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Xbox Game Pass adds a blockbuster shooter on day one in August, plus a highly anticipated indie game

by admin August 19, 2025

Xbox has announced the games coming to Xbox consoles and PC on Game Pass. The line-up for the second half of August includes big names such as Persona 4 Golden, Gears of War: Reloaded, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Neat looking indie game, Herdling, is also arriving day one on Game Pass.

Available Today

Blacksmith Master (Game Preview) (PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Void/Breaker (PC)
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

Coming Soon

Goat Simulator Remastered (Xbox Series X|S) – August 20
Now with Game Pass Standard
Persona 4 Golden (Cloud, Console, and PC) – August 20
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Herdling (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 21
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Gears of War: Reloaded (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 26
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – August 28
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, EA Play

That’s your list of new games coming to Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass this month.

This is a news-in-brief story. This is part of our vision to bring you all the big news as part of a daily live report.

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August 19, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

The DC/Marvel Teamup Adds New Hero Duos To the Mix

by admin August 17, 2025

Earlier this summer, we learned DC and Marvel Comics were having their first proper crossover in decades, bringing together different pairings of characters from both publishers. So far, we’ve only known what’s coming from Marvel—now we know what DC’s bringing to the plate, and it’s a new batch of teamups featuring some of DC’s current big talents in charge of these stories.

Per DC’s recent solicitations for November, DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1—written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Dan Mora—will feature extra stories starring Doctor Strange and John Constantine (by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, James Tynion IV, and Hayden Sherman), Harley Quinn and Hulk (Mariko Tamaki and Amanda Conner), Nightwing and Laura Kinney/Wolverine (Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo) and Static and Ms. Marvel (G. Willow Wilson and Denys Cowan).

As for the main story, Morrison and Mora will take Batman and Deadpool on “an adventure so mind-bending you’ll think you’re in a dream!” It’s currently unclear how (or if) this builds on the pair’s first partnership over in Marvel/DC, which hails from Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo. That book’s extra stories feature Green Arrow and Daredevil, Captain America and Wonder Woman, and Jeff the Shark and Krypto the Superdog.

Following September 19’s Marvel/DC: Deadpool & Batman and DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool #1 on November 19, a second set of crossovers will arrive in 2026, but both publishers are currently keeping quiet on who’s showing up for that crossover.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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August 17, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

New Xbox 360 Update Adds More Ads 20 Years After Launch

by admin June 26, 2025

Photo: Kotaku / Xbox

Today, some folks turned on their Xbox 360s to discover Microsoft has updated the aging device. The new update fixes an annoying issue bugging players for a bit now, but it also slaps two big ads on the home screen for Xbox’s newest consoles.

Why People Are Rushing To Sell Their Xbox Series X To GameStop Right Now

As spotted by True Achievements on June 25, some players on the Xbox 360 subreddit shared the news that their old consoles looked a bit different when they booted them up. To their surprise, Xbox has updated the nearly 20-year-old Xbox 360 to fix an issue with game thumbnails and box art stretching out and looking weird. That’s nice! What’s less nice is that the console now has more ads on it.

I booted up my Xbox 360 to confirm that yes, the dashboard has been slightly updated. And I can also confirm that it now sports two different ads for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles on the home dashboard. One of these ads is a picture showing the newer consoles. That’s it. The other one is a QR code. That’s it. If you click on them, they do nothing at all. Neither ad even says “Xbox Series X/S” or lists a price or anything.

My guess is that Xbox wanted these ads to be something they don’t have to update for a long time, if ever, so they just slapped a QR code on the dashboard, allowing them to tweak the webpage it sends you to instead of having to update a 20-year-old console again in a few years.

While it’s nice that Xbox fixed a strange graphical bug that’s been a problem ever since Microsoft killed the Xbox 360’s servers in July 2024, it still feels really desperate of the company to shove new ads into the aging machine’s dashboard two decades later. Like, come on, let it retire in peace. Stop using the corpse of your past victories to promote new shit.

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June 26, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Metaplanet (3350) Raises $515M, Blockchain Group (ALTBG) Adds $4.8M in Concurrent BTC Treasury Equity Moves

by admin June 25, 2025

Metaplanet Inc (3350) and the Blockchain Group (ALTBG) both executed substantial equity capital raises as part of their initiatives to focus on bitcoin accumulation for treasury purposes.

Metaplanet announced the exercise of its 20th series of stock acquisition rights under the recently announced 555 Million Plan, raising 74.9 billion yen, ($515 million) in a single day. It issued 54 million new shares on Wednesday following the exercise of 540,000 stock acquisition rights, representing 29% of the total rights issued.

The issue is the first major capital injection under the plan and represents 10% of the full target. Metaplanet stock slumped as much as 15% before rallying strongly to close up 4%. CEO Simon Gerovich emphasized the strategic milestone with a post on X, highlighting the strong start to the program.

The Blockchain Group (ALTBG), for its part, announced a 4.1 million-euro ($4.8 million) capital increase through an at-the-market-type equity issuance agreement with TOBAM.

Shares in the Euronext Growth Paris-listed company were issued at an average price of 5.085 euros each. The capital raise aligns with the company’s strategy to increase the number of bitcoin per share on a fully diluted basis. The Blockchain Group currently holds 1,653 BTC and is the first of its kind in Europe pursuing such a model.

Blockchain Group shares were recently 3.7% lower at 4.785 euros.

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June 25, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

The next season of Diablo IV adds extra challenges to the endgame

by admin June 24, 2025

Diablo IV has been demonically chugging along since the release of the major Vessel of Hatred expansion last fall. The seasonal model usually brings temporary gameplay updates and storylines, but when Season 9 hits on July 1, it will add a couple of useful permanent changes. First, console players are getting support for mouse and keyboard controls. Second, there will be new additions to Nightmare Dungeons.

The endgame of Diablo IV involves a lot of grinding Nightmare Dungeons, so even with a healthy dose of procedural generation, the landscape of those challenges starts to feel overly familiar. Season 9 will add some new wrinkles to the tile sets. Horadric Strongrooms are micro-dungeons within the Nightmare Dungeon that offer big potential rewards as well as a buff for the remainder of the main dungeon. Escalating Nightmares are a trio of dungeons in increasing challenges, and when tackled at Torment difficulty, they conclude with a riff on the Astaroth boss fight.

It’ll be a while yet before the developers bring another expansion on the scale of Vessel of Hatred, but Blizzard has been providing new twists on the game each season for the players who log hundreds of hours in Diablo IV. The Season 9 permanent additions, which also include some brand new dungeon affixes, could help keep things challenging and interesting for the game’s hardcore fans.

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June 24, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Adds SpongeBob Characters To Roster

by admin June 22, 2025

During tonight’s 2025 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, Sega shared a new trailer for its upcoming Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. During Summer Game Fest 2025, we learned that characters from Persona, Like a Dragon, and Minecraft are joining the vast roster of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe in this kart racer. In this latest trailer, Sega played to its audience and announced Nickelodeon crossover content, starting with characters, a vehicle, and a track from the SpongeBob SquarePants world.

Characters like SpongeBob and Patrick will be joining Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow, and the rest of the heroes and villains from that universe as post-launch content. Additionally, Sega teased upcoming content from the animated Avatar and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universes.

To access the Nickelodeon content, as well as crossover content with Minecraft, the Sonic Prime Netflix series, and two more yet-to-be-announced collaborations, players can purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition or pick up the Season Pass when Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on September 25. A Switch 2 version will be available at a later date.

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Elden Ring Nightreign update adds tougher boss, the Everdark Sovereign

by admin June 20, 2025

A new update for Elden Ring Nightreign rolled out on Thursday, adding an extra layer of challenge. The first of the game’s Everdark Sovereigns, stronger and more challenging versions of existing Nightlord bosses, is here, letting players test themselves against a familiar foe — but only for a limited time.

Players can now face the Everdark Sovereign version of Adel, Baron of the Night (aka “Gaping Jaw”) in Elden Ring Nightreign. Defeating that extra spicy Nightlord will reward players with a new item: Sovereign Sigils. These new tokens can be cashed in for special Relics “and other items,” publisher Bandai Namco says. Players’ first win against an Everdark Sovereign Nightlord will earn them multiple Sovereign Sigils, though it sounds like repeat battles will deal out fewer.

If you want to face Everdark Sovereign Gaping Jaw, you’ll need to have already defeated the base version of Gaping Jaw. So hurry up if you haven’t; the first Everdark Sovereign encounter will only be available through June 25, at 5:59 p.m PDT/8:59 p.m. EDT.

Here’s one big catch, though: Everdark Sovereigns are available for Nightreign’s online mode only.

Coming to the Everdark Sovereign rotation in the next few weeks are harder versions of Sentient Pest and Darkdrift Knight. Amped-up versions of the other existing bosses will be added at a later date, Bandai Namco says.

Elden Ring Nightreign is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. If you need some help getting started, check out Polygon’s guides for Elden Ring Nightreign.

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June 20, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Steam adds more accessibility features

by admin June 20, 2025

Steam has introduced a new batch of features for improved accessibility in the latest beta of the gaming client. The platform is adding a sliding scale for adjusting UI size, a high contrast mode to make text and buttons more distinct from the background, and a reduce motion setting to disable select animations and page transitions. These three features are available for devices running SteamOS and in Steam’s Big Picture Mode, which displays a full-screen user interface for easier legibility.

In addition, SteamOS devices are getting support for a screen reader. This feature has adjustments for the volume, rate and pitch of the audio output. The new beta also offers color filters for SteamOS devices, allowing the user to choose modes of grayscale, invert brightness or invert colors. This change to visual output with colors applies to both the Steam client and to games. For now, only the Steam Deck and the Lenovo Legion Go S run Valve’s gaming-focused operating system, but the company is clearly planning to add more devices in the future.

“These new settings are only the first available of the accessibility features we’re working on, and we’re excited to put even more tools in the hands of our players,” the company said in the blog post announcing the new updates.

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June 20, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Midjourney adds AI video generation

by admin June 19, 2025

AI company Midjourney has released its first video model. This initial take on AI-generated video will allow users to animate their images, either ones made in Midjourney or uploaded from a different source. The initial results will be five-second clips that a user can opt to extend by four seconds up to four times. Videos can be generated on web only for now and require at least a $10 a month subscription to access.

Introducing our V1 Video Model. It’s fun, easy, and beautiful. Available at 10$/month, it’s the first video model for *everyone* and it’s available now. pic.twitter.com/iBm0KAN8uy

— Midjourney (@midjourney) June 18, 2025

Midjourney was one of the early names in the space for AI-generated still images, even as other platforms have pushed the forefront of the discussions around artificial intelligence development. Google’s latest I/O conference included several new tools for AI generated video, such as the text-to-video Veo 3 model and a tool for filmmakers called Flow. OpenAI’s Sora, which debuted last year, is also a text-to-video option, while the more recent Firefly Video Model from Adobe can create video from a text or image prompt.

But being a little late to the video game hasn’t stopped it from drawing the ire of creatives who allege that its models were trained illegally. In fact, this video announcement follows hot on the heels of a lawsuit against the company. Disney and NBCUniversal sued Midjourney last week on claims of copyright infringement. And as with any AI tool, there’s always a potential for misuse. But Midjourney has nicely asked that people “please use these technologies responsibly” so surely nothing will go wrong.

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June 19, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Hades II adds more combat options in its third major early access update

by admin June 18, 2025

Hades II announced its third update today. The sequel to 2020 indie game darling Hades is technically still in early access on PC and Mac, but has been getting some beefy updates ahead of its expected official release later this year. The Unseen Update is a free, automatic update that mostly focuses on new combat development.

There’s a new Vow of Rivals that allows players to challenge more powerful Guardian foes. All of the main weapons have received hidden aspects that offer new forms and fighting styles. There’s also new hexes and blessings, some fresh artwork, and new story events to help grow your relationships with the many members of the ancient Greek pantheon.

When Hades II does exit early access with the launch of v1.0 — and developer Supergiant said that it doesn’t have a timeline for that yet — the game will follow its predecessor’s launch schedule. Switch 2 and Switch will be the first consoles to get the full release alongside PC and Mac, with PlayStation and Xbox players needing to wait before they’ll get a version of the rogue-like.

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June 18, 2025 0 comments