 90-day trial. Nvidia notes that it’s important for its premium tier to offer a trial–not only for players, but for developers who might want to see the service in action before deciding on support for it.

Nvidia has had some trouble with that already, with Activision Blizzard yanking support for all of its games shortly after launch (which was due to an apparent misunderstanding). Nvidia notes that it foresees far more games joining the service than leaving, and teases more news on returning titles soon.

“As we approach a paid service, some publishers may choose to remove games before the trial period ends,” reads the blog post. “Ultimately, they maintain control over their content and decide whether the game you purchase includes streaming on GeForce Now. Meanwhile, others will bring games back as they continue to realize GeForce Now’s value (stay tuned for more on that).”

Right now, Nvidia has over 1,500 games ready and waiting to be approved for support, which will rapidly grow an already impressive library. Unlike Google’s Stadia, GeForce Now doesn’t require you to purchase games. Instead it works with any games you already own that are supported by the service, across Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, and more.

If you live in a supported region, you can subscribe to GeForce Now and enjoy your PC games from anywhere, across PC, Android, and Nvidia’s Shield TV.

The Witcher Season 2 Production Begins, More Characters Announced

Netflix has just announced a bunch of new cast members for Season 2 of The Witcher, as production continues in the UK.

One of the most notable new additions to the cast is Fast and Furious 9’s Thue Ersted Rasmussen, who will be playing Eskel, a witcher from the School of the Wolf who established an early friendship with Geralt of Rivia, having been raised alongside him.

He will be joining fellow witchers, Lambert and Coen, portrayed by Paul Bullion and Yasen Atour, respectively.

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Other new additions to the cast include Agnes Bjorn portraying Vereena, a lover of Nivellen, who is now confirmed to be played by Kristofer Hivju, along with Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, Vilgefortz’ sorceress secretary, and Mecia Simson as Francesca, the queen of the elves of Dol Blathanna.

Fans are likely to notice that Vesemir is absent from the list, which indicates that Geralt’s wise and wizened instructor either does not make an appearance in the second season, the role has not been finalized or the announcement is being held back for a reveal at a later date.

“The reaction to season one of The Witcher set a high bar for adding new talent for the second season,” said showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. “Sophie Holland and her casting team have once again found the very best people to embody these characters, and in the hands of these accomplished directors, we’re excited to see these new stories come to life.”

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Returning to the cast for Season 2 are Henry Cavill, who leads The Witcher saga, playing the role of Geralt of Rivia, alongside Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), Joey Batey (Jaskier), MyAnna Buring (Tissaia), Tom Canton (Filavandrel), Lilly Cooper (Murta), Jeremy Crawford (Yarpin Zigrin), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Mahesh Jadu (Vilgefortz), Terence Maynard (Artorius), Lars Mikkelson (Stregobor), Mimi Ndiweni (Fringilla Vigo), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Dara), Anna Shaffer (Triss Merigold), and Therica Wilson Read (Sabrina).

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Umbrella Academy’s Stephen Surjik will direct the first two episodes of the second season, followed by Sarah O’Gorman for episodes 3 and 4, Ed Bazalgette for episodes 5 and 8, and Geeta V. Patel for episodes 6 and 7.

The Witcher Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2021. For more, check out our detailed cast rundown for the second season of the fantasy series, read about the first season’s big “mistake” that will be rectified in the forthcoming episodes, and find out what showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich had to say about the new fantasy elements in the next season.

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

Nintendo Switch Eshop Gets Retro Releases This Week

The Nintendo Switch has added dozens more games on its Eshop again, and this week the standouts are almost all retro favorites. The additions, some of which are coming through next week, include Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection, Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition, and the Double Dragon / Kunio-kun Bundle.

The MMZ/ZX Collection compiles six games that first appeared on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS: Mega Man Zero 1-4, ZX, and ZX Advent. The Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition brings back the stylish demon-slaying action game from the PS2 era, with a few new bells and whistles like local co-op. The Double Dragon and Kunio-kun includes classics like Double Dragon 1-3, along with Kunio-kun games like River City Ransom and Super Dodge Ball, along with several that haven’t been released in the US before. Another notable (but not particularly retro) release is One Finger Death Punch 2, the sequel to the stickman brawler.

These also join the free NES and SNES games included in a Switch Online subscription this week–Shadow of the Ninja and Eliminator Boat Duel on NES, and Pop’n TwinBee and Smash Tennis on SNES. The SNES games are rarities since they’ve never had a US release before.

You can check out the full list of new Eshop games below.

Nintendo Eshop Games (Week Of February 20)

  • A Sound Plan
  • Arcade Archives Sasuke Vs Commander
  • Arcade Fuzz – Available Feb. 25
  • Blood Breed – Available Feb. 21
  • Blood will be Spilled
  • Brief Battles – Available Feb. 21
  • Ciel Fledge: A Daughter Raising Simulator – Available Feb. 21
  • Corridor Z
  • Dark Tower: RPG Dungeon Puzzle – Available Feb. 21
  • Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle
  • Edgar – Bokbok in Boulzac – Available Feb. 26
  • Ego Protocol: Remastered – Available Feb. 21
  • Fishing Adventure – Available Feb. 21
  • Fred3ric
  • Go All Out!
  • Hayfever – Available Feb. 25
  • King Lucas – Available Feb. 21
  • Knightin’+ – Available Feb. 21
  • Last Encounter – Available Feb. 21
  • Lines XL
  • MathLand – Available Feb. 24
  • Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection – Available Feb. 25
  • Oddmar
  • One Finger Death Punch 2 – – Available Feb. 26
  • Otherworldly – Available Feb. 21
  • Project Starship
  • Rune Factory 4 Special – Available Feb. 25
  • Samurai Shodown – Available Feb. 25
  • Sega Ages Puyo Puyo 2
  • Speed Dating for Ghosts
  • Sudoku Relax 4 Winter Snow
  • The Unholy Society – Available Feb. 25
  • Tower of Babel – no mercy – Available Feb. 21
  • Two Point Hospital – Available Feb. 25
  • Ubermosh:Omega – Available Feb. 21
  • Uncharted Tides: Port Royal
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late Clear
  • Vasilis – Available Feb. 26
  • Vitamin Connection

Nintendo eShop on Wii U:

  • Space Hunted: The Lost Levels

Dying Light Is Free To Play On Steam This Weekend

Dying Light just celebrated its fifth anniversary, and while Dying Light 2 is currently delayed with no release date, players can try the original game out for free on Steam this weekend. If you like what you play, you’ll even be able to snag the game for good at a drastically reduced price.

From now until February 23 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, you can play Dying Light with up to three other players, exploring the open-world environment and its parkour-infused gameplay. Dying Light mixes the traversal of something like Mirror’s Edge with the first-person zombie-killing action of Techland’s previous game, Dead Island, and Kevin VanOrd was fairly pleased with the combination in GameSpot’s Dying Light review.

During this period, the standard Dying Light game on Steam is discounted by 60%, while the Enhanced Edition is discounted by 67%. A new Story Mode difficulty level has been added to make the game easier for newcomers, and special events from the game’s past will return over the next month to celebrate its anniversary.

Originally scheduled to launch in Spring 2020, Dying Light 2 was later delayed indefinitely in order to give Techland more development time. The sequel puts a greater emphasis on a dynamic world and factions, and Obsidian Entertainment veteran Chris Avellone is serving as narrative designer. When it does release, it will be available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Now Playing: Dying Light Video Review

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The Batman: Imagining What the Ears on the Batsuit Will Look Like

Even though director Matt Reeves gave us our first look at Robert Pattinson in the new Batsuit, the screen test left out a key detail: the ears on the Bat-cowl. While those pointy appendages may seem like small potatoes, they’re an important element that affects the whole look. Too short and they make him look like a cat, and too long and he’ll have trouble entering doorways. We’re too excited by the many possibilities to wait for the actual reveal to come, so we took it upon ourselves to see what Pattinson’s Dark Knight would look like with various ear styles based on how Batman has been drawn by iconic artists over the years.

Flip through the slideshow gallery below to see how Battinson would look with ears modeled after the styles of Frank Miller, Jim Lee, and more. All designs are by IGN artist Amanda Flagg.

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Which of these ear-lengths do you most want to see on the final Batsuit? Let us know down in the comments.

For more on The Batman, check out our breakdown on the many comic and video game influences on the Batsuit:

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Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Animal Crossing Amiibo Are Dirt Cheap At GameStop

Animal Crossing Amiibo have been available for pretty low prices for the last few years, but they are bound to creep back up in price as we approach Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ March 20 release for Nintendo Switch. Amiibo and Amiibo cards will let you invite characters to your island and partake in photoshoot sessions in the new Photopia mode. Right now, you can grab a handful of Animal Crossing Amiibo for just $5 each at GameStop. You’ll probably want to hurry, as some of the steeply discounted Amiibo have sold out within the last day.

Animal Crossing Amiibo

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Sure, those six aren’t exactly known as the faces of the franchise, but if you’re looking to build an Animal Crossing Amiibo collection ahead of New Horizons, this is a cheap way to start. GameStop also has Tom Nook’s Amiibo figure discounted to $8. The rest of the Animal Crossing crew can be found at Amazon:

Isabelle’s summer outfit figure is the only Animal Crossing Amiibo going for more than its regular price, but if you can wait, the figure will be re-released on April 17 at Best Buy and Target.

There’s still time to pre-order New Horizons, and numerous retailers are offering their own unique bonuses. If you’re looking for some new Switch accessories to show off your Animal Crossing love, there are quite a few options, including controllers, carrying cases, and console skins.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Rainbow Six Siege Makes Explosions Even Deadlier

Rainbow Six Siege’s explosions are about to get a whole lot better, or worse, depending on if you get caught in the blast radius. Walls and barriers will still be your friend, but they might not be enough to say save you from the deadliest grenades.

Beginning with Rainbow Six Siege Year 5 Season 1, a new shrapnel system is factored into explosions. Destructible objects will not limit the range of an explosions’ damage, and shrapnel hole swill be visible in cover to make it clear where the initial blast came from. This should not only make grenades more effective, but reduce confusion among players.

The changes were made in order to make damage more realistic, particularly when comparing outdoor areas and buildings. Using the old system, a C4 charge was more lethal outdoors than inside, not taking into account the shards of wood and metal that would likely be sent flying.

A tweak to an explosion system would be a relatively small change in most games, but it has the potential to shift up strategies considerably in Rainbow Six Siege. Keeping the game fresh is certainly important for Ubisoft, which has supported it for more than four years and shows no signs of slowing down. A cooperative spin-off called Rainbow Six Quarantine will release later this year on Xbox One, PS4, and PC, taking the series in a science-fiction direction.

Now Playing: Rainbow Six Siege – Six Invitational 2020 “The Program” Cinematic Trailer

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Kerbal Space Program 2 Gets a New Developer

Development of Kerbal Space Program 2 has moved from Star Theory Games to a newly formed, KSP-dedicated studio, publisher Private Division announced Friday. The new studio is owned by Private Division parent company Take-Two Interactive.

Jeremy Ables, former studio head at Star Theory, will step into the same role at the new, currently unnamed studio. Joining him from Star Theory are Kerbal Space Program 2 creative director Nate Simpson and lead producer Nate Robinson, according to Gamesindustry.biz.

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“The decision to open our own studio and move development in-house allows us to provide the development team with the necessary time and resources to complete development of KSP 2 at the quality level we all want to deliver our players,” said Private Division. “Our goal — and the goal of our developers — is to provide our community with the highest level gaming experience with Kerbal Space Program 2.”

Take-Two acquired KSP in 2017. The sequel was then announced at Gamescom 2019 with Star Theory (formerly Uber Entertainment) as its developer. Original KSP developer Squad has been continuing to work on the first game.

IGN spoke with Simpson shortly after that Gamescom reveal. The creative director said Kerbal Space Program 2 will be more accessible to newcomers without being less challenging for core KSP players.

Kerbal Space Program 2 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC during Take-Two’s fiscal year 2021 (April 2020–March 2021).

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Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.